NOVEL NEXT Judging from the number of the dog in death, it seemed there were a lot of people wanting to kill him.
Mu Qianhua remembered the day when she was saved from the Bibo Lake by Dongfang Lingyun, whose radiant figure impressed her deeply until now. It was beyond her imagination that he lived in such a great danger. Since he was fourteen years old when Dongfang Zhentian was crowned as the emperor, he was appointed as General Pingyan. How did he escape the numerous assassinations in as long as a decade, and claim his incomparable high status?
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Dongfang Lingyun caught a glimpse of her.
Mu Qianhua looked away. “Nothing. There is an old saying…”
“What is it?”
“The evil ones will live for a thousand years.”
“…”
Dongfang Lingyun helped Mu Qianhua get off the horse when they arrived at the courier hostel. Seeing he on the horseback again, Mu Qianhua shouted, “Will you go back to help your bodyguard?”
“It’s a small piece of cake for him. He can deal with it.” Dongfang Lingyun answered.
“… By the way, I can’t figure out all of their swordsmanship. It’s a little complicated, but I think one of their skills is called soul killing, which is widely used in the Seven Star, a local assassin organization. I only know this much. Thanks for saving my life just then.” Mu Qianhua didn’t want to owe him a favor. She must return it as soon as possible.
Dongfang Lingyun was surprised at her capacity to tell the differences between swordsmanship. He had got used to the assassinations, but this delicate girl must have been frightened to death. He remembered that she exerted herself to pluck up the courage at the critical moment to remind him to watch out. Though she looked calm, it was clear that she was severely shocked on seeing her hands in shudder under the fat sleeves.
It was so rare that a high-fed princess as her didn’t cry or scream when facing such a danger.
“What’s your name?” Dongfang Lingyun lowered his head and asked.
“Mu Qianhua.” She answered after a hesitation.
“I will keep it in my mind.” He raised the rein and darted forward on horseback.
Mu Qianhua, standing at the gate of the courier hostel, rubbed her forehead helplessly. “Mu Qianhua, you are crazy. You are definitely crazy!…”
She turned and entered the courier hostel.
Qing Ying, standing outside her room, seemed to be waiting for her. Upon seeing her lady coming back, she walked toward her at once. “My lady, it’s so good you finally come back. Several hours ago, a maid from the palace informed me you would stay at the palace for dinner and asked me to return to the courier hostel at first.”
“Qing Ying…” Seeing her maid, Mu Qianhua, setting her mind at rest finally, nearly slumped down to the ground.
Qing Ying came forward and hold her at once. “What’s wrong with you? Why are your hands so cold?”
Mu Qianhua shook her head, signing Qing Ying to enter the room.
She sat down under Qing Ying’s assistance, and told Qing Ying all the things happened in the palace and the assassination on her way back while having the tea prepared by her maid.
Qing Ying was surprised at her meeting with Dongfang Lingyun, but felt more astonished by the assassins. “My lady, why would the assassins of Seven Stars turn up?”
“I have no idea, neither.” Mu Qianhua was confused. “Seven Stars is a social organization in the Dark Night Empire, famous for their ferocity and relentlessness, but they are never involved in royal family affairs. Why would they assassinate Dongfang Lingyun?”
“Dongfang Lingyun is by no means a nobody. He is a very strong antagonist. I cannot imagine how much profit the Seven Stars would get after killing Dongfang Lingyun, a master in martial art,” Qing Ying said.
Mu Qianhua’s headache became more serious as she pondered on the assassination. Qing Ying sent for a doctor and set her mind at ease after knowing Mu Qianhua was only shocked and not suffered any trauma.
“My lady, don’t blame me for what I’m going to say. Since you met Dongfang Lingyun, you have always been living in danger. Last time, you were nearly drowned, and today, there were assassins suddenly turning up. As your bodyguard, I must advise you not to meet Dongfang Lingyun anymore. He isn’t a normal person. I know you are born a talented girl, but in a foreign country, it’s so dangerous that you know nothing about martial art. If something bad happens to you, I will never forgive myself.”
Mu Qianhua smiled and said nothing.
Qing Ying, we have already been involved deeply in the affair.
Meanwhile, at the study of General Pingyan’s residence, Dongfang Lingyun stared at Xue Sha kneeling on the ground. “They committed suicide?”
Xue Sha said in embarrassment, “Their action was so fast. I have fractured their jaws, but they had already crunched the poisonous capsules… It is me who failed to finish the task.”
Dongfang Lingyun said without raising his eyes, “It’s okay. They are men of sacrifice, having to die when they failed.”
“You know they are from the Seven Stars?” Xue Sha, being astounded, took out a handkerchief and presented it to Dongfang Lingyun. He opened the handkerchief, discovering a bloody human skin with a black iris on it. “I cut it down from an assassin’s arm. The tattoo is very weird, which will disappear when the person died. I cut it off quickly before it vanished.”
“This is the mark of the Seven Stars. Every killer will have the tattoo when they are accepted, and it will disappear when they died. That woman was right…” The last sentence seemed to be a self-whispering.
“Which woman?” Xue Sha stared at him in confusion.
Dongfang Lingyun didn’t answer him but made an order instead. “Xue Sha, have a thorough inspect on the Seven Stars Building. There must be a reason, otherwise, an assassin organization would not kill a member of the royal family. It is no good for them to make an enemy of the government. It must be someone’s plot.”
“But master, the assassins will not betray their employers easily.”
An evil smile appeared on Dongfang Lingyun’s face. “Do you need to be sent to the ministry of penalty and learn from them how to make people tell the truth?”
Did it mean Xue Sha could do whatever he wanted? He held the sword in his waist and said, “I will go find the reason immediately.”
Xue Sha left swiftly like a gust of wind, leaving Dongfang Lingyun alone at the room.
On the peaceful lake surface, several falling petals stirred circles of ripples. She was sitting at the prow, enjoying the mountains afar surrounded by mist. The luxuriant plants made reflections on the emerald rippling lake. The beautiful scenery in spring got you relaxed and comfortable.
An enchanting voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
May I call you Xiao’er in the future?
That melodious sound lingered in her mind, as the rippling water flowing softly.
Suddenly, she was standing at the road where the assassins turned up. The glinting light on the sword made her frightened to shudder. He, the tall and strong man riding on the back of a claret horse, dragged her up and darted forward, abandoning the flourishing capital city far behind. She could hear nothing but his heartbeat like beating drums.
He said he would experience such assassination for a dozen of times each month.
He was the gangster whom she had cursed for thousands of times. He was the damned guy who shamed her by refusing to wed her. He was…
“Dongfang Lingyun!” Mu Qianhua sat up all of a sudden, with a layer of sweat on her forehead.
Why would he appear in her dream?… She rubbed the skin between her eyebrows, lighted up the lanterns and had a cup of tea. When she calmed down a little, Mu Qianhua went to sit beside the window and played with the Malus halliana. There were several sprouts days ago which had bloomed one by one till now. The silk-like light pink flowers were blooming at the branches. It was the color of her dream.
While staring at the flowers, Mu Qianhua somehow recalled Dongfang Lingyun’s curving lips, whose color was just the same as the flowers… Oh no! What was she thinking! Mu Qianhua patted her forehead heavily, forcing herself to abandon those weird thoughts.
Dongfang Lingyun was a damned gangster, daring to humiliate her on her wedding day by refusing to let her in. She, as the princess royal of the Cold Night Empire, had never been insulted like this. She must take revenge someday! The princess royal of the Cold Night Empire mustn’t be conquered… by the gangster’s appearance!
Be that as it may, Mu Qianhua intended to hammer her chest to calm herself down when thinking about that day when they got so close to each other on the horseback. According to Murong Jingshan, all the women will suffer a kind of illness due to which they would turn foolish. Admittedly, she grew up with Murong Jingshan, who was a great doctor and her sister-in-law. She was trustworthy, but Mu Qianhua had always been confident about her intelligence. However, facing the reality she had to admit that it was Dongfang Lingyun who made her become foolish.
Murong Jingshan behaved like a foolish girl before her elder brother, for instance, staring blankly at him. She could imagine that one day, she would tread the heel of Murong Jingshan. It was absolutely a huge setback to her!
When thinking one day she would smirk before Dongfang Lingyun just as Murong Jingshan did, Mu Qianhua would suffer a serious headache. But on a second thought, she knew she was much smarter than Murong Jingshan. She would definitely not follow in her footsteps.
Mu Qianhua set her mind at rest finally. She patted her cheeks gently and said to herself, “I think too much at the midnight…”
She blew out the lanterns and went to sleep.
The next day.
Mu Qianhua, followed by Qing Ying, went to Qian Jin restaurant in her veil.
“My lady, you didn’t sleep well yesterday night?” Qing Ying was curious about the dark circles below her eyes.
Mu Qianhua hummed while rubbing her forehead.
“How about asking them to bring you a pot of green tea?”
“All right.” Mu Qianhua said, “Qing Ying, go have a check at the kitchen. I will meet the accountant.”
“I will bring the tea to your room then.” Qing Ying went to the kitchen while Mu Qianhua went to check the accounts.
Seeing Mu Qianhua stepping in, the accountant put the pen on the desk and stood up in a hurry, extending his respect to her. “Miss Bai.”
“Is there something wrong with the account recently?” Mu Qianhua flipped through the account book.
“Merely some small mistakes. Not a big deal. Will you have a check?”
“Given such a big amount of rewards from the guests, there will certainly be some mistakes.”