Chapter 486: Lass, just repay me with your body
The end of the alley actually led to the lively and bustling red lantern district! Or to put it plainly, the brothels of the city. Gu Qi Sha’s solemn eyes suddenly glimmered with amusement like the stars in the sky. His eyes liked to smile, unfortunately, Han Yunxi didn’t get to see them this time.
“Lass, we’re saved!” he declared.
But he’d hardly spoken when another arrow pierced with a frightening force into his back.
“Ugh!” Gu Qi Sha groaned, before spitting up a large mouthful of blood. It splattered against his cloak and seeped through the fabric to drip on Han Yunxi’s face.
“Gu Qi Sha…!” Han Yunxi cried out in alarm, her pounding heart nearly stopping at the warm and sticky sensation.
“Poison lass, don’t be afraid.”
His voice had grown gentler and lost much of its eerie, eccentric air. Instead of sounding gloomy and horrific like usual, it was warm and even had traces of joking laughter.
So familiar! Han Yunxi gave a start, forgetting all about their dangerous situation as she stiffened in his arms. More arrows followed in their wake, but Gu Qi Sha led Han Yunxi out of the alley without the slightest hesitation. Their sudden appearance disturbed quite a bit of people in the streets.
“Murder! Murderers are afoot!” Gu Qi Sha shouted as he ran. Although this part of the capital was quite far from city center and was closer to the gates leading out, a ruckus would attract imperial guards all the same. As expected, none of the archers pursued them into the public setting, but the black-robed assassin didn’t give up on the chase. He ran after them along the roofs, shooting them with intermittent arrows. The last one that had struck Gu Qi Sha’s back came from none other than this man. He wasn’t aiming for Han Yunxi, but Pill Fiend!
Instead of running away, Gu Qi Sha did the unexpected and charged into a brothel. His bloody black cloak immediately sent the people inside into an uproar. All of the brothel residents fled in different directions, raising a chaotic stir. Although the black-robed assassin was quick to follow them in, the crowds made it impossible for him to spot them immediately.
Where are they?!
The various people inside squeezed against each other as they ran for the doors. Guests and prostitutes on the second and third floors scattered as well, their clothing disordered in their rush. Of course, there were plenty of people who chose to stay inside with their doors locked instead. The black-robed man jumped to land on the second-story railing, startling yet another crowd of people into a clamor. He simply cast the crowd a cold look, but still didn’t see Gu Qi Sha or Han Yunxi.
Despite this, he didn’t panic. His gaze turned shrewd as he swept his eyes across the railings and banisters, finally discovering fresh traces of blood amongst them! After being struck with so many arrows, it was only natural that Gu Qi Sha would be bleeding all over the place! Frosty determination flashed through the man’s eyes as he followed the bloodstains up to the third floor. Soon enough, they led him to a room. But after he kicked open the door, he saw that the inside was completely empty.
Where did they go?
He immediately started kicking open all the neighboring doors, his movements ruthless but agile in case the duo surprised him with their poisons. Yet the ten successive doors he’d kicked in only led to empty rooms or people making love on the bed. If they weren’t in the throes of passion, they would’ve noticed the chaos outside long ago.
Did they run out of the brothel?
The black-robed assassin was about to leave when he saw one last room at the end of the hall, its door closed tight. Refusing to give up the chase, he carefully approached the door, notched his crossbow arrow, and kicked it open.
“Who’s there?!” the man on the bed snarled immediately in response.
The black-robed assassin walked past the folding screen shielding the door and saw a handsome, half-dressed man atop a woman’s body. Frightened by the sudden intrusion, the woman beneath him had curled up against his chest and was trembling with fear as she hid her face. The assassin seemed to recognize this man, because he gave a minute start before recovering his senses. His eyes swept across the pair on the bed and noted that the covers hid part of their bare forms from sight.
The man’s legs were long and slender, but filled with strength, while the woman’s were fair and well-proportioned. Their entwined forms was the stuff of daydreams, though most of their bodies were still hidden beneath the covers. The man had half a shoulder exposed and one hand resting against the bed while the woman’s loose hair and exposed collarbones highlighted her sexy allure. The spicy scene turned tense beneath the black-robed assassin’s minute scrutiny.
Finally, the beautiful man narrowed his eyes dangerously and barked, “Do you want to die?!”
A complicated look flickered past the assassin’s eyes. He gave a final sweep around the room before replying coldly, “Apologies for the disturbance!”
He slowly withdrew from the room just as the sound of footsteps downstairs heralded the arrival of the imperial guards. The assassin took the chance to beat a hasty exit. At this moment, the two figures on the bed breathed a collective sigh of relief.
What a close call!
Hidden beneath their bed was a pile of blood-soaked clothes and a medical pouch. The most striking piece in the pile was a large black cloak soaked in blood and a few scattered porcelain medicine bottles by the pouch. Now the man raised his other hand to trap the woman between his arms. His seductive eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the female beneath him and licked his lips. That expression of his was nothing short of a wolf preparing to feast on a lamb and swallow her down whole.
It had to be said that this particular wolf looked rather lean, but still possessed an excellent figure. His bare chest and its exposed pecs were enough to send anyone into wild fantasies. Despite this, the woman beneath him wasn’t interested in it at all. She furrowed her brows as she stared at him with red eyes. It looked like she was about to cry.
“Poison lass, there’s no need to thank me. If you’re so touched, why not repay me with your body?” the man grinned cheekily.
The woman nearly went to punch him. Fortunately, she held back at the last second and cried angrily, “Gu Qishao, get off of me this instant!”
“Aiya, this big brother really doesn’t want to!” Gu Qishao said airily.
“Do you have a death wish?! Hurry and get off me, I have to treat your wounds!” Han Yunxi snapped.
She never would have expected Gu Qi Sha (古七刹) to be Gu Qishao (顾七少). When she had heard Gu Qishao’s voice in the alley, she still harbored some doubts and had assumed she’d heard wrong! But after fleeing to the brothel, they’d hidden in this room and taken their bloody clothes off as fast as possible to fool the assassin. Gu Qi Sha had even removed his face mask and a set of fake, long and bony fingers, finally exposing himself as Gu Qishao in front of Han Yunxi. Because it was an emergency, Han Yunxi didn’t even have time to react. All she did was quickly scatter powder over his wounds to stop the bleeding before the two of them stripped and put on their little play.
Now she was ready to hang him up and interrogate him. Why was he going around tricking her with two identities? She treated him as a friend, but he’d hoodwinked her to the very end! What were his motives?! Of course, there was no time to get mad now. She had to take care of his injuries, fast. The amount of arrow wounds on his back was horrific. Her blood-staunching medicine would only hold back the bleeding for so long.
“Get off of me!” Han Yunxi ordered.
But Gu Qishao only smiled at her without moving a muscle. If Han Yunxi had been paying attention, she would’ve notice just how happy he looked right now, but she was more preoccupied with his injuries.
“Are you getting off of me or not?!” Han Yunxi threatened. She didn’t even care that he was taking liberties with her right now, or that she was only half-dressed.
“Poison lass, let me hold you a bit longer, alright?” Gu Qishao asked earnestly.
Han Yunxi was about to blow up. She prepared to shove him aside, but Gu Qishao actually hugged her to his chest in a tight embrace, resting his head against the warm hollow of her shoulder. He whispered softly into her ear, “Poison lass, Qi gege really does like you…”
Han Yunxi stiffened at his words. She was about to speak when Gu Qishao sighed with great emotion. “I really want to die in your arms!”
Han Yunxi might have been flummoxed by his words before, but now she couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. “Gu Qishao, will you die if you don’t make jokes all the time? Don’t think I’ll spare you just because you’re seriously injured!”
As promised, she shoved him aside with all her strength. But by now Gu Qishao had exhausted most of his stamina too, so he simply rolled over and flopped on the bed. His upper body was completely exposed, but he was still wearing his pants pulled very high up. Han Yunxi was in a similar situation as well, binding her chest with a strip of silk ripped from her outer robes so it was firmly hidden from sight. To put it plainly, neither of them could be considered naked at the moment.
Gu Qishao listlessly turned over so that he was lying on his stomach. Han Yunxi looked at his back and suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her chest. Her heart ached so much that it made it hard to breathe. When she was stopping the bleeding before, she hadn’t had a chance to examine his wounds closely. Now she saw that his back was littered with various puncture marks from the arrows. Each of the wounds were about as wide as her thumb, some deep, some shallow. A few of them were already beginning to bleed again. He really was ‘covered in injuries all over!’
Under these circumstances, the basic tenets of any doctor would be to hurry and treat the injuries so they would stop bleeding. But right now, Han Yunxi could only bite her lip and force herself not to cry. When Gu Qishao realized that she’d yet to make a move, he turned to face her. The sight of her red-rimmed eyes as she fought against her tears turned his laughing expression gentle.
“Poison lass, don’t worry. I can’t die.”
Han Yunxi recovered her wits and shot him a glare. “Lie still and don’t talk!”
She urgently took out five large lifesaving pills and handed them to Gu Qishao. Usually, she only used one for emergency situations, but taking out so many at once belied the current panic hidden beneath her calm expression!
Gu Qishao smiled. “Poison lass, isn’t this a little too much?”
“Stop showing off!” Han Yunxi personally watched Gu Qishao until he swallowed all the pills, then ordered him to stay still and shut up. As she saw it, this fellow was only laughing and joking around as a front! He’s bled so much and hurt so seriously, how could he have the energy to joke right now?
Gu Qishao obediently did as he was told, but still stole peeks at her from the side. Even if he couldn’t talk, he kept a slight smile, feeling very happy. Han Yunxi prepared a whole batch of medicine and gauze, her movements fast and professional. But when it came time to sit cross-legged by his side and start the treatment, she found herself hesitating.
Covering her mouth, she turned her face aside. Right now…her heart hurt so very, very much…