Mo Qianzhi refused to listen. “Lord Shen, I cannot comply. We finally have a chance to eliminate these evil Half-Faced Ghosts. How can I let them escape? This is our only opportunity. For the sake of the people, it’s better to err on the side of caution. If Lord Pan and Official Zhu are accidentally injured, I hope you can understand. It was unintentional! To save the citizens, I’m willing to exchange my life!”
His words were righteous and won the people’s hearts. The fleeing citizens cheered in support of Mo Qianzhi’s declaration.
But were the lives of other citizens worth more than Pan Chi and Zhu Yan’s?
Shen Du’s eyes reddened with anger. He warned again, “Lord Mo, executing imperial officials is a capital offense. At worst, it’s punishable by beheading; at best, exile. Are you prepared to face the consequences?”
Even as he was entangled with several Half-Faced Ghosts, Shen Du had noticed some suspicious details. Earlier, out of consideration for their past friendship, he had frankly told Mo Qianzhi that Zhu Yan was sent by the Empress to investigate him. Now, under the pretext of eliminating the Half-Faced Ghosts, Mo Qianzhi ordered the archers to fire, likely aiming to eliminate Zhu Yan and remove any future trouble.
Mo Qianzhi was no longer the man who once saved his life.
Mo Qianzhi sneered, “Lord Shen, don’t try to intimidate me with threats of execution. My only intention is to eliminate the Half-Faced Ghosts and bring peace to the people, not to target Official Zhu and Young Master Pan. I would say the same before Her Majesty.”
Of course, whether Shen Du could leave Yingzhou alive remained to be seen. To accuse Mo Qianzhi of a crime, Shen Du would need to survive first.
“Lord Mo, you know it’s possible to kill the Half-Faced Ghosts without using arrows, yet you insist on this method. I have reason to suspect you’re harboring a personal vendetta,” Shen Du accused.
“Lord Shen, you wrong me. If I don’t use this method, the Half-Faced Ghosts will be like weeds in a field – give them a bit of soil, and they’ll sprout again with the spring breeze.”
Mo Qianzhi refused to listen to reason. Shen Du had no choice but to try ordering the archers directly, but it was futile. These archers were Mo Qianzhi’s men and wouldn’t follow Shen Du’s commands.
As the saying goes, even a cornered rabbit will bite. Watching the woman he loved in mortal danger, even Shen Du’s immense self-control crumbled at this moment.
He kicked one Half-Faced Ghost to the ground, ducked another attack, and picked up a sword to fight back. Soon, he managed to break through their encirclement. Shen Du seized the opportunity to leap down from the city wall, heading towards Mo Qianzhi.
To catch thieves, first, catch their king. Since the archers only listened to Mo Qianzhi, Shen Du’s only option was to take Mo Qianzhi hostage.
However, the Half-Faced Ghosts seemed determined to kill Shen Du. Seeing him descend, not only did the group at the city gate surround him, but even those on the wall followed, their attacks lethal.
At this point, all pretenses were dropped. Mo Qianzhi naturally wouldn’t sit idly by. He ordered his troops forward, determined to trap Shen Du.
On the city wall, the Half-Faced Ghost realized Mo Qianzhi was serious. Not wanting to become a victim of the arrows along with Zhu Yan and Pan Chi, he used his powder again to become invisible with illusion magic. Avoiding the fight with Pan Chi, he focused on dodging arrows while also heading towards Mo Qianzhi.
Mo Qianzhi’s actions weren’t part of the plan, and the Half-Faced Ghost needed to question him about this.
After all, Mo Qianzhi had put the Half-Faced Ghost’s life at risk too.
With the Half-Faced Ghost gone, Pan Chi had to protect Zhu Yan and couldn’t pursue. He looked around, holding Zhu Yan’s hand, intending to take her to a place safe from the arrows.
However, in that moment of surveying the situation, an arrow came whistling through the air.
It was about to hit Zhu Yan, mere inches away.
In this life-or-death moment, Zhu Yan knew she couldn’t dodge in time. She closed her eyes, waiting for the arrow to pierce her. To Pan Chi, it seemed Zhu Yan was paralyzed with fear, her soul nearly scared out of her body, frozen in place without reaction.
Pan Chi’s heart clenched. Without hesitation, he pulled Zhu Yan into his arms and turned his body.
The incoming arrow struck Pan Chi instead, causing him to let out a pained groan.
With a loud thud, Pan Chi fell to the ground, still holding Zhu Yan. Before she could react, she found herself pinned beneath him.
Looking up, she saw black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Zhu Yan quickly sat up, pushing Pan Chi to the side, and patted his face. “Pan Chi, are you alright?”
Pan Chi winced, his entire face scrunched up in pain. “Ugh… if you keep… slapping like that… I’ll be… close to death.”
This reckless girl had no sense of gentleness. When she pushed him aside, he landed on his back, breaking the arrow shaft and driving the arrowhead deeper.
Fortunately, the arrow had struck his left shoulder, far from his heart. Otherwise, he might have died on the spot.
“Nonsense, you’re too tough to die. The King of Hell won’t take you,” Zhu Yan glared at him, clearly disapproving.
Pan Chi was used to joking around, but now that he had taken an arrow for her, his face pale and unwell, Zhu Yan was nearly moved to tears by his attempt to downplay the situation.
Gritting her teeth, she turned him over to lie on his stomach. Only then did she see the arrow wound. The surrounding clothes were soaked with blood, looking particularly gruesome. The blood was a dark, purplish color.
Zhu Yan drew in a sharp breath. “It’s too deep, and the bleeding won’t stop. The arrow is poisoned. I must remove it and stop the bleeding, or you’ll die either from blood loss or the poison.”
Even when she was held hostage by the Half-Faced Ghost, she hadn’t been this anxious. But now, she was truly afraid.
If it weren’t for saving her, Pan Chi wouldn’t have been shot. If something truly happened to him, she would owe far more than just a favor. A life debt, a matter of life and death, would be the hardest to repay.
After saying this, Zhu Yan took out a dissection knife from the satchel she always carried. She swiftly cut open Pan Chi’s clothes around his shoulder, about to remove the arrow when Pan Chi stopped her.
“No, Zhu Yan, the arrow is poisoned. If you remove it, the poison will spread faster.” And he would meet the King of Hell sooner.
Zhu Yan frowned. “But if we don’t remove the arrow, how can we treat the wound and neutralize the poison?”
Breathing heavily, Pan Chi said, “Mo… Mo Qianzhi… is likely… involved.”
“We can deal with that after you survive. Stop talking, you need to conserve your strength,” Zhu Yan said.
She then crouched down and looked around, spotting the vials and jars Pan Chi had left on the ground when preparing his secret concoction earlier. She crawled over and gathered them all, bringing them back to Pan Chi. “Do any of these have antidotes or healing properties?”
Pan Chi focused his gaze for a moment:
“They’re just common street magic ingredients – sulfur, saltpeter, cinnabar, and the like.”
“That’ll do!”
As a coroner, Zhu Yan naturally had some medical knowledge. She knew cinnabar and such could be used medicinally. She took out her handkerchief and stuffed it into Pan Chi’s mouth. Before he could react, she gripped her thin dissection knife and cut into the flesh around his shoulder wound.
Pan Chi managed a smile: “Only ordinary people take this illusion magic seriously. It’s nothing more than sleight of hand.”
“Shut up!”