Chapter Fifteen: The Snowy Moonlit Night, the Sound of a Horn

  In just a short half-day, the entire city of Fanggu was already covered in a layer of snow. The green bricks and red tiles could no longer be seen, and everywhere one looked, there was only white that brought joy to the heart. There were no wealthy or noble people in Fanggu City, if one had to say so, then Fanggu might barely qualify as one.

  But Fang Jie's wealth was not that much, he was the head of Jin Yuan Fang, the owner of Hong Xiu Lou, and Guest Victory House was also built by him. However, he could only be considered a high-level employee, it was he who brought prosperity to Fan Gu Cheng, these three buildings had an annual income of 200,000 taels. But he only got a share of the profits. Because the initial establishment of Jin Yuan Fang was funded without his contribution of a single copper coin. Every year, apart from the dividends given to the common people, most of the money had to be handed over to Li Xiao Zong for management.

  Although he is not lavish with his spending, after all, he has the identity of a deputy commander, and there are many social engagements on weekdays. With so many industries under his name, it's only natural that he pays the bill every time. So in these two years or more, he hasn't saved much. After rummaging through the boxes and cabinets to gather all the silver tickets and silver coins, he counted them up, and there were only three or four thousand taels. These few thousand taels are a large sum of money in Fanju, but in Chang'an City, they might not be enough for several visits to high-end venues like Banyue Tower.

  So when Fang Jie discovered that he only had these homes after all, he couldn't help but feel a little depressed and regretful.

  "We must never engage in collective investment enterprises again!"

  He muttered to himself, stuffed all the silver tickets into his bosom, and packed the remaining two or three hundred taels of silver into a package. Before leaving, he couldn't help but take another look at the military uniform on the clothes rack by the bed. Black leather armor, blue uniform, black leather boots, and the large red cloak that was only worn during festivals.

  "What a pity... I had planned to go and ask Li Xiangzong today, to make up for my military achievements and then go to Chang'an. Now that my military achievements are not enough, I need to take the examination at the Martial Arts Academy again, which will be another hassle. There is also little silver by my side, and I'm afraid it's not even enough to bribe a seventh-grade official in the imperial capital."

  "Can't go in the direction of the big camp, those four experts are all in that direction."

  Mù Xiǎo Yāo said in a low voice.

  Will not hesitate but will never waver.

  In these years, the first thing he learned was not to hesitate. When it's time to go, you have to go, and you can't drag your feet. Although he didn't need to fight for his life, he also didn't want to be a useless waste of space. It was precisely because he had been protected by others for so many years that he himself had almost no ability to protect himself when facing pursuers, which is why he had an obsessive desire for cultivation.

  "How much?"

  He followed behind Xiao Wu's waist and asked.

  "There's one who has already broken through to the 6th rank and is standing firmly in the 7th rank realm, very familiar, must be Li Xiaozong, don't count him... The remaining four, three are at the upper 6th rank, and one actually feels not too careful, seems to also be in the 7th rank realm. This person's aura is gloomy, should be intentionally hiding. Let's be cautious, might be hiding in the dark, best not to encounter a professional assassin who specializes in ambushes."

  Mei Xiao Yao and Da Quan both knew that on nights like these, the most formidable foes were those assassins who refused to engage in direct combat.

  "Little waist sister, all these years you've never been willing to reveal."

  Fang Jie walked and laughed, asking: "You can sense the enemy's aura within a radius of two miles and even accurately judge their strength. What level are you exactly? If we don't escape and fight head-on, can you and Da Quan put them down cleanly?"

  Cannot

  Mei Xiao Yao replied extremely briefly, then said with some pride: "Anyone who enters the range of two miles around me can't escape my perception. Whether it's a first-rate or a ninth-rate strong master, they can't deceive me. So over the years, although I've had to flee in a difficult situation, I've never been in danger. That's why when we parted ways at Nan Yan City back then, it was me and Da Quan who followed you, not those people like Qilin."

  "So arrogant, what rank are you exactly?"

  "Can't you just not ask?"

  She shot him a white glance, then couldn't help but say with slight anger: "If I were above seventh rank, would I be escaping? An eighth-rank cultivator taking down the five or six seventh-rank experts in Fan Gucheng wouldn't be a problem, although it might be a bit troublesome. It's not like there'd be huge risks involved. So can you please stop being so stupid? Since we've decided to escape, it means we definitely can't win."

  "Who was the most powerful among those who protected me back then?"

  "Fan of sinking and falling"

  The big dog replied beside him.

  "Is that the beautiful, icy-cold sister who always carries a sword? Oh my... I didn't expect her to be so formidable. Is she a Ninth Rank?"

  "Not yet, but it should be among the eight ranks, and possibly even above the eight ranks."

  The big dog replied.

  "Are you guys annoyed?"

  Mo Xiao Yao glared at them and suddenly grabbed Fang Jie's waistband, tossing him over the wall. Fang Jie had been thrown around like a stone for years, so he landed steadily on his feet. In the blink of an eye, Da Quan and Mo Xiao Yao also jumped out.

  As they sped westward, the big dog said, "Among those who protected you in the past, the one with the greatest ability was indeed Mu Xiaoyao. If it weren't for her incredibly strong senses, who knows how many dangers we would have encountered over the years? Chen Qingfan may be able to fight well, but I'm afraid he would have been dragged to death long ago. As for the second most capable one, that would naturally be me... Although I can't sense the enemy's strength, I can more accurately determine their position and find the best escape route. Chen Qingfan can easily kill me, but I can also easily avoid being killed by him."

  "What dish would you like?"

  Fang Jie, who was being carried by Xiao Yao's waist, felt a bit bored. He didn't need to run himself, although he wouldn't get tired, but saying that a man was being carried like a package by a woman while running on the road, it was still somewhat embarrassing.

  "Grade Five Down."

  "So, if we were to encounter even one of these enemies head-on today, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to escape. A sixth-rank expert could take down the three of us without breaking a sweat."

  "Huh?"

  Fang Jie had asked before, but Da Quan and Mu Xiao Yao just wouldn't say. Now he finally understood that these two people who seemed like extraordinary beings in his eyes weren't as high up as he thought. Mu Xiao Yao didn't say anything, but from Da Quan's words, he could also infer that she was at most a fifth-rank cultivator. Chen Qing Fan was an eighth-rank cultivator, if she were by his side, there would be no need to escape...

  "Don't look at me like that!"

  "Earlier, I didn't say anything because in Fan'er City, there's only one Li Xiaozong who is a dangerous person, but he doesn't know your identity and won't kill you for no reason. Now that we're about to escape to Chang'an, let me tell you what kind of place it is - it's a den of tigers and dragons! The meaning of telling you this now is that in the future, be more low-key; when we arrive at Chang'an City, pretend to be a younger generation if possible, don't pretend to be an elder."

  "I'm under a lot of pressure to take care of the entire Chang'an city, it's really not an ordinary task."

  Fang Jie couldn't help but sigh, he had once fantasized that after arriving in Chang'an, he wouldn't have to worry about those inexplicable pursuers, and with the protection of powerful people like Daquan and Mu Xiaoyao, he could pretend to be a young master in the imperial capital. He would flirt with the beautiful young women, hook up with the charming widows, and if anyone provoked him, he would let Daquan beat them up. It wouldn't take long for him to become famous as the "Imperial Capital's Pretty Boy". Now it seemed that his imagination had run wild.

  ……

  ……

  Snowy night, bright moonlight, and a beautiful woman with long legs and a slender waist by my side. This should have been a romantic evening if we weren't on the run, and if the woman beside me wasn't so cold as ice. Fang Jie was only 15 years old this year, while Mu Xiaoyao was 27 years old. Fang Jie didn't suspect at all that he was the only man who had ever hugged Mu Xiaoyao's slender waist. The man who had touched Mu Xiaoyao's chest was also him alone.

  But towards this woman, Fang Jie was filled with reverence.

  Fan Gucheng was very small, and after jumping out of the backyard of Jinyuanfang, he ran westward all the way. It wouldn't take long to reach the city gate. No matter who the border army on duty was, Fang Xie was familiar with them. However, when they rushed to the west gate, they found that their estimate was overly optimistic.

  Ximen's escort was his familiar border army brothers, as well as six people wearing flying fish robes. To know what this flying fish robe represents, it is enough to make the vast majority of people in the imperial capital fearful. Their official ranks were not high, but their status was very high.

  People from the Imperial Guard Division

  "How come you didn't notice there were outsiders on Ximen's side too?"

  "Six fourth-rank officials are no match for us!"

  Mo Xiaoyao said something in a low voice, and then suddenly threw Fang Jie to one side of the street. By the time Fang Jie steadied himself, Mo Xiaoyao had already added a red scarf to her hand. It was her weapon, a very beautiful and eye-catching one. Before parting ways with the other five guards in Dali City, Fang Jie rarely saw Mo Xiaoyao take action. Because in the team, she was only responsible for sensing enemies, while Qilin, Ye Die, and Chen Qingfan were in charge of killing. It had been three years since they parted ways from Dali City, and they hadn't encountered any enemies during that time.

  So this is also Fang Jie's first time seriously watching how Mu Xiaoyao makes her move.

  A red silk ribbon one zhang long.

  Within a radius of one zhang, this is the world of Wu Xiao Yao.

  The big dog didn't go to help, but stood beside Fang Jie and pulled out a pair of gloves with sharp steel thorns from his waist. The steel thorns reflected a cold light under the moonlight. Looking at Mo Xiaoyu's slender figure, Big Dog suddenly sighed: "This is a woman who has become strong to an extreme degree. Shen Qingfan looks down on her, but she also never looked up to Shen Qingfan. Although that woman was indeed very strong and fierce, if not for Mo Xiaoyu's intuition, she might not have been able to live until today."

  "Chen Qingfan is her junior fellow apprentice."

  The last sentence made Fang Jie's heart skip a beat.

  He suddenly felt a pang of guilt in his heart, although he hadn't said anything wrong.

  Six imperial guards wearing flying fish robes, six top-notch masters of the fourth rank, even in the military, they would be at least fifth-rank generals. Li Xiangzong was an anomaly, with seventh-rank cultivation as a general, he was already being intentionally tempered by the court. Fang Jiehan had no doubts that once Li Xiangzong left Fan Gucheng, he would inevitably rise to prominence.

  Furthermore, Fan Gucheng's position was too crucial, and there wasn't a powerful general to garrison it, the imperial court also didn't feel at ease.

  In Wu Peisheng's view, using six flying fish robes to guard the gate was already enough to show great respect for Fang Jie, even a big lift for him. Unfortunately... Mu Xiaoyao didn't put these six people in her eyes at all. Although she wasn't a combat-type warrior, dealing with six enemies of this level wouldn't make her retreat. The red ribbon danced at the west gate of the city, under the moonlight and snow, beautiful to the point of stunning. A red long skirt, a red long ribbon, surrounded a slender woman flying around, looking like an extremely seductive beauty.

  Especially when her long skirt danced, a pair of white and slender beautiful legs would occasionally appear, which made people's blood boil, even killing was so beautiful, this is Xiao Yao.

  A red silk cord wrapped around a Spring Embroidery knife, snaking up the arm of a guard wearing a Flying Fish robe. Without seeing any movement from Mo Xiaowu's hands, there was a cracking sound, and the red cord suddenly tightened, brutally crushing the guard's arm! The Spring Embroidery knife fell to the snowy ground, immediately losing its luster.

  She pulled the red silk, and the guard with a crushed arm bone was dragged over. A long, beautiful white leg kicked out fiercely, and the delicate little foot wearing red embroidered shoes hit the guard's chest squarely. With a "plop", the guard's chest immediately collapsed into a large pit.

  The red rope loosened, and the guard's body fell down softly.

  "Let's go together!"

  The remaining five flying fish robes surrounded them, and someone turned back to shout at those border troops: "Don't you hurry up and sound the alarm?!"

  "Warning?"

  The leader of the border army looked at Fang Jie standing not far away, and then looked at the ox horn trumpet on his waist. He didn't want to raise the trumpet, Fang Jie was his friend, but he also had a more important identity... He was a soldier of the Great Sui. He saw Fang Jie waving at him, and he knew that once he blew the trumpet, it wouldn't take long for the border army to gather and rush over, and those guys from Chang'an City would definitely come together with them.

  "Sorry, I don't understand."

  The team let out a sigh and slowly took down the horn and put it to their lips.

  The mournful sound of a horn echoes through this quiet snowy night.