Leaving the Palace

Ning Chen raised his head in surprise. Yesterday, he had spent half the night trying to change Mu Chengxue's mind, yet today a single meal had bought her over?

Could it really be that those who ate others' food spoke softly, and those who took others' things had weak hands?

"Whatever."

Ning Chen picked up another piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, speaking indifferently. He had only been joking with Mu Chengxue yesterday. Though he envied those who could fly here and there, a man's worth lay in knowing himself. Since Mu Chengxue said he was not cut from that cloth, then his talent truly must not amount to much.

"I can teach you a very special cultivation technique," Mu Chengxue said.

"Is it powerful?" At the word "special," Ning Chen became interested again and pressed further.

"How so?" Mu Chengxue asked.

"Can I beat you after learning it?" Ning Chen asked expectantly.

Mu Chengxue shook her head.

"What about Qing Ling?" Ning Chen lowered his standards a little.

Mu Chengxue shook her head again.

"Then what about that Imperial Guard Captain who came into the room to arrest people that day?" Little of Ning Chen's anticipation remained.

Mu Chengxue still shook her head.

"Then what am I learning it for?" Ning Chen lost all motivation and said listlessly.

"To strengthen your body and improve your health."

"Wow, so special." Ning Chen bit into a steamed bun and feigned surprise.

"Do not regret it." Mu Chengxue did not force him and merely replied blandly.

"Hm?" Ning Chen sensed something unusual in Mu Chengxue's tone, as though he were about to miss some heaven-sent opportunity.

"This cultivation technique is very special?" Ning Chen asked carefully.

"Yes."

"What is special about it?" Ning Chen asked again.

"It is precious."

"Why is it precious?" Ning Chen continued asking.

"Special."

"..."

Ning Chen painfully realized that this woman had been sent by Heaven to punish him. Cutting him with a blade was one thing, but she still had to torment him in spirit.

"I'll learn it." Ning Chen savagely bit into his steamed bun, gritting his teeth.

"Yes, but wait first."

"Why?"

Mu Chengxue glanced at Ning Chen and said unhurriedly, "The cultivation technique is not on me."

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Ning Chen could endure no longer. He shot to his feet, trembling as he pointed at Mu Chengxue, his lips quivering with rage.

This was too much bullying!

"But I know where the cultivation technique is," Mu Chengxue continued, ignoring Ning Chen's fury.

Before Ning Chen's anger could erupt, he sat back down weakly, his heart bleeding. Zhang Wuji's mother had been absolutely right: the prettier a woman was, the more dangerous she was!

Ning Chen decided that he had to calm his heart, calm his heart, calm his heart!

Crack. The chopsticks in Ning Chen's hand snapped. Fine, he admitted it—he could not calm his heart, nor could he quiet his temper.

"Where?" Ning Chen decided to ask one last time.

"The Xia Emperor's Imperial Study."

"..." Ning Chen fiercely slapped himself. Damn that cheap mouth of his. Why ask? Why ask anything?

"Will you learn it?" Mu Chengxue asked seriously for confirmation.

"..." Ning Chen said nothing. He lowered his head and ate, determined to ignore her.

"Do not regret it."

"..." Ning Chen took a huge bite of his steamed bun and stuffed his mouth shut.

"Here, this pill is for you." Mu Chengxue casually tossed over a small box.

"What is it for?" Ning Chen could not hold back and responded after all.

"To save your life," Mu Chengxue said unconcernedly.

"Why give it to me? Don't you need it?" Ning Chen felt sweet inside. It seemed he still held some status in Mu Chengxue's heart.

"You are too weak. You need it more than I do," Mu Chengxue replied blandly.

"..." Ning Chen slapped himself once with his left hand and once with his right. Damn that cheap mouth of his, damn that cheap mouth of his.

The conversation ended. Mu Chengxue said nothing more and quietly resumed eating. Her pleasing appearance was countless times better than a certain someone's.

After finishing the meal, Ning Chen returned the dishes, humming a little tune as he strolled into the rear garden. At this hour, most eunuchs and palace maids were busy, leaving the rear garden empty. Compared to suffocating in his room, dying of boredom, or being angered to death by Mu Chengxue, he thought looking at flowers was truly a fine choice.

He had only forgotten that Qing Ling's room stood right beside the rear garden.

Inside her room, Qing Ling had just been preparing to leave for the Empress Dowager when Changsun came out. Changsun was leaving the palace today. As the palace maid Changsun had personally trained, Qing Ling was responsible not only for the Weiyang Palace's daily arrangements, but also for Changsun's safety.

Just as she was about to leave, Qing Ling spotted Ning Chen lounging about as though his skin itched from idleness. Recalling his arrogant face last night when he tattled on her before Changsun, anger immediately surged up within her.

"Ning Chen!" Qing Ling widened her eyes and shouted.

"Hm? Ah, Sister Qing Ling!" The instant Ning Chen saw Qing Ling, he put on a broad smile and scampered over to greet her.

"Come with me." Qing Ling had nowhere to vent her anger and suffered inwardly.

"What for?"

"You will accompany the Empress Dowager out of the palace."

Hm? Leaving the palace? Someone's eyes lit up. But when he recalled Mu Chengxue's assessment that Qing Ling's martial prowess equaled more than a hundred Ning Chens, the interest he had just found instantly vanished.

"Sister Qing Ling, can you teach me martial arts?" Ning Chen desperately wanted to escape this severely unequal balance of power.

Qing Ling looked at Ning Chen in surprise. After weighing it for a moment, she said tactfully, "What I practice is not suitable for you."

"Why?" Ning Chen asked stubbornly.

"You are not cut from that cloth," Qing Ling could only tell him truthfully.

"..." Ning Chen wanted to die.

Unable to take the chance to run away and still having to face Changsun, Ning Chen was forced by Qing Ling to change into clothes for leaving the palace. His mood was dark with clouds as he followed behind her without spirit, like a little sapling battered by wind and rain.

When they arrived before Changsun, the sedan chair was already prepared and waiting to depart. Changsun was dressed rather simply today, wearing neither phoenix crown nor jeweled ornaments. Her lovely face was clean and unadorned by makeup. Compared with usual, she had lost a measure of magnificence and gained a measure of warmth.

It's all an illusion, Ning Chen warned himself. His preconceived notions had convinced him that Changsun was a scheming woman. Every beautiful outward appearance was merely an illusion meant to deceive.

Guard against fire, guard against thieves, guard against Changsun. Ning Chen trusted his judgment, so he tried his best to avoid Changsun's gaze.

Changsun had long noticed Ning Chen behind Qing Ling, yet said nothing. She could see that the boy had been avoiding her. He seemed afraid of her, but it was unlike the fear palace servants felt. If she had to describe it, it was as though a child who had done something wrong was avoiding his parents' eyes.

It had to be said that Changsun's instincts were frighteningly accurate. Ning Chen carried a heap of secrets and naturally did not wish to see her. Every time they met, his heart pounded like a drum. Compared with kind and simple Qing Ling, the sharp-minded Changsun was no different from a demon in Ning Chen's eyes.

Fortunately, no matter how clever Changsun was, she could never imagine that Ning Chen was a fake eunuch, much less connect him to the assassination attempt.

Changsun did not bring many guards when leaving the palace. In this world, there were so many people who wanted to assassinate the Xia Emperor that they could scare one to death; their line would stretch for ten days to half a month. Yet there were very few who wished Changsun harm. Changsun was a famously virtuous Empress Dowager, and among the common folk, her reputation left the Xia Emperor dozens of streets behind.

Ning Chen had no idea why Changsun was leaving the palace. He could only follow behind the sedan chair with a face full of displeasure, watching the bustling and prosperous streets along the way as envy itched at his heart.

Qing Ling stayed closest to the sedan chair. Whenever Changsun needed anything, she only had to lift the curtain and issue an order. Ning Chen's position, however, was far less conspicuous. Added to the fact that he was not dressed in palace attire, he was no different from an ordinary passerby if one did not look closely.

The thought of slipping away flashed through Ning Chen's mind again and again, then flashed once more. Yet whenever he caught Qing Ling's casual glances drifting his way, he immediately behaved himself beyond all measure.

Whoosh!

A sudden chill ran through him. Ning Chen's pupils contracted as three arrows, arranged in a triangular formation, shot from different directions toward Changsun's sedan chair. They came without warning, just as in the attempt on the Xia Emperor's life, leaving no time to react.

"Watch out!"

Before Ning Chen could finish shouting, a graceful figure flashed before his eyes. With a sweep of her robes, Qing Ling knocked aside two sharp arrows. Yet in that brief delay, the third arrow had already become impossible to block.

"Urgh!"

The splashing blood marked the most heart-wrenching failure. Qing Ling could not block the arrow in time, but she threw herself before Changsun's sedan chair. The arrow pierced through her body, blood spraying in a long stream and dyeing half the sedan chair red.

Bang!

The arrow's fletching trembled. It no longer had the strength to pierce through the sedan chair, while its bloodstained shaft shuddered endlessly, scattering blossoms of blood. Carried back two steps by the remaining force of the arrow, Qing Ling vomited another mouthful of crimson blood.

"Sister Qing Ling!"

Ning Chen rushed forward in three strides and caught Qing Ling as she was about to fall. At that moment, though she was right before him, she seemed impossibly far away.

"Hold on!" Ning Chen's heart tore with pain. He reached out to cover Qing Ling's wound, but no matter what he did, he could not stop the gushing blood.

The next instant, dazzling blade light emerged from every direction. Twelve black-clad men held back the guards. At the same time, four men in green appeared, their curved blades slashing down like a moon assaulting the sky.

Facing the life-threatening danger, Qing Ling pulled Ning Chen behind her with one hand. Enduring the grievous wound in her chest, she struck the sedan chair. A Silver Spear instantly flew out. Her slender hand gripped it tightly as she swept aside the blade lights from every direction.

Bang!

As the two sides clashed, the four green-clad men were sent flying three zhang away. The moment they landed, they stamped the ground and lunged forward again. Four blade lights moved in seamless coordination, sealing every path of retreat.

"Take the Empress Dowager and go!"

Knowing she could not escape unscathed, Qing Ling shoved Ning Chen away, a resolute light flashing through her eyes.

Already severely wounded, Qing Ling's martial strength was restricted. When they clashed again, a crash rang out, and fresh red immediately stained her body. Blood flowed from her slender hand, and the Silver Spear nearly slipped from her grasp.

"Go, quickly. If you wait any longer, it will be too late." As her words fell, Qing Ling tore apart her clothes and wound the strips around the Silver Spear and her right hand.

Her solemn eyes bore the final persistence of her life. Qing Ling stood alone before the sedan chair with her spear held across her body, allowing no one to cross even half a step beyond her.

"Empress Dowager, go!"

Ning Chen looked at Qing Ling, then took hold of Changsun and quickly ran toward the crowds scattering in all directions.

"Trying to leave?"

The four green-clad men abandoned Qing Ling. Their figures flashed as they pursued Ning Chen and Changsun.

Hmph!

With a cold snort, Qing Ling's Silver Spear executed Swallow's Departure, Swallow's Return. Silver light swept through the air, forcing the four men to turn back and deal with her.

"Today, none of you will cross this line by even half a step!"

Her wounds were grave, her blood nearly spent, yet her unyielding will could not be stopped. With a spear in hand and blood covering her entire body, Qing Ling stood alone at the pass, determined to protect Changsun whether she lived or died.

"Qing Ling!"

Dragged onward by Ning Chen, Changsun turned back to look. Tears streamed from her eyes like rain.

"Ning Chen, save her!"

The pleading voice could not halt their steps. Ning Chen did not turn back, continuing to pull Changsun forward. From beginning to end, he never once looked back...