Blame me
The woman's shrill scream pierced the sky, startling several birds perched on the trees, which flapped their wings and scattered.
Seeing Shen Xiujin's face getting closer and closer, Zhao Fanghua almost used her hands and feet to try to break free, but this not only had no effect, but instead encouraged Shen Xiujin's arrogance.
"Let go! Let go!"
Shen Xiujin was admiring Zhao Fanghua's struggle like a cat teasing a mouse. Just as he was about to speak, something flicked his wrist. The huge force made him unable to bear the pain and let go of Zhao Fanghua's hand.
Zhao Fanghua stood there, looking at Shen Xiujin covering his bleeding wrist, his face distorted with pain.
Her head was buzzing, and everything in front of her was becoming blurry. Her eyes frantically scanned the surroundings, finally landing on a stone by the roadside.
Almost instinctively, she bent down, picked up the heavy stone, and smashed it hard on Shen Xiujin's head. Before Shen Xiujin could react, she used all her strength to push him down the steep slope.
After doing all this, Zhao Fanghua had no time to catch her breath before a figure like a gust of wind landed beside her.
She turned her head in horror. The person who came was wearing fluttering white clothes and had a faint scent of chrysanthemum on his body. An exquisite silver mask covered the upper half of his face. It turned out to be the little mute.
"I, I, I..." Zhao Fanghua could no longer utter a complete sentence, "He, he, he..."
She just killed someone! And someone saw her!
Although it was not her original intention, she did it with her own hands...
She lowered her head in panic, and found that her hands were already stained with blood. She screamed and wiped them hard on her dress, but she didn't expect that not only did she not wipe them clean, but she got blood all over her body.
Zhao Fanghua murmured to himself: "Blood, blood, all blood..."
She was trembling all over, even shivering in such hot weather.
Suddenly, a bony hand grabbed her trembling hand.
She looked up at the little mute in panic, shaking her head and trying to explain incoherently: "I didn't mean to kill him. He was the first to do it. He was the one who…"
It was the beast Shen Xiujin who had repeatedly attacked her and wanted to kill her. She was just trying to protect herself. Yes, this was legitimate defense!
She was acting in self-defense!
Zhao Fanghua muttered to himself, repeating this sentence: "I am acting in self-defense, I am acting in self-defense..."
If she didn't kill Shen Xiujin today, she would be the one to die.
She tried hard to pull the corners of her mouth, trying to force a relieved smile. Yes, that's it, that's it.
Zhao Qinglan looked at the panicked Zhao Fanghua, his heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible big hand.
Recently he often came to Lishan to meet with some confidants and discuss important matters with them.
Unexpectedly, I heard Zhao Fanghua's scream. The mountain has been a royal hunting ground for nearly a hundred years. Although there are large fences, it is inevitable that one or two ferocious beasts will appear.
Therefore, when she heard Zhao Fanghua's voice, she immediately used her Qinggong skills to rush over, but she didn't expect to see that she was being entangled by Shen Xiujin again.
Zhao Qinglan cursed inwardly. Last time she went to the Rebirth Festival without guards, she still hadn't learned her lesson! She actually had the audacity to sneak out alone again this time. How had she lived so carefree a life?
But seeing that Shen Xiujin was about to do something bad to Zhao Fanghua, he quickly threw a hidden weapon and hit Shen Xiujin's wrist. As long as he passed by, Zhao Fanghua could...
!!!
His figure paused for a moment in the forest.
Zhao Qinglan never thought that such a delicate girl like Zhao Fanghua could burst out with such amazing strength at this moment. Her hand holding the stone was obviously trembling, but she did not hesitate at all and smashed it towards Shen Xiujing. Almost at the moment when Shen Xiujing was hit, she resolutely pushed him down the steep slope.
Zhao Qinglan didn't feel at all that Zhao Fanghua was killing anyone. This was just an instinctive resistance from a young animal that was forced into a desperate situation.
He felt a little distressed and very guilty.
It's all his fault.
As early as the Rebirth Festival when Shen Xiujin was harassing Zhao Fanghua, he should have found a reason to kill Shen Xiujin. He was extremely disrespectful to the eldest princess and should be put to death according to the law.
But for the selfishness in his heart, he not only spared Shen Xiujin's life, but also falsely spread the word that he would reuse him, allowing Shen Xiujin to continue to thrive.
If he had not happened to be in Lishan today, if he had not heard Zhao Fanghua's voice today, if he had not rushed over just in case, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Zhao Qinglan grabbed Zhao Fanghua's hand, but she held it in hers instead, like a drowning man grabbing the last piece of driftwood. The force was so great that her nails almost dug into his flesh, and a slight stinging sensation came from his arm.
But this little sting was nothing compared to the pain Zhao Fanghua was feeling at the moment.
He sighed softly, and gently put his other hand around her shoulders, pulling her into his arms. He moved gently, patting her back gently as if he was coaxing a child.
Again and again.
Gradually, the trembling body in his arms finally relaxed, and Zhao Fanghua's wildly beating heart slowly calmed down.
Zhao Fanghua calmed down and looked up at the little mute, tears still welling up in her eyes. "I didn't mean to kill or do this on purpose. It was him. He was the one who started it. He wanted to kill me. If I didn't do it, I would be the one to die. Even if I let him go this time, he would come after me next time. You saw it last time. He kept pestering me."
Zhao Fanghua spoke incoherently.
At this moment, she was eager to get the recognition of the little mute.
She's not a murderer, she's just trying to protect herself.
Zhao Qinglan looked down at Zhao Fanghua, who was looking up at him. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, and a pitiful blush lingered at the corners. Her gaze was filled with anticipation, making one's heart tremble.
Zhao Qinglan's Adam's apple rolled unconsciously, and his heart softened instantly. He could hardly control himself. He wanted to take off the mask, tear off all the disguises, and comfort her with his own voice and the identity of Zhao Qinglan.
But……
Reason finally prevailed. He didn't know what kind of chain reaction would be caused if Zhao Fanghua learned the little mute's true identity at this time.
In the end, Zhao Qinglan was silent for a moment, just nodded slightly, and his warm palms still gently patted Zhao Fanghua's back, comforting her.
But his eyes left no doubt, you are right.
Zhao Fanghua looked up at the little mute. From her perspective, she could only see the little mute's jade-carved chin and the exquisite silver mask. However, his thin lips, which were slightly pursed, made her feel more and more familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
She stared at the lips in a daze, she was sure she had seen them somewhere before.
For a moment, Zhao Fanghua forgot the dangerous scene just now, and began to wonder where he had seen such a beautiful lower half of the face.
She began to go through the familiar people in her mind one by one, Shuyu...
Shuyu!
"Ah!" She screamed, pushed the little mute away, and almost ran to check on Shuyu who was lying unconscious on the ground.
She quietly looked at the person who was talking and laughing with her just now, and in the blink of an eye, he was lying coldly on the mountain road.
Zhao Fanghua was completely panicked and fell down heavily to the ground. A crystal teardrop ran down her cheek uncontrollably, and then tears burst out like a flood.
"Wuwuwu——" She covered her eyes and cried loudly.
It's all her fault. It's all her fault for going out in such hot weather. It's all her fault for changing her schedule to see some immortal. It's all her fault...
Zhao Qinglan looked at the trembling figure and felt a little sorry for him. He walked over and was about to comfort him again, but he found something was wrong.
He walked to Shuyu, squatted down, stretched out two fingers to feel Shuyu's breath, and stayed on her neck for a while.
Not dead, still alive.
Zhao Qinglan immediately made a conclusion: he must have been temporarily unconscious after hitting his head on the ground. Although he didn't know the extent of his injuries, he probably wouldn't die for the time being. However...
He looked at Zhao Fanghua, who was already crying. If he left it alone, something big might happen.
Zhao Qinglan came to Zhao Fanghua, patted her back gently to comfort her for a while, then took Zhao Fanghua's hand, spread out her palm, and wrote on her palm stroke by stroke.
"Alive..." Zhao Fanghua read out each word slowly. She was a little bit unbelievable and repeated it again, "Alive?!"
She quickly wiped the tears and snot from her face and crawled to Shuyu on all fours. She looked at the unconscious Shuyu, then turned back to look at the little mute, with a look of surprise on her face, "Really?!"
Zhao Qinglan nodded.
Zhao Fanghua's entire body relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him. He murmured to himself, "That's really great."
Shen Xiujing deserved to die, but Shuyu was innocent. If she killed an innocent person because of her ignorance, she would have to live with self-blame and regret for the rest of her life.
Zhao Qinglan lifted Shuyu up and carefully examined the injury on her head. There was blood on the side where her head touched the ground.
It doesn't seem to be very serious, but he is not a professional doctor after all, so he needs to ask the imperial physician for treatment.
He took out a bottle of medicine from his arms, poured it on Shuyu's wound, and then took off a piece of his clothes to wrap the wound.
Zhao Fanghua was a little surprised when she saw Zhao Qinglan's skillful movements. She couldn't help but wonder if he got injured often, otherwise why would he carry medicine with him.
On second thought, he is a martial artist, so it is normal for him to get injured while wielding swords and knives.
Seeing that Zhao Qinglan had been bandaged properly, Zhao Fanghua felt a little troubled. Although the little mute "said" that she wanted to go down the mountain as soon as possible, she couldn't move such a big Shuyu. If she went back to Penglai Villa to call for help, the round trip would delay things.
Just as he was thinking about it, the little mute had already carried Shuyu on his back.
Zhao Fanghua was stunned. She seemed to have gotten used to the little mute doing good deeds without leaving his name, coming and going gracefully. She didn't expect that he would help others to the end this time.
Zhao Fanghua was very grateful.
"You are such a good person!"
Hearing Zhao Fanghua's heartfelt praise, Zhao Qinglan paused and twitched the corners of his mouth. It was the first time someone praised him as a good person.
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