When Shen Huaian's injury improved a bit, he planned to tidy himself up and go visit Song Yan. Passing by the Investigation Department, he learned from an investigator that Song Yan had also encountered assassins and was said to be injured.
As an old friend for many years, Shen Huaian naturally had to go and express his condolences (and secretly mock).
When he arrived at the Song residence and entered Song Yan's room, he saw Song Yan lying on the couch, reading a dossier. "I heard you ran into assassins when you were going to see Teacher Ye?"
Shen Huaian placed the gift he brought on the table and pretended to mention it casually. But his acting was so poor that Song Yan could still detect his intention.
Song Yan glanced at Shen Huaian's expression. Without much thought, he knew that Shen Huaian's purpose wasn't just to express condolences. He put the book aside and sat up.
During his time at home recuperating, he hadn't stopped working. Since he had encountered assassins that day, it was likely that Shen Huaian had too.
"By the way, did anything unusual happen to you on your way back that day?" Song Yan propped his chin and looked in Shen Huaian's direction. He had been thinking about this ever since he got injured.
The assassins that day were highly skilled in martial arts. He could only barely hold his own against them. He had never seen their sword - playing or martial arts skills before. Moreover, it seemed that they were after Ye Zhiqiu.
But it was strange. Why would they target Ye Zhiqiu, a weak - willed teacher who had no power to even bind a chicken?
What was their real purpose? If it was something related to the Qin Tower, Ye Zhiqiu hadn't been involved. Unless...
Someone already knew about Ye Zhiqiu's ability to revive.
Seeing Song Yan's solemn expression, Shen Huaian stopped joking. He briefly told Song Yan what had happened to him that day. Song Yan's expression grew darker and darker as he listened.
"It seems that the assassins we encountered were sent by different people," Song Yan said after a moment of silence.
"It seems that the internal strife in the Qin Tower is quite intense," Shen Huaian said. Hearing this conclusion, he felt a bit uneasy. Judging from Song Yan's expression, those assassins mustn't be simple.
And since they could injure Song Yan, their martial arts skills must be superior to his.
Shen Huaian also sensed that something was wrong. He felt as if he had been dragged into a troublesome matter.
"Jing Hong said she had thought of a way to find out the mastermind behind the scenes in the pavilion. I think the answer will be revealed soon," Shen Huaian briefly told Song Yan what Jing Hong had said to him today.
But considering that both of them were injured, the plan had been postponed for a while.
Anyway, Shen Huaian didn't want to go back to the Qin Tower or encounter any more assassinations. During his recovery period, he stayed in his mansion and spent a lot of money to hire martial - arts masters to protect him.
Although Jing Hong said the assassins weren't after her, it was always better to be on the safe side.
Time passed unhurriedly. Shen Huaian stayed in the mansion every day during this period and no longer took care of the opening of his shop personally. Thanks to the protection of the guards, no more assassins had appeared around him.
Jing Hong sent him a letter every day by carrier pigeon. There wasn't much in the letter, just a simple inquiry about his injury.
Receiving the letters every day, Shen Huaian missed Jing Hong a bit during the days when he didn't see her.
He wondered if she was safe in the Qin Tower and how she was doing.
Then one day, Jing Hong's letters suddenly stopped. Shen Huaian waited for a few days but still didn't see the carrier pigeon. He panicked and quickly sent someone to inquire.
The news he got made him even more panicked.
There had been a robbery in the Qin Tower in the past few days. It was said that many people had died, and a dancer had disappeared.
Considering the undercurrents in the Qin Tower, although he didn't want to think in that direction, it was very likely that something bad had happened to her.
Just as Shen Huaian was worrying silently, he caught a glimpse of a corner of red clothes flitting across the eaves. He rushed out of the house and picked up a petal under the eaves.
"Mr. Shen, we meet again."
While Shen Huaian was in a daze looking at the petal, a voice suddenly came from behind him. The end of the voice rose slightly, adding a bit of charm.
It was like a cat's paw gently scratching in his ear, making his heart tingle.
He was all too familiar with this voice. Almost the moment he heard it, Shen Huaian turned around and saw the person standing behind him.
The big red dress fluttered gently in the wind, stained with a bit of blood. Her eyes were slightly lowered, and she frowned slightly when she saw the blood on the corner of her clothes.
Her black hair was coiled into a bun, but there were no decorations on it at all. It was so plain that it didn't seem to match her flamboyant personality. Maybe noticing his gaze, the corner of her mouth curved slightly, showing a smile in Shen Huaian's direction.
She just stood there, looking like a painting.
It was Jing Hong!
"You..." Shen Huaian was suddenly overjoyed to see her. He had so many things to say in his heart, but when he really opened his mouth, he didn't know where to start.
Jing Hong lifted her robe and walked up to him. Seeing his dazed look, she knew he must have a lot of questions. So she began to explain.
"There was a small problem in the Qin Tower. I couldn't stay there anymore, so I escaped." Jing Hong lifted her sleeve and looked at him with a smile. She said this so casually as if the fierce battle hadn't happened.
Thinking of the fierce battle not long ago, the light in Jing Hong's eyes dimmed a bit.
Some people in the Intelligence Pavilion couldn't sit still. Although she had expected it, she didn't expect that even A Yi had been bribed. In the end, no one was willing to stand by her side. It was really sad.
Because the incident happened suddenly, Jing Hong didn't have a suitable weapon at hand. She took out the hairpin from her hair to block the attacks. Although she was good at martial arts, she was still outnumbered.
She barely managed to escape the pursuit of those people after all the hairpins in her hair had been pulled out. But after leaving the Qin Tower, she had nowhere to go.
After thinking about it, Jing Hong finally decided to go to Shen Huaian's mansion.
"How did you get in?" Shen Huaian listened to her words. Without asking further, he could tell that it must have been a fierce battle. But his mansion was heavily guarded, yet Jing Hong was standing in front of him safe and sound without alerting anyone on the way.
Either Jing Hong was too powerful or the masters he hired were useless.
"About this, I'm very tired now and don't want to fight anymore. So I used a paralyzing powder to knock them out. Well, I came all the way to your mansion. Won't you treat me well? For example..."
Jing Hong paused and winked at him playfully. "Let me take a bath."
Hearing this, Shen Huaian came to his senses. Since there was blood on the corner of her clothes, it wasn't appropriate for her to keep wearing this dress. "I'll tell the maids to prepare right away."
After that, Jing Hong stayed in the Shen mansion. During her stay, there were rumors in the mansion about Shen Huaian hiding a beauty.
The news that Shen Huaian was hiding a beauty spread in the circle.
Unfortunately, Shen Huaian had no excuse to refute this rumor.