Is the person being visited a deceased friend?
Song Xizhi pondered the meaning behind the words, and when she came to her senses again, she heard Siqin's somewhat anxious voice.
"Master, we've finally found you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Siqin tightly grasped her hands.
"I'm fine, I'm sorry to have worried you." Song Xizhi carefully looked Siqin over and, noticing that she was injured, breathed a sigh of relief.
She asked, "Siqin, do you know kung fu?"
Siqin nodded, her face still showing a hint of confusion: "Yes, everyone who practices martial arts knows how to do it, Master, what's wrong?"
Song Xizhi's eyes lit up: "That's perfect, one person with one person, everyone can go up."
King Qi did not answer, but silently looked in the direction of the man: "It is not impossible for me to send guards to rescue you."
The masked man didn't speak, but simply took two steps forward, grabbed the Prince of Qi's shoulder with one hand, and with a few quick steps, used his lightness skill to fly up again.
His movements were quick and casual, and he seemed to harbor some resentment.
The poor King Qi swayed in the biting cold wind.
Seeing this, Siqin put one arm around Song Xizhi's waist and whispered to her, "Master, hold on tight."
So he lightly touched the ground with his toes and used his light-foot technique to fly up.
The man was highly skilled in martial arts, and Siqin's movements were a little slow, so she couldn't catch up with him in no time.
As his feet touched the ground, Song Xizhi finally felt a sense of reality. His legs went weak, and he only managed to regain his balance after a short while.
When she looked up and around, she found that the place was empty. King Qi, Eunuch Shen, and even her benefactor had all disappeared.
Song Xizhi looked around and then heard a man's cold voice from behind her: "He didn't wait for you, are you very sad?"
“You even saved his life, yet he showed not a shred of gratitude.”
This elusive man always likes to speak so unexpectedly.
Song Xizhi turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw that familiar voice.
She suddenly smiled: "You saved my life, I'm very grateful."
The man was silent for a moment, then simply replied, "Don't trust men too easily."
Song Xizhi raised her eyes and looked at him intently: "Then can I trust you?"
"Why do you keep appearing beside me and saving me, yet always wearing a mask?"
"Is the old friend you were looking for the same one as that King Qi?"
Feeling Song Xizhi's gaze, the man softened his voice slightly: "It's too dangerous. Every question you ask is too dangerous."
Song Xizhi keenly sensed the subtle changes in the man.
He was very different from the man he had been at the bottom of the cliff. He had lost some of his coldness and sharpness, and his confrontational and tense demeanor had softened.
This gave Song Xizhi that familiar feeling again.
She suddenly recalled the words of advice that the King of Qi had whispered in her ear.
"Girl, cherish the person in front of you."
The bizarre idea in Song Xizhi's mind suddenly intensified:
The stranger in front of her was her husband, with whom she spent every day and shared a bed.
The idea was absurd and baseless, yet a voice echoed repeatedly deep within her.
She immediately stepped forward, gazing into the man's eyes: "You've saved me three times, my benefactor. May I see what you look like?"
The man slightly turned his body and took a step back.
It is a silent rejection.
But people's eyes don't lie.
Song Xizhi gazed at the gradually appearing dawn on the horizon, closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her expression had returned to normal.
"Didn't you ask me which old friend I was looking for?"
"As dawn breaks, if you want to know what I'm looking for, wait for me here at midnight tomorrow. If we go together, we won't be in danger."
"And thank you for saving my life time and time again."
After saying this, Song Xizhi bowed slightly to the man and then turned and left.
The man stood in the bamboo forest, holding his sword. The wind blew through the bamboo, lifting his clothes and making the bamboo leaves rustle.
He didn't say a word, just silently watched Song Xizhi's back as it grew smaller and smaller, and further and further away.
Once the two had walked a little further away, Siqin hurriedly approached Song Xizhi's side.
She first let out a deep sigh, then asked with concern, "My lady, will you be going out like this tomorrow?"
As Song Xizhi walked out, she looked down at the hem of her skirt. The movement strained her muscles, and her back ached a little.
The hem of her skirt was also dark and covered in fallen leaves and mud, so her clothes must be in no better condition.
She lowered her eyes: "I haven't done what I was supposed to do, so I'll naturally be going out tomorrow."
Siqin knew she couldn't stop her, so she simply said, "Today was far too dangerous. Heyan Mountain is not peaceful, and you were even injured. If we encounter another assassination attempt in the future, we cannot help you rashly."
Song Xizhi shook his head, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Those who encounter assassination attempts here are all like-minded people. I don't regret what happened today; on the contrary, I'm quite happy."
Prince Qi, who had connections with the imperial palace, was a staunch supporter of Emperor Guangqi.
Those assassins with their strange accents and green eyes looked like foreigners.
Tibetans? Khitans? Or Western Rong?
The King of Qi was looking for a deceased friend. If the assassin was a Western Rong person, then could this matter be related to the deceased empress?
The clues were intricate and complex, yet Song Xizhi laughed freely:
"Siqin, help me find out what happened in that abandoned courtyard over there in the bamboo forest, and why it was abandoned?"
"What kinds of pilgrims stayed there? Royal nobles? Imperial concubines?...The Empress?"
"And the attitude and reaction of the Qi King's forces in the previous Han family case."
Song Xizhi paused slightly as she spoke, then continued, "You were assigned to me by my husband. Now that he has woken up, you should use his influence to investigate. Tell me what you find, and I will be able to discern the truth."
She specifically instructed that He Jingyan's influence be used to investigate, as a warning to Siqin not to try to fool her with useless information.
She understands it clearly.
As Siqin listened to Song Xizhi's words, she sensed a firmness and a subtle oppression in her attitude, which made her scalp tingle.
She didn't dare to dissuade her, and simply replied, "Yes."
"Do you want to investigate the identity of that man from earlier?" Siqin suddenly asked again.
Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi suddenly turned his head and glanced at her, then smiled, a smile that held a deeper meaning: "Siqin, you won't be able to find out."
She wanted to investigate this man herself.
The truth will come out tomorrow.
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