As she spoke, the girl tightened the cloak covering her face, picked up her wine glass, and prepared to move aside, clearly trying to avoid Juxi.

She glanced at the innkeeper, signaling that there was a strange customer sitting in her spot, but the man avoided her gaze. He had no interest in protecting this foreigner, especially during this chaotic period - who liked barbarians anyway?

"Barbarians are all thieves… no, they're basically bandits!" the innkeeper scowled, his breath smelling of beer, garlic, and anger. "You hear me, bastard?"

Although the innkeeper kindly warned, "I can't hear anything, just pretend my ears are stuffed with shit!"

The man with blonde hair standing behind the girl chuckled, "warned" Juxi seated across from the girl, "That's right, if there's nothing else, get lost!"

It was only then that the girl looked up at him, her emotions seeming unstable, and hostility filled her tone towards Juxi.

"I'm going to finish my drink that I ordered, clear?" she said firmly.

"Don’t get angry, I'm here to help you. Remember, we only act in our own interests."

Juxi's expression remained unchanged, but the man with blonde hair behind the girl overturned the table and grabbed him by the shoulder, fingers curling into a fist as they were about to gang up on Juxi.

The other side was ready to attack, indicating Juxi had gotten himself into trouble he shouldn't have. The stranger twisted out of the grip of the man with pockmarked face, who suddenly lost his balance. A sword was unsheathed, emitting a crisp sound, the sword gleaming in the dim light of the oil lamp. The inn erupted into chaos and screams as a customer rushed out the door.

A chair crashed to the floor with a bang, clay cups shattered on the ground, and the innkeeper trembled at the sight of the girl's angry face, his lips quivering uncontrollably.

Although the blonde hair man behind the girl overturned the table in a fit, Juxi’s calm demeanor left him feeling uncertain, ultimately ending in the girl having to confront Juxi herself.

Juxi finally spoke up, "Hey hey, what's the meaning of this? Just eating a meal and having a drink shouldn’t necessitate this, right?"

Now, attacking them would only be disadvantageous to himself, and Juxi understood this deeply.

In the blink of an eye, all the patrons in the tavern had fled, fortunately, this was just an ordinary tavern. If it had happened at the Capital Tavern frequented by Qing officials, surely soldiers would have already surrounded the place?

"If you want to fight me, do it outside. If something is damaged…” Juxi spread his hands, looking at the blonde man with a friendly gaze.

However, the blonde man misunderstood, mistaking Juxi's friendliness for weakness and approached him with sinister intent.

"What's this?!" Striding arrogantly up to Juxi, the blonde man sneered, "If you don't want trouble, I suggest you scram out the door, or else… Ah!"

Before the blonde man could finish his words, he was sent flying together with the overturned table!

Juxi brushed off the dust as if nothing had happened, while the blonde man was left powerless.

"How… how are you so strong?" the blonde man struggled unwillingly.

He collapsed slowly, resembling a drowning man in water, while the other two men who seemed like bodyguards were lying on the ground, one frozen in fear and the other convulsing and shrieking.

The air was filled with the shrill, hysterical screams of a woman.

The innkeeper was trembling all over, panting heavily, then fled the scene in a hurry.

The girl, however, remained calm, pressed against the wall like a vigilant beast, hands tightly gripping the silver sword hilt at her waist, the sword tip pointing downwards.

No one dared to move, their faces contorted in panic, bodies stiff and voices locked in their throats.

Just as the innkeeper had left, there was a loud bang as three Qing soldiers burst into the tavern, their weapons clanging.

They seemed to be soldiers patrolling nearby, wielding spears wrapped in leather ropes and red tassels. As soon as they saw the bodies, they aimed their weapons at the five individuals in the room.

The girl remained against the wall, slowly extracting a small dagger from her boot with her left hand.

"Drop your weapons!" a Qing soldier shouted with a trembling voice, "Drop your weapons and come with us to the yamen!"

Another soldier kicked over a table and seized the barbarian girl from the side.

"Go call for backup, these folks look especially troublesome!" the cautious soldier yelled to the guard standing by the door before making the arrest.

"No need," Juxi stepped forward, lowering his black iron sword, "I'll go myself."

"Fool, we'll have you tied up, you damn troublemaker!" the trembling soldier roared, "Drop your sword or I'll make a hole in your head!"

At that moment, the barbarian girl standing on the side could no longer sit still.

She straightened her body, swiftly sliding the dagger under her left armpit, raised her right hand, and swiftly marked the Qing soldier's neck.

"You brat, what are you…”