Chapter 62: Phoenix Falcon

A shadow flashed by, swift as lightning. The Scar Man was instantly cornered against the wall. A bright cleaver pressed tightly against his neck, and the cold blade was already stained a deep red.

“Order your men to stop immediately, or your head will fall right here,” the newcomer said, his voice cold and sharp, while the cleaver in his hand pressed down a bit further.

The Scar Man felt a sharp pain in his neck, followed by a damp sensation. A chilling terror shot straight to his chest. He had never been in such a terrifying situation before, nor had anyone ever threatened him so closely. He immediately broke into a cold sweat, his breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps, like a broken bellows, wheezing with each breath.

After a moment of effort, he managed to force out some words.

“Stop—stop—”

He shouted hoarsely, gradually getting louder.

At this moment, everyone else noticed something was wrong. They cautiously stepped back, creating space between the two sides. Both groups were wounded, with the villagers faring worse, some of them lying on the ground, unable to move.

Only then did everyone realize that the young girl holding the Scar Man at the corner was none other than Pear Blossom, who could run faster than wolves in their village.

Seeing her overpowering the leader with a single hand, the villagers’ spirits immediately soared.

Dong Yun, who had been watching, finally sighed in relief, but her heart was still not fully at ease.

The Scar Man, seeing everyone stop, dared not move his neck and gritted his teeth, saying, “Now that they’ve stopped, can you let go?”

“Let go? Of course, I can let go,” Pear Blossom snorted lightly, and then moved the cleaver away.

The Scar Man regained his freedom but immediately felt his legs weaken and almost collapsed to the ground. He hurriedly leaned against the nearby wall, saying, “You can’t threaten me. This is about the money that Zeng Guangjin owes us. You don’t want to pay, and you don’t want to hand him over. That doesn’t make sense!”

Pear Blossom didn’t answer him directly. Instead, she slowly spoke a few words, “Shimen Alley, the corner of Huting Wu Sandian.”

Both the Scar Man and the man with the mustache widened their eyes. “You—You—”

Pear Blossom sneered, “So, that’s the so-called Wu Juren you’re talking about! You’ve got two options: One, you apologize voluntarily, pay the medical expenses for all the villagers you’ve injured, and pay ten taels of silver per household as compensation. Two, I’ll teach you how to apologize! But by then, it won’t just be medical expenses and ten taels of silver.”

The two men exchanged glances, and the man in charge snorted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but in any case, debts must be repaid.”

“It seems impossible to get you to apologize voluntarily,” Pear Blossom shook her head. “But do you think you can leave here with two hundred taels of silver today?”

The man in charge glared, “Anyway, if we don’t get the money, we’re taking the people with us!”

“Then why don’t you try?” Pear Blossom replied calmly.

Hearing this, the man hesitated. He didn’t know who this girl was, but just moments ago, she had moved like the wind, and suddenly, she had him cornered with the Scar Man. Still, he didn’t want to back down, so he turned to signal the others, “Go on, get that widow!”

The Scar Man remained silent. Pear Blossom’s move had been too sudden, and he hadn’t had time to see what kind of person she was, but the pressure from that moment still lingered. He felt uneasy.

Two men moved toward Dong Yun, but as they took a step, villagers surged forward, blocking their way, each with a fierce look in their eyes.

There was no need for the girl to act.

The two men hesitated, looking toward the man in charge, as if asking, “Should we continue?”

The man in charge was also indecisive. He turned back to look at the Scar Man, whose face darkened. After glaring at Pear Blossom, he waved his hand and said, “Let’s go!”

The group of people shuffled off.

Zhang Laowu and the others saw this and rushed forward, indignant, “You’re just letting them go like this?”

Although they said this, the villagers let out a collective sigh of relief. No lives had been lost, and if the fight had continued, someone would surely have died. Now that these people had left without getting the money or taking anyone, it was the best outcome they could hope for.

Pear Blossom said, “They’ve been wielding weapons, always living on the edge of life and death. The villagers are unarmed, and if we really fought, things would get bad. Now that people are injured, we need to make sure they get treated first.”

Dong Yun, hearing Pear Blossom’s words, had a clearer understanding. She stepped forward and raised her voice, “Today, due to a villain stirring up trouble, my family was put in such a dangerous situation. Thanks to everyone’s great help, we are eternally grateful. Please rest assured, the medical expenses for all the injuries today will be fully covered by our family. And as for today’s incident, I will definitely give everyone an explanation later.”

She then decisively gave orders, “Please, Uncle Dagen, Uncle Dashan, and Uncle Zhang Wu, help arrange for the villagers to get medical treatment. Those who need to go to the city should be escorted as quickly as possible, and those who cannot be moved should stay at home for the doctor to come to them.”

After saying this, Dong Yun turned and entered the house, taking out two silver notes, totaling two hundred taels of silver, and handed them to Dagen.

The villagers were shocked. Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Since Mrs. Dong has the money, why not just pay the silver and avoid this disaster?”

Dong Yun naturally heard this and explained calmly, “I happen to have two hundred taels of silver, but my younger brother’s gambling issue is full of doubts. If I pay the money now, it will only confirm the matter. Even if we use silver to send these people away today, their goal hasn’t been achieved. Tomorrow, they might come back even worse. If they manage to produce a new, larger debt note, how will I deal with it then?”

When Promegranate heard this, he said, “Exactly, they keep throwing all sorts of blame onto us. Should we just accept it every time they do?”

The others, upon hearing this, finally regained their composure and expressed their agreement.

When they heard that the medical expenses were covered, everyone felt somewhat relieved, but some were still worried and said, “That’s true, but they weren’t successful today. They’ll definitely come back again in the future. What should we do about that?”

Pear Blossom quickly stepped forward and said, “I’ll handle this. Guangjin’s gambling issue is completely made up; it’s a setup. Coincidentally, I was in Jinyang the other day, and I know the person behind this. We can’t let this loss go unavenged. Everyone, wait for my good news.”

Dagen, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned. He whispered to Mrs. Xiong, “Can Big Sis handle this? Will it work out?”

Mrs. Xiong, having just witnessed her daughter’s quick thinking, was now full of confidence. She glared at Dagen and said, “Why are you suddenly hesitating? Do you think that by hiding and acting weak, others won’t bully you? After living all these years, I’ve learned one thing: good people get taken advantage of. The reason those people bullied us earlier was because they were arrogant. If we stand firm, they’ll be the ones who are afraid of us!”

Dagen couldn’t argue with his wife, so he fell silent and, together with Dashan and Zhang Laowu, began organizing people to treat the injured.

Dong Yun looked at the still kneeling Mrs. Zeng and walked over to help her up. “Mother, get up. It’s over now.”

At that moment, Mrs. Zeng was feeling conflicted. If she were to go back to the earlier moment, she couldn’t leave her son. She couldn’t face her daughter-in-law now, feeling uneasy inside.

Mrs. Zeng’s husband stood to the side, his face pale, his eyes dodging, not daring to look at her.

The villagers couldn’t help but point fingers at the two of them. Dong Yun said, “This isn’t your fault. In the end, it’s the evil people who caused this. We shouldn’t fight amongst ourselves just because some people stirred up trouble. Let’s not forget what caused this disaster.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zeng felt as if he had been pardoned. He immediately developed a good impression of Dong Yun and hastily said, “Yes, yes, it’s all the fault of those wicked people and that wretched son of the Xiang family. If it weren’t for him, those people wouldn’t have come after you.”

The villagers now remembered to trace the source of the issue, but when they turned to find the Xiang family, they discovered that they had already fled with their tails between their legs.

Dong Yun lifted her eyes to look in the direction of the Xiang family, her gaze cold and sharp, before turning to walk towards the village head. “Third Master, the Xiang family has caused so much trouble. As the one suffering, I can no longer swallow this humiliation. They’ve hurt so many people today, and even if I can bear it, the villagers won’t. Third Master, I must speak frankly, we cannot allow this family to continue getting away with this!”

Zhang Sanye, of course, knew that today’s disaster was all because of Xiang Dalang. If it weren’t for him leaking information to that group of people, there wouldn’t have been such a calamity. The villagers’ losses today should be borne by him. He sighed and said, “For the next two days, we’ll make sure the injured are settled. After that, we’ll hold a village meeting to discuss how to deal with that family.”

The villagers, upon hearing the village head’s promise, quieted down and began helping with the injured.

Soon, the people outside the Zeng house left. Dong Yun turned to Mrs. Xiong and said, “Aunt Xiu Fang, please take Fubao to your house for a while. I need to talk to Pear Blossom about something, and I’ll come to pick her up later.”

Mrs. Xiong smiled, “You’re busy. Little Fubao can come with me.”

And so, she left.

Meanwhile, Zeng Guangjin was carefully carried to the east yard. Besides the wound on his leg that needed dressing, the bruises from the punches and kicks would have to heal slowly. But with Mrs. Zeng taking care of him, Dong Yun didn’t need to worry.

Pear Blossom tied her horse to the tree outside the house and entered.

Inside, Dong Yun had her back to her.

Before Pear Blossom could speak, Dong Yun’s voice reached her ears, “Whose horse were you riding?”

Pear Blossom instinctively replied, “It’s from the escort agency—”

Before she could finish, Dong Yun interrupted, turning around, her gaze sharp. “I don’t like being lied to. I’ll only say this once.”

Pear Blossom opened her mouth, but the rare intensity in Dong Yun’s demeanor made her feel pressured. She had never seen Dong Yun so stern before, and she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Dong Yun saw that Pear Blossom wasn’t speaking and continued, “Military warhorses have strict grooming standards, cutting their manes and tails to avoid them getting tangled with weapons and ropes on the battlefield. Escort agency or civilian horses don’t have these requirements.”

She glanced at Pear Blossom without emotion, seemingly waiting to see how she would explain.

Pear Blossom realized she had been caught and hesitated, saying, “Master told me not to tell you… and you won’t let me lie. What am I supposed to say?”

Dong Yun looked at her for a long time before saying, “Your master is Zuo Qi, right?”

Pear Blossom’s eyes widened.

Dong Yun sighed softly but didn’t press further. She shifted the conversation back to the gambling issue. “According to what you said, the person who set up Zeng Guangjin the other day, Mr. Wu, is already in your hands?”

Pear Blossom nodded, “If nothing goes wrong, Master should have already caught him and sent him to the escort agency. I’ll head into the city later to discuss a plan with Murong Jin for dealing with the gambling den.”

It turned out that the flat-topped mountain where Pear Blossom met Zuo Qi was just ten miles from Daliushu Village. Zuo Qi had been training her in horseback riding and archery, and the horse had run a few dozen steps toward Daliushu Village. The system immediately detected a disturbance in the village, and Pear Blossom knew something was wrong. She hurried to return to the village.

She quickly made up a story, saying she encountered a group of people heading toward the village, which she hadn’t thought much about at the time. Now, she realized they were probably going to find Dong Yun. She told Zuo Qi that a group had gone to the Zeng family’s house the other day and failed, but if these people were indeed going for Dong Yun, it would be trouble.

When Zuo Qi heard that Dong Yun was in danger and that he couldn’t appear personally, he handed the horse over to Pear Blossom and instructed her to return to the village immediately.

Pear Blossom had just ridden a short distance when she learned from the system about how Zeng Guangjin was set up by “Wu Juren” and the student Li Ye. When this incident occurred, she happened to be in Jinyang City, and everything was under the system’s surveillance. The system quickly found the address of Wu Sandian’s family.

So, she turned around and caught up with Zuo Qi, asking him to hurry back to the city and arrest the imposter Wu Juren, Wu Sandian, and send him to the escort agency for a confrontation later.

The situation was urgent, and Zuo Qi didn’t ask for more details. But since it involved Dong Yun, he didn’t hesitate and immediately headed to Jinyang City as his foolish disciple had instructed.

Pear Blossom didn’t think to explain these details to Dong Yun. However, when Dong Yun learned of Zuo Qi and the escort agency’s involvement, she didn’t press for more answers at that moment, and Pear Blossom finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“So, what are you going to do next?” Dong Yun asked.

Pear Blossom thought for a moment and replied, “The casino set a trap with Wu Sandian and Li Ye to frame Guangjin. We have solid evidence and witnesses. If we report it to the authorities, they are sure to lose the case—”

Upon hearing “reporting to the authorities,” Dong Yun’s face changed instantly, and she shook her head without hesitation. “We cannot report it.”

Once the authorities are notified, they would arrest everyone involved and drag them to the magistrate’s office. As a woman who was essential to the casino’s operation, she would certainly be summoned. The magistrate’s office was filled with spies from that person. If she was summoned there, it would be like walking into a trap. All the sacrifices and efforts of Fifth Aunt and Zeng Dayou would be wasted.

Pear Blossom didn’t know the hidden reasons behind this but understood her refusal to involve the authorities. She nodded in agreement. “I thought the same. According to the information Murong Jin found earlier, there are people from the magistrate’s office behind the casino. If we go to the authorities, the situation will be turned upside down and it would be very unfavorable for us.”

Dong Yun’s expression became serious. “What do you plan to do then?”

Pear Blossom replied, “If we don’t report it to the authorities, we’ll use methods from the Jianghu (martial world) and play dirty—an eye for an eye, violence for violence!”

“Play dirty?” Dong Yun was even more puzzled by the girl in front of her.

“Sister, I may be a little slow, but I’m pretty good at gambling,” Pear Blossom said.

She had just promised not to hide anything from Dong Yun but was now lying through her teeth, and Pear Blossom felt guilty.

Dong Yun stared at her intently. “Is there anything about you that I don’t know?”

Pear Blossom quickly shook her head. “I didn’t know I had this skill either. I only discovered it when I went to the escort agency and played dice with Murong Jin, Stone, and Wood. I realized I had an excellent sense for predicting the outcome, whether it’s the size or the points. It’s not a big deal, but at least I can win quite a bit of money at the West Market casino. According to the plan, if I sit there for three days and win a few hundred or a thousand taels a day, the casino will beg me to leave.”

Dong Yun didn’t doubt her skill; the girl in front of her had already surprised her many times. But she had other concerns.

She turned away, her expression hidden in the shadows, unclear and uncertain. After a long pause, she finally spoke, “Do you know that once you choose to confront these people, you might get caught up in endless entanglements and revenge?”

Pear Blossom didn’t hesitate. “I’m not afraid. There might be some trouble, but I’d rather they stop harassing you endlessly.”

Dong Yun felt a stir in her heart upon hearing this. She turned around to look at the girl in front of her, who was clearly different from the person she was months ago, staring blankly.

If, months or even a year ago, she was just a budding flower, now, she was slowly opening her petals, revealing a beautiful blossom.

“So, are you protecting me at Zuo Qi’s command?” she asked, not sure why, but still deliberately.

Pear Blossom shook her head. “Protecting you is something I’ve always wanted to do. It just happens to align with Master’s expectations. I don’t have enough skills, so I accepted his conditions, became his disciple, and started learning martial arts.”

Dong Yun was satisfied with this answer and felt somewhat reassured.

But she still had mixed feelings, not knowing what to say. She had gone through so much to get here, but she never expected that she would still need someone else’s protection in the end.

Pear Blossom, feeling uneasy, asked, “Sister, aren’t you upset that I’m mixing with Master?”

Dong Yun was silent for a moment before asking, “If I didn’t like it, would you sever ties with him?”

Pear Blossom thought for a moment and nodded seriously. “I would.”

Dong Yun sighed. She thought about all the recent events, including Xia Xunyan’s appearance, Zuo Qi’s involvement, and the thieves targeting her. She didn’t know how much longer this peaceful time would last.

But if it’s destined to rain, if the mother is to remarry, can she really stop it?

“Forget it, do as you wish.”

Pear Blossom spoke softly. “Master Zuo Qi never asks about your affairs. He only takes two days each month to train me. He just wants me to become stronger to protect you.”

Hearing the word “protect,” Dong Yun felt a surge of irritation. But the girl before her was completely innocent, and how could she lash out at her for no reason? She could only close her eyes and suppress the irritation.

Pear Blossom noticed her change in expression and cautiously asked, “Sister, does your stomach still hurt?”

It was the second day of her period, and with everything that had happened, Pear Blossom worried that Dong Yun might not be feeling well.

Although the question was somewhat out of place, Dong Yun felt some of her frustration ease with it, and her expression softened. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips instinctively puckered. “It hurts.”

Pear Blossom immediately felt a pang of sympathy. “Do you want me to help you massage it?”

Dong Yun shook her head, looking at the girl who was filled with concern for her. A sense of guilt rose in her heart. “You flew all the way to Malaysia to save me, yet I treated you with cold words. Do you feel wronged?”

Pear Blossom shook her head. “I’m not wronged. Sister isn’t really cold-hearted toward me; it’s just that you have something on your mind. It’s not about me, but the situation.”

Dong Yun’s eyes flickered. “You know I have something on my mind?”

Pear Blossom nodded. “I’m slow, not stupid. How could I not know you have something bothering you? But you probably think I’m inexperienced and unwilling to tell me. If I can’t help, all I can do is silently feel sorry for you.”

“You feel sorry for me?” Dong Yun finally smiled, the corners of her lips lifting.

Pear Blossom blushed slightly. “Yes, I feel sorry for you, Sister.”

Dong Yun’s smile deepened. “You’ve learned to be honest.”

She truly liked this straightforward expression, not needing any guessing, and it immediately warmed her heart.

“Do you think I’m like the chicken in a chicken coop outside, longing for the freedom outside, but still having to rely on the coop to protect me from danger?”

Pear Blossom thought seriously for a moment and said, “Not all things in a chicken coop are chickens. In our chicken coop, I once caught some game from the mountains—wild chickens, hawks, falcons, and other birds I didn’t recognize. Maybe there’s even a phoenix. Even if Sister has to rely on the chicken coop temporarily to avoid danger, you’re still a phoenix.”

Dong Yun smiled wryly. “You sure know how to talk. But have you ever heard the saying ‘A molting phoenix is not as good as a chicken’?”

Pear Blossom replied, “I’ve also heard, ‘A molting phoenix is not as good as a chicken, but one day when its feathers grow back, the phoenix will soar and the chicken will stay a chicken.'”

It was a popular folk saying, catchy and easy to remember.

Dong Yun squinted at her. “If I’m a phoenix, what are you?”

“I’m a hawk!” Pear Blossom’s eyes sparkled. “When the phoenix loses its feathers, the hawk can protect it; when the phoenix’s wings grow back and it can fly, the hawk will accompany it to soar through the skies. Sister, do you think that’s good?”

Dong Yun looked at the girl’s star-like eyes, feeling an unexpected flutter in her heart. But soon, her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she said, “But I’m not a phoenix.”

Pear Blossom didn’t mind. “That’s fine. Let’s both be little chicks in the chicken coop. Anyway, the sky hasn’t fallen. Even if it does, the coop will protect us.”

Dong Yun rubbed her forehead, but her mood had clearly improved. She turned to Pear Blossom and said, “The casino issue needs to be handled carefully, but… it’s best not to involve me. I don’t want my identity to be known. If you really want to protect me, whatever decision you make, you need to keep this in mind, understand?”

Pear Blossom nodded vigorously. Since the moment she got the token to rescue her father, she had known Dong Yun’s identity was complicated. She was more unwilling than anyone to let Dong Yun’s identity be exposed.

And what worried her even more was that once Dong Yun’s identity was revealed, the former phoenix would soar high into the sky, and here she was, a small hawk, with her wings still underdeveloped. How could she keep up with that dazzling phoenix?