My wife has a secret

Chapter 189 Manman
Xu Qing's original intention was to stop the other party's atrocities, but when he took action, he suddenly found that the situation was not as he imagined.

The man who was about to hit someone swung his hand, but instead of hitting the girl, he turned to his chest and pulled out a dagger.

At some point on the way here, he secretly changed the position of the dagger, hiding the knife that had been tucked between his hips on the side of his lapel to achieve the effect of surprise.

Xu Qing had never learned martial arts, and he relied entirely on his on-the-spot reaction to push the other person away.

At the same time, another man rushed from behind and tried to stab the tip of the knife into his body.

The two of them always thought that Xu Qing was the only one who would resist, so it would be easy to kill this guy and then deal with the woman.

But what the two men never expected was that at the moment they were about to succeed, the woman who had been standing silently behind them suddenly moved.

With a nearly perfect high kick, he kicked his weapon away, then he somersaulted sideways and snatched the flying dagger.

Before the two men could make any unnecessary movements, their necks were cut and they fell to the ground, staggering.

After doing all this, Yang Xianning landed unsteadily and almost slipped and fell. Fortunately, Xu Qing was quick-witted and rushed over to help her.

"I...it's okay."

Yang Xianning gasped a few times, trying to calm the blood churning in her chest.

She was still seriously injured and forcing her power to move would naturally have some side effects. Fortunately, after a few days of rest, her body had recovered a lot and as long as she didn't exert too much effort, she wouldn't become exhausted.

"Ah."

Xu Qing didn't know the ins and outs of this, and since the other party said everything was fine, he wouldn't care too much.

But he was still frightened by the sudden change that had just happened, and said with emotion: "I didn't expect that whether we gave way or not, these two people were ready to kill and rob. They are really vicious and cruel."

Although Xu Qing realized that these two people did not seem like good people, according to his previous calculations, as long as he gave in a step, he should be able to avoid accidental contact.

Now it seems that he still underestimated these bandits. He didn't expect that these two people would use the little girl as bait and wait for an opportunity to strike after she attracted his attention.

"They are human traffickers, so of course they don't want to let go of anyone they meet along the way."

After just a few encounters, Yang Xianning understood the intentions of these two people.

The sparsely populated mountains and wilderness, plus the two girls accompanying them, all speak volumes about what they were up to.

Xu Qing knew clearly that "renyazi" was slang for human traffickers.

This was the first time he had run into the murderer described in the case book, so he asked in confusion, "Female hero, you have traveled all over the world, have you encountered him more than once or twice?"

Faced with Xu Qing's question, Yang Xianning fell silent for the first time.

The former saw that she was unwilling to answer the question, so he turned around and faced the girl who had been left on the ground earlier.

The two girls were terrified after witnessing the death of two human toothbrushes. They snuggled up to each other and trembled.

After seeing Xu Qingchao walking towards them, the girl who made the noise on the road had tears in her eyes and apologized in a trembling voice: "I'm... I'm sorry, Master, Ryoko was forced..."

Xu Qing was not a fool, so he could naturally see that their actions were not intentional.

Being threatened by two tall and strong men, how could these two girls have the courage to say no?

So he simply approached them and reached out to help them untie the hemp ropes tied around their hands.

When the ropes were removed, Xu Qing could clearly see bloody marks on the wrists of the two girls. This also indirectly proved that the two dead human traffickers had been dragging them all the way.

"Master...you, what are you doing..."

"You are free."

Seeing Xu Qing's actions, the thin, scrawny girl shook her head and pleaded in a pitiful tone: "Master, why don't you tie us up? We are very obedient and will never cause any trouble for you."

Xu Qing blinked slightly and looked at the other person with some confusion.

Are these two girls stupid? Why would they actively ask others to kidnap them?
When the girl saw Xu Qing looking at her without any fluctuation in his eyes, she panicked and said bitterly, "Master, please have mercy on us and take us away. You can sell us anywhere."

Yang Xianning approached and explained in a very calm tone: "This place is already desolate and sparsely populated. Letting them go alone is tantamount to sending them to their deaths."

"Yes, yes... Master!"

When the little girl saw Xu Qing's astonished look, she immediately realized that he was not that kind of vicious person.

In order to grasp this glimmer of hope, she tried to explain: "Last year at the beginning of autumn, the harvest at home was not good, and this winter a lot of wheat was frozen to death... We are very grateful to you for taking us away."

Although Yang Xianning had heard rumors at Huangling Pass that the Liao Kingdom had a poor harvest last year, she had not expected that ordinary farmers in the neighboring country had reached the point of selling their daughters in exchange for food.

Doesn’t this mean that the Liao Kingdom will face a famine?
"Master..."

Xu Qing was caught in a dilemma. His identity was sensitive and it was extremely difficult for him to show up in the Liao Kingdom.

If two girls join in, it will definitely add a lot of trouble along the way.

According to common sense, we should avoid such troubles and let them fend for themselves.

But after all, I am a good young man who has received new-age education. If I watch them walk towards an uncertain death with my own eyes, I won’t be able to sleep at night in the future, right?

Although Yang Xianning already had a plan in mind, she remained patient and silent, hoping to use this incident to see clearly the character of the people around her.

"Got it... Those two human traffickers should have the clearance documents on them."

Xu Qing suddenly had an idea and thought of a clever idea.

"We can use his stuff to get into the city. Maybe we can find the caravans that are trading north and south in the city and follow them back."

Because of the threats from the Mongols and the Jurchens, the relationship between Qi and Liao was relatively harmonious, and caravans traveled back and forth between the two countries to conduct trade.

As long as they can solve the problem of entering the city, the two of them will have a formal identity and will no longer have to sleep in the wilderness.

Yang Xianning hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Xu Qing’s proposal was indeed feasible. Although it was a bit more troublesome than what he had planned, he should be able to properly accommodate the two girls by going to a town.

Therefore, she did not object.

Xu Qing searched the two fallen bodies for a while and found two small stacks of paper with the official seal of the Liao Dynasty on them.

But after he opened the document and looked at it for a moment, he froze in place, almost suspecting that he had read the words wrong.

"Go to the capital?"

Hearing the words "going to Beijing", Yang Xianning's indifferent expression became a little solemn, and she subconsciously looked at the two girls.

"Weren't you kidnapped by human traffickers? How did you end up in Beijing?"

According to Yang Xianning's previous experience, although human traffickers will deliver goods under the orders of the matchmaker and their superiors, these people will also try their best to avoid bustling big cities.

For example, the capital of Qi, Suzhou, was a big city with strict procedures and complicated interrogations. If the slightest clue was revealed, something bad would happen.

Moreover, the criminal law imposes extremely severe punishments on such people. Once caught, their tongues will be cut out, their tendons will be picked out, and they will be paraded through the streets for public display.

Why would the human traffickers leave a relatively safe place and head to Shangjing, the capital of the Liao Kingdom?

"We... don't know either." When the female knight asked the question, Xu Qing could keenly feel that the girl who was dressed in a slightly delicate manner had a strange expression on her face and her eyes were evasive.

So he judged that the two girls should know that they were being taken to the capital, but for some unknown reason, they chose to conceal it.

It was getting dark now, and there were two corpses nearby. Xu Qing didn't want to delay any longer, so he had a brief conversation with the heroine.

After deciding to change direction to Shangjing City, they took the two young girls and returned in the direction they came from.

……

After arriving at the previous night's accommodation, we rekindled the bonfire.

Yang Xianning simply pointed on the ground to determine the location where everyone should sleep. The two girls ran over very obediently and lay on the ground huddled together to sleep.

Perhaps because they had traveled a long distance without getting enough rest, after a while the sound of their gentle breathing could be heard.

This time, before Xu Qing could speak, Yang Xianning spoke first and reminded him, "These two traffickers are not ordinary."

"How did you know?"

"The seal above is the seal of Qingtian Prefecture, the second largest city in Liao. With the pass to Shangjing City, these two traffickers did not take the normal route, but bypassed many towns and chose a small road."

Seeing that the other party's thinking was so meticulous, Xu Qing's previous worries were swept away.

He was previously afraid that the chivalrous heart of this female knight would get in the way, causing her to focus on rescuing the two young girls and ignore their own safety.

Now it seems that she had noticed the abnormality a long time ago.

"But no matter what, Shangjing City has the most exchanges with Kyoto. We will definitely find a way when we go there."

Xu Qing's answer left room for maneuver and was mixed with selfish motives.

Because of the exchanges in recent years, there are Qi’s envoys stationed abroad in Shangjing City, which is what was often called an “embassy” in the previous life.

As long as he could enter Shangjing City smoothly, he could find the other party, reveal his identity, and ask him to arrange a carriage caravan to take him back to Beijing.

However, what Xu Qing could not have imagined was that the chivalrous woman beside him had the same idea.

Yang Xianning felt that this aide from the Five Cities Army had suffered too much following her, and she would not let him die in a foreign country.

As long as he revealed his identity in front of the envoys from Shangjing City, it would naturally cause a stir in the Qi court and the public.

Anyone who is familiar with the situation between the two countries naturally knows that the generals of the Yang family cannot stay in the enemy country and will find ways to bring them back.

Just like that, the two people, each with their own thoughts, looked at each other and performed the greeting tacitly.

……

Late at night, the moon is bright and the sky is full of stars.

The gauze-like clouds drifted slowly in the night sky. There were no noisy insects in the winter, only the crackling sound of burning firewood.

As usual, Xu Qing sat by the fire, patrolling the first half of the night.

It was quiet all around. After an unknown amount of time, a strange noise suddenly came from the side.

Xu Qing looked over and saw one of the two girls sitting up slightly, looking at him awkwardly, her face flushed red.

"What's wrong? Did you have trouble sleeping?"

She shook her head.

Xu Qing saw the clue and asked, "Want to relieve yourself?"

"Um……"

After hearing this affirmation as thin as a mosquito, Xu Qing nodded, pointed to the depths of the forest, and said expressionlessly: "Go by yourself."

"Ryoko... is too timid to dare..."

Maybe it was because Xu Qing hadn’t been looking at her in a good light along the way, but the girl couldn’t even utter a complete sentence in front of him.

Xu Qing also blinked and asked in disbelief: "You want me to go with you?"

"Yes... I went to relieve myself on the road earlier, and those two gentlemen... well, they accompanied me."

Nonsense, they are afraid that you will run away.

Xu Qing naturally would not say what he was thinking. After making some mental preparations, he still compromised with the girl.

When he reached the side of the woods, he turned his back and listened to the rustling sound of his trouser collar being unbuttoned behind him.

After the strange crackling sound died down, the girl came out shyly.

Looking at the other person's expression, for some reason, Xu Qing seemed to think of the lady in Suzhou Prefecture. The expression on his face eased a little, and he reached out and touched her messy hair.

"Not tied properly."

After leaving these words, he returned to the camp alone.

The girl was so frightened that she dared not move. After hearing Xu Qing's words, she hurriedly straightened her belt and staggered back here.

Xu Qing estimated that the night watch was almost up, and when he was about to wake up the female warrior to take over, the girl lying on the ground called out in a shivering voice: "Master, are you still there?"

"what happened?"

"During the day, we have something to hide from you..."

really.

Xu Qing kept a calm expression and asked calmly, "What are you hiding?"

"My master asked us at that time that we were going to be sent to the capital... In fact, Liangzi and Jingjing knew about this, but Liangzi was afraid that my master would not send us if he knew about it, so she didn't dare to say anything."

Xu Qing naturally could not hide the two girls' hidden thoughts from him, but he felt a little relieved that the two girls did not keep the secret from him for too long.

"Grandpa, Ryoko was sold to a matchmaker by grandpa, so Ryoko is not afraid of being sold, nor does she hate others... It was just that one night before she set off, Ryoko went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and overheard the conversation of the matchmaker next door."

When Ryoko said this, her voice became timid, as if she had thought of something terrible.

"The human traffickers said that our lambs are different from other lambs. They are carefully selected and their birth dates have been checked before they are supplied to the masters in the capital."

When Xu Qing heard this, he understood the general idea.

It seems that these two girls concealed the truth because they were worried that they would be afraid of the other party's power.

Wait, that’s not right!
Xu Qing frowned and asked, "Since you said earlier that you had no complaints about being sold, then the powerful people in Shangjing City should be the place you dream of going. Why do you have to hide it from us?"

Even if ordinary households bought these girls, they probably wouldn't treat them well.

So since the other party is a big shot in the Liao Kingdom, at least he will not treat them badly in terms of food and accommodation, so it should be considered a good deal.

(End of this chapter)