Chapter 42 Attendant Pickup
The King of Poison actually rested his head on his lap.
It felt heavy; the other person had clearly lost their strength. I didn't know whether to praise him for trusting me too much or to say that he was really ruthless.
Shinju's original intention was simply to let the King of the Void lean on his shoulder, but upon further reflection, even when the man was sitting upright, his hair ornament was almost touching the deliberately high roof of the carriage. If he were to lean on his shoulder, his neck would probably break. It would be more appropriate for him to rest his head on his leg like this.
After Zhenwang lay down, Zhenshu felt that even a slightly heavy breath might disturb the stray hairs at Zhenwang's temples, so he softened his breathing. His hand hovered in the air, unsure of where to put it. He accidentally brushed against the hem of his robe and touched a piece of embroidery that was rough to the touch.
He couldn't help but wonder: would the King of Zhen, who was resting his head on the intricate patterns on his clothes, feel uncomfortable?
So Shinju reached out and grabbed a fleece blanket, intending to place it under the cheek of the King of Poison. However, he found that the King of Poison was facing forward with his eyes closed, and his breathing was gradually becoming long and even.
Outside, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves filled the air, and a gust of wind swept in, lifting the curtain. In the dimly lit carriage, a red lantern light flashed, and a hand, still gleaming white in the darkness, covered the ear of the King of Zhen. The clamor and noise instantly faded into the distance, and a soft, thin blanket was draped over the King of Zhen, just enough to cover the knuckles that were secretly tightening around his waist.
The car bumped and jolted as if riding on a stormy sea, yet within this cramped space, the warmth of their close-knit bodies created a sense of peace, as if no matter how fierce the storm outside was, it had nothing to do with them.
Before they knew it, dawn broke, the morning mist dissipated, and verdant life emerged. People who had risen early to work watched the sounds of people rushing along the official road. Some hung their heads in fear, afraid of getting into trouble, while others secretly thought that today was destined to be extraordinary. But these were just some of the topics they would talk about over tea.
The soldiers and officers in the caravan, who had ridden all night, all looked exhausted. Their skin was numb from the cold wind, and their eyelids were heavy. But because the mission was extremely important, they dared not relax and just silently hoped to reach a place to rest as soon as possible.
Just as dawn broke over the official road, a soldier on a black-maned horse at the front of the caravan had his neck bent to the side, his upper body hunched lower and lower, almost hanging upside down on the horse's neck. The adjutant beside him noticed that the soldier's face was bluish-purple, his eyes unfocused, and his mouth wide open, whether pleading for help or struggling to breathe was unclear. However, the adjutant casually looked away and continued riding on without a word.
A moment later, the soldier's lips trembled violently a few times, white foam spurted from the edges, and then he fell headfirst to the ground—
The iron hooves were merciless, and in the blink of an eye, red and white slurry mixed into the crushed mud and clods of earth. The reins of the black-maned horse were pulled down by the fallen soldier, and in a moment of loss of balance, the black-maned horse was caught under the hooves of the others. Then, like a chain reaction, the carriages and horses behind it overturned one after another. The pitiful neighing of the horses pierced the sky, and the cavalrymen shouted to each other to jump off their horses or go around. The scene was instantly chaotic.
Just before the chaos was about to engulf the middle of the caravan, the King of Zhen leaned out of the carriage curtain, snatched the reins and whip from the driver's hand, and loudly ordered, "Drive to the lower left! Scatter before stopping!"
Having received the order, the cavalrymen immediately found their backbone, and they all cracked their whips and charged towards the wooded slope on the left.
At this moment, Shinju had also peered out of the carriage. His brows furrowed, and disregarding whether it would hinder the repair of his dantian, he unleashed a punch into the open space. His inner force surged outwards like waves, instantly slowing the airflow within a hundred feet, even causing it to stagnate, indirectly causing all the vehicles and horses to drop drastically. Within a few dozen breaths, before the cavalry at the rear of the caravan could even comprehend what was happening, their horses and the heavy carriages they were pulling came to a complete stop.
This is bad. Shinju realized his dantian was overloaded; the one-tenth of his dantian that had just been repaired was now crumbling again. Toxins were rampaging through his dantian, even more chaotic and disorderly than when it was already riddled with holes, immediately triggering a violent reaction within his body.
Shinju glanced at the King of Venom out of the corner of his eye, took a step back, and slammed his forehead against the outer corner of the carriage. With a muffled thud, Shinju finally felt relieved and spat out the blood that had rushed to his throat.
The moment the King of Zhen heard the noise, his body froze, and he turned his head to look after a moment.
"Qing'er!" King Zhen's eyes widened in horror as he watched the coachman's back splattered with crimson blood. Holding his breath, he quickly helped Zhen Su into the carriage and ordered the coachman, "Quickly, bring the general's physician here!"
"Yes, yes!" The driver was dumbfounded and hurriedly jumped off the cart.
Despite the excruciating pain in his dantian, Shinju forced down the remaining blood stasis. He then tried to tell the King of Zhen not to worry about him and to go check on the soldiers and the situation outside. Suddenly, everything went black, and his bloodied forehead landed directly on the King of Zhen's shoulder.
"Let me lean on it for a bit... It'll be over soon," Shinjuku murmured with a hint of helplessness.
The King of Zhen's back straightened. He raised his hand, intending to put his arm around the back of Shinju's head to press down on the wound on his forehead to stop the bleeding. Unexpectedly, the furry head on his shoulder suddenly nudged, adjusted its position, and continued to lean against him. Seeing that the wound on Shinju's forehead had become visible and stopped bleeding, the King of Zhen remained still, maintaining his kneeling position, and waited for the coachman to bring the general physician.
Unexpectedly, two generals arrived first. They stood outside the carriage, bowed, and said, "Is Your Majesty in good health? Your humble servants have come to report."
"I have nothing to do. Speak."
"Your Majesty, the cause of the stampede at the front has been determined. It was caused by a soldier falling from his horse, which resulted in the injury of more than 30 horses and the death of four. Sixteen people were injured, seven of whom were seriously injured. The soldier who fell from his horse has died."
"Who is running alongside the fallen soldiers?" The voice of the King of Poison was like a cage being lifted up from the flames of hell, exuding a strong murderous aura.
Military marches emphasize mutual supervision and observation, especially during long journeys. Caravans typically travel in pairs, and while a soldier who falls from his horse may be at fault, the person traveling alongside him is equally responsible.
"Your Majesty, I will investigate this matter immediately!" The General of the Palace Guard realized something from the King of Zhen's words, exchanged a glance with him, and immediately accepted the order and took his leave.
The military doctors arrived quickly. Not wanting to neglect the Emperor, the most senior doctor volunteered, while the other two went to the more severely wounded areas. However, upon boarding the carriage, they were surprised to find themselves treating one of the Emperor's attendants, whose forehead wound had already healed.
"...Your Majesty, this pulse...I'm afraid I can't tell what to do. But the wound on the attendant's forehead is not a big problem; it just needs to be cleaned and some wound medicine applied."
The King of Poison, his brow still furrowed, added, "He just coughed up blood."
"Ah, so this is how it is..." The military doctor was at a loss for words.
Shinju couldn't bear to watch any longer. Even Ke Lin couldn't diagnose his pulse, let alone the other imperial physicians. Not wanting to delay proper treatment, Shinju said to the King of Zhen, "I'm fine, Your Majesty. Please apply the medicine for me. Imperial physicians, please go and attend to the other wounded." In truth, he didn't need medicine, but to complete the charade, and since the army doctor had said so, he couldn't pretend otherwise. Besides, the King of Zhen didn't seem entirely convinced he was alright.
King Zhen hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.
The medic breathed a sigh of relief, left some wound medicine and a strip of cloth, and then carried his medicine box to the back.
The way the King of Zhen applied the medicine and bandaged his wounds was surprisingly professional, reminding Shinju of what the King of Zhen had said to his ministers earlier. The King of Zhen was a veteran of many battles, and his proficiency in these matters showed that his talk of conquest was not just empty talk or theoretical, but genuine skill honed through battle.
Shinju noticed the bloodstains on the King of Zhen's shoulder and felt slightly apologetic, so he said apologetically, "Your Majesty, I will go and fetch you some clean clothes."
"No need. Bring me paper and pen." With that, King Zhen brushed aside the hair that was bound by strips of cloth from Shinju's forehead. As it fell gently, it exuded a kind of carefree spirit that was somewhere between unruly and wild, making his golden eyes look proud and charming.
Seeing that King Zhen's eyes were deep and serious, Shinjuku did not insist and jumped off the carriage to find the carriage that was carrying supplies.
After witnessing the chaos and the exhaustion of the group, the already weary soldiers were further dejected by this setback, which had prevented them from achieving their initial goals. Fortunately, the two newly appointed lieutenant generals provided effective command, and the group persevered, working hard to restore order.
After finding his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, Shinju gazed at the pile of horse carcasses in the distance. His eyes narrowed, and he released his divine sense.
Then a small ink spot appeared in my field of vision.
"..." He still remembered that he had scanned the area with his divine sense before setting off, and at that time he clearly did not find any poison. Why is there poison now?
Could it be the kind of poison Ke Lin had mentioned to him? There is a type of poison that is not inherently toxic, but transforms into a toxin after entering the human body, such as bitter almonds. All six senses are based on humans, meaning they are measured by human standards, only revealing substances poisonous to humans. If something is poisonous to animals like hawks and hounds but harmless to humans, it won't appear as black. Therefore, his divine sense is not always accurate and cannot be relied upon entirely.
He had expected to encounter obstacles along the way, but he hadn't anticipated that the mastermind would act so soon. It seemed this journey was more dangerous than he had imagined, and he needed to keep a close eye on the King of Poison. Shinju immediately turned and walked back.
The convoy could have rested a little further ahead, before the hottest part of the day, noon. But now the rest has been forced to be brought forward. So after tidying up the scene, some people took stock of the items, some took the injured to nearby towns to buy medicine, some rested, and some went to find water.
“Brother He, didn’t you grow up near Wuzhen? Do you know where there’s a clean water source or a place to eat around here?” a soldier asked a soldier next to him with a scar across his eye.
The scarred soldier nodded. "I do know one, it's very close to here, and it's a famous spring."
"That's great! Brother He, lead the way quickly, let's get a few more people to carry gourds and buckets."
A little later, nearly ten soldiers, carrying large buckets and small canteens, followed the scarred soldier across the grassy path, past a broken and fallen stone tablet by the roadside, and arrived at a pond that blended seamlessly with the sky. Clear spring water flowed continuously from a mountain spring, converging into the pond, then meandering into a stream that flowed away into the distance. Two peach trees grew beside the pond, their branches laden with pink blossoms. Falling petals scattered across the water, many landing on the surface like tiny boats, carrying the fragrance of the flowers downstream.
The tension and fatigue that had accumulated overnight and early in the morning were finally released. The fairy-tale-like scenery and the clear spring water healed their souls.
"Quickly, let's collect more! This spring water is so good, let all the brothers have a taste!"
-----------------------
Author's note: There will be updates in the next two days.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
