Chapter 78
Chapter 78
Nanmo pointed at Nanshu. “Start by removing his hair.”
Nanshu frantically shook his head. “What does this have to do with me? I’m not even going! No, no, no… Don’t come over here!”
Nanmo could pin him down all by himself.
When they started removing the hair from his legs, his screams pierced the heavens.
Jiang Yunsui covered her ears and glanced at Ji Yan’an beside her.
“Ji Yan’an, you’re so pretty.”
The little girl stared at Ji Yan’an without blinking, her two big eyes wide open.
Ji Yan’an was dressed in a red women’s outfit from the Western Regions, and his set was the more lavish version.
After all, the identity he was disguising himself as was a noble lady from the Western Regions.
The others were all maids.
Ji Yan’an’s features were on the striking, vivid side, but the sickly air between his brows and his pale skin added a cold, fragile beauty to him.
At twelve years old, the boy’s face had yet to fully mature, but wearing these clothes, he somehow did not look out of place at all.
Ji Yan’an reached out, pressed a hand to her head, and turned it the other way.
“Shut up. Don’t look!”
His ears were faintly red. Young Master Ji had flown into embarrassed anger.
Once Jiang Yunsui waited for him to let go, she turned her head back and stared at him again.
What was the big deal? If he looked that good, why couldn’t she look?
Aside from Nanshu and Fan He, the other three did not scream much.
But when they came out, oh, their legs were redder than the last.
Hair removal at this time was similar to facial threading: two strings were used to twist the leg hair right out. How could it not hurt?
Song Jin’s eyes were dark and cold. “If it weren’t for the iron mine, I wouldn’t put myself through all this suffering!”
Nanshu’s face was full of resentment.
Fan He was still crying as he held his legs, mourning his leg hair.
Shen Qingzhu was doing all right, except the gentle smile he usually wore was gone from his face.
Nanmo held his sword, his entire body practically radiating black fumes.
After the brothel madam put makeup on them and had them wear veils, they looked the part well enough.
Their leg hair was already gone, so they no longer resisted the makeup. They only hoped to get this over with as quickly as possible.
The sooner they wiped out the bandit den in one fell swoop, the sooner they could take off these clothes.
Ji Yan’an said, “Zhao Cheng, lead a team to Nanshan Village and keep the people there occupied.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Ji Er, your group will attack from the secret passage and provide support from the inside.”
“Everyone else, wait for the signal and surround them from the outside.”
“Yes, sir!”
Once everything was ready, the team Ji Yan’an and the others were disguised as set out first.
Jiang Yunsui clung to Ji Si. “Si Si, you have to keep me hanging on you, okay? If you lose me again, I won’t talk to you anymore.”
Ji Si gave a hum of acknowledgment.
They began waiting for news.
By evening, word came from Ji Yan’an’s side: they had successfully been captured and brought into the mountain stronghold.
Ji Er said, “Move out!”
The hidden guard unit began to act. The Yaoguang Guard also split into two groups. One headed to Nanshan Village, while the other took the dogs and moved to encircle the stronghold from the outside.
At that moment, Ji Yan’an and the others, who had already entered the stronghold, were locked up first.
The filthy words of the mountain bandits filled their ears, and disgust flashed through their eyes.
As soon as the bandits left, Nanmo was the first to move. He broke free of the ropes around his hands, then went to untie everyone else.
The women in the same room who had been captured earlier were drawn by the commotion and looked over, trembling in fear.
“Please don’t be afraid, everyone.”
Shen Qingzhu comforted them. “We’re here to rescue you.”
At his words, the women all began to cry.
“You… are you really?”
“Yes. We’re Young Master Ji’s people from Beizhen City.”
Since they were rebelling, they naturally had to preserve Young Master Ji’s reputation too.
However, none of them said that Young Master Ji was here as well. This stint in women’s clothing was definitely a dark chapter in their lives, and it absolutely could not be mentioned!
Song Jin snapped, “Why waste so many words? All of you, behave and keep quiet. If those mountain bandits outside get drawn here, we might be able to run, but you won’t necessarily be so lucky.”
That was a direct threat.
Ji Yan’an said, “Shen Qingzhu, can those little pets of yours be put to use?”
Shen Qingzhu smiled faintly. “Of course.”
As he spoke, two tiny spiders crawled out from his hair.
Song Jin gave a derisive snort. “Who would’ve thought the gentlest, most harmless-looking one among us would turn out to be the most poisonous?”
The smile on Shen Qingzhu’s face did not change. “Likewise.”
Though they were bickering, their hands never stopped moving.
Before long, the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground came from outside.
Mm. The two guards at the door had been knocked out by poison.
Nanmo opened the door. The two guards outside were already dead, blood streaming from all seven orifices.
He dragged both bodies inside.
Ji Yan’an said, “Two of us change into their clothes. Be careful and blend in.”
Nanmo was the first to step forward. “I’ll change.”
At last, he could take off these clothes that made his whole body itch.
Fan He said, “I-I’ll also…”
Song Jin kicked him. “You’ll what? Do you know martial arts?”
Aggrieved, Fan He shrank his hand back.
Ji Yan’an said, “Shen Qingzhu, I’ll have to trouble you to keep watch here.”
“No problem.”
He had actually adjusted to the dress he was wearing the fastest. After all, he had grown up in Miaojiang after the age of five, and the men of Miaojiang also wore relatively revealing clothes.
Women who practiced gu were more popular, so men who practiced gu also tended to wear more androgynous clothing. He had worn such things before.
Nanmo and Song Jin hurriedly changed and went out, looking for a chance to drug the food.
Meanwhile, under Jiang Yunsui’s guidance, Ji Er and the others found the secret passage.
At first, everything went smoothly, but when they reached the end, there were people guarding the exit.
The moment they met, the two sides began fighting.
“They’re barbarians!”
There were five men guarding the entrance to the secret passage, while their side had seven.
In the end, they won, but Ji Lu and Ji Jiu were seriously wounded.
Among the hidden guard, Ji Qi knew medicine, and he immediately bandaged the two of them.
Jiang Yunsui stealthily gave the two of them a little of the spores they could not see.
Truly, only a tiny bit.
At least the bleeding stopped.
But Little Mushroom was so exhausted that she collapsed weakly on Ji Si’s shoulder.
Ji Si adjusted her position so she could lie more comfortably.
Ji Er said, “You two find somewhere to hide and don’t let yourselves be discovered. The rest of us will continue searching for the master.”
Jiang Yunsui’s voice was soft and limp. “I think I know where they’re being held.”
By the time they went to look for Ji Yan’an, Nanmo and Song Jin had already drugged the water the mountain bandits were going to use for their meal.
That water was used to cook the rice and dishes, and it was soon delivered to every part of the stronghold.
Today, they had seized both goods and beauties, so everyone in the mountain stronghold was celebrating.
“Hahaha… We’ve had good luck these past two days. Third Chief, why aren’t you eating?”
Yelü Can held a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. “Surely the Second Leader knows I eat vegetarian.”
“Tsk… Third Chief, you really don’t know how to enjoy life.”
Yelü Can lowered his eyes, a flash of coldness passing through them.
Everyone ate and drank merrily, but before half an incense stick’s time had passed, the first man tilted his head and collapsed to the ground.
The others were still laughing at him. “What a lightweight.”
But immediately after, one person after another began to fall.
Yelü Can was the first to sense something was wrong. He shot to his feet.
“Men!”
Whoosh-
Nanmo emerged from the darkness and locked in battle with one of Yelü Can’s deathsworn guards.