Chapter 74: Hard to Distinguish Officials from Bandits, Seclusion, Arriving at the Door in Anger (Seeking Monthly Votes)

On the dust-filled imperial road.

Two groups of people met on a narrow path.

"Whoa—"

Both sides simultaneously pulled on their reins and stopped.

"My Lord! Those three women are the three who were kidnapped earlier!" Song Youcai recognized the women knocked unconscious and slung across the horses' backs by the four men at a glance, and exclaimed.

Pei Shaoqing immediately gave the order, "Surround them!"

"Yes! Giddyap!"

Dozens of Jing'an Guards behind him immediately spurred their horses forward to surround the four men, either drawing the long sabers at their waists or taking down the Broken Gang Crossbows from their horses' backs.

As everyone knows, tax collection requires being fully armed.

The four surrounded men all had grave expressions.

"Drop all your blades and back off! Otherwise, I'll kill her first!" The middle-aged scholar leading them grabbed the throat of the woman on the horse's back and roared with wide eyes.

His accomplices, who were holding the other two women, saw this and followed suit, "Clear the road immediately and let us leave, or the three of them will definitely die first!"

With hostages in hand, the initiative was theirs.

The four men, who had been panicked, suddenly calmed down.

"What a joke! You're the ones holding them, why should we drop our blades?" Pei Shaoqing smiled contemptuously.

The four men opposite were instantly stunned, their minds going numb.

No, is this something an imperial official can actually say?

Pei Shaoqing did not give them much time to think; he raised his right hand and said indifferently, "My patience is limited. I will count to three. Either let them go, or be buried with them. Three."

"Big Brother." Among the surrounded bandits, the other three looked at the middle-aged scholar in unison, at a loss.

The middle-aged scholar's face turned pale and blue, staring fixedly at Pei Shaoqing, "He must be bluffing."

"Two." Pei Shaoqing counted the second number.

The middle-aged scholar breathed rapidly, gritting his teeth as he said, "I don't believe he truly doesn't care about the lives of the hostages."

"One." Pei Shaoqing finished counting the final number.

The middle-aged scholar's heart tightened, but after waiting a while and seeing no order to attack, he suddenly felt relieved. A smile appeared on his face, proud that he had won the gamble; now it was his turn to control the situation.

Just at this moment, Pei Shaoqing lowered his raised hand and nonchalantly spat out two words, "Fire arrows."

The middle-aged scholar, who had just relaxed, saw his expression change drastically.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

In an instant, over a dozen crossbow bolts whistled through the air.

"Damn it!" The middle-aged scholar was both shocked and furious, cursing loudly as he hurriedly drew his blade to block the arrows, while simultaneously having to prevent the woman on the horse's back from being shot by the bolts.

Damn it.

Who exactly is the official and who is the bandit!

He cursed indignantly, "You bastards actually disregard human life; you are unworthy of being imperial officials."

"Take them down." Pei Shaoqing gave the order.

Mere bandits dare to threaten him into a compromise?

He used to be a bandit himself!

The group of Jing'an Guards charged with blades drawn, "Kill!"

Liu Yuheng and Ye Hanshuang also struck at the same time.

The four men, including the middle-aged scholar, had to protect the Sanyin Nu, who were of vital importance to their master, while also fighting against superior numbers, and were beaten until they had no power to fight back.

"You bastard, I'll fight you to the death!" The middle-aged scholar, already covered in several wounds, threw the woman off the horse's back with red eyes, then leaped up and flew toward Pei Shaoqing, intending to capture the leader to subdue the rest.

Pei Shaoqing frowned slightly; how did this guy manage to act like a villain while also looking like he was sacrificing himself heroically?

It makes me look like the villain.

Seeing the opponent arrive before him in the blink of an eye, he casually drew his saber, which had not been unsheathed for a long time, and easily lifted it to block the long sword thrust at him, while also leaping into the air to engage in a fierce battle.

When the two landed, the sword in the middle-aged scholar's hand had already been knocked away, and the saber in Pei Shaoqing's hand was held against his throat, "Surrender and you may be spared."

"If you have the guts, kill me!" said the middle-aged scholar.

"Pfft—"

Pei Shaoqing flicked his blade, instantly slicing open the middle-aged scholar's throat. Blood surged wildly; he hurriedly covered the wound, his face full of disbelief, "You..."

He had not expected Pei Shaoqing to truly kill him so easily. He didn't want to die; he just wanted to act tough to increase his bargaining chips!

The words he wanted to say never came out. He fell backward with a thud, staring with wide eyes, dying with a grievance.

"Big Brother!" The other three exclaimed.

And in that moment of distraction, the short middle-aged man among them was beheaded by a sword strike from Liu Yuheng.

The youth dressed in brocade, looking like a wealthy scion, immediately dropped his sword and shouted, "I surrender, don't kill me!"

"Wang Mazi!" The thin, middle-aged man with a small mustache glared at him in anger and thrust his sword toward him.

If they all died, their families would be safe and sound, but if one person surrendered and leaked the matter, everyone's families would be buried with them.

"Pfft!"

A crossbow bolt pierced the thin middle-aged man's skull from behind, and he stumbled and fell to the ground, dead on the spot.

Pei Shaoqing tossed the crossbow to a subordinate, squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and came before the surrendering brocade-clad youth, looking down at him from above, "What is your name?"

"Reporting to my Lord, this small one is Wang Wu, everyone calls me Wang Mazi." The brocade-clad youth answered with his head lowered.

With many eyes on the scene, Pei Shaoqing did not rush to interrogate him. He pulled on the reins, turned his horse toward Tongzhou City, and galloped away, saying loudly, "Take him back and lock him up."

"As you command!"

Everyone set off again, only this time there was one more prisoner, three women, and three corpses.

Just as they were about to reach the city gate, they happened to run into Sun Youliang, who was leading men out of the city to pursue the kidnappers.

"Send the three women home, and you, Battalion Commander Chen, interrogate that living captive and then report to me."

After entering the city, Pei Shaoqing finished his arrangements and parted ways with them, taking Ye Hanshuang and Liu Yuheng back to the manor.

…………………………

"My lady, the Broken-Intestine Grass and Soul-Guiding Flower you wanted have both been found," Pei Shaoqing said as soon as he entered the door.

Xie Qingwu, who was reading, stood up in surprise and greeted him, "Really? Let me see quickly."

Pei Shaoqing took the Soul-Guiding Flower out of his Storage Ring.

"So many!" Xie Qingwu opened her small mouth in astonishment and asked in disbelief, "Where did they come from?"

"A friend gave them to me." Pei Shaoqing smiled slightly and took out the Zhuque Grass, "This one too."

"Ah! Zhuque Grass!" Xie Qingwu recognized it at a glance and said with mixed surprise and joy, "This is not easy to find, and there are so many! Husband, what kind of person is that friend of yours? They are too good to you."

"My connections have always been very good," Pei Shaoqing smiled slightly and said, "Let me test you; he grew these himself. Can you guess where he is from?"

"He grew them himself?" Xie Qingwu looked thoughtful and tentatively said, "The place in Shu most skilled in this craft is Medicine King Valley. Is he a successor of Medicine King Valley?"

"My lady is truly brilliant." Pei Shaoqing decided to have someone go to Medicine King Valley to inquire if that was the case.

He was quite interested in Ouyang Rong.

Xie Qingwu's eyes darted, "My husband really has wide-ranging friendships. People from Medicine King Valley are deeply respected in both the Jiang Hu and the imperial court. I didn't expect my husband to be able to form such a deep connection with them."

Medicine King Valley is reclusive and avoids worldly disputes, specializing in growing herbs, refining pills, and healing the sick. Generally, no one is willing to make enemies of them; after all, who can say they won't need to beg Medicine King Valley for help one day? Moreover, Medicine King Valley has a vast network of connections, and offending them easily leads to being attacked by the masses.

"This is mainly due to my own outstanding personal charm," Pei Shaoqing said without changing his expression.

"Heh." Xie Qingwu rolled her eyes at him, turned to look at the Soul-Guiding Flower and Zhuque Grass, and rubbed her hands together happily, "Husband, quickly help me move these into the pill room. We must utilize them as soon as possible; without proper storage conditions, the medicinal potency will be lost quickly."

"Alright!" Pei Shaoqing was naturally happy to be of service.

After putting the raw materials into the pill room, Xie Qingwu said to Pei Shaoqing, "Husband, for the next few days I will be in seclusion trying to refine medicine. Just have someone deliver food to the door; don't let anyone disturb me usually."

The other materials had already been sent into the pill room in advance.

"Don't worry, my lady, I will have Madam Gongsun instruct the servants," Pei Shaoqing nodded and agreed.

Xie Qingwu said, "Then you go out."

"Starting now?" Pei Shaoqing was stunned.

"Of course." Xie Qingwu was full of energy, her eyes shining, "I can't wait, and I haven't practiced in too long, so I need time to get familiar with it. Fortunately, there are enough raw materials that I don't have to worry about waste."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you, my lady. I wish you all the best." Pei Shaoqing nodded and turned to leave.

He stood at the door and watched Xie Qingwu close it before he left to deliver water to the Saintess in the dungeon.

The Yaoguang Saintess could distinguish who was entering based on the sound of footsteps and said, "You are late today."

"The Saintess's spirits seem good. It seems you have gotten used to these days; you won't miss them after you go out, will you?" Pei Shaoqing said as he walked into the cell.

"Who would miss the days of being tied up and kept like a dog?" The Yaoguang Saintess glared at him coldly and said indifferently, "Hurry up and feed me water."

After being cleaned and changing into a set of clothes, her disheveled appearance was swept away, and she became holy and unsullied once again.

Pei Shaoqing squatted down in front of her holding the water and could smell the faint, lingering fragrance on her body. He could be certain that Liu Yuheng would not have given her anything like a scent sachet.

So this was the natural fragrance of her body.

This time he didn't use a bowl to feed her, but poured the water into his palm and held it out to the Saintess, "Drink."

"You!" The Yaoguang Saintess's eyes widened in anger.

Pei Shaoqing smiled, "You don't have to drink."

The Yaoguang Saintess kept a cold face, suppressing her anger and shame as she lowered her head to suck the water from his palm.

In any case, she had already lost enough face in front of this man; what did this little bit count for? Endure it!

In the future, she would make him pay it back tenfold!

But soon she realized that sucking like this could only moisten her lips at most; she couldn't get any water into her stomach at all.

Helpless, she could only stick out her tongue to lick it.

Just like a puppy drinking water.

The sound of licking water was very distinct in the cell.

The Yaoguang Saintess turned red with shame as she listened.

Feeling her delicate lips and soft tongue tip sweep across his palm, Pei Shaoqing felt a ripple in his heart.

After repeating this who knows how many times, once she was full, the Yaoguang Saintess raised her head, her face so red it seemed it could drip blood, and glared at Pei Shaoqing.

Pei Shaoqing gently touched her beautiful face to wipe away the remaining water and her saliva, whispering softly, "As long as you are more respectful to me, you can suffer less of this kind of humiliation. As a captive, you must have self-awareness."

"Yes, Young Master, this servant knows she was wrong." The anger in the Yaoguang Saintess's eyes dissipated, and she lowered her head, suppressing her humiliation as she spoke. As long as she changed her attitude on the surface, she could avoid actual humiliation; she felt it was worth it.

But she never thought that this would slowly become a habit.

"Good girl," Pei Shaoqing's lips curled up, and he gently touched her moist lips again before standing up to leave.

Just as he left the dungeon, Liu Yuheng hurried over, "My Lord, the County Magistrate has arrived and is waiting in the main hall. He looks very angry."

"Oh?" Pei Shaoqing narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "My lady, you go and do this... and this."

"Alright." Liu Yuheng pursed her lips and nodded.

(End of chapter)