"Catch him, don’t let him escape."
"You little thief, daring to steal my things, let’s see if I don’t cripple you once I catch you."
Amidst the sisters’ conversation, a sudden commotion could be heard from outside.
Xia Zhining was cooped up inside, feeling terribly bored, so when she heard there was some excitement outside, she hurried over to the window to push it open, but after a few attempts, she couldn’t move it.
Xia Zhining’s expression tensed, and unconsciously applied more force with her hand.
"Zhi Ning, this window doesn’t open like that."
Xia Zhiqing said as she stepped forward and removed the wooden stick that held the window in place.
This was a lattice window that opened from the bottom up. Once opened, it needed to be supported with a wooden stick to prevent it from closing. Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝓷𝓮𝓽
After pushing it open, Xia Zhiqing held the window with one hand while grasping the stick in the other, ready to prop it up.
Xia Zhining couldn’t wait to see the commotion and squeezed to the window to look down.
In her eagerness, Xia Zhining nudged Xia Zhiqing, causing the stick in her hand to slip and fall downward.
At this moment, Chen Mo was walking down below, and upon seeing a group ahead chasing after someone, he stepped aside, not wanting to get involved, when suddenly he heard a light exclamation from above his head.
Instinctively, Chen Mo looked up and saw a stick falling down from above.
He reacted swiftly, reaching out with his right hand like lightning to catch the stick aimed at his head, and at the same time saw the two exquisitely beautiful faces by the attic window.
Chen Mo was momentarily stunned, not because he was attracted by their beauty, but because these two faces were identical. The woman in black was the one who had whipped him last time.
The foreheads of both women bore two red numbers.
But before he could speak, the woman in black with the "31" on her forehead gave a cold look and harshly said, "What are you looking at? Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out."
"Zhi Ning, don’t be rude." Xia Zhiqing quickly scolded her sister, then slightly bowed and apologized with a full face of regret, "I slipped my hand earlier and disturbed you, sir. I apologize for any offense caused."
"Sister, why are you apologizing to a commoner? Besides, it didn’t even hit him." Xia Zhining glanced disdainfully at Chen Mo in his coarse clothes, covered in dust, without paying him any mind.
"Zhi Ning..." Xia Zhiqing glared at Xia Zhining, but the latter ignored her sister’s words, leaping from the window, landing gracefully on the ground, and rolling smoothly to a stop.
She walked up to Chen Mo, snatched the stick from his hand with an indifferent expression, clearly not recognizing him, or the person she had hit last time never crossed her mind.
Though they met twice, in Xia Zhining’s eyes, it was as if it were their first meeting.
Taking the stick, like a black flash, she darted off after the little thief who had just run past.
In just a few moments, two guards emerged from the courtyard and chased after Xia Zhining.
Xia Zhiqing watched Xia Zhining chase after them, her brows furrowing, but quickly turned to Chen Mo, bowed again, and offered a courteous smile, "My sister was rude and offended you, sir. I apologize once more and hope you will forgive her."
Chen Mo said nothing, merely nodded at Xia Zhiqing before departing, his resentment towards the woman in black deepening.
Chen Mo brushed off the snowflakes from himself at the shop entrance, and upon entering, Shopkeeper Li Mu recognized him and approached.
"Shopkeeper Li." Chen Mo cupped his hands towards Li Mu and said, "I didn’t expect Shopkeeper Li to still remember me."
"Running a shop means having the ability to recognize people; I distinctly remember the wild boar hide you sold me last time."
Li Mu glanced at the bundle on Chen Mo’s back and chuckled, "What good stuff do you have this time?"
With few people in the shop, Chen Mo was not secretive, directly untying the bundle on his back and opening it.
One glance sufficed to startle Li Mu, then he studied Chen Mo intently for a few moments, smiled, and said, "I knew Chen wasn’t an ordinary person."
"Neither is Shopkeeper Li," responded Chen Mo.
"Interesting." Li Mu patted Chen Mo’s shoulder, then turned to the shop helper, saying, "Fusheng, serve some tea."
"Chen, please come inside." Li Mu graciously invited.
The store had a VIP room for hosting guests. Previously, Chen Mo wouldn’t have qualified as a VIP, but now it was different; hunting a black bear in the dead of winter demonstrated his worth.
"Where are you from, Chen?" Li Mu personally poured tea for Chen Mo.
"Fu Ze Village." Chen Mo didn’t stand on ceremony, taking a sip of tea.
"Fu Ze Village..." Li Mu murmured, then said, "Hunting a black bear, you’re a valiant man. Are you interested in joining our Li Family?"
Chen Mo was about to speak, but Li Mu waved him off, saying, "Hear me out first, Chen."
He gently tapped his fingers on the table before him, then fixated on Chen Mo, saying, "To be honest, I have insider information that come next spring, Northern rebels will launch a full-scale attack on Qingzhou. These Northern rebels are gathering in their millions, unstoppable."
"Is it truly a million?" Chen Mo, no countryside bumpkin, knew that historically, armies claiming to number in the millions were often exaggerated, with reality being far less, even counting the civilians transporting supplies.
Li Mu nodded heavily and lowered his voice, "Do you know why in less than half a year, the rebels have gathered so many?"
Chen Mo leaned in closer, listening intently, "I would like to hear the details."
"These rebels, who call themselves the Celestial Master Army, after taking a city, won’t stop the slaughter, pillaging for ten days. In the city, the money and women are claimed by whoever seizes them first," Li Mu whispered.
Unrestrained plundering will unleash the evil lurking in people’s hearts.
Most rebels are from the lower classes, folks heavily oppressed normally. Once unleashed, their evil is much fiercer than others’.
Imagine, the noble ladies, normally untouchable, once the city falls, the opportunity arises to turn them into playthings, all while eating and drinking to their heart’s content. Such allure, for the disaster-stricken populace, is extremely tempting.
Chen Mo vaguely understood the purpose behind the county’s collection of entrance and overnight fees.
"If things change at that time, Qingzhou will no longer be a safe place, and we will have to head south. The Li Family is currently recruiting brave men for the southward retreat; an individual’s power is limited, but if Chen joins us, you could take your family with you when we head south."