Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 57 Willow Leaf Waist Token! The Liu family's assassins actually tracked us here?

Ye Huang walked towards the scarred man.

One step, two steps.

Her plain white robe brushed against the blood-stained grass, her face expressionless, only her eyes held an icy gaze.

The scarred man spat: "This little wench's got some nerve! Brothers, let's take her down first—"

Before the words were even finished, Ye Huang moved suddenly!

Before the other man could pounce, she struck first—her right hand, fingers forming a claw, aimed straight for the burly man's throat! The move was lightning fast; the scarred man didn't even see how she moved before his throat was locked in place!

"Uh..." His eyes bulged out.

Ye Huang exerted force with her fingers while simultaneously bending her left knee and thrusting it upwards, slamming it hard into his abdomen!

"Ugh!" The scarred man doubled over in pain.

She released her grip, seized the steel knife from his hand, and swung it backhand—

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning!

The two henchmen beside him had just raised their knives when a line of blood appeared on their necks. Their eyes widened as they slowly collapsed to the ground.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The remaining three henchmen were terrified and turned to flee. Ye Huang flicked her wrist, and the steel blade flew from her hand, tracing a sharp arc in the air before piercing the hearts of the two men in succession!

The last person's legs gave way and he knelt down: "Heroine, please spare my life—"

Ye Huang walked up to him, bent down to pick up the knife from the ground, and pressed the tip against his throat: "Who sent you?"

"It's...it's the Green Dragon Gang...Our boss took the money and wants...to kill that scholar..."

Why?

"N-no, I don't know! Just say he knows something he shouldn't know..."

Ye Huang's eyes flickered slightly.

She sheathed her knife and kicked the man unconscious.

As he turned around, his gaze swept to the other side—the lean man and the men in black he had brought were still frozen in place, not daring to move.

Uncle Fu stood by the carriage, holding Bao'er in his arms. His hunched figure resembled an old tree, yet the invisible pressure he exuded sent chills down the spines of all the men in black.

"Sir," Ye Huang returned, her voice still calm, "are you still going to take me away?"

The lean man's face was ashen.

He looked at the corpses lying scattered on the ground—the scarred man's gang, six men, all gone in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. Then he looked at his own side; three had already fallen in the initial exchange, and now…

He gritted his teeth and suddenly let out a short whistle.

"withdraw!"

The men in black, as if granted a pardon, quickly regrouped and escorted him deeper into the forest. The sound of hooves faded into the distance, soon disappearing into the dense woods.

The crisis is temporarily over.

Jinshu then dared to peek out from behind the carriage, her face pale, but she forced herself to run over: "Miss, are you hurt?"

"It's nothing." Ye Huang shook her head, her gaze falling on the scholar in blue robes who was still lying on the ground.

The man had a broken arrow stuck in his back, and his blue robe was soaked with blood; he looked like he was on the verge of death. Yet, despite the chaos of the battle, he had remained lying there without moving, not even uttering a sound.

He wasn't really dizzy; he was just incredibly good at enduring pain.

Ye Huang walked over and squatted down: "Can you still speak?"

The scholar slowly raised his head.

His face was covered in blood and dirt, obscuring his features, except for his eyes—half-closed, weak, yet unusually clear. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse: "Th-thank you so much for saving my life, young lady..."

"name?"

"Mo...Mo Shisan."

Why are you being hunted down?

Mo Shisan gasped for breath, each word sounding like he was about to suffocate: "I know... I know some secrets... The Green Dragon Gang... wants to silence me..."

Ye Huang stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out, pinched a spot on his shoulder, and pressed hard!

"Ah—!" Mo Shisan convulsed in pain.

"The arrow wound isn't deep; he won't die." Ye Huang stood up. "Jinshu, stop the bleeding."

Jinshu was taken aback for a moment, then realized what she meant: "Yes!"

She quickly pulled out a small cloth bag from her bosom—it was the first-aid kit the girl had taught her to carry with her. Inside were clean strips of cloth that had been boiled in water, wound medicine powder, and two bottles of hemostatic powder and anti-inflammatory pills prepared by the girl.

Jinshu knelt beside Mo Shisan and carefully cut open the clothes on his back to reveal the wound. A broken arrow was embedded about an inch and a half deep in the flesh below his left shoulder blade, with the surrounding skin torn open and blood still seeping out.

"You, you have to bear with it..." Jinshu's voice trembled slightly, but her hands moved steadily—the girl had taught her the steps for treating external injuries: first clean, then remove the arrow, apply medicine, and bandage.

She rinsed the blood and dirt around the wound with clean water, then gripped the arrow shaft, took a deep breath, and pulled it out with a swift motion!

"Ugh!" Mo Shisan groaned, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Jinshu quickly applied hemostatic powder, then a layer of wound medicine, and tightly bandaged it with a clean cloth strip. Although the whole process was somewhat clumsy, it was orderly and methodical.

Ye Huang watched from the side, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes.

This girl, I didn't teach her for nothing.

Shen Fu had already finished examining the corpses. He dragged the scarred man's body over, his face grave: "Young lady, look at this."

He tore a waist tag off the big man's waist.

Made of black iron, palm-sized, with a willow leaf engraved on the front and the character "香" (fragrant) in seal script on the back.

Willow leaf mark.

A subtle fragrance.

Ye Huang's pupils contracted slightly.

The Liu family's assassin organization actually tracked her here? Is it targeting her, or...?

She looked at Mo Shisan on the ground.

This person claimed to know "secrets that shouldn't be known," and that the people chasing him were from the Azure Dragon Gang—but the members of the Azure Dragon Gang had the Dark Fragrance badge on their bodies.

interesting.

"Jinshu, give him an anti-inflammatory pill," Ye Huang instructed, then walked to the corpses of the men in black, squatted down, and carefully examined them.

Sure enough, the same willow leaf waist tokens were found on the three people she had initially knocked down.

Two groups of people, one group was openly a group of desperate criminals from the Green Dragon Gang, and the other group looked like they came from the military—but both carried the insignia of Anxiang.

The Liu family's reach extended further than she had imagined.

"Young lady," Uncle Fu approached, carrying Bao'er, his voice low, "is the Liu family... starting to suspect something?"

Ye Huang stood up and looked towards the capital.

Do you doubt she's still alive?

Or perhaps... that guy Liu Chengming never actually believed she "died of illness"?

"Whether there's suspicion or not, we can't go down this road anymore." She turned around. "Shen Fu, clean up the body. Jinshu, help him into the car."

"You want to take him away, young lady?" Jinshu hesitated. "This man's origins are unknown..."

"It's precisely because his origins are unknown that we need to bring him along." Ye Huang looked at Mo Shisan. "The 'secret' that Anxiang and Qinglong Gang would join forces to hunt him down... is probably quite significant."

Mo Shisan, having caught his breath, sat up with Jinshu's help. He looked at Ye Huang, a complex emotion flashing in his clear eyes, which ultimately turned into a bitter smile:

"Young lady...aren't you afraid I'll implicate you?"

"It's already dragged you down," Ye Huang said calmly, "from the moment you stumbled into this circle."

She paused, then asked, "You just said you know some secrets. What are they about?"

Mo Shisan was silent for a moment, then uttered two words:

Salt tax.

Ye Huang's eyes suddenly narrowed.

Salt tax in Jiangnan.

That was the fattest piece of meat in the Liu family, and also one of the triggers for the downfall of the Shen family back then.

She looked at Mo Shisan's pale yet stubborn face and suddenly smiled.

"Get in the car."

---

The carriage set off again.

Four people were crammed into the carriage—Ye Huang was holding Bao'er, Jin Shu was sitting next to her, and Mo Shisan was leaning against the opposite corner, his face still pale, but his spirits were a little better.

Uncle Fu was driving the carriage outside, while Shen Fu rode ahead on horseback to scout the way.

The wheels rolled on, continuing south along the mountain road.

Jinshu rummaged through her bundle and took out some dry rations and a water pouch, handing them to Yehuang first: "Miss, have something to eat."

Ye Huang took the cake, broke off half, and chewed it slowly. Her gaze, however, remained fixed on Mo Shisan.

The man had his eyes closed, seemingly resting, but the rhythm of his breathing and the tension in his body indicated that he was awake and alert.

"Mo Shisan," Ye Huang suddenly spoke, "are you from Jiangnan?"

Mo Shisan opened his eyes: "Yes."

"What do you do?"

"...A scholar." He paused, "occasionally, he helps people with writing and calculations, and inquires about information."

"Inquiring about information?" Ye Huang raised an eyebrow. "So, you've discovered the secret of the salt tax?"

Mo Shisan pursed his lips and remained silent.

"The salt tax in Jiangnan doesn't add up to 3.7 million taels over three years," Ye Huang said slowly, each word like a nail. "Of that, 1.2 million taels went into the Liu family's pockets. The rest was distributed among thirteen officials in Jiangnan, and... a certain prince in the capital."

Mo Shisan suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock.

"How...how did you know?!"

Ye Huang didn't answer, but only asked, "What else do you know?"

Mo Shisan stared at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled bitterly: "I know... of those 3.7 million taels, 500,000 taels were the pension for the Northern Army."

The carriage fell silent.

Even Lian Jinshu gasped in shock.

Withholding military pay is already a serious crime, but withholding even more is the compensation money—the life-saving money for the families of fallen soldiers!

"Where's the evidence?" Ye Huang's voice turned cold.

"I have a copy of the account book, hidden somewhere." Mo Shisan looked at her. "If you want it, I can take you to get it. But on the condition that... you spare my life."

Ye Huang met his gaze.

After a long while, she gently patted the baby in her arms.

The little guy had woken up sometime earlier and was looking at Mo Shisan with his big, bright eyes. Then, he stretched out his little hand towards Mo Shisan and made a cooing sound.

It's as if to say: This person can be trusted.

Ye Huang withdrew her gaze.

"it is good."

She only said one word.

Yet it weighs as much as a thousand pounds.

Mo Shisan breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body went limp, and he finally truly relaxed.

Outside the car window, the setting sun casts a golden glow on the mountains and forests.

Ye Huang gazed into the distance, a cold glint in her eyes.

Liu Chengming.

You wait.

This blood debt—

I will get it back, one by one.