Su Mingyu blasted the doors of the post station open with a single palm strike. The manager of the station reflexively reached toward a hidden mechanism under the table, but Murong Ke pinned his hand down before he could move.
At some point, Murong Ke had quietly reapplied his skin mask, his face now wearing an expression of polite detachment.
"My lady, have we... met before?"
Su Mingyu narrowed her eyes. What was this? Playing dumb?
She set her broadsword aside, her bright, clever eyes darting back and forth. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, her expression changed entirely. She pulled a handkerchief from somewhere and began to dab at her "tears" with a look of deep resentment.
"Husband, your words are truly heartbreaking. We’ve been apart for only a moment, and already you don’t recognize your own wife?"
Her approach made Murong Ke recoil, and in the next second, he grabbed her right hand.
In her slender grasp, she held a small, sharp dagger. Had he been a second slower, the blade would have sliced across his face. Murong Ke instantly twisted her wrist, lunging forward to press the dagger against her throat.
"Speak! Who are you exactly?" Murong Ke demanded sharply.
"I’m your grandmother!"
Su Mingyu nimbly let go; as the dagger fell, she caught the hilt with her right hand and thrust it toward Murong Ke again.
Murong Ke had not expected her to be this agile. In the nick of time, he executed a graceful spin, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike. Su Mingyu’s sharp blade tore through his robe.
*Not bad,* Su Mingyu thought.
Murong Ke pulled himself together, preparing to strike again, when his guard called out to him.
"Young Master... don't be rash!"
Murong Ke cast a suspicious glance at Han Bing, who said awkwardly, "Young Master, isn't this the lady on the white horse from earlier?"
The lady... on the white horse?
Murong Ke remembered. He scrutinized Su Mingyu for a long moment before finally connecting the heroic, dashing figure in his mind with the bedraggled "female ghost" standing before him.
Murong Ke frowned and muttered under his breath, "How did you end up looking like this in such a short time?"
Su Mingyu glared at him in disbelief, even her wet strands of hair seeming to bristle with indignation.
"Do you have any idea why I ended up like this? You three grown men steal something, get chased, and then dump the danger onto a weak woman like me? Have you no shame?"
Murong Ke coughed awkwardly.
"I do apologize for the offense earlier, but those people are not truly bad. Though I did use you, my lady, I never intended for you to lose your life."
"Ha... never intended?" Su Mingyu laughed in extreme anger. "You used my life to gamble on human nature? Are you playing with me? Don't think I don't know that you were trying to escape by using me as a scapegoat. I’m not one to meddle, but since I’ve run into you, hand over the goods and come with me to see the authorities!"
Su Mingyu lifted her soaking wet robe and picked up her broadsword, its tip dragging against the floor with a grating screech.
The two guards behind Murong Ke tensed and drew their swords to shield him. However, Murong Ke gently pushed them aside and stood calmly before Su Mingyu.
Su Mingyu stopped in her tracks, eyeing the bearded man warily. This was truly strange; the thief looked like a villain, yet where did this air of integrity come from?
The man cupped his hands in a salute, and Su Mingyu, fearing a trick, immediately shifted into a defensive stance. To her surprise, he simply bowed.
"There were reasons for my actions, and the situation was dire. I had no other choice. If you have any other demands, I am at your service. But the item... that, I cannot give you."
Su Mingyu gave a cynical sneer. "A petty thief like you—what kind of noble reasons could you possibly have?"
"To save lives." Murong Ke looked up. Beneath the plain, unremarkable mask, his eyes were sincere and frank, causing a flicker of hesitation in Su Mingyu’s heart. "I need to borrow this item to save people. It involves the lives of many."
"So stealing is justified now?" Su Mingyu retorted with an angry laugh. "You really are a living Bodhisattva, aren't you?"
"I don't care what your reasons are. Let the officials handle the justice. But you used me and put me in danger, and I certainly won't swallow this insult."
Chiyan, standing to the side, spoke up unconvinced, "If you actually swallowed it, you'd be dead."
"Hey! You've got a death wish!" Su Mingyu rolled up her sleeves, ready to teach him a lesson.
Murong Ke stepped forward with effortless grace to intervene.
"The lady is right. It was my fault that you were dragged into this. If you are still displeased, I am willing to take three strikes from you."
Su Mingyu glanced at him. "You said it yourself."
"No!" the guards shouted in unison.
Murong Ke shot them a sharp look. "Are you telling me how to do my job?"
The two men retreated, looking thoroughly unwilling. Su Mingyu hadn’t expected this bearded man to be less villainous than she’d imagined, so she considered just going through the motions.
Just then, a man burst into the inn.
Seeing the blood-covered figure, Su Mingyu instinctively stepped aside. The man didn't seem to notice her; he collapsed at the bearded man's feet the moment he entered.
"Master, I deserve to die! We were halfway to the granary when a large group of government troops swarmed us. They claimed we were mountain bandits and attacked without a word. They were too many; our brothers couldn't hold them off. I was the only one who escaped..."
The man was so agitated that he fainted before he could finish. Murong Ke’s expression turned grim.
"Master, it seems they anticipated our moves and laid an ambush!" Han Bing said with alarm.
Manager Wang sat on the floor, weeping, "The heavens are blind! This will starve the good people of Liangzhou!"
Murong Ke clenched his fists, his veins bulging.
Su Mingyu mulled it over, and the more she thought, the more wrong it felt. She realized she had accidentally overheard a massive secret. The identity of the man before her was becoming clear.
She tapped her head and said, "So, after all that, you were planning to raid the Suzhou granary? Is this treason?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chiyan pointed his sword at her. "Young Master, this woman knows too much. We can't let her live."
Su Mingyu realized her mouth had moved faster than her brain. She waved her hands frantically. "I don't know anything! I was just rambling!"
With that, she turned on her heels, ready to bolt, but the men in the room moved to intercept her instantly. Although Su Mingyu was skilled, she was genuinely lazy, and after the earlier fight, she was tired.
Seeing that a brawl was unavoidable, she stopped, paused her hand holding the sword, and kicked the door shut. She turned around to find the swords of Chiyan and Han Bing resting just inches from her nose.
Su Mingyu gave a cheeky grin and brushed the swords aside.
"Why is it that you people always want to take my life without a word of explanation?"