Chapter 18

Shangzhou was almost the most remote state in the Da Qing dynasty. Wuchuan was vast, with plains connecting to mountainous areas, rich in mineral resources, and numerous rivers providing strong transportation capabilities. It had always been the most important silver-mining region in the Da Qing dynasty. Although Wuchuan was remote, it had some population, and a group of outsiders wouldn’t attract any attention.

Su Ci and her group traveled quickly, almost nonstop, day and night, and it took them three days to finally reach Shangzhou. When she dismounted, she grimaced in pain. Her thighs were nearly chafed raw, and her legs felt numb. Standing up, it felt like thousands of ants were crawling from her waist. Her shoulders, back, and neck stiffness was nothing compared to this. She looked at Yang Yanzong, who leaped off his horse and walked briskly. Clearly, not everyone could be a leader.
As she was still complaining in her mind, Yang Yanzhen, who had slowed down a bit, reached out to pull her, “Let’s go quickly!”

Su Ci quickly followed, hopping and skipping to keep up, not wanting to fall behind. They had arrived quickly, almost at full speed, but the people who got there before them weren’t amateurs either. They must have done the same, probably arriving around the same time. Rushing to the end, they couldn’t afford to let that man named Feng be taken by someone else. The tension was palpable.

“But how do we find him? There are so many people.”

It was a place similar to a labor camp. Feng Shang had committed a crime and was thrown into prison. Of course, he wasn’t just sitting idle; he was soon sentenced to labor reform at a quarry. The quarry was large, with thousands of people, including labor reform convicts and hired laborers. It was a busy morning, and everyone looked gray and dusty. How could they find him in such a short time?

As soon as Yang Yanzong arrived, he spread out his men. Su Ci and Yang Yanzhen were in a group and ran towards the quarry in their assigned direction. A guard with a whip shouted and rushed to intercept them, angrily yelling, “Who are you? Do you know what place this is?! Are you looking for death…”

Yang Yanzhen was about to speak when Su Ci quickly pulled out two small ingots of silver and stuffed them into the guard’s hand. The guard immediately fell silent, and the entire team quieted down.

The two of them rushed into the quarry. Su Ci widened her eyes and looked around. How were they supposed to find him?

“Pay attention to any commotion. If someone finds him, they’ll signal.”
Yang Yanzhen quickly said, “We should look for children. Feng Shang escaped with his daughter. After being imprisoned, he used his money to make arrangements and brought the child to the quarry with him.”

“Oh, oh.” I see, that makes it much better.

Su Ci immediately widened her eyes, paying attention to the children in the quarry. There were indeed children here, some of whom were from families that had committed crimes. According to Da Qing law, boys over the age of eight from families with severe offenses would be exiled together. Additionally, many children were brought by laborers, either because no one was there to take care of them at home or because poor children had to take on responsibilities early. If they could do some light work, the quarry would give them a few copper coins. As a result, there were quite a few children, both boys and girls, which made their search much more difficult. Of course, it also made it harder for the other group to find them.

Su Ci and Yang Yanzhen ran all the way, encountering the other group’s people along the way. The other group was clearly also spreading out to search.

Su Ci didn’t know about other places, but on her side, both sides were cautious and aggressive for a while. Eventually, no one made a move, and they turned back to continue searching. Now, it was a matter of who could find the needle in the haystack first!

Su Ci didn’t know how long she had been searching. She ran from the east end of the quarry to the west end, and when they couldn’t find anything below, they started climbing the quarry’s stone mountain. She was exhausted, but fortunately, Yang Yanzhen didn’t mind and dragged her along.

As they ran, Su Ci suddenly stopped, “What was that sound?”

Her sharp ears faintly heard a short metallic clang. It sounded like weapons clashing. She quickly signaled, and they took a sharp turn and rushed over!

Rushing past the boulders, Su Ci first saw Yang Yanzong and a man in a deep purple round-collared robe facing them. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with distinct and handsome features. It was Ji Yuanhao, whom she had glimpsed a few nights ago. There was no trace of gentleness in his expression, only fierce determination. Both he and Yang Yanzong had drawn their swords and were already fighting. The core of their struggle was clearly the gray-clad man who had been knocked down and couldn’t get up. It was unclear who arrived first, but it was evident that the other side had more people. Not far from where Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao fought, their subordinates were also engaged in a fierce battle. However, their side was at a disadvantage, with fewer people. A Kang and A Zhao were struggling and barely holding on!

Yang Yanzhen whispered, “Hide!” He immediately drew his long sword and rushed up, blocking a sword aimed at A Zhao’s back.

Su Ci quickly turned and ran, pulling out a special whistle from her chest. She blew it as she ran, dodging for about seven or eight hundred meters until she finally encountered two groups of their people. She quickly signaled and led them back. Finally, their side had enough manpower, and the battle outside had reached a fever pitch. Ji Yuanhao was indeed a formidable opponent, elegant in appearance but highly skilled in combat, fighting Yang Yanzong to a standstill. Their swordplay was so fierce that even A Kang and the others dared not approach. Su Ci certainly didn’t dare to show herself, hiding behind a pile of irregular waste stones and watching. As she watched, she began to notice something. The gray-clad man was undoubtedly Feng Shang. He wore thin prison clothes, and Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao were locked in a stalemate, with the man moving between their hands. Neither could gain the upper hand for the moment—but don’t forget, he had a token or key on him. They could at least seize the token if they couldn’t capture the man. So, both of them simultaneously tore at his clothes.

By the time Su Ci returned, the man was already shirtless, and with a “rip,” his tattered prison pants were torn as well. Su Ci wasn’t afraid of seeing anything inappropriate and quickly examined him. His messy hair couldn’t hide anything, so that left his shoes. Su Ci stared at his feet for a while but didn’t think those worn-out straw shoes could hide anything. She had a hunch and quickly scanned the surroundings. Soon, she discovered a child hiding in the crevice of a nearby pile of waste stones.

Su Ci quietly got up and quickly moved over. The little girl turned her dirty, frightened face towards her. She was so dirty that her features were indistinguishable, but she had large, dark eyes. The girl was breathing softly and kept retreating.

“Don’t be scared. If you go any further, you’ll fall out,” Su Ci said, looking at the girl’s hands, which were empty. “Where’s the thing your father asked you to hold?”

The girl tensed up, clenched her fists, and stared at Su Ci. After a moment, she spoke in a childish, hesitant voice, “If I give it to you, can you save my father?”

“I can’t.” Su Ci didn’t lie to her; she couldn’t make that decision: “But if your father is gone, I will do my best to find a good family to adopt you.”

“I think your father brought you all this way, hoping for the same.”

“…I, I,” the little girl panted heavily, her lips trembling: “Okay, I’ll give it to you…” She moved, her small hand reaching behind her back.

Su Ci was delighted and was about to reach out to take it when suddenly, everything changed!!

The little girl, who had been trembling with fear, suddenly became agile, with great strength and a steady stance. In a flash, she pulled out a gleaming dagger from behind her back and leaped up, aiming straight for Su Ci’s heart!

“What the heck!” Su Ci cursed loudly. Indeed, children and nuns in the martial world were the ones to be most wary of!

Fortunately, she had never let her guard down. Su Ci quickly leaned back and kicked hard: “The token is in this child’s hand!!”

Su Ci had learned karate and fencing and had been constantly training after coming here. Her body had finally caught up with her reflexes. Her kick hit the target squarely, and the child’s light weight rolled her away.

Su Ci had aimed towards Yang Yanzong’s direction, and her shout was meant for him!

Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao reacted instantly, turning and leaping towards her like hungry tigers!

At that moment, Feng Shang, who had been lying motionless after being kicked and spitting blood, saw the child being discovered and kicked away. He suddenly sprang to life, flipping up swiftly and rushing towards the child!!

Damn it!

This guy had been pretending to be dead to make Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao lower their guard. And to be honest, he did a great job at it. In the face of a great enemy, no one had the time to scrutinize him closely, and he succeeded in his act. But unfortunately for him, he was up against Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao. The two of them turned around and kicked him hard!

Feng Shang dodged quickly, barely avoiding Ji Yuanhao but not Yang Yanzong. The latter kicked him hard, sending him straight to the chaotic battle between Yang Yanxin and A Zhao. All of this happened in an instant. The little girl couldn’t help but show genuine fear when facing the two with murderous intent. She instinctively reached to cover the inner pocket at the back of her waist!

Ji Yuanhao’s kick was dodged by Feng Shang. He caught a glimpse of the situation and immediately turned around. With a swift move, his sword tip flicked like lightning, snatching the little girl’s inner pocket first!

“Ding——”
A dark green token flew out. Ji Yuanhao reached out to catch it but had to retract his hand halfway to avoid Yang Yanzong’s attack. Of course, he couldn’t let Yang Yanzong take the token, so he swung his sword down.
In a flash, Yang Yanzong didn’t reach out but leaned back. He flicked his sword tip with all his strength, barely touching the token with a crisp “snap” sound. The token was flicked seventeen or eighteen zhang away and fell into a stone-washing pool fifty meters away with a “plop.”

He glanced at Su Ci. He flicked it in the direction where Su Ci was hiding. The stone-washing pool was just twenty meters behind her. Su Ci, being very clever, understood immediately and turned around to run.

This stone-washing pool was huge and irregular. It was formed by underground water seeping out after quarrying, covered in dark green moss, and its depth was unknown at a glance. Su Ci cursed under her breath and ran to the pool. Despite her complaints, she jumped in immediately. Then, she retrieved the token. With everyone’s protection, she successfully retreated as quickly as possible and finally handed the token to Yang Yanzong. Unfortunately, due to Yang Yanxin’s mistake, Feng Shang was taken by Ji Yuanhao’s men.

Yang Yanzong was furious. With both the person and the token in hand, what should have been a sure win was now half lost.

“Useless!” Glancing at the bleeding A Kang and others, Yang Yanzong was furious. Yang Yanxin lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Su Ci shivered, “Can we chase them? Let’s go quickly!”

If not, let’s get out of here quickly. It’s freezing.

Yang Yanzong exhaled a breath of foul air, “Retreat first!”
…

Hmph, clever indeed. After finding a temporary base, Su Ci hurriedly went to change clothes. Glancing at the girl, not forgetting to brush off the moss from her bangs while walking and complaining, Yang Yanzong thought that way to himself.

Yang Yanzong rubbed the token in his hand and snorted softly. She was too bright and had too many ideas, which might not be good for an unmarried girl. But these things had nothing to do with him. Their private connection ended the moment she refused the marriage proposal.

Yang Yanzong didn’t like Su Ci very much, but he had to admit that her performance was impeccable. She was smart, quick-witted, and reacted swiftly, unlike an ordinary girl from a noble family. She was generous, humorous, and dazzling. She had already bonded with his subordinates in such a short time, much better than his brother.

Thinking of Yang Yanxin, Yang Yanzong felt annoyed again. But his brother could only be taught slowly when they returned. There was a better time to talk about these things. He rubbed the token, frowning in thought. Su Ci, having changed her clothes, peeked over quietly. Yang Yanzong ignored her. Su Ci stared for a while but couldn’t figure it out, “Is there anything special about this thing?”

She wrinkled her nose. It would be a shame if all that effort were wasted.
“Can we get the person back?” But it seemed unlikely. “What about the Liu brothers?”