"Yes, yes, we're all outlaws, young master, you're absolutely right."
As soon as Jiang Yun finished speaking, Xiao Yanzi chirped in agreement.
Jiang Yun felt a chill run down his spine. This guy is truly ignorant and incompetent! What does "desperate person" even mean? Ugh.
Liu Hong blushed again and cupped her fists to Jiang Yun, while Liu Qing looked displeased. Not only did this man steal her thunder, but he was also more handsome than her. Was Jiang Yun courting death?
Liu Qing stepped forward and looked at Jiang Yun with a sour expression, saying, "Thank you for saving me, young master. But these petty thieves are easy for me to handle even if I close my eyes and move my little finger."
Jiang Yun naturally knew that Liu Qing was resentful, but he didn't care. Suddenly, Jiang Yun's eyes lit up when he saw a group of soldiers in blue uniforms.
With a wicked grin, he said to Liu Qing, "Brother, I naturally know that your martial arts are unparalleled. These petty thieves are no match for you, but—"
Upon hearing Jiang Yun praise him, Liu Qing immediately puffed out his chest with pride and rolled his eyes, but then he heard Jiang Yun's "nothing special".
Liu Qing immediately turned his gaze to Jiang Yun and asked unhappily, "But what? If you dare to say that your martial arts are superior to mine, be careful I'll beat you up."
"No, no, my skills are so mediocre, how could I dare to mention them in front of you, sir? But I wonder if you consider the soldiers and officers to be respectable?"
Jiang Yun asked with an even more mischievous grin.
"Soldiers? Pshaw, I hate soldiers the most. All they do is bully the people. I'll beat them up as soon as I see them."
Liu Qing raised his head and said boastfully.
"In that case, I have no worries. Please excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."
Jiang Yun suppressed a laugh and cupped his fists in a respectful gesture towards Liu Qing.
"Hmph, go away, don't get in my way, hurry up and leave."
Liu Qing waved his hand, as if shooing away flies, and said to Jiang Yun, "Actually, Jiang Yun is a good person, but he is a bit too competitive. What he hates most is men who are more handsome than him stealing his thunder."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yun had just turned his back and taken a few steps when Liu Qing waved from behind him and said with an embarrassed smile, "Brother, wait for me, let's go together. Sister, Little Swallow, hurry up, the soldiers are coming!"
It turned out that the group of blue-clad warriors that Jiang Yun saw were the government soldiers who had rushed over after hearing the news.
Jiang Yun stopped in his tracks, turned around, looked at Liu Qing, and said jokingly, "What's wrong, brother? The soldiers are here, isn't that perfect? You can take them on one by one, hahaha!"
As they were talking, twenty or thirty soldiers had already surrounded Jiang Yun and the others. Then a man jumped off his horse. He was wearing a white pheasant robe of a fifth-rank civil official and a red-tasseled official hat. The official was dark-skinned, fat, and short. He was holding a pipe and puffing out smoke.
Seeing the official dismount, several soldiers surrounded Jiang Yun and said, "Reporting to your Excellency, the one who robbed Yu Fu Xiang Silk Shop was that woman. The others were accomplices."
"Waaah, Lord Ji, it's me, I—"
Upon seeing the official, the merchant who had been kicked away by Jiang Yun spat out a pool of blood and half-knelt, half-crawled, calling out to the official.
The official, referred to as Lord Ji, took a puff of his pipe and looked at the merchant. His eyes widened immediately. Jiang Yun recognized the man; he was the manager of Yu Fu Xiang Silk Shop and the trusted steward of Ying Lian, the Jiangning Provincial Governor and Jiangning Textile Commissioner.