Lin Yanxi almost threw herself forward without hesitation, shielding Shen Muzhou with her small body. In that moment, she suddenly understood her own heart.
"Yanxi! You go."
They couldn't die here.
She held her breath, her heart twisting with pain. Enduring the ache, she gathered her talismanic power into her fingertips.
"Immobilize, Restrain, Seal!"
Lin Yanxi's apricot-shaped eyes glowed with an ethereal, faint purple light. An invisible, colossal talisman formed at her fingertips, even freezing the fallen leaves on the surrounding books mid-air.
The ferocious tiger, its maw agape, was suspended in mid-leap, frozen.
Only Shen Muzhou was unaffected by the talismanic art. He picked up the sword from the ground, mustering his last reserves of strength, and plunged it into the tiger's heart. He subsequently slew both tigers.
Lin Yanxi suddenly saw a figure seemingly hidden behind a rock, also immobilized.
Just as she was about to go see who it was, the talismanic art dispersed into the wind, and the person fled in a hurry. From the back alone, his attire inexplicably seemed familiar.
Shen Muzhou leaned against her, near death, continuously spitting blood.
"Your Highness, how is His Highness?" Xiao Liu rushed over to check Shen Muzhou's injuries.
Lin Yanxi's thoughts were pulled back. "Quickly take him back to the tent for treatment."
---
The hunting ground, inside the tent.
The two princes who had accompanied them were tending to Shen Muzhou's wounds.
Inside the tent, apart from the imperial physician and Shen Muzhou, there were only Lin Yanxi and Emperor Nanmin. Everyone else had been barred from the tent.
One of the imperial physicians kept glancing at Lin Yanxi. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Miss Lin the Second, could you please remove your armor so that this old subject may examine it closely?"
Emperor Nanmin looked at Shen Muzhou for a while, then asked in a low voice, "Is there something amiss with her attire?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, the moment Miss Lin entered, I noticed a peculiar scent about her. This old subject has read in books that a unique fragrance can agitate ferocious beasts."
Lin Yanxi, unsure, sniffed herself. She went behind the screen, removed her soft armor, and handed it to the imperial physician. She recounted the encounter in the woods, concealing the matter of Jiang Mingsheng and the household physician to avoid arousing the Emperor's suspicion.
"Cough, cough, cough." Shen Muzhou, in his delirium, coughed out some blood clots and mumbled, "Zhaozhao, run quickly, don't look back. I want you to live."
She froze on the spot, looking at the blood-soaked figure on the bed. Tears blurred her vision. So, he had known her childhood nickname all along.
Seeing the critical condition, the imperial physician had no choice but to insert several silver needles to stabilize his internal injuries. He then proceeded to examine the soft armor.
"As this subject suspected, the soft armor is stained with..."
Lin Yanxi suddenly remembered something. Without a word, she turned and rushed out of the tent.
Having learned of Lin Yanxi and Shen Muzhou's predicament, Luo Wanwan had been waiting outside the tent. Seeing Lin Yanxi emerge, she hurried towards her and asked, "Yanxi, are you hurt?"
Lin Yanxi scanned Luo Wanwan, her gaze fixing on the sachet tied to her waist. She snatched it away.
"Yanxi, what's wrong?"
"Who gave you this sachet?" Lin Yanxi believed Luo Wanwan would not intentionally harm them.
Luo Wanwan's face paled. Seeing Yanxi's expression, she realized the sachet was problematic. "The sachet... it's mine."
"It's yours? The Luo Leaf Flower inside comes from Xizhou. How did you obtain it?"
"I... I bought it on the street."
Lin Yanxi gave a cold laugh. "Wanwan, you're even lying to me? There's no Luo Leaf Flower in here."
Luo Wanwan asked, "What happened? Are your injuries related to the sachet?"
"The scent from this sachet is a special spice that incites wild beasts into a frenzy. Wanwan, Shen Yu has been using you all along. He helped Luo Jingxin deal with me, and he's using you."
Lin Yanxi took her sachet and headed towards the hunting grounds.
After walking a short distance, she saw Shen Yu leading a horse, with Luo Jingxin seated on it. As Lin Yanxi approached, the two exchanged a glance.
Luo Jingxin, from atop the horse, asked, "What are you doing here?"
Lin Yanxi flung the sachet in her hand directly onto Shen Yu and said, "Shen Muzhou's only trusted person in the palace was you. You are truly unworthy."
Shen Yu looked at her with guilt, unable to speak.
Luo Jingxin demanded, "What madness are you exhibiting here?"
Lin Yanxi directly gathered talismanic energy at her fingertip and pointed it at the horse's belly from a distance. "You know perfectly well."
The horse startled and neighed loudly, "Neigh—!"
It kicked out uncontrollably, as if determined to dislodge the person on its back. Luo Jingxin cried out in fear, "Help! Help!"
Her face drained of color from terror, she clung to the horse's neck, disregarding her appearance. Half of the hairpins fell out, and the surrounding people turned their gazes towards them.
Shen Yu, who had been holding the reins, was dragged along the ground for several miles by the horse, his hands abraded by the reins, leaving bloody marks.
Lin Yanxi watched as the two were dragged deeper into the woods by the startled horse. Only then did some of her anger subside, and she turned to leave.
When Shen Yu and Luo Jingxin returned to the camp, they were covered in mud. Luo Jingxin's hair was disheveled, and despite being tidied, a few dry yellow leaves still clung to it.
"Look at them. Where have they been rolling around?"
"Heh, this Princess Chaoyang doesn't like pearls, so she's wearing fallen leaves."
The idlers in front of the tents cast mocking glances at them. Some who had always disliked Luo Jingxin even made audible comments.
Luo Jingxin glared at Shen Yu and said, "Look at the good work you've done! If His Highness has any misfortune, I won't forgive you!"
Shen Yu's usually carefree face drooped, filled with guilt. He didn't even bother to appease Luo Jingxin when she was angry.
For the first time, he disregarded Luo Jingxin's emotions and walked away forlornly towards his own tent.
Shen Yu loitered outside the tent for a long time, then stood for a while. As it was getting very late, he finally entered the tent. As expected, Luo Wanwan, seated on a chair, didn't look at him kindly.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Shen Yu sighed.
"Before you returned, I had prepared many things to say to you. I wanted to ask why you lied to me, why you used me, why you hurt the people I care about. But seeing you now, I feel like there's nothing left to say."
Luo Wanwan was usually timid and would chatter a lot when she saw him, her cheeks blushing unconsciously. Today's Wanwan was strangely unfamiliar.
Shen Yu composed himself and said, "I'm sorry."
Luo Wanwan shook her head and said, "I can accept you never liking me, and forever chasing after my elder sister. But I cannot accept that the boy who once gave me half his fish is now trying to kill innocent people because of some ridiculous obsession."
In Luo Wanwan's eyes, she didn't truly believe Shen Yu loved Luo Jingxin. He was always cautious and desperately trying to please her when he was with Luo Jingxin.
Shen Yu had nothing to say. He had long forgotten about the matter of the half-fish; those were merely insignificant details in his memory.
---
Shen Muzhou remained unconscious and injured. Before the autumn hunt concluded, he was taken back to the prince's mansion.
In the front courtyard hall, the household physician knelt on the ground, Xiao Liu's knife at his throat. "How has His Highness treated you all these years? You actually betrayed him and caused His Highness to be in such a state!"
The household physician trembled on the ground, unable to speak.
Lin Yanxi arrived just in time. "Xiao Liu, stop."
Xiao Liu had witnessed the affection between His Highness and the Second Miss during their journey. Furthermore, she had risked her life several times to save His Highness, earning his admiration. Though displeased, he still sheathed his long saber.
The household physician kowtowed several times upon seeing Lin Yanxi, blood seeping from his forehead.
"This subject has failed His Highness."
Lin Yanxi walked past him, only glancing back. "Who ordered you to do this? What is your connection to the sorcerer?"
The household physician blinked in confusion at first. After a moment, he said, "Sorcerer?"
"This subject understands nothing of sorcerers."
Seeing Lin Yanxi's disbelief, he hurriedly explained, "Prince Yuqing and this subject are old acquaintances. He... he once saved my entire family. Later, he recommended me to serve as the household physician in the prince's mansion."
"He entrusted me with the care of Princess Chaoyang. That day, the princess asked me who lived in the courtyard she frequented. She instructed me not to heal her injuries and to mention the Crimson Deer. But I didn't know it would harm His Highness!"
Lin Yanxi let out a cold laugh. "Of course, you wouldn't know. You know Luo Jingxin's target has always been me."
Guilt flickered in the household physician's eyes. He dared not meet Lin Yanxi's gaze. "This subject does not seek to live, only to ensure my family is spared. Grant me a chance to atone."
Xiao Liu kicked him. "According to the rules of the Dark Night Guard, betrayal of His Highness means the execution of nine generations of your kin! How do you expect to atone?"
Lin Yanxi said, "Yes, I cannot interfere with the matters of your Dark Night Guard. Let us proceed according to your rules."
Xiao Liu replied, "Yes."
As she was about to leave the hall, the household physician, kneeling on the ground, crawled to Lin Yanxi's feet and kowtowed, "I beg the Second Miss for mercy, I beg the Second Miss for mercy!"
Tears streamed down his face, his head striking the stone bricks, leaving a bloodstain.
"Alright, I will give you a chance."
Jiang Mingsheng was still recuperating in the back courtyard. If other physicians were to treat him, they might recognize his identity.
"I will give you three days. Within three days, I want to see my master's condition improve. If you dare to play any more tricks..."
"This subject dares not. Thank the Second Miss for her mercy, thank the Second Miss for her mercy!"
Lin Yanxi did not linger. She walked out, her mind preoccupied with these matters.
She had clearly seen sorcery on that tiger. Could Shen Yu or Jingxin have a connection to a sorcerer?
But if a sorcerer had helped them, they wouldn't have needed to use the sachet to incite the tiger.
This indicated that they might not be working together with the sorcerer. However, the sorcerer at least knew their plan in detail.
She returned to Shen Muzhou's chambers. As soon as she entered, she smelled the strong scent of medicinal soup. He lay in bed, several silver needles inserted into him. His complexion was a sickly, porcelain white, devoid of any color even in his lips.
The breath beneath his nose was faint. Old wounds overlapped with new ones on his body. She gently touched them with her fingertip, revealing row upon row of raised scars.
This one was from saving her in Quan Jing Village.
This one was from the Ghost Market.
This one was from the Pit Prison.
Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and drop by drop, they fell onto his hand.
"You must not understand why I refused to stay. In fact, you yourself are puzzled why I can foresee certain upcoming events. It's because I have lived two lives. My previous life was not good, not good at all."
"I was too afraid of repeating the same mistakes, so I desperately wanted to escape. As long as the Grand Tutor's Mansion remains in the capital, I will not have peace. But I have indeed wavered. I have secretly planned many times in my heart to stay."