Chapter 5 Rebirth If I let you die again this time, I'll be a dog!...
As Qi Jingxuan embarked on his journey away from the capital once again, he was filled with grief and indignation. As he left the city, he not only cursed the unknown person behind the scenes again, but also cursed God.
Since he's already been given a second chance at life, why can't he go back to earlier times, back to before the banquet at the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence?
For an hour or two in the morning, he absolutely abstains from alcohol, leaving no opportunity for anyone to take advantage of him!
No, he won't even step inside the gates of the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence!
Unfortunately, when he woke up, he was already in that courtyard and was unable to stop Miss Shen from committing suicide. As a result, he was still powerless to turn the tide and was once again driven out of the capital.
But having already experienced his past life, Qi Jingxuan wouldn't leave it unprepared.
This time, he didn't travel as leisurely as before. He not only endured the hardships of eating in the wind and sleeping in the open, but also carried a suit of armor with him. Whenever he got off the vehicle, he would be fully armed and put on the armor neatly.
This armor was not the kind commonly used in the military; rather, he had specially sought it out. Not only was his body well-protected, but the helmet was also almost completely airtight, with no part of his body exposed except for his eyes.
With such armor on his body, he didn't believe that the archer could shoot an arrow through his head.
Qi Jingxuan was quite pleased with himself, but he did not let his guard down. He was extra cautious when passing by the place where the incident had occurred last time, and sent someone ahead to scout out the route to make sure there was no ambush.
Even after confirming there were no ambushes, he remained vigilant, ordering his men to quickly pass by in carriages without stopping.
It wasn't until long after they had passed that place that Qi Jingxuan's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, but he still dared not completely let his guard down.
He knew that if the other party wanted to kill him, they would do so on the way.
Because once he arrives at his fiefdom, he will have many royal guards at his disposal, as well as local garrison troops for patrol and protection. Not only will it be difficult for the other party to make a move, but even if they do, they may not succeed in one fell swoop, and they may even expose flaws and leave incriminating evidence.
So once he arrived at his fiefdom, he was at peace...
"Your Highness, be careful! There's an assassin!"
A gasp rang out, startling Qi Jingxuan, who had just gotten out of the car to catch his breath.
The familiar whooshing sound came towards him, heading straight for his eyes that were exposed outside his armor.
When the arrow pierced his left eye, he didn't have time to think of anything else; only one thought crossed his mind: "Damn it, even dressed like this, how could it still pierce my head?"
………………
Pain, headache, and my eyes hurt too...
Qi Jingxuan reached out to touch his left eye, a painful groan escaping his lips.
He thought he would find an arrow, but after searching for a long time, he found nothing.
No arrows, no wounds, no blood; his head was perfectly fine, and his eyes were perfectly fine too…
Qi Jingxuan slowly opened his eyes. The familiar gauze curtains, the familiar brocade quilt, the familiar… woman removing her hairpin.
"You're not allowed to die!"
He didn't have time to think about anything else; he pounced on her and snatched the hairpin from her head.
"You're not allowed to die! Did you hear me? I said you're not allowed to die!"
Qi Jingxuan roared, forbidding Shen Yan from making any move.
When Xu Shizi and the others pushed open the door, they saw the two kneeling on the bed with their clothes disheveled, while Qi Jingxuan was firmly holding Shen Yan's wrists, muttering something about whether she was dead or not.
"Your Highness, what...what are you doing?"
Prince Xu stared at the scene before him in disbelief and asked a question.
"What can I do? I didn't do a single thing!"
Qi Jingxuan replied irritably, released Shen Yan's hand, and stood in front of the bedpost again, saying to Prince Xu.
"Jinyu, come here and keep an eye on this woman! Make sure she doesn't die."
Xu Jinyu, bewildered, stood rooted to the spot, deliberately shifting her gaze, and said, "What are you saying, Your Highness? I... how could I..."
He was speechless, but he understood Qi Jingxuan's meaning. He turned around and ordered the servants who had come with him to call a maid over, and dismissed the rest of them to prevent Shen Yan from being exposed to others in her disheveled state.
The maidservant entered the room shortly afterward, and after receiving instructions, she went to Chen Yan.
Qi Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw someone watching Shen Yan. He got up to go back to the palace to complain to the emperor and ask him to investigate the matter thoroughly. Suddenly, he saw Shen Yan, who had been sitting blankly by the bed, rush forward.
Just as she was about to crash into the corner of the table, Qi Jingxuan leaped forward and blocked her from the table.
The impact caused Qi Jingxuan's lower back to slam solidly against the corner of the table, and his stomach felt as if it had been hit by an iron hammer, causing him to grimace in pain and be unable to speak for a long time.
Qi Jingxuan leaned weakly against the table, his hand trembling as he pointed at Shen Yan: "You...you..."
Before she could finish speaking, several sharp crashes were heard. Shen Yan raised her hand and smashed the cups and saucers on the table. Holding one of the shards of porcelain, she slashed it fiercely at her neck.
Blood gushed out, and the maid's screams echoed throughout the entire Marquis's mansion.
Qi Jingxuan looked at the person who had collapsed in a pool of blood, and slowly sat down on the ground along the edge of the table:
It's over.
It's over again.
He thought to himself.
………………
On his third journey away from Beijing, Qi Jingxuan no longer had the energy to curse the people behind the scenes.
He sat blankly in the car, not understanding why this was happening.
Since he's already dead, why bring him back?
Since you let him come back, why not give him a chance to prove his innocence?
Is he suffering some kind of retribution, forced to die repeatedly?
But each death was too painful, and he didn't know if he would have another chance, so he was still very careful on the road this time.
His two previous experiences taught him that there was a master archer among the assassins who could shoot through his head even if he wore armor that was completely opaque, leaving only his eyes exposed.
So this time... he upgraded his equipment!
He not only wore armor, but also an extra special veil over his helmet, wrapped with a thick black veil.
He refused to believe that the archer could see his eyes through such a thick black veil!
As he expected, the enemy's archers were indeed unable to find a way to strike this time.
But since they were assassins, how could they give up so easily? Before he even reached his fiefdom, these people still made their move.
As they passed through a mountain valley, Qi Jingxuan heard the familiar cry of alarm again: "Your Highness, be careful! There's an assassin!"
What followed was no longer the sound of arrows piercing the air, but the deafening shouts of battle.
The enemy had a large number of men, and Qi Jingxuan's guards fought off the enemy while helping him get into the carriage, intending to drive the carriage to break through the encirclement.
But Qi Jingxuan was wearing a full suit of armor. He wasn't a trained soldier, yet he could move freely even while wearing armor.
This heavy armor weighed several dozen kilograms. Although it provided him with excellent protection, it also hindered his movements, making him slow and clumsy.
The guards had only pulled him a couple of steps when Qi Jingxuan tripped and fell to the ground with a thud.
He struggled to stand up, but the armor was too heavy, and he couldn't get up for a long time. In the end, a guard pulled him up with all his might.
As Qi Jingxuan stood up, he discovered that his vision had inexplicably improved. Previously, because he was wearing a helmet and veil, his vision was limited to a small slit peeking out from the helmet's visor, and he could only see the black veil of the veil. But now his vision was wide open, and he could clearly see the surrounding environment and the guards and assassins fighting together.
Qi Jingxuan subconsciously reached up and touched his head, only to find that his helmet had fallen off at some point.
Oh no, my head...
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the sound of something cutting through the air rang out again.
An arrow pierced through Qi Jingxuan's temple, causing him to stagger and pinning him to the carriage floor.
Only one word flashed through Qi Jingxuan's mind: helmet...
………………
It hurts so much, my head really hurts. Why does it always have to be shot in his head? Can't it be somewhere else?
Qi Jingxuan closed his eyes and touched his temples, but as expected, he couldn't find anything.
He opened his eyes and saw Shen Yan about to commit suicide. He lunged at her, his eyes bloodshot.
"If you die again this time, I'll be a dog!"
He gritted his teeth, staring intently at Shen Yan until the maid Xu Jinyu had found walked up to Shen Yan and made sure she was firmly under his watchful eye. Only then did he stand up and say to the maid, "Keep a close eye on her. She absolutely cannot die!"
After saying this, he got up and prepared to enter the palace.
Before they could even leave the gates of the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence, they were hurriedly caught up by someone sent by Xu Jinyu, who said, "Your Highness, Miss Shen... has committed suicide."
Qi Jingxuan's legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground.
He turned around in disbelief: "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her?"
The servant stammered, "I was watching him the whole time, I didn't miss a single thing."
"But Miss Chen is a guest after all. No matter how closely we keep an eye on her, we can't just tie her up, can we?"
"We had just left when we sent someone to invite Madam Shen. But Miss Shen, who was sitting perfectly fine at first, suddenly bumped her head on the corner of the table. We couldn't even pull her up in time."
The impact was so fast and hard that the bleeding couldn't be stopped. By the time the physician arrived, panting heavily, the person was already dead.
Xu Jinyu was worried that Qi Jingxuan might not know the truth and might say the wrong thing when he entered the palace, so she quickly sent someone to chase after him and inform him.
What good is informing them? Others may not know, but Qi Jingxuan certainly does.
With Shen Yan dead, he's finished.
………………
On his fourth departure from the capital, Qi Jingxuan sat in the carriage with a gloomy face and lifeless eyes.
He had practically memorized the entire route. There was a teahouse three miles ahead, a dirt slope five miles away, a pavilion ten miles away, and less than a mile ahead of the pavilion was a huge pit. The Ministry of Works didn't know what they were doing; they just left such a large pit there without even bothering to fill it in, causing the carriage to bounce every time it passed by.
Having learned his lesson from the previous experience of using overly cumbersome armor, Qi Jingxuan simplified his equipment this time.
He no longer wore a full suit of armor, but only a simple and sturdy breastplate on his chest and back. His helmet and veil still covered his head and neck completely, protecting the vital parts without affecting his overall agility.
The assassin appeared again, and with swift movements, he ran towards the carriage under the protection of the guards.
Just as he was about to board the carriage, an arrow shot out from the forest and headed straight for his thigh.
This was clearly because they saw that he didn't have any fatal flaws, so they decided to shoot him in the leg first to delay him getting into the car and create an opportunity for their comrades who had already rushed over to kill him.
But Qi Jingxuan had guards with him, and this time he wasn't wearing that heavy armor that weighed dozens of kilograms. Even if his leg was shot through and he couldn't walk, he believed that the guards would definitely be able to pull him into the carriage.
But when the arrow arrived at full speed, Qi Jingxuan discovered that it was aiming at a different place than he had expected.
No……
No!
Qi Jingxuan screamed and fell to the ground, blood gushing from between his legs.
The guards were horrified, but they still pulled him up and tried to put him into the carriage.
However, due to the sudden fall, Qi Jingxuan's helmet fell to the ground when he was pulled up.
Another arrow flew by with a whoosh, passing between the two guards protecting Qi Jingxuan, and piercing straight through his head...
A note from the author:
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Qi Jingxuan: Woof woof woof
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