Chapter 245: Chapter 245: With Me Here, I Won’t Let You Get Hurt

This was…

Her kept Concubine.

Song Lianhe stared at him blankly, as if she hadn’t yet escaped the terrifying nightmare. Scenes from her dream filled her mind, and she slowly began to recall the novel’s plot.

In the original story, the events at Li Zong Pass happened after the food crisis in Sui Ning, which was also when he had fallen head over heels in love with Song Xilan! Their arrival at Li Zong Pass now must mean the plot was accelerating.

To put it bluntly, this part of the plot existed solely to torment the villain!

That woman, Zhen Niang, was the daughter of a disgraced official whom Zhou Junlin had saved. He had her stay at Li Zong Pass, where she was then responsible for gathering intelligence for him at Huaxu Square.

Her gratitude toward Zhou Junlin blossomed into adoration. Knowing he liked Song Xilan, she began to imitate her in every way. Coupled with the fact that she bore a slight resemblance to her, she truly became a convincing substitute.

Thus, she became Zhou Cangyan’s personal tribulation at Li Zong Pass, even though he already knew at the time that she was one of Zhou Junlin’s people.

The book’s fans were utterly devastated by this, and they all started to feel sorry for the villain. They raised the banner for the villain and the female lead to have a happy ending, urging the author to kill off the male lead and let the villain take his place!

This had infuriated Song Lianhe. She was an unwavering supporter of the canon pairing!

She had skimmed through all the plot points related to the villain’s love life, so she had forgotten about the Li Zong Pass incident. Thankfully, her recent dream had given her a god’s-eye view, allowing her to see the novel’s events in detail.

She lifted her head and looked at Zhou Cangyan with a complicated expression.

The man raised an eyebrow, his light brown eyes narrowing slightly.

Faced with that impeccably handsome face, Song Lianhe suddenly felt a pang of pity.

’Sigh, what a poor little thing~’

’It’s tragic enough to love someone you can’t have, but he even has to be tormented by a substitute!!’

’How did I not realize it when I was reading the book? The villain is so pitiable. No wonder so many of the male lead’s fans switched sides…’

“…You had best give this king an explanation.”

The man’s voice was ice-cold in the darkness of the night.

’The girl across from him was looking at him with the kind of gaze one might give a stray dog wandering the streets. How truly irritating~’

The girl seemed to turn a deaf ear. Instead, she gave him another gratified smile, then raised a small hand and gently patted his shoulder.

’Good. This time, he hasn’t fallen in love with the female lead yet, so that Zhen Niang won’t be able to torment him.’

Zhou Cangyan raised an eyebrow and slowly turned his head to glance at the hand on his shoulder. “Song Lianhe, have I been too good to you lately…”

Before he could finish, the girl suddenly leaned forward, pressing her hands firmly on his shoulders. “Zhou Cangyan, don’t worry! You’ve been so good to me, and I know how to repay a kindness! As long as I’m here, I definitely won’t let you get hurt!”

After saying this, she even nodded emphatically. Then she lowered her hands, turned around, lay back down on the couch, and adjusted herself into a comfortable position to continue sleeping.

Zhou Cangyan stared at her. ’Is this…?’

’Is she still dreaming?’

’She really is fearless.’

His expression was quite disdainful, yet his hands pulled the blanket over to cover her properly.

He gazed at the girl’s beautiful, soundly sleeping face. Remembering the solemn look she had when she promised to protect him just now, his heart felt as if it had been brushed by a feather, tickling him inside.

The man suddenly chuckled, the sound extremely faint.

The girl turned over, her slender, fair leg resting on top of the blanket.

His brilliant gaze swept over it, a deep, dark glint passing through his eyes. A moment later, the man averted his gaze, pulling the blanket out from under her leg and covering her properly again.

A strange noise came from outside the window.

The man acted as if he hadn’t noticed. After finishing his task, he slowly rose and pushed open the window.

On the windowsill of a second-floor room somewhere, Chun Hua was listening with great interest.

It only felt a strong gust of wind rush past from behind. Before it could turn its head, it felt a smack on the head. “Go guard her.”

By the time Chun Hua shook its head and turned around, the figure was already long gone.

The hawk, its gray feathers mottled with other colors, drooped its head in resignation, flapped its wings a couple of times, and flew back.

In the pagoda tree, Xuan Mei opened his eyes again, glanced at the foolish hawk with its sneaky, perverted-looking expression, and closed his eyes once more.

A scream tore through the desolate forest.

A man dressed in gaudy, flamboyant clothes lay curled up on the ground, with blade wounds on his shoulder blades so deep the bone was visible.

A Shadow Guard, holding a blood-stained sword, saw the man in black robes approach and cupped his fist. “Your Grace.”

The man’s cold eyes lowered. He walked over, squatted down, and looked at the man who was drenched in a cold sweat from the pain. “Was she beautiful?” he asked suddenly.

The man on the ground stiffened, then raised his head. It was none other than the man who had tried to flirt with and seduce Song Lianhe at the inn that morning.

He didn’t speak, just glared fixedly at Zhou Cangyan.

Zhou Cangyan raised a hand and pressed down on the wound on his shoulder. “You dared to touch her, even knowing whose woman she is?”

At first, the man tried to endure it. The cold sweat drenched his entire face, mixing with his thick makeup and carving winding trails through it.

Finally, he could bear it no longer. “AH… AHH…”

Zhou Cangyan’s handsome face remained as impassive as ever. “Who sent you?”

The man clenched his jaw so tightly that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t make a sound.

Zhou Cangyan lowered his gaze and chuckled softly. “Shadow Guard.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Shadow Guard immediately stepped forward, took out a black porcelain vial, pinched the man’s chin, and poured the poison inside straight down his throat.

“COUGH, COUGH! What… what did you make me swallow?!”

The man collapsed to the ground, trying frantically to vomit it back up.

“If you don’t get the antidote within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, you will certainly die.” Zhou Cangyan savored his terror, smiling slightly. “But this king is not such a cruel man.”

With that, he crooked his finger.

The Shadow Guard handed him a copper box.

A copper box was a special container used for raising and viewing small insects like field crickets and death’s-head cockroaches.

When the lid was removed, a layer of copper mesh was revealed inside, allowing for viewing while preventing the insects from escaping.

This particular copper box was ingeniously crafted. The material didn’t look like copper or silver, but it seemed incredibly sturdy.

On one side were two small, fist-sized doors. They only allowed a hand to reach in from the outside and would close automatically once the hand was withdrawn. The design was exceptionally clever.

Looking at the bottom of the box, a centipede was crawling around. Its body was pitch-black, but its head was bright red.

Next to it was a black pill.

Zhou Cangyan pointed to the pill and said kindly, “This is the antidote.” Then, he pointed to the centipede. “A Red-headed Sky Dragon. We found it on you. You should know better than anyone what happens when you get bitten by one of these.”

If Zhou Cangyan hadn’t appeared in time, this creature would have crawled onto Song Lianhe.

The man’s eyes went wide as he stared, his face already ashen.

Zhou Cangyan chuckled. “Don’t say this king didn’t give you a chance. The antidote is right there inside. If you can get it, that’s your own skill, and this king won’t kill you.”

The man clenched his fists and cursed through his teeth, “Zhou Cangyan! You treacherous, vile villain! You’ll die a horrible death!”

Zhou Cangyan nodded. “A rather pertinent curse.”

He looked up at the sky. “An incense stick’s worth of time has passed. If your corpse is left to rot in the wilderness…”

The man knew it too—getting bitten by the Red-headed Sky Dragon was still better than losing his life!

He gritted his teeth, the veins on his neck bulging. He took a desperate, deep breath, and with a final roar, he thrust his hand inside—

“AHH… AHHH!!”

A piercing shriek startled a row of crows in the trees, and they all flapped their wings and flew away.

Zhou Cangyan stood up, watching the man writhing on the ground with a blank expression. The Shadow Guard handed him a handkerchief, and he began to wipe his hands with deliberate slowness.

“Your Grace, are we really letting him go?”

“Let him go. Why not? He earned his life back himself.” Zhou Cangyan sneered. “But I never said he would get away unscathed.”

He tossed the handkerchief aside and said lazily, “Take off one of his arms and deliver it to the person behind him.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Shadow Guard didn’t even ask any further questions. Clearly, he was already aware of who was behind this.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep