Zhu Yi’s whole body shook as the words “water ghost” nearly escaped his lips.
The next instant he felt something was wrong. After seeing clearly, he shook again.
What was this called? After wearing out iron shoes searching everywhere to no avail, finding it came without any effort at all!
Before this shake was finished, that figure in black clothing with a ghostly pale face had already appeared before him like a specter.
Up close, seeing his emotionless eyes, Zhu Yi suddenly snapped awake from his shock.
He remembered who was before him.
No longer the youth who had used rare books to curry favor with him in order to approach the Crown Princess.
But truly a demon king who killed like harvesting hemp, with no one he couldn’t kill and no one he dared not kill.
The one who had just created the Chongming Palace bloodbath and was about to return to Liaodong to become the dynasty’s greatest enemy—the enemy nation’s heir.
The regicide traitor he had persistently pursued until now.
Once Zhu Yi’s mind cleared, he immediately reached for his defensive blade.
Murong Yi extended his hand, icy fingers grasping his throat. Zhu Yi shivered from those ice-cave-like fingers, feeling bone-piercing coldness flash like lightning from his throat throughout his entire body.
Both breath and blood seemed to stop at this moment.
He instinctively struggled, yet his whole body had already lost strength. His boots kicked for a long time but only stirred up a thin layer of snow.
Those boots kicked against the well’s edge, creating a shallow dent in the stone rim, growing slower and shallower. Broken snow turned gray as it rubbed against his trouser legs, then was shaken off by increasingly feeble struggles.
Those legs slowly straightened, beginning to convulse and twitch.
In the heavy snow of the old city, people still slept soundly wrapped in tattered quilts. The sounds of searches came faintly from surrounding streets and alleys—very close yet seemingly far away.
Zhu Yi’s consciousness gradually blurred. His final thought was:
Master, this time I truly am dying for duty and righteousness.
…Suddenly heaven and earth became both cold and bright.
The powerful constraint on his throat was released. Large amounts of fresh, cold air rushed in. He was thrown beside the well, collapsed on the ground, coughing desperately.
After coughing for a long time, he managed to raise his head with effort and found Murong Yi hadn’t left. He was looking down at him with a slightly lowered face, still expressionless, only with slight mockery and coldness in his eyes.
He said softly, “I didn’t even kill you.”
Then he walked away.
Zhu Yi leaned against the well, staring blankly at his retreating figure as it turned the corner and disappeared into the alley. Suddenly he understood the meaning of those words.
He remained stunned in the snow for a long time, feeling confused inside.
Suddenly he turned back and saw someone sitting opposite the well.
The other person was an elderly man with gaunt features and gentle eyes. He looked quite frail, wearing ordinary blue robes, like an old scholar who had studied hard for many years.
Normally, someone like Zhu Yi would most appreciate this type of person with scholarly temperament, but at this moment he was startled with fear, feeling as if a hybrid of fox and snake sat opposite him—a pair of eyes that were aged but not clouded, concealing cold light.
The other person smiled at him and said, “Master Zhu’s luck is quite good. This old man didn’t expect he would actually spare you.”
Zhu Yi propped himself up with one hand while groping for the dagger that had fallen to the ground with the other. The other person said gently, “Master Zhu, if I were you, I wouldn’t act rashly.”
Zhu Yi stopped. “Who are you, sir?”
The other person smiled, “A man of the mountains and wilderness. My humble name isn’t worth mentioning.”
Looking into his eyes, Zhu Yi felt cold all over. “You want to kill me?”
The other person smiled without speaking, seemingly quite satisfied with his reaction. He nodded and said softly, “My apologies.”
“Why?”
The other person looked at him tenderly and said, “Since you’ve seen Murong Yi, naturally you must die.”
A flash of inspiration struck Zhu Yi’s mind as he cried out, “You want to kill me and frame him!”
The other person smiled again and said softly, “Actually, the crimes he’s committed now already doom him to eternal damnation. But I’m always rather worried about him—after all, this person has quite a few schemes and methods. So I don’t mind adding a little more weight. Killing you will make the court’s civil officials share a common hatred against the enemy. Even if Tie Ci wants to protect him, there will no longer be the slightest possibility.”
He said regretfully, “I really thought he would kill you. Who knew he would suddenly become like a fussy woman—this makes me want to withdraw my previous high regard for him.”
Zhu Yi suddenly grabbed a handful of snow and hurled it fiercely at the old man, simultaneously rolling up and about to shout loudly.
A clump of snow struck hard into his mouth, freezing his cry in his throat. Behind him came a “whoosh” sound, and from the corner of his eye he saw a fan-shaped light and shadow sweeping across.
Zhu Yi despairingly closed his eyes.
So he still couldn’t escape dying for duty and righteousness…
But at this moment, Qiu Wujiu turned back in terror!
He sat on the well platform with a large tree opposite. Behind the tree, on a large stone, snow had accumulated over a foot deep, faintly revealing the black texture of the rock beneath.
At this moment, that snow-covered large stone suddenly “exploded” open.
Snowflakes bloomed like fireworks, revealing a tall, slender figure. An almost identical fan-shaped light and shadow to the one he had just used emanated an ominous blue-purple color, blooming in the figure’s hand, crossing over the flying snow and withered old tree branches, instantly piercing through Qiu Wujiu by the well platform, creating a dazzling arc of light.
The light and shadow condensed in the palm as snow from the entire tree fell down, covering the well platform and his entire body.
Like scattered plum blossoms and pear flowers.
He stood silent amid the scattered blossoms, more clear, cold, and white than the snow itself.
Zhu Yi stared blankly at Murong Yi. He had no idea that Murong Yi hadn’t truly left, but had endured his severe injuries to conceal his presence and hide in the snow like a calm mantis, lying in ambush for the praying mantis that hunts cicadas.
But how did he know someone would try to kill and frame him after he left?
Murong Yi put away his iron fan and coughed lightly.
He could understand Zhu Yi’s confusion but was too lazy to explain to an idiot.
That old fox Qiu Wujiu, stirring up wind and rain from behind—since he chose not to show himself, he would definitely lurk nearby and observe.
He was certainly under his watchful gaze.
Trying to escape like this wouldn’t work; he had to first lure him out and eliminate him.
But the old fox cherished his life and would definitely have guards nearby. With his severely injured body, trying to kill him now would be suicide.
So he deliberately revealed himself, deliberately had this chance encounter with Zhu Yi, created the illusion of wanting to kill Zhu Yi, then temporarily gave up and pretended to leave.
Qiu Wujiu would naturally send guards to continue pursuing him while going to kill Zhu Yi himself to frame him.
He lured away Qiu Wujiu’s guards, used his familiarity with the terrain to circle back, hid behind the tree, and waited for the old fox to return.
Then at the moment he struck, he struck.
The old fox thought he controlled the entire situation and was enjoying the fruits of victory, in the most careless period after achieving victory.
But in this world’s game, who is the mantis and who is the cicada might be unclear, but there’s definitely no eternal oriole.
Murong Yi coughed continuously, swallowing a mouthful of fishy sweetness. The strike just now brought his injuries to the brink of eruption again. His entire body seemed about to explode, yet the corner of his lips showed a trace of smile.
Because Qiu Wujiu’s actions confirmed a suspicion in his heart, a suspicion that helped him shed a heavy psychological burden and improved his mood somewhat.
He turned to look at Qiu Wujiu, who still sat stunned on the well platform like a wax figure.
Murong Yi walked gently forward and said softly, “Dear, here I suggest you continue to hold me in high regard.”
Qiu Wujiu didn’t answer. The color had rapidly drained from his face, his entire being more pallid than a wax figure.
Zhu Yi smelled an unpleasant odor and looked around in horror.
He saw Murong Yi walk to the old man’s side and weakly extend his hand for a push.
Qiu Wujiu’s upper body suddenly slid smoothly out of his torso and fell into the well with a thudding sound, splashing blood water all over Zhu Yi’s face.
Then Zhu Yi turned and saw the lower half still sitting on the well’s edge.
With just one glance, he quickly turned away and began vomiting violently.
The violent vomiting brought tears to his eyes. Through his tearful, blurry peripheral vision, he only saw an exquisite iron fan gently swaying before his eyes, its surface smooth without a drop of blood.
The iron fan slowly closed as he heard Murong Yi say softly, “This is the second revenge I’ve helped you exact.”
Zhu Yi didn’t understand. He looked up in confusion to see Murong Yi already slowly walking away from the well platform. A wind rose, stirring up endless snow mist like clouds and cotton. His figure was hazy and lonely in the snow mist, as if he might walk into the void in the next instant.
Gradually losing sight of Murong Yi, Zhu Yi supported himself on the well’s edge to stand up, not daring to look at the remaining half again.
Footsteps clattered as a large group rushed over. The leading Deputy Commander, gasping for breath, said loudly, “Sir! Where did you run off to just now? We searched everywhere for you! Ah, Sir, this… this… whose corpse is this? What happened!”
Zhu Yi turned his face slightly, looking at the broken yet tranquil southern city in the snow.
After a long while, he said softly, “Have this person’s corpse collected and carried into the palace for Her Highness the Crown Princess to identify.”
The Deputy Commander agreed and asked again, “What about the pursuit…”
Zhu Yi was silent for a while, then said, “Perhaps you were right—the person left long ago. Besides, with fighting currently in the outer city and all gates closed, if he wanted to leave the city, it would be suicide.”
“Right, right, right, exactly so.” The Deputy Commander gratefully hurried to direct the troop withdrawal.
Zhu Yi was left standing by the well’s edge, looking at the few drops of blood scattered beside the well, listening to the sounds of battle from the outer city, his eyes gradually covered with a layer of bewildered color.
After a long while, he sighed softly.
…
Two carriages traveled through the empty streets.
This was already the outer city. Because of the fighting, civilians had all hurried back to their homes, shutting doors and windows, only secretly peering at the street activity through door cracks.
The carriages were crowded with Xiao family women. For convenience in escaping, seven or eight people were crammed into one carriage. The Xiao family women had never suffered such hardship before, inevitably leading to secret small conflicts as they jostled and stepped on each other.
But Old Madam Xiao’s gaze fell on Xiao Wenliu sitting by the carriage door, saying softly, “Little Liu’er, when we passed through the inner city gate earlier, I saw you take out a token and we passed through. I imagine it wouldn’t be our Xiao family’s token?”
Xiao Wenliu smiled and said, “Grandmother speaks truly.”
But she refused to say exactly what token it was.
A flash of anger passed through Old Madam Xiao’s eyes. Suppressing her temper, she said gracefully, “Little Liu’er, the inner city has always had lax defenses, so your token worked there. But the outer city has strict surveillance, especially now with what seems to be fighting. Can your token get so many of us Xiao family members out of the city?”
Xiao Wenliu said, “Granddaughter will certainly do her utmost.”
Behind her, Sixth Aunt said, “Are we really leaving the city? What about our master? We can’t just ignore the men and escape ourselves.”
The women all cast concerned glances over.
Old Madam Xiao pressed her lips together without speaking. Xiao Wenliu had already told her she saw Sixth Master Xiao’s corpse on Changming Street, but she couldn’t tell Sixth Madam now, or if she started crying and wailing, it would cause chaos.
She said, “We women shouldn’t burden the men handling important affairs. Being able to leave the city first will also let them focus on their work with peace of mind.”
But Xiao Wenliu’s gaze fell on two women in the corner of the carriage—one a middle-aged woman, the other still a young girl, both richly dressed. Their expressions weren’t like the Xiao family women’s anxious unease. When watching the Xiao family women’s secret disputes, they even showed faint disdain.
She smiled and said, “That madam and sister seem unfamiliar?”
Old Madam Xiao turned to look and her expression changed slightly. “These are relatives who came to our home these past few days—Second Aunt’s maternal grandaunt and niece. Their bad luck to encounter our family’s troubles, so they’ve been staying with us.”
Xiao Wenliu said “oh” and after a moment said, “Grandmother, what we’re doing is also a capital crime. Why burden unrelated people? When we see a suitable place ahead, let them get off.”
She quietly tugged at her grandmother’s clothing and leaned over, saying, “Our large family is already difficult to manage. For outsiders, one less is one better.”
Old Madam Xiao hesitated. Seeing she was truly determined to make them get off, she could only whisper, “These are indeed our distant relatives, but more importantly, they are the wife and daughter of the Shengdu garrison commander.”
Xiao Wenliu gave a long “Oh—” sound.