Chapter 271 - 269: The Selfless and Magnanimous Miss Xu (Part 1)

Chapter 271: Chapter 269: The Selfless and Magnanimous Miss Xu (Part 1)

The group quickly advanced following the markers Xu Jing left behind. Soon, a government official remarked in surprise, "This... this seems to be heading towards Xiangsi Cliff!"

Xiangsi Cliff is an escarpment near the Nu River outside the Western Capital. The river’s swift and tumultuous waters flow from north to south across the lands of Great Chu, deep and fast.

It’s said that during the previous dynasty, a princess who was ordered by the Holy Emperor to a political marriage eloped with a childhood sweetheart from a noble family. Pursued by soldiers, they were driven to Xiangsi Cliff. The princess, feeling she’d implicated her lover, threw herself into the river in despair. Her lover tried to save her but ended up jumping after her. Their bodies were never found.

Later, the people named the cliff Xiangsi Cliff.

Everyone else noticed this fact too.

Could it be the kidnappers are by Xiangsi Cliff?

That place is full of forests. There’s hardly any proper hiding spot there, so what could he be doing there?!

Meanwhile, Xu Jing and Mr. Yao were hiding in the woods near Xiangsi Cliff, their eyes fixed intently on the cliff not far away.

The government officials they brought were scattered around. To be on the safe side, they didn’t bring too many officials here; most stayed outside waiting for orders.

By October, it was already quite chilly, especially at night.

Standing by the windswept cliffside, one felt constantly enveloped by the cold night wind.

Mr. Yao, despite being a sturdy man, couldn’t resist rubbing his hands together and, looking at Xu Jing, worriedly said, "Miss Xu, you’re dressed so lightly, won’t you catch a cold?"

Xu Jing, eyes still on Xiangsi Cliff, whispered, "It’s fine, we won’t be here long."

"But what if you’re wrong, and Yang Quanfu doesn’t come here? We’ve already searched this area, and there’s not a trace of the children."

Xu Jing replied calmly, "This might not be Yang Quanfu’s hideout, but after collecting the ransom, he might likely come here."

Just as she spoke, she caught the faint sound of carriage wheels on the road and immediately brought her right index finger to her lips, lowering her voice further, "Here he comes!"

Mr. Yao straightened up suddenly, in disbelief.

Could it be Miss Xu guessed correctly?!

Soon, they saw a modest carriage approaching on the only small path through the wood toward Xiangsi Cliff. The man driving was none other than Yang Quanfu!

He drove grimly towards the edge of the cliff, showing no sign of stopping, causing Mr. Yao’s eyes to widen. He almost couldn’t stop himself from jumping out.

Was Yang Quanfu really planning to drive straight off the cliff?!

Yet, seeing Miss Xu unmoved, his curiosity mixed with confusion kept his emotions in check.

Finally, when the carriage was less than six feet (about two meters) from the edge, it stopped, and Mr. Yao discreetly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the next moment, they saw Yang Quanfu jump down, open the carriage door, and reach inside as if grabbing something, causing Mr. Yao’s heart to race again.

Then he watched as Yang Quanfu unloaded bag after bag of gold bars, eight large bags in all! He stacked them neatly by the cliffside.

Afterwards, he reached into the carriage again, this time bringing down two children aged about eight or nine, tightly bound and gagged!

He even brought the hostages here!

This was a surprising turn of events. They originally thought they would need to follow Yang Quanfu to his hiding place to find the kids.

The two children, their faces streaked with tears, looked at Yang Quanfu in terror. Xu Hanguang, especially agitated, tried desperately to make muffled "mmm mmm" sounds as if he wanted to say something.

Yang Quanfu ignored them, tying them to the carriage with their own ropes before turning to the gold bars by the cliff, gazing at the Nu River below, lost in thought.

Suddenly, he stepped back, lifted his foot forcefully, and with a loud "splash," a whole bag of gold bars fell into the tumultuous waters.

Mr. Yao’s eyes nearly popped out.

This... this is genuine gold!

Just one of those bags was enough to drive people mad.

Yet Yang Quanfu kicked it into the river just like that!

Then, he continued to kick the remaining gold bars over the cliff one by one.

Even though it wasn’t his gold, Mr. Yao couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache, glancing at Miss Xu beside him.

Among their team lying in ambush, there were skilled archers.

Now, hitting Yang Quanfu wouldn’t be difficult for them.

However, Xu Jing found this place, and the ambush was her arrangement. Mr. Yao felt that the decision to act should be hers.

Seeing Xu Jing still holding back, Mr. Yao inched closer and whispered, "Miss Xu, shouldn’t we act now? From what we can see, he hasn’t brought any accomplices, and the children are some distance from him; it’s the best time to act."

Originally concerned that Yang Quanfu might have allies with him, once he started kicking the gold into the river, Mr. Yao was sure he was alone.

If he had accomplices, would they not turn against him for destroying the ransom they worked so hard to get?!

Xu Jing remained composed, "Let’s observe a bit longer."

Not until Yang Quanfu kicked the last bag of gold into the river did Xu Jing suddenly stand, waving her hand and commanding, "Take action immediately!"

Beside her, Mr. Yao: "..."

Why did he feel like Miss Xu did this on purpose?

No, no, the Xu Family treated Miss Xu like this and yet she is still wholeheartedly trying to save Xu Hanguang. How could he think so darkly about such a selfless and generous lady?

Yang Quanfu reacted swiftly. The moment he heard Xu Jing’s voice, he turned with a look of surprise.

In the next breath, an arrow whistled through the air, shot from the woods beside them, heading straight for Yang Quanfu.

Yang Quanfu, at the critical moment, dodged the fatal shot; the arrow embedded itself into his left shoulder.

At the instant of Xu Jing’s call, in addition to the arrow, two officials dashed out from the woods on either side, heading swiftly toward the children.

But before they could reach the children, Yang Quanfu had already yanked the arrow from his shoulder, drew a dagger from his waist, and charged toward Xu Hanguang.

Xu Hanguang’s face turned pale with fear. Reflexively, he stepped back and pulled Wang Baojun beside him in front of Yang Quanfu.

The next moment, those officials reached them, seeing Wang Baojun being overpowered by Yang Quanfu, they could only cut the bindings on Xu Hanguang and pull him away.

Ultimately, they watched helplessly as Yang Quanfu, with Wang Baojun as hostage, slowly backed toward the cliff edge.