Chapter 19: Who Seized Who?

After Yuan Shang had removed the threat of the hidden weapon, she showed her real colors as an assassin. Her internal strength was still there, and her body was not injured. The only reason why it was difficult for her to perform her duties was because of the constant pain from those hidden weapons. Now that she regained her mobility, how could she continue to suffer such humiliation?

Yuan Shang already prepared for this. Listening to the sounds and discerning intentions were basic skills of hired killers. Instead of turning her head to face her, Yuan Shang took a step to the left, dodging in time.

Yu Qinghong immediately stepped forward to proceed with attacking her. However, when she tried to stand up, her body became limp as she fell onto the ground. She revealed an alarmed expression. “How—how could this be? What kind of reaction is that?”

Yuan Shang smiled slightly with a hint of schadenfreude; she responded, “Did you forget what you had just eaten? It is called the ‘qi obstruction pill’, dedicated to sealing the internal force of the user.”

How could Yuan Shang make the pill to seal internal force? In a short period of time, Yuan Shang couldn’t have a clear understanding of the internal force. Therefore, this drug was not one that could seal internal force but was actually an anesthetic that weakened people’s bodies.

Fury spread across Yu Qinghong’s face. “Was that pill not the antidote?”

Yuan Shang’s expression was cruel as she said, “Did I ever say that it was an antidote? I only said to ‘take it orally’. Who told you to swallow it so quickly? I think that you awfully like eating poison.”

“You…” Yu Qinghong looked at her with anger but slowly calmed down. She said, “Good! Good! No wonder Senior Sister would call me stupid. Unexpectedly, I allowed you to have your way with me twice. If you accidentally let me go, then I will never let you survive! I’ll find you and kill you!”

Yuan Shang shook her head. While not everyone in the world could be smart, she seemed to have…the mind of a teenager.

“Since you said that, you reminded that you are still in my hands. Should I nicely torment you? Or, in the future, if you retaliate against me, I will kill you first.  Would you like to suffer now or later?”

“You dare!”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Yuan Shang glared at her with a cold glimmer in her eyes. “We had an agreement where each takes what is needed from the other. Why are you still trying to kill me?”

Yu Qinghong’s face was red; she reluctantly said, “Why wouldn’t I try to kill you? Your hidden weapon has tortured me for so many days. I wanted to punish you a bit. To let you taste the pain I felt in my joint. You threatened me, so why can’t I retaliate against you?”

“Want to control me? First, become stronger than me before saying it again!” Yuan Shang sat on a chair in the room with a sly look. She tapped the table with her finger as the intervals between each tap were almost the same. Yu Qinghong felt an invisible pressure on herself.

Yu Qinghong was slightly stunned after listening to her. She said, “I don’t think you are an assassin. You are like a rich young lady who’s even more arrogant than Princess Minghui! Since I am not afraid of the princess, why should I be afraid of you? Tell me the truth! If you still want to live, give me the antidote. You should think about how to please or serve me.”

Yu Qinghong was protected by her martial arts master for too long. She was young and had little experience, but she did not lack wits; her willpower was stronger than most. When Yuan Shang first threatened her, she endured it. After the second time, she was still able to bear it. As long as an assassin was not slain, what kind of personality would that solitary assassin obtain? But in a sect for assassins, the people of the sect must have the ability to adapt to different situations, otherwise, the sect would have long since decayed.

Yu Qinghong wanted to gain first-hand knowledge of her methods. It was only one type of hidden weapon, yet she could not take it out by herself. This Su Qi’s medical skills were even praised by the Godly Doctor, Chen San. Furthermore, she still did not know what that wicked and bewildering poison was doing to her!

Without much time to weigh the pros and cons, Yu Qinghong slowly crawled up. Her tone had become softer but still sarcastic as she said, “Okay, oh great Prince Consort, what else are you going to order?”

Yuan Shang said, “Head to the Crown Prince’s manor first and find that person in accordance with our original plan!” As a former hired killer of the Black Fingerprint, once she decided to kill someone, she would not give up until she achieved her goal.

Yu Qinghong did not know whether to cry or laugh as she responded, “You aren’t just going to find someone, right? It’s not a big deal since aren’t you just going to use poison?”

Yuan Shang glanced at her and said, “I like taking control of things with my own hands.” Besides, it did not matter if she did have any poison or not. In the past few days, Yu Qinghong was tortured by hidden weapons and with her resentful temper, she would definitely pay her back!

Before Yu Qinghong could speak, the young servant suddenly opened the door, ran in, and shouted, “Young Lady, there are officers and soldiers outside!”

After talking, he looked at Yu Qinghong in shock. Yu Qinghong was not wearing her outer clothing at the moment. Not only was she in her inner attire, but her sleeves were also pulled up, exposing a spotlessly white arm similar to lotus roots.

Yu Qinghong gnashed her teeth and rained curses. Then, she said, “Get the hell out of here!”

The young servant snapped back to reality and frantically dashed out.

Yu Qinghong put on two or three layers of her outer clothing asked Yuan Shang, “Your family’s princess is coming. Should I still watch you go back or not? I would like to avoid being implicated!”

Yuan Shang slammed the table and said, “Shut up!”

Yu Qinghong stared blankly; this was the first time that she saw the indifferent Yuan Shang become so aggravated.

Yuan Shang felt a little fidgety; this was extremely dangerous for the killer. A cool-headed hired killer should be calm at all times. Once one lost one’s calm, that one would not be far from death. Although the Yuan Shang was no longer a hired killer, she was still a creature of habit. These habits were ingrained to her bones like maggots on a skeleton as they were difficult to erase. Even in an absolutely safe environment, it was difficult for Yuan Shang to force himself to calm down. Additionally, this world did not seem to be much safer than her previous world.

Was she going to leave the capital first and come back to seek revenge later?

Out of the question!

Yuan Shang immediately shook her head and vetoed. If someone was trying to kill her behind the scenes, she must settle it immediately. Otherwise, it would only bring her more danger in the future. Moreover, after this, she could no longer return to this Imperial City… she did not know if it was because the first thing she saw when she entered this world was this Imperial City, but in her subconscious, she always had some reluctance to leave.

Enough, it was time to settle this once and for all! Wading in mud and water was not the style of a member of the Black Fingerprint. It was really impossible to solve the incident after she left, but it was not too late to seek the next opportunity. Right now, she had disappeared from that hidden perpetrator’s sight. If she killed the perpetrator now, the other party was prone to making mistakes during the chaos, so it was a golden opportunity to start!

Hence, Yuan Shang said, “You, go out with me and make the soldiers outside retreat.”

Yu Qinghong stared blankly and said, “Me?” Afterward, it was difficult to hide the sarcasm in her tone as she said, “Do you really think that those soldiers will listen to me?”

Yuan Shang did not speak, looked at the door faintly, took a cup of tea from the table, and drank it.

Yu Qinghong suddenly realized something and said, “You mean to say…you’re letting me…”

Yuan Shang indifferently said, “It’s as what you’re thinking!” After she said that, she handed over a vermillion, pea-sized pill. She continued, “This antidote can last a day. Let’s go!”

Yu Qinghong found the pill to be suspicious, but she still took it as it would restore her strength for a short period of time.

However, she had difficulty with understanding the thought process of this prince consort. Why did he need to leave? Was it because the princess was not truthful to him, so he fled? However, this was also very common—the families of the current era would often have women leaving their homes to become prostitutes. This prince consort’s wife was a princess, so it was impossible to divorce her without having a fall out with the imperial family, so he decided to leave home.

Yu Qinghong felt that this conjecture was correct, otherwise, why would he run when he was the grandson of the grand and illustrious Su family? She used sympathy, compassion, and a bit of schadenfreude to gaze upon Yuan Shang and say, “Tch, your family’s princess doesn’t like you at all, so you just ran from her!”

She began to think to herself. What kind of woman could make this icy and sinister man fall in love with her, yet not hesitate to abandon her glory and splendor to elope with him?

Once hated by a petty woman, whether it was a large or a trivial matter, one would be hated for a long time. But only one thing could change a woman’s opinion, which is “love.” No matter who a woman hated, whether it be a serial killer who committed genocide, a ruthless hypocrite, or an obscene and vulgar man, as long as she was infatuated with the person, she would immediately have a good impression of him.

For the first time, Yu Qinghong changed her views of this obscene and vulgar, gigolo of a prince consort who liked to peek at and bully women.

Outside the front yard, a familiar little servant looked at the duo with an ambiguous expression. Yuan Shang knew that this little servant had a misunderstanding after entering their room, but she didn’t care!

For once, Yu Qinghong, who came out to the front yard, emanated the aura of a leader. She swept her gaze upon the servants in the courtyard, watching as they equipped their swords. Without showing any fear, she nodded and said, “Act according to the methods taught by Senior Sister and be extremely prudent when doing so!”

The crowd just nodded and dispersed, faintly maintaining several positions in the courtyard while keeping silent.

Yu Qinghong stood at the entrance of this yard. The door was made of solid and sturdy wood, but it couldn’t withstand the imperial court’s soldiers and horses.

Yu Qinghong exhaled and then shouted, “Who’s there?”

Immediately, there was a burst of loud laughter like a clap of thunder outside the gate. As soon as they heard the laughter, everyone inside became anxious. A rough voice boomed, “I, your grandfather, am the deputy commander of the Imperial Military Right Army’s general, Mu Sheng! Little traitor, I, your grandfather, killed the Xiongnu, exterminated the rebels, but has yet to kill an assassin. Today will be the first day I will.”

(TLN: “I, your [insert any title of a relative],” is the Chinese equivalent of “Yo mama” slander.)

Yu Qinghong shouted, “General Mu, you must understand that we are just taking people’s commissions and aren’t trying to make things awkward. Since the business transaction has not been completed, please let us put aside our life.”

Mu Sheng said, “This vile woman’s nonsensical words are leading us astray! Release your swords for this grandfather and turn yourselves in. If you do, this grandfather will spare your life! If not, then humph! Don’t blame this man for being ruthless by *** you!”

When Yu Qinghong heard that, she immediately became anxious. She was about to talk, but she noticed that Yuan Shuang was looking at her as she shook her head. Yu Qinghong suddenly responded by approaching. Even if Mu Sheng wanted to attack, no matter whether it be ***, a fiery accusation shot towards her, or a direct attack, how could he disregard everything and do so? The reason for all this nonsense was only because the people who came to this residence from the other town were looking for a chance to rescue this prince consort.

Yu Qinghong wanted to get all of this over with; she immediately shouted, “You dare! If you dare to step into this courtyard, I will immediately spill the prince consort’s blood!”

After saying that, Yu Qinghong could not help but feel uncomfortable. It was clear that this pretty boy of a prince consort had allowed himself to be kidnapped. He did not even look like someone who would commit such an enormous sin!

She cast away her gaze on the pretty boy, but she noticed that he stood up with his hands together, standing quietly within the courtyard. His expression remained unchanged; he was calm and composed as usual. Facing towards the outside of the courtyard, he yelled, ” General Mu!”

There was a commotion outside, and then she heard Mu Sheng saying, “Prince Consort, are you safe and sound? Did the traitor hurt you?”

“I am fine! Is the princess there?” As Yuan Shang’s words were finished, Yu Qinghong felt extremely bitter as she disdainfully glared at that hypocrite beside her. She gnashed her teeth as she thought, “Hurt him? Who is the real kidnapper here?”

Mu Sheng’s voice boomed. “The princess has already gone to assemble the military forces of the White Horse county and will arrive later! Prince Consort, don’t worry, we will most certainly protect the princess. These little traitors won’t be able to hurt Her Highness!”

Yuan Shang’s inwardly said, ”I’m not worried about your princess at all! Her martial arts prowess is much higher than Yu Qinghong, who is right beside me! What I’m worried about is that she would find me here and never let me escape! Dear Lord, I have to leave at once!”

(TLN: Unfortunately, I dropped the series here, right at a cliffy and before the reunion… Someone else, please pick this up.

I learned that my psuedo Chinese school didn’t teach me their history at all.

If I survive school and all the stuff I gotta deal with, I’ll be back to translating…hopefully. But not this book. Ever. ToT/)