Chapter 22: Qinghan wakes up, the power of three inches
pain.
This was Su Qinghan’s first feeling after regaining consciousness.
It wasn't a sharp pain in one spot, but a dull, heavy ache that permeated every part of her body. It felt like countless ants were gnawing at her bones, or like she was immersed in icy hot metal, unable to move.
Next, comes suffering.
A bitter taste so strong that it was sickening was stubbornly approaching her lips, and a warm steam mixed with the smell of herbs and smoke was entering her nostrils without resistance.
The drowsy brain, like a rusty machine, finally began to work with difficulty under the dual stimulation of severe pain and bitterness.
Where is she?
The final scene of the siege in the valley was a hail of arrows and the gleam of sharp swords. Her inner strength was exhausted, and she collapsed in despair. In that moment of fading consciousness, she seemed to see a familiar, dark blue figure, descending from the sky like a ghost, blocking her way. Then, the man was seriously injured. It was her, and she carried him back to his safe house.
Something cold, hard touched her lips lightly, trying to pry her teeth open.
At this moment, vigilance surpassed the physical pain, like a flash of lightning, instantly piercing through the chaos of consciousness.
Su Qinghan suddenly opened his eyes.
Her vision was blurry at first, as if through a layer of mist. She saw a hazy figure, a rough earthenware bowl, and a wooden spoon clumsily scooping up a spoonful of dark medicine.
She blinked, and the scene finally became clear.
A face, a face she could never mistake.
It is a deep night.
However, the Shen Ye before her was completely different from the assassin in her memory who was always calm and aloof.
His face was almost transparently pale, and a layer of blue stubble sprouted from his chin, making his handsome features appear somewhat haggard. His calm eyes were now bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept all night. He was still wearing the coarse cloth clothes that had drawn attention in the pharmacy, and there were even spots of dried mud on the corners.
He was half-kneeling beside the bed, holding the medicine bowl in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other, his posture stiff as he kept feeding the medicine.
Seeing her wake up, he seemed to be stunned for a moment, and his hand stopped in mid-air.
When their eyes met, time seemed to freeze at this moment.
After a brief blank, Su Qinghan's brain began to work frantically.
He saved me. This is the first conclusion.
Why did he save me? This is the most fatal question that follows.
As someone who also walks in the dark, Su Qinghan knows better than anyone that there is no kindness in this world without reason. Behind every helping hand, there may be a deeper trap hidden.
He was from the Tianji Pavilion, and she was from the Six Gates. Could his "kindness" at this moment be a more advanced form of "interrogation"? Was he using the favor of saving her life to break down her defenses and extract her secrets?
Is this bowl of black soup really medicine, or some kind of poison that can make people lose their minds?
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning. As the Six Gates' top spy, suspicion and vigilance were her instincts. Without a clear understanding of the situation, she absolutely could not put her life in the hands of an assassin with unknown identity and ulterior motives.
Her right hand, under the cover of the coarse quilt, quietly moved towards her waist inch by inch.
There, sewn into place, was an extremely secret pouch, in which was hidden her final and most lethal self-defense weapon—the three-inch nail.
This wasn't just any steel spike, but a secret armor-piercing weapon crafted by the Six Gates. Deployed with a special technique, it could penetrate a person's protective Qi within three feet, effectively killing them instantly. This was a life-saving technique her master, Tie Wuqing, had personally taught her, and it was never used except in a life-or-death situation.
And now, it is a matter of life and death.
Her body was still very weak, and she had not a drop of internal strength left.
However, the distance between her and Shen Ye was less than three feet.
He was half-kneeling, his chest exposed and completely defenseless.
This is the best opportunity.
Her fingertips had already touched the edge of the hidden pocket. The cold, familiar touch calmed her chaotic mind a little. If she were given just a moment, she could remove the steel nail and make him pay for his hypocrisy.
However, just as her fingertips were about to pry open the stitches of the secret bag, the bloody scene in the valley uncontrollably rushed into her mind again.
She vividly remembered him standing in front of her like a flash of black lightning. He deflected the arrows aimed at her with his sword. He blocked a steel blade aimed at her face with his arm, sending blood splattering...
His back was to her, so she couldn't see his expression. But she could sense that his not-so-large frame created a completely safe space for her. His determination and fearlessness were no pretense.
Would someone who wants to harm you risk his own life to save you?
Su Qinghan's heart was in turmoil.
Reason told her that she had to take action, as it was the only chance of survival.
But her emotions were roaring, preventing her from killing her savior.
Her hand stopped. The dark pockets beneath her fingertips became scorching hot, as if burning her skin.
Chen Ye was unaware of the internal struggles she was going through. He simply watched her quietly, watching her open her eyes, the confusion, vigilance, murderous intent that flashed across them, and then the struggle and chaos she now felt.
He couldn't understand such complicated emotions, but he could feel the cold murderous aura.
He knew she was doubting him.
This is normal. An assassin shouldn't trust anyone. This was the first lesson that Tianji Pavilion taught him, and presumably, Youquan also knew it.
He didn't explain aloud, because he wasn't good at speaking. He couldn't explain why he saved her, because even he couldn't explain the source of that impulse.
He simply silently withdrew the hand holding the wooden spoon and placed the medicine bowl on the stool beside the bed. His movements were gentle, but a soft "click" sound was heard, which was particularly clear in the silent room.
This sound also completely woke Su Qinghan up.
She snapped back to her senses and realized her back was soaked in cold sweat. She looked at Chen Ye, her eyes still as sharp as a knife, but the murderous intent that was about to burst out was forcibly suppressed by her.
She needed an explanation.
"You..." Her throat was so dry that it seemed to be smoking, and her voice was hoarse. After she said only one word, she started coughing violently, which affected the wound in her chest and made her frown in pain.
Chen Ye looked at her in agony, his brows furrowed slightly. He wanted to say something, to tell her not to move, to tell her that he had run over ten miles up the mountain to get this medicine from an experienced old doctor.
But when the words came to his lips, they turned into the most blunt and coldest command.
"You're awake."
He spoke again, his voice still hoarse and filled with the fatigue of a hangover. He picked up the bowl of slightly cold medicine and handed it to her again, but he no longer tried to feed her. He just said coldly:
"If you don't want to die, drink it."
One sentence was like a basin of ice water poured over my head.
Su Qinghan was stunned.
She imagined countless possibilities: he might try to deceive her with sweet words, or expose her disguise with a sneer, or even force her with force.
But she never expected that what she would receive was such an emotionless and even impatient "threat".
This harsh tone, this cold command, coupled with his pale, haggard and miserable appearance at the moment, not only failed to arouse her anger, but instead formed an extremely absurd and ridiculous combination.
A top assassin, who had gone to great lengths to save people and prepare medicine, ended up saying something that sounded like something only enemies would say to each other.
This... this doesn't seem like the performance of a conspirator at all.
The string in Su Qinghan's heart, which had been stretched to its limit, suddenly relaxed at this moment. The murderous intent that had been so hard to gather was also largely dissipated by these clumsy words.
She looked at him, at her own pale and weak reflection reflected in his bloodshot eyes, and suddenly an indescribable complex emotion surged in her heart.
Maybe, he really just... wanted to save her.
In his own simple, rough and inhuman way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
