Chapter 154: Qing Shan

"Are you looking for this?" Chi Nan Yi waved the long sword in her hand. The man reached out to snatch the sword back but grasped at empty air. Not only that, the movement pulled at the wounds on his body, and he sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

"I'd advise you, you'd best not move around. The wounds on your body look quite deep. If they're not treated, it won't be long before you die from blood loss."

"You… who are you?" His lips were pale and cracked, traces of blood still hanging at the corners of his mouth, but the coldness in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

"You didn't even know who I was, yet you sneaked into my room? And now you're the one interrogating me."

The man looked around, recalling what had happened before he lost consciousness. He said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I was trying to escape pursuers, so I…" At that moment, he realized his face veil had been removed.

The killing intent that had just been suppressed surged up in an instant, his eyes filled with ruthless ferocity.

Chi Nan Yi watched his expression and thought to herself: Why is this man just like that bastard Mo Junyan? Always ready to kill at the drop of a hat.

"Look at how you're dressed. Were you really being pursued, or were you going to assassinate someone?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Hearing him say this, Chi Nan Yi laughed outright: "Young man, saying that line is generally the same as tacitly admitting I'm right."

The man glared at her but did not refute.

"I'm decent at medicine. If you tell me who you went to kill, I'll treat your wounds. How about it?"

The talk on the streets was absolutely not unfounded. Something must have happened in the Palace last night, and the one who stirred up trouble there might well be this young man before her.

"In your dreams." At that moment, the man flipped his hand and pressed on his wrist.

He had expected to trigger a hidden weapon mechanism, only to find his wrist completely bare.

"Are you looking for the Storm Pear Blossom Needles?" Chi Nan Yi picked up a small box. "This thing of yours is designed rather uniquely, but it can only be used once. Not very convenient."

"Give it back to me!" The man looked at Chi Nan Yi through gritted teeth, never imagining that everything hidden on his person had been searched and taken by her.

"I can give it back to you, but you barged into my room. I helped you evade the constables' search, and now that you're awake, you still want to kill me. Isn't that a bit of biting the hand that fed you? Besides, you're badly wounded right now. Even if I don't report you to the authorities or kill you, do you think you can leave Jingcheng alive? The constables gathered on this street today must all be here to catch you!"

The man looked at her, jaw clenched tight, and turned his head away.

"I am not without some skill in medicine. Your wounds, I can treat them."

Hearing her say this, a slight change appeared on the man's face.

"What do you want?"

"At the very least, introduce yourself first. Let me know who you are, and then I'll consider whether or not to save you. Also…" Chi Nan Yi leaned forward slightly: "You risked entering the Palace—who exactly were you trying to kill?"

The man's pupils contracted. She had actually already guessed this much.

Seeing that he still refused to speak, Chi Nan Yi was in no hurry. She just walked slowly to the window and said calmly, "It doesn't matter if you won't say it. I'm a bit impatient by nature and can't stand wishy-washy men. If I lose my patience, I only need to shout once from right here, and countless constables will come rushing over to arrest you. By then, even if you want to talk, you won't have the chance."

The man's expression shifted. Chi Nan Yi stood by the window and counted softly: "Five, four, three, two…"

"I'll talk." He ground his teeth and said in a low voice: "My name is Qing Shan. I entered the Palace to kill the one who broke faith."

"The one who broke faith? You fell in love with the Emperor's concubine? You entered the Palace in the dead of night to kill her?"

Qing Shan nodded: "That's right."

"There's a limit to lying." Chi Nan Yi raised her hand, several Silver Needles appearing at her fingertips: "The current Emperor hasn't held a draft selection in over ten years. From your appearance, you look about the same age as me. Are you saying that when you were only a few years old, you fell in love with a candidate selected by the Emperor to enter the Palace? Your tastes really are unique!"

His lie exposed, Qing Shan did not feel embarrassed. He just looked at the Silver Needles in her hand, his eyes full of wariness.

"What are you trying to do?"

"I told you, I don't have much patience."

Her eyes turned fierce, and the Silver Needles in her hand were just about to fly forth when she heard Qing Shan say: "I'll talk. My family died tragically, all thanks to the imperial court. Out of my entire family, only I survived. I entered the Palace for revenge, to make the beast who killed my family pay in blood."

Chi Nan Yi looked at the hatred surging in his eyes. It didn't seem like he was lying.

She slowly put away the Silver Needles and casually tossed him a pill.

"What is this?"

"Stretch Leg Stare Eye Pill."

"Huh?"

"You fool. With a brain like yours, you still dared to break into the Palace for revenge? Not getting cut down directly in the Palace is the heavens looking out for you…" At this point, Chi Nan Yi paused.

Last night this man entered the Palace, and Mo Junyan appeared in the Palace. This morning he climbed into her room, and before long Mo Junyan showed up again.

What a remarkable coincidence.

The look in her eyes shifted slightly, as if she vaguely guessed something.

"Didn't I tell you? As long as you tell the truth, I'll treat you."

Hearing this, the man swallowed the pill. Chi Nan Yi turned and walked to the table, rummaging through her medicine chest for medicine to treat external wounds.

Qing Shan felt the pain in his body ease considerably. Looking at Chi Nan Yi's back, he couldn't help but feel some inner conflict.

Though this person had helped him, she had also seen his face.

He bore a blood-deep feud. No matter what, his plan for revenge could not be obstructed by anyone.

Thinking of this, he grabbed the belt at his waist, gripping it tightly with both hands. He was just about to get up when he heard the person facing away from him say softly: "I suggest you not move around carelessly. Do you remember the Stretch Leg Stare Eye Pill you just took?"

Wasn't what he just ate a healing medicine?

"Press on your chest. Doesn't a dull ache come from it?"

Qing Shan did as she said. Sure enough, the instant he pressed down, his chest felt as though something had chiseled into it, and the pain made him frown.

"You…"

Chi Nan Yi suppressed the smile at the corners of her lips. Sure enough, younger ones were easier to fool.

The reason his chest ached was because his internal injuries had not yet healed.

If this person were Mo Junyan, this trick wouldn't work so well.

That bastard was far too shrewd.

Chi Nan Yi handed him the prepared wound medicine.

"What… what is this?"

Under her control, Qing Shan watched Chi Nan Yi warily.

"This one isn't poisonous."

"Really?"

"Really." Chi Nan Yi pointed at the still-bleeding wound and urged impatiently, "If you're not going to use it, give it back to me. You'll deserve it if you bleed to death."

Qing Shan thought it over, then pressed the ointment onto the wound. The expected pain never came—the cool, chilling ointment actually made that pain, which had seeped deep into his very bones, vanish in an instant.

A Divine Doctor! Divine medicine!

"You…"

"Consultation fee and medicine come to three hundred taels altogether. Remember to pay."

Qing Shan: "…"