Chapter 21 Cousin Injured Pei Lang gently leaned against her, using her for support...
He attacked you!
Xie Jin's arm was covered with new wounds on top of old ones, making it look particularly gruesome.
Lin Zhi's eyes stung with tears. She still remembered that her elder sister's body was covered in wounds, whether from the unfaithful lover or the Lin family.
Staring at her profile as she held back her tears, Xie Jin suddenly asked, "Azhi, why are you so good to me?"
“It’s not worth it. My parents and brothers don’t care about me anymore.”
But Lin Zhi gripped her hand even tighter upon hearing this: "No! They are your family, how could they not care about you?"
Lin Zhi gripped her hand tightly and said urgently, "Come back with me first, and we can talk about everything else!"
Just as the three were about to leave, the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open, and a man who could be described as having decent features barged in.
"Xie Jin! You still want to run away?"
Seeing the man menacingly approaching them, Lin Zhi barely managed to calm herself and drew her dagger to block him.
"Don't come any closer! Don't you want to pursue a career in government through the imperial examinations? Do you even know who my brother is!"
Even though she was so petite, it was immediately obvious that she was all bark and no bite when she was holding a dagger.
The man sneered, but his approaching steps didn't stop: "Your brother? Even if he's the King of Heaven himself, he can't save you today!"
"Xie Jin, you once said you could get the Xie family to help me, but now you've become their discarded pawn!"
Seeing that the man was about to hurt Xie Jin, Lin Zhi closed her eyes and steeled her heart, slashing the man's arm with her dagger. Blood splattered on Lin Zhi's fair finger bones, faintly hot.
With a clang, Lin Zhi dropped the dagger with trembling hands, staring in disbelief at the blood of others stained her hands.
The scholar was strong and healthy. Even though he was in so much pain that his face turned pale, he still refused to give up and suddenly lunged at Lin Zhi.
"ah!"
Lin Zhi was shielded behind Chun Tao, but Chun Tao was also pushed to the ground. She watched as the person picked up their dagger from the ground.
Her eyes were tightly closed and her mind was blank, but she only heard the man's extremely painful howl.
The man clutched his severed arm and collapsed to the ground in pain, murmuring "A-Jin" as he did so.
Chun Tao, who was standing to the side, was also quite frightened, but Xie Jin, who was "deeply in love" with him, had a cold and expressionless face.
"......cousin?"
Lin Zhi was pulled around the waist to avoid the man's attack. She clutched Pei Lang's chest and trembled uncontrollably. Although she was still shaken and her legs were weak, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Without bothering to ask when he had woken up, Lin Zhi leaned against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, only regretting her terrible attitude earlier. Even so, her cousin had still come to rescue her.
The man's blood slid from the longsword in Pei Lang's hand, condensing into a drop of blood on the tip of the sword.
But he still wasn't satisfied. He turned his head slightly to glance at Lin Zhi, who was hanging her head almost to her chest and dared not look up, and said coldly, "I'll settle your score when we get back to the manor."
Lin Zhi's heart tightened, and she was about to explain when she saw Pei Lang pointing his sword at Xie Jin, the gleaming tip of the sword no more than an inch from her slender neck.
Lin Zhi hurriedly tried to push Xie Jin away, but Pei Lang restrained her arm from behind, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't get away from him.
"Cousin! What are you doing! Xiao Jin is covered in injuries, she was also deceived!"
Lin Zhi was extremely anxious, but Xie Jin's face remained calm and composed. He lowered his eyes and stared at the long sword pressed against his vitals without any fear. He chuckled and said, "Young Master Pei is being far too violent. It was just a joke with your little cousin. Why make such a fuss?"
Hearing Xie Jin's voice, Lin Zhi was momentarily stunned.
"Pei Lang! Show mercy!"
Xie Zheng, who arrived late with his men, was nearly driven mad with rage upon seeing this scene. He quickly called out to his friend, "Xie Jin was in the wrong today, but I beg Brother Pei to spare my sister's life for the sake of our friendship!"
Just as Lin Zhi and Pei Lang were distracted for a moment, Xie Jin suddenly sprang up, no longer displaying her former gentle and noble demeanor, but instead attacking Pei Lang with a chilling killing intent!
Although Pei Lang was extremely perceptive, he still had to be mindful of Lin Zhi. Unable to dodge in time, Xie Jin stabbed Lin Zhi in the left shoulder with a dagger. Lin Zhi was so frightened that she started breathing rapidly and reached out to block, but was stopped by both Pei Lang and Xie Jin.
"Xie Jin! How dare you!"
Xie Zheng gritted his teeth and stepped forward, sprinkling a handful of fine powder on Xie Jin's face. She lost all strength and collapsed, and Xie Zheng carried her on his shoulder and threw her onto the carriage.
"Cousin...cousin, your injury! Azhi was wrong, Azhi will never do it again!"
Xie Jin showed no sign of holding back, and Pei Lang's shoulder injury was comparable to the severed arm wound of the scholar next to him, with blood gushing out continuously.
Lin Zhi's tears fell like pearls from a broken string, and she cried like a red-eyed rabbit.
Pei Lang leaned gently against her, using the support to calm his erratic breathing, and said weakly in a soft voice, "Don't cry, I'm not dead yet."
"Cousin!" Lin Zhi cried even harder upon hearing this, her mind a complete mess.
Fortunately, Xie Zheng had made preparations in advance and brought a doctor with him.
Watching the doctor remove the knife from Pei Lang's body, Lin Zhi's tears silently streamed down her swollen eyes.
Only after the doctor finished bandaging him and left did Lin Zhi silently sit down next to Pei Lang, carefully helping him put on his inner and outer robes with utmost caution, as if afraid of touching his wounds.
Even though she didn't say anything, the two shrewd people present could easily see Lin Zhi's subtle attempts to please him.
Disturbed, Xie Zheng cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Pei Lang: "Today's events are all due to my lax discipline, causing Brother Pei to suffer this undeserved misfortune."
"Today, Xie Zheng swears that from now on, if Brother Pei asks, Xie Zheng will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Seeing his friend become serious, Pei Lang sat on the round stool and remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "There's no need for such words between us, but my cousin Azhi was quite frightened today."
"It's better to give her that promise."
Xie Zheng was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with suppressed emotion, but he still listened to Pei Lang's words and spoke to Lin Zhi.
But Lin Zhi didn't want to hear any of this and hurriedly interrupted him: "Xie Shaoqing, what exactly is the relationship between your sister and that scholar?"
"Xie Jin clearly knows martial arts, so why is he covered in injuries?"
Lin Zhi practically spat out the question through gritted teeth. She still couldn't control her trembling hands. She didn't understand why Xie Jin's personality had suddenly changed so drastically.
Xie Zheng's face darkened, and after a long silence, he slowly spoke: "Because the injuries on her body were all self-inflicted."
Thinking of the hideous scars covering her body, Lin Zhi's eyes were filled with confusion.
“My father used to be the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. There were often books about cruel officials and punishments in the study at home. When Xie Jin was young and ignorant, he would often sneak in to look at them.”
"After that, I witnessed my father interrogating a fugitive, and I was so frightened that I had a high fever for three days and three nights before I came to my senses."
Xie Zheng looked embarrassed. If things hadn't escalated to this point, he would never have aired his family's dirty laundry in public.
"Xie Jin is cured, but ever since then, my parents and I have found that my little sister is strange, cruel and ruthless, and kills animals without batting an eye."
“She is ruthless to both others and herself. With such callousness, we were afraid she would harm more innocent people, so we had no choice but to lock her up at home.”
"Even so, it still couldn't stop the shameless people who wanted to curry favor with the Xie family."
“I warned that scholar long ago that getting close to Xie Jin would only make him regret it. Now… I’m afraid he understands what I mean.”
"So, Xie Jin used that scholar to lure A-Zhi here, just to force me to take action? To force me to kill her?"
Pei Lang's long, dark eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with danger.
"...Yes, my younger sister was determined to die. She was rescued from home several times, so she wanted to escape from the Xie mansion to commit suicide, but unexpectedly she was saved by Miss Lin."
Lin Zhi struggled immensely. Originally, she was angry because her cousin was injured, but now, after hearing Xie Jin's past, she only felt heartwarming.
After a long pause, she finally asked softly, "...So Xie Jin wasn't deceived by that heartless man?"
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