Bai Xiangxiu couldnât be bother with hiding anymore. She suddenly shouted out, âBe careful!â. As a result, Song Jiaoyue really did take more care after hearing the words. He hauled his opponent behind him to block two flying daggers, but another one stabbed into his abdomen, causing him to fall to his knees with a gasp of pain.
Meanwhile, the other enemy raised a dagger. Bai Xiangxiu ran out without another thought. She had planned to push Song Jiaoyue out of the way after the enemy sent the other dagger flying. But who knew her timing would be so good? That flying dagger seemed to grow eyes and stabbed straight into her shoulder.
So painful. Bai Xiangxiu faced Song Jiaoyue as she slowly collapsed.
He caught her with a face full of shock. Bai Xiangxiu felt that she might die, so it was only right to say some stirring words before her death. After all, she was finally in close proximity to the supporting male lead. But her wound really hurt too much to do anything grandiose. So she lay there in the crook of his arm, and drew in what could be her last breath to whisper, âAs long as youâre alright.â She honestly couldnât say anything more, but she never thought her words would visibly move Song Jiaoyue.
âMadame Xiu, Madame Xiu, youâŠâ His hands grew inexplicably warm. When he took one out for a look, he found it covered in blood. This was her blood, caused from the dagger sheâd taken for him! He abruptly tugged out the dagger stuck in his own body and flung it towards the last jianghu member. The latter was preparing another strike when Song Jiaoyueâs move abruptly ended his life.
Song Jiaoyue was planning to take her and leave, but he only felt more and more muddleheaded. Right at this moment, he saw Bai Xiangxiu struggle with a bottle of medicine despite being in too much pain to speak. When he opened it up, he found that it was Red Pearl.
Red Pearl was a medicine that could not only treat injuries, but detoxify myriad poisons. It was especially effective against items that caused confusion. It looked like the prince must have told her about its effects. He hurriedly opened the lid and took a whiff, his mind clearing up immediately.
âMadame Xiu, Iâll take you to get treatment right now. Madame Xiu, Madame XiuâŠâ No matter how he called, that beautiful woman didnât respond. Sheâd fainted dead away. No, he couldnât let anything happen to her. He definitely couldnât!
Song Jiaoyue felt his heart trembling at this moment. Holding her carefully in his arms, he returned to the caravan as the fastest speed he could muster. In the distance, he could see Long Heng riding back with people to his aid.
As soon as he relaxed, he narrowly avoided fainting away himself. But he couldnât. If they fainted like this, it might affect her reputation. But she had risked her life to save him, so how could he let her suffer?
Song Jiaoyue gritted his teeth and had someone bring her back to her carriage. He then took a few steps before falling on the ground.
Long Heng ran over to help him up, his voice anxious. âWhere are those people?â
âAll dead. Madame Xiu is injured, save her first.â After gasping out that last matter on his mind, he fell into blissful unconsciousness.
Startled, Long Heng handed Song Jiaoyue over to a subordinate before going over to the carriage for a look. He saw the bloody Bai Xiangxiu lying there unmoving, her face almost white from blood loss, her breath all but gone.
His heart ached as he rushed to pick her up. If heâd known that this was going to happen, he wouldnât have left her here. Who cared what other people said as long as she was safe? Ignoring what others thought, finding her a doctor was the most important thing. With everything done and over with, there was no telling whether sheâd die just from excessive blood loss.
Long Hengâs speed was very quick. He found a doctor in a nearby town in a flash. There was no time to attend to matters regarding male-female propriety as the doctor examined the wound and shivered, âItâs not life-threatening. The daggerâs already been taken out. Sheâs just lost too much blood and needs quiet rest. She shouldnât be easily moved about, either.â
âIf thereâs no danger, why hasnât she woken up yet?â Long Heng asked with furrowed brows.
âBecause sheâs lost too much blood. I believe sheâll wake up in a while.â The doctor explained as he busied himself with a patient that had just arrived. This time it was actually a subordinate bringing in Song Jiaoyue for treatment. There was no helping it. Both of them were severely injured, so they couldnât wait until they returned to the capital.
Song Jiaoyue was a man to begin with. Add that to his martial arts skills and deliberate defense of his vital areas, he woke up in less than an hour. After bandaging his injuries, he could stand up in the room and walk around. Naturally, he asked after Bai Xiangxiuâs injury first. He was only relieved after hearing that her life wasnât in danger.
Just as he released a breath, Long Heng appeared with a cold face. âJust exactly what happened here?â
Vendettas in the jianghu typically wouldnât involve kidnapping women and children. Thus, the rest of the Song family were all fine, just rendered unconscious. But why was Bai Xiangxiu the only one whoâd ended up with a blade stuck in her back? That had obviously been a concealed weapon, so he didnât believe things were so simple.
Inexplicably, Song Jiaoyue felt a twinge of guilt prick at his conscience. He opened and shut his mouth before saying, âIt was I who implicated Madame Xiu, because she came to give me Red Pearl.â
âRed Pearl? Thatâs right, it can remove the effects of substances that cause confusion. Though, how did she know? I didnât tell her,â Long Heng wrinkled his brows.
Song Jiaoyue gave a start, but quickly realized how sheâd known. She hadnât been rendered unconscious because there was Red Pearl smeared on her nose. Thus, sheâd guessed in that instant that Red Pearl could dispel the effects of the confusion. It was rare to find such an intelligent girl in this world.
âShe deduced it,â Song Jiaoyue smiled wryly before continuing. âWhen she was chasing me, she was spotted by an expert and was hit as a result. However, because of that I received the Red Pearl and recovered my wits enough to preserve my life.â He was very sincere as he spoke. âThis is all thanks to Madame Xiu. But such affairs are really too complex. For the sake of her good name, I can only say to outsiders that she was caught up in the action.â He held back the words that Bai Xiangxiu had spoken before sheâd fainted. The words were like a spell, echoing in his ears long after sheâd lost consciousness.
It was the same even now, as if time had stopped in that moment.
Long Heng was calm as he replied, âYou did the right thing, though I never expected such minor players from the jianghu to have the guts to kill the imperial courtâs appointed officials.â
âI sent armed forces to suppress ten branches of his organization, so he came back to kill me. Looks like he really doesnât want to live a peaceful life.â Song Jiaoyue had received orders from the imperial court to investigate a few fugitives, thus earning the ire of some people in the jianghu.
Long Heng glanced at him and said, âIâll lend some troops to you this time.â
âHa, with your troops, theyâll definitely be more docile.â His laughter jolted his injury, causing his eyebrows to knit in pain. He thought of the unconscious and wounded Madame Xiu. How much would it hurt for her after she woke?
Would a woman be able to bear it?
His brows further wrinkled at the thought, just as a servant girl stuck her head in to speak. âWhich one is Sir Long? Your familyâs madame is awake, but she keeps saying it hurts.â
âWhat?â Long Heng was happy to hear sheâd awakened, but grew alarmed at the mention of pain. His steps unconsciously quickened as he headed over to her room. Song Jiaoyue was worried as well, but he only followed two steps before stopping. He didnât have any right to enter her room.
It looked like all he could do was wait. Once he calmed down, he recalled the words sheâd said to him. He hadnât paid attention to them back then, nor had he given them any thought when he was anxiously trying to save her life. But now the memory of those words brought him an endless ambiguous warmth. Why would a woman say those things to him in such a dangerous situation? Could it be, sheâŠ?
Impossible, impossible. She was clearly Long Hengâs concubine, and he was someone who couldnât even exist in her thoughts.