When Zhang Shun heard the voice, he clenched his teeth and tried to bite through his tongue again.
Xu Ancheng hurriedly grabbed his jaw, but he didn’t get a proper hold. With a sudden crack, Zhang Shun’s jaw was dislocated and twisted to one side.
The air fell silent.
Qin Qiwu and Ji Zhaoxi stared at him in shock. They hadn’t expected Young Master Xu to be so skilled at torturing people.
Xu Ancheng’s face flushed scarlet, and he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t control my strength…”
With his jaw bent out of shape, Zhang Shun closed his eyes in utter despair.
Xu Ancheng secretly glanced at Qin Qiwu. Seeing that she wasn’t frightened of him and was instead smiling at him, his heart began pounding wildly.
He hurriedly looked away. “I’ll try again.”
He had only just learned this technique. Young Master Fu had made it look so effortless and impressive that he’d wanted to imitate him, but the result…
Watching Xu Ancheng’s awkward expression, Qin Qiwu said softly, “Young Master Xu, do we still need Zhang Shun? If not, just let him bite through his tongue and be done with it.”
Ji Zhaoxi looked up from what she was doing and nodded. “Yes, yes.”
Li Fu wept silently inside. At last, he could get a good night’s sleep.
Xu Ancheng stood to the side, embarrassed. “Young Master Fu, could you please put Young Master Zhang’s jaw back in place?”
It would be best to let Young Master Zhang take care of his own life.
Fu Xianyan silently reset Zhang Shun’s jaw.
Thus, under everyone’s expectant gazes, Zhang Shun prepared to end his own life.
He had failed the mission. Returning would only mean a fate worse than death, so he might as well die quickly.
“Young Master Zhang, please,” Xu Ancheng said, his voice tinged with regret.
Qin Qiwu turned around and sighed.
Li Fu stared at him with burning eyes. This Zhang Shun absolutely could not be allowed to remain alive!
Fu Xianyan quietly sipped his tea. Ji Zhaoxi kindly reminded him, “It’ll be a little bloody. If you’re scared, you can hide behind me.”
Fu Xianyan was about to say there was no need, but when he saw the look of anticipation on Ji Zhaoxi’s face, he sighed. “Then thank you, Miss Ji.”
Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes curved into a smile. “You’re welcome, Young Master Fu. Protecting you is my duty.”
This duty hadn’t been assigned to her by Qin Qiwu or Xu Ancheng, nor had it come from the emperor or her father. It was a duty she had assigned to herself.
A disciplined person should hold herself to strict standards!
Upholding justice and protecting the weak was the basic duty of a hero-in-training!
Li Fu had initially been quite excited, but after hearing Ji Zhaoxi say that, he began to feel frightened too.
He crouched behind Ji Zhaoxi and was just about to grab her sleeve when someone snatched it away first.
Fu Xianyan looked down at him from above, his brows furrowed.
“Men and women should not touch.”
Li Fu: …
The last person who should have said that was this man!
He silently hid behind Qin Qiwu instead.
When Qin Qiwu saw him, she kindly nudged him farther inside. “Young Master Li, don’t be afraid.”
Li Fu’s tears were about to fall.
So gentle. Truly so gentle. She and a certain someone were worlds apart.
At that moment, Fu Xianyan was leaning against the wall, pulling Ji Zhaoxi’s sleeve over his eyes. Through the thin fabric, the faint scent of her lingered around his nose.
Fu Xianyan felt the gu insects in his chest begin to run wild again.
One day, he would dig all these things out…
“Fu Xianyan, I didn’t know you were such a coward,” Ji Zhaoxi teased him in a low voice.
“Mm.”
Leaning against the wall, Fu Xianyan’s eyelashes lowered slightly beneath the sleeve, but he didn’t close his eyes. Through the hazy fabric, he boldly watched the person in front of him.
He watched her brows draw together slightly, then looked at her clear, bright eyes and the lips that opened and closed as she spoke.
“Fu Xianyan, Young Master Xu has already… wrapped him up,” Ji Zhaoxi reported on Xu Ancheng’s progress.
Fu Xianyan said nothing. His thoughts gradually drifted away.
He suddenly felt like eating a rabbit-shaped sugar painting. And that sesame flatbread too…
Suddenly, someone pulled the sleeve away.
His vision brightened all at once, and her face appeared before him without warning. He could even see her eyelashes with perfect clarity.
Fu Xianyan’s breath caught, and his heartbeat seemed to stop for an instant.
Their eyes met.
“Fu Xianyan, it’s done.”
Seeing how frightened Fu Xianyan looked, Ji Zhaoxi couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
Fu Xianyan lowered his head, his fingers curling subtly inside his sleeve.
How strange. Could she also be skilled in gu magic? Was that why the poison inside him was acting up so violently…
Xu Ancheng was a man who placed great importance on etiquette.
First, he wiped away the blood on the floor. Although Li Fu repeatedly said he could clean it himself, Xu Ancheng felt that the mess had been caused by him and that he should deal with it personally.
After cleaning the floor, Xu Ancheng gave Li Fu some silver, including compensation for his emotional distress.
Once everything was taken care of, Xu Ancheng carried Zhang Shun outside and buried him.
Qin Qiwu and Ji Zhaoxi had no idea where he was buried, but it was surely somewhere with excellent feng shui. Xu Ancheng had always been a kind man.
“Young Master Li, you can sleep peacefully from now on,” Qin Qiwu said gently.
Li Fu nodded eagerly.
So this was where his connection with these distinguished guests ended?
Actually, he still wanted to travel with them for a few more days.
It wasn’t for the money. Mainly, he had already grown attached to them.
After everything had been dealt with, the group finally had time to return to their rooms and rest. The inn gradually returned to peace.
The half-burned candle on the table continued to flicker as Qin Qiwu lay on the bed, watching the shadows cast on the wall.
She thought back to everything that had happened that night. Everyone had helped capture the intruder, but she hadn’t been able to do anything.
Even the physically frail Young Master Fu had used his fan to block a hidden weapon…
Qin Qiwu sighed. Sometimes, she truly felt like she was a burden to everyone.
She looked at Ji Zhaoxi on the other bed and called softly, “Miss Ji…”
Ji Zhaoxi gave a muffled response, buried beneath the quilt. She was so sleepy that she hadn’t even opened her eyes.
“Miss Ji, can you teach me how to use a sword in the future? I want to fight alongside all of you too,” Qin Qiwu asked quietly.
“All right. From now on, you’re my disciple…” Ji Zhaoxi murmured hazily in her sleep.
Qin Qiwu buried her face in the quilt and laughed softly.
Wonderful. From now on, she wouldn’t have to hide behind Miss Ji and Young Master Xu anymore.
As Qin Qiwu watched the shadows, she gradually began thinking about the way Xu Ancheng had handed her the flatbread. She bit her lip, her face growing warm.
That flatbread had been the most delicious one she had ever eaten in her life.
Qin Qiwu wasn’t the only one unable to sleep that night. Someone in the room next door was awake as well.
Xu Ancheng lay on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
To be honest, although he and Fu Xianyan had been sharing a room for some time, they had barely spoken to each other.
Xu Ancheng suddenly felt like discussing something serious with Fu Xianyan.
He cleared his throat. “Young Master Fu, do you know what it feels like to fall in love with someone?”
…
The only response was silence.
Xu Ancheng sighed. He hadn’t expected Young Master Fu to have already fallen asleep. He had been hoping to chat with him for a while.
At that moment, Fu Xianyan was quietly gazing at the moon outside the window. Perhaps he had been staring for too long—the moon gradually blurred before his eyes.
Then, within the moon, the shape of a rabbit made from spun sugar slowly emerged. Its body was round and plump, with two ears standing upright. The sugar was crystal-clear and translucent, yet somehow seemed to carry a hint of warmth.
