CHAPTER 247: CHAPTER 244 WARM HEART

Song Xian’s arrow was swift and accurate.

The man’s eyes narrowed, and the survival instinct within him made him instinctively dodge; the dagger in his hand moved away from his neck. Right as he was still immersed in the terror brought by the arrow, a figure swooped from the side, thrusting a long sword at him.

The sword’s edge pierced his arm, causing intense pain, and the dagger in his hand fell to the ground. Followed by a sharp pain in his waist, he was kicked hard and his body slammed heavily onto the ground.

The man’s face, hidden behind a cloth, twisted as he tried desperately to struggle, only to be pinned down tightly. His neck was pressed against the ground, face buried, mouth and nose obstructed, almost unable to breathe. Near the brink of death, his neck loosened, his head was wrenched up, and the cloth covering his face was pulled off.

A familiar face appeared before everyone.

Song Xian stepped forward, looking down at the person on the ground with a cold expression, his eyes as deep as ever, unmoved by the scene before him.

Song Xian said indifferently, "Chief Steward He."

The person on the ground was He Kuan, the steward beside Song Qizheng. In his youth, he was once a household general of the Song Family, injured while protecting Song Qizheng on the battlefield, leaving his left arm almost incapacitated. Song Qizheng didn’t let him go to the battlefield, instead keeping him at the Song Family’s ancestral home in Dingzhou.

After He Kuan’s first wife passed away, he remarried, marrying the chambermaid brought by Madam Rong from her family, now Mrs. Zhao.

With He Kuan’s status here, whether in the Song Family Army or the Song Family Inner Residence, it was easier for him to inquire about information. Thus, he could find out Song Xian’s whereabouts, but not being a confidant of Song Xian, he didn’t know Song Xian would act in advance.

"Song Xian," He Kuan finally caught his breath, "you... don’t even think... you’ll get a word out of me."

"Chief Steward He should have been more decisive when threatening to kill himself just now," Song Xian said as he shifted his gaze from He Kuan, instructing Chang Tong, "deliver Chief Steward He alive to the National Guardian General."

He Kuan’s face was ashen.

He Kuan to Song Qizheng, just as Chang An, Chang Yue are to Song Xian—one can imagine Song Qizheng’s reaction upon seeing He Kuan.

The ensuing interrogation wouldn’t require Song Xian’s personal involvement.

Song Xian walked toward the mountain stronghold; Chang An ordered people to continue searching the back mountain to prevent any remaining escapees and quickly moved to Song Xian’s side.

Song Xian said, "Keep an eye on Mrs. Zhao around Madam Rong." In the previous life, he couldn’t investigate Mrs. Rong smoothly, but now there are early signs, all things he hadn’t managed to investigate before.

Chang An responded.

Song Xian narrowed his eyes slightly; Song Qizheng was assassinated, he was captured by Liao people from the army—all these should be orchestrated by the same group.

Once these people are caught, many matters will become clear; perhaps there will be news of Xie Liangchen’s parents’ whereabouts as well.

Song Xian pondered, just in time to see a household general approaching, injured in the fight with the mountain bandits, now his arms were bandaged.

The wound was well-bandaged, not like it was handled haphazardly.

Song Xian looked at the household general and asked, "Did you call a doctor?" It wasn’t supposed to be the case; they had just been hunting the assassins in the back mountains, hardly having time to handle these matters.

After Song Xian spoke, a thought flashed through his mind, realizing that the doctor brought by others couldn’t be trusted by those around him.

The household general lowered his eyes slightly, "Not a doctor."

Nearby, Chang An’s heart sank upon hearing this—surely it was...

The household general said, "Chang Yue brought Miss Xie here; Miss Xie looked at our wounds and is treating the common folk abducted by the mountain bandits."

Chang An felt a chill run down his back; indeed, Chang Yue couldn’t hold on.

The household general also worried about Chang Yue being punished, "Thanks to Miss Xie, otherwise, Chang Yan might not have lasted until descending the mountain. His injuries were quite severe; he bled a lot."

Song Xian asked, "Where is she?"

Xie Liangchen was bent over, stitching up a wound on a female guest. They had tried to escape from the bandits in the chaos earlier, and in haste, their arm was slashed. Blood had soaked half of her dress.

The mountain path was hard to travel; if sent to Xingzhou City like this, her chances of survival were slim.

Finally, she finished the last stitch, and sweat covered the woman’s forehead.

Xie Liangchen straightened her waist, letting the next patient sit in front of her.

One after another came forward; who knows how much time passed before all the wounds were addressed, except for the woman with a pierced abdomen, the others would be fine.

Xie Liangchen was about to clean her hands when she looked up and saw Song Xian not far away.

Song Xian seemed to have been standing there for a long time, the light in his hand enveloping him in a warm glow.

Xie Liangchen stepped forward and saluted.

Song Xian didn’t say much but spoke softly, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Xie."

Chang An listened to the General’s gentle voice, wondering how he subdued his surging emotions.

Xie Liangchen scrutinized Song Xian briefly, "Is the General’s arm injured?"

There was a scar on Song Xian’s right arm but not deep, and the blood had dried.

Song Xian replied, "It’s not serious."

"Let’s take a look," Xie Liangchen suggested, "I heard those assassins are skilled in using poison."

Chang An quickly found two lanterns to place on the table, subtly moving the chair closer.

Xie Liangchen said, "General Song, please sit."

Song Xian sat in the chair; Chang An glanced around. The room was overly crowded; he could only clear a corner around the table for the General and Miss Xie to speak.

Xie Liangchen moistened a cloth with clean water and wiped away the blood from Song Xian’s arm, carefully examining the wound underneath.

The two were close; Song Xian turned slightly, able to see her downcast eyelashes clearly, given enough time, he could count each one.

Song Xian came to his senses after a moment, amused by his thoughts.

Chang An instructed Chang Yong to lead the villagers down the mountain, and let Chang Yue escort He Kuan and the others away.

While Xie Liangchen examined Song Xian’s injury, the room emptied, quieting the surroundings.

Xie Liangchen said, "The weapon that wounded General Song likely wasn’t poisoned."

Song Xian remained silent; Xie Liangchen raised her eyes only to find Song Xian smiling, steadily gazing at her.

With her mind focused on examining the injury earlier, Xie Liangchen hadn’t felt anything unusual; facing Song Xian directly now, she realized they were quite close. She almost felt Song Xian’s warm breath lightly brushing her ear.

Xie Liangchen instinctively wanted to step back, but in her haste, she collided with a stool on the ground, and felt her waist gripped by Song Xian.

"Careful."

After Xie Liangchen regained her footing, Song Xian quickly withdrew his hand, not allowing her time to react.

Such attentiveness, as if fearing she might feel even a bit embarrassed.

Song Xian’s voice sounded, "I see Chang Yue’s face changed; perhaps for the next few days, he won’t dare speak."