Originally, Jing Hengbo had planned to live a carefree life. After all, there were beautiful women, and good food, and the beautiful woman didn’t seem to harbor any murderous intent towards her. Although the title of “Your Majesty” was shouted without much respect, it didn’t seem like an assassination attempt. However, staying by his side made her feel uneasy for some reason. While her mind was filled with thoughts of beauty, there was also a sense of unease due to suspicion.
A woman’s sixth sense told her that this guy named Gong Yin was unwilling to get close to her. His indifference was not just a natural trait; it was a refusal that he didn’t want or intend to conceal. This kind of refusal permeated lightly like cigarette ashes, evident in his gaze, actions, a glance, or a momentary sweep of his sleeves.
When he looked at her, it was as if he were looking at a black poisonous flower blooming amidst the ruins and mud.
Jing Hengbo had spent the first eighteen years in a research institute, isolated from the outside world. However, she knew a woman’s beauty was the most precious gift and the most important weapon, irresistible to men everywhere. She was born to love all beautiful things, and she spared no effort to protect and enhance her beauty. With confidence, she believed that as long as she faced a patriarchal society, she would have a place in the world.
Men, wherever you went, were still men, just like beauty, a universally valuable asset. However, this long-established and foolproof conclusion seemed to hit a wall in front of the first powerful man she officially encountered in this different world.
Sighing, why was luck so bad? Shouldn’t this kind of annoying matter be dealt with by someone like Jun Ke, an honest guy, Wen Zhen, a cunning little fox, or Tai Shi Lan, a person used to encountering such unpleasant situations?
In the distance, there was the intense sound of battle. Jing Hengbo lifted a corner of the curtain and saw the cold glint of swords flying in the moonlight, making even the starlight dim.
“How did the fight end up here?” She was surprised and glanced at Gong Yin. “Your subordinates don’t seem to have impressive combat skills. They went out to hunt down attackers, but they ended up being chased and cut all the way back.”
Gong Yin raised his eyes to glance at the battlefield, drawing a line on the map with his pen.
Jing Hengbo didn’t understand what he was doing, but this guy was not nervous. Thinking that safety shouldn’t be an issue, she scrutinized Gong Yin’s thighs for a while, starting to seriously consider the possibility of leaning on them for sleep.
Before this plan could be put into action, the sounds of fighting outside gradually subsided. Several dark figures swiftly leaped through the mountains and forests, escaping. The skinny man, leading a group, returned to the team with captives in hand.
Jing Hengbo assessed the returning team. Gong Yin’s side had lost quite a few people, and some were injured. However, each individual appeared calm, their steps steady, exuding the same composed temperament as Gong Yin.
Frowning, Jing Hengbo felt that something was not right. This team seemed both strong and weak. If they were considered strong, they went out to pursue the enemy but were chased back near their carriage, mostly wounded. They even let a few enemies escape, suggesting a lack of strength. On the other hand, if they were considered weak, their achievements were not bad. They captured quite a few people, and even if they were injured, those injuries were only superficial, looking bloody but having no actual impact. Observing their demeanor, it seemed they were perfectly fine.
The battlefield was dangerous, and the consequences were unpredictable. In theory, no one could control the outcome. The neat and not-too-serious injuries on these people seemed intentional…
Her delicate brows furrowed, and suddenly, Gong Yin looked up at her. In his clear and crystalline eyes, a strange expression passed through.
Appearing languid and charming, which was unlike her, there seemed to be a hint of her sharpness overlapping in his bones…
Suddenly, a chill flashed in Gong Yin’s eyes. His slender fingers slowly folded the map, once, twice… the edges of the map showed distinct marks.
Jing Hengbo inexplicably watched his actions, feeling a bit chilly. She lazily shifted away.
The voice of the skinny man outside the carriage sounded, “My lord, we have captured seven bandits. Please advise on how to proceed.”
A row of captured bandits, bound and kneeling in front of the carriage, caught Jing Hengbo’s interest. She wanted to see how this cold beauty would deal with the road-blocking thieves.
One can discern a person’s character from their attitude toward enemies. One can also gauge the limits of their actions by the methods they use to interrogate enemies.
Soon, she heard two emotionless words uttered lightly from Gong Yin’s thin lips.
“Continue.”
Continue? Jing Hengbo was puzzled, not quite understanding the meaning behind these two random words.
Wasn’t she supposed to get off the carriage for interrogation? She had hoped that maybe she could get some sleep without having to travel through the night.
Soon, she understood what “continue” meant.
Outside, the whip cracked with a crisp sound, the warhorse neighed loudly, and the carriage immediately thundered forward like a swift arrow.
The carriage moved too suddenly, causing Jing Hengbo’s body to be thrust into Gong Yin’s arms. Swiftly reacting, Gong Yin flicked his sleeve, and a small black lacquered table blocked in front of them. With a thud, Jing Hengbo once again collapsed onto the small table, her chest squashed into two flat pancakes.
“Damn… could you give a warning…” Jing Hengbo struggled on the table, reaching out to straighten herself. “Flattening and squeezing like this, who’s responsible…” She raised her head and met Gong Yin’s gaze. Determined, she leaned forward a bit. “How about it? Is it a deep groove, tightly winding through a narrow path?”
Gong Yin’s gaze suddenly shifted, but unfortunately, it was too dark inside the carriage, and Jing Hengbo couldn’t see if his expression had changed.
She laughed heartily, feeling like she had regained some control. How satisfying.
Suddenly, the carriage jolted as if it had collided with something. Following that were a series of loud thuds, shaking the entire carriage. Shouts of misery followed one after another, close by, mixed with the screams of Cui Jie and the other three from the rear ox cart.
Jing Hengbo’s heart trembled. It dawned on her that the carriage had just surged forward, and in front of it were the kneeling captives…
She quickly pounced toward the window but was coldly pulled back by a pair of hands.
“Stay still.” Gong Yin’s voice was clear as crystal and cold as ice. Even someone as carefree as Jing Hengbo couldn’t help but shudder.
Her fingers pressed against the curtain edge, but she lacked the courage to lift it. In the darkness, she widened her eyes, silently counting the vibrations caused by the carriage hitting an object—one, two, three, four…
Seven!
The last jolt was particularly violent. Something banged against the roof, then tumbled down. Jing Hengbo raised her eyes and suddenly screamed.
Above the window, a bloody arm dangled, twisted at a grotesque angle. Large splatters of blood sprayed onto the light green bamboo curtain, creating the illusion of a blood-red lily suddenly blooming in the bamboo forest.
The skinny man rode over, his long spear lifting the last captive, who had been knocked onto the roof, off. The blood from the person’s fingers left long streaks on the curtain, resembling the desperate strokes of swords unsheathing in vain.
The carriage came to a halt, and Jing Hengbo heard the sounds of vomiting from the ox cart behind.
She sat there in a daze, overwhelmed by the shock—was this the cruelty of feudal society, where lives were treated as grass to be mowed? People like candle flames, easily extinguished by the wind, or like rocks crushed under the weight of a mountain?
In the nearly one month since arriving in this different world, despite being reduced to the life of a courtesan, she had mostly witnessed a world of music, dance, luxury, and indulgence. Even when she was initially startled by the ruthless methods of the black-clad beauty who killed without hesitation, it did not compare to the brutality she witnessed today.
Thinking about how she had been sitting in the carriage just moments ago, the wheels ruthlessly rolling over those lives that were so vibrant just moments before…
In the darkness, her body stiffened, and across from her, Gong Yin remained motionless. The crystalline eyes, like ice, gazed at her for the first time with a chilling seriousness.
Observing her shock, her confusion, the instant fragmentation of her carefree demeanor, and the fear that surged in her eyes at this moment.
This kind of fear seemed somewhat familiar. Just a short while ago, in that palace where flowers bloomed, during that night of vivid bloodstains, the unrecorded slaughter and betrayal belonging to the court and imperial authority, tainted with the smell of bloody rust…
He sat even more upright, his snow-white hands calmly placed flat on his knees, his whole being untainted, resembling an exiled immortal unaffected by worldly affairs.
It was just the beginning.
What she witnessed today might be cruel, but if she never saw it, the future she would directly face would be even more brutal.
Suddenly, Jing Hengbo stood up, pushed open the carriage door without a word, ignored the fact that the carriage had already started, and hastily jumped down.
If Gong Yin hadn’t signaled to stop the carriage in time, this action would have been enough to twist her ankle.
Her high heels still caused her some trouble. When she landed, she staggered a bit. Protecting her throbbing foot, she squatted down but didn’t linger. Instead, she decisively took off her high heels, carried them in her hand, raised her head, and limped towards the ox cart.
Gong Yin remained silent, not saying anything or trying to stop her. In the moment when Jing Hengbo stumbled, his fingers seemed to move, yet at the same time, they didn’t.
Then he said, “Continue.”
This time, his voice sounded even lighter than before.
![Flying Dust [Fei Chen]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9k.png "Flying Dust [Fei Chen]")
