A little girl?

The Masked Mansion Soldiers found it baffling. They knew this place was on the outskirts of Qishan, not far from Shu Dao Mountain. With towering mountains and dense forests, there were hardly any registered villages around—only countless swirling bandit dens. Traders would not dare travel this road without Messenger escorts.

The little girl before them wasn’t even half their height. Her face was plump and fair, and her attire was quite refined, clearly indicating noble descent... How could she be walking alone in such a place?

To become a Messenger within the Mansion Soldiers system, one could be corrupt to the core, but none would be foolish enough to confuse the influential with the ordinary. When traveling, one must be cautious of the elderly, young, sick, and crippled because everyone knows they are easy to bully, yet they’ve survived until now. This alone proves they are not to be messed with.

"Halt!"

The Masked Mansion Soldiers raised the steel crossbow and shot. A Crossbow Arrow landed by the little girl’s feet. "Duke Heyang is apprehending a wanted criminal; unrelated persons are not allowed near!"

The little girl looked down at the Crossbow Arrow, then at the armored Masked Mansion Soldiers, extending her voice: "Oh—"

"I can’t see how the three big sisters are criminals, huh? What crime did they commit?"

The Team Leader of the soldiers was about to say something when he suddenly realized something off: they had surrounded the place tightly, horses forming a wall. How could the little girl, so far away and so short, see the criminals were three big sisters?

"Are you looking for death, you little brat?" The other soldiers were already impatient, raising the steel crossbow to aim at her: "Get lost!"

If anyone else dared to approach, they would certainly shoot them and be done with it. However, the little girl’s appearance, attire, and bold actions made them suspect she had significant background. Normal people would avoid them, so why would anyone come forward to inquire? They feared killing the little girl might cause trouble, hence their ’courtesy.’

"My brother said that those who wish to kill must also be prepared to be killed." The little girl tilted her head, spoke: "Are you prepared?"

"Ah-ha, such a tough little girl."

"Definitely from nobility, no doubt. Ordinary families don’t raise such arrogant children."

"If my kid dared talk like that to adults, I’d have beaten them to death long ago. The young ones these days really are outrageous."

Many soldiers laughed heartily upon hearing this. Some wanted to rush over and teach her a lesson, but the Team Leader stopped them: "Don’t move! No one is allowed to move!"

The Team Leader was already convinced the little girl was of noble descent, likely having snuck out from nearby while her family was here. Seeing them without fear and mimicking adult speech indicated her family members were also powerful enough to boss around the soldiers.

"This matter has nothing to do with you. If you want to know, go back and ask your family’s adults," said the Team Leader: "Don’t cause trouble."

"My brother said, whoever doesn’t speak to me politely is a demon." The little girl raised her hands, struggled for a long time to draw the Longsword from her back: "I see, you are demons wearing human skin."

"If you don’t start talking properly before I act, this Female Knight will slay the demons."

The soldier laughed heartily at her words: "Female Knight, with talk of slaying demons, as if she has seen demons."

"She probably plays these Female Knight games at home a lot and thinks demons are just like the servants in her yard, easy to beat. Wasn’t there a young master who came to the Military Town bragging and crying after entering the Secret Realm?"

"Her family might be watching from nearby? Only a wealthy family can raise such a precocious and domineering child."

This statement made the soldiers look at each other in surprise. The Team Leader also agreed with this speculation. Perhaps there were Second-Turn and Third-Turn Messengers secretly guarding them, just waiting for them to harm the little girl so that the guards could help kill them, giving the girl a real Female Knight experience—such things have happened before in the Zhou Kingdom.

As First-Turn Messengers, they can bully ordinary people at will, but Second-Turn and Third-Turn Messengers can also easily kill them. This world is a cruel food chain. Everyone has their place, and no one can escape.

Seeing the little girl getting closer, the Team Leader had no choice but to raise his voice and say: "Duke Heyang is acting on the Emperor’s order to capture the remnants of the rebellious Duke Jin. If you are involved, you and your family will be implicated in Duke Jin’s rebellion!" He said this not to the little girl, but to the possible guards nearby, urging them to take the ignorant little girl away.

"Oh, it’s Court struggle, then." The little girl stopped, lowered her Longsword: "My brother said, all Court struggles are like dogs biting dogs, none are good people, not worth helping."

Your brother finally said something sensible, the soldiers thought.

"But you said that the big sister who resembles a beast is part of the rebellious remnants, I believe that." The little girl pointed at Wuqiu Shidong reassuringly: "But these two big sisters look like ordinary people, do they have crimes too?"

"The Emperor orders the entire Duke Jin’s Mansion to be exterminated, no mercy," said the Team Leader: "They are maids of Duke Jin’s Mansion, naturally they must be taken back."

"So, they are innocent."

"You girl are being ungrateful," the soldier beside couldn’t help but scold: "We said they are servants of Duke Jin; how can they be innocent? If you keep making trouble, don’t blame us for being rude!"

"My brother said that most people are like rootless duckweed, drifting along with the stream, unable to choose their fate." The little girl said: "I encountered many bandits; they were refugees wielding hoes and sickles. I didn’t blame them and even gave them some food... My brother said, chivalry is showing compassion to those unfortunate souls caught in the world’s tides."

"I’m going in to save them; you can hit me once to make a point, but whoever dares hit me a second time, I will kill him."

With that, the little girl dragged the Longsword and leaped forward, seemingly wanting to pass through them.

The soldiers were shocked by her audacity. The Team Leader quickly aimed the steel crossbow at her, but as he pulled the trigger, the girl’s words flashed through his mind. He instinctively raised the crossbow an inch, and the Crossbow Arrow flew past her braid.

The surrounding soldiers fired. Some arrows landed on the girl, bounced off by an invisible barrier, while others narrowly missed her, possibly due to haste or other unknown reasons.

Meanwhile, Pharmacist’s Wish and Helan Que’s battle had reached a fever pitch. The ground around them was pounded into pits by their weapons’ mere sweep. Helan Que no longer bore a relaxed expression, his body continuously flashing with gold light, simultaneously deploying various Rare Treasure Tokens.

The girl’s appearance didn’t even attract the attention of the two fighters. They were like two beasts, fixated on their enemy’s throat, ready to rip a chunk of flesh if anyone dared to lose focus during the fierce fight!

However, the other soldiers were not inept. Seeing the girl charging towards Wuqiu Shidong wielding the Longsword, they mercilessly raised their steel crossbows to shoot, showering her with Crossbow Arrows covering every part!

They didn’t believe the girl could rescue the two maids. Instead, they feared she might directly kill them—prior to the action, Helan Que strictly forbade shooting the maids dead, permitting only injury to non-vital areas during the hunt.

The maids were merely bait to hold the Pharmacist’s Wish, even if he decided to flee alone. Helan Que could use their corpses to enrage him.

The weak have never decided their fate. A single thought of the strong can destroy their hometown, label them as rebellious remnants, and make them pawns at will.

Wuqiu understood this, which is why she sought death. Upon hearing of Duke Jin’s Mansion’s downfall, she knew their lives ended there. Pharmacist’s Wish could live alone outside, but they had never left the Chang’an Main City. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

They were like flowers in the Secret Realm, incapable of withstanding the outside world’s trials. Without the Young Lady’s protection, they couldn’t have survived till now.

Unfortunately, the Young Lady had high standards, unable to find a suitable partner yet... They were her personal maids, and naturally, the Young Lady’s husband would also be their future master. When the Young Lady was unavailable, they tended to the husband’s needs... if the husband wished to enjoy pleasures unseen by the Young Lady, they would be content. But not too much, to avoid the Young Lady’s displeasure—this was the best love a maid could hope for.

During idle times reading novels, Wuqiu would fantasize about being rescued by a handsome lord leading a vast army from peril one day.

Yet, when that moment truly arrived, she realized the rescuer wasn’t any lord, but a little girl who could be her sister; nor did she see any vast army—instead, the girl proactively charged into a trap of thousands of soldiers and arrows!

Faced with the Crossbow Arrows, the girl was fearless. When the arrows were an inch away, they lost all momentum as if hitting a soft wall and fell to the ground, seemingly incapable of damaging her barrier at all.

With a turn of her left hand, she held up two bottles of Blood Replenishing Pill: "Take these and follow me. I will lead you out. Don’t be afraid, just follow behind me, and leave everything else to me."