Hua Zhi's mind raced through several thoughts. "Did Zeng Xianglin say anything after he returned?"
Yu Weiwei thought for a moment and shook her head. "To me, this wasn't something worth remembering carefully. From what I recall, he didn't, and I haven't heard anything from Mother either."
So after suffering such a great upheaval, Zeng Xianglin had borne it all alone without a word. He had no one to share the burden with, no one to help him. It wasn't entirely incomprehensible why he turned dark—when his entire world had turned black, why should he remain the white one?
But what crime had the hundred members of the Yu family committed?
Thinking of the Yu family's tragic state and seeing Yu Weiwei's forced composure before her, Hua Zhi sighed. She adjusted her cloak and said, "I'm going to the Zeng residence later. Do you have any questions for them?"
Yu Weiwei was silent for a moment. "I want to know if Aunt and Uncle were aware of what Zeng Xianglin did to the Yu family."
"Alright." Hua Zhi squeezed her hand and turned to leave.
Yu Weiwei followed her out, seeing her off to the courtyard. Just as she was about to bid farewell, she saw Hua Zhi suddenly turn and forcefully push Bao Xia backward. Bao Xia stumbled into her, and caught off guard, Yu Weiwei staggered back a few steps, tripped over the porch steps, and fell to the ground. Bao Xia then fell on top of her. It hurt badly, but seeing the tall man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, she bit back a cry.
Hua Zhi hadn't expected there to be a straggler. After pushing Bao Xia away, she rolled aside, barely avoiding the opponent's fist. As she moved, she untied the overly long cloak and threw it toward Bao Xia's direction—even in this moment, she didn't want Yan Xi's cloak to get dirty.
Unable to see if the cloak had been picked up, she drew her dagger and struck as the opponent closed in, forcing him to pull back his attack. She had bought herself a moment to catch her breath.
But the opponent clearly had no intention of letting her prepare, pressing forward again.
Hua Zhi bent low to dodge, thrusting her dagger toward his fist. He evaded, and she pressed her advantage, switching from defense to offense.
The Chao Li Tribe excelled at wielding long blades on horseback, which had once been a nightmare for the Daqing army on the battlefield. In daily life, however, they preferred using their fists—the feeling of impact exhilarated them.
Hua Zhi knew she was no match. Her other hand already held a handful of poison powder. Forced into retreat once more, she flung the powder, planting her feet to withstand a blow while the powder enveloped the man's head and face.
A searing pain shot through her left shoulder as if the bone had shattered. Gritting her teeth, Hua Zhi seized the moment to counterattack. The poison was potent; even the robust physique of a Chao Li tribesman couldn't withstand it, and he grew dizzy. As the dagger came at his face, he knew to dodge, but his body couldn't react in time—the pain, however, was immediate.
Seizing the opportunity, Hua Zhi twisted the dagger and pulled it out, causing blood to gush forth. Before the man could strike back, she sidestepped and plunged the dagger into his neck. The Chao Li tribesman lashed out, kicking Hua Zhi hard and sending her flying. At that moment, Bao Xia, who had stealthily moved behind him, gripped her dagger with both hands and drove it forcefully into the base of the man's neck.Like a wild beast, the man roared at the sky before turning and punching Bao Xia far away. Bao Xia was clever—after stabbing him, she used all her strength to pull the dagger out. Even as she was sent flying, she didn't let go of the weapon. She couldn't leave the dagger for the enemy to use against her mistress.
At that moment, Hua Zhi's attack arrived. Gripping the custom-made dagger Yan Xi had crafted for her, she slashed forcefully at the back of the man's neck. The man immediately lowered his head—not to dodge, but because his entire nape had been deeply severed, completely separating his head from the back of his neck. Blood gushed out as the man slowly turned around, his head twitching but unable to lift. Seizing the opportunity to strike when the enemy was vulnerable, Hua Zhi swiftly plunged the dagger into the man's chest, gave it a vicious twist, then pulled it out and rolled away to put distance between them.
Hua Zhi breathed rapidly, crouching in a stance that allowed both offense and defense.
Torrents of blood flowed from the wound on the man's chest. He took two slow steps forward before his mountainous frame finally collapsed face-down.
Hua Zhi glanced toward Bao Xia and saw that Yu Weiwei had already helped her sit up. Only then did she release her pent-up tension, breathing heavily as she plopped down onto the ground.
She had thought they might escape unscathed this time, but it seemed inevitable. At least there was no bleeding, Hua Zhi mocked herself—she probably had Conan's disaster-prone constitution.
Yu Weiwei helped Bao Xia over. "Miss, are you alright?"
"It hurts." While feeling her bones to check for fractures, Hua Zhi asked, "What about you?"
"This maid is fine." Bao Xia smiled despite having coughed up a mouthful of blood. It felt wonderful to finally be able to help her mistress. The feeling of always being protected while watching her mistress get injured was unbearable.
Yu Weiwei looked at them with complex emotions before standing up. "I'll fetch a physician."
"The entire city is under lockdown—where would you find one? The bones don't seem broken. It's painful, but probably not serious." Hua Zhi let her left arm hang limp while using the dagger in her right hand to push herself up from the ground. Yu Weiwei and Bao Xia hurriedly supported her together.
Hua Zhi looked at Bao Xia. "Can you still hold on?"
Though every part of her body ached, Bao Xia nodded firmly. "This maid can endure."
Hua Zhi had considered leaving her at the Yu residence, but upon hearing this she dismissed the thought. "Let's go to the Zeng family."
"Yes."
Watching Hua Zhi's stiffly hanging arm and the blood still visible at the corner of Bao Xia's mouth, Yu Weiwei felt the dispirited energy gradually returning to her body. They were all women—even the maid serving the young lady was so capable. There was no reason she couldn't measure up to a maid.
After seeing the two out of the courtyard, Yu Weiwei turned back toward the house. She had much to do.
When mistress and maid exited the Yu residence, they found the carriage still waiting in place.
"Fortunately, this maid knows how to drive a carriage." Bao Xia smiled as she helped her mistress into the carriage before taking the driver's seat and flicking the whip through the air. "Giddy up!"
As the carriage slowly started moving, Bao Xia gently rubbed her injured areas where Hua Zhi couldn't see. The pain was intense, but she bit her lip tightly without making a sound. If her mistress could endure such severe knife wounds, what was her minor injury compared to that?
"Bao Xia."
"Yes, miss." Bao Xia quickly composed herself and turned back to see her mistress holding out a pill in her palm.
"Take this."
"...Yes."
Hua Zhi withdrew into the carriage compartment, unfastened her garments and pulled down the layered clothing on her left side to examine her shoulder. The entire shoulder was covered in dark bruises.She searched through a pile of medicine packets, identified one by reading the label, opened it, and poured the powder into her right palm. Then she pressed it firmly against her left shoulder, rubbing it in vigorously. Shaoyao had said this powder was highly effective, but it needed to be massaged deep into the skin. Bao Xia was likely injured quite badly too—she would call her in later to use some as well.
Thinking of Shaoyao made Hua Zhi think of Yan Xi, and worry inevitably crept into her heart. Hua Jingyan had left behind many calligraphy works, some of which vividly described the battles with the Chao Li Tribe. She had a stark understanding of the tribe’s ferocity, and now the Daqing soldiers were far weaker than they had been in the founding era.
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