Chapter 34
Duxi Town is the only way from the Western Regions to the capital. They definitely cannot reach the capital within one day, so the team of carriages and horses will most likely rest here.
This group of people made a lot of noise, so she asked around along the way and found out their whereabouts after asking just a few people.
The old man setting up a stall at the city gate pointed eastward and said, "Heading to the Yue Lai Inn. That's the largest inn in our town, and it's the only one that can accommodate such a large group!"
Shen Aheng thanked the old man and walked east as directed. Not far away, he saw the sign of "Yue Lai Inn" in front of him.
At the door stood a group of servants dressed in Western costumes, with scimitars hanging from their waists, guarding the gate motionlessly. They were the same group of people who had just escorted the carriage.
Shen Ahheng's heart skipped a beat, and he slowed down his pace. He hid behind a tree across the street and looked into the inn.
Although I didn't see the ebony carriage, this scene should be correct.
Shen Aheng clenched the porcelain bottle in her arms and took a deep breath. No matter whether the person inside was Ayu or not, she had to go in and confirm it first.
Shen Ahheng was guarding behind the tree, squatting until his legs and feet were numb. The night had already spread over the eaves before he saw the servants at the door of the inn move.
Several Western Region attendants who were changing shifts came out from inside. They whispered a few words as they handed over their shifts, and then the attendant guarding the door turned around and left.
Seeing the opportunity, Shen Aheng quickly rubbed his numb legs. Taking advantage of the fact that there were few people at the door, he touched the ground with his toes and floated in like a falling leaf.
At this time of year, the inn would normally be filled with the sounds of rock-paper-scissors and the aroma of food, but today it was unusually quiet. The lobby was empty, with only a few servants standing in the corner, their eyes glancing around warily.
Shen Ah Heng moved towards the stairs along the wall. As soon as he reached the second floor, he saw four servants guarding the door of the innermost room. Each of them had his hand on the hilt of a sword. The guard was much stricter than other places.
Shen Ahheng's heart tightened, and he quietly walked around the corridor pillar, lowered his head and took out a small bamboo tube from his arms, gently pulled out the cork, and blew at the servant at the door.
A mist drifted away silently with the wind. After a while, the servants shook their bodies and fell to the ground one after another, without any movement.
Shen Ah Heng quickly jumped forward, checked their breath, and confirmed that they were not awake before he tiptoed to the door.
Shen Ah Heng stood against the door, looking at the candlelight coming from inside, his heart beating so hard that it seemed like it was going to burst his chest.
The thing she had imagined over and over again in her mind for more than three years, now that it was actually happening, made her feel a little panicky. She slowly raised her hand, and just as her fingertips were about to touch the door panel, they stopped in mid-air.
What if... it's not him in there?
What if...it's really him, what if he hates me?
His fingertips were suspended half an inch away from the door panel, and he hesitated for a long time. Shen Ah Heng bit his lip and hesitated for a long time, even breathing very lightly. His mind was full of the first meeting in the mountains, the companionship in the mountain temple, and the look in his eyes when he was captured three years ago.
-
A middle-aged man in a gray robe hunched over, his hands folded before him. He walked briskly until he reached the center of the room and suddenly knelt down, his forehead almost touching the ground. "I am Mu Kun, the leader of the Shatuo helm, and I pay my respects to Lord Lingchi! Upon hearing of Lingchi's arrival, I dared not delay for a moment and rushed here immediately!"
The room was so quiet that one could hear the crackling of the candlelight. The flickering candlelight reflected on the wall, stretching the shadow of the young man's dark purple and gold-woven robe very long.
The young man with his back to him didn't turn around. His dark purple robe with gold weave fell to the ground. In the candlelight, the life patterns on the hem shone coldly. His pale fingertips gently stroked the scabbard at his waist. His voice was icy, without a trace of warmth, and carried an unquestionable majesty: "Get up and speak."
"Yes." Mu Kun quickly stood up, still bowing his head. He respectfully presented a roll of paper with both hands and said enthusiastically, "Master Lingchi, I have been carrying out your instructions. We are searching for a woman named "Chen Aheng" nearby. This is the portrait I had drawn according to your instructions and has been distributed to various strongholds. As long as the woman is near this area, I will find her within two days!"
It was not until then that the young man finally turned around slowly, and the candlelight fell just on his face. He had high brow bones, slightly upturned eyes, dark ink-colored pupils like obsidian immersed in a cold pond, a straight nose, and lips that were brightly colored, a little dazzling.
She was clearly extremely beautiful, but she was enveloped in gloom, with no warmth between her brows.
The whole person exudes a cold and sharp aura that keeps strangers away.
Mu Kun was stunned. The next second, he came back to his senses, his heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head again in a hurry. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
He had been in the Shatuo helm of the Yaochen Sect for five years. He had heard from others that the Holy Blood Lingchi had an outstanding appearance, even "the best in the Western Regions", but he had never imagined that he would be so thrilling. He only heard that although Lingchi was beautiful, he had a terrible and violent temper. When he was cleaning out the traitors in the sect, he killed seventeen people with a single sword, and he didn't even frown even when his body was covered in blood. Now, at such a young age, he holds the high position of the head of the five elders, and his temper is even more unpredictable.
A few days ago, a servant had his hands crippled just because he was a little slow in serving tea.
Thinking of this, Mu Kun cursed himself in his heart, buried his head even lower, and didn't even dare to breathe heavily, for fear that he would accidentally anger this evil spirit.
His heart was in turmoil when the young man took the portrait from him, pinching the edge of the paper with his fingertips. When his eyes fell on the portrait, his eyes darkened, but he didn't say anything. He just raised his hand and threw the portrait back to the captain: "Keep a close eye on it. When you find the person, don't alarm her yet, and report to me immediately."
Mu Kun quickly accepted it and bowed, saying, "Yes! I understand! I will not let Master Lingchi down!"
After answering, Mu Kun didn't dare to stay any longer. He bent his body and retreated step by step until he was almost at the door. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and couldn't help muttering in his heart that he grew up in the Western Regions and was used to speaking the Western dialect, but this Ling Chi had a quirk. No matter who reported to him, they had to use the Central Plains dialect.
A while ago, a brother from a branch accidentally uttered a sentence in Western dialect, and was immediately punished by Ling Chi with a cold face to guard the border. Thinking about it now, it still makes people break out in a cold sweat.
After muttering, he thought of the girl that Ling Chi had asked them to look for, and couldn't help but ponder.
Ling Chi had just arrived in Duxi Town and without even taking a break, he was already anxious to ask them to find the woman named "Chen Aheng". He even had her portrait painted overnight.
When he handed the portrait to Ling Chi just now, he secretly glanced at it. The girl in the painting was wearing a washed-out coarse cloth shirt, with mud spots on her trouser legs and cloth shoes with worn-out tips. She looked like a little medicine girl who had been running in the mountains and forests all year round.
Her hair was loose and a little messy, with the strands of hair sticking to her cheeks. She didn't look like an ordinary southern lady at all. Her eyes were bright and lively as if they had been soaked in mountain spring water, revealing a wildness that was not bound by worldly rules.
But their Lingchi has always been cold-hearted and cold-tempered. He has never even been kind to the elders of the sect. How could he care so much about such a slutty and muddy girl from the Central Plains?
They didn't say they were going to arrest her and interrogate her, nor did they say what they were going to do with her. It was really hard to guess what the relationship between this woman and Ling Chi was.
Is it an enemy?
Or is there some other connection?
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became, but he didn't even have the courage to ask.
Forget it, such things are not something that lowly subordinates like them can know.
Shen Ah Heng waited outside the door for a long time, wanting to eavesdrop on the movements inside, but afraid of being discovered by the noise, she could only hold her breath against the door. However, the door was very soundproof. She listened for a long time, but only heard a few words intermittently, such as "portrait" and "send someone to find", and could not hear the whole content at all.
Until she heard the sound of the door opening from inside, she quickly shrank back, crouched down and hid behind the corridor pillar, watching Mu Kun leave with his head down, holding the things.
She waited until the footsteps completely disappeared before she slowly stood up and reluctantly moved back to the door.
He raised his fingertips and was about to touch the door panel, but then he withdrew them as if he had been burned, and hesitated several times. Just as he was struggling, footsteps suddenly came from the end of the corridor. It seemed that a servant was coming up. Shen Ah Heng panicked and just turned around to run.
At this moment, a strong wind suddenly blew in from inside the door, and with a loud "bang", the wooden door was smashed directly, and wood chips mixed with dust flew all over the sky.
Shen Ahheng was so scared that he sat down on the ground, coughing repeatedly because of being choked. He subconsciously raised his hand to fan the dust in front of his eyes. When his vision became clearer, he covered his mouth and looked up, but happened to meet a pair of inky eyes.
Those eyes were bottomless, without any warmth in them, as cold as ice in a cold pond. They fell directly on her, making her freeze in place in an instant, forgetting even to breathe.
At this moment, chaotic footsteps were heard downstairs. Several servants dressed in Western Region clothing rushed up with scimitars in hand. They saw a young man from the Central Plains sitting on the outer corridor. The ground was covered with sawdust, his hair was covered with dust, and his coarse cloth clothes were also covered with dust. He looked disheveled. They immediately shouted in Western Region dialect, "Who are you? How dare you cause trouble outside Master Lingchi's door!"
Before Shen Ahheng could even open her mouth, she was surrounded by the servants. Several cold scimitars were placed on her neck with a "swish". The cold blades were close to her skin. If they were moved forward half an inch, they would pierce her flesh. She was forced to not even dare to move and could only gently clench the corner of her clothes.
The attendants didn't dare to act on their own. They turned to the purple-robed youth inside and asked in halting Central Plains dialect, "Master Lingchi, this man is acting suspiciously. What should we do with him?"
Shen Ah Heng followed their gaze and met those cold dark eyes. His throat tightened a little, but he still managed a smile and called softly: "Ayu...long time no see."
Upon hearing this, the chill around Ashina Yu seemed to freeze for a moment, then it returned. She curled her lips, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Her tone was filled with a hint of cold sarcasm: "It's amazing that you still remember my name."
As he finished speaking, his pale hand unconsciously pressed on the hilt of the knife at his waist, and his knuckles turned white.
It's like I need to hold on to something to steady myself.
After not seeing him for a few years, he has become much more fluent in the Central Plains dialect.
Savoring the sarcasm in his words, Shen Ah Heng paused, ignored him, and took out a small porcelain bottle with body temperature from his arms. He wanted to get up and give it to him, but his body was restrained and he couldn't move. He could only look up at him and said softly: "I don't know how the poison in your body is doing now. This is the pill I made in the mountains later. I added the two herbs of ice silk and Yinhuai wood. It is much more convenient to carry than the powder. If you haven't... take one pill each morning and evening to see if it works."
"Who wants your things." Ashina Yu suddenly raised her hand, and an invisible internal force swept through the air, knocking the porcelain bottle in her hand away.
The porcelain bottle fell to the ground with a clang, and the pills inside spilled out. The deep red pills rolled out, and some even rolled downstairs.
Shen Aheng paused, but was not annoyed. He just picked up the porcelain bottle silently, avoiding the sharp wooden thorns, and picked up the pills scattered on the ground one by one.
Ashina Yu looked at her as she lowered her head, sawdust stuck in her hair and slightly curled fingertips. His heart felt like it was stabbed and his eyes suddenly tightened.
A servant nearby thought he was going to get angry, and just as he took half a step forward, Ashina Yu suddenly raised his hand and waved it, sending the copper cups and candlesticks on the table flying out with a "clatter". The copper cups, carrying a strong wind, hit the servant's leg with a "bang" with full force, and his voice was as cold as ice: "Get out!"
The servant staggered back in pain, not daring to even breathe.
Ashina Yu's eyes were like hooks tempered with ice, staring intently at Shen Aheng's squatting figure, from the ends of her hair covered with dust to the way she avoided the wooden thorns and carefully picked up the pills, not missing a single movement.
That gaze seemed to be fixed on her, and she couldn't move away.
The sudden outburst of anger from Ashina Yu had not yet dissipated, and the other guards were so frightened that they put away their scimitars and retreated, no longer daring to step forward to restrain her.
Shen Ah Heng was free now and picked up the pills faster. When she was about to put the last pill into her palm, she slowly stood up and patted the sawdust on the corner of her clothes.
Holding the scattered medicine, Shen Aheng looked up at Ashina Yu, met his still cold and unfamiliar expression, moved his throat, and said: "Since you don't welcome me, then I will leave. For the sake of saving you in the past, please don't be angry. Tonight... I disturbed you, just pretend I have never been here... I'm sorry."
After saying that, she clenched the medicine in her palm, turned around and walked towards the stairs.
Shen Ahheng's figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs, and the faint smell of herbs in the air gradually dissipated.
The courtyard, which was originally filled with hostility, suddenly became quiet, so empty that only the slight sound of wind blowing through the broken doors and windows could be heard.
Ashina Yu's hands hanging at his sides slowly tightened, his knuckles gradually turned white, and even the veins on the back of his hands became tense.
His eyes were fixed on the direction where Shen Aheng left, and he didn't have time to contain the emotions surging in his eyes, and his throat tightened.
After a moment, Ashina Yu suddenly turned around, his voice as cold as ice, and shouted at the attendants standing around him, "Get out! Stop being an eyesore!"
The servants were frightened by the low pressure around him and dared not utter a word. Upon hearing his words, they immediately bowed and retreated, not even daring to touch the mess on the ground. In the blink of an eye, they left and the place was empty.
Ashina Yu's hands hanging at his sides slowly tightened, and his fingertips rubbed across his palms, which seemed to still retain the stiffness from when he had just clenched them, but now they were empty, with only invisible air left.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
