Chapter 73: The Women at the top of Little Frost Mountain

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Mu Yi glanced at Peng Mi. She looked less sad than the last time he saw her. She looked quite charming and more voluptuous probably because she was pregnant.

Peng Mi looked very pretty even though she was wearing simple clothes. She was still in mourning. The other woman looked slightly older. She had a few wrinkles on her forehead. She looked more mature than Peng Mi.

Mu Yi looked at the two women with admiration. He didn’t have any other thoughts.

“I really don’t deserve so much praise, County Magistrate,” Mu Yi said.

He nodded at Peng Mi in acknowledgment. There wasn’t a hint of arrogance or flattery in his expression.

“I meant those words from the bottom of my heart. We can say that our relationship is one of friendship that was grown out of admiration without us ever having met,” said Gu Yaosen while looking at Mu Yi.

Nobody could really know how much of the statement he really meant. He was the Lin’an County Magistrate. Mu Yi knew that Gu Yaosen understood Little Frost’s fortified village really well. They were bandits after all.

How could he tolerate others encroaching on his territory? Little Frost’s fortified village still posed a threat to the government. The secret agreement of non-aggression with Lin’An County’s government didn’t change that.

Officially, Gu Yaosen hadn’t done anything to the bandits since he had held the position. Mu Yi had found out some things from Xie Zheng so he came to see the County Magistrate.

***

Little Frost Mountain was to the west of Lin’an. It was a strategic location and difficult to access. If one man guarded the pass, ten thousand men wouldn’t be able to get through. It was only a metaphor but a small number of men could protect the mountain road against ten thousand men.

It was the main reason why Little Frost’s fortified village was able to subsist over time. Halfway up a hill, there were three people. All of them were women.

“Chief, you’ve been kneeling down for over an hour. You’ll be exhausted if you continue like this,” one of the women said.

The wind was blowing. Paper money was burning and the ashes were flying away. The kneeling woman’s hair covered her face. Her expression was colder than ice.

On Little Frost Mountain, only one woman was called Chief. It was obviously the brigand chief, Qiu Yuetong. She was the woman kneeling down.

There was a tomb in front of her. There was nothing else around it. There wasn’t even a gravestone to mark it but the area around it was clean. Someone definitely took the time to maintain it.

“Today is the anniversary of his death. I was his daughter. I must show filial piety,” said Qiu Yuetong indifferently.

Her voice was colder than her expression.

“Chief, Master did everything he could for us,” said another woman hesitantly.

“Indeed, he was a hero. That’s why everybody adored him, but that doesn’t mean I have to accept his actions,” said Qiu Yuetong icily.

She stood up. The women behind her hurried to put a thick cloak on her back. Qiu Yuetong grabbed the cloak firmly and turned around.

She had fine and delicate eyebrows. She was as white as snow. She looked gentle and graceful, even though she couldn’t be described as devastatingly beautiful. If someone glanced at her once, it would be hard to forget her. Her expression was just so cold which put people off.

Qiu Yuetong looked at the two women. There was something gentle and soft in her eyes but it was only there for a millisecond. The two women were twins. They had grown up together. They had been there the entire time she practiced martial arts. They were more like sisters to her even though they were almost servants.

Qiu Yuetong had never forgotten the man who had brought the two women to her. She didn’t want to forget. Qiu Yuetong knew them really well. It was hard not to when they had always been together.

The two women’s names were Qiu Zhu and Qiu Mei. They looked cute, beautiful even but they didn’t act that way. One of them was smart and eccentric. The other one was gentle and soft. They were quite different considering they were twins.

“Qiu Mei, I asked you to send people with the second chief. How are they?” asked Qiu Yuetong.

The one who had given her the cloak responded.

“The second chief is back. He brought back the heir of the Su Clan. The others haven’t come back. The second chief doesn’t seem happy either,” said Qiu Mei slowly.

“He’s pursuing something he’s not worthy of. Why would you marry him? If he gives you one million liang of silver, will you then marry him?” The other twin said.

She didn’t wait for Qiu Yuetong to reply. She felt wronged on her behalf. In her eyes, Li Hu was ungrateful. He had become presumptuous after the old man’s death. They would have all starved to death without the old man’s legacy.

Could he have become the second chief without the old man? Now he wasn’t satisfied with it and wanted to make alliances with other people. He also wanted to get married to the brigand chief when he wasn’t even a bit handsome. How could he be a good match for her?

“If he could give me a million liang of silver, I could get married to him. It doesn’t matter. That guy said it previously, right? A woman had to get married, even if she is extremely strong,” said Qiu Yuetong.

She was calm almost as if the person she was talking about was someone else.

“Who said it has to be that way? My sister and I won’t get married. We’ll always be with you,” said Qiu Zhu.

“That’s because you’ve never found a man you loved. Except for peerless grace and elegance, what’s the difference between you and an ordinary woman?” said Qiu Yuetong.

She shook her head and sighed.

“You’re the only person in our heart. There is no man worthy,” said Qiu Zhu while glancing at her twin.

Qiu Yuetong sighed again before turning around and climbing back up the mountain.

“Send some people there and have them bring the Su Clan’s heir here. Treat him well. The Su Clan isn’t simple,” she said.

“Roger, Chief,” Qiu Mei said.

She followed Qiu Zhu to carry out the orders.

***

Mu Yi had already left the yamen in Lin’an but he didn’t leave alone. The man with him looked well-behaved and honest. He didn’t have a distinguished appearance. He was thin and short.

His name was Qi Da. Most people called him by his nickname, Slim Monkey. He was one of the people Gu Yaosen trusted the most.

Mu Yi had heard from Xie Zheng that Gu Yaosen had asked Slim Monkey to pay attention to Little Frost’s fortified village. Slim Monkey looked rather ordinary. Yet, Xie Zheng had said that whenever Slim Monkey looked for clues, he found them.

If Mu Yi wanted to save Su Jinlun, he would need Slim Monkey’s help. Mu Yi had gone to the yamen for that reason alone. He hadn’t thought that County Magistrate Gu would ask him for more help when he arrived. It was troublesome.