Inside the room, Xue Rui lay flat on Yu Shu's bed with his long hair hanging loosely over his shoulders, wearing only a white unlined garment. The gauze curtain was down and the window was closed. From the outside, one could only see a blurry figure, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman.
Facing the approaching killer, he was very calm. His right hand, which was hanging by his side, firmly held the hilt of his sword, ready to strike.
He was not surprised that Liu Hao would try to kill Yu Shu. In fact, ever since Yu Shu revealed the Death Termination Strange Art at the Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet, he had been worried that if she showed off too much, she would become a thorn in other people's side.
During the years when he and Liu Hao were brothers, he knew that Liu Hao was a man who did not appear to be what he appeared to be. On the surface, the Seventh Prince had a good demeanor, but in fact, he was narrow-minded and had no tolerance for others. Those who caught his eye could not be kept for his own use, so he would get rid of them quickly.
Even though Yu Shu had the Death Termination Strange Art, she had no background after all. She only had the title of a female fortune teller. In Liu Hao's eyes, she could not be considered an obstacle for the time being. It would be fine if she did not do anything, but once she did something, Liu Hao would feel threatened, and he would definitely strangle her in the womb.
Last night, he wasn't sure if Liu Hao would take advantage of this opportunity to attack Yu Shu, so he waited for a day, waiting for the chef to give himself away. Only then did he confirm that the murderer's target tonight wasn't him, but Yu Shu.
Killing Yu Shu, exposing his identity, framing the Eleventh Prince, forcing him to solve the case, and turning against Concubine Lu, Liu Hao's improvisation had actually killed three birds with one stone.
If it were not for Liu Hao's arrogance, he would not have been able to beat him at his own game and break his killer move.
In this matter, Xue Rui hid two things from Yu Shu —
First, the killer's target tonight.
Furthermore, the chef who could behead a person with a single slash did not only practice external martial arts.
Think about it. An assassin who could sneak past the guards and sneak into Zhou Qing's room to kill him, how could he only have brute strength?
Fortunately, Yu Shu didn't understand this, so he took advantage of her worry and swapped rooms with her.
.....
The sky was getting dark. Lu Hong and his two companions were squatting on the beam outside the corridor. They were a little drowsy from waiting. Suddenly, they heard a soft sound.
Lu Hong hurriedly lowered his head and stared at the staircase. He saw that the guard who was assigned to patrol the corridor had fallen to the ground and was dragged into the darkness by a pair of invisible hands.
Lu Hong immediately became alert. He raised his hand and signaled to his companions, "Coming!"
Not long after, a black shadow appeared in the corridor. It groped around the corners of the walls and counted the rooms one by one. It happened to stop at the room where Xue Rui was.
The black-clothed figure paused at the door for a moment. He reached out and swiped at the crack of the door. The tightly shut door was easily pushed open.
The door creaked slightly, but in the silence of the night, it was loud enough for Xue Rui to hear.
He lay motionless on the bed, gripping his longsword tightly. His gaze passed through the curtains and moved to the door.
"Creak …"
A black shadow snuck in. Xue Rui adjusted his breathing, and the light sound of him sleeping sounded like a woman sleeping soundly.
He squinted and rolled his eyes as he followed the black shadow from the door to the head of his bed.
Not long ago, the censor, Zhou Qing, had lost his head in his sleep. It was the same scene, the same killer. Right now, he was like a ruthless executioner. He pulled out a two-foot-long cleaver from his waist and swung it at the head on the bed with a ferocious look in his eyes.
Yu Shu squatted in the wardrobe for a long time. She pricked up her ears, but she could not hear anything outside.
The wardrobe door was tightly shut, leaving only a small gap for air to enter. She was so stifled that her forehead was covered in sweat. However, she did not dare to wipe it off. She was afraid that if she moved too much, she would make a noise and startle the killer. She did not know when the killer would arrive and ruin the trap that Xue Rui had set. What if the killer was driven to desperation and hurt him again?
After waiting for a while, there was still no sound outside. Yu Shu could not see or hear anything. She could not help but feel anxious.
A drop of sweat rolled down her eyelid, stinging her so much that she squeezed her eyes shut. Just then, a sudden sound broke the silence of the night.
"Clang!"
The muffled sound came from afar. Yu Shu's heart skipped a beat. She felt something was wrong. She pressed her ear to the wardrobe door and realized that the sound did not come from inside the room, but from outside the door. It seemed to be several floors away.
What had happened?
Yu Shu's mind was a mess of questions. She wanted to call out to Xue Rui, but she remembered his instructions. If she did not hear his call, she must not make a sound.
She could only endure it and not move.
However, the next moment, the sound outside the door suddenly became louder. With a loud crash, she clearly heard someone shouting, followed by a series of clanging sounds.
Yu Shu was stunned. Listening to the sound, it was clearly separated by a wall, outside the corridor.
"… Big brother?" With such a big noise, why should she endure it? She called out to Xue Rui in a low voice, but did not hear any response from him.
Yu Shu's mind was in a mess. She reached out and pushed the wardrobe door open. She bent down and came out. She wiped the sweat from her eyes, and with the moonlight rising outside the window, she swept a glance at the bed not far away.
However, the bed was empty, and Xue Rui's figure was nowhere to be seen!
If there was no one here, then what was going on outside? Could it be that the killer found the wrong room? But where was Xue Rui?
Yu Shu was stunned for a moment. Her mind turned around, and her face suddenly changed. She turned around and ran out of the inner room, straight to the door. It was a short distance, but she stumbled twice. Once she reached the door latch, she pulled it open with all her might.
At the end of the corridor, there was a dim yellow lantern hanging. With one glance, she saw the broken door on the opposite side. She was very sure that the short and messy sound of fighting just now came from the opposite side.
Her heart was beating fast. She did not know how she walked into the opposite room. She came to the door of the bedroom, where the candle was lit. Through the few guards at the door, she saw Xue Rui sitting by the bed.
His hair was disheveled, and behind the messy hair was a cold face. His white robe was slightly open, and half of his body was splashed with red spots. One of his hands was holding the sword hilt, and the dark red liquid flowed along his wrist, through the long sword, and stopped at his feet.
Similarly, there was a man dressed in black at his feet, lying in a pool of blood. There was a hole in his chest that kept spurting out blood, and he was still holding a heavy woodchopping knife in his hand. Half of his face was stuck to the ground, and his eyes were still open before he died.
When Yu Shu saw this scene, if she still did not understand what had happened, she would have wasted her brain.
So Ning Wang, the killer, came for her!
"Reporting to Daren, this person is dead." Lu Hong squatted on the ground and pulled down the mask of the man in black. He was not surprised to see the face of the restaurant chef. He put two fingers under the nose and pressed the artery on the side of the man's neck to confirm that the man on the ground had become a corpse.
Xue Rui frowned, and then he raised his left hand and said in a low voice, "This person is extremely ferocious and filled with killing intent. I exchanged two moves with him, and my arm was sliced open by him. I miscalculated in a moment of shock and actually stabbed him to death."
Only then did others find that there was a cut on the other sleeve of Xue Rui, and half of it was wet with blood. It seemed that the cut was not shallow.
Lu Hong and others were shocked: "Daren!"
When they were about to go forward to help stop the bleeding, a figure passed them and passed in front of them.
Yu Shu crossed over the corpse on the ground and stood in front of Xue Rui. She bent down to check his injured arm with a taut face.
When Xue Rui saw Yu Shu running over, his expression softened. Niu Er's heart was pierced by his sword, and he could not be more dead. He was no longer in danger.
Seeing that she stared at his arm as if she was facing a great enemy, Xue Rui comforted her: "It's okay, it's just a cut."
It's just that the cut was a little longer and deeper.
But Yu Shu ignored him. After confirming where the cut was, she took out a clean handkerchief and gently pressed the cut. She turned her head and said to Lu Hong and others who were dumbfounded: "Quickly prepare hot water and find a doctor. If any of you brought any injury medicine, quickly bring it here."
"Uh, yes!"
So Lu Hong and others hurriedly turned and ran, leaving Yu Shu and Xue Rui behind. No one cared about the corpse on the ground.
Yu Shu smelled the stench of blood in the room. She lowered her head and looked at her hand that was covering his wound. Her palm was wet and warm, making her feel complicated. She bit the tip of her tongue and asked bitterly, "Why did you lie to me?"
She was still hiding in the cupboard, thinking that she would go through thick and thin with him. But like a fool, she was silently blocked by him.
He clearly didn't have to take the risk. Prince Ning wanted to kill her, but he became the bait.
Xue Rui lightly tossed the sword in his hand onto the corpse, and he emptied his hand to place it on the back of her hand that was covering her wound. He laughed in a low voice and said, "If I tell you the truth, will you still listen to me?"
Yu Shu pursed her lips.
"Don't think too much. This is the best solution. You are a defenseless girl. How can I let you fight with a murderer?"
Yu Shu knew that what Xue Rui said was reasonable. Even if he told her in advance that the person Niu Er wanted to kill was her, what could she do?
It would just add to her troubles.
"How do you know that Prince Ning wants to kill me? What if he doesn't intend to kill me? "
Niu Er didn't go to assassinate Xue Rui, not because he went to the wrong room, but because he received an order to kill her, the person who came out to disturb the situation.
She could also expose the identity of the murderer. There was no benefit in assassinating Xue Rui, but it was more worthwhile to take the opportunity to kill her, the female fortune-teller who was proficient in the art of death.
Yu Shu didn't think about this before, not because she couldn't think of it, but because with Xue Rui around, she subconsciously felt that she was dependent on him, so she didn't think too much about it.
"I asked Lu Hong to keep an eye on Niu Er secretly. I knew that he inquired about your room, so I was sure that Prince Ning wanted to take this opportunity to kill you."
Xue Rui told her the truth. It was over, and there was nothing to hide.
Yu Shu felt very upset. On the one hand, she was moved by Xue Rui's protection, but on the other hand, she felt guilty and frustrated.
If she hadn't rashly run to Pei County and honestly passed the letter, she wouldn't have caused this trouble.
"Shu, what's wrong with you?" Xue Rui saw that her face was not right.
"… Niu Er mistook you for me, so he wanted to kill you. That's why you were injured."
If she hadn't shown up at the beginning, Niu Er's target would only be Xue Rui. At that time, he would pretend to assassinate her to achieve the purpose of exposing his identity. Xue Rui didn't need to take this risk.
"It's all my fault. I made you suffer." This time, she was more helpful than helpful.
Yu Shu smiled bitterly. Between her and Xue Rui, she had always been the one who got more than he gave. She gave a little, but he gave a lot in return. If this went on, she wouldn't be secretly happy that she took advantage of him, but gradually became a little uneasy.
What right did she have to make him fall in love with her? Was she worth it?
Xue Rui's gaze darkened when he saw her blindly blaming herself, and he couldn't help but exert a bit more force on the hand that was pressing her down, and his voice carried a slightly self-mocking tone. "If you think like this, then I'll tell you the truth. I did it intentionally."
"What on purpose?" Yu Shu didn't understand.
"I didn't tell you on purpose. I took the risk for you on purpose. I was stabbed by the murderer on purpose and got hurt on purpose."
"… You …" Yu Shu raised her head blankly and met Xue Rui's dark eyes.
"Do you remember the time when the two gangsters of the Tehen Business Association met you in the capital and sent killers to find you?"
"Yes." Yu Shu frowned slightly. She didn't know why he mentioned this.
"I also remember." Xue Rui said in a low voice, "That time, it was Jing Chen who took the knife for you."
Yu Shu's expression changed.
"I still feel regret now. If I had grabbed the knife at that time, then the man you liked from the beginning should have been me. Later, you wouldn't have suffered so much for him. On the night when you were caught by the Celestial Commissioner, I saw you suffering from the pain of your broken finger. I made up my mind that no matter what means I had to use, even if I had to take advantage of the situation, I would take you away and win your heart. "
Yu Shu opened her mouth and saw the bright feelings in his eyes. She wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.
"I just want you to understand that I am a man who deserves to be entrusted with the rest of your life. I can do what others can't do for you. I can do what others can do better."
Xue Rui's words had been suppressed in his heart for a long time. In the past, he would only express it with his actions. Today, for the first time, he clearly conveyed it to Yu Shu.
His sincerity was laid bare in front of her.
Xue Rui's sincerity was always beyond her expectation.
In an instant, Yu Shu's heart went numb. Just now, she was still sentimental, but now, her eyes suddenly lit up.
She was simply looking for trouble by arguing with him about those trivial things. Because the two of them were obviously the same kind of people!
They both wanted to do things for someone who was worth it. So naturally, only when they felt that they were worth it, would they do things without hesitation.
Xue Rui treated her well because he felt that she was worth it. She wanted to treat Xue Rui well because he was worth it.
They were in love with each other. That was all. Where could she find another person who was as crazy as her?
"I don't know how to say good things, but I do have one thing that you should remember." Yu Shu lowered her eyes and her gaze fell on their crossed palms. She whispered to him, "If you don't leave or abandon me, I will follow you in life and death."
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