Chapter 3

"Hey, little miss, just come clean, what are you here for?" Yang Qi lowered his voice and said.

"Huh?" The dark-faced girl was caught off guard, her eyes darting around in slight panic: "What is Sister talking about? I'm just an ordinary girl..."

"Cut it out, stop pretending." An ordinary girl? I don't believe it. "Let's be straightforward, are you... a female knight-errant here to uphold justice?" Yang Qi sized up the dark-faced girl, nodded affirmatively, and felt that his guess was probably right.

"Hehe..." Seeing that she couldn't keep up the act, the girl could only give a coy smile and admit in a low voice: "Sister has keen eyes, I was traveling nearby and heard that the Black Dragon Gang has been kidnapping many girls. So I came up with a plan to infiltrate and rescue all the kidnapped girls."

"Oh, I see!" Yang Qi nodded in understanding, getting it. It seems this dream has a martial arts background.

Before they could exchange a few more words, the bandits and mountain robbers ahead suddenly started shouting. The two of them looked up and saw that they had arrived at the entrance of a mountain stronghold.

It was called a stronghold, but it was just a makeshift wooden wall with a couple of guards. To think they dare call themselves the Black Dragon Gang? No wonder a little girl dares to come and uphold justice.

However, after the gate opened, they discovered a different world. Inside the wooden fence was a cave, deep and winding, with no end in sight. It seemed that the cave was the real Black Dragon Gang's base. The prison cart swayed as it entered the gate, and the surrounding bandits let out standard lecherous laughs. The other three girls in the cart immediately started sobbing in fear.

Seeing that the real deal was about to start, the dark-faced girl became a bit nervous and whispered to Yang Qi: "Sister, let's not talk about upholding justice for now. The most urgent thing is to protect Sister's chastity. Do you have any ideas?"

Before Yang Qi could respond, a skinny, lecherous-looking man opened the prison cart's lock with a clang and reached out to grab Yang Qi with a lecherous laugh: "Beautiful lady, come out for Grandpa!"

But Yang Qi remained calm, raised her hand, and decisively slapped the man—smack, a loud slap that made the man spin around.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone, Yang Qi coldly shouted: "You insolent dog, blind as a bat! If you dare touch me, I'll flay you alive and light you up!"

Silence fell, even the dark-faced girl opened her mouth in disbelief. Who would have thought that a girl who should be like a lamb to the slaughter would dare to slap a bandit in their den?

Swish, swish, the surrounding bandits drew their knives and glared, but Yang Qi simply stepped down from the cart. She hadn't noticed it in the cart, but now standing on the ground, the bandits realized that this girl was quite tall, almost a head taller than most of them.

Actually, this was normal. Bandits were mostly former peasants who couldn't make ends meet. A few deserters might be mixed in, but they were also former peasants. In this era, with war and famine, malnutrition was common, and men around 1.6 meters tall were very common. Yang Qi, now a "sister," was over 1.7 meters tall, giving her a towering presence.

"I advise you to find out who I am before you act, or you might lose your lives for your lack of discernment." Yang Qi's cold gaze swept the area, and her presence alone made over a dozen bandits hesitate: "What are you waiting for? Call your leader!"

As she spoke, Yang Qi sat on the edge of the cart, exuding an air of confidence and mystery.

The bandits looked at each other, and finally, one of them ran into the cave.

Yang Qi ignored the bandits with drawn knives and swords, and casually waved to the dark-faced girl. The girl hurriedly leaned in, and Yang Qi whispered: "Where is this Black Dragon Gang?"

The dark-faced girl was speechless. She had thought Yang Qi had a plan, but it turned out Yang Qi didn't even know where the Black Dragon Gang was. "It's seventy miles east of Luoyang."

"Can you take down all these people here?"

"Most of them are just ordinary bandits, at most with some basic martial arts. These dozen or so won't hurt me. But if they attack together, I can't guarantee your safety."

"Don't worry about me." Yang Qi was calm and composed, which left the dark-faced girl marveling.

If you had some extraordinary skills, it would be understandable. But the dark-faced girl could see that Yang Qi had no martial arts skills. Why was she so nonchalant? It made her doubt her own judgment.

Right! A light bulb went off in the dark-faced girl's mind—this is the doubt! Think about it, with this act, even I doubt that this person has some backing. The bandits, who don't know the truth, would be even more suspicious! What a clever woman, this method of self-preservation is quite unique!

As she thought, a commotion came from the cave, and a group of people emerged. The two leaders were a scholar in a long robe and a bald, muscular man with a fierce look.

Yang Qi quickly said: "Pretend to be my maid, be smart, and don't give it away."

The dark-faced girl nodded and immediately lowered her head, acting the part.

The bald man scanned the scene, his gaze pausing on the skinny man who was covering his face and cowering, then he sized up Yang Qi, his eyes gleaming: "So you're the one causing trouble here? Bold girl, you look quite pretty. If you become my wife, today's incident will be forgotten. Otherwise, you'll wish you were dead!"

The other bandits joined in, cheering and shouting, adding to the commotion.

"Hmph, you ignorant brute." Yang Qi coldly snorted: "A wife is for the leader, not for you. Pretending to be the leader? Call out your real leader!"

The bald man laughed forcefully: "I am the leader!"

"Are you afraid of the wind blowing your tongue off?" Yang Qi didn't back down: "You're just a high-level thug, at best a second-in-command. Leader? Ha, laughable!"

With that, Yang Qi ignored the embarrassed man and turned to the old man who had been silent, lifting her chin as if too lazy to move her hand: "You, are you the strategist here?"

The old man's eyes flickered, trying to gauge Yang Qi's true nature. After a moment, he bowed: "Miss has keen eyes, I am indeed the strategist of the Black Dragon Gang. May I ask your name?"

Asking her name was also a way to ask about her background. It all came down to the next sentence.

Following the martial arts code, she should give her name. But what name should she give? What name would be powerful and fitting?

Yang Qi glanced at her pajamas, a long silk robe and pants, tightly fitting to avoid any revealing. The pajamas had a blue background with white peach blossoms. A light bulb went off in her head, and she said calmly: "Where the peach blossoms pass, no grass grows. Where the gold falls, heads are lost! You're in the business, and you haven't heard of the Peach Blossom Thief?!"

"Peach Blossom Thief?" The strategist's face showed a thoughtful expression. Peach Blossom Thief? Never heard of it! But the Black Dragon Gang is new, and we haven't connected with many in the business. And I'm just a former rural scholar, so I might not know. In this line of work, we fear the authorities and our peers, especially the big shots in the green forest.

Wait, Peach Blossom Thief? Peach... Thief? Could it be—

Thinking this, the old strategist looked up, his gaze becoming even more cautious as he looked at the composed Yang Qi. Better to be safe than sorry, let's see what happens: "So you are the famous Peach Blossom Thief, your name is well-known! I apologize for the rudeness of my subordinates. Please accept my apologies."

As he spoke, the old man bowed.

Yang Qi remained haughty: "That's more like it."

She raised her hand, and the dark-faced girl immediately supported her, perfectly embodying the role of a lady and her maid. Slowly standing up, Yang Qi said with authority: "I heard that a new gang has been established in the Luoyang area, so I came on behalf of the Shandong Gathering Hall to check it out. If your leader isn't here, I'll wait for him. If he's not really here, you can take this time to discuss. In any case, prepare a room for me, I need to freshen up."

The strategist's face twitched; he had never seen someone so straightforward and unyielding. Her commanding attitude was truly infuriating! But the more Yang Qi acted this way, the more the strategist was convinced, because the legend of that person was indeed not ordinary.

So, the old strategist bowed: "Miss, this way, please."

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