Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 239 Come to the Bed
Wei Ruo changed the dressing very gently. Zhou Zhao's previous wound had reopened, and new blood was flowing. After the blood dried, it stuck the entire cloth to the wound. To remove it, the wound would have to be torn open again, leaving it a bloody mess.

Zhou Zhao glanced at the bright red blood in the copper basin and lay down on the small couch.

Previously, because she was holding her breath and determined to fight her way out of the island, she didn't feel that her body was in much pain.

Now, by the warm brazier, Zhou Zhaofang felt dizzy and her hands and feet were getting cold. She lay down on the small couch and covered herself with the cloak she had taken off when changing her dressing.

The ship rocked and swayed, and lying in the cabin, you could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

Zhou Zhao didn't know when she fell asleep. In her hazy state, she seemed to hear the sounds of clashing swords and galloping horses. She felt as if countless arrows were flying over the top of her boat toward the shore, and she also seemed to hear the thud of arrows hitting the boat.

Zhou Zhao's eyelashes trembled slightly. She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt incredibly heavy.

She hadn't planned to wake up anyway; the battlefield was Su Changying's domain.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already lying on a bed in the Banyan Tree Inn. It was pitch black outside the window, and the streets were completely silent, unbelievably calm.

Su Changying was asleep by the bed, her body still reeking of blood.

Zhou Zhao turned his head and looked at Su Changying's face. He had a high nose bridge and very fair skin. A drop of blood splattered on his face, making it look exceptionally red and alluring.

He slept peacefully, holding her hand tightly.

"Zhaozhao, you're awake. Are you hungry? There's still some porridge simmering on the stove. Ah Huang is next door; should I ask him to come check on you?"

Zhou Zhao's fingers twitched slightly, and he immediately met Su Changying's unfathomable eyes.

He sat up and placed the back of his hand on Zhou Zhao's forehead. "It's still a little hot."

Zhou Zhao shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

As she spoke, she moved further into the bed, making room for herself.

Su Changying was stunned, his ears turning red instantly. He pursed his lips and looked at Zhou Zhao on the bed.

She was wearing a white undergarment, and compared to her usual strong demeanor, she appeared unusually vulnerable, her eyes misty with tears from the fever.

“Ah Huang is already asleep, so don’t wake him up. The autumn dew is heavy, so come and sleep on the bed. If you catch a chill, Ah Huang will have to take care of both of us by himself. He’ll probably have to carry one of us back to Chang’an.”

Su Changying's mind was buzzing; he only heard those few words: Come to the bed!

He lay down stiffly beside Zhou Zhao, still dressed in his clothes.

He reached out and touched Zhou Zhao's forehead, but the moment his hand touched it, he realized he had already touched it, and for a moment he was at a loss.

Seeing Su Changying's dazed expression, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but chuckle.

"General Su, you look so stupid."

Hearing the laughter, Su Changying felt instantly at peace. He relaxed a lot, pulled the slipping quilt back up, and covered Zhou Zhao with it.

"When our ship was about to dock, Fang Qi had already led his troops to ambush us there. The Northern Army is brave and fierce, how could such a rabble be compared to them? Besides, with Ah Huang there, what shield or flesh could withstand his sword?"

Fang Qi was no match for them and took He Tingshi, your master Li Youdao, and others hostage. However, before Ahuang and I could make a move, Jingyi rescued them and freed them.

Jingyi's martial arts skills were quite good, no less than Ahuang's, but he wasn't known for his strength. Besides his longsword, he had another weapon: a nearly transparent thread.

The scene immediately flashed into Zhou Zhao's mind.

"Have you noticed anything amiss?" Su Changying shook her head. "You think that although Chen Jiyuan's actions exposed him as the mole, those four people still can't clear their names? Unfortunately, they didn't leave any clues."

Zhou Zhao nodded solemnly, "The Court of Justice may not have only one mole."

She hadn't forgotten that the people who brought her to the Lost City had all acted as her facilitators.

When Chen Jiyuan entered the Court of Justice, she was still in Tianying City and had not returned to Chang'an. His mission was to monitor her. So why was it such a coincidence that they were both assigned to Li Youdao's command?
As the saying goes, "being near the water tower, one gets the moon first." Every official in the Court of Justice is a rival. If she and Chen Jiyuan did not follow the same master, they would inevitably be strangers.

There must be a deeply hidden senior figure in the Court of Justice who arranged all of this.

"We are..."

As Su Changying was speaking, she noticed that Zhou Zhao, who had been speaking earnestly just moments before, had fallen into a deep sleep again in the blink of an eye.

Her hand gripped his collar, and she looked exceptionally peaceful.

After returning to the Lost City, Ah Huang prescribed her a fever reducer and added a calming medicine to it. The effects of the medicine should not have worn off yet.

As Su Changying pondered, he propped his head up with his hand and quietly looked at the sleeping Zhou Zhao. He reached out and gently traced her eyebrows, nose, and lips in the air, as if he wanted to etch her whole being into his mind forever.

Zhou Zhao had encountered danger several times, and he didn't want to wait any longer.

He hadn't made a move before, partly because he was wary of his adoptive father's martial arts skills. He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid that if he couldn't kill him in one go, it would leave Zhou Zhao with trouble.

Secondly, the remnants of the previous dynasty have planted more than just my adoptive father in the court. They need to hold their ground and wipe them all out in one fell swoop, otherwise there will be endless troubles in the future.

He thought he was a calm and patient hunter, but he wasn't... For a moment, he even wanted to draw his knife.

He almost lost her today.

Thinking it over, Su Changying reached out and carefully tucked the strands of hair from Zhou Zhao's face behind her ear.

As if tickled, the little girl turned to hug him, buried her head in his chest, gently nuzzled him, and then fell into a deep sleep again.

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao's forehead, which was so close to hers, and finally couldn't resist, so she gently kissed it.

His movements were exceptionally gentle, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

His heart was pounding in his throat; he could hear it thumping, yet he felt an extraordinary sense of peace.

It's as if he has a home now.

When Zhou Zhao woke up again, the morning sunlight was already shining in through the window.

The bedside was still warm, but Su Changying was no longer there.

Zhou Zhao sat up, stretched, got out of bed, and walked to the window. She opened the window and saw that the sky was exceptionally blue, without a trace of fog. The hazy city suddenly became exceptionally clear.

In the bird's nest in the banyan tree, fluffy little birds were chirping and twittering.

It turns out that next to Duobaoge was a mutton soup shop, with a wine flag hanging from the doorway, bearing a large character for "fresh"!

The door was gently pushed open, and Zhou Zhao turned his head to see Su Changying and Liu Huang walking in together.

Su Changying changed back into his usual black robes, still carrying a faint scent of wood. He held a tray in his hand, on which sat a steaming breakfast.

She defied fate and lived a second life.