Book 6 Chapter 34 - Blood Between This Ash Colored World
Bian Linghan was dressed in green clothes, standing at the river side, delicate and graceful, making one think of a fine bamboo under the sunny south’s misty rain.
On her back was a small wooden chest, while standing at her side was the Enforcer Office’s Liang Sansi who guided her here.
While seeing the pleasantly surprised Jiang Xiaoyi quickly row a boat over, Bian Linghan pretended to be annoyed, releasing a snort. “What, you can come, but I can’t come and take a look?”
Jiang Xiaoyi immediately laughed. He knew that Lin Xi would definitely be just as pleasantly surprised as himself.
“The disturbance you all stirred up is just a bit too big! Right, I forgot that even you already rose up a rank.” Bian Linghan patted her forehead, seemingly recalling something. After an oh sound, she purposely cupped her hands towards Jiang Xiaoyi, saying, “This humble one pays her respects to Sir Jiang.”
Jiang Xiaoyi also released an en sound of approval, purposely saying arrogantly, “There is no need to stand on ceremony.”
“Sir Jiang really knows how to flaunt your official prestige.” Bian Linghan laughed with a pu sound, Jiang Xiaoyi himself also couldn’t help but roar with laughter again.
Liang Sansi couldn’t help but laugh as well. While looking at Jiang Xiaoyi and Bian Linghan, he felt a type of indescribable emotion. He knew that Jiang Xiaoyi wasn’t an ordinary warrior either, and right now, even this young lady had a chest on her back, making him recall Lin Xi’s chest… None of Young Sir Lin’s friends were ordinary people! This even more so made him feel that Young Sir Lin wasn’t ordinary.
“Where is Lin Xi?” Bian Linghan seemed to have become much more experienced than when she was in Green Luan Academy as well. After expressing her thanks to Liang Sansi, she gave the cheering river surface a look, and then said with a pout, “Wasn’t he with you?”
Jiang Xiaoyi jumped from the boat onto shore, after landing steadily on the ground, he nodded towards an alley not far away. “He is discussing some matters with a merchant company over there, it should be related to the repair of the dam. I can’t do much to help out even if I’m there, so I decided I might as well watch them catch fish from here.”
“Right, you really came at the perfect time.” Jiang Xiaoyi pointed at the river surface, saying with a smile, “Today just happened to be the day when the fish market is gathering the cages they set up. From the looks of it, there should already be at least two Ironhead Dogfish that were caught, so Lin Xi could invite you to eat a feast.”
Bian Linghan was thus stunned. “Does this river have many Ironhead Dogfish?”
“If we are saying that there are many, then that’s not exactly correct.” Jiang Xiaoyi shook his head. “Only, our Young Sir Lin really attracts the people’s affection, so everyone began to display the skills passed down across generations, helping him catch fish.”
Bian Linghan smiled, but then immediately afterwards chuckled lightly somewhat helplessly. “The things he did really are daring enough.”
After a slight pause, she shook her head. “If Swallow Descent Town’s dam didn’t collapse, then what?”
Jiang Xiaoyi shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t Lin Xi, so he couldn’t respond.
“Great ones.” At this time, Liang Sansi who always listened respectfully to these two bowed respectfully, and then said, “Since Young Sir Lin took action… then he already made preparations for all possibilities. That time, when he was on the dam, he said that compared to the lives behind the dam, everything else is just fleeting clouds.”
“Everything like fleeting clouds…” Bian Linghan naturally understood Lin Xi’s nature better than Liang Sansi and the others. When she heard this, she already naturally produced Lin Xi’s appearance when he said this. As such, she couldn’t help but release a somewhat vexed sigh, complaining, “He really is always acting without thinking of the consequences.”
Jiang Xiaoyi looked at Bian Linghan at his side, saying, “Are you going to seek him out, or are you going to wait until he comes to us?”
“Let’s just wait for him to come so we don’t bother him in the discussion of official matters.” Bian Linghan looked at the clear and crystalline Breath River surface, saying, “The scenery here really isn’t bad.”
While listening to the two’s conversation, Liang Sansi said, “In that case, I won’t stop great ones from having your reunion and will first wait for Sir Lin. When his matters are complete, I will inform him to come here.”
“Then we’ll have to thank Brother Liang ahead of time.”
Jiang Xiaoyi and Bian Linghan both expressed their thanks, making Liang Sansi sigh inwardly again while hurriedly returning their greeting. People truly made friends who were similar to themselves, Young Sir Lin’s friends really were ridiculously polite and modest.
“How have things gone these days while serving as Great Ascent Town’s Warden?”
Jiang Xiaoyi decided to wait with Bian Linghan in a nearby tea shop, leading the way while chatting idly with Bian Linghan. However, his body suddenly trembled slightly.
Bian Linghan was about to say that nothing much happened, which was why she spent most of her time cultivating, but when she was just about to speak, she noticed the abnormalities with Jiang Xiaoyi. The instant she turned around, following Jiang Xiaoyi’s line of sight, she saw a young woman’s figure.
It was the figure of a young lady dressed in rough yellow clothes, graceful and wonderful.
“Sir Jiang.”
Bian Linghan immediately smiled and said teasingly, “Your soul’s even going to leave from staring.”
Jiang Xiaoyi woke up, his face immediately blushing, explaining awkwardly, “That’s not it… I previously met that woman when I was in Mulberry Elm Circle fortifying the dam. Her face is covered in lash scars, and she looks extremely broken-hearted… I just happened to see her here, that is why…”
“Her face is covered in lash scars?”
Bian Linghan’s brows immediately furrowed, her eyes stopping over that young lady’s rear figure again.
“Yes, before, I wanted to ask her if anything was bothering her, but I felt that it would be too rude.” Jiang Xiaoyi’s face was still a bit red as he explained. Meanwhile, his palms were already covered in a layer of sweat.
He was the only one who knew that just now, when he saw that young lady, that young lady also saw him.
The scars on her face already became a bit more faint, making her even more attractive, making his heart almost stop momentarily. However when that young lady saw him, she immediately lowered her head, turning around to leave, this head lowered turned figure making his heart couldn’t help but tighten.
“Since there might be something unfair, why don’t you go and ask? What do you mean rude.”
Bian Linghan didn’t know about Jiang Xiaoyi’s true feelings, and thus said with a frown, “Come on, let’s go ask her about it first.”
Jiang Xiaoyi immediately released a great exhale as if he was granted a great amnesty. He followed in Bian Linghan’s footsteps, but he instead felt more and more tense.
Towards this East Port Town’s areas, Jiang Xiaoyi already became a bit familiar with it already, able to tell that this young lady was heading towards Black Cloth Alley.
There were quite a few shops that dyed clothes there, as well as quite a few embroidery shops and tailoring shops.
As they got closer, he saw that this young lady held a small embroidered basket in her hands, inside most likely some things used to make embroidery, so he thought that this young lady should be an embroidery girl in that alley.
Unknowingly, his heart rate sped up, the sweat on his back also becoming greater and greater.
Bian Linghan walked quickly, walking on this East Port Town’s limestone path. When she saw that they were already not far from that young lady, she already prepared to call out. However, right at this time, that young lady seemed to have noticed that someone was following her, so she lowered her head, walking faster, turning into a small alley up ahead.
When this young lady’s figure suddenly disappeared from his sight, Jiang Xiaoyi’s heart also suddenly felt empty. However, after Bian Linghan quickly entered that alley, he suddenly saw that young lady turn around, walking towards them.
He saw that young lady face to face again.
Even though the bloody scars on this girl’s face still hadn’t disappeared, in his eyes, there was no part of that face that was not perfect. When he saw that this young lady was clutching her chest, as if she felt stomach pain, her tightly furrowed brows, seeing her complexion that was excessively pale to the point where it was a bit like porcelain, his heart couldn’t help but feel a bit pained, his breathing also becoming a bit difficult, body shaking slightly.
What kind of feeling was this? Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t know how to describe it at all.
Because this woman suddenly turned around and because she saw her dainty appearance, Bian Linghan was also a bit stunned.
This girl who Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t know the name of walked extremely gracefully and slowly. She seemed to have seen Jiang Xiaoyi’s body was shaking slightly. She looked at Jiang Xiaoyi, opening her mouth, looking like she wanted to say something
Even Jiang Xiaoyi’s breathing almost seemed to have stopped, the surrounding heaven and earth seemingly becoming ash-colored like this alley. However, this woman didn’t speak. Her mouth that was opened only turned into a silent and bitter smile.
A trace of brilliant color trickled through Jiang Xiaoyi’s silent, ash-colored world.
Her hand that was clutching her chest dropped, a splash of blood shooting out from her chest.
She looked at Jiang Xiaoyi from the distance, helplessly falling on the limestone path.
Bian Linghan’s face immediately became deathly white. She could tell that someone used an extremely sharp weapon along with extremely fast methods, stabbed out a terrifying wound by her arteries.
Meanwhile, at this time, she heard Jiang Xiaoyi at her side release an unprecedented roar like that of a wounded beast.
Pa!
Jiang Xiaoyi’s foot smashed into the limestone like a hammer. It was just like that day when he leapt high into the air to strike down the stake by the dam. With a speed Bian Linghan found incomprehensible, he rushed to the woman’s side, holding her in his embrace.
The woman didn’t die yet. She looked at him, at his sadness and grief, but she couldn’t say anything.
Jiang Xiaoyi already tore apart his own clothes, wrapping up her injuries like a madman, his movements and the expression on his face immediately made Bian Linghan who hurried over feel as if a mountain weighed down on her chest, difficult for her to even breathe.
She saw that this woman already suffered serious injuries, this type of injury impossible to treat even if Green Luan Academy’s extremely prideful lecturers and professors were here.
…
Lin Xi’s chat with Xing Derong was coming to an end, but the smile which was originally on his face suddenly disappeared.
It was because he wasn’t that far from Jiang Xiaoyi and Bian Linghan to begin with. When he heard Jiang Xiaoyi’s wild beast-like roar, heard the panic, helplessness and pain from his voice, the expression on his face also completely changed. Without any hesitation, he grabbed the large wooden chest he was using as a chair, directly leaping out of the window.
He then began to crazily run along the streets and alleys.