The child, hidden under the covers, let him pass by as if playing hide-and-seek, saying he would secretly tell him a little secret about Qin Chu.
He foolishly believed it, lay down and tried to stick his head in like Qin Rui did. But before he could even see where Qin Rui was, he felt a chill on his neck, followed by a sharp pain mixed with gushing hot blood.
He received a system notification shortly afterward that he had logged off.
Before he went offline completely, he saw Qin Rui crawl out from under the covers and use the blanket to cover up all the spurting blood.
The child was clean all over, except for his left hand, which was holding the knife, which was covered in blood.
He stood there, staring at him with his dark eyes. There was not a trace of fear or tension in those eerie eyes; in fact, there was a smile on his face!
The thought of that scene sends chills down his spine.
When he first logged off, he couldn't believe he'd been killed by this kid, and he kept thinking he'd overlooked something. It wasn't until he watched the replay of his death several times that he finally realized—damn, this boss wasn't a normal kid at all!
Because of the unusual location of his death, it took him a long time to finally use his account's resurrection opportunity.
After his resurrection, he no longer wanted to patronize men; he only wanted to expose the true face of the eldest prince! He carefully infiltrated Cangqing Prefecture, keeping a close eye on the eldest prince, spreading rumors while secretly trying to find something to use against him.
He had waited for so long, and seeing that the Xiongnu had already reached the city walls, he feared that the eldest prince would escape in the chaos, so he ran to the general to report it.
Qin Chu did not react to the man's words.
He lifted his eyelids and gave the man a cold, indifferent look: "What evidence do you have for what you're saying?"
But as soon as the words left his mouth, Qin Chu's brows furrowed suddenly.
He recalled the scene he witnessed when he went to find Qin Rui. At that time, he was only concerned with confirming Qin Rui's safety and immediately brought the child back to the tent after finding him.
Since there wasn't a trace of blood on Qin Rui, Qin Chu naturally didn't think much of it.
But now he remembered the strange bloodstain on the blanket.
Normally, neither splattering blood nor flowing blood from the top of a tent would result in such a large pool of blood. Unless someone pressed a blanket against the wound on Dr. Su's neck, smothering the blood inside.
Qin Rui remained calm, but his heart skipped a beat when he saw Qin Chu's slightly furrowed brows.
He knew Qin Chu well; Qin Chu's expression meant he must have discovered something.
Qin Rui's calm mind was suddenly disrupted, and he began to feel uneasy, clenching his fists tightly.
Actually, he wasn't happy to meet Qin Chu here. Although he was glad that Qin Chu cared about him, he was always afraid that Qin Chu would hear something she shouldn't have.
The man was speechless after Qin Chu's question.
He struggled for a long time but couldn't come up with any evidence, so he could only say, "I saw what happened with my own eyes! I'm a witness! And do you remember Captain Zhang who died after falling while drinking? Captain Zhang's death must also be related to Qin Rui!"
Once these words were spoken, the matter truly escalated.
A doctor died in the military camp; that's just how it is.
Captain Zhang is a member of the Zhang family. If this gets back to the capital, the Zhang family will surely punish him severely.
First the eldest prince, then two more lives. The man spoke with such sincerity that it seemed unbelievable, leaving everyone present stunned.
Mentioning Captain Zhang, Qin Chu's gaze darkened slightly.
He felt there was something fishy about Zhang Xiaowei's death, but Qin Rui interrupted him.
He looked up, staring intently at Qin Rui, then turned his gaze to the indignant man and asked, "Are you also a witness in this matter?"
"Yes! That's right!" The man nodded stiffly under Qin Chu's icy gaze.
The generals looked at each other and couldn't help but start whispering among themselves.
The general, who had been silent until now, spoke up. He did not pursue the two lives the man had taken, but instead said to the two soldiers holding Qin Rui, "Check if this child has any birthmarks."
Upon hearing this, the man immediately perked up, pointing at Qin Rui's left hand and saying, "Pry open his left hand! His birthmark is on his palm!"
The soldier checked Qin Rui's left hand as instructed, but did not speak immediately. Instead, he checked other areas and then reported to the general, "General, Qin Rui has no birthmarks."
“No birthmark!” the man who had been so confident earlier raised his voice.
He lunged at Qin Rui, wanting to investigate himself, but Qin Rui nimbly dodged to the side.
Upon hearing that there was no birthmark, the others immediately lost interest.
Although the eldest prince has a special status, and it's better to arrest the wrong person than let one go, he still has to be a boy; otherwise, it's all for naught.
Qin Chu turned to look at the general. At this moment, the general naturally wouldn't hold Qin Rui back anymore and signaled the two soldiers to release Qin Rui.
Qin Rui rubbed his wrist and walked towards Qin Chu, glancing down at the seemingly harmless man at his feet. However, a chilling glint appeared in his eyes. Regardless of this man's identity, given how much he knew, Qin Rui was not comfortable with him continuing to live.
The man froze, stunned, when he saw his plan had failed. He muttered to himself, "No birthmark? How could he not have one? He's the eldest prince!"
Qin Chu showed no intention of getting up. He looked up at the man and asked, "You say you are a witness who saw Qin Rui commit murder. Then what is your name, and what is your position in the military? Several months have passed since Doctor Su's death. Since you saw Qin Rui kill someone, why didn't you expose him then?"
Qin Chu's voice was calm, but his words were incisive, making everyone suspicious.
Before the man could answer, Qin Chu continued, this time with a hint of sternness in his voice: "The Xiongnu are currently stationed outside the city. Why did you come here at this particular time instead of earlier or later? Shouldn't I suspect that you are connected with the enemy?"
The man was dumbfounded. He never expected that not only would he fail to get revenge, but he would also be turned into an enemy by a few words.
But he had no way to prove it, because he was essentially an unregistered person after his resurrection!
The general knew the man's identity was suspicious, so he waved his hand to order the soldiers to take him away.
That concludes the matter.
Qin Rui glanced at the man, composed herself, and walked towards Qin Chu.
The man was led out of the courtyard with a blank expression.
Just as he was about to step out of the courtyard gate, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he broke free from the soldiers' restraints like a madman, lunging at Qin Rui.
"No! There's definitely something wrong with you! There's no way you wouldn't have a birthmark on your hand!"
He moved extremely fast, and Qin Rui was caught off guard and failed to dodge. Qin Chu had just stood up when the man grabbed Qin Rui's left hand and pried it open.
The child's left palm did not have any birthmarks, but there was a patch of skin that was noticeably uneven and was a large scar.
The man stared wide-eyed at the scar on Qin Rui's hand, then burst into manic laughter: "Hahaha, there's a scar here! There's a scar here! He's the First Prince! He burned off his birthmark, so he's the First Prince!"
Upon hearing the man's roar, the general and several officers who were about to get up and leave were all stunned.
Even Qin Chu's brows furrowed suddenly.
This scar isn't a big deal when people examine it, because they only look for red birthmarks. But if it's specifically pointed out...
The general's expression immediately turned serious. He looked at Qin Chu: "General Qin..."
Qin Chu frowned and walked towards the general.
Seeing this, Qin Rui's panic surged up again: "Brother..."
He forced himself to calm down, telling himself not to be afraid, that Qin Chu was still protecting him. Qin Chu had promised him that she wouldn't believe anything anyone else said.
The general whispered a few words in Qin Chu's ear. Qin Rui couldn't hear them clearly, but he could vaguely make out words like "eldest prince," "royal family," and "not an ordinary child."
Suddenly, the general said something, and Qin Chu's pupils contracted as he abruptly looked at Qin Rui.
He seemed to have heard something utterly unbelievable, and for the first time, his usually expressionless face revealed a bright look of suspicion and shock.
The gazes that came over were now filled with inquiry.
Qin Chu's reaction was like a thorn, suddenly piercing Qin Rui's heart and stirring it up.
What did he hear? What did the general tell him? Did Qin Chu know about his past deeds?
Several terrifying questions flooded Qin Rui's mind, making him freeze.
Qin Rui subconsciously opened his mouth to argue, but found himself speechless.
What could he say?
He once made Qin Chu promise not to believe anything anyone said.
Qin Chu said he wanted to hear what Qin Rui had to say, but Qin Rui couldn't bring himself to speak.
Since what others are saying isn't a lie, but rather things he has actually done, how can he possibly refute it?
Whether he liked it or not, he did it, and that's that.
Qin Rui stood frozen in place, feeling a strange sense of relief amidst extreme panic.
Qin Chu finally learned that no matter how he tried to hide it, no matter how strongly he wanted to let go, it would always haunt him like a curse.
He had no choice and could not escape it.
But what will happen to Qin and Chu?
What will he do? Will Qin Chu still like him and protect him as before?
Qin Chu straightened up, and the general also stood up. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Take Qin Rui away and find him a room to settle him in properly."
This meant house arrest, but Qin Rui seemed not to hear it at all; he didn't care what others said.
He only cares about Qin and Chu.
Qin Rui stared intently at Qin Chu, his gaze focused, even carrying a hint of pleading. He was like a drowning man desperately grasping at a straw, longing to hear Qin Chu say to him again, "It's okay."
He only needs two words.
But Qin Chu remained silent until he was taken away.
Even as he was being led out of the courtyard, Qin Rui was still turning his head to look at Qin Chu.
He dropped his previous pretense and stopped feigning pitifulness, but still looked at Qin Chu with hopeful yet reluctant eyes.
But Qin Chu never looked at him.
He seemed shocked by what he had just heard, his brows furrowed as if he were lost in thought.
My heart sank completely. Little Qin Rui was taken away by two tall soldiers and sent to an empty room.
The room was clean and fairly warm, with soft sunlight streaming in through the window.
But it was empty, devoid of any trace of life, and there was no trace of Qin or Chu.
With a creak, the door closed.
Qin Rui sat down expressionlessly, staring at the tightly closed door, as if watching something he had been trying so hard to protect crumble little by little, turn into fragments, and finally turn into dust, leaving nothing behind.
-
After leaving the general's courtyard, Qin Chu returned to the training ground.
When Qin Rui was brought over, he was carrying a food box, but Qin Chu took the food box back with him.