Chapter 18

Li Miao and Li Xiaosi walked and waited, making their way at a leisurely pace.

Let us speak only of Wang Hai and Mei Qinghe for now.

They had left the city half an hour early, so even if Zhao Ying and the others galloped at full speed, the two of them would still have to wait here for a while.

Wang Hai saw Mei Qinghe standing silently, her hand gripping her sword, her gaze hollow as she looked into the distance; she said nothing, and he did not know what she was thinking.

He thought to himself, "Could this girl have been played into a stupor by the Battalion Commander as well?"

Of course, the "played" he referred to did not mean anything lewd.

Li Miao was cynical and played with people regardless of whether they were good or evil; it was just that good people did not suffer too much at his hands, though they certainly suffered emotional trauma.

Wang Hai had been in Li Xiaosi's room all last night and was unaware of the situation on Li Miao's side.

How could he know that Mei Qinghe was merely "dejected" because her great revenge had been fulfilled and her future was uncertain, and she simply did not want to talk.

Since they would have to work under Li Miao together in the future, and Mei Qinghe was someone Li Miao had affirmed, Wang Hai thought to strike up a rapport, searching for words: "Miss Mei."

Mei Qinghe turned her head: "Lord Wang." She already knew the identity of Li Miao and the others as Embroidered Uniform Guards.

"No need to call me 'Lord'; from now on, we are all working for the Battalion Commander. I am a little older than you, so you may call me Brother Wang."

"I heard that Zhao Dehua's screams last night; it must have been on the roof of a civilian house outside where you killed him."

"You could have just thrown the body somewhere or burned it; why go to the trouble of carrying it into his room?"

Wang Hai was indeed very curious about this question.

Mei Qinghe was silent for a moment, then said: "Jianghu rules: when a person dies, the debt is settled."

"I have a blood feud with Zhao Dehua, but I have no grudge against his family."

"Once a person is dead, they are nothing but a pile of rotting meat."

"Returning this pile of rotting meat to his family does me no harm, and it saves his family from having their lives disrupted."

Mei Qinghe's father had gone missing while searching for her, so it was not strange that she made this choice.

"Besides, he did indeed risk his life to protect us once back then, and he did not kill me."

"I returned him a death without closure, and then returned him a burial in peace; our grievances can be considered settled."

Hearing this, Wang Hai looked Mei Qinghe up and down.

"This girl... is she a bit pedantic?"

"This personality... it actually suits the Battalion Commander's temperament, but it's a nuisance when getting things done."

He did not know the history of the feud between Mei Qinghe and Zhao Dehua, so he could not say much, but he secretly planned to help Li Miao temper Mei Qinghe's temperament.

Someone who is so rigid even when taking revenge is unlikely to live very long.

Now was an opportunity.

Wang Hai spoke up: "When Zhao Dehua's daughter catches up in a while, what do you plan to do?"

Mei Qinghe replied: "I will explain the situation to her first; if she won't listen, I will not just stand by and be captured."

"I will have to trouble Brother Wang to hold the line for me then."

Wang Hai nodded: "Easy enough, easy enough." But in his heart, he was determined to use this opportunity to teach Mei Qinghe a lesson.

The two waited by the roadside for a while before hearing the violent sound of horse hooves in the distance.

Mei Qinghe placed her sword on the ground and walked empty-handed to the middle of the road to stand.

Wang Hai asked curiously: "Aren't you a disciple of Huashan? Why not use your sword?"

Mei Qinghe said: "This is my private feud; the Huwei Security Bureau is not an evil cult, so I cannot use Huashan sword techniques and disgrace my sect's reputation."

Wang Hai was speechless, thinking to himself.

"This girl's brain really doesn't work well."

A short while later, Zhao Ying and the members of the Huwei Security Bureau arrived on horseback; seeing Mei Qinghe and Wang Hai standing in front, they slowly slowed down.

Zhao Ying first glanced at Wang Hai, then carefully looked Mei Qinghe up and down.

"You... are the one who raided my father's room the night before last."

Zhao Ying had been drugged at the time and had not seen her with her own eyes. But Zhao Dehua had described Mei Qinghe's physique to her afterward, so she was certain that Mei Qinghe was the masked woman.

"You are the one who killed my father."

"Yes."

"Why!?"

With her enemy before her, Zhao Ying's eyes turned red; she drew her sword, dismounted, and asked through gritted teeth.

"A debt of blood for my mother."

"You're lying!!!"

Zhao Ying pointed her sword at Mei Qinghe: "My father was kind to others and never made enemies; sometimes he would rather suffer a loss himself than take action."

"If your mother was killed by my father, she must have forced him to take action!"

Mei Qinghe glanced at Zhao Ying's sword and said: "Zhao Dehua didn't let you learn his claw technique, but let you learn the sword instead."

"You are about my age; fifteen years ago, when he killed my mother, you should have already been old enough to remember things."

"Have you ever wondered where he got that sinister claw technique?"

"Have you ever wondered how, with Zhao Dehua's aptitude, he managed to practice that sinister claw technique so well?"

Zhao Ying was blocked by these words and choked up.

Zhao Ying had been raised very well by Zhao Dehua.

It is strange to say, but no matter how evil a person is, even if they have gained immense wealth through evil, they often still want to teach their children to be good people.

Zhao Dehua did not teach Zhao Ying that sinister claw technique, but instead had her learn the sword—the kind of upright, straightforward sword technique.

And Zhao Ying did not disappoint Zhao Dehua's expectations, becoming an upright and straightforward person who matched her sword technique.

She did not speak at first, but made a gesture to the security bureau members; only after they had surrounded Mei Qinghe and Wang Hai did she ask.

"Do you have... any witnesses for what you say?"

Mei Qinghe shook her head: "I am the only one who survived that year."

"Do you have any physical evidence!?"

Mei Qinghe still shook her head: "So much time has passed, it has long since rotted away in the mountains."

"Then why should I believe you!?"

"You killed my father; do you expect me to abandon this blood feud just because of your one-sided words!?"

Zhao Dehua had never mentioned the events of that year to anyone, so of course Zhao Ying did not know.

"For these past ten-plus years, whether it was me, my mother, the security bureau, or even fellow Jianghu travelers, everyone knew my father was a good man!"

"Do you expect me to believe that everyone has been wrong about my father for these ten-plus years just because of your light words!?"

Mei Qinghe said calmly: "I don't expect you to believe me, but I must say it."

"Remember, my name is Mei Qinghe; your father was killed by me alone last night, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."

"If you want revenge, come find me. Whether I live or die, I accept it."

Zhao Ying stared fixedly into Mei Qinghe's eyes: "Fine!"

"I will not doubt my father because of your baseless words."

"But if you have a clear conscience, then kill me; no need to hold back."

"And in this life, I will definitely hunt you to the ends of the earth! I will not stop until one of us is dead!"

"Good." Mei Qinghe responded, raising her palms into a stance.

"Kill!" Zhao Ying shouted sharply, lunging forward with her sword, attacking Mei Qinghe together with the security bureau members.

(End of chapter)