In an instant, all the color drained from Meng Qing’s face, turning him as pale as paper.
Shinian was also thoroughly bewildered. Does this novel even have NP plots?
Yet as a police officer, even though these were two-dimensional fictional characters, he would absolutely never allow such a thing to happen right before his eyes.
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll figure something out,” Shinian mouthed silently to Meng Qing, signaling him not to panic.
The voices outside continued, delivering Hu San’s nauseatingly lewd laughter: “Alright, I’ve been wanting to try it out anyway. Besides, the other one looks pretty hot too an icy beauty. The two of us can take one each, or swap halfway through, hahahahahaha.”
“Hahahahaha, let me go take a quick dump, and then we’ll…”
“Now that you mention it, I’m getting the urge too. Let’s go together, hahahahaha.”
Fuck, Shinian cursed mentally, they actually dare to target me too. “You better not let me break free from these ropes, or I’ll snap both your roots right off!”
“What you said do you know martial arts?” Hearing this, Meng Qing found a glimmer of a plan; things would be much easier now. “If I untie your ropes, can you take care of both of them?”
“Dealing with two small fry is a piece of cake, but you’re tied so far away from me—how are you going to untie this rope?”
Meng Qing was locked near the window, while Shinian was bound tightly to a pillar on the exact opposite side; the two of them couldn’t possibly reach each other.
“I have a way.” Leaning against the wall, Meng Qing forced himself to stand up with great difficulty. He pulled out his handkerchief, placed it between his teeth to bite down on, and wedged his chained wrist into the gap of the window frame.
Shinian widened his eyes, instantly grasping what he intended to do. “Wait, you…”
Crack. Meng Qing hardened his heart and wrenched his wrist, dislocating the joint. (Please don’t misunderstand—it was just dislocating the bone out of its socket, not cutting off his hand.)
With the wrist bone dislocated, the impossibly narrow iron chain was no longer an obstacle. Shinian watched as Meng Qing supported his left hand and successfully freed himself from the chains.
“Ngh…” Cold sweat poured down in an instant, his breathing grew ragged, and his entire body shook violently from the agonizing pain. He bit down hard on the handkerchief, terrified that he might cry out, while tears streamed uncontrollably in large droplets down his face.
His grandfather had been a physician specializing in trauma and bone-setting during his life. When he was young, little Meng Qing would watch his grandfather treat patients on the side, and after a long time, he picked up quite a bit of knowledge. Later on, during a bout of careless childhood play, he took a tumble in the fields and dislocated his arm; recalling his grandfather’s methods, he had successfully relocated the joint himself. At the time, his grandfather even praised him for his natural talent, saying Qingqing could grow up to be a doctor too. Unfortunately, not long after, a merciless cold took his grandfather’s life, and his parents sold the medical clinic, bringing his dream of becoming a healer to an abrupt halt.
With these thoughts, Meng Qing’s tears flowed even more fiercely, whether from the excruciating pain in his body or the haunting ache of missing his grandfather.
Enduring the agony, Meng Qing reset his wrist joint, staggered over to Shinian, and began working on the knots. The ropes were tied too tightly, and with his hands still trembling uncontrollably and lacking strength, he failed to untie them for a moment.
Footsteps echoed from outside—they were back!
“Don’t rush, Meng Qing, it’s okay, take your time,” Shinian comforted him.
Catching sight of a sharp stone out of the corner of his eye, Meng Qing thought to himself: Wonderful, with a tool, the speed will be much faster. The hemp rope already had a frayed tear.
Bang— The door was kicked open.
“Damn it, Big Brother, they’re trying to run!”
Hu Si roared, lunging forward to grab Meng Qing.
Fortunately, in the very last second, the rope was successfully severed. Shinian moved with lightning speed, throwing an arm around Meng Qing to pull him tightly into his embrace, and then delivered a precise, vicious kick straight to Hu Si’s crotch.
“Aaaaaahhhhh!” Hu Si collapsed onto the floor, howling in agonizing pain.
“How does it feel to have your bloodline cut off?” Shinian hoisted Meng Qing up and flashed a triumphant smile at him.
“Aaaaaah, I’m going to kill you!”
“Your Highness, we’ve found it!” Chenbi’s voice carried barely containable excitement. “The Zhao family has extensive dealings with many high-ranking officials and nobles, most frequently with Minister of Revenue Zhang Kang. This subordinate discovered he owns an estate by the Yongjia River outside the West City, registered under his wet nurse’s name. Following this lead, villagers reported that a stranger recently came to stay there temporarily. This subordinate believes this person is none other than Zhao Tianying.”
“Good! Chenbi, take the manor’s guards and Imperial Physician Chen, and follow me to make the arrest. Leave the Patrol Office to continue searching within the city. Move out immediately!”
Ji Yanche hadn’t closed his eyes for a day and a night. His poison had flared up once last night, but the physical pain paled in comparison to the agony in his heart. Every single moment of delay added another layer of danger for Meng Qing; he couldn’t even bear to imagine the consequences of losing Meng Qing.
Clutching the scabbard of his sword tightly, Ji Yanche experienced remorse for the very first time—cursing his own utter incompetence for failing to protect his beloved.
I must bring Qingqing back safely.
Hu San and Hu Si curled up in the corner of the room, looking utterly wretched and beaten to within an inch of their lives.
“W-what kind of person are you, and what kind of… what kind of martial arts is that?” Hu San was completely broken; he had never encountered such fighting techniques before and had been left utterly powerless to defend himself.
Shinian smiled faintly. “If you live a little longer, you might just find out. But I can tell you right now it’s Taekwondo!” The moment those words fell, he whipped his leg up and delivered another heavy kick to Hu San’s stomach. A wave of agonizing pain struck Hu San, who vomited a mouthful of acidic bile before his vision went black and he passed out cold on the spot.
“How are you holding up? Can you walk?” Shinian turned to look at Meng Qing, asking with concern.
Seeing Meng Qing nod, the two of them leaned on each other for support and slipped out of the firewood room.
As luck would have it, Meng Qing’s gaze instantly locked onto Zhao Tianying, who was conversing with someone in the distance. His heart seized violently, and he instinctively gripped Shinian’s forearm tight to signal that danger was upon them.
Yet Meng Qing’s clothes were far too conspicuous; Zhao Tianying noticed him in a split second. His face darkened as he spat out a harsh curse and shouted to his nearby subordinates: “After them!”
Shinian reacted with swift decisiveness, spinning around without a second thought to shove Meng Qing forward. “Run! Go find someone to save me.”
Meng Qing didn’t dare delay, muttering a quick “wait for me” before turning to sprint away.
The sound of Shinian clashing fiercely with those men echoed behind him, every blow striking like a hammer against Meng Qing’s heart. Meng Qing was burning with anxiety, yet his body grew weaker by the second. Having consumed neither food nor water while running a high fever, his legs felt as though they had been filled with lead, making every single step exceptionally heavy.
I can’t stop. I don’t even know that person’s name yet; he’s still waiting for me to save him.
Spotting the fleeing Meng Qing, Zhao Tianying raised his voice to a roar: “You guys hold him off, I’m going after him!”
Oh no, I can’t let him catch me.
Shinian broke away to intercept, taking a solid blow from a staff squarely across his back.
“Damn it, they hit hard.” Scrambling back up from the ground in a flash, he looked up only to find that Zhao Tianying had already sprinted far ahead.
The mountain paths were rugged and bumpy, choked with overgrown weeds. Meng Qing’s stamina was on the verge of total exhaustion, while Zhao Tianying closed in step by step brandishing a knife, the distance shrinking rapidly. Overwhelmed by absolute despair, Meng Qing felt as though he had plunged into an endless abyss without a single shred of hope left in sight.
Yet the next second, Meng Qing heard that incomparably familiar voice.
“Split up and search.”
It’s Ji Yanche! This voice was like a beam of light piercing straight through the darkness and illuminating Meng Qing’s entire world.
Wuwuwu, rescue has finally arrived, and hope is back. Taking a deep breath, Meng Qing mustered every ounce of remaining strength he had left to shout out.
“Ji Wenjin!”
His voice was thin and weak from exhaustion, yet Ji Yanche caught it with razor-sharp acuity. Raising his gaze, Ji Yanche saw that figure he had been longing for day and night come into view.
“Qingqing!” His voice trembled with raw strain.
Seeing Ji Yanche dashing toward him, Meng Qing felt his mind and body completely unburden themselves. Finally…
Noticing the imperial troops closing in, Zhao Tianying hardened his heart: since escape was impossible, he’d drag someone down with him to the grave. Gripping his knife, he lunged forward to plunge it straight into Meng Qing’s back.
At that exact moment, Chenbi drew his bow and nocked an arrow, letting fly a shot that pierced straight through the throat. Zhao Tianying didn’t even have time to let out a scream before he crashed heavily to the ground.
“Ngh…” Meng Qing’s stamina finally hit absolute rock bottom, his vision blackening as he pitched forward.
Expecting a harsh collision with the earth, he instead tumbled into a warm, familiar embrace.
“S-save him.” Pale as paper, Meng Qing pointed a trembling hand toward Shinian’s location, an expression of intense anxiety coloring his features.
Ji Yanche understood instantly, shooting Chenbi a sharp look. “Go.” He then carefully scooped Meng Qing up into his arms and strode quickly toward the carriage.
The person in his arms looked devastatingly haggard, his collar stained with patches of dried blood while purple-black handprints bruised his cheeks and neck in a shocking, horrifying display. Gazing at this sight, Ji Yanche felt his heart wrench as if being sliced apart, unable to bear imagining the torment and grievance his Qingqing had endured.
He leaned down, gently pressing a kiss to Meng Qing’s forehead as he murmured tenderly:
“Be a good boy, sleep now.”