"Shou'an Prefecture?"
Li Wanming was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "You mean the people from Anluo Kingdom have entered Shou'an Prefecture?!"
War had broken out again in Anluo Kingdom, and they had invaded the border of Lingxi. However, the battles were mainly fought in the rural villages and towns along the border.
But Shou'an was different!
It was the capital of Lingxi Commandery. The prefect and the prefectural yamen of Lingxi were all located in this city. It could be said to be the last line of defense between the Great Sheng and Anluo.
Moreover, General Feng had strengthened the city defenses of Shou'an when he defended the city back then. So, it was also the most impregnable line of defense.
The presence of Anluo spies in Shou'an City... meant that Anluo Kingdom was definitely not just making small troubles. The front line was in great danger.
"Yes. Although they were dressed in the clothes of the people of the Great Sheng, their skills and accents revealed that they were from Anluo as soon as we tested them."
"Moreover," Xiao Jingnan took a sip of his tea gently, his eyes turning colder, "they clearly knew my identity, official position, and the matters I was responsible for. They even knew that I was carrying the newly drawn map at that time..."
A sudden chill ran down Li Wanming's spine. It was as if she was stepping on ice, and the cold air climbed up her trouser legs, making her shiver involuntarily.
"Although I knew there was something fishy about this, the loss of the map was a major matter. I had to get it back."
Xiao Jingnan said in a deep voice, "I chased them out of Shou'an City and into Dayi Mountain, all the way to Funiu Ridge... Suddenly, more than twenty reinforcements surrounded me. Each of them was highly skilled, obviously well - trained elites."
"Such a painstaking ambush was, of course, aimed at my life. But I was alone at that time, and I couldn't fight against so many...." Xiao Jingnan gave a soft laugh and made a gesture of leaping, "In desperation, I had no choice but to find another way out and jump off the cliff. Although I broke an arm, I managed to survive this great disaster."
"You broke your arm?"
Li Wanming suddenly stood up and reached out to pull at his clothes, "Where's the injury? Let me take a look! Does it still hurt? What did the doctor say? Is it getting better?"
"Hey hey hey..."
Xiao Jingnan smiled and pulled back the collar that had been tugged open, "It's much better... Thanks to Miss Jiang who saved me and took me back to the stronghold for treatment, I managed to keep my life."
The collar was loose, revealing a small gap.
The candlelight cast a flickering light on his collarbone, like a colorful carp swimming lightly over white jade.
Looking further down, his skin was as smooth as jade, emitting an ambiguous luster under the warm yellow candlelight.
Li Wanming's throat involuntarily rolled.
She suddenly felt that the private room was unbearably stuffy. The night breeze in the mountains at the end of June, carrying the smell of grass and trees, crept in through the window cracks, but it couldn't dispel the heat on her face.
"So..." She turned her face away and said somewhat uncomfortably, "So you were captured and forced to be the husband of the bandit leader?"
"Isn't that so?"
Xiao Jingnan didn't notice her fluster at all. He used his slender fingers to grab the blue hair ribbon on his head and re - tied the few strands of black hair that had been scattered.
"I thought this girl was a good person. Who would have thought that she had impure motives. Seeing that I was good - looking, she insisted on keeping me to get married."
Li Wanming's face flushed, "Then... you could leave after your injury got better... I don't believe she could stop you!"
"I did want to leave." Xiao Jingnan leaned back against the chair, his eyes reflecting the dancing candlelight, "I originally planned to leave as soon as my injury got better. Who would have thought that she locked me up."
"She was my savior. I didn't want to use force for fear of hurting them. So I planned to wait until they got drunk tonight and then try to escape. But unexpectedly, when the door opened, it was you who came in..."
The cicadas chirped one after another outside the window, mixed with the faint flickering lights in the distance, like twinkling stars.
Li Wanming pursed her lips and murmured, "Xiaohuan used to seem so smart and amiable. How has she changed so much in these years?"
"Yes, how did she become like this? I don't know who she learned from..."
Xiao Jingnan suddenly leaned closer. His hair brushed against the back of her hand, making it tingle.
Li Wanming's face flushed. She pretended to hit him, but he caught her wrist.
The place where their skin touched felt like it had been scorched by the midsummer sun.
She quickly withdrew her hand and heard the man's smiling voice:
"However, during the days when I was recuperating in Hutou Stronghold, I heard quite a few legends."
"What legends?"
Xiao Jingnan's eyes flickered, and a faint smile appeared on his lips again, "Of course, it's about a certain Miss Li, who single - handedly wiped out seven strongholds back then!"
"Ah, this..."
Li Wanming opened her mouth.
"Ah, this..."
Although she knew that since Xiao Jingnan had stayed in Hutou Stronghold for so long, he must have heard about some of her "great achievements" before, but when it came to this moment, she still didn't know what to say.
The bamboo window was suddenly blown open by the mountain wind, and the candle on the table flickered violently.
Li Wanming got up and propped up the window frame with the short bamboo pole on the table. Her fingers unconsciously touched an old knife scar on the window lattice, which was left when she wiped out Hutou Stronghold five years ago.
"Actually, the matter is not as exaggerated as they say..."
She leaned against the window, frowned, and slowly began to speak after thinking for a while.
"At that time, the Liu family's caravan was transporting goods to the capital. I accompanied Yiyi out of the city. But when we got to the mouth of Dayi Mountain, we were suddenly robbed by the bandits from Heifeng Stronghold."
"Actually, at that time, bandits were rampant in Fujian. Caravans were often robbed, and the government had a hard time cracking down on them. However, they rarely robbed large caravans escorted by escort agencies."
"But that time, for some reason, the bandits from Heifeng Stronghold came down the mountain. And in the chaos, they took me up the mountain with them."
"Did their leader see that you were beautiful and wanted to keep you as his wife in the stronghold?" Xiao Jingnan asked.
"Ha, you're completely wrong!" Li Wanming shook her head like a rattle, "At that time, I ran around on the street every day. I was dark and thin, just like a black mountain monkey. Their leader couldn't even tell if I was a man or a woman. They just took me and some of the caravan's employees up the mountain together, planning to ask for a ransom."
"Ah?" Xiao Jingnan frowned, "What I heard is not like this..."
"Of course, what you heard is not like this." Li Wanming sighed and said helplessly, "What you heard is that I single - handedly wiped out seven strongholds... Come on, use your brain and think. Could that be true?
"With my looks, it's possible that I could make them lose their pants in a gambling game... Wipe out seven strongholds? " She waved her hand, "Forget it. It's impossible unless the sun rises in the west!"
The silver moon outside the window was like a hook. It was a rare clear night in Dayi Mountain.
Li Wanming leaned against the window, propping her head with her hand. Staring at the moonlight in the sky, there was a hint of confusion in her voice, "Actually, even I find this whole thing extremely strange..."