After lunch, the muddy and slippery ground had already been dried by the sun, and Qin Yao’s group set off once again.

The next relay station was thirty miles away. In order to arrive before nightfall, the carriage ran at full speed, almost making Jin Dou, who had just slightly recovered, vomit.

Looking back inside the carriage, Liu Ji held up a book, reading softly as his body rose and fell with the motion of the carriage, and Qin Yao sat motionless on the shaft, like a mountain. Jin Dou wondered if he was too frail, causing him to imagine the carriage’s excessive bumpiness.

He looked at the blazing sun outside the window. Who could have thought that in this weather, there would be heavy rain at night, lasting several days?

Jin Dou covered his mouth, resisting the churning in his stomach, already worried about the rest of the journey.

Departing daily after noon, to reach the next station before nightfall, the schedule was indeed a bit tight.

But camping in the wilderness was even more dangerous.

So, endure it. Hadn’t he already endured all the way from the Capital to here? A few more days wouldn’t make a difference.

During the day, while traveling, Jin Dou had many complaints in his heart.

But at night, when staying at the station, he was immensely grateful for hiring Qin Yao as a guard at a high price of two hundred taels of silver in a moment of heat.

That hidden enemy was truly audacious!

The previous day, they sent one person, with no return.

Tonight, they sent a squad of five.

In the middle of the night, Jin Dou suddenly woke up from a heavy killing intent and found the small guest room filled with people.

Under the flashes of lightning and thunder, five sharp blades danced densely in front of the bed.

However, all these killing strikes were blocked by one person.

Realizing the person behind had awakened, Qin Yao glanced back, secretly a bit annoyed. How could she let the client get frightened?!

Turning back to face the five assassins, she thought that since the client was already awake, there was no need to hold back.

Killer intent suddenly rose in her eyes, her previous nonchalant demeanor turned, and she drew the long knife from its sheath. With a sweeping strike like a thousand troops, she took two lives.

The remaining three noticed this terrifying change and were shocked. Just now, they thought having more people would barely handle her. They never expected she was just toying with them, without using full strength.

The domineering aura from Qin Yao enveloped them, and the remaining three, in astonishment, developed a retreat intention.

It wasn’t fear of death, but the target’s strength was far beyond expectation. They needed to report back immediately to inform their master.

Qin Yao saw the retreat intention of the remaining three at a glance and immediately swung the long knife.

Due to the absolute power disparity, no matter how agile and evasive they were, every move became meaningless under the crushing blow of overwhelming power.

The blade smashed down, and the immense impact sent all three flying!

After three dull thuds, there was a terrifying snap of necks breaking.

Qin Yao swiftly dealt with the three, caught their falling bodies, and gently laid them on the ground, ending this entirely one-sided counter-kill.

"Five, twenty-five taels of silver. If it reaches ten next time, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount."

Qin Yao pulled out a small abacus, clattering out the burial fee, and held it before Jin Dou’s wide eyes for confirmation.

"... Thanks for the hard work." Jin Dou hesitated for a moment, then swallowed hard and nodded with difficulty.

Qin Yao satisfactorily put away the abacus, smiled happily at him, "No worries, not hard at all. You continue to sleep; I’ll clean up the room right away."

With that, she bent down and hauled away the two stabbed to death by the bed.

She swiftly returned in less than half a minute, dragging out the three with broken necks together.

In the middle of the night, Liu Ji, dug out of bed by Qin Yao, yawned, carried a water bucket and cloth in, and efficiently cleaned up the bloodstains before silently exiting, thoughtfully closing the door.

Finally, he sprinkled some spices, saved from his little senior brother, usually too precious to use, to mask the smell of blood, so the employer could sleep peacefully.

Throughout, Jin Dou just sat on the bed, hugging a thin blanket, without needing to get off the bed, and the trouble was resolved.

Smelling the lotus fragrance in the air, Jin Dou exhaled deeply, thinking, during the day, if the carriage bounces, then let it bounce. He fell asleep soundly.

In the second half of the night, the rain gradually lessened, and by dawn, the sky had cleared.

The sun rose, slowly drying the wet ground, and by noon, the four set off again.

Today seemed smoother, and they were quite close to Kaiyang County. Qin Yao felt like she was nearing her territory, with most passersby having familiar faces.

Even if they couldn’t name each other, they would nod and greet.

The carriage bumped all the way, and upon arriving at the station, they had a simple dinner and rested.

Unexpectedly, this rainy night went undisturbed, with a peaceful sleep until morning.

The rain had also subsided a lot, and the ground dried completely under the morning sun.

Qin Yao decided to depart early, aiming to enter the county before the gates closed.

If all went well, speeding up a bit, after delivering Jin Dou to the county government, they’d have time to return to Liu Family Village.

So, seeing the ground dry, they set off immediately.

Blue skies, white clouds, a gentle breeze brushing their faces, with a scent of rice wafting from the fields, along with improving health, Jin Dou enjoyed a rare moment of peace.

Yet, under such tranquility, he felt uneasy. Though victory was near, he had a persistent feeling that something bad would happen on this final short stretch.

Liu Ji replaced Qin Yao, going to the shaft with Song Yu to drive, calculating in his mind how much they earned from burying bodies these two days.

The fierce woman promised him half; six were buried in the first two times, five taels each, making fifteen taels of silver for half.

Thinking this way, the previous sadness of losing five taels at the prefecture’s inn vanished entirely!

Unfortunately, today was calm, and they probably couldn’t earn more silver.

Just when Liu Ji felt a pang of regret, he suddenly noticed a shadow above.

Looking up, the carriage had left the exposed main road and entered a tranquil wooded area.

At this late afternoon hour, there were no travelers ahead, no merchants behind, just their lone carriage moving through the woods.

Liu Ji suddenly felt a bit excited, wasn’t this the best time for an assassination?

He glanced back at the employer half-lying in the carriage, pretending to nap, then turned back to scan the surrounding woods, uncertain if it was just his imagination, but he seemed to hear some slight rustling.

Inside the carriage, the pretending-to-nap Jin Dou suddenly opened his eyes, softly calling the truly napping Qin Yao, "Qin Yao, wake up!"

She slowly opened her eyes.

By this time, the carriage had already come to a stop.

Song Yu and Liu Ji suspiciously eyed a group riding over from the small path opposite the woods.

They weren’t uniformly dressed, trained killers, but a group of young men in ordinary clothes, riding variously colored short horses.

The one leading, Liu Ji recognized instantly with disbelief—it was Song Zhang.

Qin Yao looked at the newcomers strangely, then turned back to see the sudden joy on Jin Dou’s face in the carriage, frowning as she asked, "Are these people you called?"