Chapter 158: Foolish Deed

The city remained bustling and filled with a rich, lively atmosphere of the marketplace. Chu Bing walked leisurely down the street, with Li Yuxi following closely by her side.

"Are you hungry?" he tilted his head to look at Chu Bing, a smile playing across his brows and eyes.

Chu Bing ignored him.

She walked straight into a ready-to-wear clothing store, selected two outfits according to her own measurements, but Li Yuxi stepped in and paid the bill ahead of her.

Chu Bing was speechless.

She directly shoved her own silver taels into Li Yuxi's arms, lifted her chin with a proud and haughty air, and said, "I have my own money; I don't need yours."

"Where did you get this?" Li Yuxi frowned, certain that he had not found any silver on her person earlier.

"Old Man Qian gave it to me as my monthly allowance."

Chu Bing waved a hand dismissively and walked out of the store. She still needed to buy some daily necessities and had no time to idle away with Li Yuxi.

As she wandered aimlessly, she suddenly noticed a crowd gathered near the city gate, all craning their necks to see what the commotion was about.

After a moment of hesitation, Chu Bing walked over.

"Look at that, the imperial court is conscripting soldiers again!"

"They're even recruiting martial arts masters. Are they planning to send those people off to lead troops in battle? What do those brawny fighters know about warfare? The imperial court is becoming more and more unreliable!"

"Are you going to enlist? I heard the monthly silver stipend is quite generous!"

"You have to stay alive to spend it. No way, I'm not going."

...

Listening to the conversation among the onlookers, Chu Bing squeezed her way to the front and finally caught sight of the proclamation. As it turned out, the imperial court was issuing a call for military conscription!

Moreover, they were specifically recruiting martial arts masters, with a top reward of ten thousand taels of silver!

Chu Bing felt a shameful surge of temptation.

Since there was no system keeping tabs on her right now anyway, once she got her hands on that money, she could find a small, remote town to live in seclusion. With the emperor far away and the mountains high, no one would be able to control her!

Chu Bing's eyes shone brightly as she reached out a hand toward the proclamation.

A slender hand pinched her fingertips.

Even without looking back, Chu Bing could tell that this person was none other than Li Yuxi!

He was truly like an unshakeable ghost!

She ground her teeth and forced a fake smile. "Second Young Master Li, what are you up to this time?"

Why did he always cling to her like a shadow!

Li Yuxi raised an eyebrow slightly. "You want to tear down the proclamation? Do you know what that means?"

It meant that she would have to enter the capital in the guise of a martial arts master to have an audience with the emperor, and she would likely have to fight many genuine martial arts experts. Driven by the pursuit of wealth and glory, those people were utter madmen. Chu Bing was practically thrusting herself into extreme danger!

A trace of seriousness flashed in Li Yuxi's gaze. "You need to think carefully about the consequences."

Chu Bing hesitated somewhat. Li Yuxi's words suddenly brought her back to her senses. She was currently disguised as a man; if she tore down the proclamation and her true identity was exposed, that would be the capital crime of deceiving the emperor!

How heartbreaking!

With a look of profound regret, she retracted her hand.

A flicker of amusement crossed Li Yuxi's eyes. "If you like silver so much, I will give it to you."

"Where would you get the money?" Chu Bing looked at him skeptically. Weren't his main base and resources completely burned to the ground by Ren Changfeng? Besides, Old Man Qian had said that every time Li Yuxi came for medical treatment, he ran a tab!

Believing that Li Yuxi was merely putting up a false front of wealth, Chu Bing decided to ignore him and turned around, preparing to return to the pharmacy.

Suddenly, a bulky man forced his way in from the outer edge of the crowd. "Make way, I'm going to tear down the proclamation!"

"That's mine!"

With a flash of swift wind, a thin, slight figure also darted forward.

The crowd was scattered by the two contenders. Chu Bing and Li Yuxi were no exception; she staggered several steps and nearly lost her footing, but Li Yuxi caught her around the waist just in time.

Li Yuxi savored the tactile sensation of her waist in his hand for a brief second, but before he could dwell on it, Chu Bing instantly stood straight and put a clear distance between them.

The two intruders were already fighting fiercely. The proclamation had been pulled down, and both men were tugging at opposite corners, locked in a tug-of-war.

Both the large man and the short man possessed decent martial arts skills. After watching for a few moments, Chu Bing realized that while they were considerably stronger than ordinary fighters, they still fell far short of true experts like Li Mohany.

Chu Bing and the onlookers stood by to watch the spectacle, but disaster struck uninvited. In the midst of their scuffle, both combatants suddenly let go of the paper, and the proclamation went flying through the air, landing squarely in Chu Bing's arms.

The awkwardness of sudden silence descended upon the scene.

Chu Bing was speechless.

All eyes converged on Chu Bing, especially the two fighters who abruptly stopped brawling, their four eyes glaring straight at her.

The two men exchanged a look, mutually abandoned their contest with one another, and lunged directly toward Chu Bing.

Realizing the situation was turning south, Chu Bing instinctively leaped upward and vaulted onto the city wall.

"Wait! Let's talk this over reasonably, I can give the thing to you..." After all, she had no desire to participate in any selection trials!

Before Chu Bing could finish her sentence, a troop of bailiffs riding tall, powerful horses galloped furiously from a distance. "Who tore down the proclamation? His Honor the County Magistrate requests your presence!"

Holding the proclamation in her hands, Chu Bing felt her heart tighten. She wanted to hide the paper away, but it was already too late.

The troop of bailiffs had already spotted her.

"Who is that on the wall? Get down this instant and come with us to see Magistrate!"

Chu Bing was speechless.

What kind of terrible luck was this!

Meanwhile, the two fellows who had originally intended to seize the proclamation were furious that Chu Bing had snatched their opportunity. Pointing directly at her, they shouted, "My lord, that shameless scoundrel on the wall is the one! I was the one who tore down the proclamation!"

"It was me!" the short man shouted, refusing to be outdone.

With a slight headache, Chu Bing tried to explain, "My lord, I really didn't tear down this proclamation. Those two heroes brought it down, and it happened to land in my hands. I was just about to return it to them..."

As Chu Bing readied herself to toss the proclamation down, she saw that the two men had already leaped up in pursuit, attacking from both front and rear with every ounce of their martial might!

A cold gleam flashed in Chu Bing's eyes. Tiptoeing lightly, she vaulted behind the bulky man and kicked him straight to the ground.

*Bang.*

The large man crashed heavily onto the pavement, kicking up a flurry of dust.

Seeing this, the short man flicked his wrist, and a cold flash revealed that he had actually drawn a dagger!

This was an attempt on her life!

Not daring to take it lightly, Chu Bing turned cautious. Channeling more strength into her palm, she struck out—

The short man tumbled down as well.

"Why are they so fragile?" Chu Bing knitted her brows, clicked her tongue twice, and jumped down from the high perch. She tossed the proclamation right back into the men's arms and said naturally, "My lord, these two tore down the proclamation. Now it's returned to its rightful owners, and it has nothing to do with me anymore. I'll be leaving now."

With that, she dusted off her hands and prepared to depart.

The surrounding crowd parted to clear a path, gazing at Chu Bing with looks of profound awe.

"Wait!"

Chu Bing paused mid-stride as she heard the lead bailiff speak up, "Esteemed young master, your martial arts are clearly far superior to those two Jianghu charlatans. You are much better suited for the imperial court's selection standards. How about... you accompany us to meet the magistrate?"

Chu Bing felt her scalp tingle.

She finally realized that she had just done something remarkably foolish.