C59

Xiao Qi never knew who his father was, and her mother never wanted to tell him. She only said that her father had died of an illness long ago, but never brought her to the grave. It was only a few years ago that her mother told Xiao Qi that her father was actually not from the Moqiu State, but from the Fire Phoenix Nation.

Even though there was constant friction between the two countries, but in the end, it was not every day a war broke out. In addition to the profiteering of merchants, there would be small-scale caravans passing through the Demonic King Valley to travel between the two countries. Amongst them, there were many who were lucky, brave, and courageous, and would end up here at the Tiger Running City. Of course, this didn't mean that Xiao Qi's mother knew her father from other cities.

As for the origin of the name Xiao Qi, it was because the two of them were on the seventh day of the seventh month. At that time, the joke had become the origin of this child's name. Even though her father left Mo Qiu in the end without even knowing about the existence of her daughter, her mother still couldn't forget about that man.

After knowing that his father was not someone from the Moqiu State, nor the feelings her mother had for him, Xiao Qi resolutely decided to choose a different path than the others and search for his father. She was a girl and couldn't join the army for daily exercises like boys could, and then go through Phoenix City Pass. But she could read books and use her knowledge to find other ways to reach the Fire Phoenix Empire.

The overall level of education in Moqiu State was not high. It was still alright in the large cities, as there would be official academies, and as long as they paid a small amount of money each year, they would be able to let their children learn fifteen years of age from the age of six. Some boys go to the army at the age of sixteen to earn some pay and save food for their families. There were also those who would return home to help the adults at home with their businesses in order to subsidize the household. Other than these two paths, there were only a few people who were good enough to be recommended by the academy's teachers to go to school on Moqiu City, so they continued to study there. However, the path of too much learning was too unreal. It was already considered good if there were three to five children out of a thousand in the city.

Even so, most of the people from Moqiu s were still unwilling to send their children to the school. The seven to eight year old boy could already do some things for their family, and they did not need any education to join the army, so why bother spending the school's money? Could it be that he really hoped that a senior student would suddenly emerge from the ancestral herdsmen's families? Although they did have this thought, most of the people from Moqiu s only thought about it. They would rather buy a house for their own family and sheep than go to the academy to pay a year's tuition fee. They felt that even if this child were to go to school, he would marry her in the future. Her standard choice of wife was not to read or not to read, but to look good and to see how many wives she would have.

The condition of Xiao Qi's home was actually not bad. It was unknown whether it was because her mother was blessed by her ancestors or because her father left behind a large fortune when he left, but Xiao Qi had never been worried about food and drinks. When she reached school age, her mother saw that her daughter liked to read and understand words. She even sent her to the academy without hesitation, telling her to follow her teacher and learn from him. Xiao Qi was also someone who lived up to her expectations. After a few years, she became a renowned talented girl, and her handwriting was especially beautiful. From time to time, people from the neighborhood would come to ask her to write a letter or to help her read a document. Xiao Qi did not reject anyone who came, and helped them read and write. With this talent, she would be able to supplement her family's income. In the eyes of the people at that time, this girl was extraordinary. In the future, she would definitely be one of the few female imperial students of the Mo Qiu school.

Unexpectedly, when the school graduated, Xiao Qi rejected her teacher's recommendation, and did not go to the Moqiu City seating area. The reason was simple. Once one entered the school, they could learn even more knowledge, but it was basically equivalent to the position of an official who had already reserved Moqiu State. At that time, it would be even more difficult to enter Fire Phoenix Empire. Even if she didn't go find her father, she didn't want to leave her mother and rush towards the Moqiu City alone. After Xiao Qi discussed with his mother, they decided to stay in the Tiger Running City. After they had dealt with a few family matters, the two would decide whether or not they should rush to the Fire Phoenix Empire to find their biological father.

It was at this exact juncture that Xiu'er led his Fire Phoenix Expeditionary Army and charged into the Moqiu State, commencing their thousand kilometer charge. Afterwards, with a beautiful return spear and taking down the Tiger Running City, it also changed Xiao Qi's fate.

"Miss, dare I ask, do you know what your father's surname is?" Qu Feizhi asked: "I have been in the Phoenix City Pass for many years, and also know a few members of the merchant caravan.

I asked my mother. She said my father was named Qian." But so many years have passed, and we have sent many people to investigate, but no one knows of a Chamber of Commerce or a merchant group that has a boss with the surname of Qian. Perhaps, he just casually mentioned a fake name at that time.

Hearing that, everyone became silent. What Xiao Qi said was the truth, even if there was this Owner Qian, after so many years, how would they be able to find him?

The Xiu'er opened her mouth and broke the silence, "Sister Xiao Qi, what do you think about this? If you stay in my army, we will definitely return to the Fire Phoenix Empire. When you return with us, I swear to give my all to help you find father. "

After hearing this, Xiao Qi lowered her head and remained silent. After all, the soldiers from Fire Phoenix Empire had just killed her only family members. Even though the murderer had already been executed, it was difficult to overcome the awkwardness in her heart by letting her follow the Fire Phoenix Army team again.

Chen Chu gently coughed and said in a low voice, "Miss Xiao Qi, I will say something that can only be said by these few people. The reason why the Fire Phoenix and Mo Qiu had tacitly allowed the merchant caravan to roam about on a small scale was because they had the intention of spying on the other party. "Since we haven't found any trace of your father in the merchant guild, perhaps we might be able to find some traces in Fire Phoenix Nation's spies."

Xiao Qi forced out a smile: "Master Chen, I am just a weak woman who can't even enter Fire Phoenix Empire, what method do I have to find a spy?"

Chen Chu took a deep breath, "It's my fault, I interacted with the Fire Phoenix Empire's spy system a little. I will definitely be of help to the lady in the future. As long as your father is within this system, I will be able to find out his information for the girl. This lady should not be more than twenty years old this year. I believe that if your father didn't encounter an accident, it would also be the prime of Spring and Autumn. Furthermore, there are also clues that have come here under the guise of a merchant caravan, it wouldn't be difficult for me to find her. "

"That's right!" Qu Feizhi also followed up, "All business teams that have come out of seclusion must register and create records, at that time, I will definitely help you look through the books carefully."

Seeing that a glimmer of hope appeared in Xiao Qi's eyes, Xiu'er decided on the side, "Sister, I will help you settle the matters of the hall tomorrow. Take her with you to the Fire Phoenix Empire. "If we can find your father, no matter if he is still alive or not, it would be considered as helping his father with a matter of heart. It would also be considered as our compensation for his passing away."

She was only very curious about her biological father, but she clearly remembered that when her mother was still alive, if there was anything, she would have to recount her father's appearance to Xiao Qi, afraid that she would forget his appearance, afraid that she wouldn't be able to find her father. It was evident how much her mother loved her father. Although his mother had passed away, if he had the chance to give the old man a thought, couldn't he give it a try?

"The murderer has been severely punished for the death of my mother. Now that the few of you want to help me find a father, this humble girl will be extremely grateful. " With that, Xiao Qi bowed towards Xiu'er and the rest, the tears in her eyes already flowing out.

Xiu'er understood that she had agreed to it and immediately reached out to help Xiao Qi up. She took the handkerchief Qu Feizhi gave her to wipe away her tears and got the guards to send her back to her room to rest.

The next morning, Qu Feizhi stole Xiu'er's work, and went out to accompany Xiao Qi. First, he arranged the old lady's body properly. After Xiao Qi knelt down and cried for a long time, Qu Feizhi helped to cremate her body. Then, he handed a box of ashes to Xiao Qi.

Meanwhile, Xiu'er and Chen Chu rode their horses through the city together. strong man and Fat Cui were beaten up so badly that they couldn't get off their beds.

The first battalion was still alright, as it had become much quieter after the massacre last night. Under the lead of the Wulian Border Army officer and the Red Camp Knight, they obediently guarded the city gate and the granary. Most of the people in the city were quite calm, at least they hid in their houses and didn't show themselves. The biggest headaches were the besieged city guards and the refugees, who were paid for their work. After a night of chaos, they had no food to cook for them. Regardless of whether they were active or passive, they had formed small groups to guard the compound and wait for the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

This small group wasn't very powerful, but they were familiar with the city's layout and streets. They would appear out of nowhere and fight each other before disappearing without a trace. Perhaps this battle would only last a few seconds, and not even one person would be injured. However, there was no end to it. What was even more exaggerated was that someone had snuck near the granary to put out firecrackers and beat the gong a few times before running away. This was not a war, this was simply adding fuel to the fire.

With no other choice, the Xiu'er divided the Red Camp Cavalry into three parts, one to guard the granary, and then, she and Chen Chu would each bring one to the center of the Tiger Running City to gradually clear it out. The two teams would split up and work together to attack, with the help of handheld crossbow and kerosene. Even so, she had to busy herself for an entire two days and two nights before his Tiger Running City quietened down a bit. However, she had only quieted down a little. Hearing the continuous sounds of cursing, firecrackers and drums, Xiu'er was so angry that her face had turned green.

In the end, the similarly flustered Chen Chu thought of an extremely ruthless move, which finally allowed his Tiger Running City to return to normal. Chen Chu's method was simple and cruel. He asked the battalion to take all the refugees who had not run out of the city into the city, and then announced the city was restricted from food. Whether they were from the city or the outer city, everyone only had two taels of fried noodles and a bowl of porridge to eat. They could only ensure that they would not die of hunger. If you want to eat something good, use your head to trade!

Whose head? The head of the Tiger Running City Guard!

One soldier could exchange for two taels of fried noodles, while an officer could exchange for five taels of fried noodles and two taels of meat.

The entire Tiger Running City went insane upon hearing this infamous order, which the future generations called the "Human Eating Token". Especially those refugees who had been released to the city and those who had been paid for their work. The reason why the refugees had not fled was because they had their own families in the city. Their entire purpose was to have a meal. Since he was unable to defeat the well-equipped and well-organized of the first place, he could always try out the Moqiu Army of those dogs that had lost their homes. If you can't beat him in a head-on battle, you should be able to do it, right? One against one, no. How about three or five?

The peaceful citizens of the city were no longer calm. They could only watch their children's heads being chopped off to exchange for food. With their loved ones killed and their food stolen, survival and revenge were no problem at all!

As a result, some went to steal reports of where the garrison was hidden, some people took their kitchen knives to seek refugees to avenge their relatives, and some people tried to rob the refugees of their food.

In an instant, Tiger Running City became the City of Sin, with shouts and cries of "kill" echoing throughout the night.

They should have been the greatest enemies of Fire Phoenix Army, but now they were thoroughly turned into spectators. They indifferently received the human heads and distributed the food. What they faced were flattering or hideous faces.

This time, even the Xiu'er chose to remain silent. She had thought that Chen Chu's orders would cause chaos, but she never thought that the situation would turn out like this. The residents seemed to completely ignore the fact that their homeland had been invaded, and instead brandished their butcher knives at their compatriots for the sake of eating. Is this the evil of human nature or the pressure of death? She did not know and did not want to know. Not to mention her, even Xiao Qi, who had lived here for more than ten years, expressed helplessness against this kind of chaos.

After five days of chaos, the Red Camp Knight finally set out once again. They used horsewhip and knives to restore order in the city. After five days of simple statistics, the number of people in the city had decreased by one third.

The remaining three hundred plus Moqiu Army members voluntarily surrendered to the Fire Phoenix Army and sought protection. Five days had passed, and they hadn't slept a wink, let alone eat. Every day they spent in fear, wary of the kitchen knives, carrying poles, sacks, and bricks that would appear wherever they were. Even their inner organs were no longer calm and trusting. When they looked at their comrades' robes, what they saw was not their noses, mouths, facial features, but rather the three to five taels of fried noodles and the piece of fat meat that they had not eaten for a long time.

The fall of the Tiger Running City did not cause a chain reaction from the surrounding towns. Just as they had expected, everyone was still guarding their own spots, hoping that they would be able to survive without having to spend so much time fighting each other. Other than stabilizing the city, no one else wanted to provoke them. The Tiger King led their troops and went to war. Everything that happened in front of them, just relying on one city and one town, was impossible.

In this strange silence, a group of Knights flew towards the Tiger Running City. Countless people stared at these ten-odd people. The attire they wore did not seem to be anything special, but it was precisely because of this deliberate concealment that made people doubt their motives and goals even more.

On the tenth night after Tiger Running City had fallen, Xiu'er, who had just been about to go to sleep, received a report from the guards, "Lord Xiu, a guest wishes to meet you."

"Who?" Xiu'er was surprised. She had a guest in this country?

The guard replied, "He said his surname is Xu, and he came from the Ninth King's place."