Tomorrow he is scheduled to be executed as a sacrifice to the road, Huangfu Jingchen cannot sit idle and await his fate!
The only option is to break open the acupuncture points first.
He struggled to change his posture, allowing his inner breath to traverse through the ridians, preparing to break open the acupuncture points.
Once, it didn’t work!
Twice, it didn’t work!
...
Sweat dripped from Huangfu Jingchen’s forehead, yet he was undeterred. The bandits had all gone to sleep, and there were only two hours left before dawn. This ti fra was his chance because once dawn broke, they would leave, and his end would co.
He must not let them sacrifice him to the road!
Persist, break through!
Try again!
...
He felt a slight loosening in the sealed acupuncture points, and his heart filled with joy. Just one more ti, and he could break through it.
He concentrated his inner breath with greater focus, and once again, he aid it at that small weakness.
Suddenly, with a creak, the door opened.
The sound was very soft, like the squeak of a mouse.
However, to the concentrating and breath-holding Huangfu Jingchen, it was like a thunderclap. He was disturbed, his breath stumbled, and the inner breath he had gathered scattered instantly, causing pain to surge, and his vision darkened.
The acupuncture points still remained unopened.
Were they unable to wait until dawn and decided to act ahead of ti?
Despite the blinding pain, Huangfu Jingchen couldn’t move. This situation of powerlessness, being at the rcy of others, gave him a sense of helplessness.
In his eighteen years of life, he had only encountered scholars and gentlen, never soone like Xia Wenjin, nor the people of Haotian Village.
After tracking them for a day, he observed that although they appeared rough, their behavior was quite disciplined. They would even smile and pick up vegetables they accidentally knocked off a vendor’s stall.
Because of this, he thought they followed the rules of the Jianghu.
Never did he expect them to be so shaless when they lost face.
He lacked experience in the Jianghu and had always thought too well of human nature. Apparently, he had been naive. The evil, treachery, and complexity of human nature he had witnessed in these past months outweighed what he encountered in eighteen years!
Learning from this experience, he decided never to be so reckless again.
The moonlight was too dim, so he narrowed his eyes slightly, coldly staring at the silhouette that entered.
The person approached quickly, as light as a cat. Then, a voice softly asked near him, "Hey, are you asleep?"
That voice?
Isn’t it Xia Wenjin?
Unable to speak, Huangfu Jingchen glared at her angrily, but Xia Wenjin didn’t even glance at him. Her fingers quickly moved over his body, unlocking his acupuncture points. She proceeded to untie his ropes, urgently saying, "Don’t make a sound, I..."
Suddenly, the world spun before his eyes, and as the ropes loosened, Huangfu Jingchen flipped over, pinning Xia Wenjin down, one hand clamped around her neck.
The unexpected turn of events startled Xia Wenjin. Her entire body was trapped under him, using his body as a weapon.
Huangfu Jingchen, suppressing a voice filled with resentnt, said, "You plotted against !"
Xia Wenjin blinked, suddenly showing a tender and playful smile, wrapping her arms around his waist, and teasingly said, "My lord, the long night is boring, I ca to warm your bed!"
Huangfu Jingchen’s body tensed.
The slender neck under his hand could be easily broken with just a little force. Her skin was delicate and smooth to the touch, and she had a faint, elegant fragrance that seed to penetrate directly into Huangfu Jingchen’s nose, slling like an orchid but different, pleasant and intoxicating.
His heart beat heavily several tis. To conceal his slight panic, he hardened his eyes with a sharp intensity. "Let go, or I will kill you!"
Xia Wenjin blinked innocently, not letting go but instead moving closer, smiling, "Anyway, for this year, I belong to you, my lord. If you wish to kill , then go ahead!"
Huangfu Jingchen’s gaze was piercing, and his grip tightened. He could feel the pressure on the slim neck, Xia Wenjin was clearly suffocating, her face changed color, yet she kept smiling at him as if unfazed.
If he exerted a little more force, he could snap her neck.
In that case, this rascal who mocked him, sched against him, stole his jade pendant, embarrassed and troubled him, would never be able to tease him again.
However, being stared at by her smiling eyes and feeling her hands still around his waist, especially thinking of their current position, Huangfu Jingchen panicked.
He quickly released his hand and stepped back, collapsing into a sitting position.
His heart seed to beat faster than usual. Huangfu Jingchen gritted his teeth, this damned Long Yang, too shaless!
Xia Wenjin stood up as if nothing had happened, glanced at him, and said, "There’s only an hour until dawn. Do I need to pull you up?"
Huangfu Jingchen jumped up, still feeling a bit muddled inside. Was she here to save him? Did she go along with the situation because he moved first?
Xia Wenjin quietly opened the door and slipped out, with Huangfu Jingchen following.
The entire courtyard was silent, and they managed to get out effortlessly.
Upon reaching the northwest corner, the mansion had a section of the wall that was less than three feet high, which Xia Wenjin had already marked in her mind. She turned to look at Huangfu Jingchen, who reflexively took a step back. At this mont, Xia Wenjin moved, swiftly jumping and clawing, managing to climb the wall and gesturing to Huangfu Jingchen.
Huangfu Jingchen inhaled, and with a light step, effortlessly landed on the wall.
Xia Wenjin rely glanced at him indifferently, not surprised in the least. For soone who had managed to steal secret records from the heavily guarded Governor Mansion, climbing a wall was trivial.
The two jumped over the courtyard wall and sprinted away.
They ran nearly half a mile and stopped in an alley. Xia Wenjin, tired, gestured, "I can’t run anymore!"
Huangfu Jingchen slowed down a bit, his face dark, saying, "They will follow us!"
Xia Wenjin laughed, "They won’t follow us!"
Huangfu Jingchen looked at her skeptically, "Don’t forget, you not only escaped but also rescued !"
With a playful smile, Xia Wenjin’s eyes sparkled, "I drugged them. They’ll sleep till tomorrow afternoon." She had feigned insomnia to invite Bai Feichen for tea, spiking it with a sleeping draught.
Her eyes deepened, knowing Uncle Bai’s wit, he wouldn’t be easily fooled. But Uncle Bai knew she genuinely didn’t want to marry Huangfu Yuxuan, so he deliberately gave her a chance.
From the mont Bai Feichen said they would sacrifice Huangfu Jingchen as a road offering the next day, she knew Uncle Bai intended to let her go. The people of Haotian Village prized honor and wouldn’t murder the innocent. Sacrifice what road?
Huangfu Jingchen asked, "Who are they really? What kind of place is Haotian Village?"
Xia Wenjin casually replied, "In Jinzhou, there’s Haoran Mountain, on the mountain stands Haoran Peak, Peak houses Haotian Village, and in Haotian Village, there are a group of bandits..."
"In these tis of a clear and peaceful rule under the emperor’s grace, the people have enough to eat and wear. Where would there still be bandits?" From his tracking experience, those people neither robbed wealth nor goods, and paid for what they ate during their stay, not resembling bandits at all. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so baffled by their shaless tactics.
Huangfu Jingchen eyed her, "They said they were catching you to marry you off! To whom?"
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