A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 44

Upon reaching the exit, Mo Yan looked around. They had reached the river channel within Suzhou City. It was late at night, and there was no one around. There was a small bridge ahead. Mo Yan checked Bai Yingyu's breathing and found that she was still breathing. She figured that she would be fine for the time being, so she put her in the shadow of the bridge arch and jumped back into the water to swim back the way she came.

The account book was on her, and Bai Yingyu was right next to her. They had all the evidence to save her senior brother.

She didn't know why she was so foolish as to swim back desperately when she was almost exhausted.

She only had one thing on her mind—

That person.

The person who was seriously injured.

The one who faced the three Soul Chasers alone, whose fate remained unknown.

Swimming upstream against the swift current, she struggled to swim back...

Zhan Zhao had no idea that she would be foolish enough to swim back. Seeing that Mo Yan and the others had not surfaced, he guessed that they had escaped underwater, and he felt much relieved.

After the fight, the injury on his left leg became more and more serious. He wanted to use his lightness skill to shake off the Soul Chaser, but as soon as he exerted any force, he was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat. Not to mention lightness skill, even taking a few more steps was very difficult for him at this moment.

He had previously crippled one of the Soul Chasers' hands, greatly reducing the wounded man's attack power. However, the other two were enraged by their brother's injury and launched a fierce attack, giving him no chance to catch his breath. Zhan Zhao, with his back against a large rock, fought with all his might, relying entirely on the Giant Sword for protection.

Due to the exertion, blood kept gushing from the injury on his left leg, almost soaking half of it.

Blood, warm and comforting, carries a strong, fishy smell.

If this continues, he will eventually die from exhaustion under the arrows.

Zhan Zhao gritted his teeth, and the sword circle protecting him suddenly expanded. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his left leg, he leaped upwards with all his might.

The Soul Chaser reacted swiftly, immediately catching up with arrows that struck several vital points on his body and blocked his escape route.

His movements were much slower than before due to his injury. Under normal circumstances, dodging these arrows would not be difficult, but now it was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

The giant sword deflected some of the arrows, but it couldn't do anything about the few that blocked its path.

With no way out, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to lightly tap the rocks with his right foot, his body flying out at an angle and landing in the pond before the arrow could reach him.

Chapter 33

The pool water was gentle yet icy, irresistibly engulfing his limbs, mouth, and nose.

His body slowly sank to the bottom of the pool. He tried to grab onto something, but to no avail. Whether it was due to excessive blood loss or the bone-chilling cold of the pool water, he felt his limbs gradually become numb and lose sensation.

The two envoys caught up relentlessly, nocking arrows and about to shoot them into the water when they heard the sound of a hidden weapon whistling through the air behind them. They quickly dodged to the side. It turned out that Wu Zichu had arrived and, seeing Zhan Zhao fall into the water in a critical situation, picked up two small stones to help him out of his predicament.

As fate would have it, Wu Zichu had been sent by Ning Jin to the inn to find Zhan Zhao, but finding him absent, he assumed Zhan Zhao had gone to the Bai residence and headed there. He found the Bai residence in complete chaos, with servants and maids fleeing in panic, shouting that bandits had broken in, committing murder and arson, and demanding to report to the authorities. Unable to find anyone to inform him or guide him, he had no choice but to walk alone towards the fire. Arriving just in time, he saw Zhan Zhao injured and drowning.

Wu Zichu's martial arts skills were inferior to Zhan Zhao's. Although he was not injured, he was fighting two envoys alone and could only parry. He racked his brains for a thousand ways to save Zhan Zhao, but he was held back by the two envoys and could not free up any hands.

As the three were locked in fierce combat, Mo Yan suddenly leaped out of the water, standing on the edge of the pool, covered in water droplets. She stared intently, her eyes filled with doubt: How could the person have changed? Could it be that she was seeing things?

Upon seeing her, Wu Zichu was overjoyed. Without even having time to investigate how she ended up in the pool, he hurriedly exclaimed, "Zhan Zhao is in the water! Go and save him!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan jumped back into the water without saying a word.

Zhan Zhao floated up and down in the water, his consciousness gradually fading away. Apart from the sound of the water, all other sounds seemed to be thousands of miles away. In a daze, he watched the lotus stems swaying beside him, and the water surface sparkled with starlight, which was surprisingly beautiful... So this is what life is like but a dream, he thought blankly.

Suddenly someone grabbed his hand tightly and pulled him upstream.

With a "whoosh," water splashed everywhere, and a large amount of cool air rushed into his lungs. He saw clearly the person who had grabbed him—Mo Yan!

Her eyes were as black as lacquer and as bright as stars.

Why are you back again? He wanted to ask, but no sound came out.

"Hold your breath!"

Mo Yan yelled at him, and before Zhan Zhao could react, she had already pulled him back into the water.

They were still on the same waterway, but Zhan Zhao was a bit heavier than Bai Yingyu, and Mo Yan was also struggling more. Zhan Zhao was seriously injured and had lost too much blood. Although he tried his best to hold his breath, he soon fainted.

Emerging from the underground sewers, Mo Yan found a secluded spot and dragged Zhan Zhao ashore. The cold moonlight made his face appear even paler, the black-feathered arrow firmly embedded in his leg bone, blood still seeping out.

Mo Yan bit her lip. She knew that she couldn't treat this injury herself. The best thing to do right now was to carry him to a clinic and ask a doctor to treat him.

Clutching Zhan Zhao's hand tightly, she hoisted him onto her back and stood up unsteadily. Her vision blurred with dizziness, but she forced herself to stay upright and continued walking. Unlike in the water, where there was buoyancy, and having been without sleep for two days and two nights, and having spent nearly four hours in the water, she was utterly exhausted. Zhan Zhao's body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds; carrying him made it almost impossible for her to move.

After struggling to move more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) away, Mo Yan swayed and collapsed to the ground with Zhan Zhao.

It was already midday, and on the surface of Taihu Lake, a magnificently decorated ship was sailing against the wind and waves.

Mo Yan was lying in a cabin on the ship.

Was she injured too?

"No, she's just asleep."

"Slept for so long?...Are you really not injured?"

"He is indeed unharmed, Your Highness, please rest assured."

Awakened by the sound of their conversation, Mo Yan groggily opened her eyes and focused on the two people standing in front of her, whispering to each other: Ning Jin and Wu Zichu.

"Miss Mo, you're awake!" Wu Zichu said with a smile.

"..." Mo Yan froze for a moment, then jumped up and asked nervously, "Where is Zhan Zhao?"

"Zhan Zhao is resting in the next cabin."