Chapter 503: The Asura-like Woman
"Prince Lie!" Shen Xihe was utterly astonished.
Moyu sheathed her sword the moment she saw Xiao Changying's face. Xiao Changying had never intended to seriously engage with Moyu from the start, also fearing she might recognize his fighting style since they had crossed blades before.
This was precisely why Moyu could so easily knock off his bamboo hat. As soon as Moyu withdrew, he immediately followed suit.
"Your Highness, why are you here?" Shen Xihe scrutinized him.
Xiao Changying's hand tightened, his fist clenching behind his back: "No comment."
He had been following her since the post station. Shen Xihe didn't believe he happened to be traveling the same route on official business. If that were the case, he wouldn't have touched her hanging protective charm and gotten stained with the ten-mile fragrance.
"Your Highness, were you ordered by His Majesty to track me?" Shen Xihe asked bluntly.
In Shen Xihe's view, as a prince, Xiao Changying couldn't have left the capital privately without imperial orders. Now that he had left the capital and was following her, he must be acting on the Emperor's command.
In reality, Xiao Changying had indeed left the capital privately, not under imperial orders. He simply wanted to protect her. The reason he waited at the post station until dark was due to Xiao Changqing's advice. He had almost doubted whether his elder brother's prediction was wrong, but fortunately he exercised a bit more patience and indeed found Shen Xihe.
This time, the danger was extreme. His elder brother, fearing he might regret it later, had told him the truth and let him make his own choice. Actually, he knew Shen Xihe didn't need him at all, but he couldn't control himself, worrying that if something happened to her...
Being questioned like this by her, a vein throbbed on Xiao Changying's forehead. Yet his pride prevented him from saying he came for her. Even if he did, given her aloofness and ruthlessness, she wouldn't be moved in the slightest: "Correct, I am here under His Majesty's orders."
Receiving this confirmation, Shen Xihe raised her eyebrows and nodded: "Your Highness came alone? Quite bold."
Xiao Changying instinctively grew wary: "What do you intend to do?"
Shen Xihe chuckled lightly: "Avoiding trouble is better than seeking it. Since Your Highness came alone, just pretend you never saw me. That would save us from a serious confrontation."
Shen Xihe genuinely meant this. Though she didn't know how Xiao Changying managed to track her down, since he was alone, if he claimed he hadn't seen her, then he hadn't, and no one could question him.
"You want me to let you go and stop following you?" Xiao Changying understood her implication.
Shen Xihe nodded slightly.
"I must follow you," Xiao Changying disagreed.
Shen Xihe lifted her chin slightly, a faint curve at her lips, but no warmth in her eyes.
Xiao Changying averted his gaze, unwilling to watch her poised to strike at any moment: "My elder brother and I have no desire to make enemies of you and your husband. But since I am under imperial orders, I cannot refrain from following you. If you encounter others sent by His Majesty, I can account for my whereabouts."
Most of the Emperor's men had followed the decoy Shen Xihe onto the ship, where the fighting was fierce. With Xiao Changying's whereabouts unknown, he would inevitably be questioned by the Youning Emperor. Shen Xihe could understand his reason for following her.
She weighed her options: should she allow Xiao Changying to follow her inconspicuously, potentially using him if an emergency arose, or should she incapacitate him now and leave quickly with Moyu?Considering that Xiao Changying already knew her route, and she couldn't afford further delays or detours, even if she knocked him out now, he would still catch up. She couldn't possibly kill him over this.
"Let's just pretend I never saw Your Highness," Shen Xihe said before turning and returning to her room.
Shen Xihe acted as if she had never encountered Xiao Changying, proceeding with her original plan to travel via Longzhou, then Yuanzhou, and finally Lanzhou, accompanied by Moyu.
Xiao Changying, in turn, pretended he hadn't been exposed by Shen Xihe, maintaining his distance and following her at a leisurely pace.
The journey remained uneventful until the day they were about to leave Yuanzhou. Due to the distance, even though they had set out early in the morning, they were unable to reach Lanzhou by nightfall and had no choice but to camp in the wilderness.
As Shen Xihe and Moyu were roasting their evening meal, a gust of evening wind swept through, carrying an unusual scent—the scent of people, and not just one or two.
Shen Xihe's calm eyes lifted from the blazing fire, the flickering flames seeming to dance and burn within her pupils.
She raised her hand, her sleeve fluttering in the wind. After a moment, she lowered it, having gauged the wind direction. She stood up and retrieved a box of scented powder from the baggage on her horse. Moyu, who hadn't noticed anything unusual, saw this and her eyes flickered slightly.
Shen Xihe gave her a meaningful glance, and the two moved to a position opposite the wind direction. Shen Xihe opened the scented powder box, releasing a faint fragrance. She casually grabbed a handful, seemingly sprinkling it over the roasted game on the spit, but in reality, all of it fell into the fire.
The initially subtle fragrance grew intense as it burned in the flames, spreading and diffusing with the wind.
It was the season between spring and summer, with flowers in full bloom. Whenever a breeze swept through the mountains and fields, the scent of blossoms would drift by. Thus, this fragrance, which didn't cause any discomfort, went unnoticed. Instead, some found it particularly refreshing and couldn't help but take a few extra deep breaths.
After about half an incense stick's worth of time, dull thuds echoed one after another, all within a distance of about one or two li from Shen Xihe and her companion. Some fell from trees, while others who had been lying in ambush on the ground fainted. Their companions, who had been upwind and hadn't inhaled the knockout incense, immediately realized they had been exposed. There was no need to wait until late at night when their targets were resting to strike. They drew their blades and charged toward Shen Xihe and the others.
Shen Xihe, at some point, had produced a slingshot and was firing small white wax pellets at the oncoming attackers with swift and fierce precision. Unable to dodge in time, they had no choice but to slash the pellets apart.
As the wax pellets burst open, white powder dispersed along with a fragrant scent. After inhaling a few breaths, they charged at Shen Xihe, but their fingers had grown so weak they could no longer grip their steel blades.
Noticing something amiss, Xiao Changying, who had caught up, arrived just in time to witness this scene. Wave after wave of men lay collapsed on the ground. Shen Xihe sat calmly and elegantly on a rock, appearing utterly unperturbed, while Moyu dragged the unconscious men over one by one, stacking them like a pyramid on top of a rope she had prepared beforehand. Once five were piled up, she tied them together. In total, there were fourteen men, bound into three stacks.
Xiao Changying: ...
After the men were securely tied, Moyu splashed water on the three at the bottom of each stack to wake them, then asked coldly, "Who sent you?"
The three, pinned firmly beneath the others, remained tight-lipped and refused to speak.Moyu had little patience. With a single leap, her long sword swept through the air, a cold glint flashing as something round tumbled down from the topmost layer and landed right before them, rolling a full circle before their eyes.
The bodies were stacked, though slightly misaligned. Fresh blood dripped from the uppermost one, landing precisely on their foreheads before trickling down their noses and splattering onto the ground. The firelight illuminated the thick, viscous blood.
Even they, who were accustomed to witnessing brutal punishments, couldn't help but feel their hearts constrict.
Xiao Changying felt his scalp tingle at the sight, yet Shen Xihe sat not far away, calmly roasting meat as if nothing were amiss.
This is the final update for the month. Tomorrow, there should be two updates, and the day after will exceed five.
(End of Chapter)
OpenNovel