After the meal, Escort Leader Sun Huang said, "Everyone has eaten. Get to bed early. We leave at the fifth watch tomorrow morning. There are four rooms on the east side of the second floor, and two rooms on the ground floor near the entrance. Two people to a room, sort yourselves out."The moment Sun Huang finished speaking, Li Yuliang, who had been sitting beside Mo Qian, suddenly stood up, pointed at Xiao Yu beside Sun Huang, and announced loudly, "I want to share a room with him! I have a cleanliness obsession, and out of everyone here, he looks the cleanest."Li Yuliang had not said this with any intention to provoke. With Xiao Yu's appearance and cool bearing, it genuinely was difficult to tell she was a woman.But a woman is a woman, and that quality was in her nature regardless. Though she had been through a great deal, Xiao Yu had shaken the dust from her clothes and washed her face at the well the moment she entered the inn.Still, the words landed on the room like a stone. E

The moment Sun Huang finished speaking, the sound of broth being slurped filled the ruined temple. When the meal was over, the escorts did not even wash their bowls. They wiped them with rags, stacked them in the pot, and were done with it.Lu Feng packed the cooking gear back into the net bag under the escort cart.The escorts brought the horses back in from outside the temple gate, hitched them to the escort carts, and pulled everything out.Then the whole team, holding torches, set off down the official road in the dark of night.By the time dawn came, the torches had burned out. In the broad pale light of early morning, the city walls of Sheqi County came into view far ahead, crouching dark and solid on the horizon.Just as everyone began to breathe a little easier, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly rose from behind them, swift and thunderous and growing louder. Through the hazy morning light, a column of mounted riders appeared as a cluster of dark shapes, closing fast.The escort

On Hong Yan's side, fingers had been severed, a forearm was half-broken, and an ear had been cut off. The injuries were plainly heavier than what the escort team had suffered. If the fight continued, the toll would only grow.On the escort side, Escort Luo Fanglong had taken a cut to the shoulder, and apprentice escort Lu Feng had been pierced through the left arm. No one else was injured. The difference in damage was clear.Hong Yan's men mounted and rode. One middle-aged man picked up a severed forearm from the roadside, bit down on it, swung himself onto his horse one-handed, and rode after the others.Hong Yan rode with them, sighing inwardly. He had done what he could. His men had paid a real price. The family head would have nothing to say when he returned about the effort made.In truth, Hong Yan had known from the start that his side could not win against the Yuanshun Dart Bureau. He had put his men through this fight solely to have something to report to the Wang family head.

The team was at the inn in Wancheng County. After dinner, Liu Ao came over, looked at Xiao Yu, and said, "Yu girl, with your leg still injured, let me take your apprentice to do the letter escort in Wancheng County."Xiao Yu glanced at Mo Qian, then smiled at Liu Ao. "All right. Thank you."She turned to Mo Qian. "Learn well from Master Liu Ao. If you don't understand something, ask."As Liu Ao walked toward Xiao Yu, Mo Qian kept his gaze on Liu Ao's cold face and those beast-like eyes. Liu Ao's eyes, however, went only to Xiao Yu. He did not look at Mo Qian once.Mo Qian understood clearly that in Liu Ao's mind, killing him would be no different from wringing a chicken's neck.Mo Qian had no intention of exposing Liu Ao in front of the others. He had no proof, and challenging him here would only make him look like a fool.Mo Qian looked at Xiao Yu and smiled. "Understood, Master. I will learn well from Master Liu Ao."When he said the words learn well, he turned his head and let his

Mo Qian stopped approaching and simply waited. Liu Ao's wounds were bleeding without pause. He had lost too much blood to hold on much longer.And indeed, it was not long before Liu Ao's legs gave way and he fell.He collapsed face down on the ground, his whole body a blood-soaked ruin.Mo Qian stood and watched, his eyes still. After a moment, he raised his oxtail knife and threw it with a sharp cry through the air. The blade spun and drove into Liu Ao's back, precisely through the position of the heart.The knife entered. Liu Ao shuddered twice and went still.Mo Qian let out a long breath and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. This fight had cost him considerably as well.He walked over, pulled the oxtail knife from Liu Ao's back, shook off the blood, and returned it to its sheath.Mo Qian glanced at the large copper-coin mole on the back of Liu Ao's neck and clicked his tongue. "The book was right. A monkey on the neck. A terrible omen indeed."Mo Qian nudged Liu