Chapter 74 Returning Home
Just when the leader was distracted, Xie Jinglan suddenly raised his eyes and glanced quickly to Wen Ning's left.
Wen Ning understood what was going on. Her left hand, hidden in her sleeve, had already clenched the oil-paper bag tightly. At this moment, taking advantage of the inertia of her body being pulled by the leader, she used almost all her strength to suddenly turn around. A stream of green smoke exploded from between her fingers and flew straight towards the leader's wide-open eyes.
"Ah!!" The blue-gray powder instantly blurred his vision, as if countless red-hot needles were piercing into his eyes.
Before he could react, he felt a cold light suddenly flash across his neck.
The sword pierced his throat, Xie Jinglan deliberately twisted his wrist, and the cold sword blade crushed his throat in an instant.
The tip of the sword penetrated half an inch from the back of the neck, splashing out a burst of scarlet blood.
At the moment when the sword pierced the throat, Xie Jinglan had already grasped Wen Ning's waist with his left hand and suddenly spun her towards his side.
"Close your eyes." He growled, and with the momentum of drawing the sword, he kicked the leader hard in the chest with the sole of his boot.
The still twitching corpse was kicked a few feet away like a torn sack, and fell heavily outside the arrow tower, and there was no movement anymore.
The three people standing by were terrified.
The bald man with scabies who was holding the oil rope was about to pounce when Xie Jinglan kicked him over. With a sweep of his sword, the head rolled to the ground.
The last two people were so frightened by this scene that their calves were cramping and their legs were so weak that they felt like they had no bones.
It just so happened that they were closest to the stairs, and the instinct to survive whipped them like a whip. The two of them dragged their uncontrollable legs and stumbled as they scrambled to climb to the stairs.
Xie Jinglan didn't look at them, but just turned sideways and pressed Wen Ning into his arms, saying softly:
"Don't look, it's almost over."
Wen Ning's eyes were covered by him, and she could only hear the dull sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh behind her, and finally the sound of a heavy object rolling down the stairs.
A fishy-sweet taste surged in Wen Ning's throat. She bit her lower lip hard to swallow the blood back.
Although he deliberately used his body to block the killing scene, when the bloody smell came over, one could imagine how cruel his methods were.
…
As the sky gradually darkened, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard on the official road. The familiar sound of horses' hooves came from far away and got closer.
Xie Jinglan pulled the reins, his dark robe swaying slightly in the evening breeze.
He gathered Wen Ning's cloak closer and held her tighter in his arms.
Seeing that the people leading the group were Qing Feng and Qing Mang, and that his carriage was surrounded by personal guards, he finally felt relieved.
"Master." Qing Feng turned over and dismounted. His eyes swept across the bloodstains on Xie Jinglan's body, and then fell on the girl in his arms. He felt a chill in his heart.
"Master, are you and the girl okay?"
Wen Ning forced herself to look up from Xie Jinglan's arms and asked weakly, "How are Mammy and Xibao?"
"Don't worry, young lady. The young master is under the careful care of the nanny and has fallen asleep in the carriage." Qing Feng replied.
From the moment Wen Ning was abducted, her biggest fear was that those people would harm Xi Bao.
On the way here just now, I heard from the Marquis that Qingfeng had been sent to protect Xibao.
But in the end, I never saw the child in person, and my heart was always hanging in the air.
Xie Jinglan noticed her subtle expression and signaled Qingfeng with his eyes.
Qing Feng immediately understood, turned around and walked quickly towards the carriage, reached out and gently lifted the curtain.
The moment the car curtain was opened, Wen Ning's gaze immediately looked over.
I saw the nanny holding Xibao, the little guy curled up in the nanny's arms, sleeping soundly.
When she saw this scene, she finally leaned into Xie Jinglan's arms as if she had let go of all her strength.
Nanny Xue still had a look of shock on her face, and her brows were full of worry.
She carefully examined the girl's pale face and the bloody scar on her neck caused by the sword, frowning in pain, "The girl has suffered..."
There were two maids in the carriage, Wanqing and Yunxiu.
Seeing his two masters at this moment, he seemed to have found his backbone, and hurriedly stood up, got off the carriage, and bowed and greeted them.
"Everyone sit tight."
Xie Jinglan controlled the reins with one hand, and with the other, he held the person in his arms firmly. He glanced at the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Get the carriage and return to the capital tonight!"
Before he finished speaking, the person in his arms suddenly trembled.
Wen Ning was already weak, and now she was trying her best to stand up, her face as pale as a piece of paper.
She half turned around, her slender fingers clutching his lapel, "No, no... send us back to the border town, I can't go back to the mansion with the Marquis, please, send Xibao and me back to the border town..."
Xie Jinglan frowned, clearly seeing the tears in her eyes. He tightened his arms, not allowing her to move an inch.
"Stop making trouble and be obedient."
The tone was extremely gentle.
His fingertips gently brushed over her trembling eyelashes. He knew what she was worried about and patiently coaxed her, "Just stay in the mansion until you recover. Then, you can do whatever you want. Don't think too much now. I'll take care of everything."
Qing Feng, who was listening to the conversation between the two, finally stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Master, this place is still a night's journey to the capital. It will take at least four or five hours if we ride fast. If I don't rest, I'm afraid my body won't be able to endure it..."
Qing Mang also bowed and said, "Master, there is an inn in the town ahead. Why don't you go there and rest for a while?"
Xie Jinglan looked down at the person in his arms, and saw that the edge of her neck was cut by the blade and the red flesh was still curled up, and his throat tightened.
He really wanted to find a safe place for her to rest for the night, but when he glanced at the deserted official roads around him, he was worried that the remote inn in the wilderness, the shortage of medicinal materials and the crude doctors would not be able to cure Ning'er's injuries at all.
The only way to give her the best care is to return home as soon as possible.
The man's eyes darkened, and he raised his head and gave a deep order, "Go to the inn ahead and find a safer carriage. Rest for a while, then set off and rush back to the mansion overnight."
…
At dawn the next day, the sound of a carriage rolling over bluestone slabs was heard outside the vermilion lacquered gate of the marquis's mansion.
The trip should have been completed last night, but it was delayed until the dawn of the morning.
Inside the mansion, the old lady was standing in the corridor in a plain jacket.
She did not sleep all night, waiting from the time the moon was at its zenith to the time the morning star set. The dark shadows under her eyes were as thick as indissoluble ink.
Yesterday evening, the Marquis sent someone to report that he had encountered some minor matters and would be back late.
Once something happened, the old lady's heart would inevitably be in suspense until dawn.
At this moment, she heard the noise outside the door and her fingers holding the Buddhist beads suddenly stopped.
"My Lord! The Lord is back!" The butler's voice of joy penetrated the door. His voice was urgent and bright, and he was shouting specifically for the old lady to hear.
The tiredness in the old lady's eyes was instantly dispelled, and without waiting for Nanny Zhou to lend a hand, she walked straight towards the gate of the mansion.
The two carriages stopped one after another, and the shafts were still stained with some wet marks from the night dew.
Qing Feng stepped forward and opened the car curtain. Xie Jinglan bent down and got out of the car holding Wen Ning in his arms, his movements very steady.
The woman struggled in his arms, pressing her fingertips against his chest to get down.
"No! Lord, please put me down! Please put me down!"
He just turned around with the person in his arms and met the old lady's gaze.
His gaze first fell on Xie Jinglan's dusty robe, then suddenly stopped. He saw that the white silk wrapped around Wen Ning's neck was stained with dark red blood, and his face was as white as rice paper. It was obvious that he was seriously injured.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
