Chapter 108 Murder: His terrifying, bloodthirsty eyes.
The rain gradually subsided, and the two talked more and more.
At some point, Yue Yining gradually became sleepy. Her eyelids grew heavy, and her head kept drooping down.
Just as she was about to fall, a pair of warm hands supported her shoulders.
Yue Yining knew that it was Xie Qingyu's hand.
Trust in this person relaxed her nerves, and she stopped forcing herself to stay awake, letting exhaustion wash over her.
Those hands held her, laying her flat on the slightly cool bed, tucking in the corners of the blankets. The wind was kept out, and warmth enveloped her.
The sky was turning white, the rain that had fallen overnight had stopped, and a crescent moon was hidden in the dimly lit sky, like a tooth mark.
Xie Qingyu sat on the edge of the couch, her fingers gently pressing on one side of the bedding, her eyes gazing at Yue Yining's peaceful and gentle sleeping face.
This was the scene that Jiang Feiyan saw when she lifted the curtain and came in.
She paused. The man beside the couch, dressed only in a plain-colored undergarment, did not move his face, but his eyes turned slightly as he looked at her.
Jiang Feiyan calmly lowered the curtain. Before she could speak, Xie Qingyu had already stood up, her figure like a snow-white shadow.
He mouthed to her: "Let's talk outside."
Jiang Feiyan paused, watching him brush past her and walk out of the cave without making a sound.
She curled her fingers.
She paused as she entered the cave, not because she saw Xie Qingyu by Yue Yining's bedside, nor because she saw Xie Qingyu watching over and taking care of her.
This is really not surprising. Jiang Feiyan had seen it many times on several rainy nights before.
She was so shocked she couldn't move her feet because of this man; he was crying.
Xie Qingyu silently shed tears. Jiang Feiyan's action of lifting the curtain allowed sunlight to stream in, the pale light shimmering on his cheeks, illuminating his tear-filled eyes and the redness around his eyes.
This was the first time she had seen Xie Qingyu's vulnerable side.
Xie Qingyu walked further and further away. Jiang Feiyan stared at Yue Yining, who was fast asleep in the cave, for a while, then lowered the curtain and followed her.
She wasn't mistaken. Standing in the sunlight, Xie Qingyu's exquisitely sculpted features emerged from the shadows, becoming as lustrous as jade and as radiant as pearls, with the lingering red tinge at the corners of her eyes becoming even more distinct.
With such an ethereal face, a mere glance from his gentle features, tinged with genuine affection, could make countless women in the world willingly bow down to him.
But Jiang Feiyan didn't dare to get close to him at all, and stopped two meters away from him.
Because Xie Qingyu was expressionless at this moment, a deathly stillness seeped into his entire being, and despair seeped out of his body little by little. In his dark, sleeping phoenix eyes, something had been completely burned away, leaving only overflowing ashes.
He possessed the beauty of a celestial being, yet now he is like jade shattered and pearls sunk.
Jiang Feiyan observed his expression from afar, and the more she looked, the more terrified she became.
She was unwilling and would not admit it, but ever since she saw Xie Qingyu kneeling in front of her that day, a secret fear had arisen in her heart.
The way Xie Qingyu looked up at her while kneeling on the ground should have made her feel good, but instead, she felt like a rabbit whose foot had been stepped on, and her sense of danger surged up instantly.
This person is crazy.
To value another person's life more than one's own is not affection, but madness.
Even when humiliated, his eyes remained empty—not out of contempt or disdain, but out of complete indifference. He only cared about Yue Yining; everyone else was like ants in his eyes.
How can a person be moved by kneeling before an ant?
Jiang Feiyan should have been enraged, but a long-forgotten fear crept into her heart. Xie Qingyu's demeanor was familiar to her, reminding her of when she was still an ant, ruthlessly trampled by those in power and at their mercy. Even today, she still harbors an indelible, deep-seated fear of those in positions of authority and power.
Xie Qingyu spoke first: "...What can I do for you, Miss Jiang?"
Jiang Feiyan crossed one hand across her chest, gripping her other arm as if in a subconscious defensive posture.
Although she was afraid of Xie Qingyu's strange state, she refused to show any weakness and her voice still carried a hint of arrogance: "I came just to tell her that Yingying has woken up. She pleaded for you, and I will not make things difficult for you again until the general returns."
After Yingying woke up, she heard that Jiang Feiyan was terrified because she almost killed Yue Yining. She quickly explained that the porridge in the disaster relief tent had only recently started having problems, which meant that the matter was at least unrelated to Yue Yining.
"Sister Yan, I heard some news in the city yesterday. They said that the disaster relief officials from Yanjing have to listen to Lord Yue. I think if Lord Yue were a bad person, they wouldn't have insisted on using good rice for disaster relief for the past month or so," Yingying whispered. "...So, Lord Yue must be a good person, right?"
After hearing what she said, Jiang Feiyan's mind, which had been clouded by anger, gradually calmed down.
"...I was in a moment of panic and accidentally pinched her." She rubbed the mud under her feet with the sole of her shoe and awkwardly said, "Here are some herbs for you, you can apply them to her."
Before Xie Qingyu could react, she tossed a bundle of herbs strung together with thin hemp rope at his feet, then vanished in a few swift movements.
From a distance, Jiang Feiyan tiptoed up a tree branch and stole a glance at the figure below. Xie Qingyu remained standing in the same spot, her silent back resembling a bamboo stalk.
After a long while, he picked up the herbs on the ground and slowly returned to the cave.
The sound of rain chilled my dreams overnight, and autumn arrived on ten thousand lotus leaves.
When Yue Yining woke up the next day, the marks on her neck were indeed red and swollen.
Xie Qingyu crushed the herbs Jiang Feiyan had given her, carefully applied them to the wound, and re-bandaged it, instructing, "Miss, if you feel any discomfort anywhere, remember to tell me."
Yue Yining touched the soft cloth around her neck and nodded obediently.
Xie Qingyu squatted down in front of her, and as soon as her hand grasped her ankle, Yue Yining's heart skipped a beat, and she shrank back.
Xie Qingyu's hand froze in mid-air. He paused, then looked up at her.
Being stared at by those bright, clear black eyes was very stressful, so Yue Yining couldn't help but look away: "...Don't worry about the injury on your foot, let it heal on its own, it's not serious."
“You look a little tired. Did you not sleep much last night? Do you want to lie down and take a nap?” Yue Yining patted her bed. “I’m going to get up and walk around. You can sleep in my bed.”
Xie Qingyu stared at her intently, then shook her head: "I appreciate your kindness, Miss. But I'm not sleepy."
Yue Yining looked at the faint dark circles under his eyes, hesitated, and said, "..."
Really?
There was a noise outside the curtain. Yue Yining looked up and saw Deputy Division Commander Jiang lift the curtain. The two of them happened to look at each other, and the gentle and elegant woman smiled at her.
Yue Yining was quite surprised: "Why is Deputy Division Commander Jiang here?"
Last night, she heard Jiang Feiyan say that He Chan and Deputy Division Commander Jiang were not on the mountain, and it seemed that they had gone to the next mountain to take care of some business.
This wasn't the first time. He Chan wasn't around when she was first taken to the mountain.
Her frequent departures from the camp must have another reason.
Jiang Feiyan said last night that she was going down the mountain to find Deputy Division Commander Jiang and bring him back, because she was the only person in the camp who knew medicine.
It seems they really did manage to call the person back in a hurry.
Deputy Division Commander Jiang: "I heard that Feiyan was ruthless towards you last night because of Yingying. Now that she knows she misunderstood you, she feels guilty and asked me to come and take a look."
Yue Yining: "You're too kind. I know Miss Jiang didn't mean any harm. Please ask Deputy Division Commander Jiang to tell her that I don't mind."
"She has given me enough herbs to apply to the wounds. Apart from that, I am in good health."
Deputy Division Commander Jiang sat down directly and smiled slightly, "Now that I'm here, Lord Yue, please let me take a look?"
Yue Yining paused, met her gaze, and smiled wryly: "Alright, then I'll trouble you."
After untying the bandages that had just been wrapped, Deputy Division Commander Jiang examined the wounds on her neck and then asked her to take out the medicinal herbs that Jiang Feiyan had given her. He looked at them for a while and said, "Feiyan's herbs are for treating knife wounds and ulcers, and they are not suitable for your injuries."
Yue Yining was taken aback. Thanks to Qiu Wuzhu's teachings, she also knew a little about medicine, but only superficially. She couldn't understand the intricacies of these herbs. "...So that's how it is."
“That’s just how she is, so confused.” Deputy Division Commander Jiang smiled and said gently, “It’s alright, I’ll go back and get you some ointment for external use. Apply it for five days and you’ll be fully recovered.”
"Won't this be too much trouble for you? It's just a bruise; it should heal quickly if left alone..."
Deputy Division Commander Jiang gently interrupted her, his tender gaze tracing her wound. "It's no trouble. Besides, it would be terrible to leave a scar on such a beautiful neck."
Yue Yining was taken aback, feeling that there was a deeper meaning in her words.
Was it a joke? The official named Sun Qiong said something similar when he met her.
Since the other party had said so, she didn't refuse anymore: "Okay, then I'll trouble you."
Since then, Yue Yining has been applying the medicine that Jiang sent her for four consecutive days. The mashed medicine paste was stored in a box, and Deputy Division Jiang personally delivered it to her every day, watching her apply it before leaving.
During this time, she would also chat with Yue Yining for a few minutes.
Yue Yining intended to find out more about He Chan from her, but strangely, Deputy Division Commander Jiang did not hide anything. Even though her methods of inquiring were not sophisticated, she was always fooled without any precautions and told many things that Yue Yining did not know before.
“When I first arrived in Qinghuai, I saw that the crime listed on General He’s wanted poster was murder, but after getting to know the general, I felt that she was not the type to kill innocent people indiscriminately,” Yue Yining said. “Is it true or false that the general killed someone in the city?”
“Of course it’s true.” Deputy Division Commander Jiang’s answer surprised Yue Yining. She not only answered but also smiled.
"Who?" Yue Yining frowned. "Who did she kill?"
"The youngest son of Prefect Che, the younger brother of Che Minwen, Che Minxuan."
Yue Yining was astonished. Deputy Division Commander Jiang sat opposite her and slowly said, "He Chan has a daughter who is fourteen years old. She doesn't look like her. Her face is very gentle and kind."
“One day, her daughter went out to buy rice and flour for the family, and was seen by Che Minxuan who was riding across the street.”
Compared to Che Minwen, who was stubborn and self-willed in politics, Che Minxuan was an even more complete scoundrel and wastrel.
Che Minxuan was the youngest son of the Che family. Prefect Che and his wife doted on him like the apple of their eye, granting his every wish. Spoiled by his parents, Che Minxuan was unable to distinguish right from wrong. Relying on his father's many confidants and high position in Qinghuai City, he often committed evil deeds such as bullying men and women.
He had barely come of age when his family had already arranged for him to have several concubines, yet he was still not satisfied. He frequented brothels and pleasure houses every day, and even beautiful and respectable women could not escape his clutches. Whenever he took a fancy to someone, he would snatch her from the street, take her home, and defile her. Good girls could only marry him with tears in their eyes.
But He Chan's daughter was an exception. Her youngest daughter, who was not yet of marriageable age, did not resemble her mother in appearance, but she had the same fierce heart as her mother and was a real tough nut to crack.
She hanged herself in Che Minxuan's room.
When the servants went in the morning, they found the body had gone cold.
Yue Yining remained silent for a long time. She opened her mouth and said, "Then General He, she..."
“He Chan,” Deputy Division Commander Jiang smiled faintly, “after she found out, she carried a butcher knife she usually used to slaughter pigs, stormed into Che Minxuan’s mansion alone, and stabbed him to death.”
Fortunately, Che Minxuan was a good-for-nothing lecher. To make it easier for him to indulge in pleasure, he built another mansion in the city, where he kept a large number of concubines and dancers, and a large number of servants, while the guards were practically nonexistent.
He Chan, a butcher with a knife, slaughtered every single man with a fist in his mansion.
“He Chan is soft-hearted. She didn’t touch a single hair of the concubines and dancers in that mansion,” Deputy Division Commander Jiang said softly. “Admittedly, some women were forced to become Che Minxuan’s concubines, but others were willing, extremely willing.”
“When those people saw that Che Minxuan was dead, they knelt down beside his headless corpse and wailed. He Chan didn’t care. She had a knife in her hand and blood on her clothes. Those people only dared to cry and didn’t dare to come up and fight her.”
"She stood in the courtyard, amidst the rising and falling cries, and asked if anyone wanted to go with her and leave Qinghuai."
"Among the group of women, only one person stepped forward," said Deputy Division Commander Jiang. "That person was Jiang Feiyan."
No need to say more; this is enough.
Yue Yining had figured everything out from the few words exchanged and understood everything that had puzzled her before.
The idea of helping them had already taken root in her heart, and now it was even more firmly established.
"I..." Yue Yining was about to say something when Deputy Division Commander Jiang interrupted her.
She took out a medicinal paste wrapped in straw paper from her bosom and said softly, "Let's apply the medicine first. Today is the last day."
This is the fifth day of applying the medicine to Yue Yining.
Just now, Xiao Zhu came to call someone, and Xie Qingyu went with her to another cave to get the food for lunch. He had just left when Deputy Division Commander Jiang arrived, as if they had agreed in advance to stagger their arrival times.
Deputy Division Commander Jiang walked to her bedside, and the distance between the two gradually closed. When she sat on the edge of the bed, Yue Yining smelled the bitter herbal fragrance emanating from her.
She said, "Let me see, how is your injury?"
"It's much better now."
Yue Yining untied the strip of cloth wrapped around her neck. The purplish-red marks from the pinching had faded considerably and were no longer swollen.
Deputy Division Commander Jiang lowered his eyes, examined the medicine carefully, and smiled, "It seems I didn't make a mistake with the prescription."
"Come on, let's apply it again."
Yue Yining took the medicinal mud, spread out the outer layer of straw paper, and was about to rub it on her finger when she smelled the medicinal mud and paused slightly.
She looked up and saw Deputy Division Commander Jiang sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling gently at her: "What's wrong?"
"...It's nothing." Yue Yining said this, but put down the medicinal mud and didn't touch it again.
Deputy Division Commander Jiang's smile faded slightly, but remained gentle.
Do you need my help?
"No." Yue Yining lowered her eyelashes, gathered her scattered thoughts, and looked over. "My injury is much better now. Let the remaining marks heal slowly. I don't need to apply any more medicine."
Deputy Division Commander Jiang didn't speak again, but the remaining smile completely faded away.
Neither of the two intelligent people spoke, but they were both fully aware of their current situation.
“…That’s strange.” Deputy Division Commander Jiang spoke first, looking at me with a mixture of confusion, amusement, and a deeper meaning, her gaze undisguisedly aggressive. “Didn’t you say you weren’t good at medicine?”
Yue Yining: "I'm really not good at it."
"Then how did you figure out there was something wrong with the medicine?" Deputy Division Commander Jiang asked with a smile.
"...Just good luck." Yue Yining leaned against the stone wall and confronted her. "I usually like to do good deeds, so I always manage to turn my luck around and avoid disasters."
Yue Yining was neither modest nor lying. She didn't know many medicinal herbs, but she happened to recognize two of the herbs that Deputy Division Commander Jiang had mixed into the medicinal mud—aconite and strychnine.
Both herbs can treat bruises and swelling, but because both are toxic, the dosage must be carefully controlled. If the ratio is out of balance, the medicine that heals will become a deadly poison.
For the first four days, the medicine that Deputy Division Commander Jiang gave her was normal, but today, she smelled a stronger strychnine odor in the medicine mud than usual.
Yue Yining suddenly realized that the bitter medicinal scent she smelled on Deputy Division Jiang when she approached earlier came from strychnine.
Yue Yining: "And I knew all along that you wanted to kill me."
Deputy Division Commander Jiang was somewhat surprised this time. "You knew? How did you know?"
As she asked this question, her eyes darted around restlessly, searching the cave. Yue Yining spoke directly, dispelling her doubts: "You're overthinking it. I really didn't bring any divination tools with me."
Jiang, the deputy commander, must have learned about the Celestial Master from Jiang Feiyan. A few days ago, when rescuing Yingying, Yue Yining had revealed her identity to Jiang Feiyan.
But coincidentally, Yue Yining also learned from Jiang Feiyan that day that this woman who was always exceptionally gentle with her was actually the one who wanted to kill her the most.
Yue Yining had been observing them. He Chan was undoubtedly the core figure in this group. She had assumed that the person below her was Jiang Feiyan, who was equally skilled in martial arts and extremely loyal. However, she was surprised to find that the second-in-command in the camp was actually this seemingly kind and gentle Deputy Division Commander Jiang.
The others in the camp were clearly not on the same level as them and hardly participated in decision-making.
Jiang Feiyan said at the time, "She's right, you should be killed."
Although it sounded like just a random, angry outburst at first glance, Yue Yining discerned something deeper within it.
Before saying this, Jiang Feiyan also revealed that He Chan wanted to spare her life, which is why she "speaked up for her." At that time, Jiang Feiyan was in a state of extreme anger and couldn't control her emotions, so it's unlikely that she was lying or trying to mislead her; rather, it's more likely that she was speaking the truth.
Having ruled out other possible candidates, it's quite clear who wants to kill her.
“I didn’t find out about this through divination,” she said calmly. “If I were someone who was good for nothing but divination, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Yue Yining appeared calm, but in reality, she had already begun to assess the strength of both sides.
The fact that she would resort to poisoning shows that she really wanted her dead. Judging from Deputy Division Commander Jiang's expression, even though her plan had been exposed, she was not furious and clearly did not intend to let it go.
Yue Yining secretly observed her figure and confirmed that Deputy Division Commander Jiang did not know martial arts. There were no characteristics or marks left by someone who had practiced martial arts for a long time on her exposed limbs and skin.
If she decides to use force, Yue Yining isn't necessarily weaker than her; all she needs to do is hold out until Xie Qingyu returns...
As Yue Yining was thinking this, she suddenly opened her eyes wide.
She tried to raise her arms, but found that her limbs were weak and she could not move.
Seeing that she was motionless but her pupils were constricted, Deputy Division Commander Jiang, who was sitting opposite her, suddenly laughed.
“It seems to be working,” she said.
Why? When? When did she poison him?
She clearly never even touched her, so how did she manage to do that?
A flash of inspiration struck Yue Yining. She abruptly looked at the packet of medicinal mud she had set aside, her eyes wide with astonishment: "You...!"
Could it be the little bit of medicinal paste that got on her finger just now?
How could such a small dose, just from touching it, cause poisoning?
“You really aren’t good at medicine.” The light in Deputy Division Jiang’s eyes gradually intensified. She smiled strangely. “It seems you were right. Being able to tell that the proportions of the medicinal herbs in the mud were wrong was really just a coincidence.”
“Isn’t Deputy Division Commander Jiang being a bit too modest…?” Yue Yining gritted her teeth and uttered each word clearly. “How could someone who can make such a potent poison be just an ordinary doctor? Calling him a miracle doctor wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
It's unclear which of Yue Yining's words struck a nerve, but the smile on Deputy Division Jiang's face vanished completely.
"You talk too much." Deputy Division Commander Jiang pulled out a slender object that gleamed with a sharp silver light from his sleeve. It was a silver needle, something Yue Yining was very familiar with.
"If you have anything to say, say it to someone else on the road to the underworld."
Deputy Division Commander Jiang approached her step by step, raising his arm high.
The moment that arm fell, Yue Yining was still powerless. She couldn't struggle and could only close her eyes tightly.
A gust of wind swept past her face, and Yue Yining's eyelashes trembled slightly. She suddenly opened her eyes and saw Xie Qingyu grabbing Jiang Fushi's hand with a cold face and violently pulling him away from her.
Yue Yining stared at the person before her, still shaken, a gasp escaping her lips. She stammered, "...Xie Qingyu?"
How could he have come back so quickly?
Her voice was too soft for Xie Qingyu, who was in a fit of rage, to hear. He gripped Deputy Division Commander Jiang's wrist, the veins on the back of his hand bulging and clearly visible, like the veins of a snow-capped mountain.
Xie Qingyu cornered him step by step, saying each word clearly, "I knew you had no good intentions."
Deputy Division Commander Jiang was restrained by him, yet he could still laugh, "So you weren't far at all."
"They're all quite smart, which really surprised me."
Xie Qingyu looked down at her, her face frosty: "What did you just do to her? Tell me!"
“If you hadn’t stopped me, she would be dead now if this needle had gone in.”
Faced with Xie Qingyu's suddenly terrifying and bloodthirsty gaze, Deputy Division Commander Jiang showed no fear.
She stared straight at him, speaking slowly and deliberately, her voice icy: "But you were going to die anyway. After she dies, you'll be next."
“He Chan is soft-hearted and doesn’t want to kill innocent people indiscriminately. But I will not let anyone who might leak information go unpunished. I will not let you leave this mountain alive.”
"Stop right there!!!"
With a loud shout, the cave curtain was flung open, like a bucket of water being poured into the cave, instantly extinguishing the tense atmosphere that had been burning fiercely.
Wearing a thin suit of armor, He Chan strode in, her brows furrowed and her eyes cold as she glared angrily at Deputy Division Commander Jiang.
He Chan shouted sternly, "Jiang Chiyin, what do you want to do?!"
Deputy Division Commander Jiang moved his wrist, and his gentle expression vanished instantly.
Seemingly realizing that her plan to kill Yue Yining silently had been completely exposed and that all hope was lost, she didn't even bother to feign a last bit of kindness. Her face was expressionless as she looked over, her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness, like the forked tongue of a venomous snake.
Yue Yining was stunned when she heard this.
Jiang Chiyin?
This name... sounds familiar?
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Author's Note: Here I am! [pleading emoji] I'll be doing a giveaway tonight to celebrate reaching 10,000 followers! [praise emoji]
(There aren't actually that many readers following the story, so I won't be giving away too many. I'll wait until there are more readers or the story is finished before giving away a big prize!)
Thank you for your support, dear readers!
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