Chapter 174

Life or Death Uncertain (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The chanting in the room continued, peaceful and serene. Yet no one sensed that danger was already approaching.

Just then, at the moment when the novice monk's eyes were filled with sinister ferocity and the dagger in his hand was about to stab Nie Jinxuan, Yin Fengxiang, who was beside her, lunged forward.

"Jinxuan, danger!"

With a cry of alarm, Yin Fengxiang, who had been sitting in his wheelchair, instantly tackled Nie Jinxuan beneath him. At that very moment, the sharp dagger plunged into Yin Fengxiang's back!

Yin Fengxiang reflexively let out a muffled groan. At this time, Master Liaokong and Qiu Pin'ting in the room also opened their eyes wide.

"Ah—"

"Prince!"

Qiu Pin'ting and Master Liaokong were stunned by the scene before them. But the novice monk, seeing that his first strike against Nie Jinxuan had missed, did not flee immediately. Instead, without a second thought, he stepped forward again, raised his hand, and stabbed down at Nie Jinxuan once more!

Just then, Shui Yun, who was guarding outside the room, kicked open the door of the meditation room, flashed forward, instantly kicked the dagger out of the novice monk's hand, and then struck the novice monk's chest with a palm!

"Boom—"

With a muffled sound, the thin novice monk was instantly sent flying out of the door by Shui Yun, collapsing listlessly in the courtyard outside the meditation room.

At this moment, everyone present was stunned by everything before them. Only Nie Jinxuan, after a brief moment of shock, suddenly tightened her expression and reached out to hold Yin Fengxiang, who was slumped over her.

"Prince Rui, Prince Rui, wake up, wake up!"

Nie Jinxuan screamed in terror, but Yin Fengxiang had already closed his eyes and did not respond at all. At this moment, the wet feeling on her hands made Nie Jinxuan pause again, and as she slowly raised her hands, she saw that her fair skin was already stained with a shocking, bright red!

"... Come, someone, call a doctor! Quickly call a doctor!"

Nie Jinxuan shouted, and only then did everyone snap out of their shock. After Yin Fengxiang was moved to the long couch in the meditation room, Nie Jinxuan quickly stepped forward, stripped off Yin Fengxiang's clothes in a flurry, and ordered.

"Master Liaokong, please help prepare some Gold Sore Medicine. If there is no Gold Sore Medicine, please prepare some strong liquor and clean cloth towels."

This was no time for politeness, and Nie Jinxuan naturally skipped the pleasantries. Hearing this, Master Liaokong did not hesitate and immediately ordered people to prepare them. Before long, the strong liquor, Gold Sore Medicine, and cloth towels were brought.

By this time, Nie Jinxuan had already removed Yin Fengxiang's clothes, revealing his bare back. Although Shui Yun had used acupressure to control the bleeding, the wound was too deep, and it was still bleeding continuously. Seeing this, Nie Jinxuan frowned, took a cloth towel, rolled it up neatly, and handed it to Lan Ping, who was so anxious he was about to cry.

"Lan Ping, put this in your Prince's mouth, quickly!"

"Uh... yes, yes."

Lan Ping didn't know what Nie Jinxuan meant, but seeing her grave and serious expression, he didn't ask questions and immediately followed suit, stuffing the cloth into Yin Fengxiang's mouth.

Once everything was ready, Nie Jinxuan did not hesitate, took the strong liquor, and poured it directly onto Yin Fengxiang's wound!

"Ugh—"

Although Yin Fengxiang was already unconscious, the pain of the alcohol touching the wound made him groan involuntarily. Nie Jinxuan paused for a moment, and only after the unconscious Yin Fengxiang's expression was no longer painful did she slowly use the liquor-soaked cloth to clean the wound, apply the Gold Sore Medicine, and finally cover it with a clean cloth.

After a flurry of activity, Nie Jinxuan finally finished a simple treatment of Yin Fengxiang's wound after the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. Soon after, the doctor arrived, but the result shocked everyone present.

"The wound on this young master's back, although it did not damage his internal organs, is very deep, causing excessive blood loss. If it were someone else, it might be fine, but this young master is inherently weak, so I am powerless. I am ashamed, please seek a more skilled doctor!"

After saying this, the doctor left with his medicine chest. As soon as the doctor left, Lan Ping was the first to jump up.

"What should we do? If something happens to my master, I won't live either! What should we do, what should we do... No, I must take my master back to the city immediately..."

As he spoke, Lan Ping made a move to lift Yin Fengxiang, but Nie Jinxuan stopped him.

"No, the Prince is currently wounded. If you take him back now, he will likely be dead before you even reach the city."

"But... but what should we do then?"

"Lan Ping, don't be anxious."

After comforting Lan Ping with a grave expression, Nie Jinxuan turned to Shui Yun without looking back.

"Shui Yun, return to the city immediately and bring Imperial Physician Zhou. Remember, come back as fast as you can."

Shui Yun knew martial arts, so she would naturally be the fastest. But hearing this, Shui Yun couldn't help but frown.

"But Miss, it's not safe here either. If I..."

Shui Yun was specifically arranged by Yin Fengzhan to protect Nie Jinxuan. Now, although one culprit had been subdued, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be a second or third, so leaving at this time was indeed unwise.

For Shui Yun, her primary duty was to protect Nie Jinxuan. So, hearing Nie Jinxuan say this, she naturally hesitated! But Nie Jinxuan understood Shui Yun's meaning, so before Shui Yun could finish, she interrupted her.

"Go quickly, I don't want to say it a second time!"

"... Yes."

Although she had doubts, seeing Nie Jinxuan so insistent, Shui Yun couldn't say anything more. She responded respectfully and made to turn and leave... But just as she was about to flash away, a voice, neither loud nor soft, came from outside the meditation room.

"Go back to the city to find an imperial physician? By the time that physician arrives, the 'paper-mache man' will have already been dragged off by the King of Hell to be his son-in-law~!"

The voice was neither salty nor bland, but it carried a hint of laziness and arrogance. Hearing this, everyone in the side room was stunned and turned their heads to see a man walking in slowly.

The man was in his twenties, tall, with dark skin and plain features, but his brow carried an indescribable arrogance. He wore a grey long gown, dressed like a scholar, but from head to toe, he didn't have a shred of a scholar's air; instead, he looked like a wandering knight from the Jianghu.

At the man's waist hung a colorful cloth bag, bulging with a pile of unknown items... This made him seem even more bizarre!

So for a moment, everyone in the meditation room was stunned. The man who walked in just glanced at the people present, and when Nie Jinxuan met the man's gaze, her eyes instantly sharpened, and she pursed her lips.

"May I ask, this young master..."

Nie Jinxuan's eyes were guarded. But before Nie Jinxuan could finish, Lan Ping, who was standing by the long couch, rushed out and grabbed the dark-skinned man's arm, shouting.

"Divine Doctor, you're here! You're really here! Quickly, save my Prince, quickly save my Prince, my Prince is dying, he's dying..."

Lan Ping was truly anxious and confused, even saying the word "die." Before everyone could understand what he meant by "Divine Doctor," they saw the dark-skinned man reach out and slap Lan Ping on the back of the head.

"You crow's mouth! Dying, what dying? If that 'paper-mache man' just drops dead, why would I have run all this way?"

The dark-skinned man's words were not humble at all, even carrying an obvious arrogance. After speaking, he pushed Lan Ping aside and walked past everyone to the long couch.

Seeing this, Shui Yun made a move to stop him, but Nie Jinxuan pulled her back. At this moment, the dark-skinned man just glanced at Yin Fengxiang, who was lying on the long couch, and reached out to poke at the wound Nie Jinxuan had just treated.

"Who treated this wound?"

The dark-skinned man's tone was still blunt. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan did not hide it and stepped forward.

"I did!"

She responded, pursing her lips, and looked directly at the mysterious dark-skinned man. At this moment, the mysterious man, who had been staring at the wound, looked up instantly and met Nie Jinxuan's eyes.

"You?"

"Yes, it was me."

"Not bad!"

With that simple sentence, the man didn't wait for Nie Jinxuan to say anything. He pulled Yin Fengxiang's wrist to check his pulse, then grabbed the colorful bag tied to his waist and started rummaging through it!

For a moment, the sound of bottles and jars clashing rang out. Before long, the dark-skinned man took out a small red bottle, opened the cap, poured out a red pill the size of a soybean, and, in front of everyone, rudely pried open Yin Fengxiang's mouth and threw it in!

The dark-skinned man's movements were very fast. After feeding him the pill, he capped the red bottle, put it back into the colorful bag, and stood up.

"Done!"

As he spoke, the dark-skinned man stood up and prepared to leave. But Nie Jinxuan suddenly stepped forward and blocked his path.

"Young master, please wait!"

"What for?"

Raising his eyebrows instantly to look at Nie Jinxuan, the dark-skinned man's face showed a hint of confusion. Meeting his eyes, Nie Jinxuan's expression tightened slightly.

"Thank you for your help just now, but may I ask what you fed Prince Rui?"

"You doubt me?"

"I am sorry, although I don't want to say it, Jinxuan and you have never met before. So I have to ask one more question. Please forgive any rudeness."

"Forgive?"

Raising his dark eyebrows, the dark-skinned man's face showed a hint of strangeness. But then he gave a light sneer.

"To put it bluntly, you still don't trust me! Anyway, I'll just tell you, the 'paper-mache man' needs to rest now. If he wakes up within a day, he's fine. But if he doesn't wake up, then there's nothing I can do. Anyway, I've done what I should."

After saying this, the dark-skinned man walked around Nie Jinxuan and prepared to leave. But he was blocked by Nie Jinxuan again.

"In that case, please stay for a day!"

"... You want to threaten me?"

"No! You are mistaken. Jinxuan is not threatening you, but placing you under house arrest!"

After saying this, Nie Jinxuan didn't care what the dark-skinned man's face looked like and directly ordered Shui Yun to detain him. Seeing this, Lan Ping, who had just snapped out of it, rushed over.

"Wait, wait, Third Miss, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Shouting loudly, Lan Ping stepped forward and said to Nie Jinxuan.

"Third Miss, it's a misunderstanding. This young master is the Divine Doctor my master and you mentioned before. My master's illness was also gradually cured under this Divine Doctor's care. So Third Miss, please rest assured, the Divine Doctor will not harm my master."

Lan Ping smiled, clearly trusting the dark-skinned man very much. But hearing this, Nie Jinxuan just glanced at Lan Ping and then turned her gaze past Lan Ping to the dark-skinned man behind him.

"It seems you trust this young master very much, Lan Ping. In that case, may I ask what this young master's surname is, and what his name is? Do you know?"

"Uh... well, this..."

"You don't know, right? Fine, it doesn't matter if you don't know. But you heard what this Divine Doctor said just now, right, Lan Ping? This Divine Doctor said that after one day, the Prince will wake up, and if he wakes up, he's fine. But he might not wake up, and if he doesn't wake up, then it's over... Young master, am I right?"

Throwing the words back at the dark-skinned man, Nie Jinxuan stared at him without blinking. Hearing this, the dark-skinned man raised his thick eyebrows and nodded.

"Correct! But the possibility of that is very low!"

"But it still exists, right?"

"Yes!"

The dark-skinned man was indeed speaking the truth. After he finished, Nie Jinxuan smiled and turned her gaze back to Lan Ping.

"So Lan Ping, you heard what this young master said just now! It's not that I don't trust you, nor that I don't trust this Divine Doctor. But now that lives are at stake, unless Prince Rui wakes up safe and sound, this Divine Doctor must stay!"

As she spoke, Nie Jinxuan turned to look at Master Liaokong beside her and said with a sincere attitude.

"Master Liaokong, this matter happened suddenly, and I have disturbed your temple. But given the current situation, I ask for your convenience."

"Third Miss, you are too polite. Given this turn of events, there is no other choice. So Third Miss, please rest assured, I will definitely do my best to help."

"Thank you, Master."

Nodding to thank Master Liaokong, Nie Jinxuan had Shui Yun take the dark-skinned man away.

It was a rare occasion to come out to burn incense, but such a thing happened, which caught everyone off guard.

In the afternoon, although Qiu Pin'ting didn't want to leave, she was sent back to the city by Nie Jinxuan's men. Nie Jinxuan herself stayed behind. After all, Yin Fengxiang was injured because of her, and she couldn't just leave while Yin Fengxiang's life was still uncertain.

In the evening, Yin Fengzhan, having received the news, rode over. After asking about the situation, he couldn't help but knit his sword-like eyebrows.

"Who knew that you and the young lady from the Duke of Qi's family had agreed to burn incense?"

"No one should have known... However, I didn't deliberately hide this matter, so it's impossible to determine how the culprit knew."

"Then why did the Second Imperial Brother come today?"

"I asked about this. Since Prince Rui's health improved, he has come every first and fifteenth of the month to listen to Master Liaokong's lectures, so this was not deliberately arranged."

Nie Jinxuan understood Yin Fengzhan's suspicions. After answering one by one, she couldn't help but sigh.

"I understand what you mean, but I don't think this matter has anything to do with Pin'ting or Prince Rui. Of course, it's possible that Pin'ting let it slip at some point, but it wasn't necessarily intentional. As for Prince Rui, it's even more impossible. After all, if Prince Rui really wanted to harm me, he had plenty of opportunities before, so why wait until now? And when the culprit disguised as a novice monk tried to assassinate me, Prince Rui could have pretended not to know, so why save me?"

Nie Jinxuan didn't think Qiu Pin'ting and Yin Fengxiang were bad people. But hearing this, Yin Fengzhan couldn't help but look at her, and after a moment, he pursed his thin lips.

"You also said Nie Jinhui wasn't the culprit!"

After blocking Nie Jinxuan with that, Nie Jinxuan glared at Yin Fengzhan, and Yin Fengzhan turned his gaze away and said nothing more.

For a time, the small meditation room in Qitan Temple was exceptionally quiet. It wasn't until a good while later that Nie Jinxuan sighed slightly, stood up, and said.

"Alright, you've been busy all day, go back and rest."

Yin Fengzhan had been very busy lately, and Nie Jinxuan felt sorry for him. But hearing this, Yin Fengzhan's eyebrows instantly knitted.

"You're not going back?"

"Hmm, I'm not going back. Prince Rui was injured saving me. At this time, how can I leave first?"

"You want to take care of him?"

Yin Fengzhan's expression grew increasingly gloomy. Sensing Yin Fengzhan's strangeness, Nie Jinxuan looked up, and seeing the gloomy, handsome face before her, she pursed her lips and smiled.

"What? Are you jealous?"

"..."

Yin Fengzhan didn't speak. Seeing him like this, Nie Jinxuan found it amusing.

"Look at you. You know I can't leave. After all, Prince Rui was injured saving me. Now that his life is uncertain, how can I leave?"

She said with a raised eyebrow and a smile, but seeing Yin Fengzhan still looking like someone owed him eight million, Nie Jinxuan chuckled again and pulled his arm.

"Alright, Prince Rui is already like that, why are you still angry? If you don't want to leave, then stay with me. I want to go see the culprit."

With a smile in her eyes, Nie Jinxuan whispered. Hearing this, Yin Fengzhan pursed his lips and nodded. Seeing him nod, Nie Jinxuan smiled again and went with Yin Fengzhan to the door of a dilapidated woodshed behind Qitan Temple.

At this time, seeing Nie Jinxuan and Yin Fengzhan arrive, the two middle-aged monks guarding the door nodded and saluted, and one of them stepped forward to open the woodshed door... But when Nie Jinxuan and Yin Fengzhan walked in, they saw the novice monk who had committed the crime resting in the corner. But the moment Nie Jinxuan saw the novice monk's face, she was stunned and couldn't help but scream.

"... Qiao Yuan'er!"

Second update uploaded, see you tomorrow~! (Five thousand words, including yesterday's make-up update!)