spoiled brat

Chapter 80, Section 79: Flying White (Nine)

Shi Gang's voice trembled: "Let's go, we need to get in touch with them right away."

He was referring to the Prince Ning's residence.

After emerging from the tunnel, they intended to leave the city and seek refuge with the northern camp, but were driven back by the soldiers who had sealed off the city. Now, they were far from the Prince Ning's residence, the streets were under curfew, and the searching soldiers were roaming everywhere; how easy would it be to sneak over?
Shi Gang pondered for a moment, then pulled Zhao Zhao up: "Let's go."

Zhao Zhao hesitated for a moment, then looked at the mother and daughter in the downpour: "If we leave, the space will be empty. Why don't we let them come in and take shelter?"

Tonight, Yunzhou City is full of people stranded outside the city. Every place that can shelter from the rain and wind is packed. The bridge arch is a good place, but it will be occupied as soon as you lift your butt. Rather than giving it to someone else, it is better to move that mother and daughter in.

Shi Gang understood Zhao Zhao's meaning, but said firmly, "Don't cause any trouble."

Just then, two groups of soldiers walked from the other end of the street, their lanterns swaying in the wind and rain like will-o'-the-wisps. The people in the bridge arch immediately fell silent, pretending to be asleep to avoid trouble.

Zhao Zhao also closed her eyes, but peeked through a crack to look at the mother and daughter in the middle of the road.

Sure enough, they blocked the path of two groups of soldiers and were kicked a few more times. The little girl's mother was kicked to the side of the road and lay paralyzed like a tattered sack. The little girl cried pitifully. The soldiers, lustful, looked at her appearance by the light of the lantern, exclaimed with delight, and made a move to drag her into an empty alley.

Zhao Zhao clenched her fists, her nails digging painfully into her palms. Then she noticed the little girl being dragged looked down at the crowd under the bridge, her eyes no longer pleading, but filled with hatred: "Sir! I know where the thief is!"

The woman was less important than a promotion, so the soldiers stopped what they were doing and asked, half-believing, "Where is she?"

The little girl raised her scarred hand and pointed towards the crowd below the bridge: "They're among them!"

Upon hearing this, everyone who was pretending to be asleep in the bridge archway was startled awake. They trembled and avoided the little girl's hand, afraid of getting into trouble.

Zhao Zhao and Shi Gang also retreated, as the two groups of soldiers pressed forward! A dozen pairs of riding boots and ring-pommel swords clashed loudly, each sound like a death knell.

A splash came from behind, and several unfortunate men were pushed into the river. The crowd cowered, with nowhere to retreat. The leading officer shouted, "Come out and be searched! Anyone who hides again will be treated as a suspect!"

Zhao Zhao felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. At first glance, she and Shi Gang appeared to be from the Lin family, but their appearance did not stand up to scrutiny.

Amidst the chaos and noise, the two were unable to discuss a solution and were pushed out of the underpass by the surrounding crowd. Dozens of people lined up in two rows and were searched one by one.

The two hid behind, while the person in front was extorted and, unable to pay, was beaten again.

The little girl resented the group's indifferent indifference, but when she saw innocent people being implicated, she cried out, "They are not suspects!"

Before she could even utter two cries, she was slapped several times across the face. The soldier hitting her said rudely, "Get out of here, we'll deal with you later!"

The little girl carried her mother on her back and staggered away. The soldiers searching them glanced back and, noticing something odd about Zhao Zhao and Shi Gang, shouted, "You two, come to the front!"

There were soldiers ahead, how could he dare to go? Shi Gang tensed up, his hand slowly moving to his waist, where he hid a wood-chopping knife. It wasn't sharp; it would break if it clashed with the ring-pommel swords of the soldiers ahead.

In the darkness, Zhao Zhao's clenched hand was pried open, and a purse was stuffed into it. Shi Gang whispered, "Liu'er's money, it's all for you." "I told you to come to the front, didn't you hear me?!"

Seeing that the two of them didn't move, the soldier leader came up with his sword at his waist. Every step he took was like a blow to Zhao Zhao's heart.

Fear seeped into his bones, and the world fell silent. Shi Gang gripped the hilt of his sword and said resolutely, "Run east, don't look back."

The soldier leader closed in, ten steps, five steps. Shi Gang, resigned to his fate, swung his knife forward in a flash. The soldier leader, already prepared, withdrew and retreated to avoid the attack, shouting angrily, "Take him down!"

Several soldiers rushed forward, and Shi Gang swung his sword to extinguish the lanterns in their hands, plunging the surroundings into darkness, with silvery rain sliding down the blade.

Shi Gang shielded Zhao Zhao behind him and said one last time, "Let's go!"

Zhao Zhao dropped her firewood basket and ran eastward as fast as she could. The rain blurred her vision; all she could hear was her own panting and the footsteps of her pursuers. She hadn't gone far when another group of soldiers appeared before her, their bright lanterns blinding her. The leader grinned maliciously, his knife pointed directly at Zhao Zhao: "Gotcha!"

Surrounded by soldiers, she was truly at her wit's end! Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Zhao Zhao rushed into a narrow alley, pursued relentlessly by the soldiers, who nearly grabbed her clothes several times.

The alley was pitch black, and Zhao Zhao, like a mouse rolling in the mud, would go wherever there was a path. Her pursuers behind her were confused and split into several groups to try to surround her.

Finally, she bumped into a dark wall, with nowhere to go.

"Still trying to run?" the two soldiers grinned maliciously. "Catching you would be a huge achievement, a tremendous accomplishment. It's just a coincidence that we two brothers ran into you."

Zhao Zhao retreated step by step, her back slamming against the damp, cold wall. Rainwater dripping down the wall soaked into her collar, chilling her to the bone. She clutched the last thing she had in her sleeve—a short dagger, enough to end her life.

The two soldiers were getting closer and closer; if they didn't die soon, they would be captured...

The raindrops sliding down her face were warm, and Zhao Zhao knew she was crying. She raised the dagger and pointed it at her heart.

The dagger gleamed faintly in the night. The two soldiers glanced at it, assuming she was about to resist, and mocked, "A little girl like you, overestimating yourself!"

Raindrops fell on Zhao Zhao's pale face. She suddenly laughed, and with a self-deprecating smile, she removed the dagger from her chest.

The world is full of people like her who overestimate themselves, born to struggle in the mud, and even if they try their hardest, they might not be able to live a decent life... So why should such a worthless and rotten life just disappear without a trace? She was unwilling to accept it!
Zhao Zhao gripped the dagger tightly, the insignificant blade pointing at the two soldiers: "Next, I will kill you both."

The two soldiers froze, and she coldly uttered the second half of her sentence: "Or die by your blade."

She commanded herself, "Zhao Zhao, grip the knife tightly." Then she charged forward. She had no strength, no skill in wielding a knife, only a will to die!

The two soldiers were stunned. They hadn't expected the frail little girl to become so fierce, wielding her dagger like a predatory cat.

The order was to capture him alive, and they cautiously parried Zhao Zhao's dagger with their knives.

Gradually, the two grown men were at a disadvantage, with cuts of varying depths on their bodies, blood flowing all over the ground. They shouted angrily, "I originally wanted to send you to jail whole, but you are so ungrateful!"