Song Yan rode his horse at full gallop to catch up with Ye Zhiqiu's carriage. By the time he arrived, he realized he was still too late.
Ye Zhiqiu's carriage had been overturned, and the coachman was nowhere to be found. Standing in front of him were two men, their long swords pointed at Ye Zhiqiu who was standing in front of the carriage.
Even in this situation, Ye Zhiqiu's expression remained unchanged. He calmly looked at the men standing in front of him.
Song Yan got anxious at the sight. He drew the sword from his waist, tapped his toes, and leaped off the horse, landing steadily in front of Ye Zhiqiu.
He held his long sword horizontally in front of him, looking warily at the two men standing in front of him.
"Why did you come?" Ye Zhiqiu looked at Song Yan's back and frowned slightly.
These people were clearly after him. Although he didn't know their purpose, he knew he wouldn't die, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
But Song Yan was different. He didn't want to implicate anyone because of this.
"I didn't really want to come at first, but then I thought you might be in danger, so I came without thinking." Song Yan's gaze remained fixed on the two men in front of him as he whispered these words.
Since he had his back turned to Ye Zhiqiu, Ye Zhiqiu couldn't see his expression at the moment.
The assassins in front didn't just stand there and let them talk. They waved their scimitars forward menacingly and threatened, "Chief Song, please step aside. We don't want to make a big deal out of this today."
"Oh? Since you recognize me, you should know what kind of person I am." Song Yan was unmoved by their threat. Instead, he raised the corner of his mouth and said word by word.
"You'll never hurt anyone under my watch."
"Humph." The assassin laughed upon hearing this. He raised his scimitar and didn't waste any more words. He rushed straight towards Song Yan, shouting, "Since Chief Song has said so, I won't be polite!"
Song Yan parried the attack with his long sword and pulled Ye Zhiqiu back a few steps to avoid the scimitar. The assassin didn't stop. He swung his scimitar in the direction they had dodged.
Song Yan couldn't dodge in time, so he raised his long sword to block the attack. The force of the scimitar hitting the sword was so great that it made his虎口 go numb.
The other assassin attacked Ye Zhiqiu from behind. Song Yan secretly thought it was bad. He raised his sword to dodge the attack, but his back was scratched by the scimitar.
The wound was exactly where he had been burned before. The scabbed wound was now stained red with blood, soaking a corner of his clothes.
"Song Yan!" Ye Zhiqiu saw the blood on Song Yan's back and frowned. In his anxiety, he didn't keep his usual distance but called him by his name directly.
Song Yan pretended to be okay. He held his long sword and said in a low voice to Ye Zhiqiu, "The investigators from the Inquiry Department will be here soon. I'll hold them off first. Find a chance and run."
"You know I won't die. Why did you come to save me? Listen to me. They're after me. You run first and then come back with people to save me."
"I promised you before that A Qing's words wouldn't come true. I'll keep my promise."
Song Yan was more stubborn than Ye Zhiqiu. He just wanted Ye Zhiqiu to leave. While they were talking, the scimitar came down. Song Yan struggled to block it. The wound on his back tore open a little more because of this movement. Song Yan could feel his strength fading away bit by bit.
He didn't know if he could block the next attack.
"Chief!" Just then, Mo Xu's voice rang out. Song Yan turned his head and saw the belated investigators from the Inquiry Department.
There weren't many of them, but they were more than enough to deal with these assassins.
The assassins realized the situation was bad. They exchanged a look and then used their lightness skills to jump onto the eaves. In a few moments, they were out of sight.
Old Yang led a few people with good lightness skills and chased after them in the direction they had fled. Song Yan felt relieved when he knew they were safe.
Mo Xu told the others to take Song Yan back to the Inquiry Department. This assassination attempt finally came to an end.
But Song Yan knew that this was just the beginning.
In a side room in Yu Ling City, the failed assassins knelt on the ground, their heads bowed low, looking extremely scared.
"Reporting to the master, the chief of the Inquiry Department intervened this time, so the assassination... failed."
"Failed?" The woman behind the pearl curtain propped her head up with one hand, her eyes half - closed. Her tone was calm, and it was hard to tell what emotion she was feeling.
The bright red dress was embroidered with twin lotus flowers. The silk threads glowed faintly in the light. There were two maids standing beside her, gently fanning the wind with white - plume fans.
She gently tapped the rosewood table with her red - painted fingernails. After thinking carefully about what the assassin said, the sound of the hairpins on her head clinking as she moved was pleasant. "I think you all know the consequence of failure without me having to say it."
"Master, please give us another chance, just one! Next time... we'll definitely succeed!" The assassins kowtowed and begged for mercy. Their voices trembled with fear.
The woman just slowly sat up straight. Her tone was emotionless. Her lips painted with bright lipstick curled up slightly.
"You know that I never keep idle people here. If I give you a chance, who will give me a chance? Failure is failure."
She paused and then waved her hand lazily. "Take them down. If you can stand in front of me alive from the snake pit, then I'll give you a chance."
"Master, spare us! Master, spare us!"
The voices of the assassins gradually faded away. After they couldn't be heard anymore, she angrily swept the things on the table to the ground. All her previous calmness was gone. Her face contorted with extreme anger.
The sound of the porcelain shattering was ear - piercing. The maids beside her knelt on the ground and buried their heads low, not daring to say a word.
The slight trembling of their shoulders showed their fear.
She propped her hands on the table and looked at the mess on the ground. Her hands tightened gradually. She grabbed the tablecloth with great force. Her voice was low, full of undisguised anger.
"Song Yan... He did this last time and this time too. He always ruins my plans..."
"This man... can no longer be spared." Her brows were deeply furrowed, and there was a killing intent in her eyes as she said this.
"Master... it's time to return to the palace..." The maid said this with a trembling voice. Although she was afraid of being blamed, she had to remind her.
After hearing this, the woman's expression returned to normal in a moment. She tidied up her clothes, folded her hands in her sleeves, and said calmly.
"Clean this place up. If there's any mistake, the snake pit will be your final destination." The woman turned back and gave the maids a charming smile. Her beautiful eyes squinted slightly. Although she was smiling, the threat in her words was obvious.
The maids were extremely scared. They quickly bowed their heads and replied respectfully.
"Yes, ma'am."
When Song Yan returned to the Inquiry Department, Old Yang also just came back. He bowed in Song Yan's direction. His tone sounded a bit frustrated. "They ran too fast. I lost sight of them when I chased them into the city. I failed to do my job well. Please punish me, chief."
"It's okay. Those assassins are too cunning. It's already good that there are no casualties." Song Yan whispered this on Mo Xu's shoulder.
He had been injured on his shoulder before. After this incident, his injury got worse. Now he even spoke weakly.
Old Yang didn't say anything more. He stepped aside and let the doctor come to apply medicine. Too many things had happened from last night until now, and Song Yan's mind had been working non - stop.
He didn't expect to get injured again.
He and Shen Huaian were really in the same boat.
After the doctor finished applying the medicine, he left. Song Yan needed to rest now. Just leaving someone to change the medicine would be enough. The other investigators looked at each other for a while, but no one volunteered to stay and change the medicine.
"I'll do it." Finally, Ye Zhiqiu broke the silence.
The investigators left wisely when they heard this. Only Song Yan and Ye Zhiqiu were left in the room. Ye Zhiqiu put away the scattered medicine bottles on the table one by one. Then he pulled a stool and sat not far from the couch.
The light from the window fell gently on him, as if gilding him.
Ye Zhiqiu picked up a booklet from the table and flipped through it casually. Maybe because he had taken the medicine, Song Yan was extremely sleepy now. His eyes were half - open and half - closed.
"Aren't you going to the private school? Why are you still here?"
"It's already this late. It's useless to go now."
"What I said during the argument before wasn't what I really meant..."
"I know."
Song Yan rambled on, and Ye Zhiqiu just responded softly. The sound of turning the pages was extremely hypnotic. Song Yan listened and gradually fell asleep.
Ye Zhiqiu slightly raised his head and looked at Song Yan's sleeping face. He propped his chin with one hand and lowered his eyes, looking thoughtful.
Today's assassins were definitely not an accident. The serial killer who had tried to kill him before must have recognized his immortality.
Sending someone else to assassinate him this time was probably to confirm something. It just so happened that Song Yan interrupted them.
The people who could recognize Song Yan must have a special identity.
"Could it be someone from the court?" Ye Zhiqiu tapped the booklet and murmured to himself in a low voice.
A sweet - scented osmanthus petal floated in from the window and landed on his hair, leaving a faint fragrance.
In the Qin Tower, Jing Hong took Shen Huaian back to the tower using their lightness skills. They rummaged through the pharmacy for a while and finally took out a medicine bottle from a hidden compartment.
The poison on the assassins' knives was refined by her. She didn't originally plan to make an antidote, but fortunately, she had a backup plan. She wanted to try to exchange the antidote for information.
So far, this antidote had never had a chance to be used.
Because as long as someone was the target of the assassins in the Intelligence Pavilion, they would never be able to stand in front of her alive to negotiate.
And today was the first time this antidote was put to use.
After giving the medicine to Shen Huaian, she stood by the window, crossing her arms and looking at the clouds in the distance.
Shen Huaian woke up after taking the medicine. When he opened his eyes and slightly turned his head, he saw Jing Hong standing by the window. Her blood - stained dress hadn't been changed yet, and she just stood there.
Shen Huaian could feel the anger radiating from her.
But why was she angry?
He couldn't figure it out.
"Jing Hong..." Shen Huaian's weak voice broke the silence. Jing Hong's finger that was tapping on her arm paused, but she didn't turn around.
"Are you angry?" Seeing that she didn't answer, Shen Huaian sat up from the bed. The pain in his shoulder made him frown, but he still walked to Jing Hong's side and asked patiently.
When Jing Hong turned around, she saw the person standing behind her. Before she could react, she kissed his cheek because they were so close.
Shen Huaian was stunned by this unexpected kiss. He blinked his eyes at Jing Hong and stood there stupidly, not knowing what to say.
Jing Hong also didn't expect this to happen. She took a few steps back and pretended nothing had happened. "Yes, I'm angry."
"You can't even protect yourself. Why did you take that sword for me?" Jing Hong frowned as she spoke, and her tone was tinged with anger.
But in fact, even she herself didn't know why she was so angry about this. There had been many people who had taken swords for her before, and she had never felt any compassion.
But this time... she was actually annoyed because of Shen Huaian.
"Are you... worried about me now?" Shen Huaian paused for a moment after hearing her angry words and then carefully asked this question.
Jing Hong turned around and avoided his gaze, as if her thoughts had been exposed. She said stubbornly, "I'm just worried that I'll get into trouble if you die."
"I'm a person who values my life. You're right. I don't have the ability to protect myself, and I shouldn't have run away. But at that time, I don't know why. When I saw the sword coming down, my body just moved on its own to block it."
Shen Huaian smiled as he said this. He waved his hand in front of Jing Hong and said with a smile, "Now I think my decision was right. I saved you, and you saved me. If that knife had landed on you, I don't know how to save you. As long as the ending is good, it doesn't matter how the process is, right?"
Jing Hong was at a loss for words after hearing Shen Huaian's words. She waved her sleeve and didn't say anything more.
"Alright, you should rest and recuperate well. I've already made a plan. I'm just waiting for Song Yan to cooperate." Jing Hong quickened her steps forward and said as she walked.
Shen Huaian watched her leaving back, still immersed in the sudden kiss on his cheek. But soon, the pain from the wound on his back pulled him out of his memory.
He sat back on the couch and looked at the wound on his back in the mirror. He found that the wound had split open a little more because of his previous actions.
Just when he was worried about how to apply the medicine, the doctor walked in.
"Oh my! I said you can't stay idle for a moment. You were injured before, and now you're injured again. I was woken up by the pavilion master to come and change your medicine before I even got enough sleep. Mr. Shen, let me tell you, with my hard - working attitude, it's unreasonable not to get a raise!"
The doctor's rambling words reached Shen Huaian's ears, and he just echoed a few words. "I'll try to mention it to the pavilion master..."