Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 236 Chen Jiyuan's Death
As soon as Zhou Zhao finished speaking, he keenly sensed the movement coming from above.

She glanced up and saw countless silver needles, as thin as cow hair, raining down on her and Su Changying.

The fine, needle-like rain fell silently in mid-air, but Zhou Zhao knew that once it landed on a person, it would be comparable to a summer storm.

Otherwise, the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles would be considered a formidable hidden weapon.

Zhou Zhao sensed something was wrong. She wanted to leap up and protect Su Changying's head, but before she could move, she felt Su Changying's large hand tighten, and she felt herself in Su Changying's arms, completely protected by him.

Zhou Zhao felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen. Chen Jiyuan's dagger was poisoned, let alone the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles.
She only had one wound, enough to seal her meridians and protect her heart. But with so many poisonous silver needles pricking her like a hedgehog, how could she possibly have time to seal off the toxins and prevent them from circulating throughout her body?

Su Changying has finally returned; how could he possibly die trying to save her?

As Zhou Zhao thought about it, her fingers were already prepared to press the acupoints. Her head was buried in Su Changying's arms, and she only heard a whooshing sound passing by her ears. When Su Changying let go, she was surprised to find that Su Changying had actually moved her to Liu Huang's side.

A huge bluestone slab fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, its surface covered with countless silver needles.

Liu Huang was still making the motion of throwing the stone slab. Because he was too anxious, his straw hat fell off, revealing his smooth forehead. His hair was wet, and his eyes were looking at the ground, his eyes full of panic.

Zhou Zhao knew that he was uncomfortable being watched by so many people.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao immediately ran out of Su Changying's arms. She rushed to Liu Huang, who was at a loss, and as he covered his face with his hands, she picked up the bamboo hat with lightning speed and put it on Liu Huang's head.

"Ah Huang, we're all alright."

She didn't want Su Changying to die, Su Changying didn't want her to die, and Ah Huang didn't want them to die.

"You're bleeding." Liu Huang's voice was somewhat agitated.

Zhou Zhao grabbed Liu Huang's hand and looked down at her abdomen. She had been too hasty and the large movement had torn the wound open again, and the white cloth wrapped around it was now covered in glaring scarlet.

Zhou Zhao looked at it, took off the half strip of cloth that was wrapped around his body, and wrapped it directly around the wound.

Previously, when Su Changying carried her on his back, he tied her to his back with strips of cloth so that both of them could free their hands to fight.

She didn't know how that person had managed to cut the strips of cloth to shield her in that split second, and then use his lightness skill to teleport away from the danger as if by magic.

Even more unknown is how Ah Huang managed to lift the bluestone slab, turning it into a large shield to block the poison needles.

Zhou Zhao didn't say much. He gently patted Liu Huang's hand, then leaped lightly and chased after Su Changying in the direction she had run off to.

She had caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye that, the instant she left Su Changying's embrace to put the bamboo hat on Ah Huang, Su Changying's longsword flew directly towards the treetop. Chen Jiyuan grunted and sprang out from the treetop, carrying the longsword like an arrow released from a bow.

Su Changying didn't stop and immediately gave chase.

Zhou Zhao continued without stopping. Following the trail of blood on the ground, she arrived at an alley. Not far away, flames were raging in the courtyard, and the two-story building had collapsed, with occasional crackling sounds of wood breaking.

Chen Jiyuan sat on the ground with his back against the wall, his body covered in bloody holes, his clothes stained red with blood.

Su Changying stood right in front of him, her long sword pressed against his neck.

Upon hearing Zhou Zhao's footsteps, Chen Jiyuan subconsciously called out, "Sister Zhao."

His face still had a childlike innocence, making him a very endearing boy.

"Chen Jiyuan, I want to save you, but you want to kill me."

Chen Jiyuan lowered his eyes, his face pale. His voice was dry. "I..." He said one word and then pressed his lips tightly together.

Chen Jiyuan looked down at his legs and saw a group of ants circling on the ground. His blood spread like a raging flood, and in no time, the ants were struggling in the blood, waiting to drown.

And he is just like that ant.

"I don't know where I came from or where I'm going. All I know is to obey orders. Sometimes I think, if only I were really Chen Jiyuan, how could there be such a happy person in this world?"

Chen Jiyuan had grandparents, parents, older brothers, and older sisters; everyone in the family loved him. "I had his face, I imitated his speech, and even strangers seemed to like me..."

As Chen Jiyuan spoke, he stretched out his finger toward a small ant in the blood.

The little ant spun around in the blood, completely disoriented. It slipped through Chen Jiyuan's fingers and drifted away into the distance along the winding blood.

"There are many unbelievable things in the Court of Justice. Although I hate Xu Jin, I actually did the shoe sole making voluntarily. I like to dress up as a little girl because I can wear pretty clothes and smell nice, which can cover up the smell of us stinky bugs."

I thought I only knew how to kill, but I never imagined I could also play Cuju (ancient Chinese football)... Wu Qingshan and I got along very well. We could talk for three days and three nights without stopping. After I die, when he returns to the Court of Justice, he can talk about me with all the old ladies and gentlemen.

Li Tingshi is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. I like it when he scolds me! When he scolds me, it makes me feel like I have a long, long tomorrow ahead. And that one day I'll overthrow Xu Jin and become a true official of the Court of Justice.

Chen Jiyuan did not continue speaking.

He wanted to say that his favorite person was Zhou Zhao. Standing beside her, it felt like all the things he had never dared to imagine were suddenly possible.

But his mission was to kill Zhou Zhao.

The moment he received the mission, his dream shattered; he was not Chen Jiyuan.

People like them, whose hands are stained with blood, are destined for the deepest hell and will never deserve happiness.

"Was it you who made Dai Changming commit suicide in prison?"

Zhou Zhao looked coldly at Chen Jiyuan.

Chen Jiyuan did not answer Zhou Zhao's question; his clear eyes were somewhat unfocused and had lost their sparkle.

"Sister Zhao, don't believe him."

As Chen Jiyuan was speaking, he suddenly stopped moving. His face quickly turned ashen, and he seemed to lose all vitality.

Zhou Zhao's pupils contracted sharply. She reached out to check Chen Jiyuan's breath, then withdrew her hand.

"died."

Su Changying frowned and sheathed her longsword. "I was very careful with my stab; he shouldn't have died so quickly. Besides, I checked, and there was no deadly poison in his mouth. I also confiscated the poisoned dagger and the hidden weapon, the Rain of Pear Blossoms Needles."

He would not easily let go of those who harmed Zhou Zhao; he wished he could have Chen Jiyuan executed by slow slicing.

However, he knew that Zhou Zhao still had many questions for Chen Jiyuan.

Hearing Su Changying's words, Zhou Zhao curiously squatted down. Suddenly, her gaze fell on the finger Chen Jiyuan had used to ferry the ants. She didn't know when, but his finger had touched the bloody hole on his leg.

The once bright red blood hole has now turned bluish-black.

"His poison wasn't hidden in his mouth, but in the crevices of his fingernails."