Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Ji Ran had a plan and approached deliberately...

"You mean, she's a weak, defenseless woman, and she beat you up like this?" The man's voice came with a hint of hesitation.

Bie Zhi glanced at the young master of the Li family, whose face was covered in scars. She didn't expect that he would actually report her to the authorities on the spot. She pretended to be innocent and lowered her eyelids, silently letting them decide the outcome.

The young master of the Li family looked at the man in official uniform in the hall, then at the girl who curled her lips and said nothing. The corner of his eye twitched, and suddenly, an indescribable pain came over him. He was instantly angry: "What do you mean, Lord He? You have concluded that she is a weak woman before you have even investigated the situation. How do you judge this case!?"

Lord He in the hall was speechless. He looked at the two figures at the bottom of the stairs, at the petite girl, and then at the young master of the Li family who was beaten black and blue, as well as the several servants behind him. None of them was in a good condition.

He coughed, covering his mouth. "Miss Qin, do you have anything to refute?"

"If Master Li is certain that I hit him, then it was me." Bie Zhi timidly raised her eyes, her watery almond-shaped eyes scanning the crowd. As if feeling increasingly aggrieved, she lowered her head again.

Master Li was furious. "What do you mean by 'I'm certain that you hit him, then it was you?' It was clearly you!"

A slightly clamorous voice reached her ears. Bie Zhi took a deep breath, glanced sideways at him, a flicker of anger flickering through her lashes.

Their eyes met, and Master Li shuddered. "Look, look, she dared to glare at me."

"I didn't," Bie Zhi suddenly raised her eyes, pursed her lips, and looked at Lord He in the hall, her voice thick with indignation. Lord

He frowned, assessing the two men hesitantly.

He couldn't afford to offend either the Qin or the Li families.

At this time, the sound of jogging footsteps came. He glanced sideways and saw his colleague running towards him with a look of trepidation. He didn't care about other people and ran straight to his ear to whisper.

After hearing half of the sentence, Lord He felt a chill down his spine. He glanced at the girl biting her lips and suddenly became restless.

How could he forget that the Qin family's biggest supporter is His Royal Highness Prince Su.

Biezhi, whose attention was always on Lord He, realized that something seemed to be wrong with him. His eyes were filled with a hint of panic that she couldn't understand.

With Prince Su's support, Lord He instantly knew how to resolve the case. He lifted the gavel, held it in the air for a moment, then quickly brought it down. The resounding thud echoed through the yamen. He declared, "Today's case—"

"Sir," the yamen runner guarding the gate interrupted, bowing, "A man has arrived outside the yamen. He claims to have witnessed the beating of the young master of the Li family and has come to testify."

Lord He frowned.

After a moment's silence, he said, "Send him up."

Biezhi recalled the scene. She didn't recall seeing anyone pass by, so how could someone come to testify?

As her eyes narrowed, she caught a glimpse of a tall man ascending the steps. He suddenly straightened his back and turned to look.

The witness the yamen runner was referring to was Xu Wenche?

Without looking away, Xu Wenche approached Biezhi and bowed.

Lord He studied the newcomer thoughtfully. His demeanor and attire bore the resemblance of a young master from an aristocratic family, yet he had never seen him before. He asked, "When did you witness the beating of Young Master Li?"

"Half an hour ago," Xu Wenche glanced at the agitated Young Master Li and spoke slowly. "I was just about to leave Yongle Avenue when I saw several dark figures leap out. One of them wrapped a sack around Young Master Li's head and began to beat him relentlessly."

The man's voice was gentle, like a gentle spring breeze.

As he spoke, Young Master Li's raised lip froze in mid-air. He looked at the man beside him in disbelief. "You—" Before Young Master Li

could even begin to formulate his "you," Xu Wenche continued, "Not long after, this young woman appeared on the street corner. The men who had assaulted her fled in all directions upon seeing someone approaching."

Biezhi's mouth twitched slightly at this.

She hadn't imagined Xu Wenche was here to perjure her.

After hearing Xu Wenche's testimony, Lord He was worried about finding any reason and did not care about the young master of the Li family. He hurriedly knocked on the shovel, and cut off the case today and had nothing to do with other branches. The young master of the Li family identified the wrong partner and immediately announced his withdrawal.

Bozhi didn't have time to think about why Lord He was so sure that what Xu Wenche said was true. He glanced at the man's back as he turned around and left. When he thought about it, he followed him not far away.

She followed two streets before the man stopped and turned around and looked.

Xu Wenche's eyes drooped slightly, and he quietly looked at the girl following behind without saying a word through the surging crowd. She raised her head slightly, and the sunlight fell into her eyes. Her clean eyes just like the brown glass unique to the Western Regions reflected mottled light and shadow.

She stood there obediently, as if the person who beat the young master of the Li family just now was really not her.

Their eyes met, and after a moment of silence, Biezhi stepped forward, looking directly at the man and saying, "Thank you very much for your help

just now, young master." "I was also present at the incident at Qingshizhai," Xu Wenche said.

The implication was that his perjury today was understandable.

He looked at the girl's expression, which showed a hint of surprise, and said with a half-smile, "Even if it weren't you who was in court today, I would still testify."

Biezhi hadn't expected Xu Wenche to be at Qingshizhai, and now that she met him, she knew she couldn't miss this opportunity. She pondered for a moment, then said, "It was thanks to your help today that I was able to escape. I will remember this kindness in my heart. If you need any help in the future, you can send someone to find me at the Qin family in Ningle Street."

"The Qin family?" Xu Wenche asked.

"Qin Biezhi," Biezhi said. She paused, then asked, "What's your name, sir?"

"Xu Wenche." Xu Wenche, already aware that the girl before him was the second daughter of the Qin family, stared at her for a moment. "I have other matters to attend to, young lady, so please be at your convenience," he said.

Biezhi nodded and watched the man leave.

As he almost disappeared around the corner, she glanced around, then walked briskly toward the west lane. Unexpectedly, just as she reached the corner, she saw Senior Brother Jingqing.

He was half-leaning against the wall, his eyes blazing at her.

It seemed as if he was waiting for her arrival.

Biezhi glanced at Xu Wenche who had entered the inn, and walked slowly to the corner of the street, crossed the narrow path and stepped onto the quiet and boundless bluestone road. She turned around and looked at her senior brother who was following not far away, frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Jing Qing took out a sealed letter and handed it to her, "Master asked me to bring it to you."

Biezhi took the letter without knowing why, tore it open in front of him, and took out the letter paper. She glanced over the words in the letter, and a hint of solemnity appeared between her brows: "The people I fought that day were the assassins who came here to announce the results?"

"You fought with them?" Jing Qing's face froze, and he asked, "When?"

"Yesterday evening." Biezhi recalled the skills of the people who came down, and indeed carried a fierceness that was rare in the others. Every move was aimed at the vital points: "Their skills are not inferior to mine. They must have been targeting me for some time, otherwise they would not have acted rashly."

Jing Qing's expression grew increasingly solemn. He looked at his junior sister, whose eyelids drooped, and said, "Any assassin who dares to oppose Xianyun Tower is most likely a desperate individual who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. You're out on a mission alone now, so be extra careful."

"I know, and so is my senior brother." Biezhi nodded, folding the letter and stuffing it into an envelope. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Is Qingshan at Baiding Tower?"

"No." Jing Qing had come from Baiding Tower. "The master has been away for the past few days. Master told us about the large reward offered for the lives of those in Xianyun Tower."

Biezhi nodded calmly.

According to Master's letter, the bounty was posted in Hezhou, and she was the only one in Xianyun Tower with ties to Hezhou.

The bounty was clearly aimed at her, and it seemed more likely that her fellow disciples had been implicated by her. The

same was true for the seriously injured Jiran.

Her eyes darkened at the thought.

Looking at his senior brother, lost in thought, Biezhi paused for a moment before saying, "Brother, can you do me a favor?"

Jingqing, preoccupied, snapped back to his senses, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. This was the first time he'd heard her asking for his help. "Go ahead."

"I can't leave the city for the next few days. Senior brother, could you please help me find out who I fought yesterday?" Biezhi asked.

The injuries Ji Ran sustained must be repaid a thousandfold.

"Okay," Jingqing nodded. The request was a trivial one. Glancing at her increasingly indifferent expression, a hint of confusion welled up in his heart. He feigned casualness and asked, "Why are you looking for them all of a sudden?"

Jingqing didn't understand the others, but this junior sister, who had grown up with him, wasn't one for stirring up trouble. Unless something truly crossed her line, she rarely clashed with others, let alone something like suddenly seeking to assassinate him.

"Ji Ran was there yesterday," Bie Zhi told him. "If he hadn't stood behind me, I'd have been injured."

Jing Qing was silent for a moment.

He frowned at his worried junior sister and asked, "He stood behind you?"

Bie Zhi nodded. "We happened to run into each other yesterday. There were three of them. Ji Ran didn't know any martial arts, and I was distracted for a moment and nearly got stabbed. He stood behind me and got seriously injured."

"No..." Jing Qing's suspicions grew. "According to what you said, the attackers were just as skilled as you. They were charging towards you. How could a weak man like him have managed to stand behind you in a flash?"

Bie Zhi's eyes flickered slightly at this.

She hadn't considered how Ji Ran had done it.

And...

the man who collapsed yesterday, clutching his stomach, had been kicked by Ji Ran.

Those attackers were skilled enough to be so easily knocked to the ground by a man with no martial arts skills, and then unable to get up for a long time.

She'd been surprised for a moment yesterday, but then, seeing him injured, she'd been so preoccupied with healing him that she'd forgotten about it.

Now that she thought about it, something was indeed amiss.

Seeing her eyes cast down in thought for a long moment, Jing Qing knew his suspicions were correct. He asked, "Did you see any other injuries on him yesterday?"

"Yes," Biezhi nodded, though he couldn't quite see them. "There seemed to be two shallow scars on his side."

They didn't look like old injuries, but rather new ones.

Jing Qing's mouth tightened.

"So, it seems he's not as innocent as you thought." He suddenly recalled the day they'd first met. Ji Ran's vague gaze, not particularly friendly, but rather tinged with an inexplicable hostility. "If he could block the sword of a desperado, he must have some kung fu skills."

"If he did, why would he hide it from you?" Jing Qing reasoned, bit by bit. "Unless he had some ulterior motive, deliberately getting close to you."

Deliberately getting close?

Biezhi's eyes darkened, a dangerous glint flickering in them.

On second thought, she felt something was not right.

Since they met, she had been the one intentionally getting closer to her, not Ji Ran. He could have found out that she liked handsome men, but how could he have guessed that she would think a man with a long and narrow scar on his face was a sign of handsomeness.

But what her senior brother said was also true. If he didn't have kung fu, how could he have blocked the sword for her.

In an instant, she felt a sense of irritation and restlessness.

Whether it is true or not, we will know after we go and find out!

Biezhi put away the letter from the master and said, "Senior brother, I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

"Where are you going?" Jing Qing frowned.

Biezhi: "Wuweipu."