Chapter 353

The sun was slanting west, outside Immortal Fruit Village.

A light gold sweat-blooded horse galloped up, the sweat seeping from its body gilding its coat with a sheen.

Mu Nan Zhao didn't wait for the horse to steady before leaping down.

His face was dark and terrifying; a passing village woman, frightened, snatched up a wailing child and fled.

He Jinghui had been waiting here ahead of time.

Mu Nan Zhao strode forward, "Where is she?!"

He Jinghui's eyes darted, unable to meet his gaze, "……She's gone."

Mu Nan Zhao's eyes narrowed, "Where is her maid?"

He Jinghui: "Also……missing."

At that moment, Mu Nan Zhao was like a black cloud hoarding a thunderstorm, each word he spoke a heavy weight.

And what about your He family's hidden guards?

You should have seen how they vanished and which direction they went!

He Jinghui himself wanted to die of regret, saying, "Boss Gu suddenly left; everyone thought he was just going to relieve himself. I and the hidden guards, all being men, couldn't follow too closely."

Besides, with Guangzhu accompanying them, they…… saw nothing at all.

Mu Nan Zhao said nothing, merely turned and walked away.

As long-time brothers, He Jinghui naturally understood: the more Mu Nan Zhao acted this way, the clearer it was that he was furious, truly angry.

"Qi Xiu! I'm going with you to find her!"

As he mounted his horse, He Jinghui secretly swore that if anything happened to Boss Gu, he would atone with his life.

Gu Xixi could have stayed away today, but he personally brought her to Immortal Fruit Village.

Mu Nan Zhao was also a brother as close as family to him, to whom he had entrusted his beloved.

Yet he lost her right under his own nose.

Not to mention failing to answer to Mu Nan Zhao—he couldn't even face his own younger sister!

Today Gu Xixi arrived at Immortal Fruit Village together with several officials from the Ministry of Revenue.

She guided the villagers in mixing and scattering medicine, and at noon ate the food sent by the nearby County Office.

Originally everything went smoothly.

Until around late afternoon, Gu Xixi, who had been inspecting insect eggs and wheat seedlings, suddenly stopped and said she needed to step away.

He Jinghui saw her rush off with Guangzhu toward the small grove, assuming she just needed to relieve herself.

But after waiting left and right, the two did not return for a long time.

Only then did he realize something was wrong.

He sent a local woman into the woods to search, but found nothing.

He Jinghui felt his head about to explode at that moment.

He dared not delay a moment, immediately ordering a messenger on horseback to notify Mu Nan Zhao, while he himself led everyone in a thorough search of Immortal Fruit Village and its surroundings.

In fact, no one had even seen a trace of them.

Gu Xixi and Guangzhu seemed to have vanished from the world……

Night fell.

Gu Xixi sat with her back against a tree trunk, eyes slit open to survey the surroundings.

About ten steps ahead a bonfire burned, the smell of roasted meat in the air, four men and one woman sitting on the ground.

Looking left, not far off two tents had been pitched.

It seemed these bandits, after kidnapping their hostages, intended to use this small mountain valley as their hideout.

Only, it was unknown what their kidnapping aim was, what they truly wanted.

When they first caught a whiff of the bewitching incense in the woods, Gu Xixi quickly had herself and Guangzhu swallow the pills given by Old Doctor Langzhong; nearby was another unlucky fellow. Not long after, they thumped to the ground with a puff.

Gu Xixi looked at the unconscious Dou Rongshan, gave Guangzhu a glance, and the two likewise collapsed, feigning faint.

She really couldn't imagine having offended anyone so soon after arriving in the capital.

Fan, the Grand Secretary?

Not likely.

With the old fox's scheming, Lv Jing hasn't yet faced any crisis on her side; he shouldn't ignore Lv Jing and instead come looking for trouble with Gu Xixi.

Moreover, given the Fan household's eyes and ears, it would be easy for them to know that Gu Xixi now resides in the Xiao He mansion, coming and going with Miss He in a close relationship.

Even if they were certain Gu Xixi was the person helping Lv Jing go to the capital to file a complaint, they wouldn't dare, in broad daylight, risk offending the He family—such recklessness would be sheer folly.

Coincidentally, having come out fully prepared today, Gu Xixi decided to turn the tables.

Rather than remain in the dark while the enemy lurks in the light, constantly anxious,

it would be better to seize this opportunity to investigate what's really going on, and incidentally rid the populace of harm.

Judging by the travel time, Gu Xixi believed this place should not be far from Immortal Fruit Village.

But it was dark, and she was unfamiliar with the roads,

Guangzhu had run off to seek help, and no one knew how long it would take to return.

The bandits by the fire cursed, "Damn it, I told you to buy the bewitching incense—are you just pocketing the money and getting substandard goods?"

"That little wench was just brought over; she hadn't even been tied up before she broke free and ran."

"That girl's got a fierce punch! Her elbow almost knocked my jaw off, and it still hurts, damn it!"

The man beside him muttered a few explanations in a deferential tone; it looked like the one doing the scolding was the boss.

The sole female bandit smiled and urged the boss to calm down, "With that much strength, and dressed so plainly, she's clearly a coarse country lass; she ran off, and anyway we weren't after her."

The bandit chief's mood improved a bit: "Anyway, after we wait a bit longer and hand the person over to the employer, we can take the money and leave."

Employer? Gu Xixi thought secretly.

What employer comes here in the middle of the night, so anxious?

After ruling out the limited suspects on the way, she now vaguely thought of a person.

Perhaps there would be an unexpected gain……

While using her brains, Gu Xixi was not idle either.

The blade hidden in her hand had already sliced the knot behind her back, leaving only a bit of skin connected; a little force would snap it.

At this moment, Dou Rongshan, bound to the same tree trunk as Gu Xixi, woke up.

She had no idea what was going on, and she exclaimed in shock, 'What place is this!'

'Who! Who the hell doesn't value their life to play this kind of joke, tying up your grandaunt! Untie me at once!'

Gu Xixi closed her eyes breathlessly.

What a silly, naive little fat sheep!

Although Dou Rongshan was the daughter of a military family and preferred male attire, she had been pampered since childhood and knew nothing of martial arts.

As a result, her figure was somewhat plump, her face like a silver plate, almond eyes and delicate eyebrows, her cherry lips full.

Compared to the current trend of bony thinness, it was a completely different kind of beauty.

Setting aside prejudice, Gu Xixi actually quite liked this plump little beauty.

After all, she was soft and fragrant, and leaning against her was quite comfortable.

Hearing Dou Rongshan's cries, the female kidnapper walked over and shouted, 'Shut up! Who has time to joke with you!'

'If you shout again, I'll cut off your nose!'

Dou Rongshan, just as Gu Xixi had expected, appeared strong but was actually weak; frightened by the female kidnapper, she shrank back, eyes red and aggrieved, and dared not shout.

'I... I probably haven't really been kidnapped, have I?'

Gu Xixi seemed even more at a loss than Dou Rongshan, furrowing her brows and speaking weakly, 'It doesn't seem like a joke.'

The female kidnapper sized them up and said, 'Which of you two is the surnamed Gu who came from Xi Bei last month?'

Dou Rongshan, scared out of her wits, desperately pointed her chin at Gu Xixi.

'It's her! Her name is Gu Xixi! She came from Xi Bei!'

Gu Xixi glanced at Dou Rongshan with a faint look, tears welling up, 'If sister says it's me, then it is me.'

'Anyway, sister came from afar as a guest; since we've run into this, we'll take whatever we can get.'

'What are you calling me?' Dou Rongshan wore an expression of 'What sudden illness have you got?'

The female kidnapper suddenly pointed at Dou Rongshan and said, 'You're Gu Xixi? You actually dare to play tricks on me!'