Chapter 61 Heartfelt Words: "I won't let you leave me."...
A single word startled me from my dream.
Xie Qinghe snapped out of his daze, took a half-step back, but his gaze lingered on her.
Thirteen years ago, I was on the brink of life and death in the dungeon.
At that time, the emperor and the crown prince looked down at him, staring intently at him. If he said the wrong thing, he would be doomed forever.
Even on that day, he did not feel flustered.
At that moment, meeting those gentle and clear eyes, I was speechless.
Are you scared?
He is clearly someone who knows no fear.
But now there's a real sense of panic, like having your secret exposed and having nowhere to hide...
"I……"
The wind howled, and sharp blades pierced the air.
"careful!"
Almost simultaneously, Ning Lu's long whip lashed out from Xie Qinghe's temple, colliding with the hidden arrow and producing a clanging sound.
"An assassin!"
Ning Lu, still shaken, whispered and pushed Xie Qinghe aside.
Seeing her tense appearance, the man breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head to look in the direction from which the arrow had come.
A cold arrow is in front, an assassin is behind.
A dozen or so masked men dressed in black charged forward from behind, each carrying a weapon.
The other party clearly had a clear objective and a well-defined division of labor.
Wei Chun and Wei Zhan, who rushed to the scene, were trapped in place by hidden weapons and could not break through for a time.
The masked men in black split into two groups: one group headed straight for Xie Qinghe, while the other surrounded Ning Lu to take the jade pendant.
Realizing this, Ning Lu shifted her position, trying to protect Xie Qinghe behind her.
When the shadow guards taught her martial arts, they often said that she had talent and a solid foundation, and would surely be able to protect herself.
However, her biggest flaw is that she learned lethal techniques but only sought to protect herself.
Her opponent was a master, and every strike was deadly. She wanted to protect Xie Qinghe, but she could only parry left and right without being able to make a move. She became increasingly stretched and was instead restrained by her opponent, gradually widening the distance between them.
"Thank you, Qinghe!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the opponent's long sword slashing down, and the shadow guards on the left and right were also unable to extricate themselves.
Ning Lu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and tried to rush forward to block it.
In a split second, Xie Qinghe dodged to the side and then raised his hand to press down on the other person's wrist.
The bones snapped, a muffled groan of pain escaped, and then a blade pierced the body, dripping blood.
He did it swiftly and decisively, in one go, without even blinking.
Only then did she realize that Xie Qinghe actually possessed some martial arts skills.
On the night they first met, she had relied on him, but afterwards she always saw him looking sickly, and forgot that he was also a man capable of killing with a knife.
Before he could even catch his breath, he was kicked in the chest, lost his balance and fell to the ground. Before he could even cry out, he saw the broadsword, its cold light gleaming, raised high above his head and slashing down at Xie Qinghe.
As she lay on her back, Ning Lu caught a glimpse of a palm-sized scar peeking out from above the black mask.
Zhao Yue!
In the past, his target was always her, but today he was aiming for Xie Qinghe.
With his guards all around him being restrained, Xie Qinghe was focused on killing the enemy and had not yet noticed anything amiss.
Ignoring the tightness and pain in her chest, she gathered her strength and leaped forward, arriving beside Xie Qinghe in the blink of an eye. As she pushed him aside, Ning Lu used all her strength to throw her long whip, striking him directly in the face.
Her movements were extremely fast. Zhao Yue didn't even have time to change his stance. He stiffly dodged and failed to completely avoid her, which instead revealed an opening.
Now is the time!
With a sharp crack of the whip, the mask was ripped off, Zhao Yue's left shoulder was torn open, and he fell backward to the ground.
Ning Lu, holding a whip in her right hand and a blade in her left, strode forward.
Zhao Yue possessed profound skills and reacted extremely quickly. He seized the opportunity to cover the distance of those two steps, bracing himself with one hand as he leaped forward and ran swiftly.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Having fallen into his hands twice, I know he is dangerous. If I fail to strike once, I fear I will never have another chance.
Ning Lu was about to leap forward when a sudden chill ran down her wrist, and the person behind her staggered half a step as she moved.
"stop!"
"I'll go after him."
You can't go anywhere. You're right here.
"He wants to kill you."
Ning Lu's rebuttal was straightforward and impulsive, without her even realizing how urgent her tone was.
Xie Qinghe watched as she fought with bloodshot eyes, panting heavily, her expression stiff and tense, but her demeanor gradually calmed down.
He pulled the person close with a firm grip on his palm, chuckled softly, and slowly shook his head.
He leaned in close to her ear, his breath tugging at Ning Lu's hair, making her feel a tingling, ticklish sensation.
"You said you hated killing."
"You almost killed him to save me."
He was stating objective facts, yet he did so in a way that was incredibly flattering.
Ning Lu subconsciously held her breath and swallowed.
She hates killing, but she's even more afraid of dying.
With the situation so chaotic now, if Xie Qinghe dies, she won't survive either.
She can still be somewhat clear-headed about these things.
Just as he was about to speak in rebuttal, the other person interrupted him.
"I'm very happy. Don't say anything else that might spoil the mood."
Okay... Ning Lu shut up.
"But Lord Xie, that's not how it's said."
She still felt something was wrong and tried to reason with him: "Look, I was the one who dug up the grave to find the jade pendant last night, and I risked my life to save you, but I'm the one who got scolded. Don't you think that..."
That was rather impolite...
Before she could finish speaking, the person in front of her silently released most of their strength and collapsed onto her.
His breathing was shallow and disordered, and the fingertips that were clutching her sleeve were trembling uncontrollably.
What's going on here?
The first thought that popped into Ning Lu's mind was that his body couldn't take it after a whole day of this.
But she was still feeling awkward after being harshly reprimanded by him...
With no one else in sight, Ning Lu couldn't judge this guy's script based on other people's reactions, so she could only sullenly spread her hands out as a gentleman.
She cleared her throat and said stiffly, "Xie Qinghe, let me tell you, don't pretend. You yelled at me and killed someone. You're not going to use a self-inflicted injury ruse now. I advise you to sincerely apologize to me, and then I'll consider giving you the jade pendant."
She raised her hand to push him, and then felt the person on her shoulder struggle and let out a muffled groan.
"Thank you, Qinghe!"
Has she really fainted?
He was dressed lightly today and had just gotten into a fight, so it's possible he's not feeling well.
Ning Lu pursed her lips, softened her posture, and tried to raise her hand to help him up.
Before her fingertips could even hook onto his sleeve, she heard a soft laugh beside her ear, followed by a series of disordered coughs.
While she was still completely baffled, the man took a step back, leaned against the tree trunk with his hands behind his back, and looked at her with his head turned to the side.
"Ning Lulu, you're getting more and more perceptive; you're not so easy to fool anymore."
His voice was low and hoarse, his breathing shallow and disordered, yet his tone was flippant.
Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the night was as black as ink, making it impossible to see his face.
Hearing this, Ning Lu became even angrier. She simply put on a stern face and ignored him. As she turned to leave, she heard rapid breathing behind her and lost her composure.
Looking around the scene, more than a dozen assassins had already been hacked to pieces. Wei Zhan was busy dealing with the corpses with the two shadow guards and had no time to spare for this place.
"What a troublesome guy."
Ning Lu angrily led his horse over, staring straight ahead until he mounted before finally leaving.
As the group embarked on their return journey, they kept noticing that the person was unsteady on their feet and their gaze seemed to drift towards him.
Every time I look over there, I always meet his gaze.
At first, she thought he was just being too perceptive, but after testing him several times, she finally discovered the reason.
That guy's eyes were on her the whole time, which is why he always caught her peeking.
It was as if they were afraid she would run away.
His awkward appearance was so endearing that Ning Lu's anger subsided considerably, and she took the initiative to speak.
"You just let Zhao Yue go like that?"
The man snapped out of his daze, hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth: "He still has a use."
"What's it for?"
Xie Qinghe succinctly stated: "To deliver a message."
"What news? Did I find news about the jade pendant?"
Ning Lu was furious and couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
Will she ever be able to figure out what this guy is really up to?
"He knows you have the jade pendant. Isn't this alerting them? What if they become desperate and try to kill you?"
Xie Qinghe seemed quite pleased that she was worried about him; his eyes finally lit up, and he tilted his head, spread his hands, and feigned innocence.
"Then what should we do?"
He asked her?
One dared to ask, and the other dared to answer.
Ning Lu, in a fit of desperation, declared: "Of course, we should capture Zhao Yue and kill him. If there's no time for that, we'll capture Prince Jing before he attacks you!"
"He's the emperor's own brother. How can he be arrested, and on what charge?"
Stunned by his question, she silently tightened the reins, pursing her lips in thought.
When I looked up again, Xie Qinghe was already far away.
She had heard quite a few inside stories these days. Now, her brain was working at high speed, and she actually came up with some ideas.
The cowardly emperor, using his soft heart as an excuse, hesitated to take action against Prince Jing, but Prince Jing's actions had brought disaster to the country and the people, so he had to be killed.
Back then, when the virtuous prince rebelled, the emperor didn't say he would kill anyone.
Later, Xie Qinghe dealt with the Prince Xian, and the emperor didn't say a word.
She didn't think Xie Qinghe was really an arrogant and spoiled fool, nor did she think he was a stubborn person who would only kill someone if he had evidence.
But even though he already had Pan Xingxue as a witness, as well as all sorts of messy evidence such as taxes and male offspring, he still held back.
Ning Lu suddenly recalled Xie Qinghe's attitude towards Ji Zi that night, and became even more convinced that he was not just an upright official who only knew how to offer advice.
This guy...
Ning Lu was amazed by the thought that suddenly flashed through her mind and quickened her pace to catch up: "Xie Qinghe!"
When I caught up with the man on horseback, he was coughing with his head turned to the side, gripping the reins tightly, and his back was slightly hunched.
Upon hearing her voice, he turned and hid inside to conceal himself.
The night was dark and she couldn't see colors clearly, but she could clearly see that the color on his cuff had stained darker.
"Xie Qinghe? Are you alright?"
She saw the veins bulging on his hand gripping the saddle, and his chest heaving rhythmically.
"Step back a little."
"What?"
Xie Qinghe was dizzy and couldn't hear what she said.
Ning Lu was too lazy to explain. She turned aside to stop the horse under him, jumped in front of him, and pushed Xie Qinghe back half an inch.
As soon as he touched her, Xie Qinghe frowned, and then his body felt as if his bones had been removed, and he slumped down inch by inch, leaning against her.
He felt completely chilled.
The newly discovered facts were alarming. Ning Lu whispered, "Xie Qinghe!"
"You're not angry with me anymore?"
His voice was light and airy, yet carried a hint of satisfied sigh.
Ning Lu blushed and pinched his arm. The man winced in pain and, as he turned away, pressed his forehead against her shoulder and coughed in pain.
"It's not that I'm not angry anymore, it's that I have something important to ask you, and it can't be overheard by others."
"Um."
He closed his eyes and responded, completely unconcerned about why she had come, letting his tense spirit sink into her embrace.
"You arrested Pan Xingxue, letting Zhao Yue know you had the list, but you didn't kill him. Was it to provoke Prince Jing into doing something bad?"
"Yes or no?"
Receiving no response, Ning Lu patted the back of his hand worriedly.
Xie Qinghe, feeling drowsy, murmured in response, "Mmm."
"What?"
She was surprised that he admitted it so easily and turned around abruptly.
A pale, transparent, and seemingly harmless handsome face was right in front of her, and Ning Lu couldn't help but feel breathless.
His lack of urgency in finding the list of rebels and his disinterest in the whereabouts of the jade pendant were all because he had a new plan.
She couldn't understand why such a smart person would choose a more complicated and physically demanding method instead of something that was closer to home.
The horror in those eyes was like a giant wave that could almost swallow a person whole.
Xie Qinghe assumed she was frightened by his deep scheming, and suddenly closed his eyes and murmured, "Ning Lulu, you were right before... I'm not a good person."
He silently tightened his arms around her waist, burying himself deeper and deeper into her neck and shoulders, a gesture akin to a helpless surrender.
"I once thought about letting you go, but you didn't leave then, so don't leave now..."
"I won't let you leave me."
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