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    Erm... Would the ck gunpowder ball still be usable if they fell into the water?


    That wasn’t the point though. The point was that he didn''t have a chance to retrieve it as the two ck-d men raised their swords and shed towards him. The fierce killing intent carried a sharp sword qi that almost created des of wind that tore through the air!


    Even an ordinary expert would find it hard to escape such an attack, let alone Xiao Ling, who wasme.


    He could only watch as the opponents'' swords were about to strike him and closed his eyes.


    The two long swords shed towards his head at the same time, but they nevernded. Just when they were an inch away from him, the two attackers stopped simultaneously.


    Xiao Ling opened his eyes with a swish.


    The two men fell to the ground, still and lifeless, without even a chance to close their eyes.


    Chang Jing stood behind them and smoothly sheathed his sword!


    Afterwards, Chang Jing went to look for the ck beads in the water!


    He fished it out and seemed to find it very amusing. He squeezed it hard, and then, bang!


    He was blown up——


    Marquis Xuanping strolled leisurely towards them from the hillside. He wore a heavy purple silk robe and walked with a casual air.


    This was the way he was. It was clearly a country road, but he made it seem like he was walking on a heavenly path.


    Xiao Ling saw him, but his expression remained unchanged. He was as indifferent as ever.


    Fortunately, Marquis Xuanping was already used to it. He came to Xiao Ling and looked at him up and down, as if to see if he was injured.


    After confirming that his own child was unharmed, he looked at Chang Jing, who was sitting on the ground, stunned and ckened by the explosion, and lightly kicked his buttocks with his toe, "Who told you to kill them both? How many times have I told you to leave some alive, leave some alive!"


    Chang Jing ignored him, got up with a ck face, and used qinggong to walk away.


    Well, he seemed angry.


    Marquis Xuanping looked in the direction Chang Jing had left and said to Xiao Ling, "Chang Jing is still young, don''t be mad at him."


    Xiao Ling looked at Marquis Xuanping expressionlessly, just who made him angry?


    Marquis Xuanping didn''t seem to notice Xiao Ling''s disdain and casually brushed off his sleeves, "Who did you offend that someone would send people to kill you?"


    Xiao Ling ignored him and picked up the crutch by the river. He brushed past him and walked on.


    Despite calling it a crutch, it was actually a beautiful walking stick personally made by Gu Jiao. Without the pain in his foot, walking was no longer as difficult as it used to be.


    Having been ignored, Marquis Xuanping wasn''t bothered at all. He had a big heart and wasn’t willing to argue with a kid.


    He shamelessly followed Xiao Ling.


    He was a handsome man, and when he put on a thick-skinned smile, he looked even more attractive. The green mountains and rivers, and the colors of the sunset simply couldn''tpare to his good looks.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t matter how good-looking he was, because Xiao Ling didn''t even spare him a nce.


    “Haa…” Marquis Xuanping sighed.


    He was sighing behind Xiao Ling for as long as he had walked.


    Xiao Ling clenched his fingers and frowned, "Why are you following me?"


    Marquis Xuanping raised an eyebrow, "Am I following you? Did you pave this road? Did you nt this tree?"


    Xiao Ling responded coldly, "I''m going back to the vige."


    Marquis Xuanping said, "What a coincidence, so am I!"


    Xiao Ling turned and walked in another direction.


    Marquis Xuanping hurried to catch up.


    Xiao Ling stopped suddenly and pointed to another small path, "The vige is over there!"


    Marquis Xuanping who had been tricked: "..."


    Hehe, he wasn''t embarrassed, it was others who felt embarrassed.


    Marquis Xuanping said, raising his eyebrows, "I want to go this way. Anyway, all roads lead to the vige!"


    Xiao Ling took a deep breath and decided to ignore him, treating him like air.


    He returned to the original path and walked for a while until it became dark. The forest was quiet, with asional noisy insects and eerie bird and beast sounds that creeped people out.


    The trees in this forest were tall and towering, casting deep shadows that blocked out the sun, making it difficult for even moonlight to filter through.


    Marquis Xuanping was a martial arts practitioner with excellent vision. Even in dim light, he could see clearly where he was stepping, something Xiao Ling could not do.


    Xiao Ling, who was alreadyme, stumbled and couldn''t see the path clearly.


    Marquis Xuanping strode past him and blocked his way, then he squatted down slightly and said, "Come up."


    Xiao Ling looked at the broad back in front of him and did not move, saying, "I can walk by myself."


    Marquis Xuanping straightened up and turned to look at him. "Are you sure? The night road is so dark. Can you really walk fine?"


    Xiao Ling lifted his crutch and said, "I have my crutch."


    Crack! The crutch broke.


    Xiao Ling red coldly at Marquis Xuanping.


    Marquis Xuanping sighed helplessly and raised his hands innocently. "It''s not me, it broke on its own."


    Xiao Ling clenched his fists and said unkindly, "We''re not far from the vige. I know this road well. I can walk slowly and take my time. It''s not raining, so what''s there to be afraid of?"


    That was what he said, but as soon as they took a step or two, rain began to pour down.


    Xiao Ling looked at Marquis Xuanping.


    Marquis Xuanping widened his eyes. "It''s not me this time!"


    Xiao Ling gritted his teeth. "So, you admit it was you earlier?"


    "It really wasn''t me." Marquis Xuanping said with an aggrieved face.


    In terms of shamelessness, Marquis Xuanping was on par with Old Chief. In fact, he was even more shameless. After all, Old Chief only yed thick-faced tactics in officialdom, while in real life, he was still quite normal. Marquis Xuanping, on the other hand, took shamelessness to the extreme even in daily life.


    Marquis Xuanping said gloatingly, "Come on, just let me carry you. You definitely can''t make it on your own."


    Xiao Ling was infuriated. His eyes were like torches. "Who says I can''t make it? Even if I only have one leg left, I will still hop out of here today!"


    With that, he turned and walked away.


    "Hey!" Marquis Xuanping reached out to grab him.


    Xiao Ling rushed forward ignoring everything in order to avoid Marquis Xuanping''s grasp, and as a result, he stepped on nothing and fell into arge pit covered by grass.


    He fell face down in the pit andnded heavily on his stomach.


    …He also sprained his other foot.


    Marquis Xuanping covered his eyes, unable to look, "Why did you walk so fast? I wasn’t even able to grab you!"


    He pulled the unlucky boy out of the pit andid him t on the ground.


    Xiao Ling struggled desperately, "I don''t want you to carry me!"


    "Oh." Marquis Xuanping simply bent down, wrapped his hands around Xiao Ling''s back and back of knees, and then lifted him up. He even quipped, "How old are you that you still want to be carried."


    Xiao Ling: “...”


    What kind of father is this! Someone please strike him with lightning!


    Inside the makeshift shelter set up by the officials at the west end of the vige, there was still a lively atmosphere despite the heavy rain.


    The road had been repaired and they would be able to return to the capital tomorrow, so everyone was very excited. In addition, Marquis Ding''an brought them plenty of delicious food, and the officials who had been eating only steamed buns and pickles for more than ten days finally had a chance to enjoy some meat.


    Everyone was eating with a rosy glow, and no one seemed to notice that Xiao Ling was missing.


    It was only the inspector who had been working with Xiao Ling in the fields during the day who sensed that something was wrong. He held a piece of duck meat in his hand and asked, "Huh? Where''s Lord Xiao?"


    As soon as he said this, everyone looked around. That’s right, where was Xiao Ling?


    It wasn’t surprising that they forgot about him. After all, since Xiao Ling arrived in the vige, he rarely mingled with these government officials. He was always on the forefront of disaster relief and farming, working hand in hand with the locals.


    It was normal for him to not be around, so no one thought about him.


    "It''s raining, maybe he''s taking shelter in some viger''s house." Another inspector said.


    A chief nner from the Ministry of Works said, "He''s so ambitious at such a young age, he immediately connected with the locals as soon as he arrived. His political achievements this time should be pretty good."


    He also had aspirations or even wild ambitions, he just didn''t express them openly.


    Humans were strange beings. If you didn’t go down to the ground yourself, those who do go down were considered to be wrong.


    No one questioned An Junwang, who always followed the Minister of Revenue, for having ambitions, but Xiao Ling, who got along with the vigers, was mistaken for someone who was trying to gain poprity among themon people.


    An Junwang nced at Marquis Gu and saw that he seemed indifferent to Xiao Ling. He called for Wu Yang and said, "Go find Lord Xiao."


    "Yes!" Wu Yang went out and pushed open the door of the shed.


    In the pouring rain, he saw a tall and sturdy figure striding towards his direction with great speed, carrying another person on their back.


    He was wearing his own outer robe on his head, which also covered the person on his back.


    He was only wearing his midyer clothes, which had been soaked by the pouring rain. He stepped in the puddles, and the heavy rain made it hard for him to open his eyes.


    "What''s wrong?" An Junwang asked Wu Yang when he saw him standing still at the door. "What happened?"


    "Well, that..." Wu Yang hesitated to speak.


    Everyone crowded to the door and looked in the direction he pointed.


    Everyone was stunned.


    "Isn''t that Marquis Xuanping?" Someone recognized him.


    No one had ever seen Marquis Xuanping in such a miserable state.


    He was hailed the most handsome man in the State of Zhao, he was very fastidious and shamelessly proud of his good looks. Except for when he was on the battlefield, he had never let anyone see him looking disheveled.


    But at this moment, he resembled a falcon rushing through a storm, shedding his beautiful feathers to protect and shelter the young cub on his back. <h4>Raz P.''s Thoughts</h4>


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