Сhаpter 246: Наlf-Fасеd Ghost 4
Mo Qiаnzhi, hоwever, wоuld not listen. "Grеаt раviliоn сommandеr, I cannot obey уоur ordеrs. Now thаt wе finаllу havе а сhаnсe tо eliminate thе wiсked Нalf-Facеd Ghosts, how сan I let thеm еsсаре? Тhis is our onlу оpроrtunitу. For thе sakе оf the pеоplе, it is better to kill а thousand by mistаkе thаn to lеt one go. If Lоrd Раn and Lоrd Zhu аrе ассidentаllу harmеd, Lord Shеn must bear with it—mу aсtiоns аre unintеntiоnаl! Аs long as we сan save the pеople, I, Мo, am willing tо tradе mу life fоr theirs!"
His words were righteous and principled, winning the hearts of the people. The fleeing citizens cheered upon hearing this, unanimously supporting Mo Qianzhi's stance.
But if the lives of other people matter, do Pan Chi and Zhu Yan's lives not count?
Shen Du was so furious his eyes turned red. He warned again, "Lord Mo, killing an imperial official is a capital offense, punishable by beheading at worst or exile at best. Have you considered how you will bear the consequences?"
Even though he was entangled by several Half-Faced Ghosts and unable to break free, he had noticed some clues.
Earlier, during their conversation, out of regard for their past friendship, Shen Du had been somewhat candid. Naturally, Mo Qianzhi had learned from him that Zhu Yan was sent by the Empress to investigate his true intentions.
Now, under the pretense of eliminating the Half-Faced Ghosts, Mo Qianzhi had ordered the archers to shoot, but in reality, he likely intended to eliminate Zhu Yan to avoid future trouble.
Mo Qianzhi was probably no longer the same person who had once saved Shen Du's life.
Mo Qianzhi sneered coldly. "Great pavilion commander, do not threaten me with execution. My heart is solely for the people, and I only wish to eliminate the Half-Faced Ghosts to bring peace to the world. I have no intention of targeting Lord Zhu or Young Master Pan. Even before Her Majesty, I would say the same."
However, whether Shen Du could survive leaving Yingzhou remained uncertain. To appeal and convict him, one must first have the life to do so.
"Lord Mo clearly knows there are other ways to kill the Half-Faced Ghosts without using arrows, yet you insist on this method. I have reason to suspect you are harboring a personal grudge."
"Great pavilion commander, you wrong me. If I do not use this method, the Half-Faced Ghosts will be like the grass on the plains—give them a little soil, and they will spring back to life with the spring breeze."
Mo Qianzhi refused to listen to reason. Shen Du had no choice but to order the archers to stand down. Unfortunately, these archers were all Mo Qianzhi's men and naturally would not obey Shen Du's commands.
As the saying goes, even a cornered rabbit will bite. Watching the woman he loved hanging by a thread, Shen Du's self-control, no matter how great, crumbled at this moment.
He kicked a Half-Faced Ghost, sending him tumbling to the ground, then crouched to dodge an attack. Picking up a sword from the ground, he engaged the Half-Faced Ghosts in combat.
Soon, he tore open a gap. Seizing the opportunity, Shen Du leaped down from the city wall and rushed toward Mo Qianzhi.
To capture the rebels, first capture their leader. Since the archers only obeyed Mo Qianzhi, Shen Du could only take Mo Qianzhi hostage and then make further plans.
However, the Half-Faced Ghosts seemed determined to kill Shen Du. Seeing him descend, not only did the group of Half-Faced Ghosts at the city gate surround him again, but those on the city wall also followed, each strike aimed to kill.
At this point, all pretense had been stripped away. Mo Qianzhi naturally would not sit idly by and allowed his own men to step forward, determined to trap Shen Du.
On the city wall.
Seeing that Mo Qianzhi was serious, the Half-Faced Ghosts did not want to become victims of arrows alongside Zhu Yan and Pan Chi. They used the powder again, employing Illusion Art to become invisible, avoiding combat with Pan Chi and focusing solely on dodging the arrows as they also rushed toward Mo Qianzhi.
Mo Qianzhi's actions were not part of the plan, and they needed to confront him directly to demand an explanation.After all, he had even factored his own life into the calculation.
The Half-Faced Ghost had escaped, and Pan Chi, needing to protect Zhu Yan, couldn’t spare the effort to pursue him.
He looked around, then took Zhu Yan’s hand, intending to lead her to a place where they could take cover from the arrows.
But just as he was assessing the terrain, an arrow shot through the air.
It was so close that it seemed it would strike Zhu Yan in the next moment.
With her life hanging by a thread, Zhu Yan knew she couldn’t dodge in time, so she closed her eyes and waited for the arrow to pierce her. To Pan Chi, however, it seemed she was paralyzed with fear, as if her soul had been frightened out of her body, leaving her frozen and unresponsive.
Pan Chi’s heart tightened. Without another thought, he pulled Zhu Yan into his arms, turning her around as he shielded her.
The arrow struck Pan Chi, causing him to grunt in pain.
With a thud, Pan Chi fell to the ground, still holding Zhu Yan. Before she could react, he collapsed on top of her.
Looking up, she saw black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Zhu Yan quickly got up, rolling Pan Chi aside, and patted his face. "Pan Chi, are you alright?"
Pan Chi winced, his face contorting in pain. "Mm... if you keep patting like that... I’ll... I’ll be... not far from death."
This reckless girl had no sense of restraint. When she rolled him over, his back hit the ground, snapping the arrow in half and driving it deeper into his flesh.
Fortunately, the arrow had struck his left shoulder, far from his heart.
Otherwise, he would have died on the spot.
"Nonsense, you’re too stubborn for the King of Hell to take you," Zhu Yan glared at him, clearly disapproving.
Pan Chi was always one to joke around, but now, after taking an arrow for her, his face had turned dark—a clear sign that the arrow was anything but ordinary. Seeing him feign indifference, Zhu Yan nearly burst into tears.
Gritting her teeth, she turned him over, laying him face down on the ground. Only then did she see the wound. The surrounding fabric of his clothes was soaked with blood, a sight both gruesome and alarming. The blood had darkened to a purplish-black hue.
Zhu Yan drew a sharp breath. "The arrow is lodged too deep, and the bleeding won’t stop. What’s more, the arrow is poisoned. I have to remove it and stop the bleeding, or you’ll either bleed out or die from the poison."
Even when held captive by the Half-Faced Ghost, she hadn’t felt this frantic. But now, she was truly afraid.
If not for saving her, Pan Chi wouldn’t have been struck by the arrow. If anything happened to him, the debt she owed wouldn’t be a simple favor—it would be a matter of life and death, the hardest kind of debt to repay.
After saying this, Zhu Yan took out her Corpse-Dissecting Knife from the satchel she always carried at her side. With swift precision, she cut open the fabric around Pan Chi’s shoulder, but just as she was about to remove the arrow, Pan Chi stopped her.
"Don’t, Zhu Yan. The arrow is poisoned. If you pull it out, the poison will spread faster." And he’d meet the King of Hell even sooner.
Zhu Yan frowned. "But if I don’t remove it, how can I treat the wound and neutralize the poison?"
Panting heavily, Pan Chi said, "Lord Mo... Lord Mo might also be a problem."
"Whatever the problem is, you need to survive first. Stop talking and save your strength," Zhu Yan urged.
Then, crouching low, she looked around and spotted the bottles and jars Pan Chi had left on the ground while preparing his Secret Medicine. She crawled over, gathered them all, and placed them in front of Pan Chi. "Is there any medicine here to detoxify or heal wounds?"Pan Chi stared intently for a moment:
"Just some common tricks used in street performances—sulfur, saltpeter, cinnabar, and the like."
"That'll do!"
As Zhu Yan also served as a coroner, she was naturally well-versed in medical principles. Substances like cinnabar could indeed be used medicinally. She pulled out her handkerchief and stuffed it into Pan Chi's mouth before he could react, then gripped the slender corpse-dissecting knife and sliced open the flesh on his shoulder.
Pan Chi forced a smile: "It's only these common folk who take such Illusion Arts seriously, not realizing they're nothing more than sleight of hand."
"Shut up!"
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