novelraw Chapter 349 - 346 The Incident Occurred
Chapter 349 - 346 The Incident Occurred
```
"Get me a carriage; I want to go out for some fun," Bai Mudan said haughtily.
"Uh... I still have to go on patrol; I don't have time to get a carriage..."
"Your task for today is to accompany me for fun. As for patrolling... let others handle it."
"But..."
"This is an order! You must obey!"
"...Fine, I'll go get the carriage," Gao Fei shook his head helplessly and turned away.
A moment later.
A carriage rolled out of the City Lord's Mansion.
More than a dozen guards protected both sides of the carriage, with Gao Fei leading them.
"Miss, where are we going?" Gao Fei asked.
"To the outskirts to see wildflowers," Bai Mudan's languid voice came from inside the carriage.
"Understood," Gao Fei, driving the carriage, headed towards the outskirts as the other guards hastened to follow.
The sun was bright and the sky cloudless—a rare and perfect day. Many children of wealthy families had come out to enjoy themselves, forming groups and bustle.
An hour later.
Gao Fei and the others arrived at the outskirts, stopping the carriage on a grassy field.
"Creak!"
Bai Mudan, holding her pet cat, jumped off the carriage and was hopping and skipping on the grass: "It's been so long since I relaxed like this."
Gao Fei and a group of guards followed nearby.
"Let's go hunting!" Bai Mudan, as whimsical as ever, ran towards the woods opposite with her cat in her arms.
Gao Fei and the others quickly followed. Gao Fei realized that Bai Mudan was like a little witch, always stirring up trouble.
...
After entering the forest, Bai Mudan put her cat down and took out a Treasured Sword from her Storage Necklace, then started looking for game in the woods. The cat, obedient, stayed right beside Bai Mudan.
"I've found a rabbit!"
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Hahaha... gotcha!"
"That's a pheasant!"
"Come to me!"
"Hahaha... caught you too!"
"What a great haul today! We can have a feast!"
Bai Mudan threw the game she caught to Gao Fei and the others, then continued deeper into the woods with her sword.
"ROAR!!!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from ahead, causing everyone's ears to buzz.
"Not good! It's dangerous!" Gao Fei's expression changed, and he hurriedly chased after her: "Miss, come back! It's dangerous!"
The other guards also charged forward, anxiety written all over their faces. If anything happened to Bai Mudan, they would all be in trouble.
Indeed, Bai Mudan had encountered danger, and it was no trivial matter... A fierce tiger suddenly leapt out, instantly knocking Bai Mudan to the ground and then opened its huge jaws to bite at her head.
Despair filled Bai Mudan's eyes. Am I going to die?
"How dare you!"
In the nick of time, Gao Fei arrived, leaping into the air and kicking the tiger away with one foot.
"ROAR!!!"
Angered by the loss of its prey, the tiger charged at Gao Fei furiously, biting, clawing, and lashing with its tail.
"A mere beast, daring to make a fuss before me!" Gao Fei charged at the tiger, unleashing a torrent of powerful blows. After a few punches, he had the tiger howling in agony, crouching on the ground begging for mercy.
On the other side.
A bunch of guards helped the still-shaken Bai Mudan to her feet: "Miss, are you alright?"
```
Bai Mudan's face was pale, and her lips trembled; she couldn't utter a complete sentence. The sensation of a near-death experience was unpleasant! She never wanted to go through that again in her life! It was too horrifying!
"Meow! Meow!!"
The spirit cat rubbed its head against Bai Mudan's foot, comforting her in its own way.
"Roar!!!"
The tiger let out a wretched roar as it lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Someone! Tie up this tiger! Carry it back, skin it, pull out its tendons, and stew it for meat!" Gao Fei ordered loudly.
Two guards ran over and tied up the tiger with special ropes.
"Miss, are you alright?" Gao Fei quickly approached, asking with concern.
Bai Mudan shook her head and stuttered, "Take... me back..."
"Alright, let's go back, right away." Gao Fei escorted Bai Mudan away from the woods, then they rode a horse-drawn carriage back to the City Lord's Mansion.
On the way back, Gao Fei quietly exhaled a breath of relief. It had been too dangerous; they had narrowly avoided a major disaster. If something had really happened to Bai Mudan, Gao Fei would have had to run away... and then endless pursuit would have awaited him...
Such incidents must never happen again!
...
After returning to the City Lord's Mansion, Bai Mudan was taken away by a group of maidservants, while Gao Fei was called over by Bai Daqing.
"You saved the day today," Bai Daqing said. "If you hadn't taken action in time, my daughter might not have come back."
"I was negligent," Gao Fei responded. "Please punish me, City Lord."
"How could I blame you?" Bai Daqing waved his hand. "This was all my daughter's doing. If she hadn't gone out to play, hadn't gone hunting in the woods, she wouldn't have encountered any danger."
Seeing that Bai Daqing was reasonable, Gao Fei felt relieved.
"You saved my daughter, and I must reward you." Bai Daqing took out an amethyst from his bosom and tossed it to Gao Fei. "Here, take this."
"Ah?" Gao Fei was stunned. "This... "
"What's with that expression? Not enough for you?"
"No, no, not at all, it's just too valuable... Protecting Miss is my duty..."
"I always make clear distinctions between rewards and punishments. You've performed a great service, so I must reward you handsomely. Conversely, if you had made a mistake, I would have punished you. Just because you saved my daughter, I wouldn't let you off the hook."
"I will keep the City Lord's teachings close to my heart."
"How is it? Are you finding your stay at the City Lord's Mansion comfortable?" Bai Daqing picked up a teacup, blew on the steam at the rim, then took a sip. The fragrance of the tea filled the air, and his mood instantly lightened.
"It's quite good."
"Do a good job, and I won't let you down."
"Yes."
"You may go now."
"Yes."
No sooner had Gao Fei left than a guard hurried in.
"My lord, there's a group of women and children outside, kneeling at the main gate, crying out for justice. We can't drive them away," the guard reported.
"Women and children?" Bai Daqing was startled. "Crying out for justice? What are they accusing us of?"
"I'm not clear on the specifics... They're clamoring to see you, City Lord, to have you redress their grievances..." the guard answered.
"Let's go out and see what's happening," Bai Daqing stood up and headed towards the outside.
The guard hurriedly followed.
Bai Daqing had just left the room when he ran into the Grand Steward, Li Jiang.
"My lord," Li Jiang greeted with a bow. "Where are you heading to?"
"Oh, there's a group of women and children at the gate, crying out for justice. I'm going out to see what's going on," Bai Daqing casually replied.
Li Jiang's expression changed. "Leave such trivial matters to me; there's no need for you to trouble yourself with this..."
"I'm idle anyway, I'll just have a look," Bai Daqing walked forward with his hands clasped behind his back, heading towards the main gate.
"My lord, my lord..." Li Jiang tried to stop him: "Let me handle it instead..."
"Hmm?" Bai Daqing halted, his gaze sharp as he looked at Li Jiang: "Why do you keep stopping me? Are you afraid of me going out?"