Chapter 321 The Beauty Who Kills Without Blinking

Accommodations were limited, but Qi Chuan still arranged a single room for the two of them.

When he saw them enter the same room without the slightest objection, Qi Chuan’s brow furrowed even deeper.

’What in the world is their relationship?’

’They’re close enough to share a bed, yet they seem to have no intention of marrying. How bizarre.’

In reality, sharing a bed was impossible. The bed was barely big enough for one person, let alone two.

Xiao Li slept on the bed while Rong Qing wrapped himself in a blanket, pulled a chair to the bedside, and slept there. He stayed close to Your Majesty, ready to guard her through the night.

The wind howled through the alleyways that night, its mournful wail sounding like the cries of ghosts and wolves, which was especially unnerving.

On a night like this, even the soundest of sleepers would be restless, and everyone dozed lightly.

In the middle of the night, someone crept in, brandished a dagger, and set about the bloody business of murder and robbery.

"The sand bandits are here! The sand bandits are here!"

The screams woke everyone in the inn. Someone pounded on Xiao Li and Rong Qing’s door. BANG! BANG! BANG! "Brother Yang, wake up! The sand bandits are here!"

Both had slept fully clothed. As Xiao Li rose from the bed, Rong Qing approached her in the darkness. "Master, should we go out?"

Outside, flames flickered and screams echoed one after another, a clear sign of the fierce battle raging.

Seeing that the door remained shut, the person outside simply smashed it open.

The door hadn’t been sturdy to begin with and gave way with a single blow.

Light spilled into the room, revealing the two of them sitting calmly. The man at the door said anxiously, "Brother Yang, the sand bandits are vicious! Hurry and come help us!"

Rong Qing remained motionless until Xiao Li rose to her feet.

They were staying on the second floor, where the sand bandits had already fought their way up. Qi Chuan’s men and the inn’s staff were desperately trying to fight them off.

Rong Qing, wielding a staff as a makeshift weapon, easily beat back the sand bandits trying to come up the stairs.

Seeing this, the guards below quickly escorted Qi Chuan upstairs.

Rong Qing held the pass alone, with Qi Chuan and Xiao Li standing behind him.

Qi Chuan knew some martial arts himself, but it was nowhere near enough to deal with these utterly vicious sand bandits.

He glanced at Xiao Li. He knew she was skilled in martial arts, but as a grown man, he couldn’t justify hiding while a young woman went to fight in his stead.

However, the standoff didn’t last long. More sand bandits started climbing in through the second-floor windows.

Three or four of them clambered in at once, and Qi Chuan gritted his teeth, raising his sword to block them.

"Brother Yang..."

He started to call for Rong Qing’s help, but a cold light flashed before his eyes, and the sand bandit collapsed.

Xiao Li’s movements were agile and graceful. She effortlessly dodged the bandits’ attacks, then, catching them by surprise, slit their throats with a single strike.

While Rong Qing’s Cultivation Technique was fierce and powerful, full of wide, sweeping movements, Xiao Li’s was a pure killing art, focused on single, fatal blows.

There were no flashy moves, no overwhelming force—only the speed and precision to kill in a single strike.

She even sidestepped the splattering blood; as four bodies fell to the floor, not a single drop touched her.

As he watched Xiao Li calmly sheathe her dagger, Qi Chuan stood frozen in shock. His eyes were filled with the image of the frosty-faced beauty who could kill without batting an eye.

So fierce, so cool, a deadly, bewitching siren.

Having dealt with the immediate threat by killing those four, Xiao Li stopped fighting. Rong Qing continued to hold off the rest.

In the end, seeing they could make no headway, the sand bandits had no choice but to retreat.

Bo Li led some men to take stock of the property, while the innkeeper began dealing with the bodies.

The sand bandits had obviously targeted the inn because of the caravan, but the innkeeper didn’t take his anger out on Qi Chuan and his party.

To dare open an inn here, and to run it for so many years, the owner and his staff were clearly more than capable themselves.

It wasn’t the first or second time they had dealt with something like this. They expressionlessly dragged the corpses away and wiped up the blood. To them, a dead man was no different than a dead pig.

Although the sand bandits had retreated, no one went back to sleep.

The inn had to be cleaned, and the injured needed tending to.

Qi Chuan had someone bring him a pot of wine. He stood by the second-floor railing, drinking slowly to calm his frayed nerves.

His gaze swept over the busy people below before landing on the door nearby, now closed once more.

Those two were the only ones who had gone back to sleep.

’With skills like that, no wonder they were so calm and composed in the face of danger.’

’At first, he’d only been interested in recruiting Rong Qing. Now, he wanted them both.’

’He just wasn’t sure if what he had to offer would be enough.’

「The next day」

At the crack of dawn, the caravan began to pack up.

Rong Qing and Xiao Li came down when it was time to depart. A handsome man and a beautiful woman—though they wore no fine clothes or jewelry, their presence was enough to light up the entire hall.

"Brother Yang."

Qi Chuan rose to greet them, his gaze landing on Xiao Li. "I realize I never had the chance to ask... how should I address you, Miss?"

Well-rested and refreshed, Xiao Li finally gave Qi Chuan a proper, thoughtful look.

Under her gaze, Qi Chuan felt inexplicably tense, his back tightening. ’It must be an aftereffect from watching her kill last night,’ he thought.

Xiao Li spoke. "My surname is Li."

Qi Chuan nodded. "Miss Li."

"We depart in about half an hour. Please, have some breakfast."

Several dishes were prepared on the table: noodles, dry flatbread, and steamed buns.

It wasn’t that Qi Chuan was being stingy. In a place like this, you wouldn’t dare eat a meat dish even if it was offered to you.

Xiao Li nodded. "Thank you."

Once the two had moved to one side, Qi Chuan couldn’t help but pat his chest. ’I was so blind!’

’I thought she was just a delicate young miss with an adoring guard in tow. It turns out she’s the truly formidable one.’

Once they were on the road again, Qi Chuan deliberately tried to get closer to Xiao Li, initiating conversation with her. Though their chats were mostly sporadic, Qi Chuan noticed that whenever Xiao Li chose to speak, Rong Qing never tried to interrupt.

’The master-servant dynamic was perfectly clear.’

Realizing it would be impossible to recruit them, Qi Chuan decided to curry some favor instead.

"My destination is Yizhou, but after a stop there, I will be making a trip to Yanping State, passing through Jiangdu, Qinzhou, and Taiping. If your path aligns, I sincerely invite you both to travel with us."

Xiao Li asked, "Proprietor, if your business is in Yizhou, why travel so far to Yanping State?"

Qi Chuan replied, "Naturally, because Empress Long Sheng is there. It’s a rare opportunity, and I’d like to witness Her Majesty’s splendor for myself. Of course, the main reason is that I’ve heard all sorts of factories have opened in Yanping State. The goods produced by the Empress’s factories are highly unusual and popular, and they’ve brought us a great deal of business."

Xiao Li fell silent for a moment. ’I really didn’t expect his trip was because of me.’

"Yizhou is currently occupied by the He Dong County Prince. I hear it’s not very peaceful there."

Qi Chuan said, "I am just a merchant, responsible only for delivering my goods. The rest is none of my concern."

’That makes sense.’

Qi Chuan suddenly chuckled and said with a meaningful tone, "You are Beicang people, yet you seem to know a great deal about Longsheng. And you don’t sound as if you hate Empress Long Sheng."

Xiao Li said nothing. ’A slip-up.’

’I forgot I was still supposed to be playing the part of a noble lady from Beicang.’

"Of course I don’t hate the Empress. That’s because we’re from Longsheng."

Xiao Li made no attempt to hide the fact. As for Rong Qing’s earlier claim about them being from Beicang, she offered no explanation.

’When you’re traveling, who doesn’t have a few different identities? Is ’Qi Chuan’ even his real name?’