The carriage Xie Qiao was riding on had not been arranged by her stepmother. She even had to fork out her own money for food and clothing.
This just showed how mean her stepmother was.
Now, many people around her felt that she had treated Xie Qiao harshly. If her daughter got sick and tried to stir up trouble with Xie Qiao again, she would not be able to reason for herself once she reached the Imperial City.
So she decided to endure.
'If Xiao Qiao displeases me, I better avert my gaze.
'Xiao Qiao will feel more at ease this way.'
At that time, Zhao Xuanjing had already led people to find the desolate and ruined village in the southwest.. The village was quite big, and it was not easy to scour it for a single item.
But it was also much better than blindly searching like what he did before.
He had everyone search the village thoroughly.
The whole village was covered with weeds that grew wildly. Only some places covered by stones made for traversable terrain.
Zhao Xuanjing gazed at the village landscape and drew upon his memories of Master Lu's personality. He put himself in Master Lu's shoes. Finally, his intuition brought him to the only private house in the village.
But before he was ready to look for it, several men in black outfits suddenly appeared around him.
"Protect the Young Master!" Imperial Bodyguard Zhou and others were shocked.
In an instant, there was a fight.
Weeds were flying all over the place, and blood was splattered everywhere. The dim sky was covered by wool of the weeds, creating a gloomy fog.
"Swish…"
Several arrows were released, piercing through the fog towards their direction.
Zhao Xuanjing took a sword in his left hand and kicked a man in a black outfit. But the next moment, an arrow was shot straight into his chest. Everyone froze in shock.
The next moment it became apparent that the arrow had not pierced his skin. Everyone seemed to faint at the sight.
"Dang!" The arrow tore his clothes but immediately fell to the ground.
Zhao Xuanjing was taken aback. Xie Qiao's words crossed his mind.
'Remember to watch out for weapons and sparks from fires?
'Is it... could the blessed mirror have saved his life?'
Zhao Xuanjing was unhurt. The guards around him rallied and quickly counterattacked. The group of people in black outfits had an advantage for their sudden attack. But now that they had missed the opportunity, they seemed far more helpless.
Sand and stones flew.
Their swords were rattled and clanked against each other.
Qin Zhi confronted the three men in black in front of him. It was a difficult situation and he was forced to retreat. He did not realize that there was a dry well behind him. He did not think much about it. He just wanted to quickly get rid of the few badasses in front of him. A fierce fight ensued.
His ability was extraordinary. Although he faced three difficult enemies, he quickly gained the upper hand.
But for some reason, all of a sudden, his vision went blurry. His hands turned heavy and his arms felt weak. He felt as if someone had clamped his arms to his side.
He felt as if someone was pulling him by the back of his head, and his body suddenly reeled back...
"Be careful!" Imperial Bodyguard Zhou dashed over and shouted out loud.
Qin Zhi's vision went black, and he was about to fall into the well at any moment.
At the most critical moment, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his chest.
The burning sensation brought him back to consciousness just as he was about to fall. His hand successfully grabbed a stone that protruded from the wall of the well!
Imperial Bodyguard Zhou and the others rushed over to help him immediately.
After defeating the three men in black outfits, they hurriedly pulled him out of the well. When they took a look at him again, the man was able to stand on his feet, but his waist had somehow been cut. His clothes were already soaked with blood. It was a very scary sight.
After a while, some of the men in black outfits lay dead, and others escaped.
Qin Zhi was confused.
He was not alone. Everyone else looked on, just as confused.
The wound on his waist was bleeding profusely, but it did not reach his important organs. He was not seriously injured because he could still talk to everyone with a pale look on his face.
"Mr. Zhou...tell me, is it too late for me to kneel in front of that half-immortal Xie now?" Qin Zhi's felt a tightness in his throat, fearing that his life might be coming to an end.
He even took out the safety talisman Mr. Zhou had forced upon him.
'It had turned into ash?'
"..." Qin Zhi had never experienced such fear, even if he had escaped this day with his life.
"My dear mom, Qin Zhi, the one at my home is really not my biological parent…"