Anti-Bone Scarlet Song

Chapitre 11

But nothing happened; she still heard the young master's footsteps as he left.

Chu Xia felt a strange sense of melancholy... Did the young master really like Bai Xue? Otherwise, why would he still linger there every night during such a sensitive time?

Chapter Ten

"Azure Dragon Envoy, this is a secret letter from the Black Tortoise Envoy." The guard handed Azure Dragon a long, thin bamboo tube.

Qinglong unpacked the bamboo tube, took out a thin piece of paper, examined it carefully, and murmured, "There really are Heavenly Generals in this world." He then looked up and asked, "Where is the young master now?"

"Young Master has not yet returned to the manor."

Qinglong hesitated for a moment: "Has the young master seen it?"

The guard replied, "I should know. Any secret letter sent to the Lord's residence by the Xuanwu Envoy will be copied and sent to you, young master."

Qinglong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I didn't expect there really was a Heavenly Gang. When you told me about it the other day, I thought it was a joke."

"My lord, Tian Gang... is that the legendary, extremely powerful assassin alliance?" A hint of fear flashed in the guard's eyes. "They... are also here to oppose us?"

Qinglong remained silent. In this painting academy, to ensure Chuxia could sit quietly and admire the paintings, he had led his guards to thwart over seventy assassination attempts and attacks from their adversaries in the past month. The ferocity and strangeness of their methods were unprecedented. The tension deep within him... he dared not relax for even a moment.

He thought this to himself, but his face remained relaxed as he smiled and said, "So what if I'm from the Heavenly Gang? In the past month or so, I still haven't been able to set foot in Shu Garden."

A curious voice came from behind: "Aqing, who are you talking to?"

Aqing turned her head and gave a lazy smile: "It's nothing, I was just talking to myself."

The shadows of the trees swayed gently, and early summer murmured, "I think I saw someone, but then they disappeared in the blink of an eye?"

Aqing patted her shoulder: "Are you seeing things?"

Chu Xia held two paintings in her hands, looked at the sky, and asked, "Where is the young master?"

But then a guard outside the door replied, "The head steward said that the young master has just returned to the manor and is currently in the study."

"Ah Qing, let's go find the young master." Chu Xia took a step forward. "I have good news to tell him."

Aqing frowned, but said, "Young Master, you're back so soon?"

Chu Xia felt a sense of comfort and was about to speak when she suddenly heard a clear tinkling sound in the air. She smiled and said, "It seems the girls in Yingyuan have practiced a new piece again."

Ah Qing's expression changed slightly. She took half a step forward and said in a low voice, "Go back to your room."

Chu Xia, still oblivious, chuckled and nudged his shoulder: "Trying to scare me again?"

There was another very faint tinkling sound in the air. Aqing said nothing more and helped her into the room. He then gave a clear shout, and several dark figures emerged from the rocks and bushes around the courtyard, some climbing the walls, some crouching under the eaves, busy but not chaotic, guarding their respective positions.

It's almost March now, the air is filled with a light mist and haze, and the grass is growing tall and the birds are singing – it's a rare and beautiful day.

Yet, this small courtyard was as desolate as a harsh winter.

A slight ripple in the air, followed by the sound of something cutting through the air as a silver arrow shot towards a guard on the roof.

The arrows were incredibly fast, but dodging them wasn't difficult. The guard deftly twisted his body to the side, thinking he could easily avoid them, but the subsequent arrows seemed to have anticipated his movements, each one faster and more accurate than the last. The guard could only parry with his sword, protecting his upper body, but both legs were struck by arrows, and he fell off the roof.

Qinglong frowned, about to call for someone to fill the gap, when he saw a dense volley of arrows shooting through the air, each one aimed precisely, as if it could anticipate the reaction of each guard, or as some kind of deadly weapon. Wherever it went, the guards fell to the ground.

Amidst screams, Qinglong's attendant exclaimed in alarm, "My lord, how did they manage to sneak into Shu Garden with crossbows?"

In a flash, Qinglong remembered the silk thread and the bell, and blurted out, "So that's how it is!"

Having said that, he leaped into the air, his body breaking the ruyi amidst the rain of arrows. He then threw out the silk bell, which immediately rang out in a chaotic clatter.

Wherever the bell rang, the arrows lost their aim and were all deflected to the ground by the guards.

The situation improved slightly. Qinglong leaped onto the roof and examined the eaves closely. Sure enough, they were all tied with silk threads. He pointed his fingers like a knife and swiftly cut the threads. The clinking sounds gradually disappeared, and the arrow formation in the distance thinned out. Before long, the courtyard returned to peace.

"My lord... what are these?" A guard picked them up, looking puzzled.

“Those crossbow bolts were shot in from outside Shu Garden,” Qinglong explained simply. “These powerful crossbow bolts are not easy to control accurately, so bells are tied with silk threads. The crossbowmen use their ears as eyes and grasp the external force of wind speed in order to aim accurately.”

He pondered for a moment, then shouted, "This is only the first wave of the ambush. All guards must remain at their posts and not leave without permission."

After saying this, he jumped down from the roof to check on the casualties of his subordinates.

Just as she squatted down, someone timidly peeked out from the house behind her and asked, "Aqing—"

As soon as she peeked out, Chu Xia smelled blood and saw a yard full of scattered corpses. She was so frightened that she closed the window again and shouted through the wall, "A Qing—you, you're not dead, are you?"

"You won't die, so don't come out." Qinglong reached out to stop the bleeding of several of his men by applying pressure points, and replied in a deep voice.

"Where is the young master?" Qinglong gazed into the distance towards the study. "Didn't the head steward say that the young master had already returned? With such a commotion here, why hasn't anyone come to check?"

The guard lying on the ground groaned softly. Just as Qinglong was about to turn him over, a blade of light suddenly flashed before his eyes!

The Azure Dragon leaned back, barely dodging the attack, but was immediately put on the defensive and forced to dodge in a disheveled manner.

He retreated all the way to the doorway inside the house before he could regain his defensive stance. But then he saw the "corpses" in the courtyard leap up, their knives flashing and slashing, catching the guards completely off guard and splattering blood everywhere.

The remaining four or five guards used the art studio where Chu Xia was located as their base for a desperate battle.

"It's you!" Qinglong kicked an assassin away and sneered, "You pretended to be the head steward and lied that the young master had returned, but you were actually hinting to your inside man to make a move immediately."

The man chuckled coldly, "Indeed. Manager Cang is probably already overwhelmed with his own affairs."

Azure Dragon smiled arrogantly and looked around: "Tian Gang is quite capable. He must have been planning and scheming for this battle for a long time, right?"

“That’s right. In the past month, my Tian Gang has lost more than a hundred skilled men in order to figure out the defense system in Shu Garden and secretly replace the guards you, the Azure Dragon Envoy, have deployed.”

"So, you have an inside agent in the Jun residence?" Qinglong was slightly moved. "You dare to be so presumptuous because you know that the young master is not in the residence at the moment!"

The man smiled but did not answer, and said no more. He waved his hand and said, "Go! Leave the women in the house alive."

Before anyone knew it, Qinglong had acquired a long sword.

The young man gave a slight shake and laughed, "Young master always says that I am impetuous and tells me to restrain myself and use the sword less. That's why this Fengchuan sword hasn't tasted blood for a whole year. Now that it has been sharpened with the Heavenly Gang, I couldn't have asked for more."

With a flash of sword light, several people fell to the ground in an instant. Qinglong, caught up in the killing frenzy, glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw several people halfway through the window. With a tap of his toes and a sweep of his sword, several screams rang out as the men were cut in two. One half fell into the house, while the other half remained outside, their blood and entrails spilling onto the ground.

Qinglong immediately felt a headache coming on. He slowed down his movements, but didn't hear any screams from inside the house. He wondered if the girl had fainted. He wanted to go inside to see what was going on, but he was entangled by several assassins and couldn't get away. Meanwhile, the number of guards was decreasing. Finally, someone found an opening and tried to rush into the house.

Qinglong kicked aside an assassin beside him, flipped over to block the man's path, pressed the tip of his sword against the man's chest, and said with a faint smile, "With this little skill, you think you can snatch someone from the Jun family?"

Before the words were even finished, shadows flickered all around, and a new batch of guards surged out from all directions, instantly reversing the situation.

A look of fear flashed across the assassin leader's eyes. Blood dripped from his Phoenix Sword onto his chest. He gritted his teeth and said, "You... have redeployed your defenses?"

Qinglong smiled smugly: "You think I'm stupid for changing people right under my nose!"

He paused, then said, "If it weren't for the fact that Tiangang is too mysterious, and that the young master instructed me to investigate your methods and background, do you think you could have stepped into this Shu Garden?"

The man's weapon fell to the ground, and his face turned pale.

"Speak! Who is your mole?" The tip of the Azure Dragon Sword pierced the man's chest an inch deep. "If you don't speak, I'll rip your heart out!"

The man's expression changed several times, his lips twitching slightly, when he heard the sound of an arrow piercing the air from afar. Qinglong's expression changed, and he shouted, "Not good!" He hurriedly swung his sword.

This arrow was far more powerful than the previous ones. The Fengchuan Sword cleaved the arrowhead, but still failed to stop it. The man clutched his pierced throat, groaned, and collapsed to the ground, dying instantly.

Qinglong had no choice but to sheathe his Phoenix River Sword. Suddenly, his guards cried out in alarm, "My lord! My lord! There's a fire!"

He quickly turned around, only to see flames erupting inside the house behind him—those picture albums that the young masters had spent fortunes to buy were likely to be reduced to ashes.

For a moment, Qinglong's mind went blank, then he shouted, "Early Summer, Early Summer!"

The firelight grew brighter and brighter, but no one inside answered.

Chapter Eleven

Amidst the towering flames, Qinglong repeatedly rushed into the room, attempting to rescue the people. However, due to the highly flammable materials inside the room, including the picture books, the flames were too intense, forcing him to retreat each time.

The guards began to put out the fire. Qinglong took off his long robe, dipped it in a bucket of water, and draped it wet over himself before rushing into the burning room.

A gentle force pressed down on his shoulder from behind. In his haste, Qinglong shrugged and shouted angrily, "Don't stop me!"

"Azure Dragon, it's me."

It was the young master's voice.

Qinglong turned around hurriedly and said anxiously, "Young Master... Chuxia, she..."

The young master, dressed in flowing robes, had his right arm around the waist of a young girl who leaned weakly against his chest, motionless. He turned slightly to show the girl's profile to Qinglong and smiled, "She's here."

Seeing the young master's relaxed demeanor, Qinglong was certain that Chuxia was alright and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He kicked the corpse on the ground with his toe and said, "First, this guy was silenced, and then his house was burned down. Qinglong has lost all face."

The young master reached out and patted his head, as if comforting a child, and said, "You have done very well."

"What's so good about her! She can't even protect a stupid girl!" Qinglong curled his lip and looked at Chuxia, whose eyes were closed. "Is she alright?"

The young master smiled slightly: "I was so overwhelmed by anger that I held my breath for a moment."

When Chu Xia woke up, her eyes were still closed. She heard the rustling of pages turning. Was the young master reading? Her heart immediately calmed down.

"Awake?" The hand on my forehead was very warm, and the voice was pleasant. "Where do you feel unwell?"

Chu Xia opened her eyes, coughed heavily a few times, and her first words were: "Young master... I set that fire."

The young master tidied her disheveled hair and said calmly, "I know."

Chu Xia's eyes widened: "You're not blaming me?"

“I don’t blame you; on the contrary, I praise you for doing well.” The young master leaned down slightly, his eyes fixed on her. “I know you are a smart child.”

His face was so close that she could almost count each eyelash. Chu Xia felt her cheeks burning and quickly turned her eyes away: "What about A Qing? Is he alright?"

“He’s fine,” the young master said gently. “If you want to see him, I’ll have someone bring him in.”

Chu Xia nodded, then shook her head: "Young master, let me tell you something important first."

The young master sat down beside her bed, the faint scent of camphor surrounding them, a slightly intoxicating aroma.

“Young master, I have finished examining all the scrolls. Sure enough, I found two scrolls that depicted scenes extremely similar to ‘Landscape Ballad’. At noon, I took the scrolls to find you. And then… I encountered the assassin.”

The young master lowered his eyes and saw that her fists were clenched tightly. Knowing that she was nervous, he gently took her hand and said in a low voice, "Tell me slowly."

“Aqing told me to retreat inside. I heard the sounds of fighting outside and I was terrified.” Chuxia took a deep breath. “I knew they must be here for the painting I had. Since I had already memorized the painting… it wouldn’t hurt to burn it. So I lit a candle… but then someone rushed in through the window and was cut in half. I became even more frightened, my hand trembled, and a spark flew, setting the entire studio ablaze.”

The young master smiled faintly, gently stroking the back of her hand with his fingertips, and said in a very soft voice, "Chu Xia, is that really what you think?"

Chu Xia glanced at him quickly, noticing his enigmatic smile, and suddenly felt a sense of unfathomable mystery about him. She pursed her lips, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Did you guess everything again, young master?"