Chapter 58 Why Did the Past Stop Running?
Lin Shutang didn't know how long she had been running; she only noticed that her clothes seemed to be torn and blood was flowing down her legs.
But she felt no pain at all, and tirelessly followed the path in her mind.
To the southwest of the campsite is a dense forest. If you cross it and follow the river down the mountain, you will reach a village on the outskirts of Beijing.
Although it was said on the surface that the Shenji Battalion had surrounded the entire Xiwu Mountain, Lin Shutang knew their intentions. The assassins were actually their people, and the pretense of waiting for them to come to their doom was just that—a pretext. They were clearly actually besieging the roads and waterways around the capital to prevent news from leaking into the city and to ensure that someone would send troops to relieve the crisis at Xiwu Mountain.
Therefore, they certainly wouldn't make a big fuss about disturbing the people.
Once tonight is over, the capital will change tomorrow.
As long as she leaves with the villagers and goes to the county, no one will be able to find her easily in a short period of time.
As for the rest, we'll talk about it another day.
As Lin Shutang was thinking this, someone suddenly jumped out from the bushes and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into their arms.
Lin Shutang was about to scream in shock, but the person instantly covered their mouth, and a familiar voice sounded above her head, "Shutang, it's me."
Song Ying said softly, and quickly called out to her.
Lin Shutang opened her eyes wide and looked over, her heart leaping out of her throat before settling back down. She blinked to indicate that she understood, and only then did Song Ying lower her hand with relief.
“I was worried about your safety alone, so I came to meet you. Come with me,” Song Ying said in a low voice.
He didn't ask Lin Shutang why the fireworks weren't lit, but it didn't matter anymore.
As long as the person is in your own hands, everything is foolproof.
Lin Shutang followed behind him, "Senior brother, you..."
"An assassin has entered the camp, which is due to Shen Yun's dereliction of duty. However, the Third Prince's personal guards are still protecting His Majesty, and the Divine Machine Battalion is surrounding Xiwu Mountain. As long as the assassin is captured, we will know who the mastermind is." Song Ying raised an eyebrow slightly and let out a long breath as she spoke, showing a calm and composed demeanor as if the dust had settled.
Just now, news came from below that Shen Yun was seriously injured. It was worth it for him to distract him by mentioning Lin Shutang's safety, which made him abandon the camp and come to find her.
His dereliction of duty, coupled with his failure to adequately protect the emperor, is enough to prove that he harbored rebellious intentions.
Even though the emperor intended to protect him, he was powerless to resist the overwhelming odds. The entire Xiwu Mountain was under their control, making him a lone mountain.
No one would know that the world had changed on Xiwu Mountain tonight.
How history was written was entirely compiled by them.
Whether Shen Yun lives or dies, and what crime he commits, is entirely up to him.
Lin Shutang pursed her lips and remained silent throughout. Just as Shen Xiuyan had said, they had made thorough preparations for the night, regardless of whether she was there or not.
With such a meticulous plan and the support of resources, the Third Prince has probably been plotting this for many years.
But what exactly is Shen Yun investigating that makes him so apprehensive, even to the point of bringing forward his plans?
Lin Shutang's thoughts wandered aimlessly as he followed closely behind Song Ying, as if he were extremely familiar with the terrain of the dense forest.
The path that led Lin Shutang along was smooth and wide, with few thorns, and the journey seemed to have been shortened considerably.
A short while later, Lin Shutang saw the firelight shining in front of him.
Song Ying walked ahead, about to push aside the waist-high weeds, when she suddenly froze. Lin Shutang, who was still looking down, was caught off guard and felt a hot liquid on her eyelids, the smell of blood exploding in her nose.
She slowly raised her head in a daze and saw several gleaming iron arrows embedded in Song Ying's body.
He could only turn his head slightly before he slipped and fell in front of Lin Shutang.
His whole body was convulsing, and blood was constantly spitting out of his mouth. His eyes were fixed, as if he was staring at Lin Shutang, or as if he was looking behind her.
Lin Shutang stood frozen in place. The wind around her was still so fierce, constantly pouring into her lungs, but it felt as if her entire throat had been ripped out. She could only feel the wind howling and surging through her body, but she couldn't breathe at all.
She felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, until a hot body pressed against her back. The sticky, bloody embrace enveloped her, and a familiar voice came from above her head. She heard him speaking in a flirtatious tone, but she couldn't make out anything.
Until he bent down close to her ear, his gaze meeting hers as they looked at the lifeless human figure on the ground, his cold voice finally rang out clearly, deep and low, tinged with a subtle smile, "Run, why did you stop running?"
...
"Oh dear! Young lady, please don't make things difficult for this old man. With such a serious injury, you should pack up and prepare for this young man's funeral." The doctor brushed Lin Shutang's hand away, his brows furrowed deeply, and even his beard trembled with fear.
In all his years of medical practice, he had never seen such a severe injury; blood was gushing out like holes, a sight that would send chills down anyone's spine. There were hardly any unscathed spots on his body; it was covered in knife wounds as thick as a ruler.
Looking at the person lying on the bed, their skin was pale, and they were only breathing, not taking in any new breaths. They didn't look like they could still live.
"No doctor, no doctor!" The doctor waved his hand repeatedly, feeling rather unlucky, and headed towards the door.
Just look at that huge wound on his body, no one knows how he got it, and he can't even treat it. In this world, the best way to survive is to mind your own business.
"Dr. Zhang and the others say you're the best doctor in the city. If you don't treat this patient, who else can I go to? They say doctors have a benevolent heart, and saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. Please have mercy, I'll give you double, oh no, you can have as much silver as you want."
Lin Shutang had no other choice, so she grabbed his hand again and pleaded, saying that this was the fifth doctor she had invited today.
The doctors in front of them either lacked the skills to treat the patient and might cause death, or they saw that the person's knife wound was so severe that they feared he was a desperate criminal who might bring trouble upon himself, so none of them dared to treat him.
Lin Shutang was so anxious she was about to cry. If this person had nothing to do with her, then so be it.
But this person had also saved her life, and she had personally pulled him back. How could she just watch him die in front of her?
We have to try no matter what, but if we delay any longer, we might really lose our lives.
“Girl, instead of spending that money, why don’t you buy him a coffin? In this world, there are so many starving people. If he can be buried in a simple coffin, it won’t be a disservice to him.”
Dr. Zhang, rather coldly, waved his hand, picked up his medical kit from the table, and was about to leave when, before he had taken two steps, a gleaming dagger was prominently displayed around his neck.
The blade was pressed tightly against his throat.
"Miss...Miss, let's talk this out. What are you doing?" Doctor Zhang said anxiously, his hands trembling.
Lin Shutang's eyes turned cold. "Go and treat him. Whether he lives or dies, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. I'll handle things with the authorities."
"Why won't you listen to reason, young lady? I'm only doing this for your own good. Why waste your money on saving a dead person?" Doctor Zhang's old face was scrunched up, and he felt that he hadn't checked the almanac before going out today.
Lin Shutang didn't want to waste words with him. He pushed the dagger an inch further into Zhang's neck, which startled Doctor Zhang so much that his legs went weak and he almost couldn't support himself. "Alright, alright!"
Dr. Zhang shouted, "I'll treat you, I'll treat you, okay?"
As he said this, he hurriedly reached out to brush away Lin Shutang's dagger, and touched his neck with lingering fear. But when he looked up, he saw that Lin Shutang was using the back of the knife, and immediately realized that he had been tricked.
He pointed at Lin Shutang, trembling with anger. Thinking about how he had just embarrassed himself in front of a young girl, Dr. Zhang felt utterly ashamed.
"You rude girl!" He thought for a long time about what to say, but could only let out a cold snort.
Lin Shutang sheathed his dagger, ignoring the call, and shouted outside, "Chang Geng, boil water!"
This meant that there was no time to lose. Dr. Zhang was so angry that his teeth itched, but he resigned himself to his fate and sat down by the bedside with his medicine box.
This person was severely injured, with new wounds covering old ones, clearly having gone through a bloody battle while fleeing.
Dr. Zhang did not know the man's identity, but seeing that he was still young, he couldn't help but admire him for being able to hold on until he fell into a coma.
He cut open the boy's clothes and used a handkerchief to wipe the blood off the boy's body. He changed the bloody water basin after basin, with Lin Shutang helping him.
Seeing that Dr. Zhang was about to stitch up the wound, Lin Shutang frowned and tried her best to keep her hands from trembling.
She didn't dare to make a sound, and even deliberately held her breath.
Dr. Zhang, usually a playful old man, now had a tense expression, indicating the danger of the situation. Lin Shutang listened attentively to Dr. Zhang's instructions and carried out the procedure in an orderly manner.
As dusk fell, the door to the side room opened from the inside.
Dr. Zhang wiped the sweat from his forehead, exhausted. At his advanced age, he looked like an autumn leaf, all wrinkled and crumpled up.
"I'll stay here for the next few days. If he can make it through these days, then this kid is lucky to be alive." Doctor Zhang exhaled a breath of stale air; it had been a long time since he had exerted himself so much.
"Thank you, Dr. Zhang!" Lin Shutang bowed deeply to Dr. Zhang.
"It was my fault just now, I really didn't mean it..."
"Alright, alright, I understand." Doctor Zhang waved his hand dismissively, "If you bring me a roast chicken and a pot of good wine, I'll forgive you for your offense, girl."
Lin Shutang was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Okay. I'll go buy it for you right away."
"I guarantee that Dr. Zhang will have roast chicken and good wine with every meal for the next few days!"
...
After surviving the dangers of the previous few days, and with the care of Dr. Zhang and Lin Shutang, Shen Yun's condition did not relapse or her wounds worsen.
Therefore, Dr. Zhang felt he could retire after accomplishing his mission, and the responsibility of caring for Shen Yun fell entirely on Lin Shutang.
He still needed someone to watch over him at night, so Lin Shutang and Chang Geng took turns looking after him.
He occasionally gets a fever at night, but fortunately Dr. Zhang has left a method, so it's not too difficult for Lin Shutang to deal with.
That night, as usual, she wrung out a towel and placed it on Shen Yun's forehead to cool him down.
Just as she touched it, a sudden pain shot through her wrist. The handkerchief fell to the edge of the bed. Lin Shutang looked up and saw that the boy was moving extremely fast. She hadn't even seen his figure clearly before she felt a force flip her over and onto her back. In a dizzying moment, she was pressed down onto the bed.
He looked up and was immediately met with a pair of dark, cold eyes.
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Author's Note: Pepper: How many times have you been sober? How many times have you pulled others' hands up? [Angry]
Lin Shutang: [Question mark] You call this holding hands?
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Starting tomorrow, updates will resume at 6 PM. [doge emoji with rose in hand]
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