Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn

Chapter 84

Whose fault is all this? We'll probably have to face these kinds of things even more often in the future.

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 68

Chapter word count: 3311 Update time: 09-08-18 14:49

Back in the tent, Shen Haoyu was already lying diagonally on the bed, with Yinyan carefully tucking him in. I walked to Shen Haoyu's bedside and knelt down: "Young Prince, tonight's assassins were all caused by Huai En's personal grudges. You were frightened, please punish me."

Shen Haoyu responded faintly, but Yin Yan blocked his face, so I couldn't see his expression.

"I released the assassin I captured," I said honestly.

"It's been so long, everyone should get some rest." Shen Haoyu said this and then said nothing more. Zi Nuo sealed the hole in the tent, wrapped herself in a blanket, and lay down by the fire again. A little while later, Yin Yan also lay down next to her.

I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. I quietly walked to the outside of the tent, but still couldn't see Ganlin. Suppressing my unease, I squatted down by the tent entrance.

I suspect that Zinuo and I's past is no longer a secret, otherwise Prince Qing wouldn't have let me come here so easily, and Shen Haoyu wouldn't have been so nonchalant about what just happened. What good does it do to know? If they don't say anything, I'll just pretend I don't know. So many years have passed, why worry about this now?

As I was deep in thought, I felt someone squat down beside me. I looked up and saw it was Zinuo. I tried to push him inside to sleep, but he stubbornly squatted there and ignored me. I had no choice but to get up, pull him along, and lie down in the tent together.

The firewood crackled and popped in the earthen stove. After nearly two months of rain and snow, the firewood was damp. The firewood delivered to Shen Haoyu was relatively dry, but it still produced a lot of smoke. Now that it was quiet, the smoke felt even more pungent, making me want to cough. Before I could even cough, Shen Haoyu was already coughing uncontrollably. I knew his lung injury hadn't healed yet, and the smoke would probably make it worse, so I quickly grabbed a small towel, dampened it, and brought it back in.

Awakened by Shen Haoyu's coughing, Yinyan kept patting his back to help him breathe. Perhaps knowing that Yinyan and I would take care of him, Zinuo remained lying on the wooden plank with his eyes closed. Knowing that Zinuo needed to conserve his energy for any potential emergencies, no one disturbed him. I handed Shen Haoyu a towel to cover his mouth and nose. During fire escape training, the instructor said that a wet towel could filter smoke; hopefully, this wet towel would work for Shen Haoyu. That's all I know.

Once Shen Haoyu's breathing stabilized, I told Yinyan to continue resting and not to wake up if anything happened later. I couldn't sleep anyway, so I sat by the bedside watching over Shen Haoyu and waiting for Gan Lin to see if he would return. Fortunately, nothing else happened in the latter half of the night, and everyone slept soundly except for me, who stayed awake until dawn. This was one of the rare times I'd experienced insomnia since coming to this world.

As dawn broke, I lifted the curtain and went outside, splashing my face with icy water. A shiver ran through me, and I felt much more alert. I knew I desperately needed sleep, and my face must look haggard, but I had no desire to go to sleep. I circled the tent, but apart from a few guards, Gan Lin was nowhere to be seen.

After a simple breakfast at the campsite, Shen Haoyu took the medicine left by Mr. Qi, and everyone started packing their things to prepare for the journey.

After resting for so long at Marquis Qiyun's villa, and only two days into our journey, everyone's faces already betray their exhaustion. The road ahead is still so long, and I don't know how much longer this group can stay together, or even how many will be left when we return to the capital. Emperor Youjing is simply playing a cat-and-mouse game, and besides dealing with wave after wave of assassination attempts, I don't know what else we can do.

We set off again, this time with Yin Yan, the only one dressed as a woman, riding alongside the fake Shen Haoyu, while Zinuo distanced herself from Shen Haoyu and me. We rode for quite a distance, and I kept looking back, unsure whether I was afraid of Gan Lin's betrayal or worried about his safety.

Shen Haoyu seemed to know what I was thinking and said calmly, "Last night I thought I heard a howling sound with extremely strong internal energy. Your friend was probably dealing with his own problems." I knew that the group of people last night were not top-notch assassins, and there was no one with extremely strong internal energy among them. Shen Haoyu's words reassured me a little.

We arrived in Yancheng at noon and rested at the post station. Yancheng was a large city, and the post station was much more impressive than those in other small towns, but it wasn't a place for us to stay. After a short rest and replenishing our water and food supplies for the journey, we hurriedly set off again. When I saw a white figure standing in the middle of the road outside the north gate, I felt a surge of joy and spurred my horse towards it.

Gan Lin's white clothes were stained with blood, some dark, some still bright red, all so shocking. But my heart was filled with more joy than anything else. I was so afraid that I had misjudged him and brought trouble to those around me, but he still came back, though he was a little tired.

As the procession drew near, I led out the horse that had been given to Gan Lin and handed it to him. He smiled slightly, took the reins, and leaped onto the horse. I turned and smiled at Shen Haoyu, who nodded gently before silently continuing on his way.

I followed Gan Lin and asked in a low voice, "Are you injured?"

Gan Lin shook his head and laughed, "No, it's all other people's blood."

I looked at the bloodstains on his clothes: "You're right, white clothes are indeed hard to wash, but I've decided that when we get to the next town, I'll give you a new set of white clothes."

Gan Lin shook his head helplessly.

As we passed through a grove of trees, the horses beneath us became restless again. These horses, experienced in so many battles, were quite formidable. Sure enough, soon things began to fall from above – fishing nets, logs, stones, and more – raining down on our group. Everyone scrambled to avoid them, and the once orderly ranks were quickly disrupted. Many more men in black emerged from the bushes, their target clearly the imposter Shen Haoyu. A barrage of hidden weapons, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, hurtled towards the imposter. Zhao Ming and the imposter Shen Haoyu frantically parried. The Imperial Guards, however, had it much easier this time. Once the rain of hidden weapons subsided, they swarmed in. Meanwhile, the men in black, swords in hand, charged into the crowd.

The fake Shen Haoyu's side was launching the fiercest attack. Yin Yan and Zinuo were both there. Zinuo was doing a little better, but I was most worried about Yin Yan, whose martial arts skills weren't as good as theirs, and whose experience wasn't as great either. I hoped nothing bad would happen to her. I wanted to go and help, but I couldn't get away from my own side, especially with Shen Haoyu still not fully recovered.

Seeing several streaks of silver light simultaneously pierce towards Yin Yan, I couldn't help but cry out in surprise. Then I heard several crisp "clangs" as the swords went astray, each thrusting towards a man in black. The man in black couldn't dodge in time and was pierced through. This all happened extremely fast; if I hadn't been watching Yin Yan closely, I wouldn't have known how it happened at all.

Just as I was startled, a gust of wind came from behind me. I instinctively crouched down to try and dodge it, but the wind struck my back instead. I raised my sword to block, but at the same time, I rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding it. My posture was a bit awkward, but oh well, nobody taught me, and I didn't practice properly. Luckily, I managed to dodge it.

"Don't look at others, take care of yourself first." Gan Lin's voice rang out beside him. Could it be that he was the one who just saved Yin Yan?

Seeking protection and to avoid being killed by the hail of swords, I huddled close to Gan Lin, also bringing Shen Haoyu under his protection. Although this was the first time I'd seen Gan Lin fight in person, he hadn't even drawn his sword yet, clearly not using his full strength. I completely trusted Gan Lin as a reliable expert. This time, the assassins were much more ruthless than yesterday's. Besides Gan Lin's group, seeing everyone gradually weakening, I heard the sound of falling leaves in the forest, and then some men in black joined the battle. I was terrified, only breathing a sigh of relief when I realized these later men in black were there to help us.

However, they were all dressed in black, so how could anyone tell who was who? What if they killed their own people?

However, with the addition of these men in black, our strength increased significantly, and we gradually gained the upper hand. The situation was getting better and better for us, but then we heard a whistle from Konoha. The men in black who were supporting us disappeared again in a few leaps. The remaining men in black were enough for the Imperial Guards to handle.

I helped Shen Haoyu rest under a tree, and asked Gan Lin, "They're all dressed in black, how can we tell if they're on our side?"

Gan Lin rolled her eyes at me, annoyed: "Even if there are several more groups of people, they can still tell each other apart."

I sighed. Fine, if they won't tell me, then so be it. I'll just assume they all have their own secret markings or scents. Anyway, I don't understand those underworld jargon and codes.

After this battle, our team suffered heavy casualties again. Although those men in black saved us, I still felt very resentful. I don't know how long they had been there, but they waited until we were almost at our limit before helping us. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have died. Perhaps they were also trying to preserve their own strength. I don't know which group they were. According to Zinuo, they had been rescued by these mysterious men in black many times along the way; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to get here at all.

Having witnessed so much killing in just two days, my resistance to the dead and blood has increased several levels. I no longer hold back when fighting enemies. I don't know if this is a good thing.

After burying the dead on the spot and bandaging the wounded, everyone hurried on their way. They heard that if they could reach Fushui Town by nightfall, they wouldn't have to spend the night in the suburbs, as the inn there was quite large. This news was somewhat encouraging; staying indoors was safer than staying in the wilderness.

Fortunately, everyone was on horseback, and the journey wasn't too slow. Some people went ahead to Fushui Town to make arrangements, while the rest and the wounded followed behind. As dusk settled over the land, I saw the hazy outline of the town in the distance, and I couldn't help but want to scream—if there were houses, there would be hot water for showers, and beds and blankets to sleep in…

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 69

Chapter word count: 3550 Update time: 09-08-19 11:03

When they arrived at the post station in Fushui Town, the advance team had already made arrangements there. The post station was bustling with activity as they started fires, cooked meals, boiled water, prepared rooms, and prepared horse feed...

As we passed through the town's main road, I saw that most shops were still open. Once we reached our assigned room and dropped off our bags, I dragged Ganlin out to town. He, on the other hand, had been completely carefree, carrying nothing, not even his clothes—he changed into new ones when they got dirty, and who knows where he threw the old ones. Oh well, they were all his own anyway. This was the only time I had promised him.

We found a clothing store, and Gan Lin picked out a new white cloth outfit. It wasn't nearly as high-quality as his previous silk brocade outfit. He actually knew how to save me money, and I was overjoyed. The shop assistant, however, didn't seem surprised at all by his old, blood-stained white outfit; they were clearly used to seeing things.

After changing our clothes, Ganlin set the blood-stained clothes he had taken off on fire in the corner. Only after the clothes had burned out did we head towards the inn. Although it was a bit of a pity that the fine clothes were so dirty, it was impossible to wash them clean and wear them again.

When we returned to the inn, it was already time to eat. Zinuo was sitting in the lobby. Seeing Ganlin and me enter, he gestured for us to sit down; several tables nearby were already occupied with their food. Looking around, I asked, "Where's Yinyan?"

"Bring the food to the young prince in his room," Zi Nuo said, bringing me a bowl of mushroom soup. Only then did I take a closer look at the dishes on the table: a plate of bamboo shoots, a bowl of braised pork, a plate of cabbage, and a bowl of mushroom soup. Although they weren't my usual favorite dishes, they were still quite good for the occasion.

I took a sip of the hot mushroom soup. It didn't look very appealing, but it had a unique and delicious flavor. I ended up drinking two bowls before starting my meal. After the meal, I felt warm and cozy all over.