Catching Monsters

Chapter 340 No regrets

"Brother, why are you in such a hurry? My master said last time that you've returned to the capital and he wanted you to come and visit our Renyi Academy."

On the bustling streets of the capital, Jiang Yun, holding Jiang Qiaoqiao's hand, hurried towards the Sanqing Temple.

Now, Jiang Qiaoqiao is wearing a blue Confucian robe and a Confucian hat, while Xiao Hei hides inside the hat, occasionally making a cooing sound.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun smiled and said as he hurried on his way, "Once I'm done with my work, I'll personally go and visit Master Fang."

How do you feel about staying at the Renyi Academy?

"It's great," Jiang Qiaoqiao said with a smile, describing her life at the academy.

Renyi Academy is one of the five major academies. Of course, except in special cases, it generally does not admit female students.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as Jiang Qiaoqiao, for whom the great scholar Fang was willing to accept her as his personal disciple.

A disciple of a great Confucian scholar is not qualified to enter the academy?
As for Jiang Yun's worry about being bullied, that's simply not true.

As Fang Daru's personal disciple, even the academy's chief priest treated Jiang Qiaoqiao with utmost respect.

Not to mention that Jiang Qiaoqiao also has the background of Jiang Yun, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.

Jiang Qiaoqiao talked about the interesting things that happened at the academy, and soon they arrived at the outside of the Sanqing Temple.

At this time, the front and back gates of the Sanqing Temple had been surrounded by Wang Longzhi's personal guards.

After Jiang Yun led Jiang Qiaoqiao inside, they saw Wen Chen standing at the door waiting. Upon seeing Jiang Yun return, he happily ran over and said, "Master."

Jiang Yun nodded to him, then called out to the scholar's hat on Jiang Qiaoqiao's head, "Xiao Hei."

"Cuckoo."

Little Black jumped out of the hat, and Jiang Qiaoqiao quickly reached out to hug it.

Where are Linglong and Min'er?

Wen Chen pointed to the living room: "They're resting in the living room."

"Alright, I'll take Xiao Hei inside. You guys wait outside."

After Jiang Yun finished speaking, she waved to Xiao Hei, who clearly looked disgusted and only wanted to stay in Jiang Qiaoqiao's arms.

After hesitating for a moment, she jumped into Jiang Yun's arms.

Carrying Xiao Hei into the living room, the atmosphere inside was quite nice, with Linglong and Xiao Min'er chatting.

"They're here?" Linglong's gaze fell on Xiao Hei, and she said in a deep voice, "Let's begin."

"Is this the evil thing that can cure my paralysis?" A hint of curiosity appeared in Xiao Min'er's eyes.

"Cuckoo."

Jiang Yun said to Xiao Hei, "It's up to you to heal this young lady's injuries."

He placed Xiao Hei on Xiao Min'er's body, and soon, Xiao Hei emitted a faint white fluorescent light, which instantly enveloped Xiao Min'er.

Xiao Min'er only felt a strange force moving along her spine.

A faint pain also came from my spine.

It also brought her thoughts back to that rainy night many years ago.

……

Xiao Min'er was raised by an old eunuch from a young age, and until she was fourteen, she always believed that the old eunuch was her grandfather.

She followed her grandfather as they fled from place to place in the southern provinces, often staying deep in the mountains and avoiding bustling markets.

But she didn't care. She lived with her grandfather in the mountains, fishing and hunting, leading a simple life.

But as she grew older, the old eunuch began to tell her about her origins.

Her father was Xiao Yubang, the crown prince of the Zhou Kingdom, and she was supposed to be a princess of the Zhou Kingdom, but unfortunately, Xiao Yuzheng usurped the throne.

"Xiao Yuzheng's ascension to the throne was illegitimate; the throne should have rightfully belonged to your father!"

“Since Xiao Yuzheng ascended the throne, natural disasters have been constant; this is Heaven’s retribution for him!”

"Famine ravaged various regions, and the people were destitute."

"Only by killing Xiao Yuzheng will God forgive us."

From that time on, the old eunuch constantly taught her to kill Xiao Yuzheng and avenge the crown prince. Because of this, she mastered martial arts.

When she was fourteen, the old eunuch's time had come, and he died with resentment.

Before his death, his last wish was for Xiao Min'er to kill Xiao Yuzheng.

After burying the old eunuch, the fourteen-year-old girl came to the capital alone.

Using a secret map given to her by the old eunuch before his death, she successfully infiltrated the palace through a hidden passage, intending to assassinate Xiao Yuzheng.

While hiding in the inner palace, she unintentionally came to a cold palace.

Cold Moon Palace.

Under the tree there, she saw the father the old eunuch had mentioned.

The soul of Crown Prince Xiao Yubang.

Xiao Yubang was overjoyed when he learned Xiao Min'er's identity. He never expected that he would have a daughter still alive.

Xiao Yubang immediately said, "With your current strength, you can't kill Xiao Yuzheng. Run!"

"I have hidden the Imperial Seal of the State under a Buddha statue in a dilapidated temple a hundred miles west of the capital. Go and retrieve it, conceal your identity well, and when the world is in chaos, take out the Imperial Seal of the State and reclaim your father's empire."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Min'er originally wanted to free her father's soul from being sealed here and suffering endless torment.

But Xiao Yubang disagreed: "No, my soul is here, so Xiao Yuzheng believes that the Imperial Seal of the State is still here."

"Min'er, run!"

Xiao Min'er could only glance at her father a few more times before turning and fleeing.

But as soon as they escaped from the palace, they were discovered by the patrolling guards.

That night, amidst thunder and rain, she escaped from the palace guards, but was severely injured. On the muddy, wet streets, her spine had been broken.

Her hair was disheveled and she was soaked to the bone. She climbed away with her hands to escape, but the patrolling soldiers nearby were already close by.

Boom! A thunderclap sounded, and suddenly a person walked over, holding an umbrella. It was none other than the young Wang Longzhi.

Wang Longzhi was only one year older than her.

They are of similar age.

"What happened to you?" Wang Longzhi's eyes were incredibly pure. Upon discovering that she was injured, he quickly picked her up and hurried back to the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

After entering from the back, Wang Longzhi was just about to shout loudly to have someone fetch a doctor.

“No.” The young Xiao Min’er was unusually calm and said, “If we send a doctor, I will be discovered and I will die.”

"Then what to do."

"Do you have a cellar? Hide me in the cellar."

"Then fetch some herbs."

Young Wang Longzhi: "Herbal medicine, will it work? There's so much blood in your back."

“Take Dragon Night Grass, Yellow Crane Grass…” Xiao Min’er gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, and recited the names of the hemostatic herbs.

In the cold, damp cellar, Wang Longzhi carefully wiped the bloodstains from her back, applied herbal medicine, and her face was pale.

In the following days, Wang Longzhi would secretly bring her food and change her dressings.

But every time Wang Longzhi saw blood, her face would turn pale, and she would turn her head away, not daring to look.

"Are you afraid of blood?" Xiao Min'er asked curiously.

Wang Longzhi nodded, forcing a simple smile: "I faint whenever I see blood, but my parents always want me to grow up and fight on the battlefield..."

"And you, why did you get hurt? Aren't your parents worried about you?"

Xiao Min'er's eyes dimmed slightly: "My parents are gone."

"I'm sorry." Wang Longzhi realized she had spoken out of turn.

Xiao Min'er asked earnestly, "Can I stay here for a while?"

"of course."

"If I stay here, it might cause you some trouble in the future."

"It's nothing." Wang Longzhi asked curiously, "Are you really unable to move your legs?"

"Hmm." Xiao Min'er looked at her ruined lower body, feeling nothing at all.

The naive Wang Longzhi said with utmost seriousness, "It's alright, I'll find a doctor to cure you later."

Although Xiao Min'er was a year younger than him, she was much more mature and said, "I'm afraid my injury can't be healed."

"No, it won't. It can definitely be cured. Trust me." Wang Longzhi stretched out her hand and smiled innocently, "Pinky promise."

And so, day after day, this cellar became their secret base.

Wang Longzhi would appear here on time every day to bring Xiao Min'er some food.

Occasionally, Wang Longzhi would bring along a few military books, but he had no interest in them. He would always study some medical books, hoping to see if he could cure Xiao Min'er's injuries.

Xiao Min'er, however, was very interested in these military books.

And so, one studied military strategy books, and the other studied medical books.

As the days went by, the young man and woman, spending time together day after day, began to develop feelings for each other.

Wang Longzhi was always concerned about Xiao Min'er's injury. After learning from Xiao Min'er that the injury was caused by her enemies, he learned that Xiao Min'er had been injured.

Wang Longzhi simply said, "Don't worry, I'll help you get revenge."

Xiao Min'er gave a bitter smile and said, "Do you know who my enemy is? They said they would avenge me."

"Whatever."

Four years later, Wang Longzhi returned to the cellar with a worried look on his face. He said helplessly, "Min'er, my parents have been acting strangely lately and want to force me to go to the front line to fight."

"You agreed?" Xiao Min'er asked in surprise. Having known each other for many years, she knew Wang Longzhi all too well that he was completely clueless about warfare.

"I can't refuse. My parents said that if I don't go, they'll arrange for me to have a daughter who will give birth to a grandson and I'll have to raise him again," Wang Longzhi said helplessly.

“I’ll go with you,” Xiao Min’er said.

Wang Longzhi's expression changed: "How can this be? Putting aside your injuries, you are going to suppress bandits after all. Don't worry, I will arrange for others to take care of you when I leave."

Xiao Min'er said with a smile, "You've taken care of me for four whole years. Now that you're going to the battlefield, it's my turn to take care of you."

And so, Xiao Min'er stayed with Wang Longzhi, offering him advice and strategies, which resulted in a great victory over the bandits.

In every battle he fought, he was victorious, earning a reputation as a young hero that spread throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.

And under Xiao Min'er's supervision, Wang Longzhi finally began to cultivate diligently.

Finally, one year ago, Xiao Min'er confronted Wang Longzhi. She took out a national jade seal and placed it in front of Wang Longzhi, startling him.

"Min'er, what are you doing?"

"My enemy is the current emperor. Do you still want to avenge me?"

"You can choose to help me."

"Or take this Imperial Seal and present it to the current emperor, thus establishing an unparalleled merit, which would be my way of repaying you for all these years."

On one side is His Majesty and his family, and on the other is Xiao Min'er's long-standing relationship.

Wang Longzhi was not as resolute as he appeared to outsiders; he would always hesitate for a long time in front of Xiao Min'er.

But Wang Longzhi finally took a deep breath and asked, "What should I do?"

"If this Imperial Seal is taken to the three southwestern provinces, the rebels in the three southwestern provinces will grow in power as soon as the Imperial Seal is revealed."

"Then Xiao Yuzheng will definitely select people to quell the rebellion. You should find a way to take on the task of quelling the rebellion."

"Okay." Wang Longzhi gritted her teeth and nodded in agreement.

Xiao Min'er earnestly reminded him, "Long Zhi, it's not too late for you to regret it now."

"No regrets."

(End of this chapter)