Everyone at the scene stared blankly at the sudden turn of events.
Li Zhongyi was the first to react. He pointed at Qianxing, who had just withdrawn her foot, and shouted in shock:
“What are you doing?! Why did you kick the child?!”
Qianxing’s gaze fell on the person lying on the ground nearby, curled up into a ball with the blanket only half covering his body.
“A child? Does he look like a child to you?”
She suddenly stepped forward and yanked off the blanket.
In the next instant, a flash of silver streaked through the air.
“You ruined my plans. Go to hell!”
The vicious words came at the same time as the knife plunged downward.
Qianxing swiftly dodged, but the blade still sliced through the fabric on her shoulder.
Before she could catch her breath, the knife came after her again, stabbing with such force that it seemed determined to tear her to pieces.
Qianxing moved several steps to the right. Just as she turned her head, another knife suddenly appeared from the side, thrusting straight toward her eye.
“You bitch! This is all because of you—ah!”
At the critical moment, a leg swept across and kicked Luo Ping away. Several more kicks followed, sending the knife flying into the distance.
“Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
Qianxing raised her head and met Huo Yuan’s cold, piercing gaze.
“I’m fine.”
Qianxing retreated several steps, leaving the “battlefield” to them.
When the others saw the father and son draw knives, they immediately realized that these two were no ordinary people and rushed over to help.
It didn’t take long before the father and son were firmly tied up by Li Zhongyi and Lü Fusheng working together.
The blanket had fallen off the “child,” but the cloth covering his face was still in place.
Lü Fusheng frowned.
“You trained a child to be an assassin?”
The masked person gave a cold laugh but didn’t answer.
Huo Yuan glanced at Qianxing, who was standing off to the side, and suddenly said:
“A dwarf?”
“A dwarf?” Li Zhongyi immediately understood. “Commander, you mean this is actually an adult, just a short one?”
He reached out and pulled off the mask covering the “child’s” face. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
“It really is a dwarf…”
Although his body was about the same height as a child, his face was unmistakably that of an adult. He looked to be at least in his twenties.
“What are you after? Were you trying to kill us?”
The restrained Luo Ping spat on the ground.
“You stole our documents. You deserve to die!”
The men exchanged glances.
This was actually connected to the mission they had just completed. It seemed that the moment they retrieved the documents, those people had discovered them and sent these two to intercept them.
“So your plan was to disguise yourselves as a child and launch a surprise attack? Even if you tried to sneak up on us, there was no guarantee it would work, right?” Lü Fusheng asked.
Luo Ping snorted coldly and said nothing.
Li Zhongyi suddenly looked at the medicine pot lying on the ground, as if a thought had struck him.
“You were planning to poison us?”
“If that bitch hadn’t gotten in the way…” Luo Ping gritted his teeth. “You’d all be on your way to the afterlife by now!”
In the freezing weather, wisps of white vapor rose from the broken medicine pot.
Seeing this, Li Zhongyi and the others felt a lingering chill.
“You knew there was poison in the medicine?”
Li Zhongyi looked at Qianxing inquisitively.
Qianxing didn’t deny it.
“There was an herb called silver-thread grass in it. When boiled, it produces poisonous fumes. An ordinary person who inhales them will begin bleeding from all seven orifices before long.”
“Hiss!”
Li Zhongyi sucked in a sharp breath.
“Which one? Wait, won’t it still be producing poison right now?”
Qianxing picked up a piece of firewood and used it to lift the silver-thread grass for him to see.
“Don’t worry. Silver-thread grass only releases its poisonous fumes after it’s been boiled thoroughly.”
This time, without even waiting for Huo Yuan to give an order, Li Zhongyi found a piece of cloth, wrapped up the herb, and prepared to take all of it back with them.
After tying it up, he looked at Qianxing.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve always lived in the mountains. My master taught me how to identify medicinal herbs.”
Qianxing casually came up with an explanation.
“And you followed them off the train because…”
“When that man boarded the train, I happened to notice that the fingers of the child he was carrying looked different from those of an ordinary child. I just wasn’t certain.”
Qianxing spoke slowly.
“Only after he claimed that the child was his sick son and then jumped off the train did I become certain something was wrong. That’s why I followed them off the train too. I wanted to warn that soldier.”
A dwarf wasn’t exactly someone who needed to be hidden away, yet he had deliberately claimed that the person was his own child. There had to be some ulterior motive behind it.
“Thank goodness you were sharp, otherwise we’d all be dead today!” Li Zhongyi was still shaken. His wife and children were waiting for him at home!
After saying that, he felt it wasn’t formal enough. He straightened his back, stood at attention, and saluted Qianxing.
“Thank you, Comrade. My name is Li Zhongyi. May I ask your name and where you live? I’ll have my wife come to your home and thank you personally another day.”
“My name is Song Qianxing. It was just a small thing. There’s no need to take it to heart.”
“No, no, we have to thank you. Thank you, Comrade Song. My name is Lü Fusheng!”
Lü Fusheng was especially excited.
This woman had practically saved his life.
The others also came over one after another to express their thanks.
Huo Yuan was the last to approach.
“Thank you. When I return, I’ll apply to my superiors to have you rewarded. However, because this matter is significant, the reward may not be made public.”
“That’s fine.”
Qianxing didn’t care about such things. She smiled brightly.
“Actually, there is a small favor I’d like to ask of you.”
Li Zhongyi was especially enthusiastic.
“Just tell us!”
“I want to go to the Southwest Military Region. Do you know how to get there?”
Li Zhongyi froze before bursting into laughter.
“What a coincidence! We’re from the Southwest Military Region. Are you going there to visit family?”
“Really? Then that’s convenient. I’m going there to join my husband, so I’ll have to trouble you to show me the way.”
Qianxing’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Join your husband?”
Li Zhongyi and the others exchanged glances.
The family members of the other battalion and regiment commanders who had gotten married had already arrived. If this was a recently promoted battalion commander…
Could she be Captain Qian’s wife?
That man wasn’t exactly easy to get along with.
It would be a pity for such a pretty girl to be matched with him.
Li Zhongyi had all sorts of thoughts running through his head, but naturally, he didn’t say any of them aloud. He merely smiled and said:
“You’re Captain Qian’s wife, right? Don’t worry, we’ll definitely get you there—”
“No, no.”
Qianxing waved her hand, her eyes curving slightly.
“His name is Huo Yuan. Do you know him? I heard he has a pretty bad temper.”
Huo Yuan himself: “?”
Li Zhongyi and the others: “!!!”