The scream had come from the escort guards' guest rooms.
The commotion was considerable. By the time Chai Xiaomi hurried over with Wu Li, a crowd had already jammed the corridor outside a second-floor room.
Apart from the guards themselves, a few innkeepers were also gathered there.
The guards were all burly men, tall, broad, and packed with muscle.
It only took three of them to completely block the narrow carved wooden doors. Through the gaps between the men, urgent voices and muffled weeping could be heard.
Chai Xiaomi stood on her tiptoes and jumped up a few times, but her line of sight remained completely blocked by their broad shoulders and backs.
Refusing to give up, she gathered her strength and leaped up again, but it was all in vain.
The burly man in front of her was as solid as a human wall.
In her frustration, she glanced at Wu Li beside her. He stood with his arms crossed, lazily leaning against the doorframe. His gaze easily cleared the wall of men, peering right into the room.
Damn it, being tall really had its perks.
"What's going on in there?" Chai Xiaomi poked his arm. "Is this room infested with rats too?"
Wu Li cast a cool glance at her. "Do you not have eyes of your own?"
Chai Xiaomi was speechless.
I have eyes, but I don't have the height!
She was absolutely certain this guy was a Scorpio!
It was just a kiss, yet he was still holding a grudge. She had even lied and told him she didn't remember it, but he was still brooding and refusing to show her a kind face.
Forget it, if you want something done right, do it yourself.
She turned around and gently patted the back of the guard in front of her.
"Excuse me..."
The man was already distressed over the sudden incident involving the chief escort's wife. Annoyed by the interruption, his temper flared. Without even turning his head, he waved a hand dismissively. "Quiet! Can't you see we're in the middle of a mess?"
After snapping so gruffly, he turned around impatiently, only to be met with a small face peering out from a white fox-fur cloak.
Her face was fair and luminous, framed by the soft fur. Her eyes were bright and clear, though faint dark circles gave her a slightly haggard look. She was gazing up at him with an apologetic expression.
The guard's irritation instantly vanished. His dark face flushed bright red, and a wave of embarrassment washed over him for his earlier rudeness.
He had traveled far and wide and seen much of the world, but he had never encountered such a delicate and charming girl.
"I-I'm sorry, miss." He scratched his head awkwardly, his gruff voice unconsciously softening. "Did... did you need something?"
"Sorry to bother you, brother," Chai Xiaomi gave him a friendly smile, her eyes curving into sweet crescents. She spoke with utmost politeness. "Did that scream just now come from this room? Has something happened?"
Her sweet, caring smile warmed the guard's heart, and he was just about to explain the situation to her in detail.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and yanked the girl away without a word.
The guard looked over to see a handsome young man.
"A woman inside attempted suicide," he said, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead into the room as he answered the girl. "She tried to hang herself but was cut down. Someone is treating her now."
He paused, then added, "It's not a pretty sight. Don't go trying to push your way in."
His tone held not a shred of sympathy. It was coldly detached, carrying a hint of someone watching a spectacle.
Seeing the young man's callous attitude and rough treatment of the girl, an inexplicable anger flared up in the guard. The urge to play the hero surged within him. "Keep your hands to yourself! The lady was asking me. Who gave you the right to interrupt?"
Wu Li frowned almost imperceptibly. He finally pulled his gaze away from the room and let it rest on the guard's face.
"The one she asked first was me."
"You..." The guard was about to argue back, but a sudden, sharp pain struck his back. This was immediately followed by an unbearable, full-body itch. However, not wanting to lose face in front of the pretty girl, he gritted his teeth and forced himself not to scratch. His face turned a deep, purplish red.
But when he looked up again, the flash of a pale pink skirt had already slipped through the gaps in the crowd.
The girl was long gone.
The moment Chai Xiaomi heard someone had hanged themselves, her heart skipped a beat. Caring about nothing else, she ducked her head and shoved her way into the crowd.
"Excuse me! Coming through!"
Her mind was entirely focused on the "golden window for rescue." People in ancient times wouldn't have any concept of modern first aid; she couldn't afford to waste a single second.
When she finally squeezed her way to the front, she realized the person treating the victim was Jiang Zhiyu. He was kneeling on the floor, his fingers pressed against the victim's wrist as he concentrated on taking her pulse.
A woman lay on the ground, her face a purplish-blue. A deep red ligature mark around her neck looked shockingly grim.
It was a textbook case of asphyxiation.
Back when she was taking swimming lessons, her instructor had specifically taught them standard CPR and artificial respiration.
"Brother Yu, let me handle this! I can save her!" Without waiting for a response, she nudged Jiang Zhiyu's shoulder.
Jiang Zhiyu paused, turning to meet her gaze, which was filled with absolute certainty.
An inexplicable sense of trust washed over him. Without asking a single question, he immediately stepped aside to give her room.
Chai Xiaomi instantly dropped to her knees beside the woman. Overlapping her hands, she found the correct compression point and began pushing down with rhythmic force.
As she pumped, she started humming a song out loud.
Jiang Zhiyu choked back a gasp, suddenly questioning the blind trust he had just placed in her.
"Wh-what are you doing to Lady Yue?!" The chief escort beside them, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes, looked utterly horrified and furious.
"Saving her life! Don't interrupt me!"
Chai Xiaomi didn't even lift her head. She threw out a hasty reply, having no time to explain further, and kept singing:
"The boundless horizon is my love, at the foot of the rolling green hills the flowers bloom!"
"What kind of rhythm is the most swinging, what kind of song brings the most joy!"
Her instructor had specifically used the song The Most Dazzling Folk Style for their training, calling it the ultimate life-saving track. Pushing to its beat ensured a steady compression rate without messing up the count.
But as the chief escort watched his wife's limp body jolt with every thrust from this young girl, his blood ran cold. Seeing that she wasn't just continuing but was actually getting into the song, grief and fury overwhelmed him. With a wail, he lunged at her.
"Stop! Stop it right now!"
Jiang Zhiyu was so baffled by Chai Xiaomi's bizarre "medical treatment" that his reaction was a second too slow. Just as the chief escort was about to tackle Chai Xiaomi—
A dark shadow blurred past.
A cold bow swung from behind, slipping precisely over the man's head. The taut bowstring snapped tightly against his throat.
The chief escort's forward momentum halted instantly as a sharp pain flared in his neck.
Wu Li stood behind him, gripping the bow. With a slight flick of his wrist, he pulled back gently. His voice was entirely devoid of emotion. "What's the rush? She hasn't crushed her to death yet."
In pain and furious, the chief escort hissed a threat. "If anything happens to Lady Yue, I won't let any of you off!"
Before he even finished speaking, another figure flashed into view.
The crescent daggers in Song Yueyao's hands spun, flashing with cold light. In the next instant, a razor-sharp tip was pressed against the chief escort's jaw. "Don't you dare touch my sister! She's trying to save your wife out of the goodness of her heart. Don't be ungrateful!"
"Just look at her—" Song Yueyao turned her head, gesturing toward her sister.
She turned just in time to see Chai Xiaomi's frantic compressions hit an energetic crescendo, her voice belting out loud and clear: "You are the most beautiful cloud in my sky!"
"She... ahem!" Choking on the wildly inappropriate singing, Song Yueyao let out a light cough and quickly turned her face back around. "She is trying so hard," she declared with absolute certainty. "Isn't that right, Jiang Zhiyu!"
"Yes, yes, absolutely!" Jiang Zhiyu hastily chimed in, nodding in eager agreement. He then turned to the escort leader, his tone gentle and persuasive. "Please calm your anger for now, sir. It wouldn't hurt to just observe for a moment longer."
