"Weak woman? Don’t joke with ."
One of them sneered twice, showing no signs of relaxation. "To have penetrated this deep, could it really be the deed of a weak woman? Haha..."
He stared into Su Pan’er’s eyes, closely watching for any change in her expression.
Su Pan’er was dressed in coarse linen clothes, identical to the attire of countless won in the mountains, plus her continuous trekking through the caves for several days had left her weary and covered in dust, making her seem very much the part.
With a look of bewildernt, Su Pan’er said, "I truly am from the Qin Family at the foot of the mountain. Right now, my mother-in-law is gravely ill and needs money for treatnt. I heard that there are many precious herbs in the mountains to be picked and sold for money, so I decided on my own to enter the mountain without telling my husband. The Qin family’s clan leader is my elder, and he knows . If you officers don’t believe , you can ask the Clan Leader. He will know the truth."
Su Pan’er spoke with such certainty that the four n were visibly moved.
After whispering among themselves for a mont, they nodded to each other and looked at Su Pan’er, "So you say you know the Clan Leader of the Qin Clan, then what does he look like? Describe him."
Was this a test?
Su Pan’er smiled, "The Clan Leader is around fifty years old and took over the position just over two years ago. He has a black mole above his eyebrow on his forehead, and when he speaks, he likes to pause after every sentence. But he is terribly afraid of his wife, to the point where he can’t help but shudder when she raises her voice. Am I right?"
Su Pan’er asked them in return.
This actually made the four n hesitate.
They couldn’t stop nodding. She knew even more than they did!
"Is that all?"
The leader seed sowhat dissatisfied.
Su Pan’er was startled, "What would you like to ask, officer? Could you be more specific?"
The leading man wanted to say more, but one of his companions held him back, "Enough, Sixth Brother, she’s said enough, let her go! She’s just a woman who couldn’t even truss a chicken."
Turning, he then waved at Su Pan’er, "Go then! These are wild mountains and ridges, where a weak woman could run into trouble or have an accident, and who could clarify it? Better to go ho early, so as to not worry your family."
"Thank you for your concern, big brother. I plan to pick so good herbs and then exchange them for dicine money before heading ho."
Su Pan’er’s smile was especially sincere.
"That’s good then. Anyway, go down the mountain early, and don’t venture any deeper; it’s too dangerous in there."
The man’s heart was clearly softer, and after repeatedly admonishing Su Pan’er, he finally let her go.
Su Pan’er expressed her gratitude with fear and respect, and then turned to leave with profound thanks.
Even so, Su Pan’er could still feel the wolf-like gaze of the leading man behind her.
"Wait!"
The leading man suddenly called out to her, "Grab her, she’s lying!"
Su Pan’er stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked distressed, "What are you saying, officer? I don’t understand."
The other two n also nodded incessantly, "Sixth Brother, could you be mistaken? What’s wrong with this woman? We have many other matters to attend to, let’s not waste ti here. Let’s go!"
"Our tasks can wait a bit longer. Right now, catching this cunning woman is the priority."
The leader’s eyes flashed with a sharp gleam, "So think about it, the Qin family’s clan leader just recently got a big hole in his forehead. He’s lying on his deathbed waiting to die. She, as a mber of the Qin Clan, didn’t ntion such an important matter, but talked instead about so trivial things. Doesn’t that explain the problem?"
All eyes imdiately turned toward Su Pan’er.
Su Pan’er waved her hands frantically, "Officers, this woman didn’t say those things because she didn’t know, it was just that there wasn’t enough ti to speak of it. How can you conclude that this woman was lying based on just this fact? I also said before, my mother-in-law was ill, so I was at ho taking care of her and really didn’t know about the clan leader’s current condition..."
Did she still want to argue her case? The other party simply wouldn’t listen to her, "Moreover, as soon as she opened her mouth, she called us ’officer.’ But how do people here address us? Do you rember?"
"Rember, they all call us..."
Several voices chid in unison, "Lord Official!"
To the commoners, these officers are all officials, and so they are addressed as "Lord Official."
But Su Pan’er habitually referred to them as "officer," a title used mainly around Shengjing to differentiate between those who are officials and those who are in service, in particular.
Su Pan’er didn’t expect that such a minor title would unexpectedly betray her!
The leader, with eyes fierce like a tiger or a wolf, pointed at Su Pan’er, "Seize her! Let my mother and the others have a good laugh today before sending her off! It’s not a waste for her to have been a woman in this world!"
These words imdiately changed the look in everyone’s eyes!
"Boss! Rest assured, just watch, we’ll catch that young girl and make sure you have a good ti with her first! It’s a pity she’s not a maiden... But that’s even better, a woman like this knows how to please a man, it’ll be much more thrilling to play with..."
They spoke obscenities, each like a starving wolf pouncing towards Su Pan’er.
Since she had been exposed, Su Pan’er also changed from her previous humbleness, she slowly stood up straight and looked coldly at the n.
"It’s like there’s a path to heaven that you don’t take, but a gate to hell which you insist on breaking into! Since you’ve harbored lustful intentions, be prepared to bear the consequences!"
She spoke indifferently, standing calmly where she stood.
Her feet were positioned haphazardly with no sign of a pattern, but in those beautiful, fox eye-shaped eyes, a fierce glint flashed by montarily.
The n didn’t notice it at all and continued to eagerly leap towards her.
Swish!—
A light sound, followed by a flash of white light before their eyes...
The one running at the front, still in a running stance, suddenly plunged to the ground, rolling twice and tumbling to the side of the road, nearly tripping another one beside him.
"Heh heh! What happened to Shi San? How did he fall while running? Don’t tell that he exerted himself too hard on that girl yesterday and today’s so weak and wobbly that he can’t even stand up?"
This comnt caused the man beside him to burst into laughter!
However, the leader wasn’t laughing, "No, that’s not right! Shi San is... he might be in trouble!"
He quickly took a few steps and ran over to the fallen man, bending over to check on the one called Shi San.
Now is the mont!
A gleam of cold light flashed again from Su Pan’er’s hand, aid directly at the one closest to her.
The man suddenly let out a short, sharp scream, and then thumped to the ground, rolling to the side of the road. He lay face down, and it was clear that sothing was terribly wrong.
Trouble had started!
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