Chapter 77 – I’ll Whisper Pillow Talk

There was a saying that fit perfectly here, plans never keep up with changes.

Early the next morning, just as Kan Chaoyan and Captain Liu were once again discussing how to attack Canglong Mountain, urgent knocking suddenly sounded at the door.

Kan Chaoyan swiftly folded away the map and gestured for Captain Liu to answer.

Outside stood an elderly village woman, her voice anxious.

“Sir! The young lady from your household was taken away by the bandits of Canglong Mountain!”

“Bandits?” Captain Liu froze. “Bandits have come?”

The old woman hurriedly explained, “Your young lady was washing by the river when bandits coming down from the mountain spotted her. They said they wanted to take her to be the Second Chief’s concubine, so they seized her and dragged her away.”

Captain Liu blurted out, “And she agreed to go with them?”

“She’s just a young girl,” the woman snapped. “Even if she didn’t agree, what could she do? Could she fight those bandits?”

Captain Liu: “……”

Sorry, but she really could.

Seeing his lack of urgency, the old woman angrily stamped her wooden cane.

“Sir, if you chase them now, you can still catch up! If she’s taken up the mountain and rescued later, her reputation will be ruined. She won’t be able to marry in the future!”

“Thank you for informing us,” Kan Chaoyan said as he stepped forward. “What about the other girls in the village? Are they safe?”

“The village girls aren’t as pretty as the one from your household. They only took your young lady.”

The old woman wasn’t sure whether she should feel fortunate that the village girls weren’t as beautiful as Mu Nanjin.

“Which direction did they go?” Kan Chaoyan asked.

She pointed toward the village entrance. “They rode horses toward the village gate.”

“Thank you,” Kan Chaoyan said, then turned to Captain Liu and the others. “Let’s go.”

The Jinyiwei mounted their horses.

Still worried, the old woman chased after them and shouted, “Be careful! Those bandits are martial artists. If you can’t beat them, don’t fight head on!”

“We will,” Kan Chaoyan replied.

Once they were some distance away, Captain Liu asked, “Lord, Mu Nanjin clearly went with them willingly. Are we really going to rescue her?”

“If she went willingly, then of course we won’t rescue her,” Kan Chaoyan said calmly. “And the ones who won’t have a good ending are the bandits, not her. Once they take her up the mountain, they’ll understand just how much they’ll regret capturing her.”

Captain Liu chuckled. “I’m actually looking forward to how she’ll turn Canglong Mountain upside down.”

Following behind them, Captain Song said, “But as the old woman said, her reputation really won’t look good if she goes up the mountain like this. People will gossip.”

Captain Ding beside him said, “As long as we don’t say anything, no one will know.”

Captain Song tapped his chest. “She’ll tell them herself, right here.”

Captain Ding rubbed his forehead. “Why does she dare think about everything?”

“Don’t you do the same?”

Captain Song was certain Captain Ding had cursed even the Emperor in his thoughts before.

Captain Ding fell silent.

Thankfully, no one could hear his thoughts. Otherwise, even a thousand heads wouldn’t be enough.

Captain Liu asked Kan Chaoyan, “Lord, what should we do next?”

“We have too many people,” Kan Chaoyan replied. “We’ll wait until nightfall before taking action.”

“Alright.” Captain Liu glanced back at his men and suddenly asked, “By the way… where’s Heitan?”

Everyone: “……”

They had rushed off earlier without sparing a thought for a single horse.

At the foot of Canglong Mountain, Mu Nanjin stared at the endless stone steps leading upward.

“I want to ride a mountain sedan chair.”

“Ha!” Bandit Yang Bo laughed in disbelief. “Little girl, do you even know you’ve been captured? And you still dare demand a sedan chair?”

His companion Xu Cheng rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll whip you a few times and see if you still want a sedan chair.”

Mu Nanjin looked at Xu Cheng. “I might become your Second Chief’s future concubine.”

Xu Cheng sneered. “So what? You’re only possibly a concubine. That’s not a certainty.”

“If you treat me badly,” Mu Nanjin said calmly, “I’ll whisper pillow talk.”

Yang Bo: “……”

Xu Cheng exploded with rage and drew his blade. “I’ll kill you right here and see if you can still whisper pillow talk!”

Yang Bo hurriedly pressed his hand down. “Xu Cheng! What are you doing?!”

Xu Cheng roared, “What do you think? Killing her! Keeping her alive is a disaster. What if she really whispers pillow talk and the Second Chief kills us?”

“If you kill her now, how do we explain it when we return?” Yang Bo snapped. “Don’t forget, if we don’t bring back a girl today, those who oppose us might make sure we don’t survive the day.”

“……”

After hesitating, Xu Cheng sheathed his blade. “Then what now? Are we really going to carry her up?”

“What choice do we have?”

If they carried her on their backs, the Second Chief would definitely dislike them touching his woman.

Suppressing his anger, Xu Cheng ordered, “Go find a mountain sedan chair.”

“Yes!”

About half an hour later, the men returned with one.

Xu Cheng darkened his expression. “The sedan is here. You can move now, right?”

Mu Nanjin sat down contentedly.

“Lift the sedan, up the mountain!” Xu Cheng barked.

From the shadows, Kan Chaoyan and the others watched as Mu Nanjin was respectfully carried uphill. Their eyes twitched violently.

Anyone who didn’t know her might think she was in league with the bandits.

Captain Liu wiped sweat from his brow. “That Mu Nanjin really is something. She’s actually made bandits behave obediently.”

Kan Chaoyan replied, “She’s done the same to us. Even the Commander can’t do anything to her when he’s angry. He can only let her run wild.”

“True.” Captain Liu laughed. “But being carried is just the beginning. Watch, there’s more chaos coming.”

Sure enough, after they’d traveled about a li, Mu Nanjin spoke again.

“I’m thirsty.”

Yang Bo handed her his water flask.

“You’ve drunk from it. I won’t.”

Yang Bo: “……”

Xu Cheng cursed, “Then just die of thirst.”

Mu Nanjin said softly, “I’ll whisper pillow talk.”

Xu Cheng felt pain all over his body from anger. “Talk about it after you actually become the Second Chief’s concubine!”

“I definitely will.”

Her certainty was strangely convincing.

Seeing a small waterfall ahead, Xu Cheng fetched water with a large leaf.

“Here. Water.”

Mu Nanjin glanced at it. “I want it hot.”

“You!”

Xu Cheng nearly splashed it in her face.

Yang Bo said patiently, “Miss, we don’t have a pot to boil water. Please make do.”

“Oh.” Mu Nanjin took a sip. “I want roasted meat.”

Xu Cheng sneered. “Want us to roast a whole pig for you?”

“I’ve eaten wild boar, mountain chicken, rabbit, venison, black bear, wild cattle, and wolves.” She thought seriously. “I want to try tiger meat.”

Xu Cheng: “……”

Had he captured a little girl?

No.

He’d captured a little ancestor.

Yang Bo explained patiently, “Miss, there are no tigers on our mountain. If you want food, we have to return to the camp. So we must hurry, or we’ll all go hungry.”

“No tigers…” Mu Nanjin looked up at the black eagle soaring overhead. “No tiger is fine. We can eat the eagle.”

Everyone looked up.

Xu Cheng snapped, “That’s the First Chief’s eagle. It’s forbidden to eat. Unless it dies on its own, no one is allowed to kill it.”

The eagle served as a lookout. If it spotted intruders, it would immediately report back.

They treated it like a treasure.

“Dies on its own…”

Mu Nanjin narrowed her eyes slightly.

Suddenly, the eagle tilted and plummeted from the sky.

Xu Cheng’s face changed. He rushed forward and caught it.

Yang Bo ran over. “Is it okay?”

Xu Cheng sighed in relief. “Good thing I caught it. Otherwise, it would be crippled even if it didn’t die.”

“It’s not moving,” Mu Nanjin said. “It’s dead. We can eat it.”

“That’s impossible!” Xu Cheng snapped. “Stop cursing things!”

Yang Bo checked carefully. “It really isn’t moving.”

Xu Cheng shook it and pinched its belly. No response.

His face turned pale.

“It’s dead… who killed it? Was someone trying to frame us?”

If the eagle died in his hands, no one would believe them.

The punishment was either death or crippling injury.

Yang Bo frowned. “Maybe someone infiltrated the mountain and killed it so it couldn’t warn us.”

“Should we report it?”

Yang Bo shook his head. “Just make it look like it was killed. Let someone else find it.”

Mu Nanjin asked, “Can I eat it now?”

Xu Cheng cursed, “Shut up, you jinx!”

Yang Bo glared at her. “If you don’t want everyone to die, lower your voice.”

Xu Cheng warned her, “If this gets out, none of us will survive. Understand?”

Mu Nanjin nodded. “So can I eat it now?”

Xu Cheng: “……”

“Let’s focus,” Yang Bo said. “How do we let people discover it?”

Xu Cheng wrapped the eagle in cloth. “Should we nail it to a tree?”

“That’s too obvious. Just toss it somewhere.”

Before he finished speaking, the eagle landed in Mu Nanjin’s hands.

She removed the cloth and threw it down the mountain.

“Done. Can we go now?”

Xu Cheng and Yang Bo: “……”

“I’m hungry,” Mu Nanjin said, patting the armrest. “Hurry up.”

The bearers looked at Yang Bo. Seeing no objection, they continued upward.

Yang Bo said, “Little miss, I’ve been a bandit for years and never seen someone so calm after being captured.”

Mu Nanjin sighed. “My strength doesn’t allow crying, screaming, or suicide threats.”

Xu Cheng sneered. “What strength do you have?”

“The strength to make all men obedient.”

Yang Bo: “……”

Xu Cheng scoffed. “That’s the biggest brag I’ve ever heard.”

Mu Nanjin shot back, “Then why are you helpless against me?”

Xu Cheng snarled, “We can’t touch you for special reasons. Don’t think we wouldn’t dare kill you.”

“Then serve me well,” she said lightly. “I might spare your life.”

Yang Bo murmured to Xu Cheng, “She’s not wrong. If she catches the Second Chief’s eye, we’ll all benefit.”

Xu Cheng fell silent.

Canglong Mountain had eight peaks. The Second Chief lived on the third.

When they arrived, it was already afternoon. After eating and washing, they went to report.

Laughter echoed from inside.

Zhou Kun asked, “Second Chief, are you satisfied with the girl we found?”

“Very satisfied!” the Second Chief laughed.

“And the Protector position…?”

“That will be decided once Yang Bo returns.”

Just then, the guard announced, “Second Chief, Yang Bo has returned, with a beautiful young lady.”

The Second Chief beamed. “Bring them in! I want to see her.”

Zhou Kun sneered. “No one’s prettier than the girl I brought back.”

The doors opened.

A graceful, delicate figure walked in.