Chapter 37 Collecting the Corpse "Lan'er, we will avenge him."...
Zhou Tinglan's body was swaying. Seeing this, Xie Zechuan immediately rushed forward and took her into his arms. Zhou Tinglan frowned slightly, as if he was in some discomfort.
The spy beside him asked, "Sir, what happened to Miss Zhou?"
Xie Zechuan lowered his head and caressed her eyebrows with pity, then waved his hand and said, "No problem, just prepare some clean clothes and hot water for us and bring them to our room."
He quickly carried Zhou Tinglan into the room. The spy behind him brought hot water and clean clothes into the room and left.
The blood-stained clothes were taken off, and a warm towel slowly wiped Zhou Tinglan's whole body, with Xie Zechuan's hands moving gently.
He looked at Zhou Tinglan's pretty face and recalled every moment he had spent with Lan'er.
Lan'er was so confident when she was forging the sword. This was the first time he saw her so sad. Xiao Ruo's incident must have been a big blow to her.
As his hand slid across every inch of people's skin, Xie Zechuan's breathing became slightly heavier, and the strength in his hands also increased inadvertently.
Zhou Tinglan groaned a few times in confusion and opened his eyes: "You are..."
However, before she could finish, she fainted again.
After cleaning, Xie Zechuan carried her back to the bed and kissed her forehead: "Sweet dreams."
Lan'er, have a good sleep. You might feel much better after a good sleep.
In the Minister of War's residence not far away, Yao Ningde looked at Fu Chang and the others kneeling before him and said, "With so many of you chasing them, you couldn't even catch two people. What are you doing?"
After saying that, Yao Ningde, filled with anger, slapped Yao Ningde directly in the face: "Waste! You are all a bunch of waste!"
"Send someone to secretly search the city and make sure they capture him for me!"
Fu Chang saluted and accepted the order. He raised his eyes and spoke carefully, "Sir, I wonder what should be done with the corpse in the courtyard?"
Yao Ningde glanced at him coldly: "Do you still need me to teach you?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Fu Chang replied hurriedly, turned around and took people to the yard to deal with Xiao Ruo's body.
Yao Ningde sat on the chair, pondered for a moment, then stood up and returned to his yard.
His wife was sitting in the side room. Seeing Yao Ningde's appearance, she stood up and leaned over to sit in his arms. "Is there something that has upset my husband?"
"What else could it be? It's naturally the lingering ghosts of Zhou Yiming and his daughter. Someone broke into the yard last night. Didn't they disturb you?"
"There's an assassin?" Mrs. Yao Ningde looked panicked. She looked Yao Ningde up and down. "Are you okay?"
"Nothing, Madam, please don't worry too much and harm your health. I'll trouble you to keep an eye on my daughter."
"Don't worry, my husband. I will watch over you."
Through the window of the wing room, Yao Ningde looked at the sky with rolling clouds in the distance, and felt in his heart that the weather was going to change!
Thunder exploded outside the room, startling the person in Xie Zechuan's arms.
Xie Zechuan hurriedly lowered his head to check on Zhou Tinglan's condition.
Zhou Tinglan began to repeat Xiao Ruo's name over and over again, as if he was trapped in an endless nightmare.
He threw the towel back into the barrel and hugged Zhou Tinglan: "Lan'er! Lan'er! Wake up! Wake up quickly!"
However, Zhou Tinglan never woke up. Xie Zechuan felt as if his heart was being roasted by fire, and he kept calling Zhou Tinglan's name.
Thunder rumbled continuously and raindrops hit the window sill. Zhou Tinglan woke up suddenly. She gasped for breath and had not yet escaped from the aftermath of the nightmare.
"Lan'er, how are you?"
Xie Zechuan hurriedly poured her a cup of hot tea and handed it to her, gently stroking her back to comfort her.
Zhou Tinglan grabbed his hand, her voice trembling with tears: "Xie Zechuan... I dreamed, I dreamed of Xiao Ru... he..."
She threw herself into Xie Zechuan's arms and burst into tears: "Xiao Ruo...his head is gone."
"Lan'er, it's all a dream, it's all a dream..."
Xie Zechuan sighed in his heart. Faced with Zhou Tinglan like this, he could only keep comforting her.
Zhou Tinglan slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep under Xie Zechuan's gentle patting.
Xie Zechuan tucked the quilt in for Zhou Tinglan. Looking at her sleeping face, his heart ached.
Judging from what happened last night, Xiao Ruo must have been killed by Yao Ningde and his men. How should they respond next?
Boom boom boom——
There was a knock on the door of the wing room. Xie Zechuan glanced at Zhou Tinglan and saw that she was not woken up. He breathed a sigh of relief and got up to open the door of the wing room.
He looked at the spy outside the door and asked anxiously, "What happened?"
"There's news from the Minister of War's Mansion, saying..."
"What did you say?" Zhou Tinglan's voice suddenly rang out. Xie Zechuan was surprised. Wasn't Lan'er already asleep? Why was she still awake?
"Lan'er, aren't you asleep?"
Zhou Tinglan walked straight forward and grabbed the spy's clothes: "What news did Yao Ningde get? Tell me quickly! What news is it?"
The spy saw Zhou Tinglan's excitement, glanced at Xie Zechuan, and said hurriedly: "There's news from the Minister of War's Mansion that Master Xiao's body may be brought out soon."
After hearing the spy's words, Zhou Tinglan's hands trembled and he let go of the spy's clothes.
"Lan'er..." Xie Zechuan called.
She turned around and threw herself into Xie Zechuan's arms, tears streaming down her cheeks, each drop burning Xie Zechuan's heart.
"Xie Zechuan, I want to find Xiao Ruo! I want to find him and see him off for the last time!"
Xie Zechuan hugged Zhou Tinglan back. He raised his hand to wipe away his tears and said painfully, "Lan'er, we can't. This might be Yao Ningde's conspiracy to lure us out."
The spy next to him also echoed: "Yes, Miss Zhou, it would be bad if you were discovered!"
Zhou Tinglan threw off Xie Zechuan's embrace and growled, "Why? When Xiao Ruo was still alive, you didn't save him, and you didn't let me save him. Now that he's gone, can't we even collect his body?"
"Xiao Ruo has died because of us. If even his body cannot rest in peace, how can I face my brothers in the village?"
Seeing Xie Zechuan hesitate, Zhou Tinglan grabbed Xie Zechuan by the collar and said, "Have you forgotten how you drank with him in the mountain stronghold? If you don't want to go, I will go. No matter how you try to stop me this time, I won't give up!"
"Hey - Lan'er." Xie Zechuan had no choice but to compromise: "I'll go with you!"
In order to prevent the situation of being outnumbered like last time, Xie Zechuan selected ten spies and headed towards the woods east of Shangjing City based on the information.
Everyone came to the east side of Shangjing City, and Zhou Tinglan was the first to rush into the woods.
She searched everywhere, Xiao Ruo, Xiao Ruo, Xiao Ruo, where are you?
In the silent woods, weeds grew everywhere, and dappled sunlight filtered through the sparse treetops, exposing the cracked bark, forming a series of terrifying faces. The path was covered with fallen leaves, and the direction was almost invisible.
Zhou Tinglan was panicking. Could there be any ferocious beasts in the woods? Would they have completely devoured Xiao Ruo's body?
No way! No way!
Zhou Tinglan shook his head to get rid of the terrible thoughts in his mind.
Soon, she found a roll of bloody rags under a big tree. Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached out to the bloody rags on the ground.
Under the rags, Zhou Tinglan saw the remains of a human limb, head, and body. She screamed in shock. Xie Zechuan, who had rushed over, saw this scene and covered Zhou Tinglan's eyes, "Lan'er, don't look!"
Zhou Tinglan was trembling all over. She slowly raised her hand and took it off her eyes. Her movements were mechanical and lifeless.
She stared blankly at Xiao Ruo's head on the bloody rag. His eyes had been gouged out and sewn back together, as had his lips.
In a trance, Zhou Tinglan's mind flashed with scenes of his interactions with Xiao Ruo.
When I first met Xiao Ruo, he was a waiter in the inn.
"This is the best Longjing tea. If you need it, just call me."
Later, the post station caught fire, and he and his brothers in the mountain stronghold went to ask for compensation.
"Give me money, or you won't be able to leave today!"
Arriving at the village, he questioned himself: "What's the point of giving them knives?"
"Look, it's really..."
He made money selling kitchen knives in town and drank with Xie Zechuan: "Miss Zhou, no matter what you say in the future, Xiao will never change his mind. I have some wine in my private collection, please treat me, Miss Zhou!"
The stall was smashed by the shopkeeper. He covered his bruised face and said, "My face is now in such a mess. How can I go out and see people?"
When people from the neighboring village came, he persuaded her: "Miss Zhou, don't let them fool you. They even stole our food before!"
Until what I saw last night, he was hung in the yard, shouting: "I... I don't know!"
If Xiao Ruo trusted her so much, he would believe that she could lead him to a good life.
Zhou Tinglan still clearly remembers how he smiled and said to her, "Miss Zhou, Xiao Ruo is waiting for you to lead me to a good life!"
But she broke her promise...
Because of her, Xiao Ruo was captured by Yao Ningde and tortured before his death. Will he blame her before he dies?
He would blame them, right? If it weren't for them, how could he have died...
She seemed to see Xiao Ruo standing in front of her, and he said to her: "Miss Zhou, look at the kitchen knives I sold today. The brothers in the village all praised my ability."
"Miss Zhou, this is some tofu the aunt in town sent you. She said it's a thank you for your help. Tofu is delicious whether stewed or boiled. I'll have my brothers prepare it right away!"
"Miss Zhou, why aren't you talking? Are you feeling unwell?"
“…”
Scene after scene flashed through her mind, and Zhou Tinglan felt a sharp pain in her head. Her lips moved, but she couldn't speak, and her throat felt so painful as if it was pinched.
"Miss Zhou! Miss Zhou!"
She seemed to hear Xiao Ruo's voice. Zhou Tinglan turned around in surprise. Seeing Xiao Ruo, she rushed over and said, "Xiao Ruo, you are still here."
The next moment she was pulled, and a big hand covered her forehead. The slightly cool fingers touched her forehead. She squinted her eyes comfortably and leaned over.
However, she heard the other person exclaim, "It's so hot! Lan'er, you have a high fever!"
"Lan'er! Lan'er!" A big hand was waving up and down in front of her.
The next moment, Xie Zechuan's face came into view.
Zhou Tinglan's pupils gradually refocused. There was no trace of Xiao Ruo in front of him, only a pile of broken limbs on a bloody rag.
It turns out that everything was just her fantasy!
She... has a high fever? Hearing Xie Zechuan's words, Zhou Tinglan looked at himself and touched his forehead. It seemed a little hot, and his head hurt a little.
But she was in so much pain just because of a high fever, so what about Xiao Ruo? How much pain must he be in? Xiao Ruo was extremely afraid of pain. Once, when he cut his finger in the village, he would rush around looking for herbs.
Zhou Tinglan's voice was hoarse. "Xie Zechuan, if Xiao Ruo hadn't met us, would he still be alive and well now, walking around the village freely, calling his brothers to drink?"
"Lan'er, we will avenge him."
Xie Zechuan hugged Zhou Tinglan and tried to comfort her while suppressing his inner pain.
The expected danger did not occur.
After returning, the two left the dark spot and stayed temporarily in an inn in Shangjing City as traveling merchants. Zhou Tinglan was ordered by Xie Zechuan to rest in bed because of his high fever.
Xie Zechuan found a famous coroner in the city and spent half a day sewing up Xiao Ruo's mutilated body.
In the high-quality nanmu coffin, Xiao Ruo lay inside like a broken rag doll, his eyes and some of his parts could no longer be found.
No matter how skilled the coroners were, they could not restore Xiao Ruo's body to the appearance of a normal death.
Xie Zechuan asked two secret agents to secretly bury the body deep in the woods. Zhou Tinglan wanted to follow, but was sternly rejected by him.
"Lan'er, you are still very weak. Don't worry, I will take care of Xiao Ruo's funeral."
The next day, there was a knock on the door of the wing room, and a secret agent walked in. He quickly walked up to Xie Zechuan and saluted: "Sir, this is bad. Young Master Xiao's coffin has been dug out, and there are... there are even a few words carved on it!"
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