"You must have once respected your foster father," An Jiu remarked, not believing someone so cold-hearted could have any real dilemmas.
Wei Yuzhi's expression remained unchanged. "Enough of that. Where is the heart's blood of the Shadow Wraith?"
An Jiu answered solemnly, "His name was Gu Jinghong."
"Jinghong... No matter how breathtaking at first glance, in the end, he was but a fleeting reflection upon water." Wei Yuzhi chuckled softly. "Did you know? Once, a Daoist priest divined his fate and declared him to bear the fate of a trapped dragon—destined for three great calamities. Had he survived them all, he would have soared to the heavens. A pity he remained trapped in the end."
"You're straying from the topic. Fourteen Lady, it's your turn to speak." Wei Yuzhi spoke as if conversing with an old friend, without the slightest hint of coercion.
Yet An Jiu dared not let her guard down.
The heart blood had been refined into medicinal pills by Mo Sigui. Originally, An Jiu carried them all, but during the incident at the Hebei camp, she had entrusted the medicine bottle to Mo Sigui for safekeeping. She had kept only a dozen or so pills for herself, which she had long since consumed.
"It's with Mo Sigui, isn't it?" Wei Yuzhi's slender fingers tapped lightly on the table, his face wearing a leisurely smile.
An Jiu couldn't help but admire his perception. She had undergone specialized training and knew her current expression and movements betrayed nothing. Yet, based solely on her prolonged silence, he had guessed the truth.
"Don't bother thinking of ways to lie to me. It's useless." Wei Yuzhi's mental strength seemed to wane. He poured himself another cup of tea, drank it, and closed his eyes to rest.
"Are you working for someone else, or do you intend to use it yourself?" An Jiu had no intention of letting him rest.
Wei Yuzhi coughed lightly, shifting his gaze from An Jiu to the rain outside. "Look at those distant trees. They are much like me."
Their presence was faint, as if they might dissolve at any moment. Yet only upon approaching would one realize they stood firm and unyielding.
But expecting An Jiu to grasp such metaphors was asking too much of her.
An Jiu followed his gaze. As dusk deepened, the mist thickened, and the trees, half-veiled, resembled ink wash paintings about to leap from paper.
She disliked such profound analogies. The scene could be called beautiful or desolate—it all depended on the observer's state of mind.
Wei Yuzhi seemed in no hurry to obtain Gu Jinghong's heart blood. He motioned for someone to bring a tray of silver needles and placed it on the table. "I know you rely on mental strength in combat. Coincidentally, I am quite proficient in this area. With these nine silver needles, you will become no different from an ordinary person."
He picked up a slender needle, his gaze tinged with regret.
An Jiu watched him coldly. "If I cared even a little, my meridians wouldn't have been destroyed in the first place."
She didn't care about her meridians, nor did she particularly value her mental strength. To her, even if she could only open her mouth, she must retain the ability to bite a man to death. But she hadn't yet achieved the purpose of this trip, and time was running short. She couldn't afford to recklessly discard any advantage that might aid her escape.
Her hands were bound, but she could free herself from any restraint—hardly worth mentioning. However, martial arts masters surrounded her, making it difficult to take a hostage.
Wei Yuzhi slowly inserted the first needle into an acupoint on her shoulder until only a red dot remained on her skin.
As he focused on inserting the second needle, An Jiu lowered her voice and said, "I'll give it to you—and only you."Wei Yuzhi paused in his movements, scrutinizing her for a moment before lowering his head to continue inserting the needles. "You clearly don't know me very well."
Hitting this unyielding yet not entirely hostile obstacle, An Jiu realized that trying to stall him was a poor strategy.
Her thoughts shifted swiftly, and her hands quickly grabbed the folded umbrella.
The killing intent dissipated abruptly. As the surrounding people turned, they caught a flash of cold light in the pavilion. By the time their blades closed in, An Jiu had already thrust a slender sword into Wei Yuzhi’s chest, shouting, "Back off, or I’ll kill him!"
The sword that had been mere inches from An Jiu’s neck halted abruptly.
"Stand down," Wei Yuzhi said, his face pale. Another half-inch deeper, and the blade in his chest would have taken his life.
Before they obtained Gu Jinghong’s blood, they would never kill An Jiu—because the person they truly served was far more important than Wei Yuzhi!
"Move aside!" An Jiu’s mental strength exerted pressure over the entire scene. The acupoints where Wei Yuzhi had inserted the silver needles throbbed painfully, blood seeping out.
An Jiu felt her mind growing numb in waves. She untied the ropes and, to everyone’s astonishment, hauled Wei Yuzhi up, her expression dark. "Get out of my way!"
Wei Yuzhi coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his chest soaked in a shocking expanse of crimson.
"Let them pass," he said, his hands behind his back, signaling for them to follow.
When he first met this woman, he had witnessed her ruthlessness. This time, he had provoked her too far—once she escaped danger, she would surely kill him.
An Jiu wasn’t oblivious to his movements, but experience told her this was the best opportunity she could seize. She hurriedly dragged Wei Yuzhi out, mounted a horse, and galloped toward the city without a second thought for his survival.
As for the direction of escape, An Jiu had already considered it during the carriage ride here. Returning to Plum Blossom Village would bring unwarranted disaster upon Mo Sigui and the others, while fleeing elsewhere would quickly leave her vulnerable again. Thus, heading back into the city was the best choice! Even if her disheveled state drew the authorities’ attention, it was far safer than any alternative.
In the blur of speed, the northern city gate loomed in the distance. The rainy weather meant few pedestrians were about. An Jiu’s gaze turned icy as she urged the horse faster, charging straight for the gate!
The guards on the city wall spotted a lone rider from afar, but the poor visibility made them mistake it for an urgent border report. Only when they realized their error did they shout, "Halt! Identify yourself!"
"Halt and identify yourself!" the guard repeated. Seeing no sign of slowing, he warned, "Stop now, or we’ll shoot!"
An Jiu gripped Wei Yuzhi’s shoulder, ready to use him as a human shield if arrows flew.
Though the guards threatened, they hesitated to shoot—what if this was an imperial spy or some noble’s urgent errand? After all, it was just one rider. Even if they breached the gate, they couldn’t possibly take the capital.
This hesitation gave An Jiu her opening. Orders were shouted to close the gate, but lingering pedestrians caused delays.
An Jiu steered the horse through the half-open gate, charging into the city.
The guards had initially planned to turn a blind eye, but the sight of blood dripping on the ground sent them into uproar. "That person’s a criminal! After them!"
An Jiu’s horse, burdened with two riders after over an hour of trudging through mud, was no match for the pursuers.She had originally planned to surrender directly and be taken to prison by the officers, certain that Chu Dingjiang would rescue her once he heard the news. Even if he didn’t find out immediately, she could seize an opportunity to escape—after all, she had successfully broken out of heavily guarded modern prisons before, so she doubted wooden bars could hold her! But then it occurred to her that the Liao People had infiltrated Bianjing so deeply that entering prison might mean jumping from the wolf’s mouth into the tiger’s den.
Spotting a medical clinic, she immediately reined in her horse and rushed inside with Wei Yuzhi in her arms. “Doctor, please save my elder brother!” (To be continued…)
OpenNovel