The interrogator was kind and righteous. He stepped forward to help her tidy up her clothes and called a palace maid over.
"There should still be quite a few people gathered outside the palace gate. If the guards are still able to walk, I will have them take you out through the west gate."
Xiao Nanhui raised his sleeve with difficulty and wiped the cold sweat from his face: "Thank you for your help."
The interrogator politely replied, "No problem. The army will be leaving camp and returning in an hour. Guard Xiao, please don't delay."
She agreed in a daze and followed the light in the palace servant's hand out of the execution place.
It was just the end of the first month of the year in Chizhou, and the cold had not yet completely subsided.
The chill of the early morning penetrated his clothes. After a while, Xiao Nanhui felt that the blood on his neck, shoulders and back had coagulated between his skin and clothes. Every movement caused him to feel a piercing pain.
However, the heart-wrenching pain could not compare to the sadness in her heart now. It was as if someone had dug out a piece of flesh from her chest, where there used to be full of warmth and memories, but now it was empty and there was nothing.
She tried to convince herself that Xiao Jun had no other choice.
He wanted to keep the Xiao family safe and sound, and also wanted to save Bai Yun's life. If the punishment did not fall on her, he would not be able to achieve both.
All she might lose is a pair of hands to draw the bow, but Bai Yun would lose his life.
She was the most profitable piece in this game. Even she herself thought so.
The road inside the palace tonight seemed particularly long and difficult. After walking on the stone road for a long time, it turned into a small road.
At the end of the path, it splits into two, leading to two inconspicuous ear gates.
Xiao Nanhui subconsciously wanted to turn right, but the palace servant who led the way stood on the left side of the road.
"Xiao Yingwei, the road is this way."
Xiao Nanhui was a little dazed. She vaguely remembered that when she came here, she seemed to have walked through the ear gate on the east side.
"The west gate goes around the back garden. It's locked and no one is allowed in at night."
The pain made her reaction much slower than usual. Without thinking too much, she lifted her heavy leg and moved to the left.
It was pitch black all around, the darkest time before dawn.
There was not a single palace lantern on the road behind the Ear Gate, and the air was filled with an indescribable smell, like the smell of something rotten.
At first, Xiao Nanhui thought that it was because her steps were slow that she couldn't see the palace gate, but after a cup of tea, she finally realized something was wrong.
The surroundings were so quiet that apart from her and the palace maid, not even a trace of human voice could be heard.
If we were near the palace gate, we would at least hear the sounds of night watch guards patrolling, and it wouldn't be as dead silent as it is now.
Xiao Nanhui stopped and tried to sound calmer.
"Excuse me, is this the road leading to the palace gate? Why haven't I seen the palace walls after walking for so long?"
The figure in front stopped and did not move.
"Of course, we'll be there in a moment."
The swaying palace lantern was so dazzling that Xiao Nanhui squinted his eyes, trying hard to see the surroundings clearly.
"There should be Black Feather Battalion guards near the palace gate. How come there's not even a single light?"
The palace maid finally turned around slowly.
He held a palace lantern in his hand, but it only illuminated half of his face. One of his eyes was drooping, but his mouth was smiling, which looked very strange.
"You are more alert than I thought."
Xiao Nan took a half step back, his injured shoulder beginning to ache uncontrollably. "Who are you?"
"We've met before, but you don't remember."
As the palace servant spoke, he slowly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve.
The situation before her was so bizarre it was hard to comprehend. Xiao Nanhui pursed her lips, rapidly calculating how to defeat the enemy in one move. She had just been tortured and was practically half-crippled. Now, without even a single item to defend herself, she needed to strike first to have any chance of victory.
But before she could make any move, the palace maid blew out the palace lantern in her hand.
The surroundings were suddenly plunged into darkness. Before her eyes could adjust to the dim light, she could only hear the sound of wind coming from the front and she almost instinctively dodged to the side.
The opponent missed and a panting sound came from her left front, which did not sound like that of a martial artist.
The dodge just now caused Xiao Nanhui to deviate from the path. There seemed to be soft grass covered with frost under his feet, and his shoes and boots were very slippery on it.
The moonlight finally shone a little brighter, and Xiao Nanhui could vaguely see the figure in front of him.
The palace servant noticed her gaze and rushed towards her with a dagger in hand. Although his body was stiff, he carried a ferocious aura of recklessness.
Xiao Nanhui dodged in a panic. There were dark shadows all around her, and she couldn't tell whether they were rockery or tree shadows. She stepped on the edge of the flower bed, and her shoes got stuck between the tiles. She couldn't move for a moment and fell to the ground.
As soon as she landed, she noticed something was wrong almost immediately.
The tentacles were the soft branches of some kind of vine, and a strange fragrance rose from the surroundings, as if some kind of breath that had originally settled on the ground was being stirred up, and the air began to become dizzy and sluggish.
Xiao Nanhui immediately recalled what happened in the Xuemi Palace that day, but the fragrance in the darkness was even more overbearing and lingering than that day, and instantly made her dizzy and her hands and feet weak.
While gasping for breath, the palace servant slowly climbed up from the ground and walked towards her step by step with a dagger in hand. He seemed to be completely unaffected, and still had that creepy smile on his face.
At the critical moment of life and death, Xiao Nanhui used his other leg to kick the man hard in the stomach.
She exerted so much strength that she could almost hear the sound of the other person's ribs breaking in his abdomen. However, the person seemed to feel no pain, and continued to thrust his right hand towards her throat.
Xiao Nanhui struggled to raise her arms to protect herself, trying to block the fatal blow, but the next second, there was a sound of wind coming from behind her.
A strong wind passed by her side face, and the blade of the long sword was as fast as a flash of lightning in the moonlight.
She saw the hand holding the dagger slowly slide down, leaving behind a black, bare cross-section.
Warm blood splashed on her face.
What a neat cut.
Xiao Nanhui thought so, and then fell into deep darkness.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
