Chapter 143: Protection
Editor: Atlas Studios
Under Qi Haoran’s dumbfounded gaze, Mu Yangling sliced open the tent slowly. During this period, only a faint sound could be heard. If Qi Haoran wasn’t watching, he definitely wouldn’t have noticed this subtle sound.
Mu Yangling sliced until there was enough space for one person to enter before putting away her dagger. Then, she gently climbed in. Under Mu Yangling’s glare, Qi Haoran could not help but slowly crawl in. Then, the two of them looked up and saw Fan Zijin sitting comfortably in the middle chair, drinking hot tea and looking out of the tent comfortably.
Qi Haoran opened his mouth to speak, but Mu Yangling glared at him fiercely. Qi Haoran immediately shut his mouth.
Mu Yangling walked over quietly. When she passed by the table in the corner of the tent, she even picked up a chopstick from it…
The spot they entered was very ingenious; it happened to be at the right rear of the tent. Fan Zijin was sitting on the chair right in front of Qi Haoran, his gaze facing forward and unable to see the situation behind.
Mu Yangling went behind Fan Zijin and gently pressed the chopstick against his neck. She pressed one hand on his shoulder and Fan Zijin instantly couldn’t move.
With the chopstick pressed against his neck, Fan Zijin’s body stiffened. In an instant, he regained his composure and put down the teacup easily. He asked gently, “Mu Yangling?”
Mu Yangling couldn’t help but admire him. If it weren’t for the fact that her hand was pressed upon his shoulder, she definitely wouldn’t have noticed his momentary stiffness. He was only 13 years old, but he was already so scheming. No wonder he could come up with the idea of selling rabbits in the south.
Mu Yangling put away the chopstick and said with a smile, “How did you guess that it was me?”
Only then did Fan Zijin turn around and see Mu Yangling standing behind him. Naturally, he also saw Qi Haoran and the big hole not far away. With a smile on his face, he said calmly, “Other than you, who else would dare to do this? I don’t have any value to be assassinated.”
However, Mu Yangling became serious and said seriously, “You’re General Qi’s cousin and Qi Haoran’s playmate since he was young. Not only do you have the value of being assassinated, but you also have the value of being kidnapped. If I were a Jin, I’d definitely capture you in order to restrain General Qi.”
Fan Zijin looked at Mu Yangling in surprise. Mu Yangling had already turned around with a smile and said to Qi Haoran, “How is it? I didn’t lie to you, right? It didn’t take more than half an hour.”
Qi Haoran, who was slowly savoring the experience, nodded and said, “My defense is indeed lacking in many aspects. After I make some adjustments and adjust the deployment of the soldiers, I’ll invite you to infiltrate again.”
“No problem.” Mu Yangling was very forthright. “Let’s just treat it as a game. Mm, let’s call it ‘Assassin and General’. How about that?”
Fan Zijin pursed his lips in disdain. “How unoriginal.”
However, Qi Haoran felt that this name was appropriate.
Mu Yangling was already hugging her stomach. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
Qi Haoran waved his hand to call Fei Bai over and asked him to find someone to repair the tent. Then, he brought the two of them out of the military camp.
Only Fei Bai and Yanmo were left staring at the large hole in the tent with their mouths agape. No matter how hard they racked their brains, they could not figure out why such a huge hole would appear in the large tent. It looked like someone had specially cut it open.
The three of them arrived at Chenggu Garrison very quickly. By now, the villagers of Chenggu Garrison were already used to it. Since the young general and Young Master Fan came to play with her from time to time, they all knew that the young lady of the Mu family had a good relationship with them. Rumor had it that even General Qi was very friendly and polite to Mu Yangling.
Thinking about how her parents were extraordinary, rumors gradually appeared that Mu Shi was the son of a general who had to hide his identity and make a living under General Qi due to persecution by the Imperial Court.
And because General Qi admired Mu Shi’s father’s heroic bearing, he took good care of him. Otherwise, with Mu Shi’s innate strength, why would he not be transferred to the 1st or 2nd Division but stay in the 5th Division to farm?
General Qi definitely couldn’t bear to see the descendant of that general die, so he arranged for him to be in the safest 5th Division. Although this position was a little useless, at least he could keep his life.
As for Mu Shi and his daughter, their divine power was inherited from their ancestors.
There was also an explanation for how extraordinary Mu Yangling’s mother, Shu Wanniang, was. They guessed that General Mu must have arranged for his son to be married to her before the incident, so Shu Wanniang’s status must also be extraordinary, perhaps the legitimate daughter of a certain aristocratic family. Because the family wanted to break off the engagement, she insisted on eloping with her fiancé, Mu Shi, and lived here in seclusion.
Otherwise, how could an ordinary farmer’s wife have such a bearing? Her words and actions were like a fairy’s flowing clouds and flowing water, so graceful.
The Mu family naturally didn’t know about such speculations, but Chenggu Garrison and even the soldiers in the military camp later respected Mu Yangling’s family very much. Other than a small number of people, everyone gave in to the Mu family and admired them.
Mu Shi and Mu Yangling had always thought that it was because their family had set an example for Chenggu Garrison, that it was due to their clan’s charm and prestige.
Of course, Mu Yangling didn’t know about this yet. At this moment, she was fighting with Qi Haoran over a rabbit leg. She elbowed him and Qi Haoran felt a pain in his chest. He shouted, “Save your strength. I’m dying.”
Mu Yangling snatched the rabbit leg and said impolitely, “With internal energy protecting your body, it’d be strange if you die. You’ve already eaten two just now. This is my brother’s. If you snatch it again, I’ll beat you up.” As she spoke, she placed the rabbit leg in Little Bowen’s bowl.
Little Bowen seemed to be afraid that Qi Haoran would snatch it from him, so he picked up the rabbit leg and took a bite.
Qi Haoran looked at his saliva in disdain and picked up a piece of rabbit meat. He stuffed it into his mouth and said, “I don’t care for rabbit legs.”
Shu Wanniang glared at her daughter. “Ah Ling, you’re too rude. How can you treat Little General like this?” Then, she turned to Qi Haoran and said, “Little General, don’t blame her. Although Ah Ling is usually mischievous, she knows how to treat guests. It’s just that this child dotes on her younger siblings too much. If you’re fond of this, I’ll cook more for you later. You can bring it back to the military camp to eat. If you want to eat it in the future, feel free to come over. We don’t have anything else at home, but we have enough rabbit meat.”
This time, it was Qi Haoran’s turn to feel embarrassed. He said, “Auntie Mu, I was just fooling around with Miss Mu. It’s not that I have to eat rabbit legs. Your braised rabbit meat is also very delicious.”
Fan Zijin nodded. “The other dishes are also delicious. Auntie Mu’s cooking is really awesome.”
Qi Haoran nodded repeatedly and praised, “Even the head chef of Zhenxiu Restaurant, the best restaurant in Lin’an Prefecture, isn’t even one-tenth as good as you.”
Shu Wanniang couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile. “I don’t have many hobbies in my life. I just like to make some dishes and embroider some flowers. I’m glad you like it.”
Mu Yangling looked up at the baby fat that had already disappeared from Qi Haoran’s face and turned to Shu Wanniang. “Mother, make some for them to bring back so they can eat it tomorrow.”
Then, she said to Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin, “The camp is not far from my house. It takes less than 15 minutes to ride back and forth. Whenever you have time, come to my house for a meal. Just remember to bring some rice and noodles over. We will provide the vegetables.”
Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin looked at the dishes on the table. At the thought of the large pot of food in the military camp that was like pig feed, they hurriedly nodded. “Great!”
Fan Zijin even found a better reason and said seriously, “Coincidentally, aren’t we going to work together? We can discuss it when we come over for a meal.”
Xiuhong looked up at him and pursed her lips before lowering her head, feeling disdain in her heart. It was obvious that he wanted to eat her aunt’s food, but he still found such an excuse.