Chapter 204:
Xie Wanning felt somewhat eager to act, wanting to uphold justice.
Having read countless storybooks, she actually harbored a dream of being a chivalrous hero.
In her past life, her immense fondness for Lu Ziyan stemmed not only from youthful affection but more so from his status as an invincible in battle young general who protected the nation.
Girls admire the strong; Lu Ziyan in her past life was stern and arrogant, that was true, but in her eyes, he shone brightly.
He was too formidable.
He was formidable in battle, his martial arts were superior, and everyone respected him, feared him, dreaded him.
Xie Wanning’s affection for him carried a touch of admiration, feeling he was omnipotent and indestructible.
Even after rebirth, during those days when she most annoyed him, she never denied his abilities.
And now, she had no father or brothers by her side, no Pei Yuqing, no Lu Ziyan.
Only she alone.
Next door was a mother and daughter currently suffering humiliation, and she had some basic fighting skills…
Perhaps… perhaps if she were just a bit braver, she could save two people.
Xie Wanning gritted her teeth, flipped over to sit up, but faster than her was the sound of the door being kicked open.
With a ‘bang’, two shifty-eyed, gaunt men walked in.
Seeing the woman sitting on the couch, they revealed sinister smiles on their faces.
“We’ve had our eye on you for a while, a lone old woman—aren’t you some household’s fugitive slave?”
They bolted the door, one of them chuckling lecherously, viciously shaking the dagger in his hand, “Hand over all your money and valuables, or else…”
Xie Wanning noticed these two had disheveled clothes, with a lascivious and sated look in their eyebrows and eyes; they must have just finished with the ones next door before coming here to ransack for money.
Four people total, two had come, meaning two accomplices were still occupied.
Her heart turned ice-cold; she shrank her neck, feigning cowering and timid, but said not a word, fearing that if she spoke, they would hear her voice and realize she was a young lady.
These two must have done this sort of thing countless times, utterly without guard; they exchanged a glance and closed in on the couch.
Xie Wanning reached into her bosom, pulling out all at once the jewelry she had worn when leaving that day.
A red gemstone dangling hairpin, a pair of gold bracelets engraved with soaring cloud patterns, a jade pendant for weighing down her skirt hem, and… and that ring Ming Feng had retrieved, which could command all of Lu Ziyan’s personal soldiers.
The moment she brought out these four items, the two men’s breathing halted, their eyes filled with greed.
Xie Wanning tossed the items aside; utterly off guard, they lunged to seize them.
At that moment, with their attention completely off her, she drew the hidden dagger from her curled-up calf, pounced forward, and slit the nearest man’s throat, scorching hot blood spraying onto her face.
Since she was preparing to flee, how could she go without any sharp weapon for self-defense? Lu Ziyan’s side never lacked such things.
Without her even asking, seeing she often left the residence, he gave her the dagger from his hand that matched his own crescent blade.
No matter how vicious these thugs, they were just street riffraff with no fighting skills whatsoever, merely taking advantage of the war-torn era’s unstable regime to target lone women easy to bully.
This was Xie Wanning’s first time killing someone, yet she remained utterly calm; after slaying one, the sharp weapon that cut iron like mud swung down again.
But this time, it only wounded the other man’s arm.
Perhaps from committing too many evils in the war-torn era, the opponent’s reaction was unexpectedly fast; seeing his companion slain, he widened his eyes and let out a shrill cry of pain.
