Chapter 64: My Dearest Friend

Su Qinghan’s voice, though soft, was like a pebble cast into a still lake, sending ripples through the hearts of everyone present.

Master Qian, Qian Xiaoxiao, and the cluster of trembling house guards beside them, all wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

“What does that mean?”

“Allow that ruthless Magistrate, who killed without a blink, to deliver the evidence of his crimes himself?”

‘This… how could this be possible?’

But they dared not ask.

Gazing at the ailing beauty seated on the stone stool, her face pale yet radiating an air of profound wisdom, they found her utterly unfathomable.

“Oh~”

Everyone nodded as if a sudden revelation had struck them, their faces displaying expressions of “I see,” though in truth, they hadn’t understood a single word.

Only Lu Hongzhuang, with her brows tightly furrowed, was not one to feign understanding.

She stepped forward, her voice laced with urgency. “What do you mean, he’ll deliver it himself? What is your plan?”

She glanced back at Master Qian and his group, who still wore those knowing expressions.

“Have you all understood?”

Master Qian and the others stiffened, then shook their heads like rattle-drums.

“No… we didn’t understand…”

“Heroine Lu, what Miss Su said was far too profound…”

Lu Hongzhuang: “…”

She rolled her eyes, utterly speechless, for she had thought she was the only one who hadn’t grasped the meaning.

Turning back, she was about to press Su Qinghan for the specific method.

“I…”

Just as Su Qinghan was about to speak, a sudden, intense wave of dizziness surged through her mind.

Everything before her eyes began to spin and darken.

The searing pain in her chest and the profound weakness throughout her body reached their peak at that very moment.

The last vestiges of her strength, the very breath she had been clinging to, finally gave way.

“I need… rest…”

Her words were barely a whisper, almost inaudible, and as her body went limp, she swayed and collapsed sideways.

In her mind, Jiu Li’s voice erupted, filled with a frantic urgency and aching concern.

“Hey! Have you only just realized how severely you’ve overexerted yourself?! Why are you showing off like this? Are you trying to die?!”

“Su Qinghan!”

Lu Hongzhuang gasped in alarm, her reaction impossibly swift!

With a single, swift stride, she darted forward, and before Su Qinghan could fall to the ground, she cradled her securely in her arms.

The person in her arms was impossibly light, her body chillingly cold, with only a faint breath to prove she still lived.

Lu Hongzhuang’s heart felt as though an invisible hand had clamped down on it, the pain so intense she could barely breathe.

Carrying Su Qinghan, she strode swiftly into the guest room, yet her movements were incredibly gentle, fearing that even the slightest jolt might worsen her injuries.

As she carefully placed Su Qinghan on the bed, Lu Hongzhuang’s fingertips trembled.

She unfastened Su Qinghan’s outer robe, which was soiled with blood and dust, then drew a silk quilt over her, gently covering her form.

Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, bathing Su Qinghan’s utterly pallid face.

That face, usually marked by a cool aloofness, a playful teasing, and frequent laughter, now bore only vulnerability and exhaustion, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyes.

Lu Hongzhuang simply gazed at her, unmoving.

She dared not think.

‘What she would have seen if she had arrived even a moment later.’

‘Would the blade of that “White Dragon of the Waves” have already fallen?’

The mere thought of that grim scene sent a pang of agony through her heart, and a fear unlike any she had known before swept through her entire being.

She reached out, her fingertips gently brushing Su Qinghan’s cold cheek.

“Fool…”

Her voice carried a tremor, a catch she hadn’t even noticed herself.

“I don’t know what kind of feeling this is… but I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

“Absolutely not.”

Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from beyond the main gate of Master Qian’s manor.

“Stop! Who goes there!”

Master Qian’s Guard Xiao Li, gripping a wooden staff, vigilantly blocked a young woman attempting to enter.

It was Junior Sister Yun from the Demon Exorcism Division.

“I have urgent business to discuss with Senior Sister Lu!” Junior Sister Yun anxiously peered into the courtyard.

“Absolutely not!” Xiao Li declared, holding his staff horizontally, his stance unyielding. “Miss Su is gravely injured, and Heroine Lu is inside with her. She explicitly ordered that no one is to be seen! Even if it’s a matter of utmost importance, it will have to wait!”

“But the Division has an urgent mission! Who will be responsible if it’s delayed?”

“I will!”

A cool, clear voice came from within the courtyard.

Lu Hongzhuang had emerged, closing the room door behind her with an indifferent expression.

“Follow me.”

The two walked, one behind the other, to the center of the courtyard, where the mingled scents of blood and osmanthus still lingered, not yet fully dispersed.

“What is it?” Lu Hongzhuang asked.

Junior Sister Yun’s gaze fell upon the broken osmanthus tree and the bloodstains on the ground, her heart skipping a beat. She quickly began her report.

“Senior Sister, the Division just concluded a meeting. Magistrate Jia proposed that our Demon Exorcism Division and his town soldiers collaborate on a joint operation, dividing into four teams to go in four directions outside the town, to protect nearby villages and prevent evil spirits from attacking during the chaos.”

Her words were cut short.

“No.”

Lu Hongzhuang’s reply was crisp and decisive, devoid of any hesitation.

“Ah?” Junior Sister Yun was stunned. “Senior Sister, what did you say? This is about protecting the common people, it’s our Demon Exorcism Division’s duty…”

“I said, no.”

Lu Hongzhuang repeated herself, turning to face the tightly shut room door. Her voice was low, yet remarkably firm.

“She is gravely injured, clinging to life by a thread. I will not go anywhere now.”

“I don’t want her to be in any more danger.”

Junior Sister Yun was completely bewildered.

‘Was this still Senior Sister Lu, who always had “slaying demons and eradicating evil, upholding justice” on her lips?’

‘For the sake of one person, she was actually going to abandon protecting so many villagers?’

“Senior Sister! You… how can you do this! This is dereliction of duty!” Junior Sister Yun’s voice changed pitch. “What about those villagers? They might die!”

Lu Hongzhuang slowly turned around.

“My apologies.”

She bowed slightly to Junior Sister Yun.

“Compared to the villagers of Moonfall Town…”

“I wish to protect my dearest friend more.”

That single sentence struck Junior Sister Yun like a bolt of lightning, leaving her standing dumbfounded.

She looked at Lu Hongzhuang as if she were seeing her for the first time.

“Senior Sister, you…”

Lu Hongzhuang, however, offered her no further opportunity to speak. She extended her hand towards the main gate, making a gesture of dismissal.

“Please leave.”

The dismissal was merciless.

Master Qian’s Guard Xiao Li, who had been observing the entire spectacle, couldn’t help but mutter softly.

“Alas, if they had known this would come to pass, why did they act so foolishly before?”

“When Miss Su was well, wasn’t Heroine Lu always at the forefront of every mission? Now that things have come to this, you all want her to leave Miss Su alone?”

“Hearts are made of flesh and blood, after all…”

Junior Sister Yun’s face flushed, then paled.

Lu Hongzhuang didn’t spare her another glance, turning to head back to the room.

“Senior Sister!” Junior Sister Yun still wanted to make another plea.

Master Qian’s Guard Xiao Li, however, stepped forward, blocking her path with a sigh.

“Miss Yun, nothing you say now will be useful. Heroine Lu’s mind is made up.”

“Look at you, look at me, and look at everyone else in this courtyard—who hasn’t had their life saved by Heroine Lu?”

“If you truly care, you’d be better off finding a way to get some good healing medicine to help Miss Su recover her strength first!”

“That’s more important than anything else.”

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