Rescuing a Heroine

Yang Chengwu was dead. To his dying breath, he never even crossed blades with Wang Yu. With a throwing knife from Zhao Shan pinned through his throat, Yang Chengwu's dying gaze toward Wang Yu had brimmed with venom and bewilderment. "Brother Yu, how could you tell he was lying? And how did you know he was Shi Mo's disciple?" Zhao Yingjie asked in astonishment. The others turned curious eyes toward Wang Yu as well. Wang Yu pointed to the burly brute Duan Wei had cut down. "That fellow is plainly a typical nomad of the steppes." Gongsun Yi shook his head. "The Central Plains have many grassland experts as well, and there are even more in the north." Wang Yu nodded. "Which is why I was only testing him." "Huh?" Gongsun Yi stared at Wang Yu, thoroughly dumbfounded. Wang Yu said matter-of-factly, "He had a grassland tribesman beside him, wielded twin hooks, and didn't want us investigating the White Qiang. Naturally, I suspected he had ties to Shi Mo of the Black Qiang. It cost nothing to bluff, and who would have thought it would actually work?" Everyone: "???" Although they couldn't shake the feeling that Wang Yu acted a bit recklessly, he had indeed spotted that Yang Chengwu truly wielded twin hooks, and had keenly sensed that the man wanted to steer the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor away from probing the White Qiang. Then, they watched as Wang Yu walked forward in person, crouched beside Yang Chengwu's corpse, and began looting the body. Everyone: "???" "Empty again," Wang Yu sighed. Knowing Wang Yu's habit, Zhao Yingjie hurriedly offered, "He came tonight to pick up horses, not to flee after being exposed. Of course he wouldn't carry important belongings on his person. Once we raze Feima Fortress to the ground, we're bound to reap a bountiful harvest." Wang Yu nodded, then turned his gaze upon Li Xiu, who sat slumped on the ground. "Your Highness!" Li Xiu rolled over onto his knees and kowtowed frantically. "This lowly one was coerced by Yang Chengwu's brute force! In a moment of helplessness, I lost my senses! Please, Your Highness, spare my life!" Wang Yu couldn't help but chuckle. "A momentary lapse?" "Precisely!" Li Xiu nodded fervently. "That Yang Chengwu threatened the lives of my entire family, young and old! This humble servant had no choice but to comply! May Your Highness see the truth!" Just then, escorted by two guards from the prince's manor, Sun Xiang and Sun Lian arrived at the eastern gate. Sun Lian waved an account book in her hand and called out loudly, "Your Highness, this is Li Xiu's ledger!" At the sight of the ledger in Sun Lian's hand, Li Xiu's pupils contracted sharply. His entire body instinctively tensed up. But when he caught Zhao Shan and Zhao He watching him with half-smiles, all the strength drained from him at once, and he collapsed limp onto the ground. Wang Yu took the ledger and flipped it open by torchlight. Aside from the proceeds of horse trafficking, it recorded itemized expenditures detailing payouts to his subordinates at the ranch. In other words, every single person at the ranch who had colluded with Li Xiu was documented in black and white. Wang Yu tapped the ledger. "Everyone return to the ranch to rest. Seal off the grounds. No one enters or leaves." "Understood!" ... Early the next morning, Wang Yu sent Zhao Shan leading cavalry to wipe out Feima Fortress, while he remained at Zhenxi Horse Ranch to handle the aftermath. Cutting the knot with swift decisiveness, he executed Li Xiu and several key accomplices, demoted the remaining conspirators while keeping them on probation, and ultimately appointed Sun Xiang as the ranch head steward, promoting several stable hands who had not taken part in the illicit trade to serve as assistant stewards beside him. Sun Xiang refused repeatedly, but Wang Yu silenced his protests using Sun Lian as an excuse. "A ranch head steward makes far more than an ordinary stable hand. Don't you want to save up a dowry for Sun Lian?" Wang Yu asked with a smile. At that, Sun Xiang fell silent. Wang Yu then turned to Zhao Yingjie. "Once we return to the manor, hire a scholar and an accountant to come to the ranch to teach Sun Lian how to read, write, and do arithmetic." "A small matter!" Zhao Yingjie noted it down. Wang Yu looked at Sun Xiang and his daughter. "From now on, I leave the ranch in the hands of you two." Sun Xiang was ready to swear an oath on his life. "Your Highness, rest assured! If even a single fine horse is stolen from this ranch, or an ailing horse dies by mishap, I, Sun Xiang, will offer my own head—" "No need for that, no need!" Wang Yu interrupted hurriedly. "I'm counting on you to raise more thousand-li steeds for me. When the Iron Eagle Cavalry sweeps across the northern desert in the future, credit will belong to you as well." ... He had never expected that coming to Zhenxi Horse Ranch to pick horses would result in purging the entire upper management. Yet the newly promoted assistant stewards were plainly young and capable, each pledging that the Iron Eagle Cavalry could replace a batch of exceptionally elite warhorses this year. Not only that, they had uprooted a spy network planted inside the pass by the Black Qiang. At the same time, they deduced that with the White Qiang shifting their royal court south, as long as the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor maintained its strength, the White Qiang harbored no wild ambitions. Gongsun Yi remarked with feeling, "Yang Chengwu's tiger-head hooks clearly followed the style of Central Plains martial arts. Who would have guessed he actually traveled to the steppes to take Shi Mo as his master?" Duan Wei, having spent long years in the northwest, knew the background. "When Shi Mo was young, he traveled the realm. He not only learned martial arts from the Central Plains, but also ventured to the snowy plateau to study Esoteric Buddhist arts before finally becoming a grandmaster of his generation." Zhao Yingjie laughed. "So to plant him as an undercover agent in the Central Plains, Shi Mo intentionally taught him only Central Plains forms, withholding the true essence of his own martial arts." Zhao He shook his head. "You give him too much credit. Even if Shi Mo had taught him the essence, he would have had to possess the wits to learn it. In my eyes, he hadn't even mastered the Central Plains forms Shi Mo passed on to him." Everyone burst into laughter at that. Then a piercing shriek cut short their laughter, followed by a woman's sharp rebuke and a man's wild cackling. Spurring their horses forward, the group quickly rounded a bend in the woods and took in the scene on the road. A carriage was pulled over by the roadside. The driver lay slumped on the ground with his neck twisted, clearly dead. The carriage curtain was drawn back, and a gorgeous woman gripped the carriage frame, her face filled with terror. Yet the fight was not centered on her, but beside the carriage. Grinning from ear to ear, a man struck another woman across the shoulder, sending the longsword flying from her grip and causing blood to spurt from her lips. Then, curving his fingers into claws, he ripped through the front of her clothes, exposing a patch of delicate skin. With a cry of pain, the woman tumbled to the ground. "You've been struck by my bone-softening powder, and you still want to resist?" the man laughed boisterously. "A green little heroine fresh from the mountains wanting to play chivalric avenger? Today, this master will teach you a lesson: playing the hero will only get yourself dragged down!" Even as he spoke, he lunged forward with another claw. With a sharp rip, he tore open the woman's trousers as well, revealing a firm, toned thigh. Yet right then, the sound of galloping hooves reached their ears. The man looked back and caught sight of Duan Wei carrying a seven-foot sabre on his back. His pupils shrank. Letting out a strange shriek, he leaped into the air and dashed into the adjacent woods. After a brief rustle, he vanished deep into the forest. The man who had been strutting so arrogantly just moments before had fled without a trace in mere breaths. This turn of events stunned not only Wang Yu's group, but also the two women in and around the carriage. "Old Duan, does he know you?" Gongsun Yi teased with a grin. Duan Wei pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know, but I certainly don't know him." Zhao He chuckled. "The Duan family's Horse-Chopping Sabre shakes the northwest. Any seasoned martial artist recognizes it at a glance. If that fellow didn't want to die, running was his only choice." As they rode up, chatting and laughing, Duan Wei recognized the woman in the carriage as an acquaintance. "Miss Shuixian?" The glamorous beauty was indeed Miss Shuixian of Caifeng Pavilion. "And who might this be?" Wang Yu looked down at the woman collapsed on her side. She was tall and slender. While not as voluptuously alluring as Shuixian, she possessed a rare, heroic air seldom seen in women. Even though poisoned and severely injured, her face retained a fierce, unyielding pride. Those long, toned legs of hers, in particular, looked strong enough to snap a man in two. "This young lady saved me!" Shuixian said hurriedly. Xu Hao dismounted, helped the woman up, and retrieved a porcelain vial. Pouring out a pale yellow pill, he offered it to her. "This is a Five Flower Antidote Pill. It excels at neutralizing countless poisons." The woman thanked him. Paying no mind to her exposed skin, she took the pill, swallowed it, and introduced herself: "I am Meng Zixiao. Many thanks to you, brother, for the medicine." Meeting Meng Zixiao's bright, striking gaze, Xu Hao felt his cheeks flush. He averted his eyes. "I am Xu Hao of Huichun Valley. There is no need for thanks, Miss; aiding the injured and healing the sick is our bounden duty." While Xu Hao tended to Meng Zixiao, Miss Shuixian explained what had happened in a few quick words. Competition in brothels was fierce. Even a courtesan of top billing had to refresh her artistic talents in addition to keeping up her looks and figure, or patrons would inevitably grow tired of her. Today being Shuixian's day of rest, she had hired a carriage driver to venture outside the city for a spring outing to gather inspiration, hoping to choreograph a new song and dance. Yet just as she reached this spot, that man had suddenly ambushed them, striking the driver dead with a single palm and demanding to have his way with Shuixian. "Er..." Hearing this, everyone was left somewhat speechless. Shuixian looked rather embarrassed as well. She was in that line of business to begin with; at worst, she wouldn't have charged him today. Who would have thought the man failed to recognize her profession? And then, of course, there was Miss Meng Zixiao, who had drawn her blade upon seeing injustice. Just as the man killed the driver and threatened Miss Shuixian, Meng Zixiao leaped out from the side and thrust her sword at him. Unfortunately, she was countered by the man's Xiaoyao Powder and struck by a heavy palm strike, suffering considerable injury. And then came the scene Wang Yu and his companions had just witnessed. "Thankfully, you gentlemen arrived in time," Shuixian said repeatedly. "I am already a fallen woman; if I had brought ruin upon Miss Meng, it would have been all my fault." "It has nothing to do with you!" Meng Zixiao waved a hand, speaking with candid briskness. "Even courtesans in a brothel charge clearly marked prices. He was trying to take a free meal! I'd have taught him a lesson regardless!" Everyone chuckled at her words. Though this Miss Meng's martial arts were mediocre, her personality was undeniably spirited and straightforward. Thus, they helped Meng Zixiao into the carriage, Xu Hao served as the driver, and together they returned to Longshan City. After first escorting Miss Shuixian back to Caifeng Pavilion, Wang Yu asked Meng Zixiao where she was staying. Meng Zixiao gave an awkward laugh and evaded the question. "Thank you for the ride, Your Highness. I can get off here and head back on my own." No one present was a fool. Zhao Yingjie asked, "Did someone pick your purse?" Meng Zixiao froze. Xu Hao chimed in, "Your internal injuries have not yet healed. If that man tracks you down again, it could end badly. You should either find a safe place to recuperate, or... why not come with us as a guest at the Duan family residence?" At the mention of a safe place, everyone's eyes instinctively drifted to Wang Yu. Wang Yu extended an invitation: "Why doesn't Miss come stay at my Prince of Zhenxi's Manor for a few days? Once your injuries have healed, you can resume your chivalric adventures across the realm." Meng Zixiao's eyes lit up as she looked at Wang Yu, and she gave a breezy laugh. "In that case, I won't stand on ceremony!" Hearing this, Xu Hao's expression dimmed.