Ji Xinhe kicked the teetering wooden scaffolding at an incredible speed to descend faster. However, the scaffold fell quicker and by the time she reached the middle, it was about to collapse. Ji Xinhe judged the distance, figuring the worst case would be a fracture, so she decided to brace herself for the impact.
How she wished she knew lightness skills at this moment to evade this trap!
Yet at the very instant when the scaffold collapsed with a thunderous crash, Ji Xinhe shut her eyes tightly anticipating the sound of her bones breaking. Instead, her waist tightened as if she were being held in someone’s arms. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Ji Xinhe blinked in surprise, and upon opening her eyes, saw the man in the commoner’s clothes whom she had been competing against for the flower lantern earlier.
Duan Lan, holding her securely, landed steadily on the ground. He couldn’t help but laugh, "I thought you were a fearless girl by how valiantly you acted. But when you thought you were going to hit the ground, you closed your eyes in fright!"
Ji Xinhe’s eyes widened, "I wasn’t scared!"
Words of gratitude were swallowed before utterance.
They had just landed when a crew of masked men in black dashed out. The crowd had already dispersed because of the collapsing scaffold and the whistling cold arrow. It was evident that these men in black were targeting them.
Or specifically, targeting her.
Ji Xinhe’s eyes turned icy. She sidestepped to dodge a big knife, kicked two men in black off their feet by swiping at them with one foot, grabbed a knife from one of them and used it to slash two assassins’ throats.
The swift stream of unexpected moves was executed in mere seconds.
Duan Lan looked on with slight astonishment. He had never seen such a technique before: simple, ruthless, and extremely fast, so swift that no one could react to it on time.
But he didn’t have time to think any further. He drew out the soft sword hidden at his waist to help her deal with the assassins.
There were only about ten to twenty assassins in total, and a significant number of them were knocked down within a few moments.
The assassins were dumbfounded. Weren’t they supposed to only deal with a weak little village girl? How could someone who could take on ten men single-handedly be considered weak? And who was this man?! The two of them together could easily defeat a hundred of them. What kind of mission were they sent on?!
Seeing they were about to be defeated, the assassins signaled each other and threw a smoke bomb, seizing the opportunity to escape.
Duan Lan looked at Ji Xinhe, "Are you going after them?"
However, Ji Xinhe casually discarded the stolen sword, "There’s no need for pursuit. This assassin organization seems to be hired outsiders, not someone’s private force. Assassins who are hired from outside often don’t even know who ordered the hit. Chasing them won’t yield any information. Moreover, if we do chase after them, I worry there might be more of them hiding and deliberately luring me there."
She seemed to have a vague idea as to who sent them.
Duan Lan slightly raised his eyebrows, "You’re quite cautious. But how did you figure out they were hired?"
Ji Xinhe snorted, "Have you ever seen an assassin belonging to a private force act so cowardly? As soon as they realize they’re outmatched, they flee. Aren’t they afraid their master will beat them to death when they go back?"
Duan Lan couldn’t help but laugh, "That’s true."
But Ji Xinhe found something odd about this man. He clearly didn’t know her, but he seemed to accept all these strange things that happened, including the appearance of the assassins, without a hint of surprise. In fact, he didn’t even ask why the assassins had come after her.
"Don’t you want to ask me anything?" asked Ji Xinhe.
Duan Lan simply chuckled, "We are strangers; there’s no need for so many questions. And even if I asked, you probably wouldn’t tell me the truth."
Ji Xinhe was taken aback, "You’re definitely right about that. I wouldn’t tell you the truth."
"It seems you’re quite smart," Ji Xinhe admitted, touching her nose, feeling no guilt about her lies.
Duan Lan laughed lightly, "And you are quite an interesting character."
Looking at her now, innocent and genuine, it’s difficult to associate her with the woman who’d been locked in fierce combat with assassins or even with the one who’d been competing fiercely for a lantern. From the moment she appeared at the tea house, Duan Lan had noticed her. A beautiful, intelligent woman would be difficult for anyone to ignore.
Over the years, he’d traveled a lot and seen many talented women. However, very few, like Ji Xinhe, were not only intelligent, but also cunning. Despite the cut-throat tenacity, there was no trace of malice, only the pure innocence of a child.
Originally, he was just planning to stop by Lian’an Town and stay for a night. Now it appeared that detour wasn’t a total loss.
Farewell, then, and take care," Ji Xinhe bid him.
But Duan Lan suddenly said, "Wait."
"Hmm?" Ji Xinhe turned around, puzzled.
Duan Lan picked up the shattered flower lantern from beneath the collapsed scaffold, "Do you still want this lantern?"
Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but laugh, "No, thank you. With its current condition, would you keep it at home as an ornament?"
Duan Lan replied, "This lantern was meant to be yours. I bear some responsibility for its condition. If you still want it, I can make you another one."
Ji Xinhe, with surprise, asked, "You can make lanterns?"
Duan Lan felt slightly embarrassed as he replied, "No, but, I can certainly learn to make one."
Ji Xinhe giggled, "That seems like a lot of trouble for just a lantern. It’s okay, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t clear which one of us was going to get it anyway. If it’s broken, then so be it."
At this, she turned and walked away.
Duan Lan wanted to say something, but Ji Xinhe raised her hand in farewell and carried on without turning back.
She walked among the lanterns that cast a ghostly glow onto the desolate street, her figure gradually receding into the distance.
Duan Lan was left watching her fading silhouette, an unexpected sense of loss creeping into his heart. The ruined flower lantern in his hand suddenly failed to uplift his spirits.
An errand boy came rushing, startled at first by the mess all around. "Sir, I’ve been desperately looking for you. What happened here? Were you in some sort of trouble? Are you hurt?" He blurted out his concerns without pausing for breath. Duan Lan replied, wordlessly handing over the broken lantern.
"What’s this?" The errand boy mused.
"Just hold on to it," Duan Lan replied nonchalantly.
The errand boy looked shocked but murmured a compliant, "Oh."
Then he seemed to remember something else, blurted out, "Oh yes, sir, it’s getting late we should go and pay our respects to the Wang Family. The madam specifically instructed that when you pass through Lian’an Town on your way back from the academy, you must visit the Wang Family. There’s no time for delay."
Duan Lan’s brows furrowed slightly and he appeared reluctant, until he finally conceded with a, "Let’s go then."
"I know you don’t much care for the Wang family, sir, but we should respect the conventions. Particularly the madam’s convention, right? Even if we only stay for a little while, at least we’ll have done our duty," the errand boy reasoned.
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