Chapter 19: Midnight Assassination

The few days Si Qingyu spent in Qianluo Town were probably her most unsettling days. If it wasn’t the townspeople sending this and that, it was Luo Jinhua constantly appearing in front of her, waving various portraits in her face.

“Doctor Si, what do you think of this young master? Handsome, right?” Luo Jinhua said as she brought the portrait up to Si Qingyu’s face.

Si Qingyu lowered her head and looked at the book, not wanting to pay any attention to her.

Seeing that Si Qingyu had no reaction, she flipped the portrait over to another one, “What about this one? This one is also handsome, and his personality is good. In the future, he will definitely be a virtuous husband who will serve Doctor Si comfortably.”

Si Qingyu was simply overwhelmed by her shamelessness. She had already told her so many times that she wasn’t interested, yet she still kept pushing these at her.

Seeing that she still had no reaction, Luo Jinhua wasn’t angry. She flipped to another portrait and continued her introduction, getting more and more into it, “Doctor Si, you don’t like handsome men? What about this one? Although he’s not very handsome, you can tell at a glance that he’s good at bearing children!”

Good at bearing children?

Si Qingyu’s eyelids twitched violently, feeling that the topic was a bit too much for her to accept. She grabbed the portrait from Luo Jinhua’s hand and slapped it on the table, with a hint of gritted teeth, “Magistrate Luo, you might as well not waste your efforts. I’m returning to my hometown tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!? Why so sudden?”

You tell me. Si Qingyu really wanted to say this to her. She closed her eyes with restraint and then opened them, glancing at Luo Jinhua indifferently, “The poison has been cured, and the townspeople have recovered well. Moreover, I’ve been away from the clinic for some time, so naturally, it’s time for me to go back.”

Luo Jinhua was a little disappointed but had no choice. Thinking that there would definitely be opportunities to meet again in the future, her disappointment immediately disappeared. She patted Si Qingyu and said loudly, “Alright! I can’t keep you here for too long either. If there’s anything in the future, you can come directly to me. If I can help, I will do my best!”

Hearing her solemn promise, Si Qingyu felt a warmth in her heart, and the corners of her mouth curved up, “Then I’ll thank Magistrate Luo here in advance.”

“Hey, what’s there to thank? I should be the one thanking you!”

Si Qingyu smiled, like the blossoming of flowers in the warm spring.

Luo Jinhua looked at her face and couldn’t help swallowing. She turned her gaze away and lightly coughed, “Does Doctor Si want anything to take back? Just tell me!”

Si Qingyu shook her head, “No need, Magistrate Luo. I want to read quietly by myself for a while.” So can you please leave first?

Hearing her words, Luo Jinhua scratched her face, “Then I’ll go out first and not disturb Doctor Si?”

“Mm.” She lowered her head and continued reading.

Luo Jinhua started walking out with small steps, turning her head back to secretly look at Si Qingyu while walking. Seeing that she still had no reaction, she finally left with her head lowered in disappointment.

Si Qingyu looked at the book with her eyes half-lowered, completely unaffected.

At night, Si Qingyu packed all her belongings, planning to leave as soon as the sky brightened the next day.

While packing her medical bag, she saw a sachet. This sachet was given to her by Luo Shaoxuan. She still remembered that when he gave it to her, he asked her to carry it with her every day in the future.

It was just that she wasn’t interested in these things at all, but seeing his strong attitude, she thought about it and decided to put the sachet in this medical bag that she often carried.

Si Qingyu gently picked up the sachet, her jade fingers gently rubbing the embroidered mandarin ducks on it. Her thoughts began to get a bit chaotic. After thinking for a moment, she still stuffed the sachet back in and prepared to rest after packing.

At night, the streets of Qianluo Town were already pitch black, quiet except for the chirping of crickets.

A dark figure walked quickly on the street, turning into Luo Jinhua’s mansion and leaping over the wall to get inside. The dark figure quietly groped through each room in the mansion, and after finally determining Si Qingyu’s room, directly jumped in through the window.

The dark figure walked slowly to the bed and looked at the person on the bed, slowly raising the sword in hand to stab.

Fortunately, Si Qingyu was a light sleeper with high alertness and had already woken up when the dark figure was outside the window. Just as the dark figure stabbed at her, she rolled to the inside of the bed, avoiding it.

After dodging, Si Qingyu quickly kicked the dark figure’s chest fiercely. The dark figure took two steps back, seeming not to have expected her to be awake. Reacting, the figure raised the sword and stabbed at her. Si Qingyu dodged to the side, a bit disheveled, and quickly raised her hand to pinch the acupoint on the figure’s hand.

The dark figure let out a “hmm” sound, eyes fierce. Gripping the sword tightly, the figure swept it towards Si Qingyu. She hurriedly ducked down to avoid it and kicked hard at the acupoint under the figure’s armpit. The dark figure was forced to retreat several steps.

Si Qingyu took advantage of the gap to quickly get off the bed and took out silver needles from her medical bag. The dark figure raised the sword to stab again. Si Qingyu gritted her teeth and tilted her head to dodge, then directly pierced the silver needles into an acupoint on the figure’s arm.

The dark figure let out an “ah” sound, and the sword fell to the ground. The dark figure hurriedly retreated. It seemed that the figure hadn’t expected Si Qingyu to be so difficult to deal with. With a leap, the figure jumped out of the window and escaped.

Si Qingyu didn’t chase after the figure. Panting, she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. It was the first time something like this had happened, and it took her a while to recover.

She frowned and looked at the window, taking a moment to calm her breath.

Walking to the table, she lit the candle and picked up the sword from the ground, carefully examining it, but it was just an ordinary sword with no engravings on it.

Who wanted her life? She had always been friendly to others and had never offended anyone.

Could it be… related to the poisoning incident?

Luo Jinhua, who was staying next door, also heard the commotion and rushed over, knocking on the door outside, “Doctor Si, what happened to you? What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, come in.”

Luo Jinhua pushed the door open and saw Si Qingyu wearing inner clothes, her hair slightly disheveled, and a sword in her hand. She frowned, “Doctor Si, what exactly happened? This sword…”

“Someone just tried to kill me.” Si Qingyu’s voice was cold and calm, as if the one who had just experienced life and death wasn’t her.

Hearing this, Luo Jinhua’s face immediately became tense, “Then, Doctor Si, are you alright?” Her eyes scanned Si Qingyu up and down, making sure she wasn’t injured before letting out a sigh of relief.

Si Qingyu shook her head, looking at the sword in her hand silently.

Luo Jinhua also looked at this sword, angrily saying, “I think that thief shouldn’t have gone far. I’ll send people to chase after them now!” With that, she wanted to walk out in a hurry.

“No need to chase. Even if you go now, you won’t see anyone.”

Si Qingyu stopped her and handed the sword directly to her, “This is the sword that person left behind. Magistrate Luo, please see if you can find any clues tomorrow.”

Luo Jinhua took the long sword, still not at ease, “Doctor Si, why don’t you directly rest in my bedroom tonight? In case that thief comes back…”

“I don’t think they will. Their arm will be in intense pain for the next few days and won’t recover so quickly.”

Luo Jinhua didn’t understand but still nodded. Looking at the sharp sword in her hand, she was a bit puzzled, “Doctor Si, have you offended someone?”

Si Qingyu shook her head. In her impression, she hadn’t, but she was afraid that even if she had offended someone, she wasn’t aware of it.

“Magistrate Luo, go back and rest. If there’s anything, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Luo Jinhua nodded and walked out. When she reached the door, she pursed her lips, still not at ease, and turned back to look at Si Qingyu, “Doctor Si, why don’t I stay here tonight? I’ve also practiced martial arts, so it should be safer with one more person.”

Seeing her sincere face, Si Qingyu smiled and shook her head, “Thank you for your concern, Magistrate Luo. It’s truly not necessary. If something really happens to me, I will call you.”

Luo Jinhua looked at her, opening her mouth. She didn’t know what else to say to persuade her. Finally, she sighed and said to her seriously, “Then, Doctor Si, remember to call me if anything happens!” But looking at Si Qingyu’s calm appearance, it seemed that even if something happened, it wouldn’t make her scream. Just now, if it wasn’t for the sound of the sword falling…

After saying this, Luo Jinhua took the sword and left, also conveniently closing the door.

After Luo Jinhua left, the smile on Si Qingyu’s face also disappeared. She looked at the candlelight indifferently.

Having lived in this world for so many years, she could be said to have saved countless people, always living a peaceful life. How could she have attracted the misfortune of being killed? If she didn’t understand the acupoints of the human body and cleverly dodge, she was afraid that she would have been in great danger just now.

Si Qingyu stared at the candlelight for a long time, but in the end, she couldn’t figure out the reason. She blew out the candle and lay back on the bed, but couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

On this side, the dark figure clutched her numb hand and walked quickly on the street. Suddenly, a curved blade blocked her path, forcing her to stop.

The person who came was none other than Qing Po, who had been called by Luo Shaoxuan to protect Si Qingyu. Her voice was hoarse and unpleasant, “Who sent you to kill Doctor Si?”

The dark figure didn’t answer. With a twist of the hand, the figure fiercely hooked the uninjured left hand towards Qing Po, but Qing Po easily caught the wrist.

“Tsk,” Qing Po let out an impatient cold laugh. She fiercely twisted the figure’s hand in a bizarre direction and then tore it off, directly ripping the arm off.

The dark figure let out a piercing scream of agony and then fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

Qing Po looked at the figure expressionlessly, those eyes pitch black without a trace of emotional fluctuation, like a ghost coming to claim lives under the moonlight.

The dark figure’s face was distorted with pain. Knowing that the situation was hopeless, the figure wanted to grit teeth and commit suicide, but unfortunately, Qing Po’s movements were much faster. She directly dislocated the figure’s jaw.

The dark figure screamed in anguish, glaring at Qing Po with eyes full of hatred.

“Wanting to die is quite difficult.”

However, seeing that the figure couldn’t speak, Qing Po didn’t ask further. She planned to directly hand the figure over to her master. There were too many ways to make a person talk, especially when encountering her master, who had plenty of methods that could make one feel that death would be better than life.

Qing Po directly knocked out the struggling person on the ground and picked the figure up with one hand. With a light tap of her toes, she easily leaped between the rooftops and finally disappeared into the night.