“Indeed, it seems Ji Dafu might be connected to both the Half-Faced Ghost and the Fire Moth organization. As for Li Kaixiang… we’ll only know the truth after questioning Ji Dafu.”
It appeared they had been too complacent, being toyed with for so long before barely noticing the clues.
Pan Chi nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he widened his eyes and looked at Zhu Yan, saying, “If Ji Dafu’s actions are all about revenge against those two, then what about Du Xiaowan? The first time, it was Xu Ji who caused the commotion, and just now… they must have some other scheme.”
Hearing Pan Chi mention Du Xiaowan, Zhu Yan leaned over the city wall to look down. It was chaotic, and she couldn’t tell if Du Xiaowan was still there, alive or dead.
Unbeknownst to them, Du Xiaowan had already been taken away when the Half-Faced Ghosts appeared to kill.
Li Zimo and her parents were knocked unconscious and carried away by the Inner Guard.
Mo Qianzhi frowned, noticing a head popping up from the city wall, realizing Zhu Yan was still alive.
Furious, he kicked a nearby archer, “Useless! You can’t even shoot a weak woman. Try again, and make sure she becomes a pincushion.”
If Zhu Yan survived, it would be his head on the line.
Finally, the barrage of arrows stopped, but the sound of “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” resumed. Shen Du glanced sideways, seeing a rain of arrows, and his eyes widened in rage.
“Mo Qianzhi, you’ve gone too far! If anything happens to Zhu Yan, I’ll tear you to pieces.”
There wasn’t a single ghost-faced person on the city wall, yet he ordered his men to shoot to kill. It was clear his intentions were elsewhere.
Despite being surrounded and exhausted from a series of battles, Shen Du’s anger made the veins on his hands bulge. He kicked a city guard far away.
Mo Qianzhi sneered, unconcerned, “As long as I can kill the Half-Faced Ghost, you can have my life if you want.”
With that, he ordered the city guards to shoot without mercy.
Seeing Mo Qianzhi sending more men to attack Shen Du under the guise of dealing with the Half-Faced Ghost, Zhu Yan realized the situation was dire and warned Shen Du, “Shen Du, don’t get distracted, and don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of myself.”
Being distracted was dangerous, especially when he was in peril himself. Why was he so concerned about her?
Though he only had friendly feelings for her, his actions seemed deeply affectionate.
Shaking her head to clear her mind of these thoughts, Zhu Yan focused.
“Zhu Yan, move!”
Suddenly, Pan Chi shouted.
Zhu Yan’s heart tightened, and she quickly moved aside, falling heavily to the ground, grimacing in pain.
Looking up, she saw a ghost-faced man towering over her, holding a sharp sword, clearly intending to kill her.
Meanwhile, Pan Chi, ignoring his shoulder injury, mustered his strength to lift his sword and attack the Half-Faced Ghost.
Caught off guard by Pan Chi’s remaining strength, the Half-Faced Ghost was stabbed in the arm and, enraged turned to attack Pan Chi.
Already injured, Pan Chi was no match for the Half-Faced Ghost and was quickly beaten, spitting blood and receiving several cuts before falling to the ground.
However, as the Half-Faced Ghost fought Pan Chi, Zhu Yan seized the opportunity. She took out the autopsy knife she used to remove arrowheads for Pan Chi and attacked the Half-Faced Ghost’s right knee.
Though she knew little martial arts or medicine, her experience with autopsies gave her some knowledge of human anatomy.
The right knee had a particularly vulnerable tendon. Injuring it would cause the body to go numb as if struck by lightning.
Known as hitting the “numb tendon,” in medical terms, it was injuring the sciatic nerve.
Fortunately, Zhu Yan had good aim and struck the Half-Faced Ghost’s numb tendon with the autopsy knife.
The Half-Faced Ghost convulsed, unable to hold his sword.
Coincidentally, this unlucky Half-Faced Ghost was hit by stray arrows. Though not fatally wounded, it was enough to trouble him.
With a grunt, his breathing became labored, and Zhu Yan kicked him over, taking the chance to sever his tendons.
Regardless of whether one practiced martial arts, severing the tendons would render them a cripple.
Pan Chi, thinking he was doomed, had closed his eyes, awaiting death.
To his surprise, he heard a “thud.” Opening his eyes, he saw the Half-Faced Ghost lying to the side, with Zhu Yan wielding a bloody knife over him.
Hearing the ghost’s agonized screams, he felt a chill.
“The most venomous is a woman’s heart,” he thought, not without reason.
After finishing, Zhu Yan didn’t bother to unmask the Half-Faced Ghost to see if it was Ji Dafu. Instead, she turned to check on Pan Chi.
He was unlucky today, dragged into this mess. Dying here would be truly unjust.
Fortunately, his wounds, though alarming, were superficial and not life-threatening.
Sighing, Zhu Yan took out the cinnabar and other items she had used earlier on Pan Chi. She had stored them in her sleeve pocket, knowing they would be useful for Shen Du, who was also injured.
Unexpectedly, Pan Chi needed them again before Shen Du could use them.
As she treated him, Zhu Yan noticed his pained expression and couldn’t help but ask, “Did I hurt you?”
Having grown up without the manners of a noble lady, her treatment was inevitably rough, causing some pain.
Pan Chi, already numb with pain, shook his head, “No, it’s just that I’m injured again. I have so many scars now, I’m becoming ugly. What if my future wife despises me?”
Pan Chi said this with a hint of probing, knowing that affection wasn’t a one-sided affair.
Zhu Yan couldn’t help but twitch her lips, dousing his hopes with cold water, “Given the situation, surviving is uncertain, and you’re thinking about marriage?”
Though he had exchanged tokens with her a few hours ago, she only saw him as a friend, not a romantic interest.
Naturally, she wouldn’t say sweet words to comfort him.
Not pursuing the topic, Pan Chi wisely changed the subject, “Earlier, you said I was tough, that even the King of Hell wouldn’t take me. Today, we’ll surely survive.”
“Let’s hope so,” Zhu Yan replied, her hands busy.
Meanwhile, Shen Du, with Jing Lin’s help, made progress and broke through the encirclement.
However, both the Half-Faced Ghosts and the city guards were well-trained, and not easy to deal with.
Both men were wounded, and despite their exhaustion, they had no time to rest.
Jing Lin, gritting his teeth, led a few Inner Guard members to block the enemies, preventing them from disrupting Shen Du’s mission, while the latter headed towards Mo Qianzhi.