Wei Changtian was still alive, but it seemed he was on the verge of death.
Everyone was stunned, while the demon’s eyes glowed red as it pursued them, ready to deliver the final blow to the insignificant insect that had inflicted countless wounds on it.
It let out a loud roar, leaping into the air, its double fists raised high, containing enough power to crush Wei Changtian and Xu Qingwan, who was pinned beneath him, into a bloody pulp.
Zhou Cheng’s eyes widened as he watched this scene, his willow-leaf knife trembling in his hand.
He didn’t understand why Wei Changtian had to do this.
If he didn’t block, only Xu Qingwan would die.
If he did block, both would die.
Was it a heroic rescue?
But if he had to sacrifice his own life, what was the point?
Moreover, he couldn’t even save Xu Qingwan in the end, only prolonging her life by a few breaths.
Zhou Cheng didn’t understand.
Neither did Xu Qingwan.
And the demon didn’t give her time to think about it either.
As she gazed up at the dark, looming shadow above her, she could only react with her most primal instincts.
She had to take the blow for Wei Changtian, even if she couldn’t block it.
She tightly hugged the man in her arms, biting her teeth to endure the intense pain in her chest, preparing to flip over and pin Wei Changtian beneath her.
But just then, a bloody hand grasped her, pulling her back.
“You!”
Xu Qingwan lay on the ground, her face only a few inches away from the blood-stained face.
As she looked at Wei Changtian’s twisted features, contorted in pain, she suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
It was even more painful than if someone had snatched away all her hard-earned silver.
A teardrop rolled out of the corner of her eye, quickly staining red with blood.
This was the first time Xu Qingwan had cried since she started practicing martial arts at the age of five, and perhaps the last time she would cry in her life.
Time seemed to have paused for a moment.
And when it started flowing again, Wei Changtian surprisingly stood up, bit by bit, under everyone’s astonished gaze.
“Clang…”
Xu Qingwan’s willow-leaf dagger was drawn out of its sheath once more.
However, compared to the time at the Zhang Manor, Wei Changtian’s movements were much slower this time.
He was panting heavily, his eyes fixed on the half-fallen goblin.
“Get out of the way!!”
Xu Qingwan screamed from behind.
But the figure blocking her way seemed to ignore her.
His trembling knees slightly bent, the willow-leaf dagger was raised upwards.
Wei Changtian paused for a moment, then used all his strength to charge at the goblin.
“Damn it! Go die!!”
“Roar! Roar!!”
The two clashed in mid-air, their fierce battle sending dust and rocks flying everywhere, refusing to settle for a long time.
“Boom!!”
In the dust, Wei Changtian fell back like a broken bag, heavily hitting the ground, then bounced back up, and finally fell still, motionless.
As for the goblin… the long sword had pierced its brain, even the hilt had sunk in halfway.
“Thud!”
The goblin’s body crashed to the ground, surrounded by a cloud of blood mist.
But Xu Qingwan didn’t even glance at it.
She crawled to Wei Changtian’s side using her hands and feet, not caring if he was dead or alive, and pulled out a medicine bottle from her bosom to feed him.
However, her hands were shaking so badly that the small medicine bottle slipped from her palm, scattering the medicine pills all over the ground.
Xu Qingwan bit her lip, knelt down, and frantically picked up the pills, feeding each one to Wei Changtian’s mouth.
“You… you can’t die…”
“My dagger has been lost again, you… you have to compensate me…”
“Please, don’t die…”
…
…
One hour later, on the main street of Shanyang County.
It was noon, and the street was bustling with many small stalls selling baozi and roasted flatbread, while nearby shop assistants would spend a few coins to buy lunch here.
It could be said that this street was the busiest at this time of day.
However, at this moment, the east end of the street seemed to be in a state of turmoil.
Many pedestrians curiously looked up, and then heard the sound of galloping horses approaching from afar.
“Justice Department is investigating!”
“Make way! Make way!”
“Those who block the way will be beheaded according to the law!”
“Everyone, move aside!”
On top of a sorrel horse, Zhou Cheng held the Justice Department’s command plate high, his legs ceaselessly tapping the horse’s belly, causing the crowd to scramble to the sides, their faces filled with fear as they made way.
Behind him, a dozen or so county guards followed closely, escorting a speeding horse-drawn carriage.
At that moment, the entire main street was in chaos, with people running around like headless chickens.
Although most of the townspeople were dissatisfied, no one dared to speak out at this time, and at most, they would only discuss with friends about who was on the horse carriage and what big event had occurred.
However, these matters were ultimately still too far removed from their daily lives.
After the crowd dispersed, the main street quickly returned to its usual bustling scene, as if nothing had happened.
To say this wasn’t entirely accurate.
Some people were indeed affected.
For instance, a fat man selling buns was now staring at the empty spaces in his basket, muttering curses.
These spots originally had buns, but now they were gone.
It was clear that someone had stolen them during the chaos.
“Phooey! They even stole a few buns!”
“Having kids without an anus! No, people like that should be childless!”
“The Mirrored Justice, humph! They have the power to show off, but can’t even catch a few thieves…”
The man’s voice grew softer, seemingly afraid to continue speaking, and instead directed his anger towards the dough in his hands.
He kneaded the dough fiercely, then raised it high and slammed it onto the counter.
“Bang!”
“Ladies and gentlemen! In our previous episode, we left off with the white-faced scholar entering the capital to take the imperial examination, but encountered a heavy rain on his journey…”
Inside a teahouse in the capital, the storyteller’s hand holding the wooden clapper came down heavily, his voice rising and falling.
The story he had been telling for the past few days was called “The Night Demon’s Scholar,” about a scholar who was eaten by a night demon on his way to take the imperial examination, and then the night demon transformed into the scholar to participate in the examination, eventually becoming the top scorer.
The story wasn’t new, but Lu Jingyao hadn’t heard it before, so she had been listening for four or five days now.
Three screens blocked three sides, with only the direction facing the storyteller unobstructed.
Lu Jingyao sat in the “elegant room” listening with great interest, while Yu’er was yawning beside her, thinking about going back to play cards early.
Everything around them was as usual, but at a certain moment, the two women suddenly furrowed their brows simultaneously.
“Yu’er, I suddenly felt a pang of unease.”
“Ah! I did too, Madam!”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know… Could it be that something happened to the young master?”
“Phooey! Don’t speak nonsense!”
Lu Jingyao reached out to slap Yu’er, then gently patted her chest, feeling a bit more comfortable.
At this time, the storyteller was telling the part where the scholar was eaten by the night demon, and a commotion suddenly erupted outside the screens.
Everyone was sympathizing with the scholar, but no one noticed a young man with an ordinary appearance standing hesitantly outside Lu Jingyao’s screens.