Chapter 170: A Sudden Change

Zheng Er and his group, laughing and singing, left the cold long street cheerfully.

Under the wind and snow, Zhao Quan stood with his head lowered, isolated, his eyes devoid of light. He swallowed and said, “Brothers, we admit to having selfish motives… In Shanyan County, if you don’t have any selfish motives, you’d have been dead eight hundred times over…”

“Our abilities are only enough to protect our own families… but it seems like that doesn’t help much.”

With that, Zhao Quan took one slow, difficult step after another, heading in the direction Zheng Er and his group had gone.

“If you want to come with me, then come.”

“If you don’t want to, then go back and rest.”

“No matter what you choose, I won’t blame you, and I won’t make things difficult for you…”

At this point, an older constable sighed deeply, “Zhao Quan, what can you do by going with them now?”

Zhao Quan chuckled, “At least I can’t let him harm anyone else right under my nose… Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep well tonight…”

“Boss, I’ll go with you!”

“I’m not afraid of death. If I die, I’ll just be a hero again in eighteen years!”

The young constable who had defended Zhao Quan earlier quickly ran after him, his words full of “heroic ambition”!

Zhao Quan didn’t turn around, but his steps paused for a moment: “You brat, don’t be reckless…”

The wind and snow raged on. Beneath a bare old tree, much of the snow had been shoveled away, revealing the brown mud beneath.

There were signs of recent digging on the muddy ground… In front of a small mound, there was a wooden sign stuck in the ground, with the words [Grave of the Late Husband, Huang Yong] written on it!

Mao Cuicui, dressed in an ill-fitting mourning dress and cap, was kneeling before the makeshift grave, slowly burning paper money.

Her eyes, red and swollen like walnuts, seemed to have cried all their tears. Her vacant gaze lacked any color, as she mechanically repeated the act of throwing paper money into the fire.

Mu Sheng stood to one side, quietly watching. Having seen many funerals, she didn’t feel much emotional turmoil.

At that moment, heavy footsteps caught her attention.

Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw a group of fierce-looking men approaching.

Mu Sheng immediately noticed the bloodstains on their clothes, but she made no move, simply observing them. It seemed that the appearance of these men, so ominous in the dead of night, didn’t instill fear in her.

“Hey! Brothers! Here’s an unexpected prize!”

“Look at this little beauty! She’s a real looker!”

Zheng Er licked his cracked lips and leered, “Little sister, are you cold? How about I take you somewhere to drink a little wine and warm up?”

Upon hearing the noise behind her, Mao Cuicui, her face full of fear, instinctively “screamed.” She quickly got up, stumbling forward, and shielded Mu Sheng, offering a smile that was even uglier than crying: “Gentlemen, why are you back again?”

“You little slut! Of course, we’re back to have some fun with you!”

“You sucked away all our good luck, causing us to lose money at the gambling den!”

“Tell me, don’t you think you should properly entertain us and make it up to us?”

Hearing this, Mao Cuicui felt disgusted. She wanted nothing more than to “skin and bone” these people in front of her!

However, when she thought of Mu Sheng still being behind her, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and force a smile: “Well, gentlemen, why don’t you go inside and wait for me? It’s freezing out here; don’t let the cold kill your mood.”

“Enough, you little wench, stop pretending.”

Zheng Er pointed at his own eyes. “I’m not blind. Seeing you like this, you probably wish you could tear us apart with your teeth. Who’d dare let you serve them?”

“Hurry up and talk some sense into that delicate little girl. Make her behave… We’ve been drinking, and our hands aren’t steady. If we end up roughing her up too much, it’d be a shame to ruin such a pretty face.”

Thud!

Mao Cuicui dropped to her knees, begging the men in front of her. “Gentlemen, please let her go! I’ll serve you however you want!”

“Damn it, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!” Zheng Er had no patience for Mao Cuicui’s pleas. He strode forward, reaching out to drag her away!

Thud, thud, thud! Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of leather boots crunching through the snow rang out!

Zhao Quan arrived with a small group of constables, stepping in front of Mao Cuicui and Mu Sheng to shield them!

“Well, well!”

“Here comes the useless bunch asking for another beating?”

“You must really have a death wish.”

Zheng Er’s temper flared. Without hesitation, he swung his hand at Zhao Quan’s face!

Smack!

A crisp slap echoed in the cold air!

Zhao Quan staggered, spitting out a bloodied tooth, but he still stood firm in front of Mao Cuicui and Mu Sheng.

“Zheng Er, this young girl belongs to the Imperial Preceptor’s people. If you touch her, the consequences won’t be something you or your boss can handle!”

Though Zhao Quan wasn’t certain if it was true, at this moment, he had no choice but to use the Imperial Preceptor’s name, hoping Zheng Er would back down!

“The Imperial Preceptor?”

“He didn’t show up himself, but his student is here?”

Zheng Er narrowed his eyes, scanning Zhao Quan and Mu Sheng’s faces, trying to determine if Zhao Quan was lying.

To his surprise, Zhao Quan looked resolute, showing no signs of deceit.

Meanwhile, the fair-skinned girl remained completely indifferent, as if she hadn’t even registered them as a threat!

Could she really be a student of the so-called Imperial Preceptor?

After a brief pause, Zheng Er grinned at Mu Sheng. “Little sister, is your master a student of the Imperial Preceptor?”

“The murderer is right in front of you. Why aren’t you making a move?” Mu Sheng ignored Zheng Er entirely and instead directed her question at Zhao Quan and the constables!

“This…” Zhao Quan hesitated for a moment before answering honestly, “They’re not easy to arrest. If we do, not just us, but even the innocent people of Shanyan County will suffer for it.”

Mu Sheng replied flatly, “So you’re just going to let them be?”

Zhao Quan remained silent. He turned to the young constable beside him and ordered, “Take the girl away.”

Mu Sheng raised a hand. “No need to worry about me. Just take Sister Mao.”

However, the young constable was too headstrong. He took a few steps forward, reaching out to grab Mu Sheng.

“I said, don’t worry about me.”

At some point, a long, sharp coffin nail had appeared in Mu Sheng’s hand, its tip now pressing against the young constable’s throat.

“Y-young lady! We’re constables! We’re here to help you!” The young constable swallowed hard, raising his hands in surrender.

“Constables?”

Mu Sheng’s lips curled slightly, her expression laced with an indescribable amusement. “Constables who plan to leave behind a defenseless woman, allowing a murderer to once again disgrace the one she loves most, right in front of his grave?”

Clang!

The sound of a sword being drawn rang out!

A streak of cold light flashed from Zhao Quan’s hand, and in the blink of an eye, his drawn blade plunged straight into a thug’s chest!