Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 89

Inside the inn, the innkeeper and the waiter had already sensed that something was amiss upon hearing the commotion. When they saw Bai Fu and Ran Mo advancing towards them, they quickly turned and split up. The innkeeper hurriedly jumped behind the counter and picked up two abacuses on the table, which turned out to be his weapons. Meanwhile, the waiter ducked and rolled to a corner, seizing a stick that was leaning there.

Bai Fu and Ran Mo had been trained well by Chun Xing and Xia He. Ran Mo, in particular, had received very solid training. However, both of them were still young and their experience in dealing with adversaries was somewhat lacking. Ran Mo remained steady and firm, controlling the waiter with several rounds of fighting. However, the innkeeper was cunning. He pretended to attack Bai Fu and waited for her to dodge, then he swiftly flew through the door, using the cover of darkness to conceal his figure. Bai Fu chased him for a short distance but lost his trail. After searching around and finding nothing, she returned disappointed.

By this time, the guards had successfully rounded up the assailants. The dozen or so men dressed in black on the rooftop had been dealt with by Chun Xing and Xia He, and the others had all been captured and brought back.

The cook and young staff working in the kitchen were so frightened that they could not utter a word. When Zhang Lan and his companions dragged them out, they were practically paralysed and could only tremble and beg for mercy, unable to speak further.

Li Da was clearly stunned by the series of sudden developments that had happened in front of him. He had suspected that Gu Yu Qi and her group had some form of background as they dared to travel as women. He was aware of Zhao Wu’s considerable martial prowess but had previously assumed that Gu Yu Qi and the others relied on the protection of Zhao Wu and his ten or so men. What he did not know was that both Liang Huai Yu and Gu Yu Qi, along with their seemingly delicate maids, were all highly skilled in martial arts.

Especially when Liang Huai Yu and Gu Yu Qi leaped down from the eaves carrying spears. He felt like his jaw was about to drop.

Who were these people?! He was now very glad he had chosen to cooperate with them in Jiangxia City instead of confronting them. This mother and daughter were definitely not ordinary individuals.

Zhao Wu and the numerous guards brought all the captured men dressed in black into the main hall. They made them kneel in two rows and Zhao Wu removed their face coverings one by one. Not a single face was familiar.

“Who are you people?” Gu Yu Qi walked over with a smile and pulled a chair over, sitting down with her spear’s tip pointing at one of the men’s lower jaws as she asked.

The waiter gave Gu Yu Qi a strange smile and before Gu Yu Qi could stop him, she saw that he seemed to forcefully bite something. His eyes rolled white and he fell to the ground twitching.

“They’re sacrificial soldiers! Don’t let them take poison to commit suicide!” Zhao Wu shouted and immediately moved to pry open the nearest man’s jaw. Unfortunately, it was too late by the time he took action.

All the dozen or so captured men in black bit the poison sacs hidden in their mouths. They all fell to the ground one by one, twitching. They all died not long after, foaming at the mouth.

This was the first time Gu Yu Qi was seeing this kind of scenario and she could not speak a word for a long while. She had seen the sacrificial soldiers in TV dramas before, but they were always fake and she felt nothing. Now, over a dozen people died right in front of her. It was truly… An indescribable feeling.

Liang Huai Yu noticed that Gu Yu Qi’s eyes seemed a bit vacant and she thought Gu Yu Qi was scared, so she hurried over and patted her on the shoulder.

Gu Yu Qi let out a long sigh and looked back at Liang Huai Yu, saying, “Don’t worry, Mother. I’m not afraid. I just feel that life is so unpredictable. This can’t be an ordinary black shop. What black shop would have sacrificial soldiers? It’s clear that they must have come after us.” After saying this, she shifted her gaze to the three individuals quivering on the ground.

“Who are you?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

The two kitchen maids were so frightened that they could not even speak. They just had pale faces and did not dare to look up. Only the young man, though scared, managed to speak in a trembling voice, “Replying to the Boss Lady, we are the cooks of this inn.”

“Oh? Then where is the inn’s owner and the other staff?” Gu Yu Qi raised an eyebrow and asked. Boss Lady? That’s quite a new title and it sounds rather imposing. This young man probably mistook Gu Yu Qi for a bandit from the mountains.

“They… They left,” the young man stammered, “About an hour before you arrived, these people came and said they wanted to rent the place for the night. They gave the owner and the other staff money to send them away and only left us in the kitchen to work. They said that if we cooked well, they would pay us double.”

Gu Yu Qi thought the young man did not look like a liar.

Just as she was about to say they could let the young man go, she noticed a scar on the back of his hand.

Her thoughts stirred slightly and she walked toward the young man, extending her hand toward him, “Get up, the floor is cold,” she said gently with a warm smile.

The young man was taken aback and he stared at Gu Yu Qi’s outstretched hand blankly. He hesitantly reached out his hand toward Gu Yu Qi. Only then did Gu Yu Qi see the young man’s face clearly under his unkempt hair. It was an ordinary face, but his eyes…

After the young man extended his hand, his gaze toward Gu Yu Qi suddenly changed. The corners of his mouth curved slightly and two cold throwing stars shot out from the sleeves of his clothes.

Gu Yu Qi had been suspicious of him and was already on guard. She tilted her head to evade the young man’s hidden weapons and said with a smile, “You think I still can’t catch your foxy tail?”

“How could you tell?” The young lad was surprised when he saw Gu Yu Qi evade his attack, and he swiftly retreated, moving like a falling leaf. Gu Yu Qi praised him for his Qinggong as she pursued him.

Everyone present saw the young man attack suddenly. He failed in his attempt to attack Gu Yu Qi. They all broke into a cold sweat from fear. Seeing that the young man was trying to run away, they all chased after him.

“The scar on your hand is from a sword wound,” Gu Yu Qi smiled and said, “How can a kitchen helper have a sword injury?”

“Oh, I was negligent,” the young man suddenly understood. His movements were incredibly fast and by the time he finished speaking, he was already near the door, “I won’t let you find any flaws next time.” After saying that, he smiled at Gu Yu Qi. Then a small black object appeared in his fingers which he threw at Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi quickly deflected the object. It was a small round ball that exploded with a bang upon hitting the ground. Fortunately, Gu Yu Qi had been prepared and used the table to shield herself. She heard several muffled sounds as diamond-shaped throwing knives burst out of the ball and embedded themselves into the wooden surface of the table, some of them protruding through the other side.

Gu Yu Qi was drenched in cold sweat. If she had not grabbed the table in time, her body would have been riddled with holes by now.

This concealed weapon was quite formidable. Who said ancient people had inferior equipment? It was just that some individuals could not withstand other people’s dexterity…

While Gu Yu Qi had managed to block the concealed weapon, a few others had been hit. Zhao Wu dodged two of the concealed weapons, but two of his guards were injured. One was injured in the shoulder and the other in the thigh. Throwing knives flying towards Liang Huai Yu were timely intercepted by the guard left behind by Yun Ke, so Gu Yu Qi nodded appreciatively at him. The guard did not say anything. He sheathed his sword and continued to stand aside.

The secret guard, Wang Yan, was aware of his awkward position. He had been deliberately concealing his presence along the way so sometimes Gu Yu Qi would forget he was there, only remembering when she saw him that Yun Ke had planted him by her side. However, he had taken action to save Liang Huai Yu at a critical moment and Gu Yu Qi genuinely felt grateful. Thinking of how she had been distant and indifferent towards him throughout their journey, she felt a tinge of guilt.

Fortunately, the diamond-shaped throwing knives were not poisoned. After Zhao Wu checked them, he felt relieved. The injuries were non-life-threatening and would heal with good care.

“Do you recognize these concealed weapons?” Gu Yu Qi had not let anyone chase the young man. His Qinggong was excellent and he had these strange concealed weapons on hand. It was dark outside. If they were not careful, it would be hard to determine whether they were chasing him or being pursued by him instead.

Gu Yu Qi pulled a throwing knife from the table and handed it to Zhao Wu. Zhao Wu took a look and shook his head, “Young Miss, I haven’t been active in the martial world for a long time. I’m not familiar with these.” He looked at Li Da and asked, “Do you recognize them?”

Li Da was aware that his meagre skills would not be of much help, so he had not interfered and only approached when Zhao Wu called him over. After looking, he also shook his head, “I’ve met my fair share of martial artists in Jiangxia City, but I’ve never seen throwing knives of this shape. They probably aren’t from our Qi dynasty.”

Not from the Qi dynasty? Gu Yu Qi was slightly surprised. Had her reputation extended to foreign lands? Were there foreigners who wanted her dead? However, it was hard to say. When she was ten years old, were there not Rouran assassins who wanted to kill her?

“Is this from Rouran?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Zhao Wu replied this time. He had spent his childhood at the border with General Liang, so he had a good understanding of the customs of Rouran people. “They usually use something similar to curved blades. This doesn’t look like it,” he said with certainty.

“It looks like something from Daliang,” Li Da thought for a moment and said, “I once had a client in Jiangxia City who asked me to transport a batch of medicinal herbs to Daliang. While I haven’t seen throwing knives of this shape before, but I’ve seen cleavers with a similar shape.”

Uh… It was getting more complicated, actually involving Daliang… Gu Yu Qi felt like her head was spinning. She had not even unravelled the matters in the Qi dynasty and now Daliang had come up.

The place she was headed was on the border of the three countries so encountering people from Daliang here was not unusual. However, encountering someone from Daliang who wanted to kill her was strange.

Sacrificial soldiers! All those who came to kill them were sacrificial soldiers! How could this be explained?

Since they were sacrificial soldiers, then they must have a backup plan if they failed to succeed in one blow.

Gu Yu Qi looked at the two trembling kitchen maids, “You…” She furrowed her brow and asked.

“Please spare us, Boss Lady. We are just two girls here… The young man who was here earlier was their leader, and that’s why we didn’t dare speak,” one of the kitchen maids sobbed.

Uh… “Do you know where they came from?” Gu Yu Qi did not have much hope, but she still asked.

The two kitchen maids shook their heads.

“Forget it, you can go back,” Gu Yu Qi said, “Just report this to the authorities.”

After so many deaths in one night, this inn would never be able to operate again.

“Let’s go,” Gu Yu Qi said. “If the official soldiers come, it’ll be a big hassle.”

“Right,” Zhao Wu nodded. He had asked Zhang Lan to check the horses and carriages in the backyard, but he had not returned yet.

At this moment, Zhang Lan rushed back in a bit of panic, “Bad news, all our horses have been poisoned.”

Well, Zhao Wu wrung his hands in despair. He had expected this!

“Hurry, don’t worry about the horses and carriages,” Zhao Wu said to Liang Huai Yu and Gu Yu Qi, “We just wait until we get to the next town and get new ones.”