Chapter 7

Let her go.

Those three cool, clear words carried an irresistible authority. The field instantly quieted down. Even I, whose neck was being held at swordpoint, could not help praising inwardly: what a pleasant voice.

Like cold water from a secluded spring, yet somehow carrying an indescribable touch of allure, making one want even more to glimpse the appearance behind that voice.

When the guards heard their princess’s command, the unwillingness on their faces only flashed past for an instant. Then, without hesitation, they opened a narrow path. But their spirits did not relax in the slightest. They still stared closely, ready at any moment to guard against the assassin making any further harmful move.

“Heh, Princess Jin’an truly loves the people as her own children and has a kind heart. As expected of a model of the royal family.” The female assassin began holding me hostage and retreating, slowly moving outward. Even as she moved, her mouth refused to spare anyone. Her words were full of mockery. The surrounding guards’ expressions all changed when they heard this.

Maid Fang silently held her sword, the killing intent in her eyes growing stronger. She maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far as she followed in front of us. At the same time, she cleverly placed herself between the female assassin and the pavilion.

My heart tightened. What should I do next?

Would this female assassin push me away before leaving and escape on her own? Or would she shamelessly add one more stab after pushing me away to vent her hatred? Or would she simply take me away as a hostage? If she really brought me along, that would be a bit troublesome. But that possibility was not high, because I could feel that her inner breath was unstable at the moment. It seemed she had suffered a serious injury. In this condition, bringing me with her would definitely be inconvenient.

Just as I was rapidly thinking of a countermeasure, another low laugh sounded beside my ear, alluring yet thorny, extremely disdainful. Without looking, I could imagine the arrogant and pleased expression on a certain assassin beauty’s face. “Since the princess wants to let me go, you’d better keep your word. Don’t turn around and fire hidden arrows at me, doing such petty, villainous things.”

She looked meaningfully toward the hidden guards in the corner who were holding sleeve arrows aimed at her, her gaze full of mockery.

I could not help wanting to roll my eyes. Had she not also fired a hidden arrow at the princess earlier? Was it really all right to call that a petty villain’s act and slap herself in the face?

But the person inside the pavilion seemed to raise her hand in a certain direction, and the dozens of hidden guards concealed in the corners all silently withdrew. Then that pleasant voice came again. “Since I have promised to let you go, I will not go back on my word. But I ask that you do not harm the innocent. I believe assassins like you also care about rules and righteousness, and would not recklessly kill powerless commoners outside your target.”

Well said. I praised inwardly. I truly admired this Princess Jin’an more and more.

“Heh, of course!” The female assassin laughed softly. Seeing the surrounding guards all wearing dark expressions and gritting their teeth, she immediately felt some relief. When her gaze swept over the corpses on the ground, dead in such miserable states, her eyes sank slightly. Then she quickened her steps and dragged me out of the field, still raising her voice to say, “Chu Qingning, I couldn’t kill you today, but I’ll come again another day! When that time comes, don’t regret letting me go.”

The atmosphere instantly froze to the extreme.

Was this not seeking death?! My dear auntie, just how deep is your ​Read on BaiLianTales​hatred and resentment?! I almost wanted to disregard my own life and death, then shout with righteous courage, “Princess, don’t mind me! Hurry and attack!”

But unexpectedly, this beautiful assassin was also quick with her hands and feet. After speaking, she gave a whistle and summoned a white steed. Then she dragged me onto the main road, flew onto the horse, and vanished from everyone’s sight. Her movements were so neat and efficient that one could click their tongue in amazement.

I wanted to cry. The people of the prince’s manor just let me get taken away by the assassin like this. How irresponsible!

No, this cunning fox, Princess Jin’an, would not let an assassin who wanted to kill her go so easily. She must have left some follow-up move! I immediately turned my head to look back, only to be astonished to find that no one was chasing us. The entire road was clear and unobstructed…

The horse turned a corner and entered a side road. After that, Prince Jin’s Manor could no longer be seen.

I really should not have counted on them… My hope shattered. I closed my eyes and took a calming breath. Then I immediately raised my guard to the highest level, wary that the assassin beside me would attack me. Unexpectedly, in the next moment, this beautiful assassin actually found time between urging the horse forward to seal several of my acupoints.

“Behave and don’t move, all right? I won’t hurt you.” Her voice came from above my head, sounding just like a loving elder soothing a child.

How nice that sounded. Who was she trying to fool? I curled my lips and could not help turning my head to glance sideways at her. But because of the angle, my eye-dagger failed to scrape across her face and instead landed on a certain unspeakable area below her neck.

My heart felt even more blocked in an instant. Depressed, I turned my gaze away, only to smell a faint fragrance of plum blossoms. After sniffing carefully, I realized it was coming from the female assassin. Heh, was she really an assassin from a professional organization? Forget not binding her chest during a mission—she even wore perfume and rode a white horse that shone dazzlingly in the sunlight. It was simply unreasonable. Did she think she was not eye-catching enough?!

And her thoughts were truly difficult to understand. In this situation, shouldn’t she throw me by the roadside and flee quickly? Why go through so much trouble to seal several of my linked acupoints and carry me away sideways over the horse’s back like a sack?

I was going to throw up!!

“Go!” With another low shout, the steed galloped swiftly. The beauty brandished the reins handsomely, with a delicate young woman placed in front of her. She looked exactly like a bandit chief who had snatched back a wife for the stronghold. Truly domineering…

But I, the delicate young woman, could not take it!

The ride was so bumpy that my head spun and my vision blurred. My stomach churned like rivers and seas overturning. No matter how good my physical condition was, I could not hold on for long. Fortunately, before I vomited, that flashy white horse finally stopped in a deserted forest on the outskirts.

The female assassin lifted her hand and flipped me off the horse, sending me tumbling down onto the ground. With a muffled thud, my shoulder was smashed painfully. That person also leapt off the horse, her expression unkind as she walked toward me.

There was demonic energy—pah, such heavy killing intent!

I immediately wanted to get up, but my linked acupoints had been sealed, and for a moment I could not break through them. My entire body was stiff and numb, unable to use any strength. But the female assassin stopped. Calm Read on BaiLianTales and composed, she crossed her arms and looked at me for a while with eyes full of malicious amusement. Only then did she come over, pull me beneath a nearby tree, and release my acupoints.

Just as I wanted to move, a cold, gleaming dagger had already pressed against my throat. “Don’t move around, or I’ll cut your throat.”

How vicious. And you have already cut the skin, all right? As an assassin who failed to complete her mission, what was the meaning of grabbing a bystander and bullying her? My brow twitched. Then a wide-mouthed porcelain bottle was tossed into my arms, and she said coldly, “Apply medicine for me.”

I was somewhat surprised, but soon understood her intention. Only, this auntie-like arrogant attitude was really annoying. Was she used to being served or something? I steadied myself, took the porcelain bottle, and pulled off the stopper. It was actually high-quality black jade ointment.

Black jade ointment had miraculous effects for stopping bleeding and dissolving bruises. Using it to treat wounds could prevent pus and scars. It was a rare good medicine. But because the main ingredient was extremely precious and the formula and process were complicated, it was generally only made in Medicine King Valley. Not many people in the martial world possessed it either, and my own bottle had been left behind by my master. I had not expected this person to have it too. Her background was probably not small.

“Do… do I apply this directly? Where do I apply it?” I asked softly, deliberately adding a slight trembling sound as though I were afraid.

The female assassin glanced at me, then suddenly withdrew the knife. Instead, she tore open the clothing at her shoulder blade, which had already been cut before, revealing a bloodstain that was neither shallow nor deep and extended all the way to her back. Although the bleeding had already stopped, the wound was still torn open and looked ferocious.

A scene suddenly flashed through my mind: Maid Fang flipping into the air, and in the instant she was upside down, sharply flicking her wrist and slashing over with a sword. Truly good martial arts!

“Use this first, then apply the ointment.” She tossed me another small bailiantales.com bottle. It was ordinary Baiyun powder, which could stop bleeding and relieve pain. It was perfect to use as a supplement to the black jade ointment.

At this moment, I noticed that her lips had already turned pale. Her brows were furrowed, and cold sweat had appeared on her forehead. She actually looked somewhat pitiful and delicate. It seemed she had been forcing herself to endure all along the way. Heh, no matter how painful being stabbed was, she could only bear it herself. Being able to save her life was already a great fortune…

Perhaps because, as someone in the same line of work, I could better understand that kind of bitterness and hardship, a trace of compassion actually arose in me.

So I did not take the opportunity to leave. Instead, I took out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped away the dirty blood around the edge of the wound. Following my movements, the female assassin’s eyes trembled, and her expression became somewhat complicated. I did not have time to care. Because once I set my mind on doing something, I had to concentrate fully and do it well.

I tilted the mouth of the bottle slightly above the wound, tapped the bottle’s neck a few times with my index finger, and shook out the pale yellow powder, scattering it evenly into the cut.

“Hiss—” The female assassin was in some pain, and her beautiful brows furrowed tightly. After I finished applying the powder, however, she coldly snorted. “Hmph, your technique is rather good. What, you’re not afraid now?”

“If you don’t hold a knife against my neck, then I’m not afraid.” I glanced at her. She was so beautiful, yet her mouth was so harsh. Later, I would find a chance to shake her off. Hmph… I stuffed the bottle stopper back in and said, “My father is the village doctor. I studied with him for a few years, so naturally I understand a little about applying medicine and bandaging wounds. Unfortunately, there’s no gauze here.”

As I spoke, my gaze drifted toward her skirt… Mm, in any case, there was a lot of fabric, and the material was soft and skin-friendly, just right for use. So I reached out to tear her hem, conveniently using the dagger beside me to cut it into long strips. It was actually somewhat satisfying. Hehe.

“You—you really have quite some nerve.” She had not expected this. Seeing that the dress on her body had already been torn out of shape, she immediately glared at me angrily. But the expression on [read the original at bailiantales.com]her face changed again and again. In the end, she merely gave an unclear cold snort and stopped speaking.

I spread a layer of black jade ointment in the middle of the cloth strip, then prepared to bind it over her wound. At this moment, I felt that I was truly too kind. Even as an assassin, I was still so benevolent. Maintaining such wonderful qualities was simply like a lotus emerging unstained from the mud.

However, our line of work truly was not easy. With blades flashing and swords crossing, we often came and went through bloody storms and winds of gore, receiving no small number of injuries. After all, when one wanders the martial world, how can one avoid getting cut? But a girl’s skin still needed to be protected carefully to avoid leaving scars. Otherwise, when she retired and washed her hands of the business, it would be hard to marry…

I gently lifted away the fabric around the wound on her shoulder. The tear in her clothing was a little too large, and I inadvertently saw even lower. At the edge of that flirtatious purple peony dudou, there was actually a palm-sized bruise.

Maid Fang truly had good martial arts!!

I pretended I had seen nothing, placed the cloth strip over the wound, and carefully tied it. But my gaze could not help drifting downward. That black bruise was really such an eyesore. How could a girl’s chest be left with such an ugly injury? I tried hard to control myself and not care about it, but the more I did that, the more I wanted to treat it.

Ah, this damned obsessive-compulsive urge.

——————————————————————————————————

Feihua painfully reaches out: I can’t hold back anymore!

Female Assassin, clutching her chest: What are you trying to do?!

Feihua: I… I want to rub…

The female assassin flies into a rage and slaps her face: Die, you hooligan!! Slap slap slap!

Feihua, face swollen as she collapses to the ground: I wanted to rub the bruise away…