This woman never dreamed that Zhao Ya would suddenly strike, so even though her head had already fallen, her eyes were still filled with confusion, as if questioning why Zhao Ya did not play by the rules.
Zhao Ya remained completely unmoved.
In fact, from the moment when Cheng Jingxue secretly returned to the room, her fate was already sealed.
Because this woman was simply too cunning, to the point of being disgusting.
As for Wei Yu, he brought this upon himself, being so enamored by beauty that he forgot his own limitations, leading to a great disaster.
But it was Cheng Jingxue's final act of diverting disaster onto others during her escape that completely enraged Zhao Ya.
She was clearly using everyone's lives as a cover for her escape.
The key point is that Zhao Ya and the others had no enmity, not even the slightest interaction with her, yet she could do such a thing, revealing her malicious intent.
For such a cunning woman, no matter how beautiful she was, Zhao Ya felt no attraction.
Zhao Ya squatted down and searched the body, discovering that although the woman appeared elegant, she was actually dirt-poor, with nothing but some scattered silver taels.
Then Zhao Ya took out a pre-prepared small package, which, when opened, contained a stack of folded oilcloths.
Zhao Ya spread it on the ground, then wrapped Cheng Jingxue's head and body in the oilcloth.
Zhao Ya also wiped clean the bloodstains on the ground and table, putting all items back into their original places.
After doing all this, Zhao Ya fastened the Meteorite Iron Saber securely, hoisted the oilcloth-wrapped body onto his shoulder, opened the back window, and swiftly departed.
Behind this inn was a vast area of desolate mountains, and Zhao Ya chose a sheltered spot to set the body down, then began to dig a hole.
The snow here was not too thick, but the ground was solidly frozen. Zhao Ya tried using his short knife, but even with great effort, could only poke a shallow hole.
At this rate, it would be difficult to dig a deep enough hole even by dawn.
Fortunately, Zhao Ya still had a newly acquired precious sword.
After taking out the Meteorite Iron Saber, Zhao Ya tried to poke the ground and found that the rock-hard surface was like tofu before the Meteorite Iron Saber, easily allowing him to dig out a large chunk.
Zhao Ya's expression showed delight.
Indeed, it was an invaluable treasure weapon.
With the help of the treasured sword, Zhao Ya dug a deep hole in no time, tossed the body in, and buried it.
After covering it, Zhao Ya meticulously covered the ground with snow and used dry branches to sweep away any footprints in the snow.
Finally, after thoroughly inspecting for any oversights, Zhao Ya quietly returned to the inn.
After taking off the outer night clothes and securing the treasured sword, it was already close to the third watch of the night.
Zhao Ya thought for a moment, and instead of returning directly to the room, he headed to the inn's kitchen.
The cook was naturally not there at this time, but the fire in the stove had not yet gone out.
Zhao Ya stoked the fire and cooked a pot of noodles for himself.
Then Zhao Ya found a piece of cured meat and a few stalks of garlic shoots in the kitchen, making a stir-fried dish of garlic shoots and cured meat.
After preparing it, he went back to the room and woke Luo Feng.
"Come on, let's have a late-night snack."
"A late-night snack? Isn't it too late for the cook to be resting?" Luo Feng said, rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning.
"I woke up earlier, went outside to practice boxing, and got so hungry after that, so I went to the kitchen to make something, just right for us brothers to have a drink."
At the mention of drinking, Luo Feng immediately perked up.
"Great, let's have a drink! This damn weather is so cold, a drink will warm us up nicely."
Zhao Ya secretly observed Luo Feng's behavior and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The reason he went out of his way to make a late-night snack and asked Luo Feng to join was to have a reasonable excuse.
After all, he wasn't sure if Luo Feng had noticed his absence from the room.
It seemed Luo Feng was completely unaware.
The two went to the kitchen and enjoyed a delightful meal.
After they drank and ate to their fill, they went back to sleep again.
The next day.
Wei Yu's situation remained unchanged, providing him with no respite from his overwhelming despair.
There was little Zhao Ya and Luo Feng could do except offer comforting words.
Fortunately, just one day later, Luo Qiang returned with everyone else.
The silver was safely delivered, and despite some twists during the escort mission, it was ultimately completed successfully.
Aside from Wei Yu, everyone was very pleased.
After settling the inn expenses and giving some extra tips, Luo Qiang ordered Wei Yu to be carried onto the escort vehicle and set off for home.
Without much incident, after a hard day trudging through the snow, Zhao Ya and others returned safely to Wuxiang City.
Chief Meng Lei already knew the news and was there to welcome them at the entrance of the Escort Agency.
"Chief!"
"Greetings, Chief!"
Everyone saluted.
Meng Lei nodded slightly and then quickly approached the escort vehicle.
At this moment, Wei Yu lay pale as paper on the plank bed, emaciated, with no trace of his once spirited self.
Seeing Meng Lei, Wei Yu burst into tears.
"Chief, I… I've become a cripple, sob sob sob…" Wei Yu could no longer speak through his sobs.
"Don't be sad, I've understood everything. Take good care of your injuries, the Escort Agency will not abandon you."
"As for Iron Forging Manor, I will demand an explanation, and as for that witch Cheng..."
Meng Lei's eyes flashed with killing intent, "When I find her, I will definitely kill her."
Hearing this, Wei Yu's emotions calmed a little.
Meng Lei offered more comforting words, then instructed others to carry Wei Yu away.
After Wei Yu was taken away, Meng Lei had people settle the escort vehicle, then gathered everyone involved in this escort mission.
"You all worked hard this time. I thought this heavy snow would delay the mission, but you only took one extra day to return safely. For this, I thank you all."
"You flatter us, Chief!"
"Indeed, Chief, this is our duty."
Everyone responded.
Meng Lei smiled, "Good, with the year-end approaching, our agency is almost done with its business, and now that you've returned, you can rest directly. The bonus for this escort mission is two-tenths higher than usual, consider it your New Year's gift."
Everyone loudly agreed and happily took their bonus silver, then went home.
Zhao Ya was no exception. Because of the inn incident, he was specifically praised by Meng Lei, even receiving a more generous gift than the others.
He packed his belongings and returned to his small courtyard.
The courtyard gate was tightly closed, but the snow at the doorstep was swept perfectly clean.
Zhao Ya gently knocked on the door.
Moments later, he heard light footsteps from inside the courtyard.
"Who… who is it?"
"It's me, I've returned!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the courtyard door swung open, and a silhouette jumped into Zhao Ya's arms.
Zhao Ya was slightly taken aback, then smiled.
"Alright, I've returned, haven't I!"
The girl in his arms did not speak, but Zhao Ya felt a warmth on his chest.