Chapter 120: She Is Different

Zhou Yinzhi explained the situation in detail, but he was unusually nervous and didn’t dare to look at Xie Wei’s expression.

Xie Wei remained silent throughout. His fingers, usually graceful when playing the qin or writing, were now bleeding, but he showed no expression. He let go of the blood-stained carving knife, picked up a white silk handkerchief from the table, and pressed it against the wound. The broken skin caused a slight pain.

It wasn’t very intense, just a bit, but it lingered at the tip of his finger. If he didn’t press on it, the blood would flow; if he did, it would intensify the pain.

After Zhou Yinzhi finished speaking, he said, “That’s the situation.”

Xie Wei’s gaze fell on the blood-stained tip of the carving knife and asked, “So, the Jiang family and Jiang Boyou are still unaware of this?”

Zhou Yinzhi replied, “This is a serious matter, and I dare not make a decision on my own.”

The sky outside was already bright, and the Jiang family would soon realize something was wrong. The matter couldn’t be delayed.

In that moment, many thoughts flashed through Xie Wei’s mind, each one clear, but leaving no trace as they passed. Only the conversation with Jian Shu from the previous night remained.

Jian Shu had said, “Things are progressing smoothly. The Heavenly Sect has been breached by these people, and the city gates are arranged. We’re just waiting for Master Zhang to bring people through. Xiao Bao is there, so we shouldn’t lose track. But Meng Yang…”

What did he say next?

He said, “Dangerous people have dangerous uses. He’s just a pawn and won’t ruin the big picture.”

The dim light from the white window paper dispelled the warm glow from the flickering candles in the Zhaoqin Hall. Xie Wei’s face was left with a sickly pallor and coldness, a dark and violent aura growing uncontrollably.

His chest rose and fell. He closed his eyes slowly, suppressing the feeling, and after a moment, said, “Thank you for informing me, Commander. I am an old friend of Master Jiang, and Ning’er is my student. I will handle the Jiang family. You need not intervene.”

He spoke slowly, as if trying to sort something out. Each word was slow and clear, sounding ordinary and calm, but the more ordinary and calm it was, the more Zhou Yinzhi felt it was anything but.

From his angle, Zhou Yinzhi could only see Xie Wei’s side profile, illuminated by the light, his hand pressing the wound with the silk handkerchief, and the blood-stained carving knife on the table…

Zhou Yinzhi’s eyelids twitched, and he felt a chill in his heart. He didn’t dare claim he had nothing to do with this and lowered his head, saying, “I dare not act rashly, but I am involved in this matter. Though my position is lowly, I am willing to assist you in any way you need.”

After saying this, he left. Jian Shu, who had been listening outside, was alarmed. After Zhou Yinzhi left, he entered the hall and saw Xie Wei’s injured hand, becoming even more frightened.

He said, “You—”

Xie Wei calmly interrupted, “Call Lu Xian.”

There was ointment in the Zhaoqin Hall, so Jian Shu hesitated but didn’t dare disobey. He immediately rode to the Youhuang Pavilion to fetch Lu Xian.

In the cold weather, Lu Xian was sleeping soundly in his warm bed, dreaming that the Jade Emperor praised his talents and rewarded him with a city of gold and silver. Just as he was about to accept, he was woken up.

The gold and silver turned into a dream. His face turned blue, and he became even more irritable as he rode to Xie Wei’s residence.

Xie Wei had already sat down again. Jian Shu noticed that his wound hadn’t been treated but didn’t dare say anything.

Lu Xian entered, threw off his fur coat, and didn’t sit down. He said angrily, “You called me for such a small matter? What do you mean, Xie Ju’an?”

The second Miss Jiang was missing? So what if she was missing? It was a perfect opportunity!

According to Lu Xian’s temperament, no matter how she went missing, they could cover it up as her being kidnapped on her way home at night. They could use this opportunity to pin another crime on the Heavenly Sect. Since Jiang Boyou was Jiang Xuening’s father and Xie Wei was friends with Jiang Boyou, they could use this to regain control of the situation.

It was a godsend!

“That Zhou Yinzhi is no good. He’s just a lowly commander of the Jinyiwei, a schemer. With your skills, you could easily bring him under your control and not worry about him spreading rumors. Zhang Zhe was a great investigator before joining the Ministry of Justice, skilled at finding clues. Allowing him to get involved is a disaster. The second Miss Jiang knows him, and a young girl like her can’t keep her composure. There will be flaws everywhere. If this involves an official’s daughter, the court will think your plan is flawed and attack you. It could destabilize the court. It’s better to eliminate them both and remove the threat. Why did you call me here so early?”

There wasn’t even a cup of water, and Lu Xian became more irritable. He was about to pour himself some tea when he noticed the blood on Xie Wei’s handkerchief and paused, frowning, “You’re injured?”

He looked around the room and saw the wood and carving knife. A bad feeling arose.

Sure enough, before he could speak, Xie Wei said, “I will attend court first, then lead a pursuit of the Heavenly Sect. The capital cannot be left unattended, so you will stay and oversee it.”

Leading the pursuit personally? There was nothing wrong with that.

But Lu Xian noticed that Xie Wei didn’t mention how to deal with Zhang Zhe and Jiang Xuening. He asked, “What about Zhang Zhe and Jiang Xuening?”

Xie Wei stood up, “You don’t need to worry about that.”

Lu Xian remembered the night at the Youhuang Pavilion when he asked about the silver notes and thought of Jiang Xuening being Xie Wei’s student. The bad feeling grew.

He stared at Xie Wei, “Are you going to save them?”

Xie Wei said, “Things may not be that bad. We’ll see.”

Lu Xian’s face darkened completely. He thought about it for a long time and saw Xie Wei heading to the back of the hall, likely to change into his court attire. He said, “I thought you killed Gongyi Cheng and had planned your path. Now you’re complicating things for yourself?”

Xie Wei didn’t respond.

Lu Xian coldly said, “You don’t want to kill the second Miss Jiang!”

Xie Wei stopped and said, “Yes.”

Lu Xian said, “You’re being sentimental! Do you know the current situation with the Heavenly Sect and the capital? One wrong move and everything is lost. There’s no room for risk! She’s just a student you’ve taught for a few days. Every success is built on countless sacrifices, and you can’t bear to let her go?”

There was a deeper question in his words. Both men understood it.

Xie Wei, with his back to Lu Xian, said slowly, “She’s different.”

Lü Xian’s worst fear had come true.

At the door, Jian Shu’s heart was in his throat.

Xie Wei thought of the day outside the Chengxiao Tower, when the young girl carefully took the handkerchief from him and wiped the blood from her ear. The assassins of the Pingnan Prince faction had been killed, their heads pierced by arrows, lying in disarray. She glanced at them, trying to stay calm, but her face turned pale, and she looked away, not daring to look again.

He knew the people of the Heavenly Sect. The prisoners from the Heavenly Prison were even more vicious, including Meng Yang. If she was caught among them…

His fingers tightened, the pain becoming clearer, the blood seeping through the handkerchief, but it wasn’t someone else’s blood.

Xie Wei thought, the situation might not be as bad as Lu Xian feared.

This was his way of repaying a debt.

For the first time in many years, he revealed a deeply buried secret to someone unaware, saying, “Lu Xian, she’s different. She saved me, and I owe her my life.”

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