Very soon, an urgent shout came from upstairs: “Boss! Someone jumped out the window and ran off!”
“Chase them! If you let them get away, I’ll skin you alive!” The savage grin on Hu Dequan’s face froze instantly, turning into a violent, stormy gloom.
He jerked his head around, glaring fiercely at the two terrified, ashen-faced attendants.
Before he could press further, the frightened attendant blurted everything out in a panic, words tumbling out like beans from a bamboo tube.
“Surname Jiang… Jiang Mingchuan…” Hu Dequan chewed on the name, his thick lips moving silently as he pondered it.
The one who killed Zhang Good Man was a female bandit, supposedly the bride’s dowry maid.
But this Jiang Mingchuan the attendant spoke of was a tall, imposing “young master.”
At first glance, the two seemed totally unrelated.
But— that was the key!
The vague suspicion in Hu Dequan’s heart suddenly became crystal clear.
He’d long thought it strange: how could Shen Mingming, a frail woman, have the strength and ruthlessness to kill and dispose of a body? There had to be an accomplice! No, a mastermind!
Shen Mingming was just a pawn. This “Jiang Mingchuan” was the real hand behind the scenes, pulling all the strings!
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. A bloodthirsty excitement surged in his chest.
As long as he could catch Jiang Mingchuan, the Zhang Family’s hundred thousand silver dollars would be his!
Hu Dequan lifted his eyelids, his gaze weighing heavily on the attendant as his lips curled into a bone-chillingly gentle smile. “Good boy, can you draw?”
The attendant was so frightened he was sobbing, his teeth chattering. “No… I can’t… I really can’t…”
“Can’t? That’s fine.” Hu Dequan’s voice grew even softer. “In a moment, just tell the artist every detail about Jiang Mingchuan’s face, height, build, any marks, what clothes he wore… Tell him everything, clearly and carefully. As long as the drawing is accurate and we catch him…”
He deliberately drew out his words, adding in a sinister tone, “I’ll be merciful and spare you all from the death penalty for harboring a fugitive!”
……
Jiang Mingxi lay flat against the scorching rooftop tiles, her body pressed so tightly against the rough, uneven surface that it seemed she might sink into it.
Large beads of sweat rolled down her brow, unexpectedly stinging her eyes and forcing them shut as a wave of burning pain spread.
She bit her lower lip hard, holding her breath to the limit. Her heart pounded in her chest like a wild rabbit caught in an iron grip, slamming against her ribs.
The dull, violent thumping sounded like drums in her ears— she even suspected someone might hear it.
At last!
A rush of heavy, disordered footsteps thundered out from the inn.
Accompanied by Hu Dequan’s shouts, over a dozen fierce soldiers charged down the alley in pursuit, their voices fading as they disappeared around the corner.
Jiang Mingxi’s taut nerves suddenly relaxed, leaving her nearly limp.
She took a deep breath, forced her aching body to move, and carefully gripped the edge of the tiles.
Her toes found precise footholds in the cracks between the bricks, and she landed as lightly as a cat, not making a sound.
Jiang Mingxi scanned her surroundings warily. Only after confirming there was no more danger did she crouch and silently slip out of the alley.
—
As soon as she burst out of the cramped alley, the noisy crowd, acrid smells, and scorching sunlight swallowed Jiang Mingxi whole.
Langling City’s main street was at its busiest in the afternoon.
Streams of people surged by, carriages and rickshaws clattered, vendors shouted, rickshaw bells jingled, and children’s laughter all blended into a chaotic sea of noise.
It should have been the perfect cover, but Jiang Mingxi still felt exposed, as if she were standing under a blazing spotlight.
All because of the clothes she was wearing!
She’d originally changed into Western-style clothes to make connections with the Xiao Family, but now they made her the most conspicuous person on the entire street.
Even in all of Langling County, people in Western dress could be counted on one hand!
Jiang Mingxi made a snap decision. She hurried to a rickshaw, tossed the puller a silver dollar, and said, “Take me to the nearest secondhand clothing shop, quick!”
The shop wasn’t far, and they arrived in no time.
Jiang Mingxi jumped out, rushed inside, grabbed a few garments without looking, and threw two more silver dollars at the attendant. “Keep the change!”
When she went to the back room to change, she realized her shirt was soaked through with sweat.
After changing into new clothes, Jiang Mingxi blended into the street, no longer standing out at all.
She fought down the urge to run, adjusted her pace to be brisk but orderly, making herself look like just another hurried pedestrian.
It was still daytime, so she could slip by unnoticed for now.
But when night fell and the city was quiet, with soldiers patrolling everywhere, where could she hide without the Changchun Society’s protection?
And soon, new Wanted Posters would be plastered all over the streets again.
Last time, the portrait on her Wanted Poster was wildly inaccurate— would she be so lucky again?
She couldn’t leave the city, had nowhere to stay, and only a dozen or so yuan left… How much longer could she hold out?
At this thought, even someone as determined as Jiang Mingxi couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair, as if she’d hit a dead end.
Was this the ending of her life in this world?
It was the same in her previous life.
She’d moved step by step, schemed and calculated, exhausted herself.
Though she’d enjoyed a brief period of wealth, she was soon knocked back to her original state, living another precarious, poverty-stricken existence.
In the end, she fell gravely ill. A kind-hearted prostitute’s younger sister lent her half a room, at least sparing her from dying alone in the wild.
That was how her last life ended.
Given another chance, she thought Heaven had finally smiled on her, that she’d finally get to live a good life.
But in the end, it was still just like before.
Why.
Why!
She just wanted to live like a human being!
That wasn’t such an extravagant wish, was it?
So many powerful families trampled on lives, bullied men and women, did whatever they pleased, yet lived out their days in comfort and peace. Retribution? A joke in storybooks.
Jiang Mingxi never thought of herself as a bad person.
Of course… she’d hurt people before, but never good people. She’d lied, but never to good people or the poor.
She was clever and hardworking, able to endure hardship. She worked with her own hands and feet, earning her living, eating plain food, making honest money.
Isn’t there a saying: “Heaven never lets down those who toil”?
So then…
Why?
Why did Heaven let her down?!
Why could all those heartless villains live so well, while someone like her couldn’t even survive?
“The one in the blue tunic up ahead! Stop right there!”
Jiang Mingxi looked up expressionlessly. Ten meters away, three soldiers were checking passersby, and one was pointing straight at her.
“Come here, submit to inspection!”
Jiang Mingxi slowly stroked the cold metal in her pocket. This was a murder weapon, the ultimate tool of violence… and also the only justice she had left in this life.
A sudden calm came over her.
If the ending was going to be the same no matter how she struggled—
If this world truly left no way out for the poor—
If even Heaven had turned its back on her—
—Then she would never surrender.
Why should dogs like Zhang Nan and Hu Dequan get to live safely, while someone who worked for her living like her couldn’t survive?
She hadn’t accepted it in her last life, and she wouldn’t in this one.
So even if she was knocked down ten thousand times, she’d stand up ten thousand and one.
Jiang Mingxi hunched her shoulders and lowered her head, looking timid and cowardly as she slowly walked over.
She forced a fawning smile. “Officer, I’m a law-abiding citizen, really, I haven’t done anything…”
At the same time, she was quietly observing everything around her.
There were three soldiers checking people. Two of them were slacking off at a nearby tea stall, leaving this honest one to do the inspection.
“Cut the nonsense. Where do you live? Who’s your neighborhood chief? Where’s your ID and household registration?”
The inspecting soldier was a head shorter than her, skinny, with a Box Cannon dangling loosely from his waist.
Jiang Mingxi shrank back, shivering as she reached into her pocket. “Oh, my ID, I have it, I have it, just let me find… Huh, where is it…”
Her voice held just the right amount of panic, but her body moved naturally, inching a few steps to the side.
The soldier unconsciously followed, and soon the two of them were behind the wooden post supporting the tea stall’s canopy.
Next to the post was a pile of goods from a bamboo basket vendor.
It was a perfect blind spot.
Just enough to block them from view of the two soldiers drinking tea.
The short soldier didn’t notice a thing, only growing impatient with this tall “blue tunic” dragging things out. “Damn it, hurry up! What are you—”
His last word stuck in his throat. His eyes bulged in terror, staring at what Jiang Mingxi pulled from her pocket— not an ID, but the dark muzzle of a gun.
All trace of timidity and fawning vanished from Jiang Mingxi’s face, replaced by a calm, deathly stillness.
“Don’t move. Don’t make a sound.”
“Take off the gun from your waist, slowly, and put it gently on the box.”
“If you try anything, I’ll shoot you dead.”
The cold barrel nearly poked his nose. The short soldier was so frightened his soul almost left his body, his teeth chattering, sweat pouring down his forehead.
Trembling, he fumbled clumsily with the holster strap of his Box Cannon. Just as the holster was about to slip—
Jiang Mingxi moved!
Her right hand holding the gun didn’t budge, but her left hand shot out like a knife, fingers pressed together, channeling all her explosive strength into a precise, vicious chop to the soldier’s unguarded carotid artery!
“Ugh!” The soldier didn’t even finish his grunt. His vision went black and his body collapsed bonelessly to the ground.
Jiang Mingxi caught the Box Cannon in her left hand before it hit the floor!
“Hey? Old Li? What the hell are you dawdling for?” Another soldier poked his head out, just in time to see his comrade collapse while the tall “blue tunic” turned and dashed toward the nearest alley, two guns in hand!
“Shit!! Something’s up!!”
“Damn it! Stop!!”
The two soldiers exploded into action, flipping over the tea table in a panic, fumbling for their guns and shouting at the top of their lungs.
Jiang Mingxi didn’t look back.
Left hand gripping the stolen Box Cannon, right hand holding her own gun, her tall figure burst with astonishing speed, darting through the street like a blue whirlwind, twisting and turning until she plunged into an alley.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” Several hurried, chaotic gunshots rang out behind her. Bullets struck the alley wall and debris, kicking up dust and fragments— but not even grazing her clothes.
The two soldiers, joined by the short one, stormed into the alley cursing in frustration.
The alley was narrow and dim, piled high with broken baskets and crates, reeking of mold and dust.
A pockmarked man cowered in the corner, clutching a slop bucket, staring blankly at the three fierce soldiers.
One of the soldiers, pinching his nose in disgust, asked gruffly from a distance, “Hey, did you see a tall guy in a blue tunic run by?”
The pockmarked man— Laoma— shrunk back and timidly pointed, “He ran to the right.”
The soldiers cursed and hurried off into the next alley.
Once the footsteps faded away, Laoma straightened up, leisurely picked up his slop bucket, and gently knocked on his own wooden door.
“Second Young Master, they’re gone.”