Chapter 112: Even when looting corpses, you must also feel for the handsome

Indeed.

In my previous life's storybooks, there were many passages about 'nurturing essence and sharpening vigor' and 'fighting again another day'.

Common and included in——

Obviously they had set up a Hongmen banquet, the guests arrived, yet because they couldn't see the opponent's ability they lightly despised them and didn't kill; obviously they could see the opponent's potential, yet they had to ha‑ha laugh, feign profundity, leaving a line like 'Come find me when you've grown'......

To be frank, it's not that I look down on people who do such things; it's that, having learned from past mistakes, doing this again would just be foolish.

The so‑called Ouyang County Magistrate, for now, has no dispute with her and even treats her with courtesy......

But Du Shanü is the one who killed him!

First, the other party's magistrate position is ill‑gotten; they bribe the populace, clearly harboring grand ambitions.

Second, the other party's subordinates keep silent about how to gather grain.

Third, the other party has ties to the An Nan royal family......

Even if only one of these three points were true, there's no justification for leaving this person here unchecked!

Otherwise, what would it be?

Otherwise, it's letting the tiger return to the mountain! Raising a tiger invites disaster! Endless trouble! Letting the tiger out of its cage! Letting the tiger leave hidden danger! Releasing fish into the sea! Releasing a dragon into the sea......

"\"...... Focus. \""

A slightly hoarse voice sounded— it was Chinu speaking for the first time in two days.

In just two days, his figure grew ever more gaunt; despite the rain and straw cloak, Du Shanü could see his complexion turning ever paler......

He bore the appearance of a ghost.

Du Shanü's fingertip paused slightly, she said nothing more, focusing intently on the youth's corpse not far away in the mud.

The rain sounded as before, the sky not yet grown old.

All that had just happened went by too fast— from the horse‑blocking rope snapping to the crossbow bolt piercing the throat, it took only a few breaths.

The two attendants' minds were still a muddle, as if the rain had dazed them, or as if that arrow's decisiveness and precision had shocked them senseless.

Until now, seeing the man and woman rise from behind the wall, seeing them hold the Marshal's crossbow, seeing their indifferent expressions, seeing the woman even have the leisure to be distracted......

That suppressed shock and anger then exploded from his chest.

The elder attendant laid the young master's body flat on the mud and stood up.

His robe was smeared with mud, rain dripped from his beard, his eye sockets were red, unclear whether from rain or something else.

His hand trembled; as he drew his sword from his waist, the scabbard knocked against his belt, making a dull thud.

"\"You——\""

His voice was squeezed from his throat, hoarse to the point of barely forming words:

"\"The young master previously treated you well! \""

"\"Why ambush us here?! Do you know who we are?! How dare you act so! \""

The last four words were shouted out, his voice hoarse and exhausted, his throat feeling torn apart, the tail end breaking into a muffled breath.

Rain poured into his gaping mouth; he didn't care, merely staring fixedly at the two people behind the wall, his eyes full of bloodshot.

The other attendant also drew his sword. He was somewhat younger than the elder, his lips trembling violently, his face pale to a bluish tint.

Before several people rode out of the city on horseback, who could have imagined an ambush here?

Who could have thought that, in just a few breaths, the young master would lose his life?

Now that the young master is dead, how should they return to An Nan to report this?

The attendants were terrified, the veins on the backs of their sword‑holding hands bulging, their knuckles whitening from clutching.

The elder attendant took the first step.

His boot stepped into the muddy water, splashing mud, then the second step, the third.

His steps grew quicker, finally turning into a run; he raised his sword above his head, the blade cutting through the rain with a sharp whistle.

The younger one kept close at his side, the two of them left and right, charging toward that earthen wall.

Du Shanü's crossbow sounded.

A bolt sprang from the quiver, the bowstring's twang short and crisp, like someone flicking a thin piece of porcelain with a fingertip.

The bolt broke through the rain, flying straight toward the young attendant.

The arrow entered his chest.

The young attendant's body jerked, then vanished completely into the rain.

He dazedly lowered his head, seeing the arrow's tail protruding from his chest, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something.

Then his knees gave way, he pitched forward, face‑first into the mud, and lay still.

The elder attendant did not stop.

His eye sockets were nearly bursting, rain striking his eyeballs, he didn't blink.

Du Shanü secretly sighed at his toughness, yet without hesitation she pulled the trigger again.

That bolt swept past the elder attendant's side; he violently jerked left, the arrowhead grazing his right shoulder, tearing cloth and spraying blood.

He staggered a step, then steadied himself, turning his blade sideways to slash down at Du Shanü's head.

Du Shanü did not retreat.

She didn't even blink.

Then Chinu's crossbow behind her sounded.

The bowstring's twang sounded almost against her ear, the bolt flashing past above her shoulder, too fast to track.

The elder attendant's sword was still mid‑air when that bolt pierced his left lower ribs diagonally, the head emerging from his right rear back, spouting a mist of blood that the rain washed into a pale red patch.

The sword left his hand.

The sword blade flipped twice in the mud and lay still.

The senior attendant lowered his head, gazing at the arrow tail jutting from between his ribs; his lips opened and closed silently twice. Then his body swayed, he toppled sideways, falling into the mud and weeds.

The rain continued, its pit‑pat annoyingly loud.

Du Shanü glanced sideways; her gaze slid over the Yuanrong crossbow she had given Chen Weifang, then shifted to the three corpses in the mud of the deserted village.

She muttered to herself:

"Good. Next up is my favorite part of the story..."

Chinu's eyes fell on her rain‑moistened brows and eyes; after a few silent breaths he hoarsely asked:

"What?"

Du Shanü's hand twitched with an itch; she lifted her chin and declared firmly:

"Of course it's looting corpses! What could be more fun than that in this world?"

"Based on my experience reading those storybooks, these people surely carry secret treasures, or perhaps jade plaques and tokens proving their identity—who knows, maybe even the means to summon troops and hidden guards..."

They exchanged questions and answers, each trying to act as if nothing were amiss.

But the fact is, no matter how hard they pretended otherwise, after that night's quasi‑argument an invisible, intangible barrier had arisen between them.

The hidden desires kindled in the rain‑dark night likewise died down as the rain intensified.

Love, hatred— they became strangers.

Just a couple of days felt like a lifetime.

Chinu closed his eyes slightly; the moisture clinging to his lashes slipped down his cheeks, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Du Shanü, receiving no answer and feeling a bit embarrassed, thought a moment, then raised her hand and fired another bolt at each of the three corpses:

"Of course, given my experience, they might be clinging to a breath of life, waiting to jump up and stab us when we loot the bodies… uh, steady now, we stay steady."

"What does 'steady as an old dog' mean?"

"This is it!"

Du Shanü praised herself silently, then added casually:

"This way, I'll search the little magistrate's body, and you search the other two..."

That was assigning the tasks.

Regardless of the quarrel, Du Shanü never neglected her duties from start to finish.

Chinu gave a soft hum, walked a few steps into the rain, then remembered to ask:

"Why do we still need to assign people?"

Du Shanü spoke with conviction:

"That kid may be dead, but he was good‑looking!"

"Looting corpses, looting corpses— of course we have to loot! Who wants to loot an old man?"

Chinu: "..."

Damn, he wasn't mistaken— she really is a wicked woman.

These past two days he's been so heart‑broken, frantically trying to convince himself to overcome his knot, to accept Yu Baobao as his senior and himself as junior...

That wicked woman, she's actually lusting after someone else again!

?? Shasha: 'Clear Soup Elder Sir, you've been wronged! I had no such intention!'