Chapter 193: Death

“It was given by him.” Su Wan smiled slightly. This was the chaotic world painted by Huiren.

In Huiren’s heart, it was her death that led Qi Min to provoke the war, causing the people to suffer in misery. He saw through that she wasn’t the original owner of the body, but merely regarded it as an act of compassion from Buddha.

If it weren’t for his Zhuang Zhou’s dream of a butterfly, would he have seen through her identity and deemed her a demon?

Buddha speaks. Buddha speaks.

Buddha is selfish too.

Only by following His will can one be on the righteous path.

To go against Him is to defy Heaven’s will and should be punished.

“Grandmother, my life, Buddha cannot protect. It’s better to rely on oneself than to pray to Him.” Su Wan sneered inwardly, her resolve to go to Xiliang Kingdom and uncover the truth about the events deepened.

She intended to defy Buddha’s compassionate will, save Qi Min, and see if she would vanish.

If she did vanish and the tragedy repeated itself, wouldn’t Buddha be slapping His own face?

According to Huiren’s logic, Buddha should ensure that she doesn’t die. As long as she lives, how could Qi Min be consumed by resentment and hatred, going to any lengths for revenge?

Old Lady Su was shocked: “Wanwan…”

“It’s getting late. Let’s hurry and set off,” Su Wan interrupted Old Lady Su’s words of advice.

Old Lady Su sighed and followed Su Wan’s pace as they left Guo Temple and headed toward Qingyun Monastery on the neighboring Qingyun Mountain.

After escorting Old Lady Su there, settling her in, and sharing a vegetarian meal, Su Wan set off on her return journey.

The road back to the capital from Qingyun Mountain passed by the foot of Guo Temple, and not only was this stretch of mountain road rugged, but it was also bordered by a bottomless abyss.

The carriage was moving very slowly. Qi Sixth, who was driving, had a lot of experience. The Qi Family Army had hidden in the mountains for so many years that navigating mountain roads with a carriage came naturally to them.

Suddenly, Qi Sixth saw a carriage slowly approaching from ahead.

He frowned, glancing up at the towering mountain on the inside and then at the cliff on the outside. This mountain road was just wide enough for two carriages to pass.

It would require cooperation from both sides to carefully maneuver past each other.

He craned his neck, just about to see whether the oncoming carriage would move towards the outer edge or stay close to the inside so he could adjust his own carriage accordingly.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted. He saw that everyone in the other carriage, both the passengers and the driver, had disembarked, and the horse pulling the carriage let out a sudden shriek, crazily charging straight towards him.

Qi Sixth’s heart felt like it was being gripped by a hand. He shouted loudly, “Young Lady! Jump from the carriage!”

Su Wan lifted the carriage curtain and saw the other carriage wildly charging toward them. Suddenly, a massive boulder rolled down from the mountain, with the force to destroy everything, crashing straight into the carriage.

“Bang—”

A loud crash echoed.

The carriage tipped over and plummeted into the abyss.

All was silent.

Su Wan’s heart pounded heavily, thudding against her chest, each beat causing a sharp pain.

Qi Sixth’s limbs went numb. It took him a while to find his voice. He moistened his dry lips and said with difficulty, “It… it just fell?”

It felt like a dream.

They had narrowly escaped death’s door.

“Pinch me.” Qi Sixth pointed to his own face and said to Su Wan, “Pinch me right here, and use some force.”

Su Wan glanced up at the mountain, hearing only the rustling of leaves as the gentle breeze passed through.

It seemed as though the rocks on the mountain had coincidentally collapsed and struck the carriage.

Her brows arched slightly. Could it really be Buddha’s protection?

She lowered her gaze, looking at Qi Sixth’s foolish expression, and then swiftly jabbed a needle.

“Ow—”

Qi Sixth howled.

“Are you sure it’s an illusion, or reality now?” Su Wan toyed with the silver needle between her fingers. “Need another one?”

“No, no, no need!” Qi Sixth’s cheek muscles twitched twice as he rubbed his cheek, grumbling, “Please sit tight, I’ll drive the carriage.”

Su Wan retreated into the carriage and lifted the window curtain to look up at the mountain.

Qi Sixth also focused his attention, recalling that he had clearly seen someone get out of the carriage and hide in the mountains.

Since he was the only one protecting Su Wan, he didn’t dare to rashly pursue them up the mountain, fearing it might be a trap that would put Su Wan in danger.

As the carriage passed along the mountain road of Qingyun Mountain, two figures stood in the dense shade of the trees, while one person lay on the ground.

Qinglan was trembling uncontrollably, like a sieve. A hand was tightly gripping her neck, her face pale as she stared in terror at the man before her. His face was wrapped in a black cloth, leaving only his eyes exposed.

These cold, merciless eyes seemed familiar to her, but in this life-and-death situation, Qinglan’s mind was completely blank.

She regretted coming here, thinking that only by witnessing Su Wan fall into the abyss with her own eyes could she ease the hatred in her heart. Yet, she hadn’t expected to fall into the hands of a bandit instead.

Her lips trembled as she tried to beg for mercy.

Suddenly, she recognized who it was.

Her pupils contracted, and she struggled to squeeze out a sound from her throat, “Ji…”

The black-clad man’s fingers tightened.

Qinglan had no time to struggle. With a sharp “crack,” her neck was snapped.

Seeing her head loll to the side, lifeless, the black-clad man shifted his gaze to the unconscious coachman on the ground. He tore a token from his waist and threw it on the ground, then yanked off Qinglan’s belt and looped it around her neck, hanging her from a tree.

After some thought, he also hung the coachman, leaving his feet barely touching the ground. Since the coachman had passed out, his body was limp, causing the belt around his neck to tighten. The black-clad man woke the coachman before swiftly leaving.

The coachman woke up in distress, struggling as his feet touched the ground. Panicking, he fumbled to remove the belt from his neck, then collapsed weakly to the ground. When he saw the token on the ground, his heart leapt into his throat, and he remained in a state of shock.

—

At Dingyuan Marquis Residence.

Su Jihong’s wound had already been bandaged, and there was no sign of poisoning. His face, however, was dark with anger, having been tricked by Su Wan once again.

“Where is the Lady?” Su Jihong glanced at the sky. Qinglan had been gone for a long time and was still nowhere to be seen. “Has she returned?”

“Marquis, the Lady said she’s had bad luck recently and went to Guo Temple to offer incense and ward off bad fortune. She hasn’t returned yet.” The servant, calculating the time, cautiously replied, “She should be back by now.”

Su Jihong raised his hand to press down on his twitching right eyelid, and a sudden sense of unease rose within him.

“Send someone to Guo Temple to fetch the Lady,” Su Jihong instructed, but then stood up. “Forget it, I’ll go myself.”

The servant hurried to make arrangements, instructing the coachman in the stables to prepare the horses.

As Su Jihong strode to the doorway, he spotted Qinglan’s coachman, looking disheveled and in distress. His gaze sharpened instantly.

“What happened? Where is the Lady?”

The coachman dropped to his knees before Su Jihong, wailing, “Marquis, the L-Lady… she was hanged! The murderer knocked me unconscious and hung me from a tree. Thankfully, I woke up and narrowly escaped. Th-this… I found this token on the ground. It must have fallen from the killer.”

Su Jihong was stunned, as if he couldn’t comprehend the coachman’s words.

“Marquis, I’ve seen this token before. It belongs to someone close to the Crown Prince. It’s the same kind of token they use.”

The coachman handed the token to Su Jihong. “All the guards Lady brought with her were slaughtered.”

Su Jihong took the token, instantly recognizing it as one belonging to the Crown Prince’s men.

His hand clenched into a fist, causing the bandaged wound to reopen.

The veins on his forehead bulged, and his eyes filled with a dark, ominous rage.

The Crown Prince had claimed that the Regent wanted his life, ordering Su Jihong to gather evidence of the Regent’s crimes.

Su Jihong had actually believed the Crown Prince’s words, never imagining that the Crown Prince would harbor murderous intent toward him, fearing he might reveal what the Crown Prince had done.

Su Jihong let out a cold laugh—he would make sure that Ji Wufeng paid the price!