I m the Farmgirl You Can t Mess With - Chapter 1406: Side Story: Fan Zijin (22)
Chapter 1406: Side Story: Fan Zijin (22)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran meditated quietly, not understanding Fan Zijin’s concerns. Actually, when he heard that conversation, he had already guessed that the person who wanted to kill them was either Madam Wu or Qi Feng.
Regardless of whether it was the former or the latter, both made Qi Haoran extremely disappointed in his father. However, he had known since he was young that his father did not like him and his big brother. He had also regarded his father as being non-existent.
But even so, Qi Haoran’s heart still ached when he thought that his father might be the one who sent people to have him killed.
Since it was painful, he would rather not think about it.
Qi Haoran focused on meditating to recover his internal energy. In the second half of the night, he lay on the ground and slept next to Fan Zijin. The next day, he woke up early to start a fire and roast steamed buns.
No matter what, they had to find their big brother as soon as possible. The outside world was too dangerous.
The two of them traveled as fast as they could before they finally came across a relatively large village in the evening.
The farmers working in the fields had just returned home with their hoe. When they saw them, they could not help but stare at them warily.
Fan Zijin tried his best to smile and asked, “Sir, how far is it from Xingzhou Prefecture City?”
The farmer tightened his grip on the hoe and said, “It’ll take three and a half days on foot. If you’re fast, you might get there in three days.”
Elated, Fan Zijin glanced at Qi Haoran beside him and squeezed out a smile. “Sir, we came out in a hurry and didn’t bring enough rations. However, we brought an extra set of clothes. Do you think we can exchange two sets of clothes for three days of rations?”
The farmer hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright, follow me.”
The two of them quickly followed him back.
The farmer instructed his wife to make three days’ worth of pancakes for the two of them. Then, he turned around and said to Fan Zijin, “Where are your clothes? Take them out and let me take a look. If there are no patches, I can give you more.”
Fan Zijin opened the bag and showed it to him.
The farmer’s expression immediately changed, and his wife’s face turned pale. She gripped the kitchen knife in her hand tightly.
Qi Haoran narrowed his eyes and took a step forward to stand to the left of Fan Zijin. Fan Zijin also sensed that something was wrong, but he still asked with a smile, “What’s wrong, Sir?”
The farmer looked at the clothes in the bag and then at the two fair and tender youths. No matter what, he could not associate them with bandits, but Ministry Councillor Liu would not lie to them.
His wife didn’t think too much about it. Seeing that the two youths had no intention of killing them, she thought that her children would be back soon and immediately went into the kitchen to take out the black steamed buns she’d prepared for dinner and stuffed them into the two youths’ arms. She said with a pleading expression, “Sirs, please spare our lives. We only have this much at home. Because you’ve already come to collect protection fees previously, we have nothing better at home to offer you.”
The farmer was also silent.
Stunned, the two youths said in a daze, “We’re not bad people!”
The farmer looked at them for a while and exchanged glances with his wife. He also sensed that something was wrong.
This place was far from the county town and at the foot of Chef Mountain, and there was also an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack lone mountain opposite Chef Mountain. Due to these reasons, bandits liked to settle down in this area, so they were often visited by bandits.
In the past few years, their lives were only more stable because Ministry Councillor Liu had come forward to negotiate with the bandits on the mountain that the villagers would regularly give them protection fees. In exchange, the bandits had to ensure that the villagers would not be robbed by other bandits or refugees.
Although the two sides were basically getting along peacefully, there would always be some bandits who would go down the mountain to steal their food and snatch their chickens, ducks, and vegetables. As the quantity was not very large, everyone endured it.
Therefore, they had seen many bandits. The two youths in front of them had fair faces and tender hands. One look and they could tell that they had lived a pampered life. Judging from their clear eyes, they did not at all look like bandits.
The farmer hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, “Hurry up and leave. The bandits on Lone Mountain seem to be looking for you. They said that two young bandits wearing sapphire blue and duck-green embroidered clothes with white satin belts on their waists stole 20,000 taels worth of silver banknotes from the chief and asked us to report if we saw anyone suspicious.”
The farmer turned around, took a large leaf, wrapped the six black steamed buns, and stuffed them into their arms. He said in a low voice, “Leave quickly. If anyone finds out that you came to our village, the bandits on Lone Mountain will definitely not let us off.”
However, Qi Haoran’s expression changed slightly. He suddenly raised his hand and knocked the farmer out. His wife screamed and was also knocked out by Qi Haoran.
Stunned, Fan Zijin asked, “What are you doing?”
“Someone’s coming. If they’re conscious, they’d be in trouble instead. Let’s go.”
Qi Haoran grabbed Fan Zijin and ran away.
The moment they stepped out of the door, they met a group of people in black with sabers. The person opposite them narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “Qi Haoran?”
Qi Haoran carried Fan Zijin and ran.
The people on the other side immediately caught up. These people were different from the bandits. They used their qinggong to surround them from both sides. He knew that these people were from the capital and were sent to hunt them down.
“Kill them. Don’t let them escape again.”
The two of them were stuck in the village. Qi Haoran fought with them while protecting Fan Zijin. Because the terrain was disadvantageous to him, he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.
Fan Zijin panicked. Seeing the forest not far away, he immediately said to Qi Haoran, “Let’s go into the mountains. Hurry!”
Qi Haoran quickly dodged one of the sabers and slashed at two of the men in black. Then, he pulled Fan Zijin away to dodge the sabers. Only then did he sweep his leg and kick the person away. Then, he immediately picked Fan Zijin up and jumped onto the roof. With a few light taps, he jumped out of the encirclement.
The person chasing after him praised, “What incredible qinggong. What a pity.”
With that, he chased after them with his saber.
Ministry Councillor Liu’s mouth fell open. After a while, he said, “My… my village.”
The villagers hid in their houses. Even if their roofs were kicked off, they did not dare to come out. After a while, they waited for everyone to leave before sneaking out to count the number of people. They realized that other than the farmer couple who received Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin who were knocked unconscious, no one else was injured.
Only then did Ministry Councillor Liu heave a sigh of relief. He wiped his cold sweat and said, “It’s good that everyone is fine. Human lives are the most important.”
“Master, the mountain chief asked us to organize the villagers to surround the mountain. Are we going?”
Ministry Councillor Liu glared at him. “Can we refuse?”
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Since those two youths might not be bandits, we should be lenient wherever possible. Besides, there are many wild beasts in the mountains. Tell them not to go too deep. Just put on an act.”
A villager said indignantly, “They even knocked out my third brother and third sister-in-law.”
Ministry Councillor Liu couldn’t help but scold, “It would be bad if they didn’t knock Liu Laosan out. Hurry up and carry him back to massage him awake. Everyone, grab your hoes and gather at the foot of the mountain in an hour.”
At this moment, Qi Haoran had already entered the forest.
Once they were in the mountains, it was much more convenient for him. With the help of the trees, he managed to get rid of more than half of the people. Fan Zijin hugged the bag in his arms tightly. Knowing that he was a burden, he quickly racked his brains and pointed the way for Qi Haoran. “Let’s head northeast. That’s the direction of Xingzhou Prefecture.”
Qi Haoran carried Fan Zijin and sprinted in the forest. Occasionally, he would pick up a few stones and throw them behind, using them as hidden weapons.
He knew that his internal energy was almost exhausted, and he also knew that it was impossible for him to fight them while protecting Fan Zijin. Therefore, he directly used his advantage and circulated his qinggong to the limit. He leaped in the forest and soon left the enemy far behind, only stopping when his internal energy was depleted.
Fan Zijin put down his bag with a dark expression and asked Qi Haoran to change back into his clothes. Then, he tore the cloth clothes they were originally wearing into pieces and hung a few pieces into the deep forest. Then, they continued to walk northeast.
If even a small village was controlled by bandits, would they still dare to travel on the official road?
The two youths felt that the forest was safer than the outside.
