Actually, Wu Ran’s vigilance against this White Lotus Cultist was completely unnecessary. After all, all of her acupoints had already been sealed by Chen Qing.
Even if she managed to get her hands on a sharp weapon, she could only exert the strength of an ordinary person. Trying to rise up and injure people amid this group of martial artists would be far too difficult.
Inside the carriage, Chen Qing had specially rented a six-person carriage, so the space was quite spacious.
The White Lotus Cultist sat obediently in one corner of the carriage, doing her best to minimize her presence.
She would occasionally sneak a glance at Su Mu, who knew what was going through her mind.
Although the carriage was spacious, Su Mu felt it was terribly cramped.
The Villain was just a few body lengths away from her, and sitting right next to the Villain was Ye Qinglian.
At this distance, the Villain could grab her with a single stretch.
Seeing Silly Shizun sitting pressed against Ye Qinglian, far away from herself, Chen Qing’s expression wasn’t good.
Sensing the thick jealousy in the air, Ye Qinglian lifted her head to gaze at the scenery outside the window.
Seeing Ye Qinglian staring out the window, Su Mu decided to imitate her.
However, Chen Qing didn’t give Su Mu the chance to do so. The moment she lifted her head, Chen Qing reached out and pulled her straight into her arms.
“The scenery outside this window is even better.”
Wasn’t the scenery outside exactly the same?
Su Mu was unconvinced by Chen Qing’s excuse, but seeing the ominous look in her eyes, she only dared to glare at her once.
Nestled in her warm embrace, Su Mu stared at the scenery outside the window.
Once the thick jealousy in the air dissipated, Ye Qinglian, who had been pretending to admire the view earlier, quietly observed the two of them.
Ever since she had met Grandmaster Chen Qing, the only one who could cause such intense emotional fluctuations in her was the Shizun nestled in her arms, who got bullied by her every day.
Although Ye Qinglian didn’t know what story lay between the two of them, she knew that Su Mu was undoubtedly a special and unique existence to Chen Qing.
If she wanted to recruit this expert, it seemed she would have to find a breakthrough through this Shizun who got bullied every day.
Su Mu had no idea what schemes Ye Qinglian was plotting in her mind, but the carriage’s gentle jolts, combined with the warmth of Chen Qing’s embrace, made her eyelids grow heavy.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Mu, who had been sleeping comfortably, was jolted awake by a resounding drumbeat.
Su Mu hazily opened her sleepy eyes. The carriage window, which had been used to view the scenery outside, was now closed, and the faint clamor from outside told her that they were no longer on the deserted official road.
“You’re awake.”
Chen Qing’s flat voice sounded from above her head. Only now did Su Mu realize that she had been sleeping entirely in Chen Qing’s arms.
While asleep, she must have greedily burrowed deeper into the warmth of Chen Qing’s embrace.
No wonder it had felt so comfortable.
This Villain might be perverted and detestable, but she made an excellent cushion for sleeping.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su Mu sat up from her embrace. At this moment, only she and Chen Qing remained in the carriage.
To ease her embarrassment, Su Mu wisely changed the subject.
“What’s going on outside? It’s so noisy.”
“We’ve arrived at the County Yamen in Shuangguan City. But no sooner had we reached our host’s place than they put on a good show for us.”
“A good show? What kind?”
The spectacle-loving Su Mu immediately wanted to poke her head out of the carriage to see what was happening outside.
But the moment she moved, Chen Qing pulled her back.
“Your hair’s all messed up from sleep. Aren’t you going to fix it, you airhead?”
Chen Qing used her fair fingers to carefully tidy Su Mu’s sleep-tousled hair.
“Is it done yet?”
The impatient Su Mu didn’t care much about her hair.
But while Chen Qing tidied it for her, she obediently stayed still, staring at her with eager little eyes.
“Thump thump thump!”
While Chen Qing was fixing Su Mu’s hair, the drumbeat that had woken her rang out again, resounding loudly.
After waiting a moment, Chen Qing finally finished tidying her hair.
Unable to hold back any longer, Su Mu quickly poked her head out to see what was happening outside.
Since she was standing on the carriage frame, her vantage point was higher than the others’, allowing her to take in the entire scene at a glance.
A frail old woman wielded a large drum mallet, pounding vigorously on a massive drum inscribed with the character for “injustice.”
A large crowd of onlookers surrounded them, watching the spectacle just like Su Mu.
“What’s going on?”
Su Mu cast a puzzled glance at Wu Ran beside her.
“This old woman’s only daughter went missing. The officials claimed she was carried off by a wolf, but her daughter was almost of marriageable age and rarely left home, so it’s impossible that a wolf took her.”
After hearing Wu Ran’s explanation, Su Mu roughly pieced together what had happened.
The old woman’s daughter had gone missing, but she didn’t believe the officials’ perfunctory explanation, so she was beating the drum of injustice here in hopes that the authorities would reinvestigate.
Before Su Mu could learn more, several burly soldiers in uniforms arrived with large gongs to disperse the crowd.
“Go on, get lost! Don’t crowd here. If you keep bunching up, we’ll arrest you all for disturbing the peace.”
Hearing the soldiers’ threats, the onlookers scattered in all directions like startled birds and beasts.
After the crowd dispersed, the soldiers looked smug.
But upon seeing Su Mu and the others’ unmoving carriage, they frowned.
One soldier was about to come over and shoo them away when his companion stopped him.
His companion pointed at their carriage, then at the expensive brocade robe on Wu Ran.
In the end, the soldiers ignored Su Mu and the others, turning instead to threaten the old woman with their gongs.
“Old lady, the officials already said your daughter was taken by a wolf. Stop beating the drum. We’ve let you off several times already, brothers that we are.”
“At least send people to search! My daughter was about to get married, and she always stayed home. How could a wolf have taken her?”
The old woman’s tone was agitated.
“How should I know? If they say it was a wolf, then it was a wolf. If the government had to track down every missing person, do you think we could keep up? I’m telling you, stop now, or if you keep beating it, I’ll send you to the dungeon.”
“But…”
“No buts.”
While the soldiers argued with the old woman, Su Mu and the others quietly observed.
From the old woman’s demeanor, she didn’t seem to be lying. If it wasn’t some natural disaster like being carried off by a wolf, then it had to be man-made calamity.
Considering the officials’ perfunctory attitude, Ye Qinglian’s suspicions grew even firmer.
This might be an opportunity as well.
Ye Qinglian exchanged a glance with Chen Qing, who had stepped out of the carriage. From her eyes, it was clear this Senior thought the same.
Since it was an opportunity, they had to seize it.
As Ye Qinglian prepared to intervene and stop the soldiers, Su Mu—who had wanted to help but feared causing trouble for Chen Qing—brightened up.
Since Ye Qinglian wanted to help too, if trouble came, the Villain probably wouldn’t punish her for it.
With that in mind, Su Mu hurriedly followed behind Ye Qinglian.
