Shen Huaian watched Song Yan in such a hurry. After observing his expression carefully, he knew that they must have had an argument.
Moreover, it was the kind where Song Yan had the short end of the stick.
Recalling the situation just now, it wasn't hard to draw the conclusion that they must not have gotten along very well.
Hearing Shen Huaian's words, Song Yan stopped and glanced in his direction. He opened his mouth, about to say something, while Shen Huaian cooperatively posed in a listening position.
But after waiting for a long time, in the end, Song Yan just waved his hand and said, "Forget it."
???
Forget it???
What was wrong with Song Yan!
Shen Huaian's heart was extremely complicated when he heard this sentence. But before he could grab Song Yan and ask for clarification, when he came to his senses, he found that Song Yan had already walked a long way.
As Song Yan walked forward, just thinking about what had happened not long ago gave him a headache. He knew Ye Zhiqiu was stubborn and understood he had his difficulties, but he didn't expect him to be so stubborn.
A quarter of an hour ago, seeing Shen Huaian's departing figure, Song Yan felt quite awkward staying alone with Ye Zhiqiu. So he thought about going downstairs to prepare with Shen Huaian.
During this time, he also thought about saying something to Ye Zhiqiu. He was such a kind - hearted person that he always wanted to care about Ye Zhiqiu for some reason.
After some hesitation, he finally decided to say what was on his mind.
"How about I take you to the private school?"
Thinking about the incident with A Liu before, her intention was to kill Jing Hong and himself. Now that they knew Ye Zhiqiu was involved with them, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't become A Liu's target.
Although Ye Zhiqiu wasn't afraid of death, the pain before death wouldn't be pleasant. He thought that his relationship with Ye Zhiqiu had improved a lot, so he said this.
But unexpectedly, Ye Zhiqiu was still as cold - spoken as usual. He smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes corner, his voice low, "I can go back alone. Director Song should have his own business to attend to. There's no need to worry about me."
"Ye Zhiqiu, why do you always reject others' kindness!" Although it wasn't the first time Song Yan had heard Ye Zhiqiu say such rejecting words to him, all the previous rejections had been piling up in his heart.
This time, because of this rejection, he finally burst out. Song Yan couldn't hold back for a moment and said what he had wanted to say the most.
Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu was stunned for a moment, but soon his face returned to its original expression. He looked in Song Yan's direction and said word by word, "I've always been like this."
It was this sentence that made Song Yan so angry that he didn't know what to say. In this situation, he really had nothing else to say.
Indeed, as Ye Zhiqiu said, he had always been such a person. It was just that he had expectations for him and thought the other person would eventually change.
By this time, he finally realized that those expectations were just his over - thinking.
"Fine, fine." When Song Yan said these two words, he walked out angrily, which was the scene before.
Shen Huaian didn't know what exactly had happened between Song Yan and Ye Zhiqiu. Seeing this situation, he didn't know what to do. Moreover, he also had something on his mind.
The two of them with their own concerns were silent all the way on their way back.
"Do you think if A Liu sees that we're still alive and swaggering on the street, will she try to kill us again?" After a moment of silence, Shen Huaian voiced his doubt.
Song Yan was also considering this question. A Liu had really intended to kill them when she kidnapped them. But now that the plan had failed, it was impossible for her to do nothing.
"So... shouldn't we have left the Qin Tower?" Looking at Song Yan deep in thought, Shen Huaian carefully said this.
Song Yan thought for a while and gently patted Shen Huaian's shoulder. "You're right."
"Then shall we go back now?" Hearing Song Yan's words, Shen Huaian blinked his eyes and looked at him expectantly.
He was a coward. The fire he had experienced last night was still fresh in his memory. Anyway, Shen Huaian didn't want to be alone.
But he didn't want to stay alone with Jing Hong in the Qin Tower either. After all, the Intelligence Pavilion under her management was in a mess. So many people were eyeing her and wanted to kill her. Maybe that was the most dangerous place.
At the same time, Shen Huaian was very confused. He was just a merchant. Why on earth was he involved and almost lost his life?
The person who could give him an answer was the one he didn't want to see. In the end, he just held back his anger.
Although he didn't want to stay alone with Jing Hong in the Qin Tower, he didn't want to go to Song Yan's Investigation Department either. After much thought, if Song Yan stayed with him in the Qin Tower, he could hide behind him if there was any danger.
But thinking was one thing. Song Yan patted his shoulder, smiled and said, "You go by yourself. I'm going to find Teacher Ye. Maybe he'll be targeted. I have to protect my partner."
"Hey, didn't you just have an argument with Teacher Ye?" Looking at Song Yan's back striding forward, Shen Huaian said this with some confusion.
But Song Yan didn't even turn his head. He just waved his hand. Looking at his merciless departing back, Shen Huaian murmured unhappily, "Don't I need protection either..."
Before Shen Huaian had murmured for long, Song Yan had already got a horse and galloped away. He looked around and always felt that nowhere was safe.
It seemed that there were countless pairs of eyes staring at him in the dark. Among the people coming and going, no one knew if a silver - shining knife tip would stab at him the next second.
Shen Huaian was timid. Without anyone to protect him now, he felt that there were hidden crises everywhere. It was not a good place to stay any longer, so he left in a hurry.
When he walked into a small alley, usually there were quite a lot of people here, but for some reason, there was not a single person in this long alley today.
It was eerily quiet.
Shen Huaian frowned, feeling that things were not that simple. He calmly turned around and pretended nothing had happened as he walked forward a few steps quickly.
But just as he took a step, there was a sound behind him, and several masked men jumped down from the eaves in front of him.
Shen Huaian was thus caught in the middle with no way to advance or retreat. Looking at the masked men in front of him, they all held long swords glinting with cold light. Judging from the situation, they were determined to kill him.
He looked around, covered his heart and sighed.
My life is over.
At this moment, Shen Huaian was constantly cursing Song Yan's behavior in his heart and secretly determined that if he could escape this time, he would definitely break off relations with him.
But all this was based on the premise that he could escape.
"You... Why do you want to kill me? I'm just a merchant, doing business diligently. Why do you need to go to such great lengths?" Shen Huaian opened his mouth, intending to say something to stall for time.
But the other party was very cold - hearted. They ignored his nonsense for stalling time and directly raised their long swords and stabbed in his direction.
Shen Huaian took a few steps back, his back against the cold stone wall. He tilted his head slightly. The sword was only a hair's breadth away from his ear, barely grazing the tip of his ear and stabbing straight into the stone wall.
The sword blade even cut off a lock of his hair, and his well - groomed hair bun was directly cut off.
Shen Huaian was struggling to dodge their attacks with his hair disheveled, but it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
He clearly understood that he couldn't dodge for long, and there was no one else in this alley except these people who wanted to take his life.
Even if he shouted for help, it would be useless. It seemed that he was really doomed today.
Just then, a voice sounded in his ear, with a hint of charm and a hint of smile.
"If you stay any longer, that sword will cut your neck."
Hearing the voice, Shen Huaian turned around blankly and looked at the person standing in front of him. She was standing on the eaves. With a gentle tap of her toes, she landed from the eaves. Her big red dress rippled slightly, and the light veil rose and fell.
She made a beautiful sword flourish with her hand, knocked down the masked man who had just been about to stab him, and then stabbed the sword into his chest.
Blood spurted out and landed on her dress, but she didn't care at all. Instead, she calmly pulled out the sword and stood in front of Shen Huaian, holding the sword and looking at the row of masked men in front of her.
"Jing... Jing Hong!" Shen Huaian was so shocked by the scene in front of him that he didn't know what to say. Jing Hong had always shown a weak appearance in front of him, but today...
It really opened his eyes. The usually weak girl could actually pick up a long sword and kill people without blinking an eye.
"You don't need to be too surprised. These people originally came to kill me. You were just implicated by me." Jing Hong turned her head and saw Shen Huaian's surprised expression. The corner of her mouth curved slightly as she said this with a smile.
Shen Huaian's mind was still a bit muddled after hearing this. So many things had happened all at once. He needed to calm down.
But the masked men on the scene didn't have time for him to calm down.
Although one person had died, they didn't disrupt their plan because of it. Instead, they quickly formed a formation and rushed towards Jing Hong.
Countless long swords were pointed at him. Just looking at them made Shen Huaian's legs go weak, but Jing Hong's expression didn't change at all. She held the long sword horizontally in her hand and blocked their attacks one by one.
From beginning to end, she was calm and composed, while the masked men in front of her were beaten back step by step until Jing Hong picked away the long sword in the opponent's hand, and he fell to the ground due to inertia.
"All your moves were taught by me personally. Now you're using them against me. Don't you think it's a bit ironic?" Jing Hong turned the tip of her sword and pointed it at the masked man sitting on the ground, her tone calm.
There were originally six assassins, but now only this one was left alive. Every move of Jing Hong's was smooth and flowing, the style was gorgeous and could accurately attack the vital points.
This was the first time Shen Huaian had seen her pick up a sword, and it was also the first time he had seen so many corpses. Jing Hong was standing in the pool of blood on the ground. Her red dress was stained dark red with blood, and her fair face was also stained with the assassin's blood.
She looked like a Asura King climbing out of the underworld at this moment.
"Tell me, who arranged this assassination! If you can tell me who it is, I can let bygones be bygones for today's matter. I can even set you free." Jing Hong frowned and offered the most generous terms to the only living person in front of her.
She cherished talents. The fact that this person could last so long under her hands showed that he was a good seedling. If he knew the situation, he might still be able to live.
But...
"I can't disobey the master's order. I'm sorry, Pavilion Master." As he said this, he secretly slid out a short knife from his sleeve and stood up directly.
Ignoring the long sword in front of him held by Jing Hong, the sound of the sharp blade piercing through flesh rang in his ears. This assassin actually wanted to kill Jing Hong even if he died!
This happened so suddenly. Jing Hong's long sword had already pierced through the assassin's body, making her unable to move for a moment. She could only watch helplessly as the other person raised the short knife in his hand and stabbed in the direction of her neck.
Just at this critical moment, a person suddenly appeared in front of Jing Hong. He blocked in front of her, and the fatal blow landed on his shoulder.
"Shen Huaian!" Jing Hong looked at the person blocking in front of her, her face showing a shocked expression. She let go of the sword in her hand and hugged Shen Huaian, who had been stabbed in the shoulder, and took a few steps back.
The assassin had used all his remaining strength for that last stab, but unexpectedly, he didn't succeed. Looking in their direction, he just stared and then died.
Now Jing Hong didn't have the time to care about the assassins anymore. She hugged Shen Huaian and leaned against the wall, frowning tightly. "Don't move. Let me take a look at the wound."
Shen Huaian had no strength left. He seemed not to feel the pain in his shoulder. He just felt very cold all over. He half - closed his eyes and leaned on Jing Hong's shoulder, letting her do as she pleased.
Jing Hong looked at his state and secretly thought it was bad. Then she tore the clothes on his shoulder and saw that there were signs of blackening at the wound.
The sword was poisoned!
"Pavilion Master, I'm late." When A Yi rushed over in a hurry, he saw the corpses all over the place, Jing Hong sitting against the wall, and Shen Huaian who had fallen into a coma.
Jing Hong hadn't frowned even a bit when facing those assassins before, but now her brows were frowned as if they were an unsolvable knot. She looked up in A Yi's direction and calmly gave an order.
"Clean up this place. I'll take him back to the Qin Tower." After saying that, she helped Shen Huaian stand up. Considering that he was injured, she tore a corner of his clothes and simply bandaged the wound, and then bent down to carry him on her back.
"Pavilion Master, otherwise let me send Young Master Shen back to the tower. You've exhausted too much energy in the fight just now..."
"Are you teaching me what to do?" Before A Yi could finish his words, Jing Hong had already interrupted him. The anger in her tone could be heard.
A Yi had come late. Whether it was intentional or not, she didn't want to investigate anymore. But the only thing she was sure of was that she couldn't trust this person anymore.
"It's my overstep. I hope the Pavilion Master will forgive me." Hearing this, A Yi quickly knelt down and pleaded for forgiveness in Jing Hong's direction. His head was lowered so that no one could see his expression at this moment.
Jing Hong didn't have the time to care about other things. The poison on Shen Huaian's body was very strong. If he didn't take the antidote quickly, he might never wake up again.
She didn't respond. She just tapped her toes lightly and jumped onto the eaves, rushing straight towards the Qin Tower.