He was murdered after his family was wiped out and left with no descendants; his whole family knelt

Chapter 175 What is the so-called matter?

She was so frightened that her soul almost left her body. Just as she was about to scream, her mouth was covered again.

She felt herself being embraced, and the person's breath was close to her ear.

"Don't speak!"

Qiao Qingshu's eyes flashed in the darkness, as if starlight had suddenly appeared in them.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, she immediately became excited and her eyes welled up with tears.

Qiao Qingshu reached out and covered the thick hand with her own, nodding slightly.

Before she could turn around, Qiao Qingshu was lifted into the air and carried by Xiao Zhijie into the depths of the dense forest.

At such a dangerous moment, Qiao Qingshu's senses were extremely sharp.

She had thought that if Xiao Zhijie carried her away, there would be a big commotion between them. One second she was worried, and the next she was surprised.

His lightness skill was so good that he could carry her without making a sound.

As Qiao Qingshu watched them get further and further away from the pile of torches, the fear in her heart gradually dissipated.

Only after walking deep into the dense forest, where the sparks and human voices were no longer visible, did Qiao Qingshu finally let out a long sigh of relief.

She patted his back.

"Isn't it safer here?"

Xiao Zhijie, however, continued on his way without stopping.

"Safe? This entire mountain is a bandit's den, and there are many wild beasts. If we can't get down the mountain tonight, our lives will be in danger."

Xiao Zhijie's plan was to carry Qiao Qingshu all the way down the mountain.

He had come here with friends to hunt several times, but after learning that tigers had appeared, he never came back to this mountain to hunt again.

Later, I heard that the tigers here were kept on this mountain by a group of bandits, who used the ferocity of the beasts to become kings of the mountain.

The imperial court once sent troops to besiege and suppress them. They killed one, but unexpectedly a whole group jumped out. The soldiers never returned, which added to the atmosphere of fear on the mountain.

"what!!!"

Qiao Qingshu suddenly felt her body drop, and the next second the two of them fell into a huge sinkhole.

Because Qiao Qingshu was being carried, she fell down with her head resting on Xiao Zhijie's body.

The thought of the person beneath her acting as a human cushion sent a shiver down Qiao Qingshu's spine as she scrambled to her feet to check on them.

Are you alright?

Xiao Zhijie frowned deeply, his face showing a very painful expression.

Qiao Qingshu was even more panicked, and squatted down, asking repeatedly,

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Where does it hurt?"

Xiao Zhijie closed his eyes in pain, pointed to his feet, and said in a restrained voice,

"foot!"

Looking down, he saw a huge animal trap clamped around Xiao Zhijie's foot.

The animal trap was made of thick iron with incredibly sharp serrations. Looking at those serrations that were deeply embedded in the flesh, Qiao Qingshu couldn't help but gasp.

She panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down.

She crouched down and tried to pry open the animal trap, but it was so heavy and had such a tight grip that Qiao Qingshu couldn't pry it open no matter how hard she tried.

She collapsed weakly to the side, her brows furrowed deeply, and for the first time since her rebirth, she showed a somewhat helpless expression.

Xiao Zhijie had heard before that the mountain was full of traps set by bandits, but he had never experienced it before. Today, he never expected to taste this kind of suffering.

Logically speaking, with his lightness skill, he should have been able to avoid these traps. However, today's situation was special. He was carrying Qiao Qingshu and was anxious, so he didn't notice for a moment and actually fell into the trap.

He knew this wasn't the time for regrets; the most important thing was to find a way to escape.

This pit must have been set up by those mountain bandits. They will definitely find this place when they search the mountains. If they really catch us, things will be even more difficult.

Despite the excruciating pain in his foot, he still bent down and reached out to try and pry open the animal trap himself.

He used all his strength to try to pry the thing open, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

He sensed something was wrong; this animal trap seemed to be more than it appeared, and it must have been coated with medicine!

Otherwise, why would I feel dizzy and unable to even pry open this tiny thing?

Just then, voices and torchlight came from afar, indicating that the bandits had come looking for them.

Xiao Zhijie's vision was blurry at this moment. Before he fainted, he pushed Qiao Qingshu.

"You go!"

Qiao Qingshu shook her head violently.

"No, how can I leave you here alone!"

Xiao Zhijie frowned and said seriously,

"They're after you, not me. If you leave, it'll be easier for me to get away!"

Qiao Qingshu thought about it again and realized that it was indeed the case. These people were obviously after her and might not be going to cause trouble for Xiao Zhijie.

But bandits wouldn't be able to distinguish these things, she said with some worry.

"If they intend to harm you..."

Xiao Zhijie was somewhat angry and said to her,

"So you should run quickly and go back to report to the authorities so that someone can come and rescue me."

After saying that, he unfastened the sword at his side and stuffed it into Qiao Qingshu's arms, and then put a packet of medicine powder from his arms into her hand.

"The powder is a sleeping potion. If you encounter bandits, sprinkle it on their faces to make them faint on the spot. If any of them don't faint, stab them a few times."

Qiao Qingshu was still somewhat dazed, holding her sword and the sleeping potion, when Xiao Zhijie used his last bit of strength to lift her up.

He even mustered all his strength and threw her upwards.

Qiao Qingshu was pushed to the edge of the pit. She immediately grabbed onto the large rocks and some branches on the edge of the pit and quickly climbed up.

Before she could even think, she saw the group of people heading this way.

She looked around, but the vegetation was sparse, and there was no good place to hide.

Looking at the big tree in front of her, and then at the bandits who were closing in, she practically scrambled up the tree in a flash.

The tree was thick and tall, with a very lush and dense canopy, where Qiao Qingshu hid cross-legged, making her quite well-hidden.

The group drew closer, and one of them, seemingly realizing someone had stepped into a trap, excitedly shouted...

"Boss! Come quick! Maybe this woman fell in, hahaha!"

The group burst into excited laughter and pounced over.

Upon seeing that the person in the pit was a man, they all expressed their disappointment.

"Why is it a man!"

"What a disappointment! It wasn't that young lady after all!"

One of the men, a man with a full beard, said to the leader,

"Boss, it's not that woman. Let's keep looking ahead."

The bearded leader was quite perceptive. He noticed that the man who had fallen into the pit was dressed very elegantly, and clearly did not come from an ordinary family.

There's something fishy about a respectable young man like him coming alone to their bandit mountain in the middle of the night.

He immediately stroked his beard, his interest piqued.

"Get him out of here first."

The bearded man squinted at Xiao Zhijie for a moment, then stepped forward and stepped on his injured foot.

"Wanshou Mountain is notorious for its ferocious beasts and bandits. What brings you up here, young master?"