Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 5.2

Chapter 5.2

Have You Ever Risking Your Life For Others?

Liu Xiniang was shocked. She hurriedly grabbed the map and looked at it for a long time before saying, “How did you know he would choose this torture chamber?”

“A gamble.” Luo Wanqing didn’t explain much.

Liu Xiniang skipped the reason and didn’t ask more, only continuing to ponder, “This place is quite far from our cell. There are watchtowers at four corners of the prison. There is no roof, so our activity will be seen. Tonight, the pavilion master will send someone to kill the people on the watchtowers before letting us take action. There are only two of us. How do you plan to go over there? After going over, how will you keep ambushing there?”

“Here,” Luo Wanqing pointed at a road opposite the road that must be traveled, “The dungeon. Ten feet apart from the road that Xie Heng will surely take. If we can get into the dungeon and find a way to open a hole in the wall from there, we can wait for Xie Heng there.”

“I see.” Liu Xiniang gave her a high five. But then she spoke regretfully, “But you don’t know martial arts. I have low skills. Only the two of us to ambush Xie Heng, and we will be a meat bag with no return.”

“I’m going to complain,” Luo Wanqing stuffed the map back into Liu Xiniang’s arms, reminding the assassin before her who had failed to understand the situation, “Not to assassinate Xie Heng. If you really kill him, I’ll still have to save him.”

“Don’t worry,” Liu Xiniang helplessly replied. She tucked the map back into her bosom and said soothingly, “I won’t kill him. I’ll accompany you.”

“You’ll just have two tasks. Take me to the dungeon and make holes in the wall,” Luo Wanqing cleared her thoughts and looked at her with slight concern, “Can you do it?”

“Small matter.” Liu Xiniang sniffed and patted her chest, “Don’t worry. I’ll take you to the dungeon to dig a hole tomorrow. This stuff is my strong point!”

“As long as I meet Xie Heng, I’ll keep your matter rotting in my stomach.”
Luo Wanqing pursed her lips embarrassedly. She looked at Liu Xiniang and said solemnly, “I will never sell you.”

“Good sister.” Liu Xiniang raised her hand and patted her shoulder. Her eyes full of emotion. Then, she asked, “Who do you hate mostly in this cell?”

Luo Wanqing froze. She hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, “Wang Qiniang ……”

These days, Wang Qiniang gave them the most trouble. She has been a street bully for many years. She got arrested with her old sisters. In the past, when the Luo family did not lose power, she dared to make trouble, not to mention nowadays.

In that dream, Wang Qiniang brought people to bully the female members of the Luo family. Her mother was afraid she would oppose her, so she kept putting up with it, which ended up making people think that they were easy to bully.

Although the dream hadn’t happened yet, what Qiniang had done these days was enough to make Luo Wanqing sick of it. She didn’t know why Liu Xiniang suddenly asked about this. She frowned, “Why are you asking this for?”

“Nothing, wait for my news tomorrow,” Liu Xiniang winked, “Work harder in order to see Xie Heng!”

Luo Wanqing looked at Liu Xiniang blankly, but the latter didn’t say much and turned around, “Let’s go.”

The two of them set up a plan and quietly went back to the cell again, one after the other. When they returned to the cell, everyone was still asleep. Yao Zelan noticed when Luo Wanqing sat down and opened her eyes in a daze, “Wanqing?”

“It’s fine,” Luo Wanqing patted her mother’s shoulder and said gently, “I went to relieve myself.”

Yao Zelan nodded without thinking much, leaning against her as she continued to sleep. Luo Wanqing gave Yao Zelan a tug on her jacket, letting it cover her, and hugged her mother tighter into her arms. She looked down at the silver strands in her mother’s hair, and her entire body finally relaxed, slowly withdrawing from today’s great joy and sorrow, leaning against the wall, drifting off to sleep. Vaguely, she seemed to have a dream.

In the dream, she returned to the night she first met Jiang Shaoyan. She was fourteen years old and still residing in Dongdu. That day, she went with her mother to offer incense, but they encountered bandits. The bandits robbed them, and she fled to a bamboo house. When the bandits wanted to do harm, a short arrow came from behind the screen and broke through it. The bandits fell down with a sound, and her eyes widened.

A low and hoarse teenage voice sounded behind the screen, “Don’t turn around.” She stiffened as the other coughed, reminding her, “Don’t look when you shouldn’t. Leave when the rain stops. I’ll deal with the body.”

She did not dare to move. In her dream, she was panicked. Stiffened and trying to control her emotions, she leaned against the screen, not daring to make a sound. The person behind the screen seemed to notice that she was afraid and tucked out a grasshopper.

With weariness, he soothed her, “This grasshopper is for you. Get some sleep. It will be fine.”

It was a grasshopper created from a bamboo leaf. Different from what she had ever seen, this one was delicate. When she pulled the hind legs, the head would move. She held the grasshopper and suddenly burst into tears. She didn’t know what was wrong with her in the dream.

After thinking about it, she comes to a realization. The her in the dream was full of regret and hatred. If she hadn’t picked up the grasshopper back then, she would have died in the bamboo house. She wouldn’t indebted Jiang Shaoyan this saving grace. She wouldn’t have come to the bamboo house the next day when she moved out of Dongdu with her family. She wouldn’t have seen Jiang Shaoyan covered in blood. She wouldn’t have saved him, and her Luo family wouldn’t have had the present day, and her father wouldn’t have died either.

It was her fault. She couldn’t speak up in reality. She could only hold the grasshopper in her dream and cry. After a long sleep, some noise disturbed her. When she woke up, she had tears all over her face.

She lay on the ground and rested for a moment. She heard the sound of arguments, and a familiar female voice echoed in the cell, accompanied by the sound of fierce chasing and fighting: ”Wang Qiniang, you shameless old shrew, do you really think that I’m dead? You dare to snatch my steamed buns! I’ll beat you to death today, you old scoundrel!”

When Luo Wanqing heard this, she immediately reacted. She hurriedly rolled over and got up. She saw that the people in the cell had already formed a circle. Yao Zelan was patting Luo Qingshui, who was still squinting and sleeping in her arms. When she saw Luo Wanqing had come to her senses, she explained, “They were fighting again. Just rest, don’t mind them.”

“I’ll go take a look.” Luo Wanqing ignored Yao Zelan’s words and stood up. Under Yao Zelan’s surprised look, she squeezed into the crowd. When she reached the front row, Liu Xiniang was tearing up a few middle-aged women.

Liu Xiniang didn’t use any internal force or tricks. She only randomly punches and rolls around on the ground with a few women in the most common way. Shouting and cursing and tearing noises intertwined together, Luo Wanqing was shocked as she watched Liu Xiniang pulling heads with those women.

Liu Xiniang sensed Luo Wanqing coming over. With one foot stepping on one damsel and one hand pulling another damsel’s hair, she twisted and shouted toward Luo Wanqing while one damsel pulled her hair, “A righteous person came to save me!”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing finally understood what Liu Xiniang meant.
Getting into the dungeon was only for those who made a mistake. In the cell, what was easier to be done rather than fighting? Liu Xiniang was trying to find someone to fight with her.

She had lived for nineteen years and had never fought with anyone before. But it turned out Liu Xiniang let her fight in a group! What do you mean by trying harder for Xie Heng? Is this something to work hard for?
It was clearly asking her to fight for her life! But no matter what, Liu Xiniang was already on. She couldn’t let her take a beating for nothing.

She gulped. Her heart was beating fast. She looked at the crowd that was moving around in the fight. She didn’t know whether she should pull someone or kick them first. She finally thought about it. No matter what, she’d charge first before anything! No longer thinking much, she collides her head toward Wang Qiniang!

She slammed Wang Qiniang forward. Her entire body also lost weight and fell forward. Seeing her fall, Liu Xiniang lifted her hand and dragged her behind with a scoop and a fling, kicking away one of the pouncing damsels before giving her a thumbs up.

“Righteousness,” Liu Xiniang smiled, praising from the bottom of her heart, “Good head method, good hit!”

Author’s Note: [Mini Theater]
Liu Xiniang: “Have you ever, for someone, risking your life?”
Luo Wanqing: “Thank you. From today onwards, I have.”
Xie Heng: ” Touching. Really, so touching.”