Except for the first two months after arriving in Kaifeng when she roamed around getting familiar with the city, Ma Bing’s life had been very regular.
Every morning she would go out, either to provide free medical treatment, or to the Flower Pavilion, or most commonly, to the vegetable market.
Today was no exception.
Well, actually, there was a slight exception.
Someone was following her.
She had sensed something similar the past two days, but due to recent tensions in the city and the influx of strangers for the courtesan festival, Ma Bing wasn’t entirely sure.
But now, she was certain.
“Doctor Ma,” familiar vendors greeted warmly, “Coming to buy vegetables again?”
“Look at these fresh beans I just picked, cook them with some ribs, so fragrant and sweet!”
“Check out these eggplants, so purple and glossy, they taste better than meat when stewed!”
Ma Bing walked slowly, then suddenly stopped and smiled at everyone, “Suddenly remembered I have something to do, all your vegetables look great, I’ll come back later to get them.”
There were too many people here; if a fight broke out later, it would be bad to injure civilians or damage the vegetables.
The vegetable market wasn’t far, so Ma Bing didn’t bring her horse. When exiting the city gate, a familiar soldier asked, “Doctor Ma, why didn’t you ride your horse today?”
Ma Bing smiled, “I’ll be back soon.”
Tomorrow was the courtesan festival, and recently many wealthy merchants and so-called refined scholars had entered the city, while very few people were leaving.
Ma Bing walked westward along the main road, kicking small stones along the way, and gradually the surroundings became desolate.
After walking a bit further, she suddenly stopped, turned around and said, “No one’s around, come out.”
Behind her was an empty road. With autumn deepening, most of the leaves on both sides had fallen, making the scenery look quite bleak.
A gust of autumn wind blew through, and the half-bare branches swayed, reluctantly dropping a yellow leaf.
Still no one appeared.
Ma Bing clicked her tongue, showing some impatience, and raised her voice, “Still not coming out? Then I’m leaving!”
The two people hiding in the woods by the roadside exchanged glances. After a slight hesitation, they really jumped out from both sides of the road.
They wore common cotton shirts, neither particularly tall nor short, and even the eyes showing above their face masks were ordinary.
Exactly the type that would disappear instantly in a crowd.
Perfect for tailing.
But they probably hadn’t competed with wild animals before; their tracking skills were still slightly crude, with somewhat heavy footsteps.
Moreover, compared to ordinary people, their steps were too well-trained, completely different from the street-smart styles of people like Gao Laoliu.
***
Looking at the endless rows of colorful vegetable stalls, Xie Yu suddenly regretted never accompanying Ma Bing to buy vegetables before.
Everyone has preferences; buying vegetables should be the same, most people would stick to a few familiar stalls.
If he had come with her, he wouldn’t now be like a headless fly, not knowing where to start.
Yuanpei was also confused, “Sir, this…?”
Xie Yu pressed his lips tightly, “Ask one by one!”
***
“How many days have you been following me? What do you want?” Ma Bing took a step forward, but saw the two men actually step back in unison and subtly adjust their positions to move downwind.
Suddenly, Ma Bing understood why they wore face masks.
“You clearly know my identity and that I have some knowledge of medicine, but still decided to take action, not hesitating to oppose the Kaifeng Prefecture,” Ma Bing said slowly, trying to pry some information out of them.
Murderers usually wore masks to hide their identities, but now it was daytime, and wearing masks would make them more suspicious.
These two hadn’t worn masks when following her in the city, but after leaving the city, when there was no one around, they put them on, which clearly wasn’t to hide their real faces.
It was because they knew their target was a doctor, and doctors could be very scary at times.
After all, medicine and poison are closely related.
As Ma Bing spoke, she observed those two pairs of not-very-pleasant eyes.
No reaction at all.
“Who sent you? Prince Su? What happened to that young man your companion was following before? Why would Prince Su target me?”
Ma Bing felt frustrated as she realized she hadn’t really learned Xie Yu’s secret skill of reading faces.
Or perhaps it was because the other party had their faces covered, leaving too few features to observe, and they had been trained…
In any case, those two pairs of eyes were like dead fish eyes, showing no reaction no matter what she said.
But Ma Bing was almost certain it was Prince Su’s doing.
Besides him, probably no one else could train such subordinates, or dare to act so brazenly.
But why?
Why target her?
Ma Bing’s first thought was that her identity had been exposed, but as soon as this idea came up, she immediately dismissed it herself.
It was unlikely.
Very few people knew her identity, and they were all trustworthy. If even they would betray her, then this world… probably wouldn’t have much hope left.
Had she revealed something by accident?
Also unlikely.
She considered herself quite cautious. The only person who had seen her delivering a letter that day was Xie Yu, and he wouldn’t possibly reveal it to Prince Su.
So what was left…
When the conclusion came, Ma Bing even felt a bit embarrassed, a rare moment of shyness and annoyance typical of a young girl.
Thinking it through, it was probably because Prince Su had discovered her connection with Xie Yu.
He naturally wouldn’t dare to target Xie Yu’s family, so he wanted to disrupt Xie Yu’s composure by going after her.
Even if it didn’t completely throw him off, at least it would keep him occupied for a short time.
Of course, it would be even better if it made him hesitate to act out of fear of endangering her.
***
Time passed, and the vendors they asked hadn’t seen Ma Bing buying anything, and even couldn’t confirm whether she had come at all.
Xie Yu’s expression became increasingly grim.
Now, even Yuanpei dared not speak to him.
“You’re asking about Doctor Ma?” someone finally said after who knows how long, a small vendor selling eggplants said, “She did come by just now, but said she suddenly remembered something to do and left without buying anything.”
The constable who got this information immediately ran to tell Xie Yu.
For a moment, everyone felt that the young marquis before them was so unfamiliar, almost frighteningly so.
It made one wonder if those ruffians harassing Ma Bing were here right now, they would probably already be headless.
A group of people roared to the city gate, where the city guard nodded, “Yes, Doctor Ma left the city not long ago. At the time, I was wondering why she didn’t ride her horse. She said she’d be right back.”
Xie Yu asked, “When did she leave the city? Did she look alright?”
The guard hesitated for a moment, what did he mean by “look alright”?
He scratched his head, “About half an hour ago, she looked…,” carefully watching the marquis’s expression, he carefully said, “Very… beautiful?”
The guard noticed the marquis’s handsome face stiffen for a moment, then he rode off.
The expressions of Yuanpei and others behind were also quite complicated.
Watching the dust raised by the group riding away, the city guard was still puzzled:
Didn’t I say anything wrong?
That Doctor Ma did have a radiant smile, very handsome indeed!
***
The two masked pursuers exchanged glances and began to approach from left and right.
Before coming, they had indeed carefully investigated. This Ma girl seemed to know some martial arts and had good horsemanship, but so what?
She was just a girl, and besides, she wasn’t even riding a horse now.
But why wasn’t she panicking or trying to escape?
Ma Bing changed her stance slightly, her right hand already on her waist, “Does your master want to capture me alive?”
A flicker of surprise finally appeared in the eyes of the two men, but they heard the other say with a smile, “But I can kill you right here.”
Xie Yu and others galloped along the main road and soon found familiar footprints on the ground.
Ma Bing always walked lightly, rarely leaving footprints, but today they were unusually clear.
Xie Yu looked at them, his voice almost dripping with icy coldness, “Chase!”
Yuanpei was somewhat puzzled.
The footprints clearly showed composure, indicating she was at least temporarily in no danger. Why was the adult getting even angrier?
They had done their best to hurry, but when they arrived later, they only saw Ma Bing squatting on the ground, carefully wiping blood off her sword with the enemy’s clothes.
Hearing the noise, Ma Bing looked up briefly, a splash of red blood on her cheek like a blooming red lotus.
She smiled brightly, “You’re here! So fast!”
One person was lying at her feet, his condition unknown, while another lay three or four steps away, blood pooling beneath his body, soaking the ground.
Yuanpei and others inhaled sharply.
Had they come too late?
Not quite, it seemed.
Without a word, Xie Yu dismounted and, with a grim expression, strode up to Ma Bing in three quick steps.
Ma Bing stood up, swung her sword behind her back with a flourish, and the blade instantly coiled around her waist like a white snake.
Xie Yu glanced down and noticed the blade was extremely thin, almost as thin as a sheet of paper.
Forging such a flexible sword required the skill of an extraordinary craftsman.
He had noticed many times before that Ma Bing would instinctively place her hand on her waist when sensing danger, originally thinking she had hidden some secret weapon or deadly poison there. He hadn’t expected it to be a flexible sword.
After securing the sword, Ma Bing hadn’t had time to speak before she was suddenly embraced tightly.
Xie Yu held her so tightly that she even felt some pain.
Just as she was about to complain, she was surprised to find that his hands were trembling.
Although very slightly, they were indeed trembling.
Ma Bing froze.
Was he afraid?
Afraid of what?
Or was it just concern?
Ma Bing wasn’t really used to being cared for, but when someone who usually hides his feelings so openly showed emotion, it was hard for her not to be moved.
Awkwardly, she raised her hand and gently patted his back.
“Don’t worry, see? I’m perfectly fine.”
This sentence indeed had an immediate effect.
Almost instantly, Xie Yu loosened his arms.
He stood in front of Ma Bing, looking at her deeply for a few moments, “Let’s go back.”
His expression was complex, seemingly still somewhat angry. Ma Bing couldn’t quite understand or figure out why he was angry.
But instinct told her that it was best not to ask anything right now and just obey quietly.
Meanwhile, Yuanpei and others were pretending to be blind, some looking at the sky, others at the ground, and a few suddenly developing an inexplicable interest in the ants on the ground and the clouds in the sky, staring until their eyes watered without daring to look this way.
Until the two separated and Ma Bing walked toward them, Yuanpei kicked a colleague and gestured toward his horse with a nod, “Go!”
That person: “…”
Why me!
Everyone glared: Because you’re the youngest!
The unluckiest youngster reluctantly gave up his horse and scooted over to the thinnest companion, preparing to ride together later.
After all, the two hadn’t officially become engaged yet, and riding together in broad daylight wasn’t quite appropriate.
Watching Ma Bing’s retreating figure, Xie Yu sighed silently.
He was indeed very angry, at Prince Su, at Ma Bing, and even at himself, and at the late emperor who had no memories or feelings.
“Sir.” Yuanpei jogged over to check the other assassin’s breathing and examined his wounds, his face increasingly wrinkled, then ran over and whispered, “He’s been stabbed several times, his jaw was dislocated, his hand and foot tendons were severed… he’s lost a lot of blood, his breathing is very weak, not sure if he can survive being carried back to Kaifeng Prefecture.”
Xie Yu grunted in response.
This one was the same.
Yuanpei quickly glanced at Ma Bing and whispered, “Look at these wounds, so thin and neat, like chives. Could it be from that flexible sword in Ma Bing’s hand just now?”
Xie Yu grunted again.
So impressive!
Yuanpei blinked and asked, “Did you know Ma Bing had this skill before?”
Xie Yu turned his face, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Unless it was cloudy, the autumn sun in the north was harsh and scorching, making one sweat and feel oily after being exposed for too long. But now Yuanpei suddenly felt chilly.
He stiffened, forcing a dry smile, “Never mind, never mind, I was just asking out of curiosity…”
Looking at Xie Yu, who seemed to be radiating killing intent and anger, he wisely closed his mouth.
Tsk, so you didn’t know either!
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