Disease rights policy

When Chen Jiu woke up, he learned that Qiao Ran and Qin Huai had already left the villa, and he seemed to have returned to his lonely days of recuperating in the villa.

Qiao Ran and Qin Huai originally intended to leave Sichuan directly and reunite with their brothers, but after sending out several letters to reunite, they received no reply.

"Did you tell everyone where to go first that day?" Qiao Ran asked Qin Huai as she walked down the street.

For some reason, Qin Huai's eyelids kept twitching. He said absentmindedly, "The nearest meeting point after leaving Shu is Gongzhou."

"How many letters have been sent to the rendezvous point in Gongzhou?" Qiao Ran asked suspiciously. "Could everyone have gone somewhere else?"

Qin Huaichen said, "I don't know either."

They can't just wander around the streets all the time; it's not safe for them.

"Let's eat something first. If we don't get any news before sunset, we'll leave the city." Qin Huai stopped in front of an inn, pulled down his hat brim, and gestured for Qiao Ran to go inside.

Now everyone in Sichuan is looking for this "ghost hand," and the two of them are being as careful as possible. To make things easier, Qiao Ran is dressed in light men's clothing, and she also covers the brim of her hat as she follows Qin Huai inside.

The sharp-eyed waiter spotted some guests arriving and raised his voice to greet them, "Are you two checking in?"

Qin Huai put down his sword, bent down and sat down, saying, "Let's eat. Bring out two of your fastest hot dishes."

They were in a hurry to get going, since they were almost out of Sichuan. The waiter replied, "Okay!" and quickly went to serve the dishes.

The store was quite crowded. Qiao Ran glanced around briefly and casually ate some damp sunflower seeds on the table.

The taste was really not good, and Qiao Ran frowned in disgust.

"I enjoyed a month of leisure at Chen Jinzhou's villa, only to find out how high-class his lifestyle is when I came out." Qiao Ran sighed, spitting out sunflower seed shells. "I wonder if I'll ever be able to buy a big house and keep a bunch of handsome men and beautiful women to serve me and make me feel comfortable."

Qin Huai felt embarrassed and casually replied, "As long as your hands don't hurt, you can choose when to make a fortune."

Qiao Ran smiled and said, "That's true."

Qin Huai shook his head. "If you're capable, you just like to show off."

Watching Qiao Ran spit out a table full of sunflower seed shells, and then pick them up one by one and put them on a plate, Qin Huai tapped his finger on the table and said, "Don't trust that Chen Jiu too much, after all, his father is a high-ranking official in the capital."

Qiao Ran looked up in confusion, her hat brim covering most of her face, and her eyes blinked with great effort. "What does it have to do with whether I believe Chen Jiu or not? Chen Jiu... well, we met under unusual circumstances, and he's quite magnanimous. I think he's not bad."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. This sickly fellow's father is the current prime minister." Qin Huai lowered his voice. "And he grew up in the treacherous environment of the capital. Who knows how deep his scheming is? Besides, he is a young master from a noble family. Why would he befriend a thief that everyone hates? You should be more careful."

When the waiter came to serve the dishes, Qin Huai glanced at him and shut his mouth. Qiao Ran picked up her chopsticks and tapped Qin Huai's hand hard. After the waiter left, she gently scolded him, "Don't call him a sickly person. The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, and Chen Jiu is Chen Jiu."

Qin Huai winced in pain and retorted through gritted teeth, "Like begets like, and rat offspring are born to be disliked."

As expected, Qin Huai was hit again.

Qiao Ran said seriously with a straight face, "Chen Jiu has been recuperating in Shu. Before I kidnapped him, no one knew that the Prime Minister had such a son. He doesn't associate with the powerful and influential people in the capital. What kind of schemes and tricks could he play? I genuinely want to be friends with him."

Qin Huai moved his lips, but before he could speak, Qiao Ran interrupted him.

"You're not allowed to talk about my friend anymore."

"..." Qin Huai surrendered, forcing an awkward smile, "I'm not going to say anything more, let's eat."

The meal was eaten quietly, but Qiao Ran couldn't hold back any longer. She ate half of it listlessly, then stared at Qin Huai's face and said, "Why do you look so bitter and resentful whenever Kyoto is mentioned? It's the capital, the very foundation of the nation, a place where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. So many people flock there, yet you can't even bear to hear about it. What's wrong? Do you have enemies in Kyoto?"

Qin Huai was silent for a moment, then sneered and kicked Qiao Ran under the table, rolling his eyes and saying, "Why don't you go to such a good place?"

He would say that Qiao Ran was the same; she always tried to avoid the capital when committing theft, so they shared the same goal.

Qiao Ran took a bite of stir-fried beef, then answered sullenly, her chopsticks hovering over the edge, "I don't dare to go. I do have enemies in Kyoto."

Qin Huai was stunned and stared at her in shock.

"I'm not lying to you." Qiao Ran lost her appetite and simply stopped eating. She smiled and added, "Really."

Qin Huai's throat bobbed, and after a long silence, he finally said, "Why are you telling me this?"

He had been trying to figure out where Qiao Ran came from, but he couldn't come up with any clues. He wanted to know the secret hidden beneath Qiao Ran's playful and smiling demeanor, but Qiao Ran never told him. Qin Huai thought she would never tell him.

did not expect……

Actually, some things don't necessarily need to be known clearly. When Qin Huai met Qiao Ran's serious gaze, he felt inexplicably flustered.

Qiao Ran chuckled softly again, leaning closer to Qin Huai and saying, "I consider you a friend. You're willing to go to great lengths for me, so I can't let you do it without knowing why, right? Qin Huai, I'm really in a bit of trouble, I..."

"It looks like him?"

"it's him!"

Before Qiao Ran could finish speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out at the door, with a lot of noise. She and Qin Huai looked over at the same time and saw a group of people dressed in the style of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world) staring at their table with righteous indignation.

"Who are they talking about?" A bad feeling rose in Qiao Ran's heart. She stood up, pulled Qin Huai up, turned her head, and said with a stiff face, "What are they doing staring at you with their dark eyes?"

The number of "heroes" gathering at the entrance grew larger and larger, poised to rush in and seize the person. Qin Huai's teeth ached slightly, and he grabbed the still-stunned Qiao Ran, growling, "Run!!"

Before the people at the door could rush in, Qiao Ran and Qin Huai ran headlong toward the back door of the store, instantly turning the store into chaos, with tables and chairs overturned all over the floor.

The back gate also leads to a street. Perhaps instigated by someone, the news of the "arrest" spread too quickly. The prominent families gathered in Sichuan relentlessly pursued the two who were fleeing in panic. Behind them, swords flashed and insults and abuse never ceased.

Qiao Ran narrowly dodged the blade wind that came crashing down on her back. Looking back, she saw that all the sects and factions she had visited before had arrived, shouting slogans such as "Seek justice and cleanse the martial arts world."

Qin Huai's swordsmanship was mediocre, but in this life-or-death moment, he was forced to show a bit of ruthlessness. He knocked down two people who rushed towards him from the street, stole their horses, and rode with Qiao Ran out of the city.

Qiao Ran looked at Qin Huai, panting. He was injured at some point, and blood was dripping from his arm. "Are you alright?"

The look of panic on Qin Huai's face had not yet faded when he replied, "It's alright."

They ran for half an hour before finally escaping their pursuers once they entered the mountains.

"They have your portrait?" The two tied their horses to a stream. Qiao Ran scooped up some water to wash her face, her eyelashes glistening with clear water droplets. She looked at Qin Huai with a puzzled expression and asked, "How did these people from prestigious sects know what you look like?"

Only after they rested did they have time to think things through.

Qin Huai quickly treated his wounds, slumped down by the stream, paused for a moment, and said, "Logically speaking, someone like me, an unknown nobody who acts in secret and cannot be seen by others, should not have an accurate portrait of me."

Qiao Ran's face also darkened. It was because someone recognized Qin Huai that the heroes of the martial arts world who had chased him all the way to Shu attacked him.

"Something's not right?" Qin Huai frowned. "They were shouting to catch 'Ghost Hand' just now, and they wanted to catch you, the number one thief in the world. Why are they all chasing me?"

He was also inexplicably stabbed, and was still bleeding profusely. Qin Huai felt that he had taken on Qiao Ran's hatred.

Qiao Ran slumped down, giving a weak laugh. "If that's the case, they were carrying your portrait just now, chasing after you. Why would I run after you? I would have been safe if I had just dodged them."

Qin Huai: “…”

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" Qin Huai sighed. "Which bastard sold my portrait? How am I supposed to survive in this world after this?"