After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Chapter 33 The clothes you changed for me?

A gleaming silver dagger was pressed against his neck.

The peddler turned pale and screamed, "Grandpa, spare me!"

Ning Nan didn't make things too difficult for the other party and ordered him to kneel down.

thump!

The peddler knelt upright and straight.

Ning Nan tied the other person's hands behind their back and handcuffed them.

With a crisp "click-click" sound confirming the handcuffs were secure, he removed the strip of cloth wrapped around the peddler's right hand, put away the dagger, and with a flick of his wrists, blindfolded the peddler. Only after he had finished did he begin to consider his interrogation.

At this moment, Zhu Cuiwei, dressed in a simple cloth skirt and wearing a hairpin, emerged from behind a tree, her bright and clear eyes scrutinizing the man in front of her.

Along the way, the two of them made almost no sound and left no footprints. The man casually raided a few bird nests, prepared to release the startled birds at any moment. Every now and then, he would scatter leaves behind them and turn over some fresh soil to cover up any possible traces…

Zhu Cuiwei pursed her pink lips, her gaze becoming somewhat complicated.

Master Lu was a military instructor. She had accompanied him to the army for training for a period of time before. She didn't know how to evaluate his performance, but if Master Lu were present, she would definitely be full of praise. During that time, she often heard Master Lu scolding those elite night scouts, saying that "the sound of their footsteps is louder than my farts!"

She didn't understand it at the time and just thought it was vulgar. Now that she thinks about it, she realizes that's what Master Lu meant.

For some unknown reason, Zhu Cuiwei bit her rosy lips and clenched her small, white fist.

The midday sun was harsh and intense, and the light shone through the gaps in the trees, falling on Ning Nan's face. When the wind blew, the shadows on his face swayed.

"A thug from Black Tiger Stronghold?"

"Chaqian'er" is slang used by mountain bandits; it means spy.

"Yes, yes, hero! We're from Black Tiger Stronghold. Please, for the sake of our leader..."

"Shut up! ...I ask you a question, you answer it!"

Ning Nan deliberately raised his voice and shouted, and the peddler immediately kowtowed repeatedly.

There are many questions, such as the name of the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold, how many people are in it, what the organizational structure is, and whether it has ever been besieged by the government... The peddler knows some of these things, but not others.

Ning Nan knew that this kind of person might not tell the truth, so he took the travel permit from the other person's pocket.

The travel permits issued by the Liang Dynasty would record the person's place of origin, name, age, reason for travel, and travel period. They would also record identifiable facial and physical characteristics. For example, on this peddler's travel permit, it was written that "there is a black mole on his eyebrow."

This peddler was from Wangjia Village, east of Yaoshan Mountain, and his name was Wang Fu.

It's not uncommon for someone to be a bandit on horseback and a commoner on foot. In fact, it's considered a blessing for a village to have such a figure among the bandits, since even the most ruthless bandits have never been known to plunder the village where they grew up. A village without such a person is actually in trouble; it's only a matter of time before bandits raid it.

Ning Nan made no attempt to threaten the other party's family. The peddler panicked and kowtowed repeatedly, crying out, "Spare me, spare me!" His words finally seemed a little more genuine.

It's actually quite difficult to deceive him. In this era, very few people can write their own names, even fewer than the proportion of intellectuals in later generations. This peddler is also illiterate. After Ning Nan asks a question, he will follow up with a more in-depth question. The other party can't lie even if he wants to, because his mind is slow. If he tells one lie, he will have to use countless lies to cover it up, and he can't keep up.

moment.

After breaking three of the man's ribs as payment for the lies he had told, Ning Nan stepped on the peddler, who was lying on the ground panting in pain, and figured he had gotten the information he needed.

By combining the fragmented information I had heard at the mountaintop, and synthesizing it, things became very clear.

"Li Liang is really damn lucky."

Ning Nan smiled.

Bang! He delivered a chop to the back of the peddler's neck with his forearm, knocking him unconscious.

They wrapped strips of cloth around the other person's mouth one by one.

They dragged it toward the wooden cart.

"All the goods are sold out."

Ning Nan opened the door under the wooden cart, stuffed the peddler inside, and closed the wooden door.

Let's go!

He smiled, pushed the somewhat heavy wooden cart, and said to the silent Cui Cui beside him.

Zhu Cuiwei removed the gray cloth covering her face, revealing her delicate and aloof face.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Ning Nan pushed the cart with a calm expression, but she felt a little uneasy and couldn't help but sigh softly.

I was indeed a bit cruel just now.

This girl is quite brave; she dared to chase after the thief even after seeing him, and she was very obedient along the way, not causing him any trouble.

But in the end, the other party was still a young girl who was younger than him.

He had just threatened to kill someone's entire family with a knife and then kicked someone and broke their ribs; his methods were quite ruthless.

He must have been terrified. To watch helplessly as a normally well-behaved, handsome young man transforms into an executioner-like figure in the blink of an eye would surely be a psychological shock to anyone.

But there's no other way... If you don't use ruthless methods to deal with these kinds of thieves, you'll end up suffering the consequences.

"Aren't you tired?" Zhu Cuiwei didn't answer the question about whether she was afraid, but instead raised an eyebrow and asked.

"what?"

Ning Nan pushed the cart, veins bulging on his arms. The cart was crammed with a person inside, making it very heavy. A deep rut was left in the mud on the ground.

"I'm so tired! Do you need any help?" A bead of sweat dripped from Ning Nan's forehead. He thought that Cui Cui had finally come to her senses and knew how to care for her brother.

"Then why did you still put that peddler in the cart?" Zhu Cuiwei walked gracefully with her hands behind her back, showing no intention of helping at all.

"What else?"

"Kill them."

"???" The sound of the cart being pushed abruptly stopped.

Zhu Cuiwei frowned and said, "If you're afraid he'll be discovered, why not just kill him and bury him? Isn't it tiring to push him around like this?"

Ning Nan froze, his face gradually turning a deep liver color.

"He's still useful."

After a long pause, Ning Nan managed to stammer out this sentence before continuing to obediently push the cart.

"The Living Yama..."

The cart rolled along, slowly rocking down Yaoshan Mountain.

As they approached the stone bridge, Zhu Cuiwei raised an eyebrow and casually glanced at the boy pushing the cart: "Back then... was it you who saved me?"

"Uh-huh," Ning Nan said, panting heavily, wondering why the other person had suddenly brought this up. "Didn't I tell you that already?" she said, her interest piqued.

"Are you alone, or with your godmother?"

"I'm all alone... my mother doesn't have the time for that."

"Oh..." Zhu Cuiwei nodded her chin, glanced to the side a few times, and seemed somewhat indifferent.

"So you carried me back on your back?"

The woman's voice was like a cloud floating in the sky, high-pitched and casual in tone.

"Mm." Ning Nan nodded.

"You carried me into a forest?"

"Um."

"You put me down and even gave me water?"

"Hmm, what's up? Want to repay me?"

"You changed my clothes yourself?"

The clouds floating in the sky twisted together.