Chapter 178:
Night as calm as water.
Clearspring Village was nearly silent.
With the large temperature changes of the desert, it was cold at night. Few people carried out business at this time.
The weaponry shop, however, was still lit.
The owner leaned against a table drowsily.
The door opened quietly. The owner slowly opened his eyes, then stood up.
Without much to say, the owner put on his cloak and said quietly, “Follow me.”
Long Sasi frowned seeing the owner’s actions. He recalled the girl’s stunning, confident smile. She was that certain he would come?
As the owner led the way, Long Sasi watched the owner’s steps and was shocked. This ordinary looking owner had a sturdy foundation! Since when did such experts appear in Clearspring Village?
The owner led Long Sasi to an ordinary stone dwelling. “I am only responsible for bringing you here,” he said dully, then left.
The door opened and a stocky woman motioned for him to enter. “If you may.”
Long Sasi hesitated only briefly before stepping in.
He was unaware that this step was the first step towards the greatest shift in Youwusali’s history!
Long Sasi followed the stocky woman to a room with a cupboard. She pulled open the cupboard door. A gust of cold air blew flew into their faces.
“My lady is waiting for you down below.” Riya motioned for him to enter.
Without hesitating, he entered. Passing through the long corridor, he arrived at a brightly lit hall.
A long table was set up in the middle of the hall. Sitting at the end of the table was the stunning girl. To her right sat a handsome young man with flame red hair watching him with narrowed eyes. To her left sat a handsome man with violet eyes and silver hair, his expression cold. Behind the girl stood two men with the same appearance, one holding a teapot, the other sizing him up with a curious tilt of his head.
“Please sit.” Qi Aoshuang smiled.
Long Sasi frowned slightly. Seeing this set up, the girl seemed to have predicted he would come. Who exactly was she? She had already investigated him thoroughly. Appearing before him in the desert was no coincidence. She had been looking for him!
Long Sasi sat facing Qi Aoshuang. Xi Shaosi poured a cup of tea for Long Sasi.
“Enjoy the tea.” Qi Aoshuang smiled.
Long Sasi sat down without sitting the tea. Instead, he asked seriously, “What are you planning?”
“To increase your fame, and then reveal your identity in the end. Your status shall be restored.” Qi Aoshuang took another sip of tea.
“How?” Long Sasi frowned.
“You don’t have to do anything. Just eat well, play well, and sleep well.” Qi Aoshuang smiled at Long Sasi. Before he could speak, she continued, “Of course, that is not possible. You will not agree. I will not agree either.”
Long Sasi’s lip twitched. He suddenly felt her personality and appearance did not match.
Xi Shaoqi and Xi Shaosi shared a glance, both seeing sympathy in each other’s gazes. Long Sasi would become another victim of their Divine Princess’s bullying.
“What you need to do now is lead your men to do chivalrous acts, save commoners through fire and water. However, you cannot leave your name. You must wear a red mask whenever you carry our your deeds.” Qi Aoshuang set down her cup.
“Chivalrous acts?” Long Sasi was skeptical, not understanding.
“There are other bandits besides you. You have always taken only a certain amount, only a third of the goods when you rob merchants. But other bandits are not the same. They kill all, steal all.” Qi Aoshuang stroked her chin thoughtfully, a little confused. “But why did you want me? You have always stolen goods, not women.”
Long Sasi revealed a trace of embarrassment.
“Whatever, if you don’t want to say, then you don’t have to. In short, your next step is to appear in times of need.” Because most of Youwusali was desert, it was hard for soldiers to travel. On the other hand, bandits were excellent on horseback. Whenever soldiers chased after bandits, at most they would eat dust, helplessly cursing after the bandits disappearing into the distance.
“Just that?” Long Sasi frowned.
“Yes, that’s all you need to do for now. You will assume a different identity. In the end, when your identity is finally revealed, all eyes will be on you. The people who framed you will confess on their own in front of everyone.” Qi Aoshuang lightly rapped the table. “Remember, you all must wear red masks.”
“Why wear red masks?” Long Sasi finally understood what the girl was planning a little.
“You can choose a different color, so long as it differentiates you from other bandits. Try not to kill all the bandits at once. Release them secretly if you can,” Qi Aoshuang instructed specifically.
“Why?” Long Sasi was now even more confused.
The next moment, he regretted asking this question.
Faced with multiple disdainful gazes, Long Sasi suddenly felt stupid.
“Of course so they can continue to wreak havoc so you have more opportunities to show off.” Xi Shaoqi rolled his eyes disdainfully. “Otherwise, how else can you get famous?”
Long Sasi’s lip twitched. These devious people! An exemplary case of how birds of a feather flock together!
“Can you really clear my name?” A trace of doubt flashed across his eyes. Although the men beside the girl were extremely powerful and the girl was able to spiritually control others, was it really possible? The ones who had framed him were the current emperor and empress… the woman he had once loved… now the empress.
“I could do it even right now, but it would not be as effective. So what if they framed you?” Qi Aoshuang smiled. “Hold back your first to strike harder in the future!”
Long Sasi froze. Hold back your first to strike harder in the future!
“Who exactly are you?” Long Sasi stood up, frowning as he stared fixedly at the girl.
The black haired girl smiled, but did not answer.
Feng Yixuan stood up, a wad of golden banknotes appearing in his hand. He handed it to Long Sasi. It was a small portion of the profit made when the Feng clan helped sell off the treasures Qi Aoshuang had gotten from Ben. Feng Yixuan had been greatly shocked, never expecting her to have so many rare treasures.
“What are you doing?” Lon Sasi’s expression darkened.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. It isn’t for you to spend. Exchange them into gold coins. You will use them to help the commoners.” Feng Yixuan spat out, looking down on the person before him.
Long Sasi felt a wave of depression. It was the first time he had felt he wasn’t smart enough.
However, it was a good idea. Youwusali had always been poor, so using money to help others would quickly buy their loyalty.
Once Long Sasi accepted the golden banknotes, he was shocked. Every banknote was worth ten thousand, so this wad of banknotes was a couple million gold!
Long Sasi looked up to see Feng Yixuan’s indifferent expression, then looked at Qi Aoshuang to see her cold expression.
Who exactly were they?
“Go. Every month, send some of your men to the weaponry shop.” Qi Aoshuang stood up, yawning.
Long Sasi stared at the girl, unable to come up with words to say.
Such a mysterious girl with unknown origins. He did not know any of her objectives. However, for some reason, his heart fully believed the girl would be able to fulfill his wish!
“Alright. If I run into trouble, I will come find you at the weaponry shop. I will leave now.” Long Sasi put away the banknotes. He gave Qi Aoshuang a slight nod, then left.
Late at night, Qi Aoshuang stood on the roof, silently watching the bright moon.
Suddenly, a thick mantle draped over her shoulders. She turned around abruptly to face Feng Yixuan’s smiling face.
“What are you thinking about?” Feng Yixuan asked quietly. He also looked up at the moon.
Qi Aoshuang kept silent, then slowly responded. “Once Long Sasi faces the ones who betrayed him, will he be able to take the final step?”
Feng Yixuan paused, then smiled immediately. “That’s his own fault for falling for someone who didn’t deserve love. He was wrong at the start, so how can we be certain he will correct himself in the future?”
Qi Aoshuang paused, then whipped around, staring at Feng Yixuan intensely. Feng Yixuan continued to smile. “Their relationship cannot be called love. How can love be bought by money?”
Qi Aoshuang lowered her gaze, replying darkly, “Humans… are simply like that. Always chasing after fame and fortune…”
But before Qi Aoshuang could finished, Feng Yixuan interjected. “But I won’t. I will never betray you.”
Feng Yixuan pulled Claire by the shoulder to face him. “Aoshuang, even if the rest of the world turns its back on you, I will still remain at your side, protecting you with all my might.”
Qi Aoshuang stared blankly at his resolute gaze, his determined expression. Suddenly, Qi Aoshuang didn’t know what the say. Only, something was taking root in her heart, growing…