Free Web NovelChapter 18: Chapter 18: The Journey to the Capital
Chapter 18: The Journey to the Capital
The sky was already showing the white belly of a fish. Qin Luo, who had not slept all night, carried the still-sleeping Lin Shuying and ran wildly.
"Stop!"
When they reached the gate of the city lord’s mansion, the two guards shouted loudly and stopped Qin Luo, who was covered in dew.
"You are..." Looking at the disheveled Lin Shuying in Qin Luo’s arms, their eyes swept across her exposed slender jade legs. The guards couldn’t help but swallow.
"Stand down! This is Lord Lin’s friend!"
Qin Luo hadn’t spoken yet when he heard a man’s voice behind him. Turning around, Qin Luo realized it was the soldier who had gone to the inn to report the news yesterday.
He nodded to him. Qin Luo entered the city lord’s mansion and turned into the side courtyard.
...
Qin Luo placed Lin Shuying on the bed and came to the courtyard alone with a gloomy face.
He had many questions that needed answers. The man in black was obviously targeting him, but... Bai Feizhang had only started committing crimes in September. Had this person already calculated that he would come to Suyang City at that time?
Forcing himself to calm down, Qin Luo carefully thought through recent events.
Perhaps as long as the man in black knew when he would enter the world, Suyang City was the closest to Xiuwen Mountain, and whoever came down the mountain would definitely regard this as their first stopping point.
But three months ago, before Qin Luo refined qi, no one knew he would descend the mountain this month. After all, he was a waste and did not need to enter the world.
Qin Luo suddenly felt he had fallen into a vortex. What surprised him most was that this vortex had probably been spinning for twenty years.
The man in black knew Qin Zheng, the Dead Branch Sword, and even Spring Rain. Could he have been at Wutong Mountain twenty years ago?
Qin Luo suddenly regretted not keeping the man in black alive.
But he also knew that would have been a luxury. Fourth level versus fifth level was a matter of nine deaths and one life. If he had shown mercy then, he would only have died.
"Lord, someone outside the door says they are from the head constable!"
The soldiers rushed over and gave a military salute.
"Let him in. I will conduct the first trial for Lord Lin." Qin Luo stood up.
The soldiers had received orders from Lin Shuying before, so now, after hearing Qin Luo’s words, they dared not hesitate.
Fifteen minutes later, in the side courtyard of the city lord’s mansion.
"Big... Lord."
Bai Feizhang knelt before Qin Luo, his face as gray as death. The pleasure he had gained from the female constable last night had long been drowned out by the fear of death. Qin Luo had saved him once, and it was now his only lifeline.
"How much do you know about the man from last night?" Qin Luo asked with a frown.
"I told you... can I survive?" Bai Feizhang looked up, his eyes full of begging.
Qin Luo pointed to the incense burner on the stone table and said, "You still have the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. If I don’t get the answer I want..."
"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" Bai Feizhang prostrated himself on the ground, trembling all over.
Two months ago, Bai Feizhang, who had just packed up his stall at the market, returned home and suddenly found a person standing in the courtyard.
The man immediately explained why Bai Feizhang had not married for many years and was impotent.
Bai Feizhang was shocked. This secret had never been mentioned to outsiders since childhood. He thought he had met an immortal.
The man in black promised to help him heal and would not charge a single coin.
Bai Feizhang readily agreed. The man in black gave him two packets of medicine—one for internal use and one for external use.
The external medicine was a black potion that needed to be soaked on his penis for two hours every day. Bai Feizhang followed the instructions.
Sure enough, within three days, Bai Feizhang discovered his penis had grown half a foot longer. Although it looked a little ugly, it was extremely hard and had abnormal endurance.
At the same time, Bai Feizhang also discovered a black line emerging from his chest and abdomen. The man in black revealed the secret of the black line. Bai Feizhang, who had just gained masculine ability, naturally did not want to die immediately. He had no choice but to obey the man in black and committed case after case over the next two months.
Listening to Bai Feizhang’s slow narration, Qin Luo suddenly understood something.
This man in black was not only targeting him, but also seemed to have part of the reason for targeting Lin Shuying.
The crimes began in September. It took just two weeks for the news to reach Siming Pavilion. Coupled with travel time, Lin Shuying had only arrived in Suyang City three days earlier than Qin Luo.
But what Qin Luo couldn’t understand was that targeting him might be because of what happened back then, but what was the purpose of targeting Lin Shuying?
Was it worth a fifth-level powerhouse risking his life for an outer disciple?
After October, the man in black did not appear again. It wasn’t until Qin Luo entered the city and met Lin Shuying that he committed another crime under the man in black’s orders and lured the two to the temple outside the city.
"Lord, I’ve told you everything. You must save me!" Bai Feizhang knelt at Qin Luo’s feet, looking at the incense stick on the stone table that was about to burn out and trembling all over.
"Your life is not in my hands." Qin Luo’s voice was cold.
"Lord?" Bai Feizhang was shocked, but was knocked unconscious by a slap from Qin Luo.
With a long sigh, Qin Luo gestured for the soldiers behind him to take him back to his cell.
The soldier had just left the courtyard when Qin Luo suddenly heard a sound from Lin Shuying’s bedroom.
His mind stirred. Qin Luo secretly said something bad.
Flashing into the house, Qin Luo saw Lin Shuying holding a short dagger to her chest, about to stab herself.
A finger flicked out. The short dagger fell. Lin Shuying suddenly turned back and saw Qin Luo with a concerned face.
"Prince Qin..." Lin Shuying’s dam of tears burst.
"It’s my fault. It’s all my fault..." Qin Luo came to the bed and held Lin Shuying in his arms. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"I have no face left..." Lin Shuying choked and cried uncontrollably.
"If you don’t mind, I will take responsibility for Detective Lin for the rest of my life." Qin Luo looked at Lin Shuying, whose face was covered in pear blossoms and rain, his heart aching.
Lin Shuying was slightly startled. She looked at Qin Luo, then smiled bitterly and said, "Prince Qin knew my feelings and deliberately comforted me..."
Now, Lin Shuying no longer hid her feelings.
"But I am already betrothed, so I have to wrong Miss Lin..." Qin Luo pulled up Lin Shuying’s hand and placed it on his chest.
This was the first time Qin Luo had called her Miss Lin. Lin Shuying slowly looked up, saw Qin Luo’s serious face, and felt his hot heartbeat. Her heart suddenly trembled and she lowered her head.
"Live well. I can swear to heaven that if..." Qin Luo had just raised his hand when Lin Shuying covered his mouth with her soft hand.
"I believe you." Lin Shuying shed two more lines of tears.
Qin Luo originally wanted to tell Lin Shuying the secret of the Azure Dragon Art so she would feel better, but thinking she had just experienced such stimulation, he decided to wait for the right time.
"Bai Feizhang has been taken to prison. Whether he lives or dies is up to you." Qin Luo held Lin Shuying in his arms again.
Lin Shuying nodded. Qin Luo’s arms were so warm that she didn’t want to move anymore.
"Miss Lin still needs to rest for a while. After all, last night..." Qin Luo felt sad and did not continue.
Hearing this, Lin Shuying suddenly felt soreness coming from her lower body. Her brows furrowed slightly, and Lin Shuying couldn’t help but blush.
After leaving Qin Luo’s arms, Lin Shuying slowly lowered her head and found that spring water had suddenly appeared on her chest. The scattered breast wrap could no longer cover the snow-white peaks. Between the white mounds, two bright red nipples were visible.
"Ah!" Lin Shuying couldn’t help but let out a coquettish cry.
Qin Luo smiled. He hadn’t expected the usually heroic Lin Shuying to still have such a cute side.
"I’m leaving now." Qin Luo turned to leave, but suddenly remembered something. "By the way, my name is Qin Luo, not Qin Xuan."
Watching Qin Luo quietly close the door, Lin Shuying, lying on the bed again, slowly closed her eyes.
Last night, the pain of tearing and the pleasure of her flower core being pounded appeared in her heart one after another. Coupled with Qin Luo’s recent tenderness, everything made the heart of this young woman who had just experienced life a mess.
... When he woke up, Qin Luo felt only relief. He turned around and found no one among the silk sheets beside him. Qin Luo frowned and sat up slightly. He saw Lin Shuying, who had finished dressing, by the window.
"Are you awake?" Lin Shuying was still wearing the uniform of Siming Pavilion. The spring color between her brows was even stronger after being nourished by lust.
Qin Luo nodded, turned over and got out of bed. The female constable who shocked the world actually came over to help him dress.
Looking at the light outside the window, Qin Luo found it was around the Shen hour in the afternoon. He had actually slept for two hours straight.
"When does Prince Qin plan to enter the capital?" Lin Shuying asked with some concern.
"The sooner the better." Qin Luo opened the window and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the elegant scenery in the courtyard.
Even if Lin Shuying was willing to help, Qin Luo didn’t know how long Bai Feizhang would live. The three of them had to reach the capital Bianliang in the shortest time.
"I’ll have the horses prepared. We can set off tomorrow." Lin Shuying turned and left.
"I’m going back to the inn."
The two split up. Qin Luo, walking on the road, shuttled through the bustling crowd and planned his next steps.
A vague gaze made him look up instantly. This gaze felt somewhat familiar. Qin Luo did not turn around but slowly spread his consciousness and found that the three strong men from the tea stall at Kangping Lake that day were watching him from a street corner.
Without showing any unusual behavior, Qin Luo flashed and disappeared into an alley around the corner.
Suyang City was known for its nine streets and eighteen alleys, and there were naturally countless small paths among them. The three followed closely, but the Qin Luo they were tracking twisted and turned until he disappeared in front of them.
"Did he go back to the inn?" One of them looked out and transmitted his voice in the deserted alley.
"Not yet." Qin Luo’s voice suddenly sounded. The three turned around instantly.
Qin Luo pressed his right hand against the Dead Branch Sword at his waist. His eyes were extremely cold.
A murderous aura permeated the narrow alley. The three retreated one after another, only to find they were in a dead end behind them.
"Who sent you?"
Seeing that the three had nowhere to retreat, Qin Luo stopped and asked.
But what Qin Luo didn’t expect was that after looking at each other for a while, the three knelt on the ground together, bowed their heads, and said, "Young Master, forgive us!"
He was slightly stunned. This was the first time Qin Luo had heard someone call him that.
However, the strength of these three people was around the second to third level, so Qin Luo was not afraid of them playing any tricks.
"Young Master? Which young master?" Qin Luo asked again.
The strong man in the middle looked up slightly. It was Zhao Qingshi, who had been in the woods outside Suyang City that day.
"In response to the Young Master, the three of us received a secret order from the Palace Master and were ordered to secretly protect the Young Master. However, as soon as we entered the city, we found that the Young Master had already broken through to the fourth level..."
Zhao Qingshi explained. He was also very aggrieved. Nangong Muyun had clearly said third level in the secret order, so he had sent three people.
After the fourth level, divine sense became clearer. The three people’s secret surveillance naturally could not escape Qin Luo’s perception.
"In Qingshi, this subordinate is Zhao Qingshi. These two are the Wang brothers, Wang Fang and Wang Xiang. This is the secret order. Please review it, Young Master." Zhao Qingshi handed over a letter with his head bowed.
Qin Luo frowned and took the letter from Zhao Qingshi. He found the content was very simple.
"Young Master enters the world. October, Suyang City, third level. Need secret protection." Qin Luo read the content aloud.
His eyes crossed to the lower right corner of the letter, and he suddenly discovered a familiar auspicious cloud pattern. Although this was a unique symbol of Baiyun Palace, it had never circulated outside. Coupled with the extremely familiar handwriting, Qin Luo finally felt relieved.
"Get up. You are..." Qin Luo asked, but he was thinking that his mother had been on the mountain all these years. How did she know these cultivators?
"The Palace Master only said to protect secretly, so we cannot say anything else." Zhao Qingshi said nervously. He now only knew he was lucky to have this secret order. Otherwise, if he died at the hands of the Young Master, he would truly be unlucky.
"Oh, quite principled." Qin Luo quietly raised the hilt of the Dead Branch Sword with his thumb. A soft sound rang out, and the three fell silent like cicadas.
"Really not?" Qin Luo slowly approached. The three dared not make a sound. Looking at the cold light appearing on the Dead Branch Sword, they remained silent.
"Never mind. I won’t make things difficult for you. But I don’t need your protection now. Go back." Qin Luo waved his hand. The three were truly too weak and probably not instructed by the person behind the scenes.
"To be honest with the Young Master, we received another secret order last night, but we did not bring it with us." Zhao Qingshi wiped his sweat and slowly said, "The Palace Master asked us to escort you safely to the capital. Someone will naturally take over afterward."
Hearing this, Qin Luo’s brow suddenly furrowed again. He thought the next stop on the route his mother had arranged for him was obviously Jeju. How did she know he had suddenly changed his mind and was going to the capital?
Hearing what Zhao Qingshi meant, there would actually be someone to hand over the duty after entering the capital. Qin Luo touched his chin and suddenly felt that his mother did not seem as indifferent to worldly affairs as she usually appeared.
"Then you can continue ’secretly protecting,’ but you must take care of your own lives first." Qin Luo handed the secret order back to Zhao Qingshi and patted him on the shoulder.
Since they were ordered by his mother, Qin Luo naturally did not want to make things difficult for these three people.
"As you command!" Zhao Qingshi and the other two saluted together. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Watching the three disappear around the corner, Qin Luo couldn’t help but look in the direction of Xiuwen Mountain and mutter to himself, "Mother, how many things are you still hiding from me..."
...
October 17, Suyang City, Prison.
Passing through the dark and damp passageway, a soldier in silver armor slowly arrived at Bai Feizhang’s cell.
After a burst of keys rang, the prison door slowly opened. The sour and musty air made the soldier frown. By the faint light from the palm-sized square window high up, he found that Bai Feizhang’s eyes were dull and his breath was weak.
No wonder Lord Lin had ordered that he not be executed. Seeing his appearance, he probably found it difficult to even walk, the soldier thought.
The soldier helped Bai Feizhang up and took him to the exit. Two yamen runners were holding wooden buckets filled with water, ready to pour it on Bai Feizhang.
"Don’t!" The soldier stopped them and said, "This guy can’t withstand any more trouble."
In the corner was a somewhat simple carriage, with only a brown horse in front and a wooden cage on wheels trailing behind it.
He casually threw Bai Feizhang inside. The soldier spoke loudly to the two people walking far away, "Lord Lin! Lord Qin! You can leave anytime!"
This shout finally brought Bai Feizhang back to his senses. Seeing Qin Luo’s figure getting closer, he didn’t know where his strength came from. He gripped the fence of the wooden cage with both hands and begged, "Lord Qin, Lord Qin, save me!"
Qin Luo slowly stepped forward. His voice lowered with some sadness and unwillingness. "Don’t worry."
After glancing at the heroic Lin Shuying, Qin Luo continued, "I won’t let you die."
Bai Feizhang was so grateful that he kowtowed in the wooden prison through the fence.
"Thank you, Lord Qin! Thank you, Lord Qin!"
"Lord Lin, Lord Qin! You can leave anytime!"
