Zheng Ruqian was a very clever person. After being enlightened in his dream, he no longer only transported vegetables from Yunshui County, but also sold snow vegetables from Xieyang County to Yunshui County.
The first time, he acted as his own boss and sold them to the married women in bits and pieces. He made good money, but the chitchat was endless, and the married women always wanted to get a little extra even after paying the copper coins, so Zheng Ruqian didn't want to offend his old customers and could only pinch his nose and agree.
The second time, he learned to be smarter. He thought about how originally the siblings were beggars who couldn't even afford meals, yet they were able to sell vegetables to Leisure Residence. Now he was considered a somewhat famous small vegetable vendor in Yunshui County. How could he not find customers to buy the vegetables that he actively delivered to their door?
Zheng Ruqian spent half a day running around the busiest streets in Yunshui County. He didn't sell to restaurants, but found a dried vegetable shop instead.
It wasn't the traditional transaction of silver and goods exchanged. Rather, it was consignment selling.
Zheng Ruqian gave the goods to the boss of the dried vegetable shop to sell. The money from the sales was split twenty-eighty. This way, Zheng Ruqian had to work hard to find good goods and didn't dare use inferior ones to substitute high-quality ones. The boss of the dried vegetable shop didn't need to worry that the goods wouldn't sell, leading to hoarding. It was a win-win situation.
February 27th.
Zheng Ruqian had just collected vegetables in Yunshui County and was driving his donkey cart back to Xieyang County.
Pang Dashan and his four younger brothers' mental state had relaxed from the high tension over the past three days. They joked about the previous three days of intensive training, all feeling it had been unnecessary.
But Zheng Ruqian didn't feel as relaxed as they did.
If the county magistrate's wife really hired killers, and they weren't targeting him but his older and younger siblings in Xieyang County instead, then by comparison, Zheng Ruqian would rather they target him.
As expected, things went as he wished.
When the two donkey carts reached the border between Xieyang County and Yunshui County, the same area where they had tied up the government runner before, the originally flat official road suddenly had some gravel blocking the way.
Pang Dashan reined in the donkey cart, "I'll go move it aside."
Zheng Ruqian frowned. He felt an ominous feeling hovering around his heart.
Just as he was about to remind Pang Dashan, four figures suddenly appeared from behind the gravel. They wore black martial arts uniforms, wielded large choppers, had knife scars on their faces, and exuded a murderous aura.
Knife scars?
Zheng Ruqian's stomach tightened. He immediately yelled, "Dashan, run, it's the knife scar faces!"
Pang Dashan was so frightened he jumped. The benefits of the special training appeared now. He swiftly turned around and fled back behind the donkey cart with lightning speed.
The black-clothed men wielding choppers said, "...You're the knife scar face, your whole family has knife scar faces."
The killers were unhappy now, and would only chop faster.
The extra wide blades came whistling with the wind. In Zheng Ruqian's mind, all thoughts of counterattack, like throwing pebbles, vanished. All his instincts became: run.
Run like crazy.
At that moment, the six of them ran at the fastest speed in their lives. Their legs swung like the wind fire wheels, their hair flew straight back, and they wished they could be as fast as a loosed arrow.
After a cool breeze blew by, the black-clothed men opened their eyes, only to find that the few children had circled around them, passed through the gravel, and ran towards Xieyang County.
"Old Zheng, something's not right," Pang Dashan yelled while running, mouth full of wind. "They came from the Xieyang County direction. Shouldn't we be running towards Yunshui County?"
"You don't understand," Zheng Ruqian also drank the wind. "My fifth younger brother said that to win, we must catch them unprepared."
Seeing that the black-clothed men behind them were all stunned for a moment, they knew this tactic worked.
But it only bought them a few breaths' time.
The black-clothed men reacted and chased after them, choppers in hand.
They were trained martial artists who tempered their bodies every day. They were simply not at a level that the children who had only trained for three days could compare with.
In just over a dozen breaths, the black-clothed men were right on the children's heels.
Seeing the dark blue long blades about to stab the children's backs, the knife-scarred faces even revealed a fierce grin.
In that critical moment, a red-maned horse appeared galloping swiftly from up ahead. A gray-clothed youth lay prone on the carriage ― who else could it be but Fang Heng?
Following closely behind was another carriage with Jiang Sheng Changyan and Wen Zhiyun crouching on the outside.
In a flash, it was as if they had brought light.
Zheng Ruqian nearly cried. He knew he had gambled right. Running towards Xieyang County was the correct direction. His older and younger siblings had really come to save him.
"Third older brother..." His words were swallowed by the wind.
Fang Heng didn't look back at him. His eyebrows were knit solemnly as he firmly gripped his staff and charged the black-clothed men ahead of him, swinging down heavily.
The black-clothed men weren't Pang Dashan. They wouldn't foolishly take that blow and dodged to the side.
But the momentum from their charge forward remained. Fang Heng took advantage of that momentum and chopped down, barely avoiding the long blade in the man's hand.
In the Great Yu Dynasty, iron ore was scarce. Those who could forge iron had to be registered with the county government. Even for a peasant to buy an iron hoe required three certificates and five reviews. To buy a blade was simply difficult.
Let alone one this long, sharp, and exuding a strong, solemn aura of bloodlust.
For a moment, Fang Heng's bones shuddered.
His callused hands instinctively tightened around the hilt and swung up and down diagonally.
From that brief clash, they both knew: these were trained martial artists.
The black-clothed men whistled to call their companions back, abandoning Pang Dashan, Zheng Ruqian and the others. They surrounded the Fang Heng on horseback.
Smart people all knew that as long as they killed the one on horseback, the others would be like turtles in a jar.
"Third older brother!" Jiang Sheng was extremely worried but didn't dare approach, afraid of becoming a burden.
"Third older brother!" Zheng Ruqian also yelled loudly, eyes brimming red.
Fang Heng didn't look back. He focused intently on the four black-clothed men, then suddenly swung his blade.
With both sides trained martial artists, a child against four adults basically had no chance of winning.
But relying on the height advantage from the horse, Fang Heng was able to skillfully hold his own.
The problem was, over time, he would inevitably lose.
Zheng Ruqian clenched his fists tightly, accidentally touching the pebbles in his sleeve pocket. He suddenly understood and called Pang Dashan and his four brothers over. "Throw, throw at them fiercely."
After three days of training, their projectile skills might not be formidable yet but their aim was decent.
Thus, rain-like dense rocks fell on the black-clothed men's heads, bodies, and blades.
Unfortunately, it didn't do much harm.
Seeing Fang Heng struggling badly in the fight, even the red-maned horse whinnied in pain from its injuries.
Sitting on the shaft, Wen Zhiyun took out a package of powder from his sleeve, gritted his teeth, and flung it out.
It just so happened that Zheng Ruqian's rock hit it. The simply folded paper package instantly shattered, and powder like white fog enveloped the men.
Fang Heng reacted swiftly, using his clothes to cover his nose and mouth as he charged out of the encirclement.
Leaving the black-clothed men to inhale a large amount first before they remembered to cover their noses and mouths, but by then it was too late.
Their leader became furious. "What is this, what is it?"
"Ten Fragrance Mild Sinew Powder," Wen Zhiyun said coldly. "In at most half a stick of incense, your limbs will go soft and you won't be able to move."
By that time, no matter how formidable the martial artists, they would have to collapse.
And if fated to die, they would have to die!
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