Сhаpter 247: Наlf-Fасеd Ghost 5
For a mоmеnt, the bloоd flowed еvеn fаstеr—dаrk, visсous, and еmitting a pungent odor.
Zhu Yan’s fоrеheаd beаdеd with соld sweаt, but shе fоrсеd hersеlf to stay саlm. She mаde a crоss-shapеd incision аrоund thе аrrоwhеаd and eхtrаctеd it using а sрeсial tесhnique. Thеn, shе helрed Pan Сhi lie on his side tо аllоw the рoisoned blооd tо drain mоrе quiсklу.
Тhrоughout thе рroсess, Рan Chi еndured thе раin, biting down оn а hаndkеrchief without uttеring a single groan.
Onlу when the flowing blоod turned bright rеd did Zhu Yan hаvе Pаn Chi lie face down again and pour medicinal powder onto the wound.
Fortunately, the incision Zhu Yan made was not too large, Pan Chi’s medicine proved highly effective, and she applied it generously, managing to stop the bleeding.
Zhu Yan let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly tore a strip of cloth from the soft inner lining of her dress to bandage Pan Chi’s wound.
After completing all this, Zhu Yan was utterly drained of strength. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Thankfully, there were no Half-Faced Ghosts on the city wall at that moment. Although stray arrows flew past, none struck them. Otherwise, both she and Pan Chi would likely have perished.
With the poison neutralized and the wound bandaged, Pan Chi regained some strength. Using his uninjured hand, he removed the handkerchief from his mouth, carefully tucking it into his robe before turning his head to look at Zhu Yan. “I didn’t expect you to know how to treat injuries.”
Though Zhu Liuniang’s reputation was well-known, seeing her in action was truly something else. This woman, Zhu Yan, was indeed extraordinary.
Zhu Yan didn’t hide the truth and spoke earnestly, “This all comes from years of experience dissecting corpses, plus my master’s constant guidance taught me a great deal.”
The saying “practice makes perfect” held true. Thanks to her experience with dissecting corpses, her hands hadn’t trembled.
Hearing this, Pan Chi’s lips twitched slightly. “It works, I suppose.”
So, this girl had treated him like a corpse.
“Indeed, this is only an emergency measure. There may still be residual poison, so you’ll need to see a proper physician later for thorough treatment. Otherwise, it might leave lasting complications.”
She was no physician, and Pan Chi’s medicinal powder only temporarily halted the spread of the poisoned blood, merely preserving his life for the moment.
“Mm,” Pan Chi responded and fell silent.
After resting briefly and regaining some strength, Zhu Yan exhaled deeply. She told Pan Chi to lie still while she crawled up and knelt at the edge of the city wall’s recess to look down.
Below the wall, chaos reigned. At some point, Jing Lin had arrived and was leading the Inner Guard Bureau’s personnel in rescuing civilians.
Sun Tan, with a team of Unrighteous Agents, was locked in a desperate struggle with the Half-Faced Ghosts, all while dodging the cold arrows Mo Qianzhi kept ordering his men to fire. They were severely constrained. As for Shen Du, he was surrounded by a group of Half-Faced Ghosts and Yingzhou City’s garrison soldiers, unable to break free yet stubbornly inching toward Mo Qianzhi’s position.
Civilians lay dead or injured, their mournful cries echoing like a living hell.
Zhu Yan’s face darkened. “What exactly is Mo Qianzhi doing? He speaks so nobly about eliminating threats for the people, yet in reality, he orders his men to fire arrows and add to the chaos.”
Those cold arrows had already injured many of their own allies.
Pan Chi didn’t respond to that. Instead, he brought up the Half-Faced Ghosts. “Zhu Yan, you were close to that Half-Faced Ghost. Did you notice anything?”
Zhu Yan sat down and shook her head. “I originally suspected they were from the fire moth faction, but that person knew nothing of Chen Huo’e or Lai Luofu. It seems they’re not.”After a pause, she added, "However, that person's voice sounded familiar, like... like Ji Dafu's. Yes, it was exactly like Ji Dafu's voice."
Thinking of Ji Dafu, Zhu Yan suddenly felt as if she had discovered something extraordinary. She took out the notebook she carried with her, flipped through a few pages, and circled several names with a charcoal pencil. Unable to help herself, she slapped her own forehead.
"Wrong. It was wrong from the very beginning. We’ve been led by the nose all along."
Pan Chi was startled and, mustering his strength, sat up against the wall. "What do you mean by that?"
"From the moment we entered Gannan Circuit and arrived in Yingzhou City, we’ve been set up."
For a moment, Zhu Yan didn’t know how to explain it clearly to Pan Chi. On the surface, she and Shen Du had come for the matter of the Half-Faced Ghost’s cannibalism, but in reality, each of them had their own separate missions.
Yet, as soon as they arrived in Yingzhou City, the Half-Faced Ghost kept causing murders, diverting their attention and forcing them to set aside their original tasks.
Looking back now, it was full of loopholes.
Pan Chi, unaware of the reasons, couldn’t analyze the situation properly and could only press further, "Set up? By whom? Zhu Yan, you need to explain this more clearly."
Zhu Yan, however, couldn’t bring herself to speak openly. She only tidied up her charcoal pencil and notebook, glanced repeatedly at Mo Qianzhi, and then turned her gaze to Shen Du with a worried expression.
Seeing her evasive demeanor, Pan Chi sensed there were secrets he didn’t know. Although he had no interest in prying into others’ privacy, since it involved his own safety, he hoped Zhu Yan would tell him the truth.
"Could it be... that Mo Qianzhi is involved?"
Zhu Yan’s eyes trembled violently but quickly returned to normal. Observing her closely, Pan Chi guessed part of the truth: "Could it be that your trip to Yingzhou City is also related to Mo Qianzhi?"
Zhu Yan didn’t seem surprised that Pan Chi had guessed. After all, Pan Chi had never been a mere pretty face. After careful consideration, she realized there was no longer any need to hide those missions from Pan Chi.
With this in mind, Zhu Yan briefly explained her task of investigating whether Mo Qianzhi harbored ulterior motives and Shen Du’s mission to thoroughly investigate the Fire Moth Party.
Finally, she added, "But ever since Shen Du and I entered Yingzhou, the Half-Faced Ghost has been stirring up trouble nonstop, as if deliberately trying to distract us. And in fact, they succeeded."
From the headless corpse to the case of the missing bride, they had been entirely focused on catching the culprit, even becoming trapped by the notion of the "Half-Faced Ghost’s cannibalism." How could they have thought to approach the matter from other angles?
Moreover, Jing Lin had repeatedly sneaked into Mo Qianzhi’s study to investigate but found nothing. If Mo Qianzhi truly had no issues, it could only mean he had received advance notice and prepared accordingly to welcome them.
Mo Qianzhi and the Fire Moth Party, seemingly unrelated, were actually intricately connected behind the scenes. Coupled with Mo Qianzhi’s relationship with Shen Du, how could Zhu Yan possibly believe otherwise?
Besides, Shen Du must have sensed something was amiss by now. For no apparent reason, Mo Qianzhi had fired arrows, claiming to kill the Half-Faced Ghost. But who exactly had he killed? Only Mo Qianzhi himself knew the truth.
Zhu Yan laid bare her thoughts. Pan Chi wasn’t particularly surprised by this and began to piece together the chain of events that had drawn him into this matter."I actually had a vague sense that something was off. Ji Dafu approached me originally to clear the name of his brother-in-law, Li Kairui, but the truth wasn't like that. He didn’t seem to care who the real murderer of Li Kaixiang was. Instead, he went out of his way to steer all suspicion toward Liu Zongyuan. Liu Zongyuan was likely the scapegoat he had prepared.
Moreover, when I deliberately mentioned the Half-Faced Ghost in front of him, he seemed somewhat flustered but not truly afraid. In fact, Ji Dafu had left far more clues than just that. That day in the underground gambling den, the incense altar and rituals he set up were also very strange."
They had already begun to suspect him and were about to confront him, but then they were lured here by the Half-Faced Ghost.
If Ji Dafu truly was one of the Half-Faced Ghosts, then today’s events must have been premeditated—nothing more than another trap.
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