Chapter 68 The Journey Home (1)
When Meng Guanqi helped the Crown Prince reappear in the temple, they found that all the men in black were dead, and Li Xiaoxiao was squatting on the ground, motionless.
Meng Guanqi was extremely anxious, thinking that Li Xiaoxiao was injured: "Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao, how are you?"
Li Xiaoxiao stood up expressionlessly: "I'm fine."
The Crown Prince stared in astonishment at the black-clad men lying on the ground. Three of them had their throats slit, and one man by the wall had a knife stuck in his chest. The short sword in Li Xiaoxiao's hand was snow-white, without a trace of blood. Pang Shi and Wan Quan were sitting on the ground, panting heavily. So, this young woman killed all of these people? In such a short time?
He looked at Pang Shi with a strange expression: "What's wrong? What just happened?"
Pang Shi and Wan Quan struggled to their feet. Pang Shi said with difficulty, "Your Highness, these people committed suicide."
Suicide? The prince was stunned. Why would a death squad member suddenly commit suicide?
Pang Shi looked at the expressionless Li Xiaoxiao with a complex expression: "This young lady subdued their leader with a single move. The remaining three were no match for her, and the leader gave them the order to commit suicide..."
The Crown Prince's expression changed drastically: "They all committed suicide..." He couldn't help but glance at Li Xiaoxiao again.
Pang Shi cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, although the people who caught up with us are dead, it's hard to say they didn't have a backup plan. We can't stay in this dilapidated temple any longer; we must leave here quickly."
But leaving was easier said than done. All four of them were seriously injured, and outside there was a strong wind, heavy rain, and snow. It was already getting dark, and they were short of clothes and medicine. If they went out now, they would only face certain death.
The Crown Prince also knew that this place was not safe. If there were pursuers, and the four of them were seriously injured, the only person they could rely on was Meng Guanqi, the female attendant. But she could handle four against one, but what if she faced forty?
But outside, there was a strong wind and heavy snow, and the weather was extremely cold. If they forced themselves to leave at this time, they might die in the low temperatures.
Between two evils, choose the lesser. Pang Shi sighed, "There's a strong wind and heavy snow outside, and it's getting late. Let's wait until dawn tomorrow before we leave."
But tonight I'm destined to have no sleep.
He couldn't help but turn his gaze to Li Xiaoxiao, who hadn't spoken yet. Tonight's guard duty was especially important, and it might all depend on her.
Then he discovered that besides himself, His Highness the Crown Prince, Wan Quan, and Meng Guanqi were all secretly watching Li Xiaoxiao.
Apart from the newly arrived attendant who was struggling to start a fire and the young page who was busy handing out firewood, almost everyone was looking at her.
But she was clearly in a bad mood, radiating an aura that kept strangers at bay, her presence so powerful that it even overshadowed the Crown Prince.
Pang Shi was somewhat dazed. Wasn't she Meng Guanqi's attendant? But Pang Shi didn't see the respect and humility that an attendant should have in her. It seemed that she was just angry and threw a tantrum without caring about anything else, completely lacking the self-awareness of a servant.
Pang Shi found this person very interesting.
She took down five assassins in just a few moves, and Pang Shi hadn't even figured out her true strength yet. Her specialty was her immense power, which could overcome any skill with sheer force.
He had never seen anyone with such strength before. She was just a young girl of fourteen or fifteen years old. How could she have such strength?
Moreover, how could such a capable person be willing to be subservient to someone else and serve as a servant to the son of a county magistrate?
Pang Shi was a man with a rough exterior but an extremely delicate heart; otherwise, he would not have been chosen to accompany the Crown Prince on his secret trip. He observed the expressions of Wan Quan and His Highness the Crown Prince, and it was clear that their thoughts coincided with his own.
Zhao Jian finally got the fire going. After learning that the tall, badly injured man in front of him was His Highness the Crown Prince, he became trembling with fear. Asheng was even more frightened and trembled, not daring to say a word, and busied himself helping to start the fire.
However, the fire was made from firewood that Li Xiaoxiao had chopped up after dismantling a door, and it had been burning for several hours. There were only a few pieces left, and there were eight of them in total, so one fire was simply not enough.
Zhao Jian whispered, "Your Highness, gentlemen, the fire is ready. Come and warm yourself by the fire..."
Upon Zhao Jian's reminder, the group immediately felt a bone-chilling cold, and the Crown Prince also felt that his wounds had worsened.
Meng Guanqi ignored Li Xiaoxiao and, together with Zhao Jian, helped the Crown Prince, Pang Shi, and Wan Quan to sit down in front of the fire. They also helped Li Wenkui, who had been seriously injured and unconscious, to sit up. After helping him up, he opened his eyes, glanced at Zhao Jian, and whispered his thanks. He looked very weak.
Li Wenkui was, after all, a scholar and had no martial arts skills. Wan Quan gave him his seat so he could lean against the wall more comfortably: "Lord Li, please rest for a while. Once the snow stops, we can go to Luzhou to seek medical treatment."
Li Wenkui's lips moved slightly, he nodded gently, and closed his eyes.
His arms and shoulders were covered in knife wounds, and his legs had two cuts; he must have been in a lot of pain.
The four people sat down around the fire; there were no more seats available.
Zhao Jian had run out of the white medicine in his bundle, and they could no longer apply medicine to their wounds. Each of them took a pill to prevent colds with water and then warmed themselves by the fire.
Zhao Jian then took out the dry rations from his bundle and presented them to Pang Shi and Wan Quan. They took them, heated them over the fire, and the four of them shared them.
Meng Guanqi finally had a moment to himself. He quietly took Li Xiaoxiao's hand and asked worriedly, "Xiaoxiao, are you hurt?"
Touching the bone-chilling cold in her palm, Li Xiaoxiao came back to her senses and immediately saw Meng Guanqi's lips turning purple from the cold, even though he was wearing a middle garment.
Oh shit!
She cursed inwardly, realizing she had been so distracted that she had forgotten the most important thing: this little cabbage was too fragile to withstand the cold, what if it froze to death?
The four princes had already surrounded the fire, and she couldn't very well go over and snatch it back, so she could only start another fire.
If we don't get some warmth soon, the little cabbage will freeze to death, even if it's not killed.
The bodies of the men in black occupied a large part of the dilapidated temple. Since they were already dead, Li Xiaoxiao stopped worrying about how they had no choice but to end their lives. What could they change now that they were corpses?
She pushed Meng Guanqi towards the fire, saying, "Go and warm yourself by the fire first. I'll throw these corpses out and then we'll build another pile." With that, she bent down, picked up one man in each hand, and carried the burly man, who weighed over 100 pounds, out the door as if he were weightless. He was thrown outside with two loud thuds.
In the blink of an eye, the four corpses disappeared, leaving a large empty space in the temple. The prince and his companions, who were eating sesame cakes, all stopped chewing and stared blankly as she threw the corpses out like garbage.
Li Xiaoxiao didn't care about their gazes. In this situation, what difference did it make whether she and Zhao Jian carried it out or she threw it out herself? Anyway, her goal was to clear the ground and start another fire.
Unfortunately, the door to this dilapidated temple is gone, so where will we get firewood?
She looked around and immediately took a liking to the offering table under half of the Buddha statue.
In the entire temple, apart from the roof, it was the only thing made of wood, and the offering table was quite large, probably enough for them to burn offerings for one night.
But if we take the offering table out, this half of the Buddha might fall apart. But people in this world seem to have great reverence for gods and Buddhas. Ugh, what a hassle!
She thought for a moment, then clasped her hands together and bowed to the half-Buddha statue: "Buddha, please forgive me, but I would like to borrow your altar. I hope you will not mind."
Hearing her words, everyone in the temple was stunned. The prince dropped the cake in his hand and exclaimed in surprise, "You, you want to dismantle the offering table under the Buddha's seat?"
Li smiled and said, "We're out of firewood. If the fire goes out, we'll freeze to death."
Wan Quan was shocked: "Even if we run out of firewood, we can't dismantle the Buddha's altar! What if the Buddha gets angry—"
Li Xiaoxiao interrupted him: "Do you think it has a spirit?"
Wan Quan replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, all Buddhas possess spirits. Even if this temple is no longer worshipped, we cannot desecrate the Buddha—"
Li Xiaoxiao said, "Since it has a spirit, why was it soaked by the rain and only half of its body remained? It can't even manifest in front of people, let alone send a message in a dream. Even if it can't reach as far as the prefectural or county magistrate, it could at least reach the village chief nearby. If the village chief receives a message from it in a dream, he might even repair its roof and prevent the rain from washing away its mud statue. It's clear that this Buddha must be without spirit. Since it's without spirit, then it probably doesn't matter if we dismantle its altar..."
The more she talked about it, the more she felt it made sense, and she stood in front of the altar to figure out how to pull it out.
Wan Quan opened and closed her mouth, not knowing how to refute her. It was the first time the Crown Prince had heard such an unorthodox statement, and he even nodded with interest.
Pang Shi grinned, admiring her unconventional style. The only person in the room who could refute her was unconscious; otherwise, Li Wenkui would have had to engage in a heated debate with her.
Wan Quan was at a loss with her and looked at Meng Guanqi: "Young Master Meng, your servant is so audacious, aren't you going to stop her? This is Buddha—"
Meng Guanqi said with difficulty, "Eunuch Wan, but we're out of firewood..." He pointed to the two remaining pieces of firewood, "These two thin pieces of firewood will probably only last for half an hour before this fire goes out."
Wan Quan was speechless upon seeing this.
It was so cold that day. They were seriously injured and their clothes were soaked. Without this fire, they would have had a hard time getting through the night.
It doesn't matter if his servant dies; what matters is His Highness the Crown Prince. Absolutely no further mistakes can be made…
Meng Guanqi's eyes lit up as if he had thought of something: "Eunuch Wan, I have a way to solve this problem. Why don't you listen to it?"
Wan Quan asked, "What method?"
Meng Guanqi's eyes sparkled: "If we pull out the offering table, the remaining half of the Buddha will definitely collapse. Since Father-in-law is afraid that the Buddha will blame us, why don't you wait until we are freed tomorrow and have someone reshape the Buddha's body with clay and find someone to repair the roof? This would be a way to repay the Buddha for his generosity in contributing the offering table for warmth. What do you think, Father-in-law?"
Upon hearing this, Wan Quan was pleased and a smile appeared on his face: "As expected of a scholar, your mind is indeed quick and easy to use. You actually came up with such a good idea, Your Highness." He bowed slightly and asked the Crown Prince, "What does Your Highness think of this idea?"
How much does it cost to reshape a Buddha statue? Even making a gilded one wouldn't be difficult. As long as it can help them get out of trouble, he only needs to make a statement, and there will be plenty of people eager to do the job.
The prince smiled slightly: "Good idea, let's do it this way. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. If Buddha gave me a pot of fire, I will return the favor with a golden statue. It will be a beautiful story."
Wan Quan respectfully replied, "Yes," but when he turned to face Li Xiaoxiao, he changed his expression, raising his chin high as he said to her, "His Highness has agreed to rebuild the Buddha's golden statue. Please remove that offering table." Now that his identity had been revealed, his arrogance as the Crown Prince's trusted eunuch inadvertently showed.
Meng Guanqi saw this and lowered his eyelids.
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