Chapter 47: The Fake Princess and His God of War Prince (Part 4)
The Imperial Palace was teeming with experts.
It was truly bad luck for Xiang Yinnian. He had slain the Third Prince and managed to evade the guards of the Third Prince’s palace, only to be caught red-handed by the Governor of the Yexing Si who happened to be passing by.
Walking atop the palace walls in black night-clothes in the dead of night—one didn’t need to think twice to know the comer came with ill intent.
The Governor of the Yexing Si immediately drew his bow and loosed an arrow at Xiang Yinnian. Xiang Yinnian dodged several times, but the arrow seemed to have eyes of its own, refusing to stop until it caught its prey.
Seeing the Governor about to nock a second arrow, Xiang Yinnian had no time to tangle with him. He was forced to twist his body, avoiding his vitals and taking the hit to make a quick escape.
But he never expected that the arrow was not only quenched in poison but also barbed.
It was vicious to the extreme.
The moment Xiao Ji gripped the arrow shaft, he assessed the situation of the arrowhead. Alongside the tip were three sharp barbs. If one tried to pull it out by force, it would inevitably tear out a large chunk of flesh.
Moreover, the toxin was currently spreading, creeping straight toward Xiang Yinnian’s heart meridians.
The urgent priority was to detoxify him first.
Xiao Ji first sealed several acupoints near Xiang Yinnian’s heart to stop the poison from spreading further. Lianqiu stood to the side, watching Xiao Ji, unable to understand what his master was thinking. He probed tentatively:
“Master, the Beichen Wang entering the capital without a summons is a capital offense. Now that he has killed the Third Prince, if we hand him over, Bixia will have a reason to convict the Beichen Wang and reclaim the cities of the Northern Border. You would be credited with a great merit and wouldn’t have to marry off to the North. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?”
Xiao Ji glanced at Lianqiu.
“Do you think the Northern Border is so easily subdued? If the Beichen Wang were to die here, just those soldiers hand-picked and trained by Xiang Yinnian wouldn’t let the matter rest. To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the interior. If the Northern Border revolts and the Rongdi tribe takes advantage of the chaos to invade, how would you resolve that?”
Thirty thousand troops guarded the seventeen cities of the Northern Border. Although the Great Yue had far more soldiers than that, most had been idling in the comfort of the greenhouse, waiting to die. Only the soldiers of the Northern Border had been honed by slaughter on the battlefield for ten years as if it were a single day. Even if one couldn’t fight a hundred, each could at least defeat ten.
If not for this, how could the Emperor possibly tolerate Xiang Yinnian’s insolence and his complete disregard for Imperial dignity?
Lianqiu pursed his lips. Looking at Xiang Yinnian lying on Xiao Ji’s couch, he still felt aggrieved for Xiao Ji, but in the end, he said nothing and obediently fetched the detoxification pills.
Xiao Ji opened the bottle, sniffed it, and tossed it back. “Go get the bottle the Crown Prince sent last year.”
Hearing this, Lianqiu was somewhat unwilling.
“Master! The ones the Crown Prince sent were made by the Medicine King of Miaojiang! There are only three of them!”
Xiao Ji’s expression grew cold as he stared at Lianqiu without speaking.
Seeing Xiao Ji’s expression, Lianqiu’s heart skipped a beat. He dared not object again and hurriedly ran to fetch the medicine.
Fortunately, the poison smeared on the Yexing Si Governor’s vicious arrow was not some incurable, exotic toxin. Less than a moment after the detoxification pill was administered, Xiang Yinnian suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black blood.
Amidst a fit of violent coughing, the man gradually regained consciousness.
Lianqiu was wholly devoted to Xiao Ji. having been thoroughly frightened by Xiao Ji’s death glare earlier, he was now exceptionally docile. He immediately had the sense to serve tea and water and hand over the spittoon for Xiang Yinnian, before scurrying out to boil hot water himself.
Xiang Yinnian caught his breath. He sat up in bed, glanced at the arrowhead in his shoulder, and was just about to raise his hand to pull it out when Xiao Ji pinned his wrist down.
“The arrow is barbed. If you pull it out directly, it will damage your tendons and meridians. You can kiss this arm goodbye.”
Xiang Yinnian cursed. “The arrow is poisoned. If I leave it in here and wait until I escape to find a doctor, I won’t be able to keep this arm anyway.”
Xiao Ji looked into his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
To tell the truth, Xiang Yinnian did not.
But given the current situation, he had no choice but to trust. As their gazes met, he said only one thing:
“If you can help me keep it, I’ll give it to you in the future.”
Xiao Ji was rendered speechless. “What would I do with it?”
Xiang Yinnian suddenly smiled. “Use it… to shelter you from the wind and rain, to block blades and swords for you.”
Xiao Ji had no desire to listen to his nonsense. Once Lianqiu brought the hot water, Xiao Ji ordered him to fetch strong liquor, wound medicine, scissors, a dagger, and gauze. Just as Xiang Yinnian was about to ask what Xiao Ji intended to do, Xiao Ji suddenly turned his head toward the window and shouted sternly:
“Who goes there?!”
Xiang Yinnian instinctively turned his head to look, only to receive a chop to the back of his neck from Xiao Ji’s hand, knocking him out cold instantly.
Then, Xiao Ji said to Lianqiu, “Guard the outside. Let no one enter.”
Lianqiu obeyed the order and withdrew from Xiao Ji’s sleeping quarters.
037 had long known that Xiao Ji likely had other plans. It deliberately stated: 【Using magic at non-critical moments is a violation of the rules.】
Xiao Ji scoffed. 【Rules are nothing compared to human sentiments. I cannot simply watch him lose an arm.】
After saying this, he seemed to recall something. 【In the original trajectory, this scene didn’t seem to exist.】
Such occurrences were not the first in 037’s career. It was accustomed to it.
【In the original trajectory, the Phoenix never came to the Imperial City at all. It’s the butterfly effect. Perhaps he inexplicably sensed you were coming and wanted to see you sooner.】
Xiao Ji said no more. He cut open Xiang Yinnian’s upper robes, padded the area, and gripped the broken arrow shaft with his palm. Very quickly, the broken arrow visibly vanished within Xiao Ji’s palm, turning into nothingness.
Only the hideous wound remained, still oozing blood because the residual poison had not yet been fully cleared.
Xiang Yinnian was no fool. Removing the broken arrow without damaging his tendons was already the limit of believability. If Xiao Ji sought quick success and directly healed the wound, Xiang Yinnian would only regard him as a monster.
Using power that did not belong to the small world was already a violation. The Enforcers would turn a blind eye to minor infractions, but if his identity were exposed and caused a calamity, 037 would have no choice but to force Xiao Ji to strip his soul and detach from the small world.
Xiao Ji applied the medicine and changed the gauze for Xiang Yinnian. He handed the bloody bedding and clothes to Lianqiu to dispose of cleanly, then lay down on the floor beside the couch and closed his eyes.
Xiang Yinnian woke up in the latter half of the night, roused by pain.
Covered in cold sweat, his first reaction upon opening his eyes was to touch the mask on his face and the thin-as-cicada-wing disguise beneath it. Seeing that everything was intact and untouched, his suspended heart finally settled.
He had intended to question Xiao Ji about why he used such a heavy hand to knock him out, but turning his head, he saw Xiao Ji curled up at the foot of the bed, sleeping soundly.
The hazy moonlight filtered through the thin window paper, reflecting on Xiao Ji’s face. It abruptly forced the bellyful of dissatisfaction Xiang Yinnian was about to vent back down his throat.
Xiang Yinnian tentatively moved his left shoulder and sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain. He looked at his bare upper body and the meticulously wrapped gauze, feeling that although the wound hurt, it was much better than he had imagined.
It was even less painful than the sword that had nearly pierced his waist and abdomen on the battlefield years ago.
He propped himself up with his right hand, sitting up from the bed. He wanted to lift Xiao Ji onto the couch, but hindered by his left hand’s immobility and lack of strength, he could only gently pat Xiao Ji to wake him.
“A woman’s body cannot withstand the cold. Aren’t you afraid of falling ill sleeping on the floor? Is your soft couch unable to hold a person?”
Translator’s Note:
Hi everyone! This arc is getting exciting. Just a quick reminder on some terms used here:
- Wangye: A term of address for a Prince (specifically a Prince of the first rank), here referring to Xiang Yinnian.
- Wangfei: The official wife of a Prince (Princess Consort).
- Ben Wang / Ben Gong: Illeism used by royalty. “This King” / “This Princess.”
- Yexing Si: A special imperial division, similar to a secret service or night patrol.
Enjoy the read!
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