A quarter of an hour later, the forest clearing was littered with corpses. Every one of them had been killed with a single thrust through the heart. The leader of the assassins had lost his upper garment; the flesh on his chest was a bloody mess, and at the same spot on the other assassins, their skin and flesh had likewise been flayed away.
Chen Ting mounted his horse expressionlessly and returned to the residence with the heavy sword on his back, still dripping with blood.
The group of assassins had not delayed him for long. When he stepped into the Xuanji Courtyard, Shen Wangshu was in the middle of her lunch.
“Madam, the General has returned!” The maid’s words had barely fallen when the light at the doorway was blocked by a tall figure.
The man stood at the door and did not enter at once. Shen Wangshu had no choice but to put down her chopsticks and go to greet him. “Husband, you’re back.”
As she drew closer, the stench of blood hit her head-on. Only then did she see how much blood was splattered on Chen Ting’s clothes, and how the heavy sword behind him was dripping, leaving a trail of blood marks all the way in.
Shen Wangshu already had little appetite to begin with. She had only just coaxed herself into eating a few bites, and now he came back reeking of blood, which made her feel thoroughly nauseated.
Something was off about Chen Ting’s expression. Although they had interacted for less than twelve hours, Shen Wangshu could already distinguish the different emotions on that usually expressionless face.
He said nothing, but his lips were pressed tightly together, not in a relaxed state at all.
Suppressing her revulsion, Shen Wangshu asked anxiously and with concern, “Husband, what happened? Why is there so much blood? Are you injured?”
Chen Ting did not speak. He flicked his hand, and a thin, bloodstained piece of skin fell from his sleeve.
On that strip of skin, a faint flying-swallow tattoo could be seen… What animal hide? This was clearly human skin!
Shen Wangshu stared at him in shock, unable to imagine where Chen Ting had suddenly obtained a piece of human skin, and why he would throw it in front of her so aggressively, as if demanding an explanation.
“Do you recognize what this is?” The man’s dark, sharp eyes fixed coldly on her, as though trying to discern some flaw in her expression.
The common mark on those assassins was this flying-swallow tattoo. They spoke standard official speech; their builds and physiques, as well as their methods of attack, were all customary to Great Zhou. This ruled out retaliation from the Northern Barbarians or the Hu tribes. Moreover, no family of death warriors in the northern deserts used this tattoo. The leader of the assassins had a tight mouth and revealed nothing until death.
Although they had come for him, Chen Ting’s intuition told him that these assassins were connected to his newlywed wife, whose identity remained a mystery.
That was why he had returned covered in blood and deliberately thrown the flying-swallow tattoo before her. Yet her reaction was not quite what he had imagined. She was flustered, but she clearly recognized what it was—she knew it was human skin. While shocked, she also began to fear him somewhat.
But as for the flying-swallow tattoo itself, she showed no reaction at all.
She did not recognize this tattoo?
Chen Ting found no clues on Shen Wangshu’s face, but she keenly sensed that the man was testing her… Could it be that these assassins were connected to her?
“This looks like human skin, Husband,” Shen Wangshu observed his expression and asked tentatively, “Was it… encountered on your way back just now?”
“These kinds of death warriors can only be trained by great aristocratic families in the capital,” Chen Ting said coldly. “They tried to block my way and ambush me on my return. I killed them all. Not a single one was spared.”
He said this on purpose. If Shen Wangshu recognized these death warriors, she would surely show some different reaction upon hearing that none had been left alive.
However, she was only startled for a couple of seconds before nodding and saying, “As long as Husband is safe, that’s good. Have you found out who is behind this?”
“No, but it should be uncovered soon enough.” Chen Ting drew the heavy sword from his back, lifted the piece of human skin with the sword tip, and handed it to a nearby servant. “Put it away.”
His wife’s reaction was entirely normal—aside from being far bolder than he had expected, there was nothing unusual. It seemed she truly did not recognize the tattoo.
Chen Ting let the matter drop.
Seeing him stride toward the room, Shen Wangshu wrinkled her nose, stepped sideways, and moved in front of him to block his way. In a gentle voice she said, “Husband, are you hungry? I’ll have the kitchen prepare some hot dishes. You should bathe first—by the time you come out, the food will be ready.”
Covered in blood and dust—dirtying the doorway was one thing, but entering the room like this… absolutely not.
Chen Ting looked at her. His young wife’s face was full of concern, showing nothing out of the ordinary, and she was even thoughtfully arranging a meal for him.
Yet he inexplicably felt that something was amiss, though he could not say what. In the end, he abandoned the thought and turned to head to the side chamber.
After Chen Ting left, the small maids and servant girls—who had never seen such a bloody scene—finally let out a collective sigh of relief. The atmosphere just now had been so oppressive that they had not dared to breathe loudly, fearing that the General might lose his temper and, without a word, cut off someone’s head.
“Taohong, Lülü, have people clean up the doorway, then inform the kitchen to prepare some of the General’s favorite dishes,” Shen Wangshu said lightly, glancing at Chen Ting’s retreating figure.
The two little maids replied shakily, clearly badly frightened.
In contrast, Meixue and Wutong were much calmer. Meixue, in particular, looked at their lack of composure and chuckled. “Don’t worry. The General doesn’t have a habit of killing indiscriminately. If he does strike, then that person deserves it. You haven’t done anything wrong—why be so scared?”
Wutong had someone bring clean bowls and chopsticks and ordered the cooled dishes to be cleared away. “Madam, later you should eat some hot dishes with the General. You barely ate just now.”
In front of the two senior maids, Taohong and Lülü’s performance really was lacking. The former servants of the Duke’s residence were happy to watch the spectacle. Shen Wangshu pinched Taohong’s shoulder lightly, seeing her at a loss after being mocked, and said softly, “Go on. Don’t be afraid.”
Encouraged by her mistress, Taohong felt a surge of courage. Her body stopped trembling, and her voice steadied. “Yes.”
Meixue, disappointed that the two little maids had not been scared to tears, curled her lips. Wutong shot her a warning glance, and she obediently returned to stand behind Shen Wangshu.
When Chen Ting returned after bathing, the mess at the doorway—and throughout the Xuanji Courtyard—had been completely cleaned up. Incense had even been burned. The faint smell of blood was gone, replaced by a light, refined fragrance.
The ferocity stirred up by the ambush outside was instantly suppressed. Chen Ting recalled his earlier appearance and realized belatedly that entering the room like that truly had not been appropriate.
The dishes on the table were all freshly prepared. Several were meat dishes he often ate, along with some light vegetable dishes. Placed closer to Shen Wangshu were those she likely favored.
Completely different from his own tastes.
Thinking this, Chen Ting sat down with bold ease.
Shen Wangshu cautiously took a breath and smelled the clean scent of the bath beans on him. The furrow in her brow finally relaxed.
“Husband, please eat,” she said with a bright smile, using the serving chopsticks to place food on his plate—picking up a bite of the small green vegetables from in front of her.