Qinshan leaned close to the Sixth Master and spoke softly.
“People in town say that Shao Jian had the most contact with her. When we found her hiding place, the house was already empty. There were signs of an argument inside. They probably quarreled, but in the end, she still ran away.”
The Sixth Master raised his eyes and looked at Scissors, who was hanging under the tree, barely alive.
“Cold-hearted enough.”
He closed his eyes briefly. A sudden, nameless anger rose in his chest. That woman was like a snake—cold-blooded and cunning.
He once had the best chance to catch her, but he was careless. He wished he could return to that night, push aside the thin screen, and grab the snake by its weak point.
The Sixth Master sat quietly for a moment, listening to the sound of the tide. Then he suddenly stood up.
Qinshan was startled. “Sixth Master, where are you going?”
“You stay here with the men. She will come back.”
With his hands behind his back, the Sixth Master stepped through the shallow waves and left. Qinshan was confused.
Night fell completely.
Qinshan did not wait for Xu Miaoxue to return. Instead, officers from the Ningbo Prefecture arrived. The magistrate had heard that the Sixth Master had caught a suspect and sent people to take him.
Qinshan dared not decide on his own. He went to look for the Sixth Master, but he was not on the boat and could not be found anywhere. Qinshan could not delay any longer. After checking the officers’ badges and documents, he handed Scissors over to them.
The officers shackled Scissors and left. But instead of heading toward the government office, they turned into small alleys, going deeper and deeper, until they reached Nongchao Alley.
These days, Nongchao Alley is especially lively. As the Sea Pearl Banquet approached, the black market there became very active—more than usual.
Noble ladies from all families wanted to stand out at the banquet and catch the Third Scholar’s eye. They dressed in creative ways, wishing they could even sew the moon into their skirts. Ordinary goods did not interest them, so servants from each household crowded into this dirty place, fighting for rare treasures.
The alley was full of noise. Even the old man who sold candied fruit had switched to selling fake antiques.
“Government business! Don’t block the way—”
The group moved proudly through the alley, unchallenged, but then quietly disappeared at the end of a side path.
At the end stood an unremarkable house. A lantern under the eaves flickered in the wind.
Scissors had been blindfolded the whole time, full of fear. After being pushed into a room, he heard a lock snap shut. Then the sack over his head was pulled off. He immediately curled up, covering his head in defense.
“Scissors, it’s me.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Scissors lifted his head in disbelief and saw his people standing neatly in the room.
“Boss—” His eyes turned red.
Xu Miaoxue unlocked the shackles on his hands. She raised her brows, her usual careless tone returning.
“Do you know what this move is called? In stories, it’s called ‘repair the road in public, cross the river in secret.’”
The argument scene in the house had been acted by Xu Miaoxue on purpose. She made the scholar cause a big fight and leave traces, to make others think they had abandoned Scissors and were hiding like scared turtles. In fact, she did the opposite. People say it’s darkest under the lamp—she openly took Scissors away right under Qinshan’s nose.
The officers’ disguises had been prepared for earlier scams. As for the official seal on the documents, it was carved from a radish based on a wanted notice. It could not stand close inspection, but it was enough to fool people.
“You recognize me as your boss. I won’t abandon you. Change clothes quickly. We’re leaving.”
Scissors were uneasy. “There are people everywhere trying to catch us…”
“The Wang family in Cixi hired ten embroiderers from Suzhou to make a dress for their daughter for the Sea Pearl Banquet. The work just finished today, and the embroiderers are returning home. We’ll mix in with them and leave Ningbo.”
Scissors still worried. “If we leave, Boss, you won’t be able to go to Ruyi Harbor. If you miss this banquet, you might not see what you want next time.”
“Staying alive comes first,” Xu Miaoxue said, unusually discouraged.
Her identity as the Cheng family’s cousin had been her best disguise. But after Madam Jia’s actions, she could no longer stay with the Cheng family.
“The boat is ready. Just follow us,” the fake officers said as they quickly stripped off their uniforms and put on old cotton coats.
After all this trouble, she was surrounded by danger. She could only hide somewhere and start over.
The spring night wind knocked restlessly against the window. Everything was ready. Xu Miaoxue opened the door to leave—but suddenly stopped.
Xu Miaoxue stepped back. That person stepped forward.
She was a fake Liu Bang meeting the real Overlord.
In the next moment, the Sixth Master grabbed her by the back of the neck and lifted her like a chick, dragging her to a water basin by the wall.
“Boss!” her companions rushed forward, but were quickly restrained by the Sixth Master’s men.
Xu Miaoxue did not even have time to scream. Her face was slammed into the copper basin. Rouge dissolved into reddish-brown streams. She clawed at the basin edge, struggling desperately, until her lungs felt ready to burst. Only then was she pulled up.
Without a word, the Sixth Master wiped the thick makeup off her face with his sleeve. Her wet brows and eyes were exposed under the candlelight. The disguise faded, revealing her true face.
He shook the water from his fingers and looked at her carefully.
“So this is what you look like.”
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
“Where’s the money?” he asked.
“I spent it all—”
In the dim room, Xu Miaoxue was tightly tied to a chair, grinning foolishly and fearlessly at the Sixth Master.
It was her first time seeing his face. An unrelated thought crossed her mind—he looked too refined to be a butcher.
“Sixth Master, I’m just short-sighted,” she said shamelessly. “A few sweet-talking young men came to Nongchao Alley. Pretty faces steal both hearts and money. I spent it all in just a few days.”
The Sixth Master noticed that she was injured. When they tied her up, her brows twitched in pain, but she clenched her teeth and made no sound. He wanted to see how long she could endure.
The man’s silence carried natural pressure.
Xu Miaoxue still acted fearless. “I wouldn’t dare hide anything from you. Before, I was blind and offended you. Give me a few days, and I’ll repay your money double—”
Seeing no reaction, she quickly added, “Triple!”
Still, he said nothing.
She could sense the presence of a true king of beasts. Compared to him, she was just a monkey ruling a small hill, now reduced to jumping around in panic.
In this situation, she had to do everything to survive.
She clenched her teeth. “Sixth Master, name a price. If you kill me, you gain nothing. If you spare my life, I can still give you money.”
“I don’t lack money,” he finally said, his voice sharp like a blade on ice. “But I hate betrayal most.”
The hair on her neck stood up. She wondered if he meant that ridiculous contract. Instead, he continued calmly,
“I said that for every moment you were late, I would chop off one of your little brother’s fingers. Two hours have passed. His hands are not enough.”
Xu Miaoxue’s face turned white. The person the scholar described was fully capable of this.
Suddenly, a terrible scream burst from outside—half human, half beast, like an animal having its throat crushed.
An image flashed in her mind: Scissors at eighteen years old.
It was five years after her father died. Her attempt to run away had failed, and she was heading back to the Cheng family in shame. On the road, she saw a badly beaten boy hanging from a tree. He had used fake antiques to cheat money and almost succeeded, but his nervousness gave him away. He was caught and beaten nearly to death.
At first, Xu Miaoxue was only interested in how well-made the fake antiques were and wanted to ask about them. She saved him, never expecting to gain a follower willing to die for her.
Seeing his sharp eye for treasures, she sent him to work at a pawnshop, hoping to get rid of trouble. But Scissors was clumsy and could not even use an abacus properly. He was scolded constantly. She had to step in again and again, teaching him reading and accounting, like a worried older sister.
Later, they truly teamed up. Scissors “borrowed” treasures from pawnshops, while she pretended to be a noblewoman, moving freely through taverns, always succeeding.
Once, after being whipped by her aunt again, she fell ill with fever in the cold. Ali was locked up and could not care for her. Scissors climbed over the wall in secret and stayed with her all night. At dawn, he brought her a bowl of ginger soup, his hand burned red.
“My mother said ginger soup cures everything.”
“Where is your mother?”
“My parents were salt workers. They took the blame for salt merchants and were beaten to death,” he said quietly. “Sister Miaoxue, from now on, you are my real sister.”
The sea holds gold and silver—but beneath it lie countless bodies of ordinary people.
Xu Miaoxue targeted salt merchants partly to help Scissors release his anger.
She always felt as if a burning iron lived in her chest, fueling endless fire. She wanted the world to be fair, with justice and law. She knew it was impossible—but still could not stop herself from trying.
Her pale face lost its playful look. Her eyes filled with moisture. She looked up at him. She had no chips left, yet forced herself to stay calm.
“Sixth Master, you don’t need to scare me. You’re still sitting here talking to me, which means I still have value. Tell me what you want me to do.”
The tall man stared down at her and placed his hand on her shoulder, slowly tightening his grip. She had a wound there. The scab split open, and blood seeped through her clothes into his palm.
Tears welled in her eyes from the pain, but her expression did not soften at all.
No one knew why her bones were so stubborn.
The room was silent except for the horrible screams outside, each sound cutting into the ear like torture. After a long moment, the Sixth Master released her. He struck the floor twice with his knife sheath—clear orders. The screams outside stopped immediately.
The Sixth Master smiled faintly and said slowly,
“I need to think about it.”