Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chapter 289 Flower Thief

Just as I was eating my noodles, the half-closed door of the inn was smashed open with a loud "bang." It was a bit windy today; the wind in March and April is still a bit chilly, so the door was left ajar.

Two rough-looking, burly men with unkempt beards entered, bringing with them a slight stench of sweat.

The "da da da" sound slowly approached from behind.

"Shopkeeper, please feed the horse..."

"Alright..." The shop owner went out to fetch the horse with a fawning expression.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Wenfang realized that neither of the two men looked like good people. One was tall and slender with slanted, triangular eyes, the whites of his eyes outweighing the blacks. The other was a burly man with narrow eyebrows and eyes that, upon closer inspection, revealed a sinister aura. His attire gave off the air of a ruthless bandit.

The two men were tall and imposing, and Chen Wenfang hadn't noticed them until they entered the lobby. She then saw that the slender man was holding a rope, and tied behind her skirt was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. Her delicate face had large, blinking eyes, and she was quite pretty. The rope binding her ankles had worn through her pants, revealing small drops of blood, but she remained expressionless, with a resigned and submissive look. Yet, her eyes and brows possessed a charm beyond her years. The scars peeking out from under her torn clothes on her arms suggested she had been frequently beaten. Such contradictory traits were indeed very rare in a young girl…

"What's going on? This girl doesn't seem to be those two men's daughter or anything." Chen Wenfang looked at the woman opposite her with some hesitation. Sure enough, Ru'er looked surprised. Qian'er was young and didn't have so many concerns, so she muttered softly, "Senior sister, why is that girl so strange?"

"Shut up!" Ru'er scolded in a low voice, but her brows were tightly furrowed. These two men were probably not good people. As she spoke, the two men walked straight to the remaining empty table. The man with the slanted eyes glanced at their table and then gave Qian'er a flirtatious smile, throwing what he thought was a very cool wink at her with a wicked grin. Goodness, the young ladies at that table, although of different ages, each had their own charm. To be honest, he liked the youngest one, cute with a touch of innocent wickedness, just like him. He nudged his brother with his elbow.

The burly man glanced at him sideways, understanding his meaning. As a pair of flower-picking duo, he naturally had his eye on the three top-quality women at that table.

Qian'er, though young, couldn't stand such disgusting looks. Without a word, she threw a dart. The burly man picked up the chopstick holder on the table, and with a "snap," the dart struck it directly. Qian'er glared at him angrily, while the burly man chuckled softly, "Little lady, playing with darts like that isn't very proper." He then slowly put down the chopstick holder, and the moment he removed his hand, the holder shattered into pieces, scattering the chopsticks everywhere.

The hall fell silent instantly. Only Qian'er and the slanted-eyed man remained, glaring at each other.

"Boss, let's order." The burly man said dismissively and began to order.

The shop owner walked over cautiously, "What would you like to eat, sir?"

The burly man glanced around and asked, "What kind of food do you have here?"

The shop owner said cautiously, "It's a rural area, there's not much good food, just what's on the wooden sign."

The burly man glanced at the menu, which featured ordinary dishes like roast lamb and stewed meat. He also glanced at the dishes on the other two tables, which looked rather unappetizing. Then, he turned to Chen Wenfang and her two companions and saw the fragrant bowl of soup noodles in front of them. He pointed to her bowl and said to the shopkeeper, "I want her kind. Give me four bowls."

The shopkeeper looked at Chen Wenfang and said with great difficulty, "Good man, this was made by that lady herself."

The burly man glanced at him with his narrow eyes and said, "Then you should have her make four more bowls for us."

"This..." the shopkeeper said with a troubled expression, "This lady is also a customer. We can't force her. Please don't take offense."

"You mean you can't force her?" With a "smack," the man with slanted eyes slammed his hand on the table. "I, Night Owl, am telling you now, if she dares not do it, I'll smash your shop to pieces..."

Chen Wenfang, who was innocently eating noodles, was completely bewildered. What? She got caught in the crossfire for no reason.

Qian'er seemed to remember something, ignored the man, and quickly ate her noodles.

Ru'er squinted at the burly man, ready to make a move at any moment.

The sudden noise seemed to startle something. The girl brought by the two men suddenly realized what was happening and crawled straight under the table. Whether she did it intentionally or unintentionally, she ended up crawling right under Chen Wenfang's feet.

Meanwhile, Ru'er placed the bowl of noodles she was holding on the counter with one hand, and said, "Come out and fight..." She stepped forward with her sword drawn, head held high, raising her eyebrows as she faced off against the burly man. Qian'er quickly finished the last bite of her noodles and slipped over, striking a pose.

The burly man, dressed in black, walked out with a contemptuous smile. He reached for his waist, and his belt ripped open, transforming into a long whip. With a flick of his wrist, it snapped in the air with a loud crack. The man with the slanted eyes remained seated, motionless, only occasionally shaking the rope as if playing with a dog. Every time he shook it, the girl under the table would tremble. Chen Wenfang couldn't eat her noodles anymore, and unable to run away, she could only sit there, frozen in place.

Ru'er and Qian'er exchanged a glance, drew their swords simultaneously, and attacked the burly man with lightning speed.

The burly man was strong yet incredibly agile, wielding his long whip with impenetrable precision, like a nimble venomous snake, constantly forcing Ru'er and Qian'er back. Ru'er's swordsmanship was fierce, focusing on the burly man's upper body, each strike aimed straight for his throat; Qian'er's swordplay was light and graceful, her sword flashing as she attacked the burly man's lower body.

The burly man remained calm and composed, wielding the long whip with practiced ease, sometimes entangled Ru'er's sword, sometimes deflected Qian'er's attacks.

The three figures darted through the courtyard, swords flashing and whips clashing. The burly man seized his opportunity, his whip suddenly wrapping around Ru'er's sword, pulling hard, causing Ru'er to stagger. Qian'er took the chance, thrusting her sword towards the burly man's back. The man noticed, dodged to the side, and his whip lashed out at Qian'er. Qian'er quickly leaped backward, but accidentally stepped on a stone, nearly falling.

This is a tough fight... Ru'er steadied herself, raised her sword again, and, in perfect coordination with Qian'er, joined forces with her sword, the wind whistling through the air. The burly man frowned slightly, increasing the force of his whip. For a moment, the two were locked in a stalemate, the atmosphere tense to the extreme, every move gripping the heart.

Qian'er panicked when she saw this. Neither of them were good at endurance, and they would definitely lose to this man if they fought for a long time. She rolled her eyes, made a suspenseful move, and thrust her sword straight at him. As she expected, when she opened her mouth, the strong man directly used his whip to entangle her sword, and even a piece of her sleeve was knocked off.

Ru'er reacted immediately. As he was attacked from both sides, she took the opportunity to stab his arm. The strong man couldn't dodge in time and was stabbed in the arm. The slanted-eyes also noticed and flew over, lashing out with a diamond whip, which prevented the strong man from being pierced through the body by Qian'er's sword from behind.