The Confident Heroine

The lives of ordinary citizens had never been worth much since ancient times.

On this point, Xu Lu had never held any illusions.

Wasn't the situation similar in his previous world?

With no family or connections, Xu Lu didn't think Situ Yanqing would care too much about this matter either.

In fact, that Situ Yanqing could dispatch her personal bodyguard to make a trip had already exceeded Xu Lu's expectations.

"Since it cannot be resolved, so be it. I will find a way to rescue them myself," Xu Lu said.

"Cannot be resolved? Are you looking down on me?" Situ Yanqing's clear black-and-white eyes rolled upward, filled with pride as she said, "If I say I will resolve it for you, I will definitely resolve it. Hong Yi, you are mistaken. For such a small matter, there is no need for a Heavenly Official to act. They are not as strong as you, Hong Yi. We are ordinary people, and ordinary people have our own ways of resolving problems."

After Situ Yanqing finished speaking, she looked at Xu Lu and asked, "Do you dare to come along?"

"What do I have to fear?" Although he didn't know what Situ Yanqing wanted to do, as a man, could he back down?

"Then let's go." Situ Yanqing waved her sleeves like a general setting off for battle, stepping outside.

"Miss." Li Yaozhong clasped his hands in greeting, casting a slightly surprised glance at Xu Lu, who was following beside Situ Yanqing.

When did this kid get connected with the eldest miss?

Could it be that having a good-looking face and clinging to those of higher status was a natural advantage over rough men like us?

While Li Yaozhong remained calm on the outside, in his heart, he raised his estimation of Xu Lu by a level.

"Constable Li, sorry to trouble you," Situ Yanqing clasped her hands and said.

"Miss is too polite," Li Yaozhong said. "I have mobilized three squads of constables and borrowed several crossbowmen from the City Guard. Even if we have to turn Jiangdu City upside down, I will definitely find them."

With the City Governor's daughter's order, and since it involved a Mystic Cultivator, Li Yaozhong's mobilization of forces was perfectly reasonable, and no one could say otherwise.

Li Yaozhong had even specially invited three consecrated Lishi from the government office.

With such a force, unless they encountered a Third-grade Mystic Cultivator or above, whoever came would die.

Of course, if a Third-grade Mystic Cultivator or above truly appeared, the Heavenly Officials of the Heavenly Palace and the Lishi would not sit idly by.

"Good. From now on, you will command, and I will act with you. I have only one requirement." Situ Yanqing's eyes gleamed as she said, "Rescue them in the shortest time possible."

Li Yaozhong's heart stirred slightly. For a few ordinary citizens, the eldest miss was making such a big fuss. It seemed she highly valued Xu Lu.

"Yes!" Li Yaozhong clasped his hands and said.

He cast a serious glance at Hong Yi, who had almost no presence behind Situ Yanqing. With this great figure here, what did he have to fear?

"Move out!" Li Yaozhong turned to his subordinate constables, waved his hand, and shouted.

More than a dozen constables and those fully armed City Guards split into several teams, running in different directions.

As for the three consecrated Lishi invited by Li Yaozhong, they followed beside him, only acting at critical moments.

The three of them were merely Second-grade Lishi. To ordinary people, they were naturally great figures, but with Situ Yanqing and Hong Yi present, they all maintained a proper attitude, obediently waiting for orders.

"Xiao Lu, don't worry, it's not a big problem," Li Yaozhong walked to Xu Lu's side and said in a low voice. "True rebels wouldn't do this kind of kidnapping and extortion. Anyone who does this kind of thing, even if they are truly rebels, is just a low-level character with little ability. We can handle this kind of trash."

Li Yaozhong's attitude was very close, like an elder of Xu Lu.

"Thank you, Constable Li," Xu Lu forced a smile.

"Call me Uncle Li!" Li Yaozhong pretended to be displeased and said, "When this kind of thing happened, why didn't you come directly to me? Do you look down on your Uncle Li? Does a small matter like this require the eldest miss to personally step in?"

"I was wrong," Xu Lu smiled bitterly. If Situ Yanqing hadn't stepped in, would Li Yaozhong have helped him rescue them if he had gone to him? Xu Lu knew very well that he didn't have that much face. Let alone him, even Chen Siming might not have that much face.

"Uncle Li, can you help me analyze what the other party's purpose actually is?" Xu Lu asked probingly.

According to the news Hong Yi brought back, the person who had threatened him before was a fake Zhao Si, and the entire matter had nothing to do with Zhao Kaichang.

Kidnapping people just for Chen Siming's manuscript?

Doing so was laborious and troublesome. Wouldn't it be simpler to directly kidnap Chen Siming?

Xu Lu always felt there were many points in this matter he couldn't figure out.

"Demons and ghosts, I shall slay them with one sword!" Situ Yanqing brandished her sword in command, gesturing with a crisp voice.

Both Hong Yi and Li Yaozhong turned their heads away in slight embarrassment, pretending not to see.

Xu Lu's face darkened. Was she a chuunibyou teenage girl?

"Xiao Lu, let me tell you," Li Yaozhong coughed lightly and said. "Rebels are all madmen. They do things entirely on a whim. Trying to guess their purpose is meaningless; they might not have a purpose at all."

Xu Lu raised his eyebrows. Ordinary people seemed to have deep misunderstandings about Mystic Cultivators, or rather, the official authorities had always demonized them.

From Xu Lu's contact with Mystic Cultivators, they were no different from ordinary people, with both good and bad individuals, and they were not all crazed lunatics.

Just as Xu Lu was contemplating, a constable walked over in a hurry, leaning close to Li Yaozhong's ear and whispering something.

"We've found it!" Li Yaozhong nodded slightly, turning to Situ Yanqing and saying, "Eldest Miss, I will go there to rescue them, please wait here!"

"Wait a moment, I'm going with you," Situ Yanqing said.

"Eldest Miss, this—" Li Yaozhong showed a look of difficulty. "The bandits are fierce. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to account to the City Governor."

"Constable Li, you look down on me too much," Situ Yanqing said in annoyance. "I have practiced martial arts! Three or five ordinary men can't even get near me!"

Li Yaozhong looked at Hong Yi behind Situ Yanqing for help.

The eldest miss of the City Governor's family had learned some basic, cat-and-mouse martial arts and actually thought she could fight fierce bandits?

"It's fine," Hong Yi said coldly, her voice still devoid of emotion.

Li Yaozhong was somewhat helpless, but on second thought, the bodyguard beside the eldest miss was a high-grade Lishi. With her here, the eldest miss shouldn't face any accidents.

Since the eldest miss wanted to play, then let her play.

"Constable Li, go, lead the way!" Situ Yanqing was eager to try.

Out of nowhere, a little maidservant appeared, holding a sheathed longsword and handing it to Situ Yanqing.

Situ Yanqing strapped the longsword onto her back, her eyes growing even more excited.

Xu Lu unconsciously pulled some distance away from Situ Yanqing, drawing closer to Li Yaozhong.

He had originally thought Situ Yanqing was a refined young lady who loved literature, since she frequently organized literary gatherings.

Looking at her now, something seemed slightly off. This Situ Yanqing seemed to want to be a heroine.

However, she didn't seem very reliable. This kind of overly confident heroine was often the source of trouble.

Xu Lu didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.

"Uncle Li, are Uncle Zhang and the others alright?" Following closely beside Li Yaozhong, Xu Lu asked in a low voice.

"We don't know yet," Li Yaozhong said. "Don't run around later, just stay beside me and you'll be fine. Don't worry, as long as they are still alive, we will definitely rescue them this time."

Li Yaozhong held the hilt of the saber at his waist, a face of confidence.

Xu Lu looked at the people around him—Li Yaozhong, Situ Yanqing, Hong Yi, the consecrated Lishi...

Clearly, there were so many people, yet Xu Lu didn't feel the slightest sense of security in his heart.

-----------------

"Where are they?" Situ Yanqing looked around as usual, her spirit high.

"Constable, the three members of the Zhang family entered this courtyard and haven't been seen coming out. Our investigation shows that this courtyard was rented a few days ago by a merchant from outside," a constable said in a deep voice.

Snakes had their paths, and mice had their holes.

With the entire force of the Jiangdu City constables mobilized, tracking down a person's whereabouts in the city was incredibly simple.

"Break the door, arrest them!" Li Yaozhong said in a deep voice without hesitation.

With a high-grade Lishi accompanying them, why should they be hesitant when dealing with a few petty thieves?

"Step aside, let me do it!"

With a soft cry, Situ Yanqing rushed forward, kicking the main door.

*Boom—*

The main door remained completely unmoved.

Li Yaozhong and the others very consciously turned their heads away.

Xu Lu seemed to hear Hong Yi let out a soft sigh.

*Crash!*

With a loud bang, the main door collapsed inward.

"Rush in! Anyone who dares to resist, kill without mercy!" Li Yaozhong drew his saber, rushing through the main door ahead of Situ Yanqing.

He didn't dare to actually let this eldest miss rush in first.

More than a dozen constables swarmed in, and the three consecrated Lishi also rushed forward.

In the courtyard, the sound of clashing weapons instantly rang out.