A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Liu Yan felt as if her heart had been shattered, a piercing, excruciating pain that she couldn't describe, and tears streamed down her face.

"elder brother···"

Xiao Ma held onto Liu Yan tightly, afraid that she would refuse to leave because she was worried about Liu Xiong.

If something were to happen to Liu Yan in front of him, how could he ever face Nie Qianqian again?

The leader of the men in black made a few hand gestures, and the men following behind quickly split into two groups. One group went to chase after Liu Yan and Xiao Ma, while the other group went to deal with Liu Xiong and Da Ma.

This is a well-trained gang, and they've clearly done this kind of thing many times before.

Liu Xiong felt a chill run through him. Could he really hold off such a premeditated and organized gang...?

Several men in black moved swiftly. Liu Xiong watched as the three men drew closer and closer to him, his pupils gradually focusing on the wooden stick in their hands.

Liu Xiong gripped the wooden stick tightly in his hand, using all his strength to swing it desperately at the man in black. The man in black was not afraid at all, raising his own wooden stick to meet the attack. The two sticks were about to collide, a pure clash of strength!

Just as Liu Xiong's wooden stick, imbued with all his strength, was about to strike the man in black, the man in black cried out in pain, ducked, and dodged Liu Xiong's stick.

Liu Xiong had already used all his strength, but when the wooden stick missed its mark, he lost his balance due to inertia and fell to the side with the stick, thudding to the ground.

Liu Xiong rubbed his buttocks, somewhat bewildered.

The other party's vicious eyes and the murderous aura rushing towards me, weren't they going to fight me head-on?

Why did you suddenly dodge? You made him fall flat on his backside.

Holy crap, they used that trick?! All's fair in war.

Liu Xiong quickly got up, raised his wooden stick, and prepared to continue the fight. However, when he stood up, he found that only he and Da Ma were standing. The other men in black were lying on the ground, clutching their legs and howling in pain.

Liu Xiong turned to look at Da Ma and saw that Da Ma also looked shocked and bewildered.

Liu Xiong looked down at his large hands. Could it be that his strength had leaked out, causing everyone to fall over?

He quickly shook his head vigorously, trying to shake the water out of his brain.

Liu Xiong looked around and saw that the three people who had chased Liu Yan and Xiao Ma had also fallen to the ground, screaming in pain. Xiao Ma had dragged Liu Yan a long way before realizing that no one was chasing them at all.

The leader, Brother Biao, felt a sharp pain in his right foot. He had just felt a gust of wind and hadn't seen anything clearly when his right foot was hit. He was forced to fall to the ground and searched for the thing that had hit him, only to find that it was just an ordinary pebble.

Based on his years of experience, he immediately realized that someone was helping them from the shadows, a master of concealed weapons.

He raised his head angrily and stood up again, unwilling to give up. But before he could straighten up, his left foot was hit again, this time with greater force, breaking the bone.

He was utterly terrified. He was able to take money to beat people up because of his martial arts skills. The other party was in the dark and a few stones were enough to knock his brothers to the ground. Clearly, the other party was a master among masters and someone they couldn't afford to offend.

Liu Xiong, Liu Yan, and the other three finally realized that someone was helping them from the shadows.

The four people's hearts, which had been filled with despair and death, began to beat again, and Xiao Ma almost cried out.

Taking advantage of the fact that the men had fallen to the ground, Liu Xiong and Da Ma used the oxcart to pick up Liu Yan and Xiao Ma, who had returned, and fled.

The old ox's rump was being slapped wildly until it was bright red; it had never run so fast in its life.

While on the oxcart, Liu Xiong didn't forget to look back, raise his hands and kowtow to the air behind him, shouting, "Thank you so much for your help! Thank you so much for your help!"

After the group had run far away, the leader of the men in black realized that the operation had failed. Since these people had the help of experts, they went back, refunded the deposit, and decided not to take the job.

Brother Biao shouted, "We didn't know these people had a master protecting them. We won't take this job. Please let us leave now, master."

He was answered by an old, deep voice, which seemed to come from both near and far, as if it came from all directions. It was full of vicissitudes and mystery, inspiring awe in those who heard it.

"Does this mean you can take money and hurt people if you have no one to protect you?"

Brother Biao, unaware of the expert's presence, could only hurriedly explain to the air in front of him, "It is wrong of me to take money and hurt people, but I have never taken anyone's life. It's just that someone's legs and feet will be injured for a year or two, nothing serious."

The aged voice was filled with anger, "An injury that lasts a year or two isn't a big deal? Heh heh heh..."

Several flying stones came from a distance, accurately hitting the right leg and right hand of each man in black, and immediately, screams filled the air.

“I have sealed the meridians in your right arms and right legs. It will take ten years to unseal them. What you are talking about is not a big deal. Consider it a punishment for your evil deeds.”

“I’ll protect this family. Go back and tell the rest of you in the underworld that anyone who tries to harm them will suffer the same fate.”

Feeling their veins sealed, the men were shocked by the mysterious man's martial arts skills and immediately knelt down, kowtowing and begging for mercy, "We understand, we understand!"

"Go to the yamen and turn yourselves in. Tell us everything that was hired by you! If you do anything evil again, your lives will be in danger!"

As darkness fell completely, the mysterious man finished speaking, and then silence returned to the surroundings.

Brother Biao kept his head down and waited for a long time without hearing the mysterious expert speak again. Knowing that the mysterious expert had left, he and his brothers helped each other and slipped away in a sorry state.

In the distance, perched high in a tree, the old beggar sat with his legs crossed, sipping his wine and muttering to himself, "I've now repaid the kindness of these meals."

Brother Biao's eyes were filled with anger. It was an unspoken rule in the underworld not to lay a hand on people with powerful connections. The two brothers had made sure that the family was just an ordinary country bumpkin when they paid them, which was why they had taken the job.

I never expected this family to have such a skilled protector; they couldn't possibly be an ordinary family!

"idiot!"

Brother Biao was furious. These two idiots had caused all of his brothers to be seriously injured and crippled for the next ten years. He would not be able to swallow this anger until he died!

Inside the county government office, Magistrate Tang had not yet left, and was flipping through the files by candlelight.

There are many affairs in the county government office, and many cases have no clues. For example, in the case he is handling, the person who reported the crime was attacked on his way home and was beaten up. He needs to stay in bed for half a year. Apart from knowing that he was beaten by a few men in black, he knows nothing else. How can he start investigating?

"Sigh..." Lord Tang sighed deeply.

Tang's servant, Afu, advised, "Sir, it's late. Let's stop here for today. You haven't had dinner yet."

"No appetite."

Afu: "Even if you don't have an appetite, you should eat something, otherwise your dizziness, which you've finally managed to recover from, will flare up again. I bought a bowl of pickled cabbage and sliced ​​pork soup from Liu's Restaurant this afternoon; it's still warm. Would you like some?"

Ah Fu has been able to serve Lord Tang for so many years, so he must have some skills. He is thoughtful and knows that when Lord Tang has no appetite, sauerkraut and pork soup can whet his appetite, so he will prepare it for him when Lord Tang is busy.

When Lord Tang heard about the pickled cabbage and sliced ​​pork soup, he slowly nodded. Afu quickly brought the dish over, and Lord Tang ate some of it while drinking the sour soup.

"The food at Liu Yan and Qianqian's house is truly exquisite. By the way, how's their business?"

Afu initially didn't take Nie Qianqian too seriously. She was just a young lady who had accidentally rescued the magistrate. The magistrate was busy with important matters, and he was afraid he would forget about her after a while.

Who knew this young lady was so capable? She kept sending him food, medicine, and tonics, not expensive but full of good intentions. Each time, she touched Lord Tang's heart. Once or twice would have been fine, but she persisted for months. Over time, Lord Tang began to remember the two of them.

Afu had never seen Lord Tang establish such a connection with any other common people.

Ah Fu, being as shrewd as a fox, knew that Lord Tang was interested in Nie Qianqian and the others, and had already inquired about it. "Their business is extremely good, with a constant stream of customers every day. I've been there a few times, and the small restaurant is basically always full."

Lord Tang smiled slightly upon hearing this, "This young lady is quite capable."

As Lord Tang was eating, he heard the sound of drums outside the county government office, and several people crying loudly.

"We want to report this to the police! We want to report this to the police!"