Building a Harmonious Song Dynasty

Chapter 25

Volume One: Fate Destined for Each Other 050: Parting in Danger

The river wind was very cold at night, so Qin Zhen returned to the large cabin where Zhao Gou was staying early. She would keep watch tonight.

Zhao Gou was reading by the light of an oil lamp, while Qin Zhen was making the bed beside him. This multi-story ship had been waiting at the port since last month, specially prepared for their crossing of the river.

"Have you all felt better after taking your medicine?" Zhao Gou asked.

After tidying up Zhao Gou's bed, Qin Zhen went to her own small bed on the outside and said, "I'm feeling better. I should be able to sleep soundly tonight. We'll be on shore tomorrow morning, and everything will be fine."

Zhao Gou nodded, inwardly speechless at those weak and incompetent civil officials.

"Go to sleep, the bed is all made."

Upon hearing Qin Zhen's words, Zhao Gou got up and walked towards the large bed. He glanced outside and said, "It's chilly at night, so please add another blanket."

Qin Zhen smiled and nodded.

As the lights went out, the night deepened...

In the middle of the night, rustling sounds kept reaching Qin Zhen's ears. She thought it was the guards on night watch chatting outside, so she frowned, opened her eyes, put on her clothes, and got out of bed. As soon as she stood up, she felt an unusual smell in the room. Upon closer sniffing, she was horrified to discover that it was sleeping potion!

Qin Zhen hurriedly ran to Zhao Gou's bedside, called out to him in a low voice, and pushed him hard, but Zhao Gou could no longer feel her!

With a "click," the cabin door was pushed open. Qin Zhen hid behind the screen in front of the window and stared intently at the doorway. She saw a slender figure walk in, who appeared to be a woman.

After the woman entered the room, she first walked towards Qin Zhen's small bed. Slowly, she raised a dagger in her hand. The cold light of the dagger reflected on the woman's face, and Qin Zhen almost cried out. She was actually Qing Lan!

Qinglan got closer and closer to the small bed, about to pounce, when she was horrified to find that there were only two quilts piled high on the bed, and there was no sign of Qin Zhen! Qinglan did not know that Qin Zhen had grown up in a world of medicine since childhood, and that sleeping potion had no effect on her. So what she thought would be a sure thing turned out to be a mistake from the very beginning.

Seeing Qinglan turn and walk towards Zhao Gou's bed, Qin Zhen took out a wind-blade knife from his bosom and pointed it at Qinglan.

The Wind Blade, though called a blade, is actually a concealed weapon. It contains hundreds of thin, cicada-wing-like blades in a square box. Once the trigger is pressed, the blades will slide out in an arc, making it suitable for ambushing enemies at close range.

Just as Qinglan was about to turn around the screen, a sharp blade, as sharp as a gust of wind, slid across her neck. There was no sound, no blood, and only a red rope remained around her neck.

Qin Zhen rushed forward and caught Qinglan, who was about to fall to the ground. Qinglan had already stopped breathing and didn't even know who had killed her!

Gently placing her on the ground, Qin Zhen cautiously walked outside. She didn't know if Qinglan had any accomplices, nor did she know what had happened to the other people on the ship.

Through the crack in the door, Qin Zhen saw that the two guards at the entrance had fallen, their fates unknown. Just as she was pondering how to contact the others, the sound of clashing weapons suddenly rang out from the ship's deck!

He quickly reached the deck at the bow of the ship. In the howling river wind, Liu Qi, clad in silver armor and a black robe, was fighting four men in black. Beside them, a small patrol of guards lay silently in a pool of blood, lifeless.

The loud clanging of weapons alerted the other guards on the lower deck of the ship. The moment Qin Zhen arrived, Zhao Yong led the other guards out.

Seeing that his plan had been exposed, the man in black tried to retreat, but Liu Qi and Zhao Yong blocked his escape route, preventing him from even jumping into the water.

Qin Zhen watched them fight fiercely, her heart filled with anxiety, when she noticed Zhao Gou staggering out of the room. The effects of the sleeping potion hadn't completely worn off, so Qin Zhen quickly went to support him. Before she could speak, Zhao Gou asked, "Is Qinglan really a spy?"

Qin Zhen nodded, while Zhao Gou was furious. He had been suspicious of Qinglan for many days, so he insisted on having Qin Zhen keep watch at night and not allowing Qinglan to have any contact with him alone. However, he was still attached to the fact that Qinglan had served him since childhood, and he was unwilling to misunderstand a good person based on his own guess. Therefore, he had not dealt with Qinglan for a long time.

And now... all he can do is smile bitterly...

Surrounded by Liu Qi and Zhao Yong with no way out, the four men in black struggled like dying beasts. One after another, the men in black fell, and when the last one was about to dodge, he saw Zhao Gou suddenly appear, so he turned and stabbed at Zhao Gou.

Qin Zhen was terrified and quickly pulled Zhao Gou to dodge, but his left sleeve was still torn because he couldn't dodge in time.

The black-clad man's desperate attack failed, and Zhao Yong had already rushed over to protect the still clumsy Zhao Gou. However, Qin Zhen was grabbed by the waist by the desperate black-clad man and dragged down with him, and they jumped into the river together!

"No……"

Zhao Gou screamed, his outstretched hand only managing to grab a tattered piece of cloth from Qin Zhen's left sleeve. Seeing this, Liu Qi quickly stripped off his armor and then leaped into the river.

"Qin Zhen!"

Clinging to the gunwale, Zhao Gou, who couldn't swim, almost tried to follow and save Qin Zhen, but was held back by Zhao Yong from behind. All he could do was scream in anguish…

The only response he received was the crashing sound of the surging river...

Numerous small boats were launched from the warships, and countless torches illuminated the river surface. Several soldiers who could swim also went into the water to search, but in the end, they found nothing…

Soaked to the bone, Liu Qi knelt on one knee and begged Zhao Gou for forgiveness. Zhao Gou's eyes were red, but he was still lucid. He said, "This disaster started from within the walls, and it is not your fault. If you had not patrolled in the middle of the night, everyone would have suffered. You deserve to be rewarded."

"This humble general dares not!"

Looking at Zhao Gou, who was trying hard to control his emotions, and thinking of Qin Zhen, such a well-behaved child, sinking into the icy river, Liu Qi felt a pang of heartache and could only sigh deeply!

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Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky Chapter 51: This Woman Descends from the Sky

Second update, please vote! Thank you for your support.

==================Entering Volume Two from This Chapter====================

The rising sun of the new year burst forth with golden rays, dispelling the clouds on the horizon and the mist in the forest, guiding people to embark on a new life.

On the path by the woods, several women carrying baskets full of clothes walked towards the stream beyond the woods. Their noisy laughter carried along the way, startling the birds in the woods and the boy practicing martial arts in the stream.

The boy appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, with regular and resolute features. His tall and sturdy body stood firmly in a horse stance in the middle of the river. The clear river water reached above the boy's knees, and the rushing water splashed against his legs, creating a few sprays, but it did not shake the boy's solid stance in the slightest.

The woman who was leading the group walked out of the woods, saw the boy, and called out loudly, "Ah Fei, you've been punished by your master again so early in the morning?"

"Sister-in-law Yang, Master didn't punish me; it was my own choice." The boy smiled innocently.

The women squatted down along the stones by the river, placing the clothes in their hands beside them in preparation for washing. As Yang's wife fiddled with the clothes, she said, "The water is still very cold. Don't freeze yourself."

Ah Fei said, "It's alright. Master said that practicing horse stance in the water is much more effective than on land. What's a little hardship?"

The women chuckled. Ah Fei was known throughout the village for his ability to endure hardship. Whatever method he used to torment people, he would use to practice his kung fu. Everyone was used to it.

The women went back to washing clothes and chatting. After a while, when the clothes were all clean, they were about to return to the village when they suddenly heard Ah Fei exclaim, "Oh dear!"

Everyone looked towards Afei, only to see him running upstream rapidly, stepping on the current. Following the direction he was running, everyone was shocked to see a girl floating among the rocks ten feet away from them!

Afei ran over in a few strides and picked up the girl who was stranded among the rocks in the river. When the women saw this, they all put down what they were carrying and ran towards them.

"Sister-in-law Yang, please check if she can be saved!" Afei said anxiously as he laid the girl flat on the riverbank.

Yang's wife's husband was the village doctor, and she herself had picked up a little knowledge of medicine from what she had seen and heard. So she reached out and felt under the girl's nose, saying, "It's alright, it's alright, she's breathing! But she's very weak. We need to find a doctor to take a look at her right away. My husband went to the city to sell medicine. You should take this girl back to your master to take a look at her. He also knows medicine."

Upon hearing this, Afei immediately carried the girl on his back and ran home. He was strong and fast, and even with a person on his back, he ran very fast. When he reached the village, he rushed straight home, shouting, "Master, Master, please save her!"

When Old Zhou heard A Fei's voice from inside the house, he looked up and saw that A Fei had already run up to him, with a girl in blue clothes on his back.

Ah Fei's mother was startled by the loud noise and quickly came over to see what was happening. She was also surprised to find that he had carried someone back on his back.

"What's wrong?" Old Zhou was very dissatisfied with his apprentice's behavior; he was acting extremely flustered.

Afei pointed to the person on his back and said, "I found her in the river. She's barely alive. Brother Yang went to town to buy medicine. Only you, Master, can save her."

"Put her on the bed."

Old Zhou picked up the girl's wrist and took her pulse for a while, then said to Afei's mother, "Mother-in-law, find her some clothes to change out of her wet clothes. I'm going to the back mountain to gather some herbs."

The mother-in-law first found some clothes for the girl to change into, then dried her wet hair. Parting the messy hair, the mother-in-law exclaimed in surprise, "What a beautiful child!"

Hearing his mother say this from outside, Afei curiously came in to look. He heard his mother grumbling, "Whose child is this? They must be frantic with worry."

The woman picked up her wet clothes to go wash them, but when she shook them, a lot of things fell out with a clatter. Among the scattered items were boxes of different sizes, bottles of various shapes, and a huge gold ring!

“Mother…” Afei picked up the gold ring and handed it to his mother.

Yue Niang said, "She must be a rich man's daughter. Look at this ring. The one that Master Zhang in the city has isn't even half the size of this one."

The mother-in-law wrapped all the fallen items in cloth and instructed her son, "These all belong to other people, we can't touch them. And don't go around saying anything. This child seems to be a wealthy person, but now he's in trouble. Maybe he's encountered robbers, or maybe someone is seeking revenge."

Ah Fei nodded seriously and said, "Mother, I understand."

An hour later, Old Zhou returned from the mountain. After preparing the medicine, he asked Afei to tend the stove and decoct it. He then called his mother-in-law and said, "The girl Afei saved is no ordinary person. Whether it's a blessing or a curse is still unknown. You should be prepared in advance."

The woman was surprised and said, "Uncle Zhou, you figured it out too?" Then she showed the old man Zhou the things that had fallen off the girl. The old man Zhou said, "I guessed right."

He picked up an iron box and said, "Don't underestimate this iron box. This is a unique hidden weapon of the Tang Clan of Shu Mountain. It's something that makes people in the martial arts world turn pale at the mere mention of it. It's amazing that we found it on this little girl. I was a little worried when I sensed the true energy of the Tang Clan in her body earlier, but I didn't expect it to be true."

The mother-in-law said, puzzled, "Since we know whose child she is, why don't we just send her back?"

Old Zhou sighed and said, "The Tang Clan was wiped out twenty years ago. Where should we send her?"

The woman was alarmed. Could it really be an enemy seeking revenge?

"You should think carefully about what to do with this girl. If you keep her at home, she might cause a lot of trouble," Old Zhou warned.

After thinking for a while, Yue Niang frowned and said, "I don't know what the consequences will be, but I know that if we abandon this child now, she will definitely die. I can't just watch my perfectly healthy baby die like this!"

When Ah Fei, who was holding a bowl of medicine outside, heard his mother say this, he felt a warm current flow through his heart.