Chapter 487: Do you want them to catch adulterers in the act?
Han Yunxi would say that the pain in her heart right now was indescribable. She had treated her share of patients in both her lives, their wounds totaling in the tens of thousands. There were plenty of people who were in even more dire straits than Gu Qishao. She was a specialized poisons doctor, but she didn’t have a good temper. Whenever her patients cried out in pain or fear, she would lecture them with a few sound words.
Of course injuries hurt! But shouting doesn’t help anything! If I don’t treat you, you’ll never get better!
But now she was aching for Gu Qishao’s sake because of his back. He was in this state all because of her! If she wasn’t so useless and knew some martial arts, or maybe had better poison arts, he might not have suffered so much. Beneath her heartache lay a mixture of remorse and self-reproach. Gu Qishao was so happy to see her cry that he exclaimed, “Poison lass, you can cry if you want.”
He liked the fact that she was crying for his sake. If she was crying only for his sake, then he’d be even happier.
He’s like this but still so shameless? Han Yunxi glared at him before turning her attention back to his wounds. Gu Qishao’s back was simply riddled with too many holes. All of them were as wide as a thumbnail and scattered in a way that made his skin a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Heaven knows what kind of arrows they’d faced, because they dropped out of the injury as soon as they hit like a sword being drawn out of its sheath. This only exacerbated the original injury and increased blood loss. Han Yunxi was deathly afraid that Gu Qishao would start bleeding non-stop once the blood-staunching medicine wore off. The man might look strong, but his face was already ashen white.
She quickly applied more blood-staunching medicine to him before starting to treat the injuries one by one. Because the two of them had been in a rush to hide from the assassin before, Gu Qishao hadn’t felt the medicinal powder scattered on his back. Now he could clearly feel the pain of his wounds!
Motherf****er, but it hurts!
He’d been afraid to death of pain since he was a child. Still, he put on a smile and turned to face Han Yunxi. “Poison lass! Your eyes are clearly red, so you’re distressed—”
“Your great grandma! Lie still, you want to throw your life away?!” Han Yunxi exploded, not from embarrassment of her crying eyes or desperation for his injuries, but depression. He was almost at death’s door, but why couldn’t he stay still instead of teasing her all the time? The wounds would start bleeding as soon as the medicine wore off. Left untreated, and the victim would die from blood loss within the hour!
All he knows to do is show off and show off! Her heart throbbed with pain. Why doesn’t he cherish himself at all?
Gu Qishao suddenly stopped smiling and said mildly, “Lass, are you afraid that I’ll die?”
Perhaps Han Yunxi was too concentrated to hear him, perhaps she was simply too lazy to reply. In any case, he got no response. Gu Qishao stopped joking and laid docilely on the bed before shutting his eyes. He really was exhausted, but his condition wasn’t fatal. Because of his never aging, never dying body, he could even take arrows from ten teams of archers while going to wipe them out completely. But he had to hide this secret, so he allowed Han Yunxi to bind him up and feigned ‘playing strong’ in the face of weakness. Although this woman had exquisite poison skills, her medical skills were so-so at best. Still, it was possible that she might discover something unusual about him. Currently, Han Yunxi had finished treating two wounds through disinfection, applying medicine, and stopping the bleeding.
The injuries were so condensed that it was impossible for her to bandage them one by one. She had decided to treat them all at once before binding Gu Qishao up like a zongzi. And while she didn’t mention it, she was also paying attention to Gu Qishao’s complexion, pulse, and mental state besides his wounds. Although he was in a serious situation, his current condition looked rather well. She still assumed that Gu Qishao was blustering about his strength. That, combined with the five life-saving pills she fed him, seemed to lend logic to the recovery rate of a martial artist like the man before her.
In the silent room, Gu Qishao had completely relaxed, while Han Yunxi was still on high alert. Her entire body was tense, her hands never stopping as she went through his treatment with practiced ease. None of Gu Qishao’s injuries were very deep, so it was simple to treat them all. She even forgot about her own injury on her right shoulder. Because it was a deep wound, the arrowhead was still buried about three inches in. Gu Qishao had forgotten this fact as well in his burst of happiness.
At this moment, Han Yunxi found a wound that was deeper than the others. She had just started disinfecting the area when it overflowed with fresh blood. Panicking, she immediately poured the best blood-staunching medicine against the wound, causing Gu Qishao to give an involuntary shudder! His bloody back reacted violently against the medicine, which caused his blood to fizz with unbearable pain. Gu Qishao’s smile was ghastly, but he still drew up the corners of his lips.
“Poison lass, are you lusting after my life?”
‘Lusting’ after his life?! He’s in so much pain and he’s still saying these things!
Han Yunxi really wanted to tell him that she was giving up. But she didn’t have the time! Her expression was stern as she treated his wounds, continuing to apply the medicine. But no matter what she did, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. She didn’t hesitate to apply anesthetic to Gu Qishao. No matter what, she had to sew up this particular injury as quickly as possible. Gradually, the sensations of pain faded from Gu Qishao’s back. He silently exhaled. Though he had no idea how Poison lass was treating his wounds, his mind was completely at ease. After keeping quiet for a while, he couldn’t resist another peek at her. From this angle, it was impossible to see what her hands were doing, but her severe, stern little face was very clear.
“Poison lass, you’re pretty scary when you look like that.”
“Poison lass, whatcha doing?”
“Poison lass, how long before you’re done? I’m getting a little hungry.”
…
Han Yunxi ignored him so completely that he ended up talking to himself. Still, he was delighted all the same. As he talked and talked, his eyes couldn’t resist drifting downwards to rest on her exposed neck. The skin there was white and fine, as pure as jade and clean as ice. He discovered that this woman had a very beautiful set of collarbones. Eventually, he lost himself in a daze by staring at her in silence.
By now, footsteps were sounding outside in the halls. It seemed like the imperial soldiers had arrived. Gu Qishao’s eyes flashed unhappily before pulling the covers over them both. Han Yunxi was still treating his injury, so the sudden interruption incensed her. “What are you doing?!”
If the soldiers are coming, then let them come. It was better than not being able to find anyone in the city.
She was about to grab the covers when Gu Qishao rolled over and pressed her beneath his body. “Tsk…you want them to catch adulterers in the act?”
Despite his flirting and frivolous behavior, he was still concerned about Han Yunxi’s reputation. Han Yunxi immediately stopped moving. A lot of things were impossible to explain, especially situations like these! If she couldn’t make herself clear, it was better to say nothing and hide the entire thing! Thus, when the footsteps arrived to kick open the door, the two figures acted out another ‘lovers’ spring’ beneath the covers.
The investigating soldiers didn’t catch a glimpse of Han Yunxi’s face beneath the covers, but they did see Gu Qishao’s naked arms and his expression of utter bliss! The officer swept the room with disdain to make sure no one was hiding in the corners, and then withdrew. Once Han Yunxi was sure they’d left, she quickly got up to lock the doors. Gu Qishao slowly turned over on his stomach again, revealed that his wounds had reopened with fresh blood!
“Dammnit!” Han Yunxi cursed between her distress. She true regretted acting so impulsively just then. Gu Qishao shouldn’t have turned over at all. So what if she was marked as an adulterer? So what if her reputation was ruined? Those who believed her would believe in her still, while the rest didn’t merit her attention! Her hands trembled before she shook them out impatiently and forced herself to calm down. Then she went back to treating his injuries anew.
Gu Qishao seemed truly exhausted this time, because he simply lay there looking at her in utter silence. Amidst his wounds, there were three to four others that were particularly deep. Han Yunxi didn’t rest as she handled them all. Gradually, the thick scent of rouge and powder in the room was overtaken by the stench of blood. Still, the air inside was filled with a soft, sweet warmth.
Meanwhile, the entire capital city was now in an uproar!
The assassins hidden in ambush in the west never saw Gu Qi Sha show up, while the red lantern district in the south had recently raised a commotion. Mu Qingwu was convinced that Gu Qi Sha and Han Yunxi had fled there instead. He acted first without the emperor’s orders to seal off the four city gates, then sent out half the imperial guards on a search. Right now, he was personally inspecting the alleyway that led into the red-lantern districts. Crown Prince Long Tianmo had just caught up with him after looking for him everywhere.
“How’s the situation?”
“We discovered arrows and bloodstains here and followed them all the way to a brothel up ahead. We searched the building as well, but didn’t find anyone.”
Long Tianmo nodded and muttered, “First, send half of your guards to protect the imperial palace.”
“This…?” Mu Qingwu didn’t understand. He was actually preparing to call in reinforcements to help with the search if they couldn’t find their target within the next hour.
“You acted without emperor’s orders, so you need to find some sort of excuse for yourself. Otherwise, how are you supposed to shoulder imperial father’s censure?” Long Tianmo asked.
Mu Qingwu held the concurrent posts of Young General and Head Commander of the Imperial Guards. He was responsible for much of the security in the palace and the capital city. For the sake of saving a single Qin Wangfei, he not only acted without orders to seal the city gates, but used up half of the imperial guards to search for her. What would Emperor Tianhui think? It’d be strange if he didn’t seize the chance to annex his military power then! But if he could send half of his forces to protect the palace and elevate the attempted assassination of Qin Wangfei as subterfuge by foreign forces, everything would be different.
Long Tianmo’s reminder made Mu Qingwu immediately reply, “Your Highness reminded rightly. This soldier will do it right away!”
He was about to leave when Long Tianmo stopped him again. He dismissed the surrounding soldiers and murmured, “The imperial guards turned traitor back at the Gu Estate? What’s that all about?”
Long Tianmo had just come from the Gu Estate after inspecting the young commander who’d been stabbed to death with Mu Qingwu’s sword. From what he understood, Mu Qingwu was both frank and honest, but never stupid. He wouldn’t be angry enough to kill a would-be traitor just like that. With him dead, who else could point them to the mastermind behind the scenes?
It was obvious that Mu Qingwu had killed a key accomplice, but Long Tianmo had no reason to suspect the young general. Most of the people on his side wanted the Duke of Qin and Qin Wangfei dead, but Mu Qingwu definitely didn’t!