Chapter 63

After Zhao Jin ran out, he suddenly realized that the two people he saw clearly looked like they had spent a cold night awake, and he didn't know what they were up to. As he was about to finish his lap and return to the starting point, he saw these two people again.

These two people didn't expect Zhao Jin to come back, so they glared at him fiercely and then turned and left. Zhao Jin was taken aback but soon realized that these two had been watching his house all night.

Who would come to watch the Zhao family? Zhao Jin was puzzled, but he didn't rush back to report it. Instead, he continued running without showing any signs of alarm. This time, he saw the two people again at a slightly farther place. The two young men probably realized that Zhao Jin was running in circles and hurriedly left.

What was there to watch at his house? Zhao Jin couldn't figure it out. Before eating breakfast, he quietly told Zhao Zhentang what he had seen.

Hearing what Zhao Jin said, Zhao Zhentang was also quite surprised. He walked out the door and took a look, then came back and said in a low voice, "Don't tell your mother. I'll find someone to come and check today."

The reason Zhao Jin told Zhao Zhentang alone was that he didn't want to scare his mother. He nodded in agreement.

After breakfast, Mu Shulan didn't rush to go back. Instead, she followed Zhao Jin to practice martial arts, laughing and chatting. When they went out, Zhao Jin realized that his wrist guard was cracked and needed to be replaced, so he asked the little girl to wait at the door.

Unexpectedly, when he went inside, he overheard his parents talking. He heard He Cuihua say worriedly, "If Xiao Lan continues like this, how can we trust her to be a daughter-in-law?"

"At the time, I told you not to think too much. It's too unreliable. Besides, how old are the kids? Why are you worrying about this?" Zhao Zhentang was clearly impatient.

"Shouldn't I worry? Didn't Old Zhang from your office get his son married last year?"

Seeing Zhao Jin walk in, the couple stopped talking.

Zhao Jin smiled as he went out, thinking that people got married so early these days. He was almost as tall as an adult, but he was only fifteen, and his family was already thinking about marriage.

He and Mu Shulan chatted as they walked, quickly leaving the street in front of their house. Turning the corner, they arrived at the "commercial street." Although most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and Zhao Jin had left early, the two shops that were open hadn't opened yet, making the street deserted.

In front of the shop that the monk Runan had looked at yesterday, two people were sitting. It was so early and so cold that no one would sit there. Moreover, these two people were wearing cotton robes and looked well-fed, not like refugees fleeing from famine.

Zhao Jin noticed these two strange people as soon as he turned onto this street. Unexpectedly, when the two people saw Zhao Jin and Mu Shulan, they became excited, exchanged glances, and then pretended to be indifferent.

What's going on? Zhao Jin frowned, but Mu Shulan didn't notice anything unusual and was chatting happily.

The two people sitting in front of the shop didn't move. When Zhao Jin walked past, he looked directly at them, wanting to see what was wrong with them.

Unexpectedly, when he looked at them, they didn't look back. Zhao Jin immediately realized that they were watching Mu Shulan.

Zhao Jin pulled the girl, using his body to shield Mu Shulan and gestured for her to speed up. Although the little girl hadn't reacted yet, she subconsciously followed Zhao Jin, and they both quickened their pace. Looking back, the two people had already stood up and followed them.

The two people who were in front of the house in the morning were now watching them, and they were inexplicably being followed, with Mu Shulan as the target.

The only reason he could think of was that when they met the group led by the monk Runan on this street yesterday, those people had stared at Mu Shulan shamelessly.

Although the abduction of beautiful women is often seen in storytelling and novels, it rarely happens in real life. If someone really tried to abduct a woman, the common people would make a big fuss at the government office, and the officials would have to consider public opinion and the views of the gentry. As for a girl from a middle-to-upper-class family like Mu Shulan, no one would dare to act openly, as everyone would consider her elders and background.

That's how it usually works, but for the people to send someone to follow and spy on them the day after they met, their boldness was truly remarkable.

Zhao Jin and Mu Shulan walked quickly, entered Zhao Zhenxing's courtyard, and closed the door. They then took out a spear from the house and finally relaxed.

Standing in the courtyard, Zhao Jin held the spear and stood there for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. Mu Shulan, puzzled, asked, "Brother Xiao Jin, what are you laughing about?"

"We did a foolish thing. We should have gone home directly when we met them on the road. My father and I could have caught them together. Now that we're here, we're isolated and helpless." Zhao Jin said with a smile.

"I'll go to my father today and catch these bad guys." Mu Shulan, surprisingly, wasn't very afraid and said angrily.

Zhao Jin was joking, but holding the spear made him feel more at ease. However, the little girl's fierce words piqued his interest, and he asked with a smile, "Your family isn't the government. How can you catch people?"

Hearing this question, the little girl was a bit embarrassed and said in a low voice, "Brother Xiao Jin, my father doesn't let me talk about our family's affairs with outsiders. Can I not say it?"

"If it's inconvenient, you don't have to say it. It's a small matter!" Zhao Jin said with a smile. Everyone has their secrets, and there's no need to pry.

In the morning, Zhao Jin practiced for about half an hour in the courtyard and then stopped to organize his weapons. He polished the spear tip according to the method taught by his uncle Zhao Zhenxing, checked if the spear tip and shaft were loose, and put the short knife on his waist.

Although Zhao Jin's martial arts practice time was short, he stayed in the courtyard longer than usual. By noon, Mu Shulan couldn't help but say, "Brother Xiao Jin, I'm hungry. Let's go back and eat!"

"Endure a little longer. I'll take you out in a moment. Don't make a sound, just follow me. We can go home or directly to the market to have some snacks." Seeing how serious Zhao Jin was, Mu Shulan immediately stopped talking and nodded.

The little girl rarely saw Zhao Jin in this serious state and subconsciously didn't dare to act coquettishly.

Zhao Jin watched the sky and calculated the time. When it was about the time he usually went to the market for lunch, he took the spear and led Mu Shulan out of the courtyard.

As soon as they left the courtyard, they saw two people standing up at the intersection, the same two who had been following them all morning.

They saw Zhao Jin holding the spear and didn't dare to follow too closely, but they didn't give up and kept a distance.

Mu Shulan kept looking back, her face cold with anger, and she said through gritted teeth, "Blind fools, how dare they have designs on me."

Zhao Jin glanced at the little girl beside him, not stopping, but thinking that Mu Shulan was obedient and cute in front of him and his parents, but she already had the air of a young lady in her own family. This wasn't surprising, as Mr. Mu was now a local magnate, and his daughter naturally had a higher status.

Zhao Jin reminded her not to look back too often and quickened his pace.