Qiao An looked up and down at Su Jiu. To tell the truth, this was the first time he saw Su Jiu's true face, and he could not help smiling.
"Very well, at least we don't have to worry about being exposed. Good, good!" Qiao An praised, and the others responded, agreeing one after another.
Su Jiu frowned. "But why do I feel so awkward?"
She looked down. "And this dress, it's not meant for humans to wear!" As she spoke, she was about to take her belt off!
"Miss, Master!" The woman panicked, and she did not know how to address Su Jiu anymore. She grabbed her hand. "Master, you can't take it off. That's how women wear it!"
"Chief, I'm sorry you have to bear with it for now. We'll come up with something else when we arrive at Shengjing City," Qiao An persuaded.
Looking up, Qiao An said, "It's getting late and all the bodies were buried. Let's get on the road!"
Su Jiu nodded, and no longer fussed over her clothes. "Place rocks inside the dowry boxes, cover them with the cloth, and don't reveal anything!" she instructed.
"Yes, Chief!"
The moment Su Jiu spoke, the group felt that their Chief had returned, so they followed orders like they always had.
After half an hour, the team set off again. In the horse drawn carriage sat Su Jiu and the nanny, with Chang Huan driving. At the back were two carriages with the boxes of rocks, driven by Ah Shu and Hu Dapao, where Qiao An sat inside. The party then headed for Shengjing.
From that moment on, their destiny would undergo enormous changes.
The weather at the end of September was already a bit chilly, and just in the afternoon there were few people passing through the woods. The only other presence was the wind, and the leaves fluttered down from the trees, reflecting the silence in the woods.
The stench of blood gradually dissipated. Deep inside the woods was where they had buried the corpse. Su Jiu's gang had dug a big pit and piled the bodies in it. The soil and gravel piled on top was thin, and a hibiscus-colored dress could be seen in a corner just beneath the surface.
Su Jiu and her group didn't conduct the robbery, but had to take care of the mess. They were already nice enough to dig a pit for the victims. If they were to dig individual graves and put up a gravestone for each body, then they would not be called bandits any more.
A gust of autumn wind swept through, and the yellow leaves whirled around the pit.
A hand by the edges of the pit suddenly moved. The soil slid off, as an arm stretched out.
There was the sound of footsteps coming from afar, deep into the woods. It was the woodcutter from a nearby town who returned with firewood.
The man was about 30 years old, and he wore rough coarse clothes with patches. He carried the firewood on his shoulders, and his brows twisted. He still had an old mother in his family. He was poor and still had not found a wife at his age. He was deeply distressed. It was past lunchtime and he did not want to go back.
The ground was covered in fallen leaves. He did not take notice, and as he continued walking, something grabbed his trousers. From behind him, a woman's voice rang the air: "Help me!"
The man froze and looked back. He saw a hand from the ground grabbed him, and the sound seemed to be from beneath the ground.
The man fell backward onto the forest floor, as he yelled in shock, "Ghost!"
------
Su Jiu and her party passed Landing Eagle Peak and traveled for nearly two hours. Su Jiu sat in the carriage, about to fall asleep. Suddenly, she opened her eyes with a jolt.
The nanny was shocked as she stared at Su Jiu unblinkingly, her body huddled against the wall.
The carriage stopped almost at that same moment!
30 or 40 masked men in black robes jumped out on both sides of the hill. The swords in their hands shining as they rushed towards Su Jiu's group. The leader shouted, "Leave no one alive, kill them all!"
Who dares rob us? Su Jiu thought. Who the hell is so blind?
Su Jiu kicked the door open with a bang and was about to go help, but the nanny pulled her back by her sleeve.
"Master, master, you are Miss Su now, you can't go out!"
Su Jiu frowned. "Why not?"
The men in black had reached in front of Su Jiu, but the members of Dragon Conqueror Gang didn't even bat an eyelid at the scene and were not at all panic. Chang Huan killed two with one blow. His strokes flowed smoothly and viciously. When he was protecting the carriage, no one could approach it.
Qiao An, Hu Dapao and Ah Shu gathered around and took down three to four more.
The nanny grabbed Su Jiu's sleeve tightly. "Master, when have you seen a young lady kill bandits by herself!"
Su Jiu blinked, and then she sat back in the car and nodded. "In that case, let me take a look first!"
She lifted the curtain and looked out. Although the bandits were masked and she could not tell which gang they were from, she figured that it would not be a small bandit group as there were so many of them.
Around Yuhu Mountain, the largest group was Eight Dragons Gang and most of the others were small ones with roughly a dozen people. Another bigger party was Qingfeng Gang in Chongxi, and of course, there was an even bigger assassin organization, the Heaven Fiend League. But they had no lack of money and would not eye the dowry at all.
The Eight Dragons Gang had just robbed them and probably not come again. Furthermore, masking themselves was unlike their style.
Unless..., Su Jiu thought, it really was the Qingfeng Gang who crossed the border to Yuhu Mountain for a job?
As Su Jiu pondered it, a dozen masked men had fallen. The members of the Dragon Conqueror Gang had followed her all these years amidst endless bloodshed; they were naturally skilled in martial arts.
Seeing that a masked man was about to ambush Chang Huan, Su Jiu pulled her golden hairpin off, and with a wave of her hand, threw it out. It pierced the masked man's neck and nailed him straight to the willow behind him.
"I can't sit by and watch anymore!" Su Jiu could not resist her urge to fight and sprinted out.
She spun in the air, her skirt spread out like a cloud. The scene was beautiful. The sound of bones cracking rang the air, and the three masked men in black were kicked out of the sky.
Chang Huan whistled proudly. "Chief is the best!"
The remaining masked men froze as they saw Su Jiu fly out of the carriage.
Didn't they say she was a defenseless girl? the masked men thought. But she just ended three of our burly men with her kick like it was nothing?
And these drivers were not like the entourage of a large family. Even if the Su Family took the distant journey into consideration and sent a few guards with good martial arts skills, were they really ordinary escorts? They killed without batting an eyelid, and their fighting techniques were so fierce and ruthless!
Hu Dapao grabbed a masked man as he threw him out with a thud. The body landed before the masked men's leader, who retreated in fear.
The leader took out a firecracker and lit it up. With a "bang," it exploded in mid-air. In the next moment, dozens of people in black emerged from behind the mountain!
Reinforcements? Su Jiu snorted coldly. As she saw the glint of a sword, she didn't make any attempts to avoid it, but instead leaned forward. Landing a blow on the masked man's chest, she clawed at it viciously.
Spurt! With a soft sound, it was as if something had cracked. The masked man stared petrified at Su Jiu, as he spurted out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.
Su Jiu retracted her hand and wiped her bloody hand on his clothes. She then threw the body at another masked man charging at her. She had an exquisite face like a lotus, she dressed in red, but her moves were brutal as if she were a demoness who could terrify the heavens!
This scene happened to be observed by the nanny hiding in the carriage. She slumped down and shivered profusely.
Heavens! What kind of demoness have I encountered! she wondered in horror.