Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Zhuang You’s collapse was sudden.
One second, she was still furiously berating the Golden Feather Guards for making arrests; the next, she had lost consciousness without warning.
The onlookers crowded around to watch the spectacle scrambled back, terrified of being implicated.
Only the manager and workers of the Tianxiang Pavilion were forced to step forward and check on her condition.
Downstairs, Pei Yong’s expression shifted when he heard that something had happened to Zhuang You. He had no choice but to sprint back up the stairs to attend to her.
The scene was momentarily plunged into chaos.
Taking advantage of the scattering crowd and the distracted Golden Feather Guards, Xia Ximo grabbed Tianqing and left the Tianxiang Pavilion without looking back.
On the way back to the Ren Residence, Tianqing’s heart was still racing. Her admiration for Xia Ximo was practically overflowing.
“Miss Xia, you truly are courageous. That Miss Zhuang has always been fearless and is famous in the capital for being spoiled and overbearing…”
“For all these years, no one has ever dared to confront her head-on, let alone make her suffer a setback…”
“But today…”
As she spoke, she seemed to realize something was wrong.
While they had certainly vented their frustrations, offending Zhuang You in the capital was not a good thing for Xia Ximo.
Furthermore, if the other party sought revenge later, it would only lead to trouble.
On second thought, however, there was no need to fear. The Young Marquis held Miss Xia in such high regard that he certainly wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.
As long as the Young Marquis stepped in, there was nothing in the capital that couldn’t be settled.
While her mind was spinning with a thousand thoughts, Xia Ximo spoke up: “Your face is swollen. Apply some medicine when we get back.”
Tianqing froze instantly.
She didn’t know how to describe her feelings at this moment. She had only known Miss Xia for two or three days, yet the woman had protected her like this in public…
“I… I’m fine, Miss Xia!”
Tianqing’s nose stung slightly. She lowered her head slowly, her heart filled with guilt. “Actually, if it weren’t for me today, you wouldn’t have had to offend Miss Zhuang.”
“She struck you first.”
Xia Ximo stated the fact coldly, her tone still devoid of emotion.
Tianqing sniffled but beamed with a bright smile.
Xia Ximo glanced at her, unsure why she was smiling so happily. Human emotions had always been complex, but she didn’t care to delve into them.
Right now, her priority was to complete her mission in the mortal realm as quickly as possible.
“Stop the carriage.”
“I need to go out for a bit. Return to the manor yourself.”
After giving the instruction, Xia Ximo stepped directly out of the carriage.
Tianqing opened the carriage window and asked hesitantly, “Miss Xia, should I come with you?”
“No need.”
Xia Ximo replied with those two words, and her figure soon disappeared around the street corner.
***
“This wandering soul should have been burned to death…”
Wuyou sensed the location of the soul through the “black ash” attached to the fox fur coat.
It turned out to be a bridge.
However, while the bridge was currently covered in “black ash,” the soul was nowhere to be seen.
Wuyou floated in a circle around the bridge and speculated, “It’s possible we arrived too early. This wandering soul is a bit strange. Let’s wait until after dark when the yin energy is stronger…”
Xia Ximo saw that it was still early, so she found a spot by the bridge and sat down.
Seeing her sitting on the ground again, Wuyou exclaimed in shock, “You’re not actually going to just sit here and wait for dark, are you?”
“What else would I do?”
“There’s at least another hour until sunset. We could go wander around the streets over there.”
“No.”
Wuyou grumbled indignantly, “If that little girl Tianqing had suggested it, you definitely would have gone!”
Xia Ximo didn’t respond. She propped her feet up on the bridge railing and leaned back against the side of the bridge in a half-reclining position.
This bridge connected the East Market and West Market of Shangjing. No matter the time, there was a constant flow of people.
At this moment, a young lady like her leaning against the bridge to sunbathe inevitably drew strange looks from the passersby.
Xia Ximo didn’t care in the slightest. She simply used her hand to shield her eyes from the piercing sunlight.
However, before long, footsteps approached, followed by a voice speaking beside her.
“Miss Xia.”
The tone was relatively polite.
Xia Ximo lowered her hand, only to see an unfamiliar face.
It was a man dressed in black.
“This lowly one has been sent by Vice Minister Mu to invite you for a chat.”
He bowed with a practiced smile and continued, “Vice Minister Mu learned that you had entered Shangjing and has been worried ever since, constantly fretting over your safety.”
“Shangjing City is not like Xiling County; danger lurks at every turn.”
After hearing this, Xia Ximo finally understood why the man had come.
It was for her original body’s maternal uncle-Mu Zheng.
He was nothing more than a selfish, self-serving hypocrite who feigned a lack of guile.
“I haven’t gone to find trouble with him, yet he comes looking for me?”
Xia Ximo narrowed her eyes, her tone not polite at all.
The man in black hadn’t expected her to speak this way. His eyes darted around as he smiled. “Miss Xia, what do you mean by that?”
“Get lost.”
“…”
The man’s expression froze instantly, though a wave of shock rippled through his heart.
Although he was Mu Zheng’s confidant in the capital, he knew a fair bit about this orphan of the late general.
He had heard she was always weak-willed, taciturn, and a sickly thing-the easiest type of person to manipulate.
Otherwise, the Mu Family Matriarch wouldn’t have been able to secretly swap her identity…
Yet the woman before him, while appearing fragile, possessed a gaze and a manner of speaking that suggested she was not one to be trifled with.
His tone also turned cold. “Vice Minister Mu is your uncle, after all. Besides, you lived in the Mu household for all those years. Are you really going to show no regard for that sentiment?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xia Ximo abruptly sat up. Her gaze was as sharp as an ice blade.
The man involuntarily took several steps back.
When he regained his composure, he was even more startled. How could he be intimidated by the gaze of a young girl?
He let out a deliberate sneer and continued, “Have you considered the consequences? You offended Miss Zhuang of the Censor’s Family at Tianxiang Pavilion today. The Zhuang family will not let this rest, and Prince Yu will certainly not let you off either.”
“When they come to settle the score, there won’t be a place left for you in the capital.”
Xia Ximo remained silent but stood up.
The man took another step back.
Despite the clear, sunny sky, he felt as if a dark cloud had settled over him, and a bone-chilling cold permeated his entire body.
Even more bizarrely, his legs moved against his will, walking toward the deep river nearby.
Before he could let out a cry of alarm, there was a loud splash.
The man had fallen into the river.
The commotion immediately drew a crowd of onlookers to the bank.
“Someone jumped into the river!”
Xia Ximo twitched her fingers slightly, realizing she had once again consumed too much soul power. Her steps faltered for a moment.
She glanced back at the man in the river, but in her peripheral vision, she spotted a ghostly figure appearing at the head of the bridge.
The spirit was dressed in official robes, its entire body wreathed in raging flames. Its gaze was fixed on a single point, its expression vacant, yet it was muttering something under its breath.
From the look of it, it was just a mindless scattered soul.
Xia Ximo hurried toward the bridge.
Behind her, four men in disguise exchanged looks before immediately tailing her onto the bridge.
On the bustling bridge, the masterless scattered soul stood right in the center. As the flames burned, black ash constantly fell from its body.
Xia Ximo approached quietly. Just as she was focusing on listening to the ghost speech, a carriage suddenly pulled up beside her.
“Miss Xia.”