Chapter 30: Chapter 31 - 31 Incense Pills

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Upon seeing the situation in the carriage, Shen Yu was first startled, then immediately returned to her usual demeanor.

“Oh, what’s the matter? You two continue, continue.”

Continue my ass!

Qi Yue’s awareness snapped back in an instant, and with a beautiful carp flip, she leapt out of Zhao Xiyan’s embrace.

In the cramped carriage, several dead men in black were sprawled every which way!

There were at least five of them!

The calluses on the side of their palms indicated they were accustomed to using daggers and were skilled in close-quarters combat.

Zhao Xiyan had eliminated them all without making a sound.

This astonishing efficiency!

If she hadn’t noticed the carriage shaking, she might never have discovered this bloody battle.

“They… did you kill them all?”

“Luckily I had the crossbow Yueyue gave me,” Zhao Xiyan rubbed his fingertips, looking somewhat out of sorts, “otherwise, I might not be able to see Yueyue now.”

Qi Yue then noticed that each of the men in black had an arrow lodged in their throat, yet not a drop of blood had flowed out.

To kill with an arrow to the throat without a drop of blood required the killer to have precise control.

Not bad for a genius War God—so terrifyingly formidable!

Qi Yue was secretly astounded.

It seemed she had always underestimated Zhao Xiyan!

With the skill he displayed killing these five men, that Qian Faliang would have stood no chance against him, only to die by his hand.

And to say he might not see her was nothing but nonsense.

While she was thinking, Zhao Xiyan suddenly let out a weak laugh and his tone carried a hint of self-pity.

“Yueyue, you won’t think I’m heartless and ruthless, will you?”

He paused, then hurriedly added, “They wanted to capture me. If I didn’t fight back, I would have been taken away. Yueyue, you would have been worried, wouldn’t you?”

His beautiful face looked so pure!

In those clean and clear phoenix eyes, innocence was written all over, like a lamb to the slaughter, struggling helplessly.

Qi Yue’s heart tightened suddenly, and she felt as though she must be silly.

How could she think that Zhao Xiyan was just pretending? It was truly inconsiderate of her.

He was clearly so frail. Although he used to be a War God, he had been fully able-bodied back then, but now he couldn’t even move his legs.

It was right for him to act in such danger.

Otherwise, where would she go to find him now?

Thinking of him being abducted and subjected to such inhuman humiliation made Qi Yue’s heart inexplicably panic.

Her tone softened involuntarily, even taking on a bit of a coaxing quality.

“Alright, I didn’t say you shouldn’t fight back!”

She kicked the corpses off the carriage with a few kicks and crouched down beside him.

“You did the right thing. Before, I neglected the fact that you’re so good with hidden weapons. I’ll find something lightweight for you to use. In case there are more people coming, and I happen not to be around, you’ll be able to handle it.”

“Okay. Thank you, Yueyue.”

Zhao Xiyan’s voice was really pleasing.

Being close, she could almost feel his voice as if it had feet, persistently burrowing into her heart, making her blush and her heart race.

Noticing that she had unknowingly grasped his arm, Qi Yue’s face grew hotter, and she hurriedly found an excuse.

“Let me check your pulse to see how the residual poison on your leg is doing?”

“Sure.”

Qi Yue deliberately ignored his babbling voice and seriously began to take his pulse.

At times like this, she was completely focused, and of course, she didn’t notice the gaze that fell on her face was so dark and deep.

—That was certainly not the look of a frail, disabled lamb.

She also didn’t notice that the moment she finished taking his pulse, the lamb’s gaze instantly switched back to one of gentle submissiveness.

“Have you felt anything in your legs recently?”

“No.”

Qi Yue pursed her lips.

Just as she suspected, his inability to stand was related to the poisoning in his body, but there were other unknown factors as well.

The problem was tricky.

“Yueyue, will I never be able to stand up again?”

When Zhao Xiyan said this, his eyes slightly drooped, his long eyelashes trembling a bit, and he appeared even more pitiful.

“`

For some reason, seeing him like this, Qi Yue couldn’t bring herself to speak any harsh words.

“Don’t talk nonsense, as long as I haven’t said you can’t stand up, there will definitely be a way. Once we get to Longnan Ridge, I’ll give you a thorough check-up, and there will be a method.”

As she comforted the man, Qi Yue had already begun to plan in her heart.

She wanted to find an opportunity to see if Zhao Xiyan could enter the space. With its modern medical equipment, she would be able to make him stand up.

If that still didn’t work, she had the Silver Needle Technique. There would always be a way to make his legs regain sensation.

“Alright, I’ll listen to Yueyue.”

Zhao Xiyan smiled again.

With just one look, Qi Yue became intoxicated by those phoenix eyes.

Some people, with just one glance at you, could make you feel as though you possessed the whole world.

Zhao Xiyan was one of those people.

“Gurgle…”

It was unclear whose stomach had suddenly made that sound, but both of them were momentarily startled.

The next second, Zhao Xiyan clutched his stomach and looked at her earnestly, “Yueyue, I’m hungry.”

Qi Yue suddenly remembered the lamb leg she had specially roasted for him and hurriedly hopped down from the carriage.

“I, I’ll go get you the roast meat…”

Her steps soft on the ground, Qi Yue realized belatedly that it had been her own stomach that growled, so why was he the one claiming to be hungry?

At that moment, Qi Yue had already forgotten about the divorce paper she would need once they reached the Place of Exile.

Inside the carriage, the smile faded from Zhao Xiyan’s face, and a hint of slyness flickered through his obsidian-like gaze.

In fact, two days ago, he had already begun to feel a faint sensation in his legs.

He knew that this change was related to the medicine and water she had given him.

However, seeing Qi Yue worried about him, he found it quite amusing.

The confusion ended just as quietly as it had begun. When dealing with the bodies of the men in black, Qi Yue once again smelled that subtle scent of insect repellent.

In fact, this kind of insect repellent wasn’t really used for repelling insects.

This thing was called an Incense Pill, a type of fragrance placed inside clothing, similar to naphthalene balls in scent.

In Beiyuan, it was used as a perfume.

It was cheap, had a strong scent, and didn’t easily fade. Aside from high-ranking officials or the Royal Family, some particular commoners liked using it.

Besides this, there was nothing on their bodies that could identify them.

That made Qi Yue a bit perplexed.

Who exactly was trying to capture Zhao Xiyan?

The Grand Tutor coveted the National Treasure and had Qian Faliang closely monitor and investigate the whole process. He shouldn’t have sent anyone else.

Besides him, who else could there be?

As she pondered, Qian Faliang came over from afar.

“Master, master, please save me! Give me the antidote!”

Seeing him with tears all over his face and snot running like a river, Qi Yue disdainfully tossed him an antidote.

“Couldn’t you have come earlier? You always wait until…”

Suddenly, a faint, hard-to-detect scent of insect repellent entered her nostrils.

Qi Yue’s pupils contracted sharply.

Was it him?

The scent of the Incense Pills was extremely pungent, once it made contact, it wouldn’t fade for a while.

No wonder Qian Faliang had stopped coming around to socialize after taking the antidote yesterday evening.

Hmph, it seemed that this dog was planning to bite the hand that fed him!

Qi Yue narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Qian Faliang, that scent of Incense Pills on you seems familiar. When did you also start using such garbage? Was it last night, or today?”

Qian Faliang had just swallowed the antidote, savoring its transient ecstasy, and was momentarily bewildered upon hearing her question.

“Ah? What Incense Pill? What are you talking about, master?”

Qi Yue hooked the corner of her lips.

Indeed, given his previous status, Qian Faliang would not have been interested in something like the Incense Pills.

He used rouge and face powder, which were much more refined than Incense Pills.

Perhaps he hadn’t yet realized that as a result of his brief encounter with the assassin, he had also acquired that scent.

She pulled out the Firewood Chopping Knife from her bosom and took two steps closer to Qian Faliang.

“Just now, five men in black came to abduct Zhao Xiyan. The scent on their bodies is the same as yours. I think you owe me an explanation.”