"Husband, why do you smell of blood?…"
Wang Yulan's palms were slick with sweat.
Sticky and damp, the sensation involuntarily brought her back to the days when she was confined in a pitch-black dungeon, endless tears sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto her neck.
The man's roars and the lash of the whip cut through her heart.
They made her despair, helpless, and sick.
Daya noticed her distress immediately.
She took Wang Yulan's hand and whispered soothingly, "It's all over. Trust me, I will avenge you. I won't let you suffer that kind of pain and torment again…"
The moment their fingers touched, the hollow look in Wang Yulan's eyes slowly began to focus.
She didn't look at Daya, her voice low and hoarse: "No matter what I do, you'll forgive me and understand me, right?"
Daya didn't understand, but she nodded firmly: "No matter what you do, I'll stand with you through it all."
Wang Yulan gripped Daya's hand back, her force somewhat heavy, but Daya didn't struggle. Instead, she gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind Wang Yulan's ear: "Don't be afraid."
After a few breaths, Wang Yulan said, "I want to eat the magnolia flower cakes you brought."
Daya was delighted to hear this and immediately stood up: "I'll go get them for you!"
She headed toward the bundle placed deep in the cave, but she had only taken a few steps when she heard hurried, even desperate footsteps behind her.
Daya sensed something and turned around, only to see Wang Yulan lunging at Zhang Da with a silver hairpin!
A soft "thud" sounded.
The sharpened silver hairpin plunged into Zhang Da's neck, and a few drops of warm liquid sprayed out, splattering onto Wang Yulan's face.
Blood.
It was blood.
Her body trembled violently, and Wang Yulan involuntarily stepped back, yet she felt no fear.
"He's human too—he bleeds, he fears, he… dies."
That soft whisper echoed in her mind.
Fighting back was this simple.
Wang Yulan suddenly lunged at him again.
The silver hairpin was pulled out and stabbed in again, once, twice, three times… until the flesh around Zhang Da's shoulder and neck was a bloody mess.
Daya snapped back to her senses, rushed over, and hugged her, shouting urgently: "You can't keep going—he's about to die!"
Wang Yulan struggled fiercely, tears and blood mingling on her face: "I want him dead! He deserves to die, deserves to die!"
In the struggle, the silver hairpin fell to the ground.
Daya held her tight, her voice trembling: "He deserves to die, but not now. Don't let him dirty your clean hands."
"No, you don't understand!" Wang Yulan's eyes were bloodshot as she shouted back, "If I don't kill him with my own hands, I'll never have peace!"
Daya's body stiffened, and her grip on Wang Yulan loosened slightly.
At that moment, Erya, who had been frozen in terror, suddenly screamed: "Sister, behind you!"
Daya snapped back to attention, but Zhang Da had already broken free at some point, a murderous gleam in his eyes as he charged at her with the silver hairpin!
In her pitch-black pupils, Zhang Da's ferocious face grew larger inch by inch. Daya didn't even have time to close her eyes before he was upon her!
Her breath froze in that instant.
But the next moment, she was knocked to the ground by a sudden force!
She jerked her head up to look—Wang Yulan was standing in front of her!
Daya's eyes nearly split open with fury, and the desperate cry of "No!" had barely left her lips when Zhang Da suddenly collapsed to his knees as if his legs had given out, the silver hairpin in his hand nearly flying out from the impact!
Erya, quick-eyed and sharp-handed, grabbed a stone and threw it at Zhang Da, her voice shaking: "Don't you dare move!"
That strike was nothing more than the last gasp of a spent arrow. Zhang Da's vision blurred and darkened, the wound at his neck cutting to the bone, the pain so intense he nearly fainted.
He staggered to his feet, supporting himself against the stone wall as he fled out of the cave.
"Bitch, I'll make you pay!"
Blood dripped through his fingers. Zhang Da panted heavily, grinding his teeth.
Though badly wounded, his fleeing steps were not slow. His bedraggled figure swiftly wove through the trees and grass, and within moments, that dim cave was no longer in sight.
"Once I find the antidote, I'll bring men up the mountain and tear you all apart!" Zhang Da said viciously, not slowing his pace.
"Still thinking about the antidote?" Two delicate laughs suddenly sounded from above his head.
That familiar voice—Zhang Da would never forget it in this lifetime or the next.
His body froze beyond his control. Trembling, he raised his head, and sure enough, saw a green skirt hanging down. Jiang Weiyao was sitting in the tree, smiling brightly as she looked at him.
The moment Zhang Da saw her smile, he wanted to kneel. Forcing himself, he snarled viciously: "What do you want?!"
Jiang Weiyao casually tossed a few pebbles in her hand: "I don't want anything. I just wanted to tell you that there is no antidote, because you… were never poisoned at all."
"What?!" Zhang Da's face twisted.
"I didn't expect you to be this stupid either—whatever I said, you believed." Jiang Weiyao said innocently: "That was just a ten-ingredient tonic pill. The apothecary sells them for quite a lot. You really got a bargain."
Veins bulged on his forehead. Zhang Da was trembling with rage, but he knew he was no match for Jiang Weiyao. With all his strength, he hurled the silver hairpin at her.
Seizing the moment Jiang Weiyao dodged, he ran desperately forward, shouting as he ran: "Help—"
His words cut off abruptly. Zhang Da's eyes went wide, a streak of blood spilling from his lips. His fat body crashed to the ground, dying with his eyes still open.
Leaping down from the tree, Jiang Weiyao approached and pulled out the silver hairpin that had struck dead center in his neck.
Under the cold, clear moonlight, the bright red blood on the silver hairpin was starkly visible.
From the bushes behind her came a faint rustling and a woman's abruptly stifled cry of shock.
Only then did Jiang Weiyao slowly turn around, her apricot eyes curving as she smiled at Wang Yulan, who had collapsed to the ground, and feigned surprise: "Oh my, someone actually dared to peek."
"What to do? My secret has been discovered by you…" Toying with the silver hairpin, Jiang Weiyao walked slowly closer, her expression unreadable.
Wang Yulan was so frightened she scrambled backward on hands and feet, her body shaking like a sieve.
She never would have imagined that the usually soft-spoken Lady Jiang had such a side to her.
She had killed a person so calmly and casually!
Crouching down, Jiang Weiyao tilted her head to look at her: "Why haven't you run yet? Don't you know what happens to those who spy on another's secrets?"
Fear welled up from deep within. Wang Yulan didn't dare look at her, her body trembling even harder.
"Who is Li Anbo colluding with in the county office, and where are the selected Flower Maidens being sent?"
Bound tightly with ropes, the villagers could not hide the terror on their faces. Hearing Pei Yunheng's indifferent voice ring out, they couldn't help but tremble even more.
"I-I-I don't know. I just took his money and came up the mountain to find you."
"Right, right, I really don't know!"
"Let us go—we were only following orders."
His dark eyes went straight to the last person who had spoken to beg for mercy. Pei Yunheng's thin lips curved slightly, yet there was no smile on his face: "You. Speak."
"I really don't know… Ah!"
Before the man's quibbling words could finish, a blade sank into his leg, turning his sentence into a shrill scream.
Pei Yunheng's dark eyes looked at him flatly as he said calmly, "You have two chances left. Think carefully about how you should answer me."
Cold sweat poured down the man's face, his eyes filled with terror.
He neither understood where he had revealed a flaw, nor could he shake the feeling that Pei Yunheng's bearing seemed familiar.
His eyes darted around, and he suddenly had an epiphany: "You… you're with the authorities, you must be with the authorities!"
Only someone who worked at the yamen could carry himself with such an air.
Yet he had dealt with yamen runners before, and none of them had ever struck such bone-deep fear into a person's heart.
He didn't seem like a yamen runner either—more like a county magistrate… No, not like a county magistrate either, but he couldn't think of any official greater than a county magistrate.
Pei Yunheng's voice was calm: "One last chance."
The man trembled all over: "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Dark clouds gathered and dispersed, and the rain that had been brewing all day never did fall. A cool night breeze blew through the branches, rustling the leaves—yet it could not cover the sound of footsteps.
"…Who's there?"
Pei Yunheng had only walked half the return journey when he heard footsteps wandering in the dense forest. Just then a night breeze swept past, carrying a faint floral scent.
He did not speak. Instead, the owner of the footsteps could not hold back and asked in a trembling voice.
Receiving no reply, a round head peeked out from behind a tree, looking over in what it clearly believed was a concealed manner.
"Husband!"
The moment their eyes met, Jiang Weiyao cried out joyfully and lunged straight at Pei Yunheng.
But this time, before she could get close, Pei Yunheng dodged aside.
He asked calmly, "Why are you here?"
"Of course I was worried about you!" Jiang Weiyao looked at him aggrievedly. "How could I really run off and leave you alone in danger?"
Pei Yunheng's brow arched slightly: "Then you should be even less likely to be here."
This place was still some distance from where they had parted ways.
"W-well, didn't you tell me to leave quickly? I was afraid you'd be angry if I turned back…" Jiang Weiyao's gaze shifted evasively, and her voice involuntarily weakened.
Pei Yunheng looked at her expressionlessly.
"I was scared! I was scared, alright!"
Jiang Weiyao, exasperated into anger, decided to abandon all pretense: "I did intend to go back, but I was truly terrified. The mountain forest is so dark, and every so often there are wild beasts howling. I—I just thought I'd hide here and wait for you to come back…"
"I'd already made up my mind—if you didn't return in another quarter hour, I was going to go find you. Really, look, I even found a weapon!"
Afraid Pei Yunheng wouldn't believe her, Jiang Weiyao hastily produced her carefully prepared weapon—
A tree branch.
Two leaves still clung to it, teetering on the verge of falling, and it was not even as thick as a finger.
Aside from tickling an enemy, Pei Yunheng could not think of a second use for it.
He let out a light scoff.
"Don't laugh." Jiang Weiyao looked at him pitifully. "Husband, you're not hurt, are you? If anything happened to you, I wouldn't want to live either…"
This statement, Pei Yunheng did not take with a grain of salt.
Because he firmly believed its credibility was zero.
Too lazy to deal with her sweet talk any further, Pei Yunheng headed toward the cave.
"Husband, wait for me!"
Jiang Weiyao hurried after him, tugging at his sleeve: "Quick, let me see if you're hurt?"
Pei Yunheng was caught by her step, his brow barely furrowing before she wrinkled her nose, sniffed twice, and asked in a hesitant tone: "Husband, why do I smell blood on you…"
He came to a complete stop, turned around, and with a slight raise of his sword-like brows, asked leisurely with a hint of playfulness in his voice: "And since when does a sheltered young lady recognize the scent of blood?"