Chapter 210: Pretending
Editor: Atlas Studios
The soldiers responded in unison and spread out to search from the inside out.
Qi Haoran lowered his head to look at the marks on the ground. There were indeed signs of a fight here, but it was only in this area. Strangely, there were no signs of fighting outside of this area.
Bai Li also felt that it was very strange, so he followed the traces to investigate.
Qi Haoran looked at the person on the ground who had his jaw dislocated and then at the limited traces. He suddenly realized something. Before he could call for help, a figure shot towards him. Qi Haoran only had time to roll on the ground to dodge their attack. Before he could look up and see the figure clearly, he heard the sound of a dagger piercing through the air. Qi Haoran instinctively reached out to block it. Feeling a pain in his arm, he kicked out as he looked towards the assassin.
Seeing that it was Mu Yangling, he was slightly stunned and his movements slowed down for a moment.
Mu Yangling’s dagger was already flying towards his neck. Qi Haoran shuddered and threw a kick towards Mu Yangling’s hand that was holding the knife…
The moment Mu Yangling appeared, Bai Li was about to draw his sword and attack. However, when he saw that it was Mu Yangling, he was slightly stunned. This time, Mu Yangling’s dagger directly slashed at Qi Haoran. He also saw that Mu Yangling used the unsharpened side of the dagger and held back. Otherwise, with Mu Yangling’s strength, even if it was an unsharpened dagger, Qi Haoran’s hand would still fly out.
Recalling that the duo loved a game of attack and defense, Bai Li vaguely understood something. The corners of his mouth twitched as he stood at the side with his sword, but his eyes were fixed on the two of them. Even though he trusted Mu Yangling, Bai Li was still very vigilant. He planned to rush forward if anything went wrong.
In the end, this assassination and escape drill ended with both sides suffering heavy losses. Not only was Qi Haoran bleeding, but even Mu Yangling also suffered a slap from Qi Haoran. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth.
Although she was injured, Mu Yangling’s eyes were unprecedentedly bright. She seemed to have regained the feeling of training back then. Sitting down cross-legged opposite Qi Haoran, she asked, “How’s my strength?”
Qi Haoran nodded. “It hurts enough. Sufficient to hurt the flesh, but not the bones.” Qi Haoran glanced at her chest worriedly. “I used 70% of my internal energy to slap you just now. Are you alright?” He’d thought that she would be able to dodge it.
Mu Yangling shook her head. “I’m fine.” Sighing slightly, she said, “It’s still the problem with qinggong. I can’t dodge at all because your movements are too fast. If I knew qinggong, I could have easily retreated with a step. Your palm would’ve most likely just grazed me.”
Mu Yangling touched her stomach and said, “I’ve been practicing for so long, but I don’t even have a trace of internal energy. Is the internal energy cultivation technique you taught me too lousy?”
Qi Haoran rolled his eyes and said, “That’s from my uncle. My cousins all practice this set. However, they started learning at the age of five. Considering you’re already ten years old, it’s not surprising that you’re learning this at a slower rate.”
Mu Yangling glared at him. Qi Haoran said, “Persevere. If two months isn’t enough, then practice for two years. As long as you have a hint of internal energy, it will be much easier later on. With your figure, you don’t need much internal energy. As long as you gain a 20% to 30% mastery, it will be enough for you to dodge your opponent.”
Mu Yangling snorted. She felt that persisting without seeing any return was too torturous. However, seeing that Qi Haoran was used to it, Mu Yangling could not show too much frustration. If it had to take her two years, so be it. Anyway, there were no entertainment activities now. Other than working and reading, there was not much going on. She could just sit cross-legged and meditate whenever she was free in the future. She did not believe that she would fail to cultivate her internal energy.
Mu Yangling gritted her teeth as she thought. On the other side, Bai Li had already called all the soldiers back. The six people on the ground had also been carried away. The dead were piled up in a carriage, and the living were brought back for interrogation.
Seeing that the two of them were still sitting on the ground, he walked over and gave Mu Yangling a bottle. “Miss Mu, I see that you’ve suffered internal injuries. This is the medicine that we usually use. Here.”
Mu Yangling took it and thanked him. “Thank you.”
Mu Yangling stood up and patted Qi Haoran’s shoulder. Seeing that he was in so much pain that he bared his teeth, she said with a smile, “Go back and treat your wound too. By the way, those people are Hus.”
Qi Haoran’s eyes turned cold. “Hus? There are Hu spies in Mingshui County?”
“I think so. Otherwise, how would they know about the corn so quickly?” Only this matter would make them look for Mu Yangling.
Otherwise, Mu Yangling did not know what else she had that was worth the Hus going to such lengths.
Mu Yangling wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and tidied her messy clothes. Just as she was about to leave, Qi Haoran suddenly grabbed her and said, “You’d better lie down and let us carry you out.”
“What?” Mu Yangling asked with widened eyes.
In the end, Mu Yangling was carried back on a stretcher by two soldiers. Her eyes were closed the entire time, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth that Qi Haoran had smeared using the blood from his arm. In addition, Qi Haoran had even rubbed her hair with a handful of grass scraps. Mu Yangling looked like she was about to die.
Mu Yangling was carried back to the Mu Residence. The soldier merely said this before leaving, “Little General will help your family seek justice.”
Seeing Mu Yangling like this, Shu Wanniang and Great-aunt felt that the sky was about to collapse. Shu Wanniang trembled as she touched her daughter’s nose. Seeing that she was still breathing, her heart relaxed and she said in a panic, “I—I’ll go get a doctor.”
Xiuhong and Xiulan knelt beside Mu Yangling and cried bitterly. Shu Wanniang staggered as she got up. Just as she was about to run out, her hand was suddenly grabbed. Thinking that it was Great-aunt who was grabbing her, she said with red eyes, “I’m going to get a doctor for Ah Ling…”
Great-aunt, who was wiping her tears at the side, was the first to come back to her senses. Looking towards Shu Wanniang’s arm, Great-aunt saw Mu Yangling winking at her as she laid on the stretcher. Instantly not sad anymore, Grand-aunt pulled Shu Wanniang and knelt in front of Mu Yangling, crying, “My grandniece, why is your life so bitter?”
Mu Yangling opened her eyes and whispered, “Great-aunt, cry out loud ‘I want justice! All the corn in our family has been taken away by Little General! There’s nothing left at home!’.”
Shu Wanniang, Xiuhong and Xiulan stared blankly at Mu Yangling, who had woken up as if nothing had happened, and Great-aunt, who was bawling her eyes out.
Great-aunt was already sitting on the ground and wailing loudly as she pounded the floor. “Little General, you have to uphold justice for our Mu family. Back then, you were the one who asked our Ah Ling to plant corn. Other than eating this for two meals, we didn’t leave a single grain of corn at home. Where can we get these things for you…” Seeing that she was the only one crying in the room, Great-aunt pinched Xiuhong and Xiulan.
Xiulan cried out in pain, but Xiuhong came back to her senses and wailed, “Cousin, wake up quickly! What are we going to do if you die—”
The corners of Mu Yangling’s mouth twitched. She lay down on the stretcher again, her hands hanging by her sides, as if she had fainted again.
At this moment, Shu Wanniang also knew that her daughter was pretending. She couldn’t imitate the way Great-aunt and Xiuhong cried, so she could only sit on the ground and wipe her tears with a handkerchief. This looked more real to outsiders.