Before Zhu Yan could reach the door, Shen Du stepped forward and opened it, startling Pan Chi.
Usually, climbing through windows went smoothly for him, but this time, he had not only failed to climb in but also loosened the bandage on his wrist. He was crouching beneath the window, rewrapping the bandage.
Seeing Shen Du looking at him, Pan Chi sprang up, pressing himself against the wall like a gecko.
Shen Du snorted through his nose, turned back into the room, and pulled Zhu Yan along with him.
Pan Chi finally entered on his own, seeing Shen Du sitting expressionlessly and Zhu Yan looking very uncomfortable. Recalling how Zhu Yan had pushed Shen Du away earlier, he suddenly understood and clutched his forehead as if in pain:
“Shen Du, how could you force yourself on someone?”
Shen Du shot him a sharp glance, but Pan Chi pretended not to notice. He walked over and sat down at the table, pouring himself a cup of tea while muttering something unintelligible.
Glancing at him briefly, Shen Du swirled his teacup: “You’re quite presumptuous.”
“You flatter me. I see you’re not much for manners either. The esteemed Grand Commander of the Inner Cabinet, actually…” Pan Chi pointed at Shen Du, seemingly distressed, his other hand lightly touching his chest, his face pained.
In contrast, Shen Du watched Pan Chi’s performance as if observing a clown, returning a disdainful cold smile.
Pan Chi wouldn’t let it go: “Yan’er, come sit here, sit here.” He pointed to the seat next to him, which was opposite Shen Du.
Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow, looking at Shen Du, then at Pan Chi, then at the chair.
“Oh my, is the arrow wound I took for you festering? It hurts so much.” Pan Chi pounded his chest.
Hearing this, Zhu Yan hurried over, but as she passed in front of Shen Du, he reached out and pulled her to sit beside him.
Seeing this, Pan Chi was furious: “Shen Du, you’re only husband and wife in name, how can you force her like this?”
Shen Du snorted coldly, his eyebrows raised: “Still better than someone who doesn’t count as anything.”
Daring to compete with him for a woman, hmph.
This was a critical hit. Pan Chi stomped his foot and appealed to Zhu Yan: “Yan’er, look at this, you must stand up for me!”
This…
Zhu Yan got goosebumps all over, lowering her head to check if any had fallen to the ground.
“Enough, you didn’t come just to drink tea, did you? If you have something to say, say it quickly,” Shen Du interrupted. If it weren’t for Zhu Yan holding him back, he might have rushed over to hit Pan Chi, regardless of his injuries.
What was a grown man doing acting coy?
Zhu Yan smiled apologetically: “Did you discover something?”
Indeed, Pan Chi put away his playful demeanor and stopped joking around. After all, he had come to discuss serious matters.
“The woman who was taking care of me…” He took a sip of tea to clear his throat, then recalled the name in his mind, “Xiuxiu, the top courtesan of Xiuxiang Pavilion. These past few days, I’ve managed to get some information out of her.”
Before he could continue, he heard Shen Du laugh, a contemptuous laugh.
Already disliking him, this laughter irritated Pan Chi even more: “What are you laughing at?”
“Laughing at you selling your looks,” Shen Du said somewhat mockingly, shamelessly looking him up and down.
“I think you’re just jealous because your looks aren’t pleasing,” Pan Chi snorted twice, raising his head slightly in an arrogant pose.
Zhu Yan, who had been sitting there silently, felt exasperated. Are grown men discussing their looks? “I say, are looks really that important for men? If they were, how come you can still be attacked? Shouldn’t people surrender just by looking at you?”
Shen Du and Pan Chi exchanged a glance, then both turned their heads away.
“Alright, let’s get back to business.”
Pan Chi was about to speak but glared at Shen Du once more to ensure he wouldn’t interrupt.
“Xiuxiu also mentioned what Wang Buzui said when he clashed with Mo Qianzhi earlier, about absorbing fate energy through killing. The Half-Face Ghosts killed so many people during the city massacre. According to their theory of dying and being reborn, he should be much stronger now.”
Pan Chi habitually frowned when making deductions, but this time it wasn’t out of habit, but because his wound hurt. He looked at Zhu Yan, deliberately ignoring Shen Du, before continuing:
“However, Xiuxiu didn’t explain exactly how this fate energy is absorbed, or how it’s used after absorption. She seemed very cautious when talking about these things, quite scared. When I asked her why, she said she feared Wang Buzui’s retaliation.”
After speaking, Pan Chi sighed, as if lamenting Xiuxiu’s fate. He shook his head slightly and continued: “Xiuxiu is still staying in her room, afraid to come out. She occasionally talks nonsense, her mind unsettled. It’s hard to tell if what she says is true or false.”
Finishing his words, he let out a long breath, resting his chin on his hand and quietly looking at Zhu Yan. Seeing Zhu Yan deep in thought, he hid his discomfort and put on a slight smile: “I felt the matter wasn’t simple, and might help in solving this case, so I followed along despite my injuries. Who knew…”
He was hinting at what he had seen earlier when Shen Du and Zhu Yan were embracing. Zhu Yan felt slightly embarrassed and didn’t respond, while Shen Du asked about something else:
“Pan Chi!”
“Hm?”
“You should know that after the headless corpse case, you could have left.”
“I know.”
Shen Du narrowed his eyes: “It’s best to leave a place of trouble early.”
Zhu Yan was surprised that Shen Du would say such things to Pan Chi. She pondered and realized she had overlooked many things.
“That’s right, Pan Chi. All of this in Yingzhou City has nothing to do with you. Staying here is too dangerous, you should leave quickly.”
Pan Chi smiled bitterly: “You two are so in sync in urging me to leave. Are you afraid I’ll disturb you?”
Zhu Yan shook her head: “How could that be?” Pan Chi had been helping all along. If it weren’t for him, she would be the one seriously injured now.
Shen Du stared intently at Pan Chi, his expression unusually serious: “I can write a letter and send it to Governor Pan before anything changes, explaining the situation.”
Shaking his head, Pan Chi said resolutely: “Since I’ve encountered this matter, how can I ignore it and only care for my own life and death? Although I don’t have Commander Shen’s power, status, or imperial mandate, I still have a chivalrous heart and care for the people. Asking me to leave now, I can’t do it.”
Zhu Yan looked up at the sky outside the window. The sunset glow was obscured by clouds, a storm seemed imminent.
Shen Du withdrew his gaze and said coldly: “If that’s what you’ve decided.”
Pan Chi nodded, not saying much more.
Zhu Yan looked down at the two men and voiced her question: “You mentioned Xiuxiu earlier. She knew all about Liu Zongyuan’s crimes before and was then taken to the basement of Guangchun Hall, seeming quite familiar with the place. Now you say she even knows about such secret matters of the Fire Moth Party. It’s very suspicious.”
This was also something Pan Chi had considered: “Their relationship is not simple, that much is certain.”
“But whether this relationship can be useful is still unknown,” Shen Du interjected, retorting back, but this time his attitude was much better. Perhaps after Pan Chi’s speech about not wanting to leave, Shen Du developed a sense of admiration for a fellow hero, who knows?
Zhu Yan looked at Shen Du, and Shen Du happened to look back. Then Shen Du stood up, directly leading Zhu Yan out, heading towards the dungeon where Wang Buzui was being held, leaving Pan Chi alone to drink his tea.
Watching the two leave in sync, Shen Du naturally held Zhu Yan’s hand.
Pan Chi gritted his teeth, looking at the foam in his teacup, feeling somewhat resentful.
He drained the remaining tea in one gulp, slamming the cup loudly on the table, cursing under his breath:
“Hey! You’re not going to take care of the injured person?”
Unfortunately, the two had already walked far away and couldn’t hear him. Angered, he pounded the table once, then stood up irritably, dragging his injured body.