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Xiao Chen interrupted him impatiently: "You don't need to go on and on. Just tell me if you saw the girl driving the carriage."

“That girl…” The old constable shook his head, “I didn’t see her again. Later, I saw the assassin chasing the carriage out, so we followed. When we got to the Bian River, we saw the carriage overturned on the ground, and everyone inside was gone. The assassin was also gone.”

"Bian River!"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao and Xiao Chen felt somewhat relieved. Mo Yan was an excellent swimmer; if she jumped into the water, most assassins would be helpless against her. But... if nothing was wrong, why hadn't she returned to Kaifeng Prefecture?

When they arrived at the riverbank, the dilapidated carriage lay quietly in the reeds less than ten feet from the water. Zhan Zhao bent down to examine the carriage closely, his brows furrowing slightly: several parts of the carriage had been dismantled, presumably taken home by nearby villagers to be used as firewood, and the remaining wreckage offered almost no clues.

Looking at the footprints on the ground, although they had been trampled by the villagers, he could still vaguely make out that two people's footprints were heading towards the river. After carefully examining the depth of the footprints, he breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that neither of the two people had been injured.

Zhan Zhao stood up again and ordered everyone to disperse, including the two constables from Zhangjiadian, and to search for Mo Yan and Ning Jin along the river in sections.

"Brother Xiao..."

Considering Xiao Chen's poor eyesight, he naturally couldn't search alone. Zhan Zhao wanted to ask him to return to town first, but then he saw Xiao Chen take out a jade-green bamboo flute from his pocket and try to play it.

“Xiao Qi recognizes this flute music. If she is nearby, she should come following the sound,” Xiao Chen said.

Zhan Zhao stared at him for a moment. Although he knew that Zhan Zhao could not see him, he still bowed and left. The sound of a flute rang out behind him. It was clear and superior, and more penetrating than ordinary flute music. It was obviously Xiao Chen playing it with his internal energy.

I'm so hungry! I can't hold on much longer!

The moonlight was pale, and a hand clung to the rocks on the shore, its fingers gripping tightly into the crevices. Because it had been there for so long, the hand was stiff from the fingertips to the arm, and Mo Yan almost felt that the hand was not her own.

Most of her body was still submerged in the river, her teeth chattering from the cold. But that wasn't the worst of it. What was worse was the short arrow lodged firmly in her right shoulder. Because the arrow was pressing on the blood vessels in her right hand, she couldn't move it at all; even moving a single finger was an impossible task.

If she could move her right hand, she could climb ashore.

But now she can only hold onto the rocks with her left hand, unable to go up or down, soaking in the water.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying a few scattered flute notes, faint and indistinct...

Another gust of wind blew by, and the flute melody sounded familiar...

Mo Yan, whose eyes were already half-closed, suddenly opened them—it was her second brother's flute music!

"Second brother! I'm here! Here I am!"

She tried to shout, but due to her serious injuries, the voice that came out of her throat was hoarse and weak, and she couldn't even hear herself clearly.

Frowning in annoyance, she tried clearing her throat, taking a deep breath, and was about to shout when a wave suddenly hit her, forcing her to swallow a mouthful of water, and she immediately started coughing violently.

Author's Note: First of all, Lion Baby is so adorable right now. Lion Mom feels like she can't love her enough. Thank you all for your concern. On behalf of Lion Baby, I want to give you all kisses, hehe!

Secondly, thank you to everyone who pointed out bugs and inconsistencies in the document. To avoid the hassle, I made the changes directly in Word after receiving feedback, instead of editing online, intending to do so during the major revision. So please don't think I'm ignoring your suggestions; I'm actually very grateful. Thank you again, and please continue to help me find bugs and provide feedback!

Chapter Forty-Eight

This sudden, violent cough almost exhausted all her strength, and the tremors in her body caused her fingers, which were gripping the crack in the rock, to gradually loosen... Suddenly, someone grabbed her and pulled her directly from the water onto the shore with such force.

Looking at her, Zhan Zhao finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart: thankfully, she was still alive.

"Master Zhan..." Although weak, she still smiled and said, "I... knew I was lucky and wouldn't die."

He didn't bother to speak to her. He knelt on the ground, his gaze falling on the black arrow on her right shoulder. Further down, in the moonlight, her right palm was a faint bluish-purple, clearly due to poor blood circulation.

"Can't you move your hand?" Zhan Zhao's expression changed slightly, and he immediately understood why she had been unable to get ashore for so long.

She nodded.

He took a deep breath, helped her sit up, and pressed several acupoints to protect her heart meridian. He hoped that it was not too late. Although Mo Yan was weak, she reacted quickly and immediately understood that he wanted to pull out the arrow. She didn't know where the strength came from, but she moved her body backward to avoid Zhan Zhao and spoke in an unusually coherent way: "I won't pull out the arrow, don't come any closer!"

Zhan Zhao steadied her unsteady body and tried his best to remain calm, saying, "This arrow is pressing on the blood vessels in your right hand; it must be pulled out immediately."

"No rush, no rush!" she said quickly, instinctively wary of the pain of pulling out the arrow.

"Any later, and your hand will be ruined," Zhan Zhao said anxiously. He didn't know if it was too late to pull out the arrow; perhaps her hand was already beyond saving.

"Ah..." Mo Yan bit her lip, clearly frightened, but still said, "...That won't do either. I haven't even drunk any Shengma soup. Pulling out the arrow now will hurt like hell."

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and she struggled fiercely.

"Alright, alright... I won't pull out the arrow, don't move." Zhan Zhao saw blood seeping from her wound as she struggled, and he couldn't bear it, so he had to use delaying tactics first. "You should rest for now, and we'll ask Mr. Gongsun to treat you after we return to Kaifeng Prefecture."

She stared at him suspiciously: "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Mo Yan thought about it and realized that he had never lied to her since they met, which made her relax. Just a moment ago she was wary of Zhan Zhao, but now he had become her savior. She had no strength left and leaned on Zhan Zhao's shoulder without thinking, breathing heavily.

Mo Yan's clothes were soaked through, and the night wind made her shiver uncontrollably.

"...It's so cold." Her voice trembled slightly.

Zhan Zhao seemed to ignore him and said softly, "That day you said you liked Liu Yong's poems, do you still remember one called 'Rainy Night Bell'?"

"Remember……"

"Read it to me, okay?"

"...The cicadas chirp sadly. At dusk, the rain has just started to fall on the long pavilion..." she said weakly.

"The rain has just stopped. The farewell feast at the city gate is joyless... What comes next?" Zhan Zhao stared intently at the short arrow, his hand moving silently upwards.

She continued reading: "...lingering there, the orchid boat is urged to depart. Holding hands, we gaze at each other with tearful eyes..."

His hand was already gripping the arrow tightly, but his voice was surprisingly gentle: "Speechless with emotion, continue reading..."