Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The girl's fingertips went over her chest, bringing...

Biezhi quickly found the hemostatic cream left at the base, and went to get a copper basin to fetch water. When she turned around, she happened to see Ji Ran frowning, lowering his eyes, and picking at his clothes, looking very uncomfortable.

Her eyelashes trembled, and she quickly walked forward, half-knelt in front of him to look at the injury. The cloth had stuck to the outside of the wound. If the medicine was not applied quickly, the consequences would be disastrous.

When the man's bony knuckles fell on the slightly wrinkled brows, Biezhi raised her eyes to look at him in a daze. The evening glow fell on the depths of the man's clear pupils, like a mist blocking her in front, so that she could not see his eyes clearly.

He retracted his hand and shook his head at her.

She didn't know whether he was saying that he was fine, or asking her not to frown.

Biezhi exhaled and said simply: "It will hurt, bear with it."

Jiran couldn't hear her, and she didn't hesitate much. She directly opened his clothes. When her wrist was grabbed by the man's big hand, she didn't care about him, but pulled it aside neatly!

Looking at the girl's frowning eyebrows and the determination that flashed in her eyes, Fu Huaiqing quietly released the palm that was holding her wrist and let her pull down her clothes.

The sticky smell of blood hit her face, and it filled Biezhi's nostrils. Her eyebrows frowned deeper, and she looked at the wound in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The man was shirtless, and his lean and strong chest floated with his breathing. The bright red blood dyed the man's chest red. The blood beads flowed down along the clear lines and quietly sank into the man's lower clothes.

Biezhi didn't expect that Jiran had such a good figure.

His defined figure exuded power yet grace, his slightly taut muscles firm and fluid. Her throat rolled up and down, and her heartbeat quickened.

She longed to touch it.

A faint cough above her head brought Biezhi back to her senses. She quickly fetched a damp handkerchief from the basin, wrung it out, and began wiping the blood from the man's body. The handkerchief reached the edge of the wound, and she heard the man's raspy intake of breath. She raised her head to study his expression.

"Wounds from fighting are nothing like this. You have to bear with it." Biezhi had heard the shopkeeper mention Ji Ran's previous injuries, but this one was a sword wound, and even the mere sight of the exposed flesh was painful. "I've treated many wounds. This one isn't deep. It'll be fine."

She clenched the handkerchief tightly in her hand and wiped the blood around the wound with precise, swift movements.

In a moment, the clear water in the basin was completely stained red.

Biezhi opened the medicine bottle and carefully sprinkled hemostatic cream on the wound. The cream covered the wound for a while but it kept overflowing. She lowered her head to get the golden wound medicine to apply to him, and then covered his wound with gauze and bandaged it.

Fu Huaiqing's eyelids drooped slightly, staring intently at the busy girl. There was a little sweat on her forehead, and the worry in her eyes did not diminish at all. Her hands moved swiftly and gently.

The girl's fingertips touched his chest, bringing waves of numbness, as if she was handling a treasure. She was truly relieved until she was done with everything. She stood in front of him and looked down at herself.

Fu Huaiqing's eyes deepened. He reached down and took out a clean handkerchief beside him, handed it to her, and gestured for him to wipe the sweat off his face. Biezhi

saw that his pale face slowly regained a little color. She lowered her eyes to glance at the handkerchief in his palm, and the corners of her mouth opened. She stared at the man's clear eyes for a long time without saying a word.

After a long time, knowing that he couldn't hear her, Bie Zhi still said, "If you encounter this kind of situation again, don't risk

your life to help me." She could accept being hurt, and she could accept being hurt for helping others, but she couldn't accept others being hurt because of her.

Bie Zhi didn't say it explicitly, but Fu Huaiqing understood what she meant.

He looked at the slightly confused girl with mixed feelings. It's not that she couldn't accept other people's kindness to her, but she would still blame herself, blaming herself for not protecting the people she wanted to protect. She was used to standing in front of others, and suddenly becoming the one being protected made her feel at a loss.

Fu Huaiqing stood up, walked to her, and silently raised his hand to wipe the sweat from the girl's forehead bit by bit.

The man's fresh breath entered her nose, and the faint scent lingered, slowly stained with a little unknown heat. Bie Zhi looked up at him in a daze, and didn't come back to her senses for a long time.

As his palm passed over, the slightly closed collar slowly opened, and the lean and powerful waist suddenly caught Biezhi's eye. The bottoms tied with straps hung lazily at the waist, and the muscles extending down were clearly defined, seemingly tempting her. She subconsciously glanced down, and then blinked lightly.

A heat that came from nowhere surged into her heart, and the breeze lingering around became extremely hot.

Biezhi suddenly raised her head and looked into Jiran's eyes.

She couldn't help but sigh that her eyesight was really good.

In such a dim scene, she still saw the general outline.

Fu Huaiqing naturally noticed where she was looking, and the fingertips that were touching her temples paused, and his eyebrows jumped fiercely: "..."

Biezhi awkwardly turned her eyes away, covered her mouth and coughed, her face flushed.

She raised her hand and deftly grasped Ji Ran's collar, quickly closing it up for him, and tied it with a strap. To prevent the collar from unraveling again, she tied two knots. It's

okay if she sees it herself, but others can't see it.

After tying it up, Biezhi looked him up and down, and after making sure it wouldn't come apart again, she nodded with satisfaction and said, "I'll take you back to the shop."

Shopkeeper Wang Chuan saw Biezhi finally helping his master into the backyard through the side door. Even though he had heard that his master was injured, his eyes jumped several times when he actually saw it. However, he could only pretend that he didn't know, silently looking away and instructing the waiter.

Biezhi's eyes swept over the figures in the backyard; they were all people she had seen before. Her slightly drooping chin lifted slightly as she supported Jiran and walked forward, "Shopkeeper Wang."

Wang Chuan looked over, his brow furrowed in surprise. "What's going on? He was fine when we left the house?"

"We found a sword outside the city, and I accidentally stabbed Jiran while we were playing around." Biezhi lied calmly, her expression sincere, not afraid that Wang Chuan wouldn't believe her. Jiran couldn't speak anyway, so no one would expose her.

Wang Chuan: "..."

This excuse was really far-fetched.

He glanced at his master, whose expression was indifferent, and could only respond, "How could you be so careless!" He then called over the secret guards at the side, "A sword wound is a serious matter. Help him in quickly." The secret guards, who had

been waiting for a long time, hurried forward to support their master.

Fu Huaiqing looked back, his dark eyes fixed on the girl who lowered her eyes and picked at her sleeves, noticing the urgency in her hands.

Night had already fallen, but she was still leaving the city.

"The wound isn't particularly deep. I've already taken him to see a doctor." Biezhi took out the golden medicine from her bosom and handed it to him, along with three small medicine bottles. "The doctor instructed that the gauze should be changed every day. For the first three days, the golden medicine should be applied three times a day, and after that, only once. The remaining medicines are for oral use, twice a day."

Wang Chuan took the medicine bottles.

Biezhi took out a silver ingot and stuffed it into his hand. "Jiran will have to stay in bed for the next few days and won't be able to work in the shop. This ingot of silver is my redemption for his life for the next few days." She thought for a moment and took out another ingot. "I'll also trouble the shopkeeper to find someone to take care of him for a few days."

Wang Chuan stared at the silver ingot in his hand in astonishment, then suddenly glanced sideways at his master's back, "Redeem her?"

"Yes." Bie Zhi nodded. She was worried that if she didn't give the money, the shop would have to arrange for Ji Ran to do other things. "Something happened at home, and I can't come over for a while. I'd like to trouble the shopkeeper to look after her for me."

Besides, it was getting late, and she had to leave the city as soon as possible.

After Bie Zhi repeatedly told Ji Ran to rest through the doctor, she glanced at Ji Ran's back for a moment and said to Wang Chuan, "It's getting late. I'll go back first."

Wang Chuan nodded, "Goodbye, young lady."

Bie Zhi came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

Not long after she left, Jiang Yue, who was hiding in the kitchen, came out, followed by the imperial physician who was abducted by the palace guards.

The imperial physician was stunned, completely unaware of what was going on.

He glanced at Jiang Yue, who was frowning, in confusion: "Guard Jiang, I wonder who's injured?"

"The prince's guest," Jiang Yue said.

The imperial physician nodded in understanding.

Jiang Yue led him to the only bedroom in the backyard. His eyes swept over the guards guarding outside, and he knocked three times on the door before pushing it open and entering.

Fu Huaiqing raised his eyes and glanced at the imperial physician following him, without saying a word.

The imperial physician paused, his eyes vaguely glancing at the narrow scar on the man's face. The moment their eyes met, the man's eyes turned colder. Startled, he lowered his head and stepped forward to check the wound: "The wound was treated promptly. It's not as red and swollen as other sword wounds."

He reapplied the medicine, wrote a prescription and handed it to Jiang Yue, "Just boil the medicine according to this prescription and drink it for ten days."

Jiang Yue nodded and sent the imperial physician away.

He closed the door and turned to look at the prince behind him.

Fu Huaiqing's face was sullen, his lips tightly pursed, a grim look in his eyes.

Jiang Yue's expression froze as he reported, "Master, we've already heard about the assassins. They're all from the underworld, targeting Miss Biezhi." Meeting his prince's gloomy expression, he paused and said, "Someone paid for their life."

Instantly, the man's slender knuckles flexed, and the teacup in his grip creaked softly, a crack spreading from the bottom.

Fu Huaiqing's jaw tensed, a sharp flash in his eyes. "Who?"

"They deliberately avoided the wanted order from Xianyun Tower. It doesn't target Miss Biezhi, but anyone from Xianyun Tower. They're aiming to receive the reward in Hezhou." Jiang Yue was silent for a moment. Biezhi was the only person who had recently traveled to Hezhou. He said, "Anyone involved in Hezhou who could be so reckless in their pursuit is likely connected to the Hezhou massacre."

Qin Xiao had left Beijing specifically to investigate the Hezhou massacre.

Three months ago, overnight, two merchants in Hezhou were brutally massacred. Twenty-three people were dismembered, and the head of the family head hung prominently outside the gatehouse.

All local officials in Hezhou who had handled the case were assassinated. Fu Huaiqing ordered Qin Xiao to investigate thoroughly, and Qin Xiao left the capital that night. Many members of Qingyin Pavilion had missions on hand, and most had just completed them. Biezhi, however, had just returned from seclusion and hadn't taken on a mission in two months. That same day, she set out to escort Qin Xiao out of the capital.

Jiang Yue stayed out of the affairs of Xianyun Tower, but he had heard of Biezhi's exceptional skills, so assigning her this mission was no problem. The fact that

someone acted so quickly suggests they've been targeting Biezhi for some time.

He glanced at the prince, whose eyes were cold, and his lips twitched, but he ultimately chose not to speak. If he could imagine it, the prince would too.

Fu Huaiqing lowered his eyes slightly, his eyelashes covering the violent rage surging in his eyes.

His voice was hoarse and cold: "Send the order to the people in Xianyun Tower, kill them until no one dares to take down the list again."