Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 18 The Old Man and the Token

"Hey! What are you doing! Bullying a child!!" The old man turned around, startled by the scene before him!

The next instant, two axes came crashing down on Gu Qingyue’s head. The old man broke out in a cold sweat. He didn’t care about anything else and with a flick of his wrist, he threw out a handful of powder.

Gu Qingyue swiftly dodged the two axes, rolled on the spot, and was already three steps away.

The moment she stood up, she rushed in front of the two men again. With a half-squat and a spin, the two tall men dropped their axes and fell to the ground screaming in pain. Their thighs had been almost severed by Gu Qingyue, and blood spurted out, spraying all over Gu Qingyue.

When Gu Qingyue stood up straight, she saw that the young man who was closest to the old man was lying motionless with his arms crossed.

Gu Qingyue raised an eyebrow. Was this done by the old man?

She bent down and wiped her dagger on the middle-aged man's clothes. The middle-aged man trembled with fear, as if he had seen a ghost.

He never expected that such a thin and weak boy would have such skills, which led to the downfall of all three brothers!

The three brothers used to be bodyguards, but they were dismissed from the escort agency and kicked out because they stole money from customers while escorting goods. They couldn't find any quick money-making jobs in Lizhou Prefecture, so they returned to their village.

Since returning to the village, they have robbed many people passing by on the mountain road from time to time, and have amassed some wealth, but it is not enough for them to squander.

Today, Gu Qingyue brought her younger brother to the village, and they immediately began to target her.

Originally, they intended to kidnap the two brothers and sell them to the prefectural city to make a fortune. In those days, there were far too many people buying and selling people. They also had channels for buying and selling people in secret, so that no one would know. Who would stand up for these two children who were obviously without parents?

But this kid turned out to be a tough nut to crack!

They had originally planned to make this deal and then enjoy a carefree life for a while, but unexpectedly, they were defeated by a skinny kid they had the least faith in!

But there's no going back now; the three brothers have become lambs to the slaughter!

"Hero... Hero, spare my life, spare my life!" The middle-aged man was in so much pain he was almost crying.

"Spare our lives? Did you just intend to spare the lives of my brother and me? Did you intend to spare the life of that old man?" Gu Qingyue sneered.

The man choked, and the next instant, the gushing blood from his leg made him tremble even more violently!

"No, no, no, please give us a chance, we'll start anew!" the man insisted, trembling as he continued.

"Ha! They actually want to kill me?" The old man not far away was furious when he heard Gu Qingyue's words. He had just thought they were villagers from a nearby village and wanted to ask them for help because of their simple clothes, but they actually wanted to take the opportunity to kill him.

He looked down at the young man who had struggled to help him and broke out in a cold sweat. Thank goodness the kid had taken down the bastard first; he had been trying to kill him while he was talking!

Gu Qingyue rolled her eyes upon hearing this. "As the saying goes, you shouldn't flaunt your wealth. If you tell them you're rich the moment you meet them, who else would they kill if not you?"

The old man choked, his eyes widening, unwilling to admit his rashness. "How did you know they were going to kill me?"

Gu Qingyue pointed at the silent young man and said, "Hey, that's the one who was planning to stab you in the back with an axe." After saying that, Gu Qingyue walked towards Xiao Nian.

Xiao Nian was completely stunned. He looked at the bloodstains on Gu Qingyue's clothes and at the two men who had just been fierce and menacing, now lying on the ground screaming in agony. He felt like he was dreaming.

He was genuinely worried that he and his brother might be kidnapped by bad guys!

"Xiao Nian, don't be afraid, brother will protect you." Gu Qingyue knew that Xiao Nian might be scared, but she was quite surprised that he didn't cry.

She killed those two guards in the secret passage last time, but Xiao Nian and the others didn't see it. Now that they've witnessed her stabbing someone with her own eyes, she's afraid that Xiao Nian will be traumatized.

"Brother, you're so amazing!" Gu Qingyue had just squatted down when she heard Xiao Nian shout excitedly.

"I want to learn from my brother and fight bad guys too!" Xiao Nian grabbed Gu Qingyue's arm and shouted excitedly.

"Ha, this little bean sprout is interesting!" The old man saw Gu Qingyue and the other person and followed them curiously.

Gu Qingyue stood up. "Alright, old man, we're leaving now. You should leave as soon as possible too. These three people are not good people. They were robbing us when you came here."

After Gu Qingyue finished speaking, she picked up Xiao Nian and prepared to leave.

"Hey, wait! You can't just leave like this!" The old man blocked Gu Qingyue's way, looking a little embarrassed.

In his panic, he genuinely didn't notice the robbery happening on the third road; he was truly blind.

"You just saved me, so this old man has to repay you," the old man said with a serious expression on his confused face.

"No need, just don't tell everyone you're rich next time," Gu Qingyue said, and then turned to leave.

"So you heard it too, why didn't you rob me?" the old man asked curiously.

Gu Qingyue: ...Where did this weirdo come from?!

“I don’t have that hobby, unless I really can’t make ends meet,” Gu Qingyue raised an eyebrow, her smile a little wicked, staring straight at the old man.

The old man was startled by Gu Qingyue's smile and momentarily dazed, involuntarily taking a step back. What did this kid say? Did he mean that he would rob someone if he was pushed to the limit?

Did he also want to rob me?

Gu Qingyue could tell from his expression that the old man was overthinking things. Even if she were desperate, she would only rob bad people, not an old man.

"Scared?" Gu Qingyue's expression suddenly changed in a second, her smile becoming warm.

The old man couldn't help but cough, "You brat, you should respect your elders and stop talking nonsense!"

"Here, this is my token. If you ever encounter any difficulties that you can't solve, take this to the clinic at the foot of Medicine Valley Mountain and come find me. Now, go on," the old man shoved the black iron token into Gu Qingyue's hand, then turned and stormed off.

From afar, you could still see the old man walking with his head held high and chest out, looking very energetic, although his appearance was truly indescribable.

Gu Qingyue: ...So easily teased? Even receiving a token makes you so arrogant?

Medicine Valley? What kind of place is that? This is a doctor, obviously. Gu Qingyue turned the dark token in her hand over and over to look at it. She saw auspicious cloud patterns on it, a large "Wen" character engraved on the back, and two small characters in the lower right corner: Medicine Token.

His surname is Wen? He's a doctor at the clinic at the foot of Medicine Valley Mountain? He sounds like he's quite skilled. Gu Qingyue stroked her chin, pondering where exactly Medicine Valley was.

"Brother, the old man has passed away," Xiao Nian's voice came, and Gu Qingyue immediately came to her senses. Yes, he had already passed away.

Gu Qingyue looked at the three people lying on the ground. One was unconscious, and the other two were still bleeding profusely. They were also secretly looking at her with lewd and sinister eyes.

Gu Qingyue raised an eyebrow; she had almost forgotten about those scumbags.

Gu Qingyue told Xiao Nian to turn around and stand still, and not to peek. Xiao Nian obediently did so.

Then there is no more then.

After a few muffled thuds, Gu Qingyue pulled Xiao Nian away leisurely.

Three unconscious men were left lying pitifully in the roadside bushes. Gu Qingyue thought to herself, "Hopefully, some wild animals will have time to visit them."