Chapter 73

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Mu Yi glanced at Peng Mi . She looked less sad than the last time he saw her . She looked quite charming and more voluptuous probably because she was pregnant .

Peng Mi looked very pretty even though she was wearing simple clothes . She was still in mourning . The other woman looked slightly older . She had a few wrinkles on her forehead . She looked more mature than Peng Mi .

Mu Yi looked at the two women with admiration . He didn’t have any other thoughts .

“I really don’t deserve so much praise, County Magistrate,” Mu Yi said .

He nodded at Peng Mi in acknowledgment . There wasn’t a hint of arrogance or flattery in his expression .

“I meant those words from the bottom of my heart . We can say that our relationship is one of friendship that was grown out of admiration without us ever having met,” said Gu Yaosen while looking at Mu Yi .

Nobody could really know how much of the statement he really meant . He was the Lin’an County Magistrate . Mu Yi knew that Gu Yaosen understood Little Frost’s fortified village really well . They were bandits after all .

How could he tolerate others encroaching on his territory? Little Frost’s fortified village still posed a threat to the government . The secret agreement of non-aggression with Lin’An County’s government didn’t change that .

Officially, Gu Yaosen hadn’t done anything to the bandits since he had held the position . Mu Yi had found out some things from Xie Zheng so he came to see the County Magistrate .

***

Little Frost Mountain was to the west of Lin’an . It was a strategic location and difficult to access . If one man guarded the pass, ten thousand men wouldn’t be able to get through . It was only a metaphor but a small number of men could protect the mountain road against ten thousand men .

It was the main reason why Little Frost’s fortified village was able to subsist over time . Halfway up a hill, there were three people . All of them were women .

“Chief, you’ve been kneeling down for over an hour . You’ll be exhausted if you continue like this,” one of the women said .

The wind was blowing . Paper money was burning and the ashes were flying away . The kneeling woman’s hair covered her face . Her expression was colder than ice .

On Little Frost Mountain, only one woman was called Chief . It was obviously the brigand chief, Qiu Yuetong . She was the woman kneeling down .

There was a tomb in front of her . There was nothing else around it . There wasn’t even a gravestone to mark it but the area around it was clean . Someone definitely took the time to maintain it .

“Today is the anniversary of his death . I was his daughter . I must show filial piety,” said Qiu Yuetong indifferently .

Her voice was colder than her expression .

“Chief, Master did everything he could for us,” said another woman hesitantly .

“Indeed, he was a hero . That’s why everybody adored him, but that doesn’t mean I have to accept his actions,” said Qiu Yuetong icily .

She stood up . The women behind her hurried to put a thick cloak on her back . Qiu Yuetong grabbed the cloak firmly and turned around .

She had fine and delicate eyebrows . She was as white as snow . She looked gentle and graceful, even though she couldn’t be described as devastatingly beautiful . If someone glanced at her once, it would be hard to forget her . Her expression was just so cold which put people off .

Qiu Yuetong looked at the two women . There was something gentle and soft in her eyes but it was only there for a millisecond . The two women were twins . They had grown up together . They had been there the entire time she practiced martial arts . They were more like sisters to her even though they were almost servants .

Qiu Yuetong had never forgotten the man who had brought the two women to her . She didn’t want to forget . Qiu Yuetong knew them really well . It was hard not to when they had always been together .

The two women’s names were Qiu Zhu and Qiu Mei . They looked cute, beautiful even but they didn’t act that way . One of them was smart and eccentric . The other one was gentle and soft . They were quite different considering they were twins .

“Qiu Mei, I asked you to send people with the second chief . How are they?” asked Qiu Yuetong .

The one who had given her the cloak responded .

“The second chief is back . He brought back the heir of the Su Clan . The others haven’t come back . The second chief doesn’t seem happy either,” said Qiu Mei slowly .

“He’s pursuing something he’s not worthy of . Why would you marry him? If he gives you one million liang of silver, will you then marry him?” The other twin said .

She didn’t wait for Qiu Yuetong to reply . She felt wronged on her behalf . In her eyes, Li Hu was ungrateful . He had become presumptuous after the old man’s death . They would have all starved to death without the old man’s legacy .

Could he have become the second chief without the old man? Now he wasn’t satisfied with it and wanted to make alliances with other people . He also wanted to get married to the brigand chief when he wasn’t even a bit handsome . How could he be a good match for her?

“If he could give me a million liang of silver, I could get married to him . It doesn’t matter . That guy said it previously, right? A woman had to get married, even if she is extremely strong,” said Qiu Yuetong .

She was calm almost as if the person she was talking about was someone else .

“Who said it has to be that way? My sister and I won’t get married . We’ll always be with you,” said Qiu Zhu .

“That’s because you’ve never found a man you loved . Except for peerless grace and elegance, what’s the difference between you and an ordinary woman?” said Qiu Yuetong .

She shook her head and sighed .

“You’re the only person in our heart . There is no man worthy,” said Qiu Zhu while glancing at her twin .

Qiu Yuetong sighed again before turning around and climbing back up the mountain .

“Send some people there and have them bring the Su Clan’s heir here . Treat him well . The Su Clan isn’t simple,” she said .

“Roger, Chief,” Qiu Mei said .

She followed Qiu Zhu to carry out the orders .

***

Mu Yi had already left the yamen in Lin’an but he didn’t leave alone . The man with him looked well-behaved and honest . He didn’t have a distinguished appearance . He was thin and short .

His name was Qi Da . Most people called him by his nickname, Slim Monkey . He was one of the people Gu Yaosen trusted the most .

Mu Yi had heard from Xie Zheng that Gu Yaosen had asked Slim Monkey to pay attention to Little Frost’s fortified village . Slim Monkey looked rather ordinary . Yet, Xie Zheng had said that whenever Slim Monkey looked for clues, he found them .

If Mu Yi wanted to save Su Jinlun, he would need Slim Monkey’s help . Mu Yi had gone to the yamen for that reason alone . He hadn’t thought that County Magistrate Gu would ask him for more help when he arrived . It was troublesome .