Chapter 97: Battle

Bai Yichun is dead, the princess fled east, and the presence of the Beizhen Fusi people in Jinyang County had lost its significance. The scouts around the village quickly disappeared.

However, with Dong Yun’s identity, her reappearance in front of the villagers, so openly, might still attract informers like Mrs. Xiang. Caution was still needed.

Therefore, for the time being, they would have to continue staying in the cave.

Pear Blossom thought about how long it had been since she last saw Fubao, and the child had been calling out for her mother every day. Naturally, Pear Blossom wanted to bring the little one to meet her.

After spending some time with Dong Yun early in the morning, Pear Blossom hurried down the mountain and went straight to the escort agency. After finishing training with Murong Jin, she asked to take Fubao home.

When Murong Jin learned that she had already met Fubao privately four times, he was stunned. He asked how she knew it was him who helped the mother and daughter escape.

Pear Blossom told him honestly about her suspicions at the time and how she had followed and discovered where Fubao was hiding.

Murong Jin began to take this girl more seriously. In just a few months, she had surpassed him in martial arts, and then, unexpectedly, revealed that she had uncovered his secret role in helping the two women. This girl was not the slow and dim-witted person he had initially imagined. In fact, she was sharper than most.

He had once wondered how his high-headed princess sister could have fallen for such a rural, naive girl, thinking it was just a momentary loneliness seeking comfort. But now, he realized that this naive girl was someone capable of handling serious matters.

Not only had she outwitted a fourth-rank supervisor and a third-rank official from the Beizhen Fusi, but she had also already figured out the relationship between him and the princess. When he thought back to their earlier collaboration to destroy the brothel and casino, he realized that this girl had already begun to show her talent. It was just that, being in constant close contact with her, he had been misled by her simple appearance and overlooked her capabilities.

She truly was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Bai Yichun had come to this realization just before his death, yet she had failed to grasp it, being too careless.

Murong Jin nodded. “Go ahead, Cui’er knows you, you can go through the main entrance.”

As Pear Blossom was about to leave, he added, “Be careful after you leave the city. The number of refugees gathering outside the city is increasing. The government isn’t providing food, and the rich aren’t offering porridge. The situation might turn chaotic. If Fubao, such a small child, falls into their hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

Pear Blossom naturally understood the gravity of the situation, but with the system at her side, even if she couldn’t fight, she could always escape in advance. She nodded in response and prepared to leave the city.

In fact, in these past days, she had been coming and going from the city more frequently than Murong Jin and was more aware of the situation outside. Groups of ragged refugees had gathered outside the city. The guards at the city gates were strictly preventing them from entering. As a result, those people would target the citizens who were entering or leaving, and bold ones would even rob anyone walking alone.

The villagers now dared not go out easily, let alone enter the city.

Only someone like Pear Blossom, who was unafraid, dared to venture outside. When the refugees saw her riding a horse with a sword at her waist, they recognized her as someone skilled and did not dare to provoke her easily.

However, some people still lacked sense, and as soon as she revealed her skills, they backed off.

Despite this, it was still dangerous to go out alone on horseback, so Pear Blossom had informed Murong Jin that she would be entering the city less often for the time being.

After finishing this conversation, she went to a fabric store to buy two mattresses and some cloth, then bought many of Fubao’s favorite snacks, filling up a horse with all the items.

With the price of food in the city now ten times higher, ordinary people couldn’t afford rice, and prices for other goods had also skyrocketed. The two mattresses alone cost a tael of silver, but fortunately, Pear Blossom was wealthy, so she didn’t mind.

After securing everything, she left the city and headed for the village.

Sure enough, the situation outside the city was becoming increasingly dire.

As soon as she left the city, a group of people surged toward her. Their faces were numb, but their eyes flickered with greed and desire.

When her sword sheath became visible at her waist, and she greeted Xiaoba from the city gate, the group seemed to be doused with cold water and reluctantly stepped back.

Not far away, under a large tree, a dozen or so people were gathered. They looked larger and more robust than the group at the city gate, but their eyes were filled with malice that couldn’t be hidden.

The leading men looked at the young girl who had just left the city, and the healthy horse she was riding, licking their cracked lips, their eyes gleaming with greed, as if they were already imagining the pleasures of the night.

After a glance exchanged between them, they followed at a distance.

Pear Blossom, even without the system, had already realized they were following her, but she didn’t care. They couldn’t run faster than her horse, so she didn’t pay them much attention. It wasn’t until the system reminded her of a group of refugees lying in ambush at the upcoming fork in the road that she became alert.

Indeed, before she reached the fork, she saw that the road was blocked by several large tree trunks. A dozen refugees stood behind the trunks, holding ropes, their faces twisted into savage grins, waiting for their prey to walk right into their trap.

Clearly, these people had already noticed her when she entered the city this morning, and now they were waiting for her here.

At the same time, people from behind also closed in.

Pear Blossom snorted coldly, not heading toward the fork in the road but instead standing firmly in the middle of the road.

Several beggars, seeing she didn’t come toward them, impatiently shouted to the others behind, “Hurry up and force her over here, this damn girl is too alert.”

At that moment, Pear Blossom moved. In the blink of an eye, her longbow was in her hand, and without any warning, the arrow shot out like lightning, accurately piercing the thigh of the person who had shouted.

The person didn’t expect this at all and screamed in pain, falling to the ground and rolling around, cursing incessantly.

The others were startled by this scene and took a few steps back. However, greed and desire had already clouded their vision, and how could a single arrow make them give up on their prey?

After a brief hesitation and retreat, a reckless counterattack followed. A group of people with savage expressions rushed toward her even more fiercely.

Seeing this, Pear Blossom spurred her horse toward a nearby hill, aiming as she ran. Thanks to her training with Zuo Qi, she rode and shot with perfect steadiness. In the blink of an eye, two more people were struck by arrows and fell to the ground.

Sensing the threat from behind, she quickly hung the longbow back on the horse’s back and pulled out a roughly arm-length broadsword from the bedding.

This sword was specially made by a blacksmith according to her physical strength. The blade was heavy and sharp enough to cut through sturdy armor.

Next, she drew out a sturdy staff almost as tall as herself from the horse’s back. After aligning the two ends, she gave it a twist, and they cleverly connected.

A nearly two-meter-long large sword was now fully formed, its blade gleaming menacingly in the sunlight.

This sword could be disassembled, with the short blade suitable for close combat, easy to carry, and not easily confiscated by the guards; while when attached to the long handle, it became a formidable weapon capable of cutting enemies off their horses with incredible force.

Holding the large sword, Pear Blossom sat confidently on the horse’s back, exuding a murderous aura that made anyone who looked at her wary.

One person ahead, not knowing better, saw she had put down her bow and relaxed their guard, charging straight at her. Pear Blossom’s eyes flashed coldly. With a twist of her wrist, the long sword instantly stabbed into the man’s chest.

The man didn’t even have time to make a sound before he fell to the ground, his face still showing an expression of terror.

The other beggars were all terrified by the sight. They had thought this lone young girl would be easy to deal with, that capturing her would be simple and might even allow them to use her horse for food.

But who would have thought, in the blink of an eye, three were injured and one was dead.

The leader of the group, seeing his men fail and perish, flashed a ruthless look in his eyes. Grinding his teeth, he shouted, “Everyone, attack together! Take this woman, and tonight we’ll have our feast!”

The beggars who had survived to reach Jinyang were mostly desperate outlaws who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Having eaten human flesh and drunk human blood, they had long lost their humanity and conscience.

In their eyes, there was only prey and food, and they were determined to capture the person and her horse, along with the supplies on the horse’s back.

At the leader’s command, the twenty-odd people, their eyes red and their teeth bared, charged forward with the ferocity of hungry wild animals.

They thought it had just been a coincidence earlier. There was no way this weak woman could withstand an attack from so many of them.

However, they were wrong.

Pear Blossom’s long sword moved like a dragon leaping out to sea, drawing an arc in the air as it slashed at the beggar in front.

The man raised his wooden stick in an attempt to block, but it was no match for the powerful strike. The stick was instantly split in two, and the sword continued its path, slashing across his chest, causing blood to spurt out.

The others were so shocked by the sight that they stepped back in fear, their eyes filled with disbelief. No one had expected that such a lone woman could be so fierce.

But greed and hunger still overcame their fear, and they yelled and charged at her again.

When the second person reached her, Pear Blossom’s gaze was like lightning, and a cold light flickered in her eyes. She murmured, “Unaware of your own limits,” and with a swing of the long sword, a flash of cold light appeared, and the man’s head flew into the air, blood spraying out.

The desperate outlaws continued to push forward, but Pear Blossom no longer gave them any chance. She spurred her horse and charged into the crowd, her long sword cutting through them, leaving a trail of blood.

Before long, the ground was littered with bodies. The remaining few people, terrified, looked at Pear Blossom as if they were seeing a true demon. They no longer cared about anything else, and scrambled to flee, fearing they would be the next to fall.

Pear Blossom coldly watched them retreat, wiped the blood from her face, sheathed the sword, and turned her horse toward the direction of the village, riding swiftly.

…

Arriving at the village, she saw several ragged people wandering around, in groups of two or three, with haggard faces and empty eyes.

Pear Blossom frowned. If Fu Bao continued to stay here, it would likely be dangerous.

She reached the door of the village and knocked.

A small hole opened in the door. Upon seeing Pear Blossom, Cui’er quickly opened it and welcomed her inside.

After learning the purpose of Pear Blossom’s visit, Cui’er hurriedly said, “The world has been unstable recently, and with the young miss staying here, we’ve been worried day and night. We were planning to discuss moving to a safer place once the miss arrives. Now that you’re here, we no longer have to worry.”

Pear Blossom asked, “What will you do after we leave?”

“The young miss will come to the village in a few days. We’ll go back to the escort agency with her then,” Cui’er replied.

The people at the escort agency were all skilled fighters, and with the city walls outside providing cover, it was one of the safest places in Jinyang City.

Pear Blossom finally relaxed and said, “Be careful, everyone. Don’t leave the house for the next two days before my senior sister arrives!”

“Rest assured, Miss Pear Blossom. We also know some martial arts. If it’s just one or two petty thieves, they won’t be a match for us,” one of the servants replied.

Hearing that they knew some self-defense, Pear Blossom felt slightly relieved and hurriedly followed them towards Fubao’s courtyard.

In the courtyard, Fubao was playing with other little maids.

Since Pear Blossom arrived, the little girl had gained hope. She was no longer as depressed as before and was more willing to interact with the older girls.

When she heard the footsteps at the door, she looked up, and her eyes immediately lit up.

She sprinted towards the door with her short legs, and Pear Blossom bent down slightly to catch her in her arms.

“You’re so happy this early in the morning! I could hear your laughter from far away,” Pear Blossom said, doting on the little girl and tapping her nose with a smile.

“It’s because there were magpies calling in the morning!” Fubao said excitedly, her body twisting along with her words. “When magpies call, good things happen. I knew you would come see me, Pear Blossom!”

Thinking about the magpies made Fubao remember her friends from the village—Dog (Goudan), Ya Dan, Xiao Xizi, Er Hanzi, and the newly arrived Magpie Sister. The more she thought about them, the more her lips puckered.

“What’s wrong? Are you unhappy to see me?”

Fubao hugged Pear Blossom’s neck, pouting with grievance. “I want to go back to the village. I miss my mother and Goudan.”

Pear Blossom’s heart softened. She smiled and looked at her. “Coincidentally, I came today to take you back to the village.”

When Fubao heard this, her eyes, which had been dimmed by longing, instantly lit up again. She stared wide-eyed. “Really? Pear Blossom, you must not lie!”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Fubao tilted her head and thought for a moment. It seemed that Pear Blossom had never lied to her, and Pear Blossom always kept her word.

However, this time, Pear Blossom hadn’t crawled through the window but had come in openly through the front door. Cuier didn’t say anything either, which puzzled Fubao.

Seeing her furrowed brow, Pear Blossom asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? Why the frown?”

Fubao pointed at Cuier and whispered in her ear, “Why isn’t Cuier asking you to leave?”

Cuier couldn’t help but laugh when she heard that. “Pear Blossom is Miss Jin’er’s junior sister. How could I ask her to leave?”

Pear Blossom then patted Fubao’s little head. “Alright, let’s pack your things, and we’ll get ready to leave.”

Fubao didn’t have many things—mostly clothes and toys that the family had prepared beforehand. However, since children grow quickly, Cuier specially packed the clothes Fubao wore most often in a bundle.

Pear Blossom strapped Fubao to her back with a carrying basket and, without forgetting, turned around to point at Cuier, shouting, “Bring the cloth tiger… the cloth tiger has to come… it’s from Pear Blossom.”

Pear Blossom bent down and kissed her chubby little face. “Alright, alright, bring it. I’ll buy you something else next time.”

The packing was quickly done, and Cuier sent them to the door, saying, “Pear Blossom, the road is dangerous, so please be careful.”

Pear Blossom nodded seriously. “Don’t worry, Fubao and I will get home safely. You take care as well.”

After that, she mounted her horse and set off towards Dongping.