The old escort officer froze for a moment, but he wasn’t frightened in the slightest. His expression darkened.
“You stinking bitch, do you even know how to use that big knife?”
“With those skinny arms and legs, you can barely hold the knife steady, yet you think you can kill me?”
“Be a good girl, and I can still make you feel like you’re in heaven. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you die beneath me.”
Listening to his filthy words, the memories in Wei Ning’s mind became clearer.
After nightfall, the three escort officers had dragged her—or rather, the original owner of this body—out from among her sleeping family members, intending to assault her.
The original owner had desperately cried and struggled, but the family members lying nearby remained completely motionless, as though they were already dead.
Only her elder brother, Wei Yan, heard her cries and rushed out to save her.
Unfortunately, Wei Yan was a frail scholar and was no match for the three burly escort officers. He was subdued within a few moves.
While struggling desperately, the original owner slammed into the corner of the wall and suffered a deep gash on her forehead. She was already weak and sickly, and eventually breathed her last.
That gave Wei Ning the chance to cross over into her body.
Before Wei Ning could think any further, the old escort officer fearlessly strode forward and reached out to snatch the knife from her hand.
He knew that these pampered young ladies who couldn’t even overpower a chicken wouldn’t dare hurt anyone. They were merely putting on an act to frighten him.
From not far away, Wei Yan saw what was happening. Seeing Wei Ning standing there in a daze, he anxiously shouted,
“Ning’er! Ning’er, don’t be afraid! Kill him! Kill that bastard!”
Wei Ning finally snapped back to reality.
This time, she showed no mercy.
She swung the knife viciously at the old escort officer’s outstretched hand.
The old escort officer hadn’t expected Wei Ning to actually use the knife. Caught off guard, he hurriedly pulled his hand back, but he was a moment too slow.
A deep gash immediately appeared across his arm.
Large drops of blood sprayed out continuously.
Enraged, he suddenly looked up at Wei Ning. Before he could say or do anything—
Wei Ning’s second strike had already slashed across his throat.
His major artery was severed, and blood sprayed out, splattering Wei Ning’s entire face.
The warm blood covered her eyes and face. It was sticky, hot, and reeked of blood.
Her vision immediately turned completely red and blurry.
Wei Ning blinked, but everything was still a bloody blur.
She could only raise the hand that wasn’t holding the knife and blindly wipe her face several times before her vision finally cleared.
The temple fell completely silent.
The escort officer who had been lying on the ground stopped groaning. The younger escort officer and Wei Yan were both stunned.
The old escort officer clutched his throat.
After standing frozen for several seconds, he suddenly collapsed to the ground.
His body twitched twice, blood continuously bubbling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes remained wide open.
He was dead.
The escort officer who had previously been lying on the ground was startled.
Seeing Wei Ning staring at him, he fearfully scooted backward two steps.
“M-Miss Wei, you… you can’t kill me! I’m a government officer!”
“Oh? Wasn’t he one too?”
Wei Ning expressionlessly pointed at the corpse of the old escort officer on the ground.
No one noticed that the hand holding the knife was trembling slightly.
She had killed someone!
Although she had been a police officer in her previous life, she had been a forensic assistant—a civilian employee.
She had seen countless corpses, but this was the first time she had actually killed someone.
Killing a person was completely different from slaughtering chickens or ducks.
The escort officer’s eyes darted around as he desperately tried to think of a reason that might persuade Wei Ning.
“But we’re the escort officers responsible for bringing your Wei family to exile. We’ll reach Yinzhou tomorrow! We need to hand you over to the local authorities so your household registration can be transferred to military households in Yinzhou.”
“If you kill us, there will be no one to complete the handover. Your Wei family will only be considered fugitives.”
Wei Ning didn’t understand any of this.
She instinctively looked toward Wei Yan.
Wei Yan had already recovered and nodded at her.
“You, let him go… Let Wei Yan go.”
Wei Ning shouted at the younger escort officer.
For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to call him “Big Brother.” The word felt strangely awkward.
“Let him go?” The younger escort officer sneered.
“You think killing Old Zhang means you can kill me too?”
“Old Zhang was simply careless. If you dare make another move, I’ll immediately finish off Young Master Wei.”
As he spoke, he jerked his chin toward the dozen or so people from the Wei family lying motionless in the temple.
“Besides, aren’t there more than a dozen members of the Wei family here? Do you dare make a move?”
Damn it.
He’s right.
Wei Ning gritted her teeth inwardly.
Although they weren’t her family, she had taken the original owner’s body and was only alive because of her. She couldn’t simply ignore their lives.
Just as Wei Ning was frowning, completely at a loss for what to do, the escort officer lying on the ground took advantage of her distraction.
He crawled and rolled across the floor, using both his hands and feet to quickly make his way toward the younger escort officer.
He shakily stood up, ignoring the agonizing pain between his legs.
He suddenly pulled the large saber hanging from the younger escort officer’s waist.
Pointing it viciously at Wei Ning, he snarled,
“You stinking bitch! Just wait. I’ll take good care of you later. How dare you cripple my manhood!”
Wei Ning said nothing.
She simply stared at him quietly.
She planted the large saber into the ground and leaned half her body weight against it.
The bleeding from her forehead still hadn’t stopped. Her vision kept going dark, and her head felt dizzy. She was probably losing too much blood.
Wei Ning licked her dry, cracked lips.
Forget saving the original owner’s family—she might not even survive herself.
“Heh! What’s this? What kind of play are you putting on?”
A powerful male voice suddenly came from outside the temple.
More than twenty young government officers stood outside the wide-open temple doors.
They wore blue-green uniforms, felt hats, belts with identification plaques hanging from them, and sabers at their waists. Their black official boots were soaked from the rain. Their figures were tall and straight, and their faces were stern and cold.
At the very front stood a man in his twenties wearing a blue-green round-collared robe with a bear insignia embroidered on his chest and a black official hat.
He had wheat-colored skin and sharp, hard features.
There was a diagonal scar-like gap through his left eyebrow, as though someone had once slashed him there. No hair grew from that spot anymore.
The corner of his mouth curled upward in a crooked smile as he casually teased the people inside the temple.
Yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.
This outfit…
He looked like a member of the Imperial Guards!
Wei Ning had been too focused on what was happening inside and hadn’t noticed anyone outside.
But how could more than twenty people have walked up without making much noise?
She had no idea how long they had been standing there.
Had they seen her kill someone?
After speaking, the man didn’t bother waiting for an answer. He simply lifted his foot and stepped into the temple.
He stopped beside the fire not far from Wei Ning.
The Imperial Guards behind him followed him inside and stood silently behind their leader.
Only then did Wei Ning notice that most of their clothes were soaked through. A damp, bone-chilling cold swept toward her, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
She lowered her eyes and glanced at her own thin, grayish-white prison clothes.
They were now covered in bloodstains.
The iron shackles on her hands and feet had already been removed by the escort officers earlier. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to move so freely just now.
“What is it?”
The leader’s cold voice rang out.
“Do I need to ask a second time?”
His gaze shifted toward the two remaining escort officers.
The escort officer holding the saber hurriedly sheathed it.
His previous arrogance and cruelty had vanished completely.
He bent over submissively, plastering a flattering smile across his face.
“My lord, this prisoner rebelled and killed one of our fellow officers.”
“Oh… So Young Master Wei rebelled too?”
The leader responded casually, his eyes sweeping toward Wei Yan, who was still being held down by the younger escort officer.
The burly escort officer was quick to understand the situation.
He immediately pulled the younger escort officer away.
The younger officer released Wei Yan and obediently stood beside the burly officer.
Freed at last, Wei Yan collapsed onto the ground and coughed violently several times.
The burly escort officer quickly explained,
“This is just a misunderstanding, Young Master Wei. Lu Meng acted impulsively, so we had no choice but to restrain him.”
Wei Yan’s hands were still twisted behind his back, locked in shackles.
To bring his hands around to the front, he had to raise both arms high and maneuver them over his head.
But the old escort officer had just twisted one of his arms painfully.
He could no longer lift it.
Using his hands against the ground for support, Wei Yan struggled to regain his balance with his feet and finally managed to stand.
He then stumbled toward Wei Ning, taking uneven steps.
Bending down, he carefully examined her from head to toe.
His gaze finally settled on the blood still flowing from her forehead.
His eyes turned red.
Filled with worry and concern, he asked in a choked voice,
“Ning’er, are you all right?”