Chapter 282

"What are you saying? One hundred taels per bolt? You southern merchants are truly treacherous! Why don't you just go and rob someone!"

"It was clearly agreed upon as ten taels per bolt. You son of a bitch, going back on your word! This is Liaodong, not your southern provinces. Do you really think you can swindle me, Zhao Chongshan?"

The merchant surnamed Zhao acted with extreme arrogance, standing up and grabbing Boss Chen by his clothes all at once.

The man with Zhao Chongshan, also a sturdy and powerful northerner, stood up abruptly, looking as if he were ready to roll up his sleeves and fight.

Everyone in the shop could see that this southern merchant surnamed Chen was in for trouble; this Zhao Chongshan was a well-known local bully at Yafu Pass, possessed considerable local influence, and was not a man to be trifled with.

Just then, a cold glint suddenly flashed, and upon hearing a crisp 'Snap!', Zhao Chongshan let out a cry of pain and released his grip on Boss Chen.

Jia Cong, standing to the side, was slightly startled; his sharp gaze clearly saw the woman with the hawk perched on her shoulder draw the long blade at her waist with lightning speed and strike the back of Zhao Chongshan's hand with the spine of the blade.

The movement was incredibly precise and fast as lightning; it required excellent blade control to achieve this. If she had wanted to, she could have easily severed Zhao Chongshan's palm just now.

Zhao Chongshan was furious: "You ghost-hag, how dare you draw a blade on me!"

Boss Chen let go of some harsh parting words, then led his servant and the woman out of the shop.

'Ghost-hag' is a derogatory term used by Liaodong locals for foreign women with unusual appearances.

Upon hearing the words 'ghost-hag', the woman's face erupted with rage, a delicate flush showing on her snow-white cheeks, and she slashed the long blade in her hand toward Zhao Chongshan without the slightest hesitation!

Everyone in the shop heard a strange 'Rip!' sound, as if something had been sliced open by a sharp blade, and they were all terrified to the point of goosebumps.

Jia Cong saw that her skin tone and features clearly resembled those of a Central Plains person, yet she spoke fluent Han Chinese, even with a Jiangnan accent, which left him feeling slightly strange.

Jia Cong saw that the clothes on Zhao Chongshan's body, from the outer cotton jacket to the inner garment, had been neatly sliced open by the woman's blade, yet there wasn't a single bloodstain on his exposed skin.

Many people in the shop witnessed this scene, but they didn't find it too abrupt; in border towns, wars were frequent, military men were fierce, and laws were lax, making it a place where all sorts of people mingled.

Jia Cong, taking Guo Zhigui and Jiang Xiao Si with him, also left the Hongbei Restaurant, following far behind Boss Chen and the others.

"If you curse again, my blade won't just slice your clothes. If you don't value your life, feel free to try."

Judging by her appearance, she should be Boss Chen's bodyguard.

To survive in a place like this, one cannot do without a few skills to protect oneself; the woman was exactly that kind of person.

Jianghu bandits and escaped death-row prisoners would all flee to such places to make a living, while local powerhouses like Zhao Chongshan were also capable of every evil in secret.

The woman's voice was crisp and pleasant, carrying a sense of unyielding pride.

"Zhao, if you don't have the diamond, don't take on the porcelain work. I dare to do business in the border town, so I won't be afraid of someone like you. Since you can't afford the goods, let's end it here."

Although Boss Chen was an ordinary merchant, as long as he had silver, he could hire capable people like the woman to be his bodyguards, and he could likewise survive in this dangerous place.

However, there was no tragic sight of skin splitting, bellies opening, or blood splattering.

Jia Cong was startled; Zhao Chongshan had only cursed once, and this woman was actually going to draw her blade and kill.

In the end, the woman had shown mercy, and this display of swordsmanship was quite elegant—slicing open the clothes without harming a single bit of skin.

Jia Cong now also clearly saw the strange long blade in her hand; the blade was as bright as water, exuding a chill, very much like the 'shashka' saber of later generations.

He could now be almost certain that Boss Chen was Zhou Suqing; since he had encountered him, he would not let him escape.

When they reached a relatively secluded alley, Jia Cong suddenly called out: "Zhou Suqing!"

Boss Chen, walking in front, shuddered upon hearing this call and couldn't help but turn around, his face filled with an expression of disbelief.

He saw an exceptionally handsome young man behind him, smiling at him, with two sturdy men following by his side.

A sense of foreboding surged in his heart, and he flatly denied it: "What are you shouting about, kid? You've got the wrong person!"

Seeing Boss Chen's expression, Jia Cong became even more certain that this was the person he was looking for.

Jia Cong smiled: "Boss Zhou, why aren't you making a fortune in Jin Ling, but instead running to such a remote border town to make a living? Since we've met, don't think about leaving!"

Boss Chen had never dreamed that in such a remote place, he would actually encounter someone who knew his background.

After the incident in Jin Ling, the person behind him had arranged for him to hide in a secret location.

But later he heard rumors that Zou Huaiyi had been caught and committed suicide, and the entire Water Surveillance Department had been uprooted; the matter was becoming bigger and bigger.

He worried that as the situation expanded, the person behind the scenes would kill him to silence him; based on his contact over the years, that person was absolutely capable of such a thing.

In order to save his own life, he quietly slipped away from his hiding place, also taking away a batch of foreign goods he had privately hidden, including a portion of rare Japanese silk.

He didn't expect that he still wouldn't be able to hide in the end; the two men following the young man vaguely possessed a military air.

This couldn't help but make him associate it with many things, becoming more certain that the person behind the scenes had found him.

He said to the woman following him: "I paid you one tael of gold a month to protect me. Help me kill these few people, and I'll pay you ten taels of gold—no, twenty taels of gold!"

The woman glanced at Jia Cong and the others, frowning as she said: "I took your money just to be your bodyguard, not to kill for you!"

Boss Chen gritted his teeth and said: "Alright then, help me drive them away, and I'll still pay you an extra twenty taels of gold."

He had already thought that as soon as he drove those few people away, he would immediately go back, pack his bags, and flee.

The woman smiled and said: "That's more like it."

As she spoke, she drew the long blade at her waist. Jia Cong saw that while she was drawing the blade, the Gyrfalcon perched on her shoulder flew up with great spirit and landed on a tree by the roadside.

Jia Cong glanced at the Gyrfalcon on the tree, then returned his gaze to the woman.

Border towns had always been chaotic, and incidents of merchants being intercepted and robbed were common. Relying on her family's swordsmanship, this woman was often hired by southern merchants as a bodyguard.

This kind of mid-journey interception and fighting was something she was accustomed to, and she didn't take it to heart.

Although the two men on the other side were sturdy, their movements showed they were ordinary people, so she didn't take them to heart at all.

As for that kid, he looked prettier than a young lady and was definitely a 'silver-plated pewter spearhead'—nothing to worry about. She hadn't expected these twenty taels of gold to be so easy to earn.

Jia Cong reminded her: "Miss, this Boss Chen is a wanted criminal of the imperial court, and the government is hunting him everywhere. If you harbor a wanted criminal, you will be guilty of the same crime!"

The term 'wanted criminal' seemed to make the woman have some concerns, but she asked: "You say he's a wanted criminal, do you have an official government document?"

Jia Cong was stunned upon hearing this; he was only certain that this Boss Chen was Zhou Suqing, but where would he have any official government document on hand? He hadn't expected this woman to have some brains.

Zhou Suqing behind him shouted: "He has no official document at all; he's just trying to frame me, he's just a bandit trying to rob goods!"

The woman glared with her pretty eyes: "You stinking brat, how dare you try to fool me!"

Jia Cong sighed slightly, drew the curved saber at his waist, and said to Guo Zhigui: "You and Xiao Si restrain that man surnamed Chen; I'll hold off that woman."

Guo Zhigui said worriedly: "Cong Sanye, that woman's blade is very powerful; why don't I do it instead..."

Jia Cong said: "Don't worry about me, just keep an eye on that man surnamed Chen."

Guo Zhigui was somewhat skeptical, but he knew that his Cong Sanye was a capable person and would never do anything he wasn't sure of.

Seeing Jia Cong draw his curved saber, the woman sneered; there were truly not many people in this town who dared to cross blades with her.

"Your blade is quite good-looking, but aren't you just blowing hot air? You want to hold me off? Are you actually capable or not?"

Jia Cong smiled: "Whether I'm capable or not, you'll know once you try."

The woman said prettily: "Try it then, let's try it!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the long blade in her hand slashed toward Jia Cong like lightning, with fierce momentum.

(End of chapter)