A Fierce Comparison (v1ch58)
Ye Sheng didn't rush to open the door when she heard the knock. She quickly hid Xiaodongxi under the straw bed and covered her with a blanket. She made sure she was well concealed before she unlocked the door.
She was surprised to see who was waiting outside.
"Ye Sheng, long time no see!"
Mercenary Ah Mu greeted her with a smile and a wave. Beside him stood Lan Zhang, his partner in the Azure Phoenix mercenary group. Ye Sheng had met them on the road to the plantation yesterday. They had done some business with her before, but she didn't expect them to show up at her shack.
They must have something to ask of her.
They were not wearing their usual mercenary outfits, but rather plain clothes that blended in with the locals. They had also suppressed their auras, pretending to be ordinary people.
Ye Sheng guessed why they had come. She invited them to follow her out of the shack, then locked the door behind her and winked at the two mercenaries.
She spoke in a casual tone, "You are the cousin of the third uncle’s family, right? You promised to lend me some food last time, why didn’t you bring it this time? Wait, let’s find a quiet place to talk."
"?"
Ah Mu looked puzzled as he saw Ye Sheng lock the door so casually.
Shouldn't she let them into her home instead of shooing them away?
And who was this third uncle's cousin?
Lan Zhang was more astute than the clueless Ah Mu. He noticed the curious eyes of the people around the shack and understood why Ye Sheng wanted to change locations.
He tapped Ah Mu on the shoulder and whispered to explain,"Walls have ears. What we have to say can't be heard by others."
"Oh, I get it."
Ye Sheng: (￢_￢)
She didn't care about that. She just didn't want to expose Xiaodongxi.
But with Lan Zhang's 'explanation', Ye Sheng was relieved to see the result. It saved her from having to make up excuses.
The three of them agreed and walked straight to the wilderness without wasting any time.
They didn't go far. They just found a spot with lush vegetation and squatted down. The tall, polluted plants shielded them from view. No one could see them hiding inside from the outside.
Ah Mu was impatient and couldn't wait to speak as soon as he squatted down.
"Ye Sheng, I'm really impressed. You took out all the gangsters by yourself? You even chopped their bodies into pieces and dumped them? You're so badass that you don't need any friends. No wonder I thought you were special when I first met you."
"..."
This was the second person today to praise her.
Ye Sheng smiled awkwardly. Although she liked to flaunt her courage to the Xiaodongxi, she was still very modest and reserved in front of others.
Mainly because...she had only met these two mercenaries twice.
She wasn't close to them. What could she say?
Only friends could boast and joke with each other.
But some rumors still needed to be cleared up.
"I was able to fend off the gangsters thanks to the hand crossbow the deputy captain gave me. I caught them off guard and scared them away. And I didn't kill all of them, just three. I didn't even see the corpses of the gangsters. They were taken away by their comrades."
"That's still pretty awesome."
Ah Mu raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, then laughed and said.
For mercenaries, killing a few ordinary people was nothing. But Ye Sheng was just a skinny little girl. She could be calm and rational in critical moments. That alone showed her strength.
If it had been anyone else, even with a hand crossbow, the outcome would not have been certain.
Lan Zhang, who was standing by, saw that Ah Mu was babbling on and on, so he interrupted and said, "That's right, Ye Sheng, there were a lot of robberies in the mitigation zone last night, and thirty-five people died in this area alone. That's why the base officials teamed up with our Azure Phoenix mercenary group and asked us to catch the culprits.".
Ye Sheng listened to Lan Zhang's words in silence.
ಠᴗಠ
She tried her best to suppress the corners of her mouth that wanted to curl up crazily.
To calm herself down, she thought about the most miserable things in her life, such as being transmigrated to this wasteland world without food or water.
She had been thinking of contacting the Azure Phoenix Mercenary Group to discuss cooperation with them, but as it turned out, they had come to her door for free.
For free!!!
Ye Sheng composed herself and answered honestly, "It was too dark at the time and they didn't break in. I couldn't see what they looked like. I only heard their voices."
"Voices?"
"Yes, when the first person kicked down the door and tried to get in, I shot an arrow right into his throat. Because it was a three-pronged arrow, he was bound to die. Then I heard someone shouting the word 'son.'"
Ye Sheng smiled on the surface, but in reality she quietly threw out the bait.
Lan Zhang and Ah Mu perked up. They had been worried about how to find the gangsters in the relaxation zone, but now they had a clue.
According to Ye Sheng's words, she would surely face retaliation for killing one of the gangster's sons.
Next, all they had to do was wait and catch them!
Because the suspension of the spring harvest activities had caused panic, and the number of murders and grain thefts had also risen sharply, the base officials had not only cooperated with the Azure Phoenix mercenary group, but also called in other mercenary groups.
When Ah Mu was assigned a task, he suddenly remembered that Ye Sheng also lived in the mitigation zone.
After that, he found out where Ye Sheng lived, and it was only logical that he would take charge of this case.
Who would have known that as soon as he arrived, he heard people talking about how fierce the orphan daughter of the Ye family was at her young age.
After further inquiry, it turned out that it was Ye Sheng who had killed the robbery gang by herself. They immediately decided to pay her a visit... Luckily, they did. Now that they heard it, they felt that this was the fruit of victory and they were being fed it directly!
So lucky!
Ah Mu rubbed his hands eagerly, his orange eyes full of excitement: "Ye Sheng, this is great, we were worried about how to catch them!"
"?"
"If you killed one of the gangster's son, he will definitely come for revenge. Don't worry, we will protect you!"
After hearing Ah Mu's words, Ye Sheng showed a hesitant look on her face, which Lan Zhang noticed clearly. He ignored the excited Ah Mu and spoke seriously to Ye Sheng, "Ye Sheng, do you have any difficulties? It's okay. Just tell us and we won't force you to do anything."
When dealing with the shrewd Lan Zhang, Ye Sheng didn't dare to be rude. She quickly raised her hand and waved it, indicating that it wasn't that she was unwilling, but...
"If you want to guard against the gangsters, where will you hide? I'm a girl, so it's not convenient for you to stay in my house."
"So that's what you're worried about. It's okay. We'll be watching your home from a distance and make sure the gangsters can't get in!"
Both parties were satisfied with this arrangement.
In order to lure the gangster out as soon as possible, Ye Sheng thought about what she had to do.
After parting ways with Ah Mu, Ye Sheng took a backpack to the swap shop and spent a lot of money to buy fifty more three-pronged arrows from Old Lin. Then she returned home with a smile.
Ye Sheng did not bother to conceal her purchase of arrows, as there were many witnesses in the Swap Shop.
She had gained fame after a single battle, and many eyes were on her. She knew it would not take long for the word of her arrow stock to spread.
She had taken them by surprise the previous night, but the gangsters would not be so easily deterred. They would know how many arrows she had, and they would come back with reinforcements.
But Ye Sheng was fearless. She had her own protectors.
Mercenary Ah Mu and his comrades could deal with those Ostriches without breaking a sweat, much less a bunch of thugs. None of them would get away.
Ye Sheng returned home with a cheerful tune on her lips, and just as she expected, the news of her buying fifty arrows at once reached Li San, who was holed up in his house. He gripped his fist and shattered the wine glass in his hand.
He had not slept for a day and a night, his eyes red and bloodshot, like a fiend from the depths of hell.
"Damn it, get ready. We're going to avenge my Daqiang tonight!"