Chapter 9: Why is the Little Witch Fighting at the City Gate (Part 1)

In the distance, the towering city walls stood against the ground.

“Sister, we’re here, we’re here!”

Aiweila pointed at the walls, her small face flushed with excitement, and she tugged hard at Luo Xiaosu’s hand.

“Yeah, let’s hurry.”

Luo Xiaosu replied with a smile, but a faint unease stirred inside her.

Yet as the two approached the city gate, Luo Xiaosu realized something was wrong.

There were too many people.

Normally, the area in front of the gate was quiet and deserted, with only a few lazy guards leaning against the wall dozing off, and occasionally one or two travelers carrying packs wanting to enter the city.

But today, it was packed with people, mostly townsfolk craning their necks to watch the commotion.

“What’s going on? Why are so many people crowded there?”

Luo Xiaosu frowned, pulled her hood down lower, tightened her grip on Aiweila’s hand, and headed toward the gate.

Just then, a cacophony of arguing voices came from the gate.

“Captain, sir! You have to do justice for us!”

Hearing that familiar voice, Luo Xiaosu’s heart sank.

She looked up, peered over the crowd, and saw Balun kneeling before the gate, snot and tears streaming as he clung to a guard’s leg, his pitiful expression as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Behind him, the bandits who had been so ferocious earlier now all wore expressions of grief and indignation.

Some wiped their tears, others beat their chests.

The guard captain, Kaixi, frowned, clearly annoyed by Balun’s persistence.

He had been resting at the guard post when his subordinates reported that a group of people were wailing and causing a scene at the gate, claiming that a witch had attacked their village and demanding punishment.

But as soon as he arrived, the burly leader of the group rushed over crying and latched onto his leg.

“Captain, sir! You’re finally here! You have to avenge us!”

“Brother, get up first, then talk.”

“No way! Captain, sir! We’ve suffered so much!”

Seeing Luo Xiaosu appear, Balun immediately pointed at her and raised his voice even louder.

“It’s her! Captain, sir! She’s the witch! She not only burned down our village, but also killed everyone in it!”

Kaixi followed Balun’s pointing finger and saw a stranger in a black cloak and hood standing there, holding a little blonde girl’s hand.

The person’s face was hidden under the hood’s shadow, unreadable.

As for the little girl, she looked timid, shrinking behind the stranger.

She didn’t seem at all like a murderous, arsonist witch.

“You… let go of me!”

Kaixi turned back, kicked Balun in the stomach, and finally freed his leg.

Then he turned to face the stranger, both hands resting on his sword, ready for battle at any moment.

“Excuse me, could you please remove your hood?”

Kaixi stared intently at the person, afraid she might make any suspicious move.

But to his surprise, the person simply responded softly, then took off the hood, revealing a pure, innocent face beneath.

Luo Xiaosu tossed her hair and looked calmly at Kaixi, a hint of mockery even in her eyes.

“Well, Captain, you don’t actually believe what he said and think I’m some kind of witch, do you?”

“Uh…”

Looking at Luo Xiaosu’s very young face, Kaixi hesitated.

Seeing Kaixi wavering, Balun immediately scrambled to his feet, sidled up to him, and pointed at Luo Xiaosu.

“Captain, sir, believe me, she really is a witch. We saw it with our own eyes—she just waved her magic wand, and a huge fireball shot out, burning our village beyond recognition.”

As he spoke, he turned to the underlings behind him and raised his eyebrows, signaling them to chime in.

The underlings were stunned for a moment, then quickly caught on and started echoing him.

“Yeah, yeah! Captain, sir, everything we said is true!”

“You have to believe us!”

“That witch killed so many of our people, you can’t let her off!”

Listening to the noisy chorus behind him, Kaixi’s frown deepened, and his patience finally ran out.

He abruptly drew the sword from his waist.

The blade sliced through the air with a whoosh, its cold gleam reflecting on his face.

“Enough!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried immense authority, piercing clearly into everyone’s ears.

The bandits, who had been rolling on the ground and putting on a show, were startled by the roar and froze in place.

Kaixi’s sharp gaze slowly swept over everyone present, finally settling on Luo Xiaosu.

“Stop arguing! I’ll decide this myself. For now, lock them all in the dungeon. I’ll interrogate them personally later.”

Without paying further attention to anyone else, he gave the order to the guards behind him.

Several soldiers snapped out of their daze and immediately stepped forward to arrest Luo Xiaosu, Balun, and the others.

At the word “dungeon,” Balun’s face turned deathly pale.

He had originally hoped to use the guards to have Luo Xiaosu and the girl executed.

But now, Kaixi was going to lock them all up!

Balun knew full well that these noble officials weren’t merciful.

Once thrown into the dungeon, whether you were the real culprit or falsely accused, without enough money to buy your life, you were doomed.

Moreover, his group wasn’t a bunch of refugees at all—they were bandits who had fled from a neighboring country.

Once inside, it wouldn’t take long for their true identities to come to light.

Then no one knew who would lose their head.

No way!

They absolutely couldn’t end up in the dungeon!

Seeing two guards about to grab him, Balun lunged forward, threw himself at Kaixi’s feet, and clung desperately to his leg.

Escape was impossible.

Not to mention all the guards here, even just Captain Kaixi alone—he couldn’t slip away under his nose.

Balun forced out a few tears, wailed loudly, his voice cracking.

“No! Captain, sir! You can’t do this! We’re telling the truth! She really is a witch!”

Two guards immediately rushed over, grabbed his legs, and tried to pull him away.

“Let go of me! You idiots! Do you even know who she is? She’s the ‘Ash Witch’! She’ll kill you all!”

Balun roared hysterically, his eyes bloodshot.

But Kaixi only coldly watched him, without a trace of pity.

He tightened his grip on his sword, twisted his wrist, and pressed the blade against Balun’s neck.

“Let go.”

Kaixi’s voice was devoid of emotion.

The blade pressed down slightly, drawing a thin line of blood on his neck.

Balun’s struggle stopped abruptly.

He let go, not daring to move an inch, fearing that the next second he’d lose his head.

“Take him away.”

Kaixi waved his hand, and two guards hoisted Balun up by the arms, preparing to drag him into the city’s dungeon.

Just as Kaixi had arrested all the bandits disguised as refugees and was about to escort them to the dungeon, something unexpected happened on Luo Xiaosu’s side.

Luo Xiaosu shielded Aiweila with one arm while keeping a close eye on the approaching guards.

“What are you trying to do? Don’t come any closer!”

She warned the guards in a low voice, a barely perceptible tremor in her tone.

“Tch, you’re quite feisty.”

“Hey, look at this chick, not bad-looking. Once she’s in the dungeon, we’ll have a nice little ‘chat’ with her.”

“Yeah, even though the little one is a bit small, she’s got some charm too. She’ll be a real beauty when she grows up.”

Hearing the guards’ filthy remarks, Luo Xiaosu bit her lower lip, fury surging in her chest.

She could feel Aiweila trembling in her arms, the little girl’s small hands clutching her clothes tightly.

Four guards reached out toward Luo Xiaosu and Aiweila, trying to pull them apart, their lustful eyes undisguised.

She tightened her grip on the magic wand hidden in her sleeve, ready to release a spell the moment the guards got close, create chaos, and escape with Aiweila.