Escape from danger [1]
Liu Lu rushed back in the evening, covered in dust, carrying an account book wrapped in cloth.
The stench hit the door as soon as you entered, and knowing that Xu had a keen sense of smell, he couldn't help but gag.
Tears welled up in her cold, peach-blossom eyes as she bent down and squatted beside the table. "Throw it in the backyard."
Startled, Fan Lingzhang retreated repeatedly, exclaiming, "How can it smell so bad?"
"My lady said it was in the cowshed, and I finally found it under the hay."
"Your monthly salary is doubled this month, so hurry up and throw it to the back."
"yes."
Seeing that Liu Lü had left, Sui Zhixu felt a little relieved. Cheng Zhijie was right; Xiao He was very clever. Few people would have thought that the account books could be hidden in the cowshed.
It just smells awful.
Even though Liu Lü is gone, the smell of cow dung still lingers in the air.
Let it air out for a while, then check it again later.
In order to carry out his plan to rescue Cheng Zhijie, Sui Chuke racked his brains to plan tonight. When he stepped out of the house at night, he almost fainted from the lingering smell in the air.
"It stinks! Where is that smell coming from?"
Sui Zhixu stood at the door with Fan Lingzhang, enjoying the breeze. Fan Lingzhang mainly fanned her with a fan, and occasionally he would chat with the villagers who were protecting (guarding) them.
Hearing the shout, the two turned around and calmly said, "I wonder whose cow has run away."
"Whose cow ran away and you didn't even know? There aren't many cows in your Yungang Village to begin with, aren't you going to take care of them? Who will plow your land if it falls off the mountain?" Chu Ke strode forward to the villagers.
"Yes, a cow did run away, but its owner took it back early. There's nothing we can do about the stench. There are no other houses in the village for you to stay in. This house was only recently vacated because Old Man Wang passed away. Please bear with it."
"I'll just have to put up with it?" Sui Chu laughed politely. Knowing that Cheng Zhijie had been tortured to the point of wishing he were dead, he wanted to kill all of them.
Still tolerating it?
I can't stand it! Once he gets to the Mo Family Lodge on the mountain, he'll have all these people thrown into prison and subjected to a water dungeon!
"Fine! I'll endure it!" Sui Chuke's smile froze on his face. He received a warning look from Sui Zhixu and remembered the rescue plan for tonight. For his cousin's sake, he would endure it!
He said he would endure it, but his ruthless gaze and deep-set brow bones frightened the villagers so much that they quickly made excuses to leave.
The sight of her running away with her bare feet was comical. Sui Zhixu raised an eyebrow. Liu Lü was naturally steady and indeed thorough in her work.
"The smell has dissipated a lot. Let's put the ledgers away and prepare to go to the water dungeon." As she spoke, Sui Zhixu took out a clean handkerchief and covered her mouth and nose.
Fan Lingzhang followed, while Sui Chuke stood there dumbfounded. "You gave it to him, why not me? I'm your cousin, after all!"
Seeing the two walking further and further away, he looked at his own clothes, hesitated for a long time, then covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve and ran over.
The account books were spread out on the ground in the backyard, and Liu Lü had been constantly burning the incense she had stolen from the temple.
After half an hour of fumigation, the pungent stench had finally subsided by most. Although the wisps of smell lingered like flies, it was barely tolerable because Xu was wearing a handkerchief.
As she flipped through the ledgers page by page, she realized that she didn't recognize most of the local officials in Jiangnan. It wasn't until the later pages, when she saw the governor of Luozhou and county-level officials from Luoyang, that her expression became even more serious.
The wife of the governor of Luozhou had given her a gift when she entered Luoyang. Many people had given her gifts when she first entered Luoyang. Since Sui Zhixu had made a big show of entering Luoyang in order to trick Sui Chuke, it was understandable that many people had given her gifts. She didn't think much of it and only had Danhong deliver a thank-you gift.
Could it be that they learned of the news early on and were trying to bribe her to please their father?
Her slender, pale fingers rested on the name of the Prefect of Luozhou. She continued flipping through the book, the striking characters catching her eye. She slammed the ledger shut.
Just then, Sui Chuke entered. Seeing her solemn expression, before he could even speak, he heard Sui Zhixu ask, "When will the people from the two departments arrive?"
"It will take time to transfer people; the earliest it can be done is by tomorrow night."
Xu nodded slightly, his expression unchanged, "Rest for a bit, then we'll go rescue Cheng Hui in a quarter of an hour."
The three striking words lingered in his mind, and Sui Zhixu immediately understood the purpose of Cheng Zhijie's visit from Conglan.
He can do this, and only he can do it.
"Zirong, you don't know martial arts, so go wait for us in the river. If anything happens, hide yourself."
"Liu Lü and I distracted the guards and went with Chu Ke to rescue him."
Sui Zhixu issued the arrangements to everyone in a calm and firm tone.
The three nodded, and Chu Ke, in order to better rescue Cheng Zhijie, analyzed the structure of the water prison countless times in his mind and deduced for a long time how to escape from it.
Fifteen minutes later, Fan Lingzhang was heading in the opposite direction from the three of them. He watched them leave with worry in his eyes, gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran towards the river to wait for them.
He had to trust his wife; Ah Ling was calm and intelligent, and she could definitely do it.
"Fire! The village chief's house is on fire! Help! Put out the fire!"
Flames soared into the sky from the five small wooden buildings, their bright light illuminating half the dark night.
Two burly men at the door panicked upon seeing this. "The village chief's house is on fire! He's half-dead anyway, so he can't escape. Let's go put out the fire first."
After the three of them left, Xu took out the key that Xiao He had secretly given her and opened the door.
"Follow Chu guest, catch him!"
After seeing him plunge into the water, he threw the rope and key to him.
Cheng Zhijie, inside the water dungeon, had pale lips and was unconscious. If he hadn't been suspended by iron chains, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand up long ago.
Sui Chu Ke slapped his face, "Cheng Hui, wake up! Your brother's here!"
After being patted, Cheng Zhijie slowly woke up. He followed Chu Ke to unlock his shackles, held the man in his arms, and stuffed a bamboo tube into his mouth.
"Hey! Someone help him up."
Sui Zhixu kept a close eye on the wooden building, his hand on the scabbard, seemingly about to draw his sword at any moment.
She gestured for Liu Lü to go, and after Liu Lü helped the person up, she followed Chu Ke underwater to pull the iron railing.
Even from such a distance, Sui Zhixu could clearly hear the villagers' cries, wails, and prayers.
They lamented why He would punish them with heavenly tribulations, and pleaded desperately for atonement.
She clearly experienced firsthand what it meant to be filled with wailing and lamentation; the scenes described in the book were actually quite simplistic.
"Sister! Run!"
The small figure was blurred in the smoke and dust, but the clear shouts rang out loudly across the wide field.
"Hurry up!" Sui Zhixu turned around and urged them.
As Chu Ke was dealing with the iron railing, he heard a noise on the water, braced his foot against the wall, and pulled hard.
He immediately pulled on the rope tied to Cheng Zhijie's wrist, pulled him along, and swam ahead while he scouted ahead.
"My little disciple, it's been a long time!" He Miao flashed across Sui Zhixu's arm like a ghost, instantly drawing blood.
Before leaving, Liu Lü glanced at Sui Zhixu and saw her shake her head, so she could only grit her teeth and leave.
“Your little maid has also left. Last time, even your master and the maid couldn’t defeat me together. Do you think you can beat me by yourself?”
He Miao drew his sword and thrust it at Sui Zhixu, forcing her to retreat repeatedly.
"He wants to perform the sacrifice tomorrow night. How can an emperor change his orders so easily!" Sui Zhixu shouted as he blocked an attack with his sword and rushed towards the village chief.
"Hmph, I said..."
"Can just anyone change His will?" The moment Sui Zhixu saw He Miao, he knew he was the Taoist priest Xiao He had mentioned.
"No, Master, you mustn't! The date of the sacrifice cannot be changed; it was all calculated in advance." The village chief, his hair and clothes charred, stumbled towards He Miao.
Having impersonated Him for so long, I've gotten so used to giving orders that I've almost forgotten I'm just pretending.
He Miao sheathed his sword and smiled. "Alright! I'll keep you here for one more day. It's a pity your master isn't here; I, your uncle, will have to collect your body."
"I never expected that Prince Xuanping would have a penchant for collecting corpses. I'm going to all this trouble to leave you a whole body." He Miao tied Sui Zhixu up with his hands behind her back and mocked her in a low voice.
"he?"
"A mermaid pearl? How come you have this mermaid pearl by your ear? Did Yueling give it to you?"
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through her ear. She let out a soft moan as drops of blood fell onto her shoulder, and the smell of rust filled her nostrils.
"Hahaha! No wonder those good-for-nothings only brought back a jade pendant for me. The sacred object has always been with you."
"Give it back to me!"
She no longer needs the mermaid pearl to stabilize her soul, but she will never allow it to fall into the hands of others.
He Miao picked up the mermaid pearl and examined it closely. "A sacred object from Moon Mountain, ah—"
He let out a comforting sound, as if his soul had been soothed and an unprecedented comfort swept over his entire body.
"Now I understand why Sima Xian insisted that I leave you with a whole body to take back. So that's why." He Miao grabbed Sui Zhixu's chin, his expression crazed. "I never thought that Yueling would go to such lengths to save you, only to die at my hands in the end."
He Miao kept laughing maniacally, and the surrounding villagers dared not approach him. Xiao He tried to run up to him, but was grabbed by the village chief and had her mouth covered tightly.
—
Fan Lingzhang, who was guarding the river, felt uneasy seeing the distant flames.
Suddenly, ripples appeared on the water's surface. Chu Ke was the first to emerge from the water, grabbed Fan Lingzhang's hand, and climbed out. He then pulled the two people behind him out as well.
Fan Lingzhang waited in vain for Sui Zhixu, then turned to Sui Chuke, who was lying on the ground panting heavily, and asked, "Where is my wife? I'm asking you, where is my wife? Why are you all here but I can't find her!"
He grabbed Sui Chuke by the collar, and Sui Chuke closed his eyes, only managing to say "I'm sorry" after a long while.
Fan Lingzhang punched Sui Chuke in the face and grabbed him, saying, "How could you leave her there alone!"
"I need to go back and save her."
"Calm down. You have no martial arts skills and no manpower. How can you save her? Going back now will only get you killed too. The Sui family will arrive tomorrow. Come down the mountain with me first."
"If we die, we die together. If anything happens to my wife, I will never live alone!"
Sui Chuke couldn't let him leave; the account books were still in his hands. If Sui Zhixu found out that he had let her lover go, she would haunt him like a vengeful ghost even after she died.
"What do you mean by dead or alive? Get down the mountain first!" He slapped Fan Lingzhang on the back of the neck, picked him up, and ran down the mountain.
Cheng Zhijie was too weak to go ashore and fainted again. Liu Lü carried him on her back and followed Sui Chuke. "Hurry, hurry, she still has to rush back to save her wife."
The group, who had been eagerly anticipating what was to come, had their child bound tightly by He Miao and thrown into the main hall of the temple, where the child was not allowed to eat or drink until the afternoon of the next day.
Sui Zhixu had never suffered such a great ordeal except for falling off a cliff. Even after she swam out of the lake that day, Yueling had been with her the whole time.
Upon careful consideration, it's impossible to find a worse one.
With an empty stomach, Sui Zhixu leaned against the wall, feeling a throbbing headache. She had considered their current situation when she decided to rescue Cheng Zhijie, so she asked...
According to the situation of the two departments of Chu Ke.
Cheng Zhijie was barely hanging on. Without Liu Lü, it would be difficult for Sui Chuke to survive on his own, so she told Liu Lü to go first.
The account books are also on Fan Lingzhang. Although the pretty little Furong might not be able to resist, with Sui Chuke there, he will definitely be able to take her down the mountain.
Now it's just a matter of time. It's okay, she told herself. "Sui Zhixu, you'll be alright."
She still had a bargaining chip: she wouldn't die here; she hadn't taken her revenge; she couldn't die without her memories, without understanding why.
Why did she leave herself to the end? There were clearly better ways to protect herself. Weren't the Sui family's secret guards obligated to sacrifice themselves for their young master?
Although Xu couldn't understand it, her tight abdomen gave her a burning sensation, so she had no choice but to curl up.
She must have been confused by the grand theories about maternal age, she must have.
I'm so hungry, is He Miao planning to starve her to death?
"Sister, it's me. I've brought you food."
As Xu Zhixu's vision blurred, Xiao He climbed over the window and handed her some dry food.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com