Chapter 44 Not Human
It was late at night, but there were still quite a few people on the street. There were patrol officers and imperial guards conducting searches, but there were also many passersby who had just finished visiting the night market, brothels, and other entertainment venues and were heading home satisfied.
Qiu Heng saw several imperial guards stop a man for questioning, and the one leading him was Hu Si. She quietly retreated.
Just then, Hu Si turned around unintentionally and shouted sharply, "Stop!"
Without further hesitation, Qiu Heng leaped into an alley.
The alley is very long. After passing through it, take a shortcut and you'll be not far from the Yongqing Earl's Mansion.
A lithe figure darted through the darkness, like a magpie spreading its wings, leaving its pursuers far behind.
A light came from ahead, illuminating the tall, upright face of the young man.
Imperial Envoy Xue Han!
Qiu Heng finally felt nervous.
She had never fought Xue Han, but judging from his position as Imperial Envoy, he must be no ordinary person.
But he happened to be standing where she had to pass, leaving her no way to avoid him.
Then we'll have no choice but to confront them head-on.
With pursuers behind her, Qiu Heng did not hesitate and continued to charge forward.
Danger and crisis were commonplace in that chaotic era. Her skills might not have been top-notch, but her confidence and composure were second to none.
Let her test this Lord Xue's skills.
Xue Han didn't expect that the person being chased by his subordinates would not only not panic when he saw him blocking the way, but would also choose to take the initiative to attack.
Good courage.
Xue Han drew his sword and slashed at the masked man.
The weapon that entangled the long sword in his hand was a soft sword.
The soft sword, swift as a snake, skillfully deflected the force of the longsword, then deftly released its grip and thrust towards his face.
Xue Han had no choice but to lean back to avoid it.
In just a few moments, the two exchanged several blows, and for a time it was difficult to determine who was superior.
The pursuers behind them were getting closer and closer.
Knowing she couldn't continue this entanglement, Qiu Heng gritted her teeth and kicked off the wall to one side, using the recoil to stab at an extremely tricky angle.
Xue Han nimbly dodged, but a sharp pain shot through his shoulder.
He dodged the soft sword, but was struck by the opponent's palm on his still-healing wound—it was from when he rescued Qiu Liu from the spies, when he was pierced by a sharp branch that had stood up in the grass.
Even the strongest person cannot resist the body's instinctive reactions.
Taking advantage of the moment when Xue Han slowed down due to pain, Qiu Heng flipped in mid-air, landed, and ran away.
Xue Han knew he couldn't catch up, his eyes like cold stars, staring at the figure that was getting further and further away.
"Sir, has the person escaped?" Hu Si arrived with his men, panting heavily.
"They ran away," Xue Han said calmly, rubbing his shoulder.
Hu Si looked closely and his face changed drastically: "Sir, you're bleeding! Ah, it's in the same spot!"
"It's just a reopened wound, nothing serious." Xue Han glanced again in the direction where the masked man had disappeared, then turned and walked back.
Hu Si followed along, muttering, "How come you got hurt in the same place? This double injury must hurt so much! Sir, maybe your shoulder is having a run of bad luck. Why don't you go to a temple and pray for it?"
Xue Han's lips twitched violently.
I've only ever heard of people having bad luck in their year, never of just one shoulder having bad luck.
"Sir, you should have fully recovered from your injuries before coming out. There are spies to catch, and the Imperial City Guard isn't the only one responsible for assassinating high-ranking officials..."
There's no need to take it too seriously. Neither Han Wu nor Yuan Chenghai are good people. So what if they die?
Of course, Hu Si couldn't say these words out loud, but he believed that the adults and he were on the same page.
Xue Han glanced at his subordinate who kept talking and said succinctly, "Shut up."
Back at the yamen, Xue Han took out some wound medicine, stared at it for a moment, and then handed it to Hu Si: "Help me apply this medicine."
"Alright." Hu Si looked at the porcelain bottle containing the medicine. "Oh, this is Renxintang's best wound medicine. It's not cheap... I remember now, it was Miss Hongqiu who had her nanny deliver it to you."
The red bean cake was quite prescient, as the young man soon put it to use.
That's way too fast; the previous injury hasn't even healed yet...
"Use it sparingly—" The pain from the powder on the wound made the boy's voice a little hoarse, and he added, "It's expensive."
Hu Si's lips curled up, his smile carrying a profound meaning.
I don't know if the adults really think it's too expensive, or if they just can't bear to use it.
"grown ups."
"explain."
"I've heard that red beans are good for replenishing blood. Why don't we go and tell Miss Qiu that you're injured again and ask her for some more red bean cakes?"
"Hu Si".
"Why."
"Don't make fun of that girl's reputation."
"Yes." Hu Si put away his playful smile and quietly shook his head.
It's obvious that Qiu Liu, the sixth young lady, sent both red bean cakes and wound medicine; she probably admires their master quite a bit. And the master, who didn't used to eat red bean cakes, now loves them.
What else could this be but mutual affection? Yet the adults are so stubborn.
"Keep a close eye on the Yuan residence these next few days..." Xue Han brought up the important matter.
Meanwhile, Qiu Heng had already returned to Lengxiang Residence.
"The young lady is back." Fangzhou greeted her.
As Qiu Heng took off her clothes, she said, "I've told you so many times, don't wait for me, go to sleep early."
"If I can't sleep, I can always sleep in—" Fangzhou paused, her expression changing, "Miss, are you injured?"
Qiu Heng opened her hand to look at the bloodstains on her palm, her tone inscrutable: "I'm not injured, it's someone else's blood. Fang Zhou, go prepare some hot water, I'm going to take a bath."
Behind the screen, the girl, having removed all her clothes, sat in a wooden tub about half her height, surrounded by warm water at a comfortable temperature.
The fatigue vanished along with the dust, and Qiu Heng raised her hand, staring blankly at her palm.
There was no trace of blood on his fair palm.
She did it on purpose.
She knew that Xue Han's wound there was still unhealed, which was his weakness, so she deliberately struck that spot to buy herself a chance to escape.
And the result was as she expected.
Qiu Heng scooped up a handful of water with both hands and splashed it onto her shoulders.
The girl's shoulders were snow-white and flawless.
Xue Han's shoulder injury was sustained while saving her, and today she rubbed salt into his wound.
She's really not human.
Qiu Heng sighed and smiled helplessly.
What to do? If necessary, not to mention injuring someone, killing someone is also an option.
After bathing, Qiu Heng changed into a snow-white undergarment, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
The alley stretched on endlessly, the hurried footsteps of pursuers echoed behind him, and finally, he reached the alley entrance, where a silent boy stood.
He waited until she got close, then drew his sword and slashed without hesitation.
Without hesitation, she drew the soft sword wrapped around her waist and thrust it forward.
The sword pierced straight into the boy's heart.
Blood splattered, and he stared at her with wide, incredulous eyes.
"Aheng—"
Qiu Heng suddenly sat up, panting heavily.
Despite the sweltering summer heat, her back was covered in a layer of cold sweat, and her heart was pounding rapidly.
In her dream, she killed Xue Han.
She was wrong. Killing the boy who had repeatedly shown her kindness would cause her pain.
She didn't want to experience this discomfort, but given the tasks she was assigned to, she would inevitably have to deal with the Imperial City Guard in the future.
We need to be more careful and not let him find out who she is.
(End of this chapter)
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