Hot flashes

The mine tunnels twisted and turned, and the owl's cry came and went, sometimes near, sometimes far, as if guiding, or as if testing.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a faint light, different from the tinderbox, finally appeared in the depths of darkness ahead, a more stable and concentrated glimmer of light.

Xiao Jue stopped and extinguished the tinder in his hand. They hid in the shadows behind the corner.

The faint light gradually drew closer, revealing two figures cautiously moving forward.

It was Chen Zhen, along with another elite bodyguard. Chen Zhen carried a specially made lantern that shone only downwards, his face stained with blood and showing barely concealed anxiety, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

Xiao Jue stepped out of the shadows, his figure appearing at the edge of the dim light.

"Lord Marquis!" Chen Zhen's eyes lit up when he saw him, but then his pupils contracted sharply as he was startled by Xiao Jue's ghostly pale face and the glaring dark color on his shoulders.

He practically lunged forward, his voice barely audible yet trembling with a crack: "Your subordinate deserves to die! I'm too late!"

"It's alright," Xiao Jue said, his voice hoarse, almost a breath, yet still steady. "How's it outside?"

"Most of the pursuers have been eliminated or drawn away, but this place is still not safe. Han Lie is seriously injured and has been escorted ahead by another team of brothers."

"The exit has been cleared, and the carriages and horses are ready three miles away." Chen Zhen spoke very quickly, and as he spoke, he and another guard stepped forward, one on each side, to firmly support Xiao Jue's arms.

What Chen Zhen touched was an alarming heat and stiff, taut muscles beneath clothing. His expression darkened further, and he hissed at Zhou Heng, "Keep up!"

The group quickly moved towards the other end of the mine tunnel. With the lights as their guide, their speed increased considerably.

Zhou Heng followed along, stumbling along, watching Xiao Jue being almost half-supported by the two men in front of him.

The mine exit finally appeared, disguised as a collapsed mine pit. Outside, the sky was still pitch black, and the air was bitterly cold.

Several unmarked carriages and a dozen elite riders waited quietly in the sparse, withered woods, the men and horses silent, as if blending into the night.

---

The manor house the carriage entered looked ordinary on the outside, but inside it was heavily guarded, with a tense atmosphere flowing silently.

Xiao Jue was led directly into the inner room, where the curtain was drawn, blocking most of the view.

Zhou Heng was placed on a narrow couch that had been temporarily moved to the outer room. A medical apprentice came to change the dressing on the snake venom wound on his neck. The apprentice worked quickly and without saying a word.

The sounds from the outside could be faintly heard from the inside: suppressed groans, the soft clanging of metal instruments, and the hushed, hurried voices of the military doctors discussing something.

The air was thick with the increasingly strong scent of herbs and a faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood. Occasionally, Chen Zhen's brief, cold reply would rang out: "Yes." "Understood."

Zhou Heng leaned against the couch, his neck wrapped in a cool ointment, which eased the stinging pain slightly.

He listened intently to the sounds inside, his fingers unconsciously digging into the rough edge of the blanket.

After an unknown amount of time, the curtain to the inner room was lifted slightly, and Chen Zhen emerged, his face bearing traces of water, but the melancholy in his eyes remained. He glanced at Zhou Heng, paused, and then walked over.

"The Marquis has taken the antidote, but the remaining poison needs time to be eliminated, and his high fever hasn't subsided." Chen Zhen's voice was low, hoarse from lack of sleep all night. "How are your injuries?"

"No, it's alright, thank you Captain Chen," Zhou Heng quickly replied.

Chen Zhen nodded, saying nothing more, only saying, "It's safe here, you should rest well. The Marquis will give instructions when he wakes up." After saying that, he turned and went back into the inner room, like a tireless door god.

Zhou Heng lay down again, but couldn't fall asleep. The manor was extremely quiet, with only the faint snorting of horses in the distance and the very light footsteps of the night patrolmen.

Half-asleep, half-awake, time slipped by indistinctly. As dawn broke, a personal guard brought a simple meal.

Zhou Heng ate without tasting anything; his neck was still swollen, making swallowing difficult. He tried asking the guards outside, but they remained unmoved, refusing to utter a single word.

It wasn't until the afternoon that the curtain to the inner room was lifted again. Instead of Chen Zhen, an elderly man of about fifty years old with a thin face emerged, wearing a worn-out scholar's robe, his expression weary yet composed.

Zhou Heng recognized him; this was a senior advisor in the Northern Liang army, surnamed Du, the same Mr. Du who had traveled with him earlier.

Mr. Du's gaze fell on Zhou Heng, scrutinizing him. After a moment, he spoke, "Zhou Heng? Come with me, the Marquis wants to see you."

Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine and quickly got up, following Mr. Du into the inner room.

The room reeked of medicine; a window was half-open to let in some air, and the bleak early winter sunlight slanted in, casting cold patches of light on the blue brick floor.

Xiao Jue leaned against the raised couch, covered with a thick brocade quilt, only revealing the collar of his white undergarment and his shoulders with his black hair cascading down.

His face was still pale, but the deathly pallor had faded considerably; it was now almost transparently pale, making his eyes and brows appear even darker and deeper.

The high fever seemed to have subsided a bit, but the lips were bloodless, dry, and peeling.

His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes casting faint shadows under his eyelids, his breathing was shallow, and the rise and fall of his chest was so faint as to be almost invisible.

However, when he heard footsteps and slowly opened his eyes, Zhou Heng still felt an invisible pressure.

With just a glance, Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively lowered his head.

"Awake?" Xiao Jue spoke, his voice hoarse and low, like the grinding of sand, yet strangely steady, even carrying a hint of his usual commanding indifference. "Is the injury on your neck still bothering you?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, I've applied the medicine and I feel much better. It's nothing serious," Zhou Heng replied hastily.

"Hmm." Xiao Jue's gaze lingered for a moment on the clean strip of cloth wrapped around his neck, then shifted to Mr. Du. "Has everything been investigated?"

Mr. Du stepped forward and whispered, "Yes. Shi Yong's family was secretly taken away half a month ago, and they must have been bribed by Prince Qi long ago. This time, the leak of their whereabouts and the collusion with the bandits were all handled by him."

Han Lie was seriously injured, but his life was not in danger. The enemy had deployed elite members of the "Shadow Assassins" under the command of the King of Qi, in conjunction with border bandits, intending to ambush the Marquis outside Fukou Pass and disrupt the morale of our Northern Liang army.

Xiao Jue listened, his face expressionless, only a chill slowly gathering in his overly dark eyes. "'Shadow Assassin'..." he repeated the two words, his voice light and cold, "Qi Renli is certainly willing to spare the cost."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Zhou Heng, his scrutiny deepening: "This ambush was not only due to Shi Yong's betrayal, but also because the route was precisely predicted. You accompanied us and kept records; did you notice anything unusual along the way? Any subtle detail is worth noting."

Zhou Heng's heart tightened.

He forced himself to calm down and carefully recalled: "Reporting to the Marquis, everything was normal three days before departure."

Before discovering the unusual tire tracks, we passed a stream with slightly murky water, suggesting that a large group of people had recently passed upstream, but... but I failed to report it in time.

His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, eventually becoming filled with a sense of fear and apology.

It wasn't entirely an act; he did notice it at the time, but firstly, he was too timid, and secondly, he thought he might be overthinking it, so he didn't dare to say anything.

Xiao Jue listened quietly, offering neither comment nor affirmation, only saying to Mr. Du, "Make a note of it. Send someone to investigate further."

"Yes," Mr. Du replied.

A brief silence fell over the room. Xiao Jue seemed somewhat exhausted, closing his eyes again, but his brows furrowed slightly.

After a moment, Xiao Jue opened his eyes again, his gaze falling on Zhou Heng's face, his eyes deep and unreadable: "You rescued him in time in the mine tunnel."

Zhou Heng bowed deeply, "This humble servant is terrified! In the heat of the moment, I didn't think things through; it was just... just an instinctive reaction. Fortunately, Your Excellency acted in time, otherwise this humble servant would have been dead long ago."

"Instinctive reaction..." Xiao Jue repeated, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, as if mocking, or something else entirely, "He is indeed loyal."

He stopped looking at Zhou Heng and instead instructed Mr. Du: "All personnel accompanying this group must be re-verified. Any traitors within the camp must be thoroughly investigated. Those who have rendered meritorious service will be generously rewarded. Shi Yong... his entire family will be exterminated." He spoke the last three words casually, yet they carried a rusty, bloody stench.

"Understood," Mr. Du replied solemnly.

"Go down." Xiao Jue waved his hand, his weariness deepening.

Mr. Du gestured for Zhou Heng to leave together. As they reached the door, Zhou Heng couldn't help but look back.

Xiao Jue remained half-reclined on the couch, his eyes closed. His face appeared exceptionally pale and hard in the backlight, like a statue covered in ice and snow—lonely, powerful, yet burning with unknown poison and cold within.

Zhou Heng withdrew his gaze and strode out of the inner room, his heart heavy.