Little Zhou, overhearing the exchange, looked up at the rather unusual girl, thinking her quite distinct.
"What do you mean 'fine'? With your pathetic skills, you want to be a Lei Feng? Can't you just not worry me?"
"I'm really fine."
"You're overconfident."
"..."
The Yi family father and daughter continued their spat as if no one else were present.
The thugs hired by the Gu family across the way didn't have time to watch them bicker. The leader waved his hand, and his brothers swarmed towards them like locusts.
These men were all armed with clubs, their expressions ferociously grim.
No one could escape now; they had to fight.
Zhang Liunian shielded his wife behind him. "Stay behind me. I'll protect you."
"Liunian, promise me you won't get hurt, okay?" Jiang Qingqing watched the people charging towards them, intending to kill them, her heart pounding with endless fear.
"I promise nothing will happen to me. Take this and protect yourself." Zhang Liunian handed the iron rod to his wife and turned to face the attackers.
Jiang Qingqing gripped the iron rod, her body tense, her eyes fixed on her husband as he charged forward. Seeing him kick enemies away, snatch a wooden club, and take down a whole group, her heart surged.
Look, this was her Jiang Qingqing's man. He was handsome, could protect her, and treated her well. She must have cultivated for lifetimes to find such a good man.
But when she saw Zhang Liunian take a blow from a club, blood appearing on his back, she was so anxious she wanted to scream. To avoid affecting her husband's performance, she clamped her hand over her mouth, stifling the sound.
After an unknown amount of time, the enemies drew closer to Jiang Qingqing, until one reached her and swung a club towards her head.
"Ah!" Jiang Qingqing screamed in terror, but instinctively raised the iron rod to block her head. The next moment, the attacker's wooden club descended, shaking her and forcing her back several steps before she sat down on the ground.
The attacker didn't give her a chance to recover and swung again towards her face. Jiang Qingqing was too terrified to speak, staring blankly as the club fell towards her. Just as she thought the club would hit her head, someone appeared out of nowhere, kicking the attacker away and sending him crashing into several others. This person was, of course, Zhang Liunian, who had heard his wife's scream during the fight.
The moment he heard his wife scream, he turned and rushed over. Although he took another blow to the back for it, he unhesitatingly charged towards his wife.
Fortunately, he arrived in time; otherwise, his wife would surely have been injured.
"No!" Jiang Qingqing, having just realized her husband was saving her, saw someone attempting a sneak attack and pushed Zhang Liunian aside, stepping in front. As a result, her shoulder took a solid blow, and she fell backward in pain.
"Qingqing!" Seeing his wife falling towards the ground, Zhang Liunian immediately reached out and pulled her into his embrace.
Before he could even express concern for his wife's condition, he heard the sound of rushing air approaching. Zhang Liunian grabbed the club in his hand and sidestepped to meet the attack. With two thuds, two men fell, but then even more people lunged at him.
Jiang Qingqing watched, breaking out in a cold sweat, her red lips pressed tight, her small face deathly pale.
Just then, a "crackling" sound came from behind them, followed by the sound of a mass of people falling.
Jiang Qingqing, hiding in Zhang Liunian's arms, turned to look and her mouth fell open.
She blinked incredulously, and what she saw was Yi Wang Hua, like a female warrior, unleashing a flurry of powerful moves, followed by the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground.
Jiang Qingqing silently swallowed, thinking, this is… too formidable. Is this the strength a woman can possess?
If she also had abilities like Xiao Hua, would she no longer have to worry about encountering danger and becoming a burden to her man?
At this moment, Jiang Qingqing suddenly felt a yearning to become stronger. She wanted to become strong, as strong as Xiao Hua, at least enough not to be a burden to Liunian.
Right, didn't Liunian say he wanted Xiao Hua to protect her for a year? During this year, she could ask Xiao Hua to teach her martial arts and strive to become as formidable as Xiao Hua.
Zhang Liunian was naturally unaware of Jiang Qingqing's plans. At this moment, he also noticed that Yi Wang Hua was attracting a significant amount of enemy attention for him.
He knew that Yi Wang Hua was the most suitable assistant for him, both in terms of combat ability and intelligence.
Hiring this assistant was definitely not a mistake.
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, we've come to help you." Just as Zhang Liunian was excitedly recognizing Yi Wang Hua's excellence, another group of people appeared outside the crowd. Led by Sun Nian, they had arrived to assist him.
With their addition, the situation quickly became clear, and Zhang Liunian and the others successfully broke free.
However, Zhang Liunian still sustained quite a few new injuries, which brought tears to Jiang Qingqing's eyes.
Sun Nian looked at the injured Zhang Liunian and said, "Why don't you wait until your injuries heal before leaving?"
Zhang Liunian's injuries were truly numerous. While not fatal, they were agonizing.
"Liunian, perhaps we should wait a bit longer?" Jiang Qingqing, also worried about her husband, echoed the suggestion.
Zhang Liunian waved his hand. "Only by leaving here can I better recover. As long as I'm here, the Gu family will never give up on taking my life."
"..." Sun Nian fell silent. What he said was the truth.
Gu Lou had lost his son and only wanted to find Zhang Liunian for revenge. He would never allow Zhang Liunian to live well.
Leaving was indeed the best option, though it meant suffering.
"Thank you for your help this time. I'll treat you to a meal next time I come to Pengcheng." Zhang Liunian remembered he still owed Kang Dafu a meal, and now he owed the Sun family another. He remembered it all.
"Since you're leaving, we'll personally escort you to the train station. That way, the Gu family won't be able to cause any more trouble."
"Okay." Zhang Liunian didn't refuse. He really couldn't withstand another such incident.
Thanks to Sun Nian's escort, the rest of the journey was remarkably smooth. It wasn't until they were lying on the train's sleeper berths that Zhang Liunian and the others could finally relax.
Jiang Qingqing sat beside him and thoroughly checked him for any bleeding spots. If she found any, her eyes would immediately redden as she applied medicine and personally pressed down until the wound stopped bleeding.
Zhang Liunian watched his wife, who kept shedding tears, held her hand and comforted her at length before finally calming her down.
By the time they reached the provincial capital, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Without taking the time to go home, Jiang Qingqing took Zhang Liunian to the health center.
Seeing Zhang Liunian's severe injuries, the doctor directly arranged for hospitalization. Zhang Liunian tried to refuse, but Jiang Qingqing held him back.
Meanwhile, Gu Lou, having failed to intercept Zhang Liunian the last time and hearing that he had already left Pengcheng, was so enraged that several of his hairs turned white.
"You old bastard Sun, how dare you go against us like this?"
Was he not afraid that their Gu family would drag them down with them, even if it meant mutual destruction?
"Dad, the Gu family has been acting strangely lately." Gu Sanqing, seeing his father's anger, thought for a moment before voicing his suspicions about them.
Upon hearing this, Gu Lou's expression tightened, and he looked up at his third son. "Have you discovered something?"
"Don't you find them very odd? Plot 10 in Pengcheng was something they were determined to get before. But last time, they not only gave it up easily but also dug a pit for our Gu family. That's very strange."