Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The depths of night lay silent. Blood dripped from a long blade.

The man was just sheathing his saber when he suddenly let out a muffled groan and staggered.

My voice trembled. “G-good sir, what’s wrong?”

Seeing me about to go over, he barked, “Don’t come near me!”

I did not dare provoke him and could only shrink back by the stove from a distance. But his body swayed, his steps unsteady. Before he had gone more than a few paces, he pitched headfirst into the muddy water.

“Sir?!”

Forcing down my fear, I went over and pulled aside that filthy face covering. I held my hand beneath his nose to test his breath, only to find it thin as a thread. He was clearly at his last gasp, on the verge of death.

Not far away, Ah Da had already gone cold.

I never could have imagined that in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, I would have several bodies to deal with. For a moment, my mind went blank.

Then I looked back at the stove. A head was still bobbing in the hot soup. Slowly coming back to myself, I gritted my teeth and fished it out, then poured the bloody water from the pot into the grass. After that, I dragged the two heavy corpses into the back of the shop and covered them with straw.

When all of that was done, I steadied myself, blew out the lamps, and lowered the curtain over the front door, as if nothing at all had happened.

When I returned home, Ah Er was weaving baskets under the eaves. Seeing me come through the gate, panting with a person slung over my shoulder, he hurriedly put down his work and came forward to help. “My lady, who is this?”

“I don’t know either!”

As we spoke, we settled the man on the open ground before the courtyard. By the surrounding lamplight, I could vaguely make out that he was a young man.

Ah Er drew a bucket of water from the well. I fetched a pair of scissors and cut open the ragged wrappings on the man’s body, then removed the bloodstained cloth around his leg. The moment I saw the wound clearly, the stench hit me so hard I retched again and again.

Seeing this, Ah Er quickly covered the festering cloth back over it.

“My lady, where did this man come from? He’s hurt this badly-there’s no way he’ll survive!”

I knew nothing and could only shake my head.

After that, we gave the man on the ground a simple wash.

With that washing, the mud came away in streams, revealing the pale skin beneath. His bone structure was exquisitely refined; his brows and eyes were distinct and striking. His long brows were dark and vivid, his lashes thick as feathers, casting a faint shadow beneath his lids.

Qu Huang was already beautiful in a rare way, but in terms of looks alone, this man surpassed even him.

I only glanced once before turning my eyes away, not daring to look again.