"My apologies for the intrusion."
The scholar shook his head repeatedly, his gaze toward Hua Zhi burning with intensity. "I heard the commotion earlier but didn't dare come out. Is there anything I can do to assist the Grand Tutor?"
"Nothing at all. I'm waiting here for rescue." It wasn't that Hua Zhi didn't want to send someone to save Yu Mu and Jia Yang, but with nearly everyone in hiding, anyone appearing unusually would arouse suspicion. Given their mentality of "rather kill the innocent than let the guilty escape," everyone in this house would be doomed.
She could only wait.
Just then, movement sounded outside. Hua Zhi stopped the young man from approaching and pressed herself against the door to peer through the cracks. Several Chao Li tribesmen had followed the trail and, without hesitation, climbed over the wall following the bloodstains.
Hua Zhi could only hope these men hadn't been trained by the Wise Man and could be fooled. Otherwise, when they found no bloodstains beyond the wall, they would surely return.
Fortunately, after waiting a while, no one came back along the same path.
Hua Zhi slid down to sit on the floor again. After the tension faded, her heart pounded as if trying to leap from her throat. She pressed a hand to her chest to calm herself, then stood and bowed deeply to the scholar. "I will forever remember your life-saving grace."
"I don't deserve such gratitude." The scholar hastily stepped aside, his face flushed with excitement as he stole repeated glances at her.
Among the scholars, some looked down on Hua Zhi for serving in court as a woman, but a considerable number worshipped her fervently. Young hearts are rebellious—they see themselves as different, and Hua Zhi's unconventional path was precisely what they admired and even worshipped.
Clearly, this young man was among the latter.
Hua Zhi never concerned herself with such matters, and now she had no time to dwell on them. She stayed close to the door to monitor the situation outside and habitually moved the elderly and children to safer spots. "Take your family to the neighboring house. Be as careful as possible and move quickly."
"That won't be necessary. With so many households living here, they won't know you're in this particular one, Grand Tutor."
"But they can slaughter household after household." Hua Zhi's tone turned cold. "If they come back searching for me, I'll have to reveal myself. And whoever sheltered me won't escape punishment. So please leave immediately without taking anything. The Hua family will compensate you later."
The scholar glanced back at his family, hesitating whether to obey. If he fled like this, he would surely be despised by others—and by his own conscience. He understood clearly: the Grand Tutor was trying to protect his family. She didn't want to implicate innocent people.
"If you've studied, you should know your limits. Staying here won't help me. Leave at once."
The scholar flushed crimson, bowed in acknowledgment, and turned to escort his family out.
As Hua Zhi was about to resume watching outside, the scholar came hurrying back, holding a flatbread in one hand and a cup of water in the other. He placed them in Hua Zhi's hands before darting away again.Hua Zhi lowered her head and gazed for a moment, seemingly smiling faintly, before picking it up and taking a large bite. Zheng Zhi had asked her whether it was worth exhausting herself for those unworthy people. But besides those disgusting individuals, Great Qing also had young people like the one just now. He wasn’t unaware of the danger in saving her, yet he still did so, bringing her food and drink. This was the greatest warmth a stranger could offer. There was this one she had encountered, and countless others she hadn’t. How could such people not be worth protecting?
After finishing the flatbread, her body finally regained some strength. She examined her wounds—fortunately, aside from the deep cut on her back shoulder that was still oozing blood, the rest were merely superficial injuries. Her body truly couldn’t endure much more. This must be punishment for the fifteen years she had lived too comfortably, leaving her physically inept.
Tearing off part of her inner garment, she used her mouth to help bandage the wound. The effort left her panting heavily. She leaned forward, enduring the wave of pain, but before she could catch her breath, movement sounded outside. She hurriedly pressed against the door to look.
By now, it was nearly dark. Those people had already lit torches. She saw them bowing their heads, examining the bloodstains on the ground. Then, they must have climbed over the wall to check before returning, pointing at several nearby households as if confirming something.
A chill ran through Hua Zhi’s heart. She hadn’t expected to wait only for the worst outcome.
“Hua Zhi, I’ll count to three. If you don’t come out, I’ll set this entire area on fire.” The voice was booming—the other side was no longer hiding their intentions.
“Three!”
Hua Zhi took a deep breath, gripped her dagger, and pushed the door open. Under the torchlight, she descended the steps one by one. Her petite frame, compared to the Chao Li tribesmen, stood as towering as her shadow at that moment.
Even as enemies, they couldn’t help but admire her. “Truly worthy of being Hua Jingyan’s descendant. You have his spirit.”
“Your Great Qing official language is quite fluent.”
Hua Zhi’s remark successfully darkened their expressions. Before establishing their state, the Chao Li Tribe had their own language. But during the century of their rule, while oppressing the Central Plains people like livestock, they were also captivated by its brilliant civilization. Even now, nearly two centuries after their state’s collapse, they still spoke the Central Plains language fluently, while their Chao Li tongue had deteriorated.
Hua Zhi’s words shamed them deeply. The one who had spoken earlier lost all pretense of civility and waved his hand, signaling the others to surround her. Before they could move, Hua Zhi struck first. With a flick of her wrist, she threw something—since escape was impossible, she would take one down with her, and if she took two, it would be a profit!
Having suffered from her poison before, the Chao Li tribesmen instinctively assumed she had thrown poison again and hastily retreated. But Hua Zhi pressed forward, her dagger swift and ruthless as she thrust toward the nearest man. He raised his blade to block, but Hua Zhi abruptly changed angles, slashing horizontally. The previous move had been a feint. Already unbalanced from retreating and blinded by the fake attack, he lost the initiative and could only watch as the dagger sliced across his jaw. After a searing pain, his head jerked back uncontrollably—the slash had nearly severed half his neck.
With her momentum unchecked from the spent move, Hua Zhi was on the verge of falling into the midst of her enemies. She had no time to hesitate. Swinging her arm again, she swept the dagger horizontally, cutting across another man’s chest and sending blood spraying. Meanwhile, enemy blades descended upon her from all directions.Hua Zhi had nowhere left to hide, nor the strength to evade further. An untimely thought even flashed through her mind—she hoped her face wouldn’t be disfigured as badly as Shaoyao’s had been before. Otherwise, even her grandmother wouldn’t recognize her. Yan Xi… probably would still recognize her, right?
A sharp pain shot through her leg, and she instinctively rolled aside. The enemy’s blade pursued her relentlessly. At the critical moment, a whistling sound pierced the air.
An arrow—Hua Zhi recognized it instantly!
She took advantage of the momentum and rolled several more times, listening to the sounds of arrows whizzing, whips cracking, and blades clashing. Finally, she let her strength give out and pressed her entire body against the ground. Truly… she had no energy left.
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