Three days later, at dawn, the heavy rain finally subsided.
The roof tiles and courtyard bricks were washed clean, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of rain. After breakfast, Qi Huan went for a stroll in the courtyard.
As the saying goes, "A hundred steps after a meal leads to ninety-nine years of life."
Just as she counted her ninety-ninth step, there was a sudden knocking at the courtyard gate.
She walked over, unlatched the door, and saw Yan Jiu standing outside.
"Good morning, Miss Qi. I've come to see the Lord."
Hearing this, Qi Huan nodded like a pecking chick, smiling as she stepped aside to let him in, then continued wandering in the courtyard.
By the time they finished their master-servant discussion, an hour had passed.
The two emerged from the hall, one behind the other. Li Shuchen paused in the courtyard and turned to Yan Jiu, instructing, "You go wait outside the gate for me."
Then he approached Qi Huan, tucking her wind-tousled hair behind her ear, and said, "Ahuan, I have to go to the logging camp for a while. No need to wait for me for lunch."
"But you must remember to have a proper meal outside too."
Seeing the concern and tenderness in her eyes, Li Shuchen felt a warmth in his heart. He nodded lightly, then added, "Ahuan, be good. When I return, I'll bring you some jujube cakes made by the palace maid."
With that, he turned to leave.
For some inexplicable reason, Qi Huan felt a sense of reluctance. She hurried after him, took his hand, and saw him off at the gate.
After watching him mount his horse and ride out of sight, Qi Huan returned inside.
She had just sat down for a cup of hot tea when Yan Qinghe came in, saying, "Ahuan, Elder Brother Yan Wu and I won't be home for lunch either. It's been raining these past few days, so we couldn't go to Du's Mansion. The weather has finally cleared up today, so we should go teach Miss Lu some new techniques."
"Alright, go ahead."
After they left, Qi Huan didn't bother cooking and had instant noodles for lunch instead.
After washing the dishes, she looked up to see the sky had darkened again. She silently worried, unsure of how far Shu had traveled or whether she could find him at the vast logging camp even if she went to bring him an umbrella.
Moreover, since Shu didn't take her along, it was likely inconvenient for her to follow.
The thought of bringing him an umbrella was quickly abandoned.
The oppressive sky before the downpour, combined with the stillness of the empty courtyard, made her uneasy for no apparent reason.
As she glanced outside, she unexpectedly noticed a few unfamiliar faces peering over the wall.
"Woof woof woof!"
Heizi barked fiercely, baring his sharp fangs at the intruders on the wall. His fur stood on end as he issued a deep, threatening growl to drive them away.
However, the men on the wall remained nonchalant, having already assessed the situation beforehand.
Apart from Qi Huan, the Qi household had a dog and three skilled martial artists.
They had chosen to come during broad daylight because they noticed those three men leaving one by one.
The Qi residence was secluded, with no nearby neighbors. The only adjacent property was still under construction, and due to the heavy rain, no workers had come for the past few days.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, Knife Scar Face Man had ordered Thief Seven to keep watch at the intersection, in case any workers arrived or the three men returned, allowing them to retreat in time.
Before that, however, they should have enough time to complete the unfinished business from before.
Regaining his focus, Knife Scar Face Man retrieved a bone from the sack behind him and tossed it into the courtyard, addressing Heizi, "Quick, eat!"
The soup used to cook this bone had been spiked with a sedative. If the big black dog ate it, he would soon collapse.
Heizi didn't even glance at the bone, maintaining a wary watch over them.
"Damn it, this stupid dog won't even eat meat!"
"Thief Six, you'll be in charge of stabbing it later. We'll have dog meat for dinner tonight."
"Got it!"
Before Thief Six could respond, he was struck by the tranquilizer dart Qi Huan shot at him, causing him to tumble off the wall.
"Damn it, this wretched girl has changed, she even has hidden weapons now. Get her!"
The remaining five men leaped down, and the valiant Heizi lunged forward, biting one of them.
The courtyard wall was some distance from the kitchen, and Qi Huan retrieved her hidden weapon case from her spatial dimension, showering them with a barrage of darts and taking down three before Knife Scar Face Man grabbed her by the throat.
Glaring at his fallen brothers, Knife Scar Face Man angrily knocked the weapon case from her hand and slapped her hard across the face. "You wretched girl, are you asking to die?"
Qi Huan instinctively tried to pry his hands off, but quickly regained her composure and subtly turned the ring on her finger towards his arm.
The ring could only conceal a single poisoned needle, and Li Shuchen had instructed Yan Jiu to refill it after she used the previous one.
This was her only chance.
Fortunately, Knife Scar Face Man didn't expect her entire body to be laced with hidden weapons. The poisoned needle pierced through his sleeve and punctured his skin.
Coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood, Knife Scar Face Man collapsed, eyes wide open. He had fallen on top of Qi Huan, and she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder from the impact.
Without pausing, she drew out her hairpin and fired it at Thief Three, who was still grappling with Heizi in the courtyard.
When Thief Three first leaped down, Heizi had bitten his wrist, causing him to drop his knife.
He tried to strike Heizi's head with his elbow using full force, but the agile dog managed to dodge the blow.
The excruciating pain gradually caused him to lose his composure, wildly punching and kicking. Although he possessed some martial arts skills, his occasional strikes landed on Heizi, causing the dog great pain, but he refused to let go.
He couldn't let go, he couldn't allow the villains to harm his mistress.
Qi Huan picked herself up and, seeing this scene, bit her lip and aimed the remaining poisoned needles from her hairpin at Thief Three, finally causing him to release Heizi.
The injured Heizi whimpered as he limped towards her and nuzzled into her embrace.
Stroking Heizi's head, Qi Huan praised him, "Heizi, you were so brave."
Then she remembered there was still one survivor in the courtyard. Thief Six, the first one she had shot down with the tranquilizer darts from her bracelet, was still unconscious.
She casually wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve. The blood had trickled out when Knife Scar Face Man's slap caused her lip to cut against her teeth.
Half of her face was stinging, but Qi Huan didn't have time to apply a cold compress. She first found some rope and securely tied up the unconscious Thief Six.
After tying him up, she finally wet a towel with cool water and gently pressed it against her face.
The moment the towel touched her skin, she let out a pained hiss. Knife Scar Face Man's slap had been forceful, and it would likely take a day or two for the swelling on that side of her face to subside.
Thinking of this, Qi Huan crouched down and slapped Knife Scar Face Man's face repeatedly in retaliation.
At that moment, thunderclaps rumbled.
A torrential downpour ensued.
Thief Six, bound in the courtyard, was awakened by the rain. He instinctively tried to wipe the raindrops off with his hand, but found himself tied up like a zongzi.
He struggled but couldn't break free.
Although the seven brothers had some martial arts skills, they weren't formidable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until the three men from the Qi family had left before taking action.
He could only roll over with great effort, lying on his side and tilting his head to prevent the rain from pouring into his eyes.
After a while, he finally managed to open his eyes, only to see his brothers' bodies lying lifeless in the courtyard.
He quickly shut his eyes again.
"This must be a nightmare," he thought to himself. "Wake up!"
Qi Huan, holding an oiled paper umbrella, slowly approached him and gave him a kick.
"Stop pretending to be dead."
Seeing that he still didn't move, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife, slapping his face with the flat side of the blade.
Mindful of the swollen side of her face that made speaking painful, Qi Huan tersely demanded, "Speak!"
