Chapter 63: Soul-Shattering Jade Banquet (Part 1): No Main CP Appears in This Chapter Oh Part 2

Backing up to the door, Wen Yu smiled. “I hope so too. But don’t I have you all? I’m not scared.”

She turned, entered the room, and closed the door. Ji Ce stared at the dark crack of the door and said coldly, “This rotten life has no end. How long do we have to watch him torment Milady? If you ask Ji Ce, we should just take Milady and leave for good!”

Those last words were like a thousand sharp swords, lethal at a touch. Both looked grave and didn’t dare speak. After a long silence, Cong Rong said, “He’s Milady’s birth father; she can’t escape that. Don’t say things like that again. If she hears you want to leave, it’ll hurt her too much to bear.”

Ji Ce said helplessly, “Fine.”

Early the next morning, Wen Yu quietly brought her people back to the ruined temple to check on the woman after a night.

Just as they entered, they saw signs that someone had slept there. Wen Yu’s heart tightened, and she hurried to the depths of the temple. The cover hadn’t been disturbed; the woman was still sleeping soundly on the mat. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Checking her injuries, aside from a slightly elevated body temperature, there were no other issues. The wounds hadn’t worsened, which eased their worries.

Cong Rong used the high-quality medicines brought from the mansion to change her dressings, fed her some food, and tidied everything up before saying, “Her life is out of danger, Milady. No need to worry. A bit more rest and she’ll be fine.”

Wen Yu watched the woman’s calm sleeping face as she breathed steadily. “That’s good.”

After that, they still came over to change her dressings and check her condition for any deterioration. Two days later, they walked as usual through the dense crowd. It was especially crowded today, so the two stayed close to Wen Yu, inseparable, extra vigilant as they watched passersby, memorizing faces in case anyone suddenly attacked.

As they walked, Ji Ce suddenly sensed something off. He stopped and looked back, spotting a group of black-clothed people who had just brushed past them. They blended into the crowd, heads down, hugging their swords, moving forward as silently and lightly as ghosts.

Cong Rong said, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Ce said, “Those people carry a bloody aura, and their clothing… is exactly like that woman’s.”

Tight black outfits, with a coiled silver snake on the chest, and a small sword spike hidden in the sleeve—not too obvious, but slightly bulging the fabric. Wen Yu also looked back, but they were already gone. She asked, “They’re here for that woman?”

Ji Ce’s eyes showed contemplation as he replied, “Probably.”

Wen Yu felt relieved. “Finally, her people have come. We can leave her to them. I still don’t feel right keeping her outside like this.”

For certain special reasons, she wasn’t keen on bringing anyone home, so though she wanted to save her, she had left her in the ruined temple, hoping she’d recover and leave on her own.

But two or three days had already passed, and the woman showed no signs of waking. Her body remained frail, and no one knew how much longer she would stay unconscious. Living alone in the dilapidated temple with no defenses left her vulnerable to discovery or harm, weighing heavily on their minds.

Fortunately, the relevant people had now come looking. If they took her back, she should receive proper treatment.

“No, Mistress,” Cong Rong blocked her path, frowning with a heavy tone. “Cong Rong believes these people aren’t here to take her back.”

Wen Yu asked doubtfully, “Why? They’re wearing the same clothes. Aren’t they from the same group?”

Cong Rong said, “Over these past two days, Cong Rong checked her wounds multiple times and found several cuts that looked just like those from her own kind of weapon. We even dug out hidden weapons from her body that match ones like theirs. This means the ones who chased her here and tried to kill her are killers from the same group!”

If this was true, it meant the group that had just passed by was there to find the woman and kill her. Wen Yu panicked instantly. “This… what are we going to do?”

Ji Ce said, “Mistress, we can’t get involved anymore. Being hunted by her own people probably means she made a big mistake. If we’re found helping her, we’ll be dragged into it. She’s a living person, not some kitten or puppy. Whatever her fate is, we’ve done enough.”

Images kept flashing in her mind: that straw-covered, pale, powerless hand reaching out, and the red bloodstain spreading under the white handkerchief. Wen Yu shook her head repeatedly and said urgently, “No, no, we can’t just let her die like this…”

People bustled around them, but she felt her body temperature dropping steadily. She clenched her fists and hammered her forehead to calm herself down before saying, “Let’s go to the temple first and take the side path!”

The mistress’s orders could not be refused. Ji Ce said no more. The three of them slipped away from the crowd and took a detour to the back of the broken temple. The woman breathed evenly in deep sleep, unaware of what had happened. Wen Yu said, “Ji Ce, avoid the main roads. Sneak her back to the Wen Mansion. Be quick and careful!”

Ji Ce accepted the order. He first found a tattered sack in the corner, wrapped her up in it without exposing a single inch of clothing. From the outside, it didn’t look like a person at all. Then he hoisted her on his back and dashed away.

Wen Yu and Cong Rong stayed in the temple, cleaning up the hidden weapons and bloodstains they had dug out that day. They swept them into a bundle with a straw mat, dumped it in an empty alley, and pretended to shop at stores near the broken temple while keeping an eye on the crowd.

Before long, the group of black-clothed people, who stood out from the others, drifted silently over. They noticed the rundown temple as a possible hiding spot and flashed inside to check. Wen Yu held a gold hairpin, her heart pounding. The gold particles warmed in her palm. The people came out soon after, apparently finding nothing, and vanished elsewhere. She finally relaxed.

Back at the Wen Mansion, Wen Yu gazed at the person on the bed, her expression calm yet tinged with pity. The other two grew worried, exchanged a glance, and silently withdrew from the room.

Ji Ce said, “She could have recovered in the temple, but those killers tracked her there. We had to bring her back. But once that woman wakes up, she’ll definitely want to leave. What then? The mistress won’t let her go.”

Both of them knew full well that the mistress’s mentality had gone awry under long-term pressure. Someone she could hold in her grasp—even if their wounds healed—she might not let go. But a killer wouldn’t stay in a stranger’s home. Conflict was inevitable.

Cong Rong said, “No choice. When the time comes, we’ll find a way to distract the mistress and let the woman slip away. The mistress will be heartbroken for a while, but we’ll take good care of her, and it’ll pass.”

Ji Ce said, “What if the mistress wants her to stay and she agrees?”

Cong Rong said, “No. Her background is unknown. She’s injured and hunted—who knows what she’s done? Too much uncertainty. Someone that dangerous can’t stay by the mistress’s side.”

Ji Ce said, “You have a point.”

The two chatted a bit more in hushed tones before returning to the room.

In the Wen Mansion, caring for the injured was much more convenient, and the conditions were better. The woman’s body visibly improved, and color returned to her face.

After watching for a few days, Wen Yu grew familiar with changing dressings and tending to her. She took over completely, personally wiping her down, changing her clothes, combing her hair, massaging her muscles—handling everything with utmost care, even sharing the bed to sleep with her.

The two guards’ worry deepened. The mistress didn’t seem to be caring for a person so much as tending to a pet, with a strangely familial affection on her face at times. It seemed any living thing brought into the Wen Mansion became part of it, inseparable. This was not what they wanted to see.

They tried resting nearby to interfere, but Wen Yu shooed them away. “You both use weapons. You can’t sleep here—you have killing intent! It’ll make her notice and sleep uneasily.”

Ji Ce exclaimed, “Killers aren’t that delicate!”

Wen Yu said, “Get out already.”

Cong Rong said, “If the mistress wants us out, we’ll go, but what if she wakes up and tries to harm you?”

Wen Yu said, “I’ll call you if there’s trouble.”

She dragged and pushed them out. Wen Yu returned to the bed, hugged the woman, and went to sleep. Days passed like this. One day, after wiping down the woman’s body and stepping out to dump the water, she returned to see the woman’s lips twitching and eyelashes fluttering. She had opened her eyes!

After so many days of care, the woman finally woke. Before Wen Yu could feel joy, the woman abruptly sat up, her gaze like cold lightning as she scanned the surroundings. Her voice was extremely hoarse. “Where is this?”

Wen Yu said, “This is the East City Wen Mansion. I’m Wen Yu. This is my room.”

The woman said flatly, “I don’t know you.” She turned to look at her body, reached under the pillow as if searching for a weapon, and frowned in alarm. “Where’s my sword spike? Why are my clothes changed? Why am I sleeping here?”

“Calm down first!” Wen Yu set down the basin, extended her hands, and slowly approached the bed. The woman grew alert, tensed her body, retreated to the wall, clutched the bedsheet, ready to spring at any moment.

Wen Yu met her gaze softly, slowed her steps, and finally reached the bed. She pulled a chest from under the bed and opened it. Inside lay a tattered set of black clothes and an ancient sword spike with ornate patterns.

The woman lunged forward and grabbed the sword spike. Wen Yu said, “There was too much blood on your clothes—they couldn’t be cleaned. And this knife—or sword spike? I was afraid of anyone finding it, so I hid it in the chest.”

With a weapon in hand, her heart settled. The woman pulled open her clothes to check her wounds, observed the girl in front of her, and understood the situation. Her tone softened. “You saved me without knowing who I am. If you stirred up trouble, how would you escape?”

Wen Yu said, “I have two friends—they’re quite capable. Besides, no matter how useless I am, I couldn’t just let someone die right in front of me.”

The woman got out of bed. After her ordeal, her tall, slender frame was now as thin as paper. She coughed a few times and said softly, “Thank you for saving my life. I have nothing to repay you with. Once I finish my business, if I survive, I’ll return and serve you as a slave to repay the debt.”

Seeing she wanted to leave, Wen Yu felt the world spin. She lunged forward and grabbed her clothes. “You can’t leave! You’ll die!”

The woman thought she was worried about her and said, “I was ambushed and badly hurt this time. I’ll be more careful now—no way I’ll fall for it again.”

“No… no!” Wen Yu shook her head forcefully, her voice shrill. “You can’t leave! You can’t leave!”

The girl’s face paled as if imagining something utterly terrifying. The woman didn’t understand and fell silent for a moment before prying her hand away. “Sorry, I have urgent business. I can’t delay. I’ll return as soon as possible to thank Miss Wen for her kindness.”

After breaking free, she didn’t look back at the girl or heed her cries. She headed straight out.