"I really can't do it." Jingzhe took out a piece of cloth to wipe her long sword, then sheathed it on one side. She bent down and picked up the unconscious man as if he were a dead thing. "You go inside. I'll handle this." Zheng Yuanqing pursed his lips and gritted his teeth as he placed the long knife in his hand on the ground. Then he imitated Jingzhe and tried to drag the man up, but he could only grab the man's collar and drag him forward.
As he dragged, the blood spilled out, instantly staining the surrounding area red.
Zheng Yuanqing: "..."
Jingzhe, who had turned around, was silent for a moment and said, "Forget it. If you're worried, just stay by my side and watch."
After saying that, she simply threw the man under a nearby tree, then whispered a few words to a servant who had come with her outside the door.
"Jingzhe." Zheng Yuanqing, who had been silently following Jingzhe, finally spoke. Looking at her, he asked, "Were these people after me or after you?"
Seeing the hesitation on his face, Jingzhe explained, "You."
"Why?"
Zheng Yuanqing was puzzled and asked, "That man just now didn't seem to know about you..."
Zheng Yuanqing tactfully didn't say the last two words, but the meaning in his words was clear.
"You mean, why didn't he know that I betrayed the Sword Pavilion?"
As Jingzhe spoke, a faint smile appeared in her eyes. Her gaze on Zheng Yuanqing was a bit teasing. "The Sword Pavilion is very big, Third Prince. This man only recognized me because he had seen me before."
"According to my rank, if I were to assassinate you and no news were to get back, it would be assumed that I was dead."
As Jingzhe spoke, seeing the surprised look on Zheng Yuanqing's face, she turned around and dragged another man up. Then she said to the man on the ground, "But you're the same as me. If you don't go back, it's assumed that you're dead. I'm sparing your life because my current master needs you."
The man on the ground couldn't speak anymore. The intense pain all over his body made him tremble and he couldn't even raise his head to look at Jingzhe.
He didn't know why Jingzhe, who was of the same rank as him, had such unfathomable martial arts. They couldn't even last ten moves under her and had already fallen to the ground.
Zheng Yuanqing also silently watched Jingzhe, with indescribable feelings in his heart.
Even if he was slow, he knew that Jingzhe must have received some order from Song Huaizhi to act like this. Now that Jingzhe had finally taken action, it meant that she was not far from leaving him.
Jingzhe had grown up too fast. When they first met, she was like a sword that had just come to life, cold and inhumane. But now she was much more gentle. Zheng Yuanqing even felt the breath of life from her.
For some reason, Zheng Yuanqing was silent for a while and then looked up into the distance.
The morning light had broken through the thick clouds, and the small courtyard was no longer pitch - black. As time passed, a sudden golden light emerged in the distance, shining on Jingzhe's delicate and angular side face, giving her a faint golden glow. She looked so beautiful that she didn't seem like a mortal.
"You... Jingzhe." Zheng Yuanqing said with difficulty. Seeing Jingzhe turn around and look at him with a slight look of confusion in her eyes, he asked, "Are you leaving?"
Jingzhe didn't answer. She thought for a moment.
Zheng Yuanqing looked at her. The courage that had just emerged in his heart, so faint as to be almost imperceptible, was blown away again, leaving only an indescribable sense of embarrassment.
"I'm not sure." After Jingzhe said that, she looked at Zheng Yuanqing and said, "I follow the orders of Lord Meng Ruyi and Lord Song Huaizhi. I don't know if they need me to stay."
Hearing this, Zheng Yuanqing was startled. He had thought that Jingzhe wouldn't answer him, so when he looked up, there was still a trace of shock in his eyes.
"Okay." He replied a bit stiffly, but the words to persuade her to stay wouldn't come out.
How could he keep her?
On what grounds could he keep her?
Could he keep her?
Zheng Yuanqing watched as Jingzhe turned her head again, and infinite possibilities arose in his heart.
The last trace of darkness was also dispelled by the morning light, and the sky suddenly brightened. Zheng Yuanqing was startled. He looked up into the distance. When his gaze returned to the small courtyard, he couldn't help but stop, and his breathing became heavy.
Although this small courtyard was much better than the previous one, it was still simple and not as good as the Meng Mansion.
Zheng Yuanqing swallowed back the words to persuade her to stay. He and Jingzhe looked up together at the rising sun in the distance.
...
At the Meng Mansion.
When Song Huaizhi received the news, Meng Ruyi happened to be beside him.
After the servant finished telling the story, Song Huaizhi stood up and said gently, "Yu Yu, do you want to go and take a look?"
"Of course." Before Song Huaizhi could even finish asking, Meng Ruyi quickly stood up. She lifted the hem of her skirt and urged, "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up."
She wondered how Jingzhe had been these days.
Meng Ruyi couldn't help but miss her all the time. When she was free, she always paid attention to the trend of the bullet - screen. So when she heard that there was finally news from the Third Prince, Meng Ruyi couldn't hold back her impatience.
Seeing the eagerness on Meng Ruyi's face, Song Huaizhi quickened his pace and walked side by side with her. But the look in his eyes gradually deepened, and he didn't know what kind of emotions were spreading in his heart little by little.
"Yu Yu, do you care about Jingzhe very much?"
Song Huaizhi pointed out Meng Ruyi's thoughts and asked casually.
"Huh? Care?" Meng Ruyi didn't expect Song Huaizhi to ask this question, so she turned to look at him.
Song Huaizhi had a calm look on his face, with a faint smile on his lips. When he saw Meng Ruyi looking at him, he just turned to look at her with a bit of confusion.
Seeing this, Meng Ruyi replied, "It's okay. I'm just curious about her."
Of course, it was a lie.
But Meng Ruyi couldn't tell Song Huaizhi why she cared so much about Jingzhe, so she could only make up an excuse to explain it to him.
"Okay." Song Huaizhi responded and walked forward silently.
When they arrived at the small courtyard, the scene was extremely tragic. Song Huaizhi frowned. He glanced at Jingzhe and covered Meng Ruyi's eyes, who was still behind him and hadn't seen the scene yet, and said, "Don't look."
Meng Ruyi was blocked by the door and couldn't see in the first place. Now with Song Huaizhi's hand covering her eyes, she could only smell the strong smell of blood.
"It's okay." Meng Ruyi shook her head. She used one hand to push away Song Huaizhi's hand covering her eyes. Looking at him, she said, "Brother Song can't always stand in front of me."
Song Huaizhi frowned subconsciously and was about to refute, but he saw that Meng Ruyi had already stepped over the threshold. She frowned and looked at the two people piled up on one side.
[Ah! I knew following Song Huaizhi would be a shock!]
[Ugh! I'm going to vomit!]
Meng Ruyi frowned. Her face turned a bit pale, but she still calmly looked at Zheng Yuanqing.
"Mr. Song, Miss Meng." Zheng Yuanqing bowed his hands and said, "These people came this morning. Jingzhe caught a live one."
Song Huaizhi nodded and then looked at Jingzhe and asked, "People from the Sword Pavilion?"
"Yes." Jingzhe spoke and pointed to the man groaning on the ground. "This man recognized me, so I didn't kill him."
"Good."
Song Huaizhi walked to the man's side. He untied a brocade pouch from his waist and handed it to Jingzhe, saying, "Feed him the medicine."