Qiu Su coughed lightly, kicked the mountain lord who was still diligently acting like a lovesick fool, and went downstairs with her hands behind her back. The mountain lord looked at the person who had been sitting and laughing on the bed but suddenly lay down, tilted his head in confusion, then tilted his chin back and gracefully went downstairs as well.
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Qingfeng Theater:
Mountain Lord: I am perceptive and can see into my master's heart through her outward appearance.
Qiu Su: This person is dead. If you need anything, burn incense. →→
Author's Note: No freeloading without a comment after I've added this to my favorites!
I'll give you all a hug, no need to hug back, just pop in and say hi so I know you're all here!
6
6. The higher the virtue, the greater the virtue...
He Zhuo was clearly still angry with Qiu Su. Qiu Su had left him in the village to guard against another attack by thieves. Normally, he would have refused to compromise and tried every means to stay by Qiu Su's side, but this time he went back to his room without saying a word. His obedience was unexpected by Qiu Su. Even Zhou Tong, who was with Qiu Su, said with a smile, "This kid! What's wrong, did you two have another fight?"
Before Qiu Su could reply, he said in a strange tone, "Miss, the one upstairs, when are you having your wedding?"
What nonsense! She wanted to ask why none of He Xu and the others objected when Zhou Tong carried such a wounded man up the mountain.
"Hehe, Miss's face was so rosy when she came downstairs just now, perhaps she blushed because of her future son-in-law," Huang Tao said with a laugh as she straightened the reins.
When Qiu Su recalled the mountain lord who had been drooling earlier, her movements as she mounted her horse became less graceful and more disheveled.
Between the two cities lies Black Crow Ridge. The mountain isn't high, and the road is wide, but the dense forest along the roadside provides excellent concealment. According to the rules of the road, branches should be placed in the middle of the road to block the way before a robbery. Qiu Su wasn't a member of the road, so she didn't need to do that. With obstacles set up ahead, it was already dark when the caravan reached Black Crow Ridge.
Qiu Su, wearing a white jade mask, stood on a high place facing the road, with the mountain lord sitting upright beside her. The lead carriage stopped abruptly as it approached, and the leader shouted from horseback, "Wu Yi of Tong Sheng Escort Agency is personally escorting this shipment. May I ask which road our friends are ahead?"
Hidden in the woods behind Qiu Su, Ruan Hu whispered, "Miss, Tong Sheng Escort Agency is backed by Prime Minister Lu of the capital. No one in this business has ever robbed Tong Sheng Escort Agency before. Um, should we rob them or not?"
Qiu Su curled the corners of her lips. If they could get the Tong Sheng Escort Agency to come, and even have the agency's young master personally escort the shipment, the escort fee must be no small sum. This shipment must be worth more than a million taels of silver.
Ruan Hu wanted to persuade her again, but Qiu Su had already whistled and jumped off the cliff with her dog. Cough, the landing posture was not as perfect as expected. Huang Tao saw that one of her legs was slightly off-center, wrinkled her nose as if she had been pinched, and whispered, "Be smart, Miss may have twisted her ankle. If she is injured, you will have to pay with your heads."
The sight of two white figures drifting into the middle of the road in the dead of night was indeed somewhat frightening. However, the people from the escort agency were extremely well-behaved; apart from the leader bowing respectfully, the others didn't even flinch.
"Which friend from the underworld is blocking the way? Even if there's no 'fierce tiger blocking the road,' what brings you to obstruct the caravan?"
Qiu Su remained silent, then whistled again. The mountain lord, head held high, let out a long howl, a stark contrast to his dazed demeanor in the stronghold. With a spirited growl, he charged towards the caravan. Qiu Su followed closely, leaping onto a half-person-high stone slope, her hand gripping the gauze bundle, and swiftly taking flight like a fox. The horses, already startled by the lord's first howl, tried to run away, but the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) desperately pulled on the reins, forcing them to stand still, kicking their front legs and neighing. The lord weaved through the caravan's entourage, while Qiu Su raced past in a straight line at incredible speed. At the rear of the caravan, everyone stopped, even the dogs.
Qiu Su turned and looked down at the crowd, her hands behind her back again. She had run too fast and been scratched by a tree branch; if she hadn't been wearing the white jade mask, she probably would have been disfigured. Ouch, her ear still hurt a little; she was disfigured.
The镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) were clearly unaware of why this man and wolf (note that our mountain lord has changed "woof woof" to "howl") had come all this way, and were momentarily stunned. Qiu Su counted in her mind, and only when she reached two did she hear the leader shout, "Cover your mouth and nose, be careful of sleeping pills."
Although their reactions were quick, several men still fell from their horses by the time Qiu Su counted to ten. The mountain lord added a few wolf howls, perhaps too realistically, which elicited a response from several wolves in the distance. The horses were startled, and the men, unable to hold them back, had already galloped off in front of a caravan. The black horse led the caravan a short distance before one of the men leaped from the bushes onto the horse and rode away. The remaining caravan guards scattered around the caravan, ready to engage at any moment. After this vigilance lasting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, not even a wild rabbit had managed to escape.
Qiu Su stood silently with her hands behind her back on a high place. Because she wore a white jade mask and had an extremely rare white wolf beside her, she seemed both demonic and divine, making it difficult for the others to discern her true nature. They dared not make a move. The lead镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was much calmer. He stepped forward, holding his sword horizontally, and was about to question her when Qiu Su slightly raised her hand. The others became wary. Just then, more than a dozen men in black sprang out of the bushes by the roadside. They were incredibly fast and did not harm the镖师. Instead, they used heavy hammers to strike the horses' forelegs. As the horses fell, they threw something at the镖师's nose and mouth, and then disappeared. This chaotic scene lasted only a short while, and the men in black had vanished into the bushes again.
Several more bodyguards fell, and Wu Yi, the leader, was also hit. He propped himself up with his broadsword on the ground and asked, stammering, "Who is robbing the goods? Leave your name!"
No one spoke; only the cawing of a few night crows could be heard.
Wu Yi injured his arm, but eventually succumbed to exhaustion and knelt down to sleep. Only then did a few more people emerge from the bushes and drive the caravan away.
"What should we do with this person?" Huang Tao whispered in his ear.
Qiu Su touched her ear, rubbed the sticky dampness off her hands, and muttered, "Uncle Zhou's medicine is quite effective."
Zhou Tong chuckled softly and said, "That's right, it's a top-quality sleeping potion brought over from the Western Regions. One sniff and you're unconscious, hehe."
"Then please wake him up, Uncle Zhou. We'll head back now."
Zhou Tong's smile immediately froze, and he said with a bitter face, "It will dissolve when it gets wet. If it does, how will I escape?"
Huang Tao chuckled and whispered, "Miss has called you 'Uncle Zhou' for so many years. How can you be Uncle Zhou if you can't even handle this little thing?"
"You brat!" Zhou Tong gestured as if slapping the two backs. After everyone had gone far away, he jumped down the hillside, crouched down and poured some water on Wu Yi's face. He then pried open Wu Yi's teeth, poured some water in, and pressed his chin down to make him swallow. After staring at him for a moment, he saw Wu Yi suddenly raise his fist, shake the water bottle in his hand, throw it into Wu Yi's arms, and run away.
The robbery went smoothly, with only one person getting slashed on the arm due to a momentary lapse in attention. The injured man dared not utter a sound, fearing ridicule from his trained teammates. Ruan Hu led the caravan to the treasure cave halfway up the mountain outside Qingfeng Village, unloaded the caravan, and then had the horses drive back along the same route to the neighboring county. When Qiu Su led the mountain lord there, Ruan Hu was counting the silver. Seeing Qiu Su enter, he smiled and said, "Miss, we've made a mistake. It's real gold, not silver."
Qiu Su looked through the boxes one by one, picked up a gold ingot and weighed it in her hand. Seeing the small "王" (king) character on the bottom of the ingot, she ordered, "Melt it all in the next few days and make it into gold bars."
Huang Tao had already returned to the village. Qiu Su emerged from the cave and watched the mountain lord, now smug and walking ahead of her on tiptoe, thinking, "When will I be able to stand on a dog's back, hands behind my back, and walk through the crowd? That would be truly impressive." Wide sleeves flowing, robes billowing, long hair trailing behind, a large white dog carrying its master, gracefully leaping into the crowd… Tsk tsk, maybe I should put a dog saddle on the mountain lord's back? I wonder if he can even stand steadily!
The mountain lord, who had been walking briskly ahead, stumbled on a sharp rock with one hoof. Perhaps realizing that Qiu Su's single thought could cause some terrifying change, it whimpered twice, nuzzled against Qiu Su's trouser leg ingratiatingly, and obediently retreated to her side.
There was still some distance between the cave and the village. Qiu Su was startled by a dark figure not far away when she was halfway there. The mountain lord ran forward two steps, plopped down on the ground, and shook his ears in a gesture of obstruction. The only one who could command such a stance from the mountain lord was He Zhuo.
Qiu Su coughed lightly, "Still not asleep?"
"I've come to pick you up."
He Zhuo waited for Qiu Su to walk over, then asked in a low voice, "Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Susu." He Zhuo moved closer.
Qiu Su subconsciously took a step back and responded softly, "Hmm?"