Chapter 75: with translation of chapter title

When Zhao Zixun met my shield, his gaze changed completely.

His hand gripping the sidearm trembled violently, then he pressed the back of his hand against his brow, looking as if in great pain.

And the yin soldiers beside him actually began to retreat slowly.

I stepped forward step by step, and they withdrew little by little.

Soon, Li Qingying retreated behind the shield.

As she retreated, she lowered her voice and said to me, "Xiao Jiu, don't linger in battle; the blood sigil on the shield is constantly fading—we must withdraw safely before it disappears completely."

The blood sigil is fading?

It seems that what truly suppresses the yin soldiers and causes Zhao Zixun's abnormality is not the shield itself, but the blood sigil on it.

I gritted my teeth and said, "Then let them retreat behind the small stream!"

As soon as I finished speaking, I charged down the slope with the shield raised.

Zhao Zixun controlled his warhorse and had already retreated to one side, and the yin soldiers quickly withdrew to the side of the small stream as well.

The pit we had dug earlier was still there; I threw the shield into it, and Li Qingying quickly filled it with soil.

By the time we finished, those yin soldiers had turned into blood mist, retreated back into the forest, and vanished without a trace.

Li Qingying and I dared not delay; we sprinted quickly toward the carriage.

Zhao Zixun remained seated on his warhorse, watching us, with no intention whatsoever of stopping us.

Even after we got into the carriage and Li Qingying started it, my heart kept pounding like thunder, and the nervous feeling would not subside.

After the carriage had traveled about half a li, Li Qingying finally asked, puzzled, "Zhao Zixun could clearly have stopped us; why didn't he act?"

"The shield might have given him a sense," I said, "but we need to move even faster—before his mind is again corrupted by the coffin nail, and before anyone with ulterior motives digs up the shield—we must return that red flag to the Red Flag Child."

Tonight's digging up of the shield from the small stream cannot be concealed.

In Wufu Town, too many eyes are watching me.

Every move I make will soon be known to someone.

That is a whole host of yin soldiers; although scattered, if one could control them, for a cultivator it would be an immense fortune!

Even if no one touches the shield again, its runes won't last much longer.

Once the shield's runes completely vanish, those yin soldiers cannot be restrained at all.

Besides Zhao Zixun, probably only the Red Flag Child can control those yin soldiers.

The precondition is that the Red Flag Child must hold the red flag capable of commanding the yin soldiers!

Now that we have the pawn ticket in hand, as long as we return to the pawnshop and complete the procedure, the Red Flag Child can redeem his red flag.

We dare not delay even a moment.

Returning to the pawnshop, I first opened the small street-facing door of the Nan Shu Fang, then opened my purse and counted the silver dollars inside—neither more nor less, exactly thirty-three.

Then I quickly handled the paperwork, going through the process.

At the moment I handed the red flag to the Red Flag Child, I let out a long sigh of relief.

When the Red Flag Child reclaimed his red flag, lost for over a hundred years, he was also very excited.

I thought for a moment and asked, "A hundred years ago, your red flag was taken by Zhao Zixun; now, can you keep hold of it?"

"I can keep it." The Red Flag Child said firmly, "Even if Zhao the Military Officer is formidable, he is merely deployed by the marshal; as long as the marshal has no intention of launching war again, Zhao the Military Officer cannot possibly come to seize my red flag on his own."

I furrowed my brows, still uneasy inside, but I also understood that letting the Red Flag Child return to command those yin soldiers is presently the best option.

Dawn was approaching; the Red Flag Child grasped the red flag, bowed deeply to us, and said, "Thank you, two elder sisters, for risking your lives to help us tonight; if there's ever anything I can do for you, just speak up."

After Li Qingying returned, she looked extremely exhausted.

At that moment, she half-leaned on the counter, waving at the Red Flag Child: "Hey, little ghost, interested in joining our pawnshop?"

I was stunned, then burst out laughing.

Li Qingying is just trying to recruit anyone she sees.

But we can't blame her; after all, we truly need help, and she's cherishing talent.

The Red Flag Child thought seriously for a moment and said, "For now, no—I must return to mobilize the troops, and also enter seclusion for a while to reacclimate with the red flag."

That was a polite refusal.

We didn't intend to make things difficult for him, so we naturally let the Red Flag Child leave.

As he stepped one foot over the threshold, I suddenly thought of something and asked, "Hey, kid, I heard that once you obtain the red flag you can command warfare—is that true?"

"Don't worry, elder sister," the Red Flag Child replied candidly, "Even if I wanted to, I would need a blood rain to fall first."

In other words, the necessary conditions to trigger warfare are not only the red flag and the Red Flag Child, but also blood rain.

Blood rain is extremely rare.

I relaxed my mind and watched the Red Flag Child depart.

As soon as he left, Li Qingying let out a lament: "Hey, is our pawnshop a flood and ferocious beast? Why won't even one or two people join?"

I smiled and said, "Our pawnshop might actually be scarier than a flood and ferocious beast."

I leaned my lower back against the counter, stretched a big yawn, turned my face to Li Qingying and said, "It's already past three a. m.; after a night of tossing and turning we're exhausted, Qingying sister—go wash up and sleep."

Li Qingying lay languidly, unwilling to move, which is quite unlike her usual self.

I thought, perhaps it's related to our earlier entanglement with the yin soldiers.

In that case, she needs rest all the more.

Li Qingying rose, half-lidded eyes as she walked around the counter; I went to support her and, unintentionally, noticed the red mole on her nose tip—it seemed a bit redder and slightly larger than before.

But upon closer inspection, it seemed not to have changed.

Maybe I'm just too tired, seeing things, or it's a psychological effect.

I escorted Li Qingying back to her room; she went to bathe, and I returned to my own bedroom.

I also took a hot shower, dried my hair, then recalled the blood letter wrapped in cowhide paper, hurriedly fetched it and opened it.

At the moment the blood letter was completely opened, I saw what was wrapped inside the letter.

That was an exquisitely crafted silver ring, and a stamp completely soaked in blood.

The blood color was too dark, the age too long; the stamp couldn't be seen clearly in its entirety, and it was a bit brittle to the touch— a corner had already broken off at that time.

I looked at the silver ring, then at the damaged stamp, and felt extreme regret.

This stamp was likely a testament to the love between Zhao Zixun and Fu Wan, and I ruined it just like that.

I quickly picked up the fallen corner with great care, pieced it together, took a few photos, and then slipped it into a book.

I sent the photos to Tang Tang and asked if she could help fix them.

At this hour, Tang Tang should be asleep, so I didn't wait for her reply but picked up the blood letter to have a look.

Upon looking, I felt no trace of sleepiness.

The beginning of the letter was already sorrowful: "Wanwan, my love, seeing this letter means farewell; in this battle I should never return completely, returning the token of our engagement, I hope Wanwan finds another good person, and cherishes the rest of her life……"