I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

Lin Wan's face turned red, and she stopped what she was doing.

She understood what Qi Shan meant, her face turned so red it looked like it could bleed, and she bit her lip, too ashamed to speak.

Qi Shan's heart fluttered at the sight of her. Without saying another word, he picked her up and carried her to the wooden bed covered with clean sheets.

"My lord... the lamp..."

"No need to turn it off, I want to take a good look at you."

That night, through countless storms and seasons, until dawn broke in the east…

……

The next room.

Jia Qinghan lay on the unfamiliar bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

What bothered her even more was the faint sound coming from next door.

At first, there were only suppressed, shallow breaths, like a kitten whining.

Gradually, the voice became clearer and clearer, intermittent, like weeping and lamenting, with a strange tone, drilling into her ears, making her blush and her heart race.

Absurd! Shameless!

Jia Qinghan covered her head tightly with the blanket, cursing Qi Shan a thousand times in her heart.

How can a man marry three wives?

How could those three women possibly stand it?

Don't they feel ashamed?

However, no matter how she covered her ears, the ear-piercing sound persisted in drilling into her brain.

For some reason, upon hearing that voice, a familiar, restless heat rose uncontrollably from deep within her body.

It's like... like the feeling after being drugged that night at the Wang Family Compound.

A thought that filled her with shame and indignation suddenly popped into her mind.

That feeling...it seems...very exciting...

"Pah! Jia Qinghan, what are you thinking! Are you crazy!"

She shook her head violently, trying to banish the terrible thought.

But the body's reaction is more honest than reason.

She could feel her cheeks burning, her breathing rapid, and an unprecedented emptiness and heat surging from her limbs.

What made her even more desperate was that the noise from next door showed no signs of stopping.

Even in the middle of the night, the sound stubbornly continued.

Jia Qinghan stared blankly at the dark roof with her beautiful eyes, unable to sleep all night.

翌日清晨，天光微亮.

Qi Shan pushed open the door, feeling refreshed. The morning mist in the courtyard was cool and refreshing.

Jia Qinghan, who was in the west wing next door, came out with two light circles under her eyes. When she saw him, her pretty face instantly turned frosty. She snorted heavily, turned around and left, as if looking at him for even a second would offend her eyes.

Qi Shan touched his nose, finding it somewhat amusing.

This girl has quite a temper.

Unbeknownst to him, a minor storm had already been brewing in Qingyang County because of him.

In the teahouse, the storyteller slammed his gavel, spitting as he spoke.

"...Speaking of our newly appointed Constable Qi, he's truly a god descended to earth! Last night, three hundred fierce bandits from Black Dragon Stronghold descended the mountain, displaying their ferocity. Constable Qi, all alone, with only a repeating crossbow and a sword, took the head of a general from among ten thousand soldiers, beheading the notorious young leader Zhao Tianlong!"

"Really? Zhao Tianlong from Black Dragon Stronghold? I heard that guy kills without blinking an eye, and his Eagle Claw Kung Fu can tear a person's chest apart like it's nothing!"

"Absolutely true! My third maternal uncle's second cousin works under the county constable, and he saw it with his own eyes! In the Wang family compound, the bodies of bandits were piled up like a small mountain. More than a dozen ruthless bandits were all killed by Constable Qi alone! It was incredibly clean and efficient!"

In no time, the story of a hunter from Stone Village, how he was incredibly brave and how he rid the people of evil, was told in more than a dozen versions and spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Qishan's name became a household name overnight.

……

Meanwhile, in Heilongzhai, at the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

"Bang!"

Zhao Wuji, the leader of the Black Dragon Stronghold, stared intently at the corpse covered with a white sheet below the hall, his eyes bloodshot, his body trembling violently with extreme rage.

"Long'er! My Long'er!"

He abruptly ripped off the white sheet and looked at the tiny, bloody hole in his son's neck. The wound was clean and neat, indicating a fatal blow.

Zhao Wuji felt as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out, and he let out a beast-like roar.

He roared, his voice filled with venom:

"Li Long!!"

"He promised absolute certainty! My Black Dragon Stronghold lost over thirty brothers, even my son died there! He has to give me an explanation!"

A leader whispered, "Chief, Commander Li sent someone to say... that this was an accident."

Zhao Wuji grinned maliciously, his facial muscles contorting:

"Accident?"

"What a surprise! Send word that we're colluding with the border troops! If I'm not having a good time, he won't have any peace either!"

A man who looked like a clerk quickly stepped forward:

"Chief, please calm down!"

"Commander Li just sent over five hundred taels of silver, saying it's... a pension."

Zhao Wuji's anger subsided slightly, but the killing intent in his eyes grew even stronger.

You think you can buy his son's life for five hundred taels of silver?

He took a deep breath, his voice as cold as iron: "We'll take the money. But this grudge must be avenged!"

He glanced at the two men in black in the corner, their expressions heavy and seemingly blending into the shadows.

"Gentlemen, I want that scumbag Qi Shan's head to fall to the ground."

……

Border Army Camp, Li's official residence.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

Li Long slammed the intelligence report in his hand to the ground and paced back and forth in anger.

He just couldn't understand how a band of over three hundred men couldn't even handle a villager, and even lost their young leader.

"A bunch of incompetent fools who are good for nothing but causing trouble!"

He cursed inwardly, realizing that Black Dragon Village had now caught him red-handed and that he wouldn't be able to settle things without paying a price.

Five hundred taels of silver, though it was all squeezed from the people's hard-earned money, still made him feel a pang of pain.

Just as he was getting agitated, his personal guard suddenly rushed in, looking flustered: "Sir, the... the commander of the thousand-man is here!"

Li Long froze, his fury instantly turning into a fawning smile. He quickly straightened his clothes and went out to greet them.

A middle-aged man with a stern face, dressed in an official robe with a qilin embroidered pattern, slowly walked into the main hall, surrounded by a group of personal guards.

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, and when he swept over Li Long, it carried an imposing aura of authority.

"This humble servant, Li Long, greets Commander of the Thousand Households!"

Li Long bowed at a ninety-degree angle, his posture extremely humble.

The commander didn't let him get up. He walked to the main seat and sat down, picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, and then slowly said, "Li Long, I heard you can't even handle a peasant?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it instantly made Li Long break out in a cold sweat.

"My lord, there's... there's some misunderstanding here. That kid's a bit strange..."

"I don't want to hear explanations," the commander interrupted him, setting down his teacup with a soft thud. "I'm just asking you, if you can't even handle this small matter, do you even want to climb the ranks?"

Li Long's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied, "This humble servant is foolish and ignorant; please instruct me, sir!"

The commander leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and said, word by word, "There will soon be a major upheaval in the court. His Majesty is old, and the princes are vying for power. This is the time for us to make our mark. If we can achieve meritorious service in supporting the emperor, it will not be difficult for us to be ennobled and appointed as generals in the future."

"The merit of following the dragon's lead?!"