The Beauty and the Swordsman

Pei Lingyou and her six companions rushed out of the tavern.

This time, having learned from experience, the group didn't scatter and run off in a chaotic manner. Instead, they focused on Shoumo, who was carrying the map, and followed him closely.

Shoumo kept walking while taking out a map from his pocket.

This wasn't the Huaguang Mountain area he was familiar with; he had to consult a map to get anywhere.

He glanced at the blueprints while running and shouted, "Follow me!" The others then ran with him down the path.

The map shows that there is a small path leading directly to the city gate, bypassing the main street and saving a lot of time.

He led the way, zigzagging along, with Pei Lingyou and the others close behind, afraid of leaving anyone behind.

Because they were following too closely, when Shoumo stopped, Pei Lingyou couldn't brake in time and bumped into Shoumo's back.

Kuang Ye nearly collided with Pei Lingyou, only managing to stop himself by quickly pushing off with his feet.

Chen Gui and the others behind him were slightly less skilled with their feet, and they piled up on top of each other, bumping into each other one by one.

The seven people stood together like a layered cake.

Pei Lingyou's chin was throbbing from Shoumo's head hitting her, and tears were welling up in her eyes. She was about to slap him and yell at him for stopping for no reason when she suddenly realized that things were not going well.

Shoumo, seemingly gleaning something from the map, led everyone to a seemingly endless, winding alley.

The walls on both sides of the alley are tall and smooth with blue bricks.

The entrance was wide enough for one person to pass through, but it became narrower as you went in. The walls on both sides were like the mouth of an inverted gourd, trapping Shoumo in the middle, making it impossible for him to move. That's why he stopped.

Pei Lingyou stood close behind Shou Mo. Fortunately, her shoulders were not as wide as his, so she was not trapped, but her body was still squeezed a bit tight.

Kuang Ye, who was behind him, was in a worse situation. He had broad shoulders and a long body, and both sides of his clothes were torn, making it difficult for him to even turn to the side.

Chen Gui and Ren Wofei, following behind, struggled to stand sideways, mimicking the posture.

It's more spacious at Zhao Xingxing's place, so it's not in the way.

This made Pingping, who was at the very end, extremely anxious. She was small, and the width of the alley didn't affect her at all, but everyone was taller than her and completely blocked her view, so she couldn't see anything.

She could only hop around like a little grasshopper, anxiously shouting:

"Senior Sister! Eldest Senior Sister! Are you alright?"

Only after receiving Pei Lingyou's reply did Pingping feel relieved, and she roared:

"Shoumo! What kind of lousy road did you bring?!"

Shoumo, who was at the front, couldn't respond. He was squeezed between the two walls, making it difficult to breathe, and his arms were in a lot of pain.

He tried to adjust his posture to turn to the side, but Pei Lingyou helped him from behind, pulling his sleeve with one hand and kicking his thigh with the other, attempting to help him turn over.

Unfortunately, I tried for a long time but couldn't succeed.

Shoumo said urgently:

"Someone use their light-footed skills to get out from above! Quickly, find someone to help!"

Pei Lingyou, exhausted from helping for so long, smacked Shoumo on the head and yelled:

"We're human, not birds! Even with light-footed skills, you need a place to bend your knees and use leverage. It's difficult enough to even turn sideways, how are we supposed to jump?!"

Shoumo looked miserable, unable to even rub his head which was sore from being hit.

Just as everyone was trying to come up with a solution, they suddenly heard a commotion across the way. Looking up, they saw Du Chuan and his two companions rushing into the alley from the other end. Just like Shou Mo and Pei Lingyou, they were squeezed between the walls, looking like long sticks and fried dough sticks.

It seems that this alley is narrow in the middle and wide at both ends.

Du Chuan and the other two were in a worse state than Shou Mo. The soldiers were big, strong men with broad shoulders, and the clamping was especially painful, causing them to grimace in pain.

Pei Lingyou and her six companions, along with Du Chuan and his two companions across the narrowest part of the alley, stared at each other.

This is truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road, or as the literal meaning suggests.

Pei Lingyou instinctively rushed forward, wanting to make the first move, but her movement caused Shou Mo in front of her to yell, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Pei Lingyou had no choice but to give up, raised her chin, pointed at the opposite side, and began to curse:

"What are you chasing me for? You've chased me all the way from Huaguang Mountain! Why aren't your imperial troops fighting? What are you doing chasing after ordinary people?"

Du Chuan's side was not to be outdone and retaliated in kind:

"You're just an ordinary citizen? What kind of ordinary citizen would rob the army of its pay?!"

"Did I rob you? I didn't take a single penny, catching me won't help you!"

"At least you have to pay for our pants!"

After Du Chuan finished speaking in anger, Pei Lingyou fell silent.

She thought about it for a moment, and it was true.

It's not fair to pin the military pay issue on her, but she was definitely the one who tore the soldiers' pants, causing them to fall.

But Pei Lingyou was not one to obediently confess; she remained defiant, her neck still stiff:

"It's just a pair of torn pants, I didn't do it, I'll pay you back, it's no big deal!"

Du Chuan and the other two were so angry that their eyes widened:

"It's too late now! Because of your embezzlement of military funds, the Emperor has punished you and stripped a large number of people of their official positions. The three of us, who were just ordinary lieutenants and commanders, have been demoted from the military and sent to Qingfu County as constables because of you!"

"Oh ho, so you're saying you're not going to be a soldier, but an official instead?" Pei Lingyou didn't understand the official ranks and titles of civil and military officials in the imperial court. She thought that working for the government was the same as being an official, and couldn't help but curse:

"So, you three corrupt officials, if you're not going to serve in the army, what kind of nonsense are you going to keep track of military pay?"

Du Chuan, who was at the very front, sneered:

"Yes, the military pay case is no longer under our jurisdiction. However, Qingwu County is under my jurisdiction. You and the prefect's family are highly suspected in the murder case, and I, the head constable, am here to arrest you and take you back for questioning!"

"Damn it!" Pei Lingyou cursed.

She thought to herself, "I even avenged your sister Wu Wanning, and instead of thanking me, you're arresting me?"

But she thought to herself that she couldn't say it out loud, because if she did, it would be the same as admitting that she did it, and the court would definitely issue a huge number of wanted posters and arrest warrants for her.

With that thought, she stopped answering Du Chuan's question directly and instead kept spitting and cursing at the person opposite her.

Du Chuan shook his face, so angry he was practically fuming, but his body was confined to the narrow alley, preventing him from rushing up to grab the person. All he could do was hurl threats in retaliation.

Spittle flew from both sides as they exchanged insults in a lively back-and-forth.

Finally, Shoumo couldn't take it anymore. He shook his half-wet hair, endured the stinging eardrums, and pleaded as he looked at Kuang Ye through the gap beside Pei Lingyou.

Kuang Ye had already looked all over the place, both in the sky and on the ground, and realized that there was no way to go forward, so he had to retreat.

He addressed the crowd:

"Okay, Pingping goes first, Zhao Xingxing follows, and Ren Wofei goes next. We'll all retreat out of the alley one by one, then enter from the other end to flank Du Chuan and the others from behind. Once we've dealt with them, we can slowly bring down Shoumo."

As soon as Kuang Ye finished speaking, Pei Lingyou and Du Chuan stopped cursing at the same time.

The alley was eerily quiet.

The expressions on Du Chuan's and the other two's faces were quite interesting.

Pei Lingyou couldn't help but speak:

"Brother, could you please keep your voice down next time you're discussing plans? Don't plot so loudly!"

After saying that, Pingping immediately turned around and ran out of the alley, while the others immediately moved sideways and shuffled out like crabs.

Seeing that they were about to be surrounded, Du Chuan quickly told the two behind him to forget about him and run out of the alley to meet the enemy. The two then started running like crabs.

Both sides fought desperately, trying to see who could get out of the alley and outflank the other first.

Pei Lingyou and her group of seven had the advantage of numbers. Pingping was the first to run out of the alley, and the rest of them managed to get out after some effort.

Seeing that he was all alone, Shoumo became extremely anxious. Suddenly, a strange power arose within him. He pushed off the ground with his feet and, with a "hey!" he escaped backward and moved out of the alley.

This time, everyone was much more in sync than they were at Huaguang Mountain.

Seeing that Shoumo had escaped, none of the remaining people wanted to fight Du Chuan and his two companions, and they all ran out of the city.

Only Du Chuan and his two brothers ran out of the alley, looked at Pei Lingyou and her group of seven who had gone far away, and then looked at Du Chuan, who was still stuck in the alley.

Taking advantage of their hesitation, Pei Lingyou and the others swiftly mounted their horses and crossed the city gate in their red robes.

The two could only sigh and go back into the alley to rescue Du Chuan.