Chapter 82 The Thief Becomes a Marquis

Chapter 82 The Thief Becomes a Marquis

Chapter 82 The Thief Becomes a Marquis
On the table, two candles flickered gently.

"Yan Sanniang, you still won't tell me?"

"Yue is just a nobody, not worth your attention, so forget it."

"Master Qiao is a famous senior in Shanxi martial arts. He came here in person. Isn't it a bit rude of you to remain silent tonight?"

The man who was speaking had a square face, a broad forehead, sparse eyebrows, and a strong body. Around his waist were two short-handled octagonal lotus hammers tied with iron chains. They were about three feet long, and the hammer heads were about the size of two fists, with eight edges and corners, like blooming lotus flowers.

"I still say the same thing. Hand over the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant and the Father-in-law's Mansion will never pursue the matter! We can also hire you as a guest official, and you will enjoy endless wealth and glory."

Outside, heavy rain was pouring down, falling on the tiles.

The thunder roared like God swinging his hammer on a giant drum.

The sound of rain and thunder is a noisy mixture.

The woman lowered her head, her long black hair hanging in disarray, and her chin rested on the cold iron yoke.

Without saying a word, there was a smile on her pretty face.

Qiao Wuyong has been famous for a long time, and his chivalrous deeds are widely circulated. He is known as the "Swordsman of Northern Shanxi" and is also a well-known figure in the world of martial arts.

"Miss Yan, you stole treasures for your own selfish reasons and implicated many fellow jianghu people. If you did it to achieve the name of 'Swallow Thief', I'm afraid it will backfire. I'm an experienced person. How to make a name for yourself in the jianghu is a profound and delicate matter. You can't just do it recklessly."

Yue Xiaotian persuaded him with the benefits.

There is no need to describe Qiao by name.

It seems that life in the martial arts world is free and easy, but ninety-nine out of a hundred heroes cannot escape the cage of fame and fortune.

To put it bluntly, many people enter the world just to chase these two words.

"In the early years of Yousheng, a horse thief bribed a border general and sneaked into Datong Prefecture to burn, kill, rob, rape and plunder. The hero Qiao rode out of the border with a sword and chased the thief for 300 miles, breaking his heart and courage and hanging his head. Several provinces in the north spread the reputation of 'the swordsman of northern Shanxi'."

"I was only ten years old at the time, and I heard people talking about how chivalrous and skilled the 'Shanxi Northern Swordsman' Qiao Wuyong was, and I was fascinated by him."

Qiao Wuyong stroked his beard and chuckled. That was indeed the proudest achievement in his life.

Yan Sanniang smiled and said, "When the hero Qiao rode out of the border alone, apart from fame and gain, I think he should have had some chivalrous spirit and courage, right?"

Qiao Wuyong's smile froze on his face. He snorted coldly and turned to look to the side.

Yan Sanniang looked at Yue Xiaotian again and chuckled, "Butler Yue, as long as Wan Guozhang returns all the 100,000 shi of grain and fodder that he embezzled to the soldiers and civilians at the border, I will naturally return the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant."

Yue Xiaotian sneered and said, "The father-in-law's mansion has already sent 50,000 shi of grain and grass. Even if you want to do a good deed, you should be satisfied."

Yan Sanniang shook her head firmly and said with a smile: "I agreed with Concubine Wan that the 100,000 shi of grain and grass would be returned in full. Otherwise, the Nine Dragons Jade would be shattered, and she had to think about how to explain it to the emperor. The Nine Dragons Jade Pendant passed down by Taizu should not be found in the world."

Concubine Wan was extremely beautiful. Her father was the Marquis Wanhu, her mother was the Lady of the State, and her sworn brother Wan Chonglou was in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Due to Emperor Yousheng's favor towards her, ordinary things could not affect her at all.

This Nine-Dragon Jade Pendant is a sacred object passed down from Emperor Taizu, a rare treasure known throughout the world and of great significance to the inheritance of the legitimacy of the throne.

This time when Concubine Wan returned to her hometown to visit her relatives, she specifically asked Emperor Yousheng for the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant she carried with her, in order to show it to her relatives as a token of his favor.

Such rude requests and absurd reasons are not acceptable at all.

Emperor Yousheng was not a lustful monarch, but he never had the heart to refuse Concubine Wan.

If the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant was stolen, it would shake the foundation of the country. Even if the emperor wanted to be lenient, those censors and court officials would still hold on to it, and Wan's favor would definitely be greatly affected.

Qiao Wuyongtang sighed, "Miss Yan, these 100,000 shi of grain and grass are not only related to the Guozhang Mansion. The nobles, border generals, civil officials, and wealthy merchants all have interests in it. Guozhang Wan was able to squeeze out 50,000 shi from it, and he has already used all his connections. Now that you have been captured, why don't both sides take a step back?"

Yan Sanniang sneered and said, "So the Jinbei Swordsman knows everything about what the Father-in-law's Mansion is doing?"

Qiao Wuyong chuckled and said, "Miss Yan, you may mock me, but the day when Concubine Wan returns to the capital is approaching, and the 50,000 shi of grain and grass must not be moved. From now on, the father-in-law's mansion will not be as polite as before, so Miss Yan, you have to take care of yourself."

Yue Xiaotian looked at Yan Sanniang's oval face and slender figure, and laughed: "Tomorrow, the five torture masters from Taiyuan Prefecture will go up the mountain. Miss Yan, they will not have any pity on your beautiful face."

"You bastard! You accomplice! Use whatever torture you want."

Yan Sanniang looked at the two coldly. Before she became a disciple, she was an orphan of the military household in Datong Prefecture. When she decided to do this extremely dangerous thing, she had already considered the worst possible outcome.

The two men interrogated her all night, using threats and inducements, but seeing that Yan Sanniang had a heart of stone, they had to give up.

The iron door slammed shut, the two candles went out, and the stone house fell into complete darkness.

Yan Sanniang sighed silently in the darkness. After she left her master's sect after eight years of apprenticeship, she returned to Datong Prefecture. The military households and civilians there were still facing a dilemma between life and death under the invasion of grassland cavalry and exploitation by border generals. It was almost the end of the world.

Last winter, there was a cold disaster on the grassland, and the nearby Datong Prefecture was not much better.

Many disaster victims were displaced and unable to plough the spring fields. The imperial court realized this only too late and finally managed to squeeze out 100,000 shi of grain and fodder, but it was still embezzled by a group of people led by Wan Guozhang.

A drizzle of cold rain floated down from the sky, landing on my face, chilling me to the bone.

She didn't care much.

After all, people who are determined to die will not care about the water being too cold or their clothes being stained with dust.

But then more rain fell, hitting the iron yoke and pouring into her collar, soaking her thin clothes inside and out.

"Ok?"

Yan Sanniang looked up and saw that the roof tiles had been peeled off, revealing a skylight through which a grey light shone and rain was pouring in.

A rope dropped down, and the man in black robe followed the rope, landed lightly on the ground, and walked to Yan Sanniang's side.

"Who are you?" It was hard to see clearly in the darkness, Yan Sanniang could only see a silhouette, and knew that this person was most likely here to rescue her.

However, most of those who had fought for their lives with him were ordinary jianghu people whose martial arts were not as good as his. To be able to climb to the top of Xuangu Mountain and sneak into the cell under the eyes of many guards outside, one can imagine his lightness and internal strength.

The man in the darkness chuckled and said, "I think the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant involves too much trouble. It's better for Miss Yan to keep it herself." Yan Sanniang asked in surprise, "Zhaizhu Zhang?"

"Don't talk nonsense, I'll get you out first."

Yan Sanniang shook her head and said, "They put three iron shackles on me. Without the key, I can't open them."

"Key? I never needed that."

Zhang Yu took out the 'Hanyuan' dagger and used the green jade ring to see clearly in the dark. He found the fitting interface accurately, used all his internal strength and cut it off.

The iron shackles were loosened immediately.

In this way, the remaining two layers of iron shackles were quickly taken off.

Yan Sanniang was amazed, not only at the sharpness of the dagger, but also at the fact that Zhang Yu could see in the dark, which was something only someone with profound martial arts skills could do.

"Thank you, Village Chief Zhang."

Yan Sanniang took off the iron shackles and was about to stand up, but suddenly her left leg went weak and she sat down again.

"what happened to you?"

"When I was captured that day, I was shot in the leg by an arrow, and the wound has not yet healed."

Zhang Yu looked up at the sky. It would be dawn soon and it would be even harder to escape then.

Originally, it was thought that Yan Sanniang was very skilled in martial arts, and the two of them could escape from Xuangu Mountain before dawn without being noticed by following this flying rope. However, she was injured. This was really not thoughtful enough.

Zhang Yu said, "Miss Yan, this is an emergency, I have no choice but to carry you up."

"People in society don't care about trivial matters." She is very open-minded.

Zhang Yu bent slightly, and Yan Sanniang lay on top of him. He carried the woman on his back and walked to the zipline.

There were countless hidden weapons and mechanisms on the outer robe of the thief Feiyan, but they were taken away when he was captured at Xuangu Mountain.

At this time, Yan Sanniang was only wearing a white undershirt, which was soaked through by the rain. When she lay on Zhang Yu's back, it was inevitable that two warm lumps of skin touched her back.

"Zhaizhu Zhang..."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Thank you very much."

Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "The greatest heroes serve their country and their people. I am not a great hero, but I have also heard this saying."

"What?"

“Those who carry firewood for others should not be allowed to freeze to death in the snow and wind.”

In the darkness, Yan Sanniang chewed on these words secretly, her cheeks slightly reddening.

She travels around the world, mostly alone, is still a virgin, and has never had such intimate contact with a man.

She remembered that Zhang Yu could see in the dark, and was afraid that he would notice her embarrassment, so she quickly lowered her head.

Zhang Yu was a first-rate gentleman in the martial arts world, so he naturally had no intention of taking advantage of her, and he did not even think about that. He was thinking about how to get to the roof with as little noise as possible.

Yan Sanniang raised her neck slightly, took a deep breath, and lifted her chest slightly.

"Miss Yan, hold on tight, we're going up!"

Zhang Yu held the flying rope with both hands alternately, circulated his internal energy, and continued to climb.

Yan Sanniang could only wrap her arms around his neck and press her body tightly against Zhang Yu's back. In less than ten breaths, the two of them reached the roof. Fortunately, it was still raining heavily outside, and the sound of raindrops hitting the tiles covered up the noise made by the two of them.

“I really escaped.”

Yan Sanniang breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the guards were still crowded under the eaves in front of the door to avoid the rain.

Zhang Yu put away the flying rope, carried the woman on his back, and fell along the back wall to the muddy ground.

It was already daybreak and it was time for the shift change.

"Dang Dang Dang!"

Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of a gong, followed by footsteps and shouting from all directions.

"Someone has sneaked in!"

"Killed three of our brothers."

"Go to the stone house..."

"Follow Butler Yue and block the road down the mountain."

Seeing that exposure was inevitable, Zhang Yu chose the direction with the least footsteps and rushed out.

"Miss Yan, hold on to me!"

Yan Sanniang wrapped her arms tightly around Zhang Yu's neck. He was extremely fast and rushed out five or six meters in an instant.

At the corner of the house, two men with knives appeared. They found their target, but before they could open their mouths, two points of golden light sank into their eyebrows, and two bodies fell to the ground.

But there seemed to be more enemies pouring out from the front.

(End of this chapter)