Ashes to Crown

Chapter 224: Chapter 47: Guest

Ding Dachui and Ge Laosan had posted lookouts outside, but it was completely useless for their new boss.

The new boss’s own people were skilled and could give timely warnings, but—

A warning would be useless anyway.

This was a military camp, and everyone here belonged to that girl. Even if they spotted her approaching, what good would it do?

The new boss couldn’t escape even if she grew wings.

’She won’t get desperate and fight to the death, will she?’

Ding Dachui looked at the woman with concern, only to see her eyes filled with panic, devoid of their earlier luster. ’The new boss is afraid of that girl?’

’That girl is actually quite formidable, too. The siege that day was brutal, yet she showed no fear. She calmly tended to the wounded, and even though she obviously saw there was something strange about their identities, she pretended not to know. She even dared to use them as her guards—’

’If the new boss is playing the long game, then is this girl willingly letting the wolf in the door? Is she so confident that she can round us all up once we’re inside?’

’This girl is sharp, too. Before, she never questioned them, even ignored them. But the moment the new boss arrives, she immediately shows up to block the door.’

’Is she going to expose us?’

’Is the new boss this scared because she’s afraid the deal will fall through?’

Ding Dachui’s mind raced with these thoughts in just an instant. The girl’s voice sounded again, this time right outside the tent.

The sneeze had served as a warning, but it couldn’t stop her.

”Uncle Ding? Are you in there?” the girl’s voice asked, clear and polite. ”May I come in?”

’What does it matter if it’s not convenient?’ he thought. ’We can’t hide in this tent forever.’

Ding Dachui glanced at the new boss. She seemed to have zoned out completely, unmoving and silent. ’The new boss must be thinking up a brilliant plan.’

”Ah, miss,” Ding Dachui stammered, taking a deep breath. ”Is something the matter?”

”So you are in, Uncle,” the girl’s voice chirped, followed immediately by, ”—Then I’m coming in.”

As she spoke, the tent flap was lifted.

The girl walked in, beaming, her eyes falling on the three people inside—

Ding Dachui tensed up. The new boss, who had been frozen stiff, suddenly spun around to face away from the girl.

The girl’s gaze landed right on her back.

”Uncle, you—have a guest?” she asked, a curious look in her eyes.

’Strange,’ Ding Dachui thought, feeling like he was seeing things. ’The new boss seems to be trembling.’

”Well, yes, you could say that,” Ding Dachui managed to reply, forcing himself to stay calm.

’To be a good blade, you have to do more than just kill; you also have to know how to talk.’

’When a great hunter comes across difficult prey, he doesn’t think about running. He meets it head-on. That’s the only way to survive.’

Ding Dachui took a deep breath and stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the new boss to face the girl. He seized the initiative. ”Is there something you need, Miss?”

Chu Zhao smiled. She tilted her head slightly, peering past him at the woman who stood with her back turned, and casually made something up. ”I heard you had a guest, Uncle, so I came to see.”

Then, her expression turned serious.

”You all are my saviors, Uncle. That makes your guest my own honored guest.”

With that, she bowed to the woman.

”I offer my greetings to our guest.”

The bow seemed to startle the woman, who spun around abruptly.

”No,” she said, grabbing Ding Dachui’s arm. ”I’m not a guest. I’m here for... my husband.”

’Husband...’ Ding Dachui froze, feeling as though the arm she was holding had just been ripped off again.

Chu Zhao’s expression cleared in realization. So this was the uncle’s wife.

”—Ah Zhao.”

Xiao Man’s voice cut through the air as she burst in on a gust of cold wind. When she saw the woman standing next to Ding Dachui, she froze, and her voice became strained.

”What are you—doing?”

’I tried to avoid Xiao Man on purpose, but I didn’t expect her to find me so quickly,’ Chu Zhao thought with a smile, looking at the tense girl before her.

”Xiao Man, you’re just in time,” Chu Zhao said, taking her arm. ”Uncle Ding’s wife has arrived.”

Uncle Ding’s... wife.

Xiao Man stared woodenly at the woman across from them.

Everyone in the tent, aside from Chu Zhao and Ah Le, was acting strangely. But Chu Zhao didn’t find it odd in the least; in fact, a knowing smile played on her lips.

She had been keeping a close eye on this group of ”hunters” who were acting as her guards. Though she hadn’t spoken to them much, her observations over the past several days had only confirmed that they were local mountain bandits.

Of course, she trusted Xiao Man, but she also wanted to help her. Xiao Man had resorted to desperate measures to bring these bandits into her service. Now that Chu Zhao’s immediate danger was past, the bandits themselves were in danger—trapped by her, trapped in a military camp.

They were bandits, after all. If pushed to the brink, they would fight to the bitter end, taking everyone down with them.

This was especially true today. When she had been speaking with the General, she’d seen two of the bandit leaders—it was quite easy to tell who was in charge—watching from the sidelines. They had exchanged uneasy glances and, sure enough, had soon snuck away to talk in private.

She had to press onward no matter what. To avoid any future trouble on the road, it was best to cut the Gordian knot. They needed to lay their cards on the table, be open with one another, renegotiate the terms, and then they could finally work together. That was why she had come to corner them.

She just hadn’t expected to walk in on such a peculiar situation.

Chu Zhao studied the woman beside Ding Dachui. She was dressed like a hunter as well, and her face was covered, obscuring her features. Seeming to sense Chu Zhao’s gaze, the woman grew nervous and fearful, lowering her head even further—

’She’s a shy one.’

’No need to be so tense.’

Time to cut the knot. Chu Zhao looked at them all and said, ”I know your true identities.”

As soon as she said it, the expressions on their faces grew even stranger.

Chu Zhao didn’t give them a chance to dwell on it, continuing, ”But that’s not a big deal. I—”

She looked at Ding Dachui, Ding Dachui’s wife, and Ge Laosan.

”I’ve been hiding my identity as well.”

She said this with a smile.

”Xiao Man hid your identities from me, but I guessed the truth. And she hid my identity from you—an identity you could never guess.”

”So there’s no need to be nervous. Since we all have secrets, we’re even.”

After she finished speaking, the expressions of those in the tent grew even more peculiar. Except for Aunt Ding, who kept her head so low her face was hidden, the others looked as if they both understood and had heard nothing at all—

”What on earth are you trying to do?” Xiao Man grabbed her, waving a hand as if to dispel the frustrating confusion. ”If you have something to say, you should have come to me directly—”

Chu Zhao held her hand steady. ”Xiao Man, before, you were the one who needed their help, so it was your place to speak. Now, I’m the one who needs their help, so I must be the one to say it.”

Xiao Man bit her lower lip and glanced toward Ding Dachui, but quickly looked away again. She turned her head and huffed, ”What’s the difference?”

”It’s a matter of sincerity,” Chu Zhao said, turning back to Ding Dachui. ”Uncle Ding, you should all know that I am going to Yunzhong County. The road ahead is even more dangerous than it was that night. Therefore, I must convince you to face that danger with me.”

’So that’s what this is about,’ Ding Dachui thought. ’What a day. First, speak of the devil, and now I have to listen to the same pitch twice.’