“Da Liu, pull ashore.”
Jin Feng ordered the fleet to dock, then had the messenger escort lead the way while he personally took men to meet Tang Xiaobei.
It was already winter, and even in Jiangnan the weather was bitterly cold.
Jin Feng, wrapped in a heavy cloak, rode against the biting wind for half an hour before finally spotting a mounted party ahead.
More than thirty escorts guarded a carriage in the centre.
Inside the carriage, Tang Xiaobei had been chatting animatedly with someone. When the carriage stopped, she lifted the curtain in puzzlement.
Then she saw Jin Feng pass by outside the curtain and walk towards the door.
“Husband…”
Tang Xiaobei, who had been laughing and talking moments earlier, suddenly pouted the instant she saw Jin Feng. She pushed open the door, threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and burst into tears.
“Husband, why have you only just arrived? … I thought I would never see you again…”
Tang Xiaobei cried with heartfelt sorrow.
Her tears completely soaked Jin Feng’s shoulder.
Jin Feng’s face darkened with helpless exasperation.
When Tang Xiaobei had lifted the curtain earlier, he had clearly seen inside.
She had been smiling brightly, waving her arms vigorously with bold gestures.
Yet the moment she saw him, she suddenly turned soft and delicate like a wilting flower.
Even though Jin Feng was rather oblivious to romance, he knew better than to expose her at this moment.
Instead, he cooperated by gently stroking her back and offering quiet comfort.
This was actually where Tang Xiaobei showed her cleverness.
She understood perfectly when to act coy, when to be strong, when to play the fool, and when to be serious.
Since Jin Feng had travelled thousands of li to rescue her, she naturally needed to appear a little fragile.
If she displayed even greater bravado than Jin Feng, would that not make his journey seem unnecessary?
Jin Feng himself understood that, whether he came or not, Yuan Caiwei would spare no effort to search for and rescue Tang Xiaobei.
But this ambush on Tang Xiaobei had clearly been orchestrated by someone.
It was also a provocation against the Zhenyuan Escort Agency and the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce.
Jin Feng had to uncover who was behind it and what their aim was.
He also had to avenge the escorts and chamber employees who had perished in this incident.
Therefore, his journey south to Jiangnan was not solely for Tang Xiaobei’s sake.
He was making a statement.
Whoever dared to move against the Zhenyuan Escort Agency would face its wrath.
No matter how powerful or influential the opponent’s backer might be.
Once Tang Xiaobei had cried enough, Jin Feng finally asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine…”
Tang Xiaobei wiped her tears, then suddenly remembered something. “Husband, come. Let me introduce you to the elder sister who saved me and A-Lan.”
“Elder sister?” Jin Feng was taken aback.
Having heard that someone had rescued Tang Xiaobei, Jin Feng had instinctively assumed it was a man.
Female experts were, after all, extremely rare.
“Yes, elder sister.”
Tang Xiaobei said excitedly, “Her martial skills are incredible. She is no whit inferior to A-Mei!”
As she spoke, she stepped aside, revealing the woman sitting in the carriage who was watching Jin Feng with an ambiguous smile.
“Mr Jin, we meet again!”
“Bei Qianxun, how is it you?”
Jin Feng was so shocked he nearly leapt from his horse.
“And why could it not be me?”
The woman seemed particularly pleased by Jin Feng’s astonishment. She smiled slightly, revealing a row of small white teeth.
“You… you two know each other?”
Tang Xiaobei was even more surprised than Jin Feng.
“If we did not know each other, why would I save you?”
Bei Qianxun smiled at Tang Xiaobei. “I forgot to mention. I used to be a bandit too.”
“Elder sister, you were once a bandit?” Tang Xiaobei’s eyes widened in shock.
“What exactly is going on? Why are you in Jiangnan?”
A trace of wariness rose in Jin Feng’s heart.
Bei Qianxun did not answer directly. Instead, she countered, “Is Jiangnan your private property? Why can I not come here?”
Having already experienced Bei Qianxun’s difficult nature in prison, Jin Feng knew he would get no answers by pressing her. He turned to Tang Xiaobei. “How did you meet her?”
“It happened like this. Neither A-Lan nor I can swim, and the current here was very strong. We clung to life-saving bags and drifted downstream for more than ten li before finally struggling ashore. The moment we reached the bank, we encountered a band of bandits.”
Tang Xiaobei continued, “There were over twenty bandits. When they saw we were women, they wanted to abduct us. A-Lan’s crossbow had been lost somewhere along the way, so we were no match for them.
Just then, Sister Qianxun rode past on horseback and rescued us.”
After hearing this, Jin Feng looked at Bei Qianxun with deep suspicion.
It was far too coincidental.
So coincidental that Jin Feng could not bring himself to believe it.
“Master, how do you know Sister Qianxun?”
Tang Xiaobei asked curiously.
As one of the people who understood Jin Feng best, Tang Xiaobei was well aware that he desperately wanted a skilled expert as a bodyguard.
That was why she had spent the entire journey building a good relationship with Bei Qianxun, hoping she would stay to protect Jin Feng.
But the way events were unfolding left Tang Xiaobei rather bewildered.
She very much wanted to know what had happened between the two.
Why had Bei Qianxun deliberately concealed that she knew Jin Feng?
And why was Jin Feng so guarded?
“When Mu Lan wanted death-row prisoners to test my gunpowder, I saw her name on the list…”
Jin Feng quietly recounted how he had come to know Bei Qianxun.
“Good heavens, what an incredible coincidence!”
Tang Xiaobei was utterly incredulous.
She immediately understood why Jin Feng was treating Bei Qianxun this way.
“Yes, far too much of a coincidence.”
Jin Feng pulled Tang Xiaobei behind him and also summoned A-Lan from the carriage.
Without needing instructions, Da Liu saw Jin Feng’s actions and immediately led the personal guard to separate the carriage from Jin Feng.
The other escorts, seeing this, raised their crossbows and aimed at the carriage.
It was only an ordinary carriage. It could not withstand crossbow bolts.
At a single command from Jin Feng, the escorts would instantly turn it into a sieve.
Most people, faced with so many crossbows aimed at them, would probably have been terrified out of their wits.
Yet Bei Qianxun remained completely unconcerned. She flicked aside the fringe that obscured her eyes and chuckled softly. “Heh, still so afraid of death.”
Jin Feng ignored her mockery and asked, “Bei Qianxun, you must now know Xiaobei’s identity, right?”
“Of course. Your little concubine. She talked about it the whole way,” Bei Qianxun replied with a smile.
“Then why did you not mention that we already knew each other?” Jin Feng pressed.
“She never asked,” Bei Qianxun said with an innocent expression.
“I… how could I have imagined you knew each other?” Tang Xiaobei said helplessly.
Jin Feng had never been to Jiangnan before. No matter how clever Tang Xiaobei was, she could not have foreseen meeting one of his acquaintances here.
“Bei Qianxun, you must answer the question I asked earlier. Why are you here?”
Jin Feng pulled Tang Xiaobei further back several steps.
“And if I refuse to answer?” Bei Qianxun pointed at the surrounding men. “Will you order them to loose their arrows?”
“If necessary, I will give the order,” Jin Feng stated. “To be frank, someone is targeting our escort agency and chamber this time. I must get to the bottom of it!”
“That makes sense.” Bei Qianxun sat up straight and stretched lazily.
Clack-clack-clack!
The sound of numerous crossbows being released from safety instantly rang out around her.
