Please, Don’t Die - Chapter 18

Perhaps because they had to detour back south, adding an extra stretch to their journey, He Qingsheng didn’t swindle him too much this time.

Ying Qujie gazed at the towering walls of the capital and calculated the time, they had arrived over twenty days earlier than originally planned.

If they had waited for Shangguan Ding’an to finish handling matters in Jimo Town before returning together, they wouldn’t have made it here so quickly.

The journey had indeed gone as He Qingsheng had said, even when he stumbled into nests of demons or evil spirits, she swiftly dealt with them.

But truth be told, He Qingsheng had fully intended to use Ying Qujie as bait to lure out malevolent creatures. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

She realized that deliberately setting traps was far less effective than Ying Qujie impulsively digging up medicinal herbs.

The seventh time, He Qingsheng devoured a man-eating demon, rescuing Ying Qujie from its jaws.

He still clutched the herbs tightly in his hand, stubborn to the point of foolishness.

“Seventh time,” He Qingsheng retracted her murderous aura and scoffed coldly. “Do you think you’re immortal? Or are you just reckless because you know I’m here?”

Ying Qujie reset his dislocated arm, his voice muffled. “I’ve always been like this.”

He Qingsheng stared at him, let out an ambiguous hum, then drifted ahead.

Ying Qujie watched the female ghost’s retreating figure, the corners of his lips quirking briefly before he picked up his belongings and followed.

After that, He Qingsheng chose their path with even greater precision, making the journey almost entirely smooth.

As she looked upon the imperial city of the capital, He Qingsheng couldn’t help but marvel.

No wonder this was a place Ying Qujie had been determined to reach.

The bustling capital of the Great Su Dynasty appeared prosperous and peaceful on the surface, but sinister energy lurked everywhere.

“Traveling with you is full of surprises.”

“Hm?” Ying Qujie adjusted the battered little wooden doll on his head. “Too many eyes around, don’t move recklessly. Do you want one of those toys over there?”

Ying Qujie approached a toy stall. There were red cloth tigers, lanterns with intricate patterns, wooden puzzle locks… but only one human-shaped item, a red-and-green tumbler doll styled like the God of Wealth.

None of the figurines were as meticulously carved and proportioned as the little wooden doll.

Ying Qujie picked up a silk doll even smaller than the wooden one and tucked it near her hand.

The wooden doll silently ruffled his hair, then used a wisp of dark energy to kick the silk doll away.

The delicate little doll in theatrical attire was flung back into a corner of the stall.

Ying Qujie poked the wooden doll. Seeing her feign death and refuse to speak, he sighed. “I paid for that.”

“No. If I don’t get a human form, neither does it. It’s not allowed to prance around in front of me.”

Completely unreasonable.

A tug on his right side signaled him to hurry up.

“Alright, alright.” Ying Qujie freed his hair from her grip.

…

General’s Manor

The plaque, carved from rosewood, bore bold, gilded characters that shimmered under the sunlight, exuding an air of unassailable authority.

The gates were adorned with intricate carvings, their lines fluid and exquisitely detailed.

The gatekeepers stood in disciplined pairs, their posture rigid, clearly trained in military fashion.

This was no ordinary noble household.

He Qingsheng: “Your father’s a general too?”

Ying Qujie glanced at her. “What do you mean, ‘too’?”

“Oh, Wu San’s father was supposedly a general as well,” He Qingsheng replied absentmindedly.

Ying Qujie pondered for a moment before replying, “Since the founding of the Great Su Dynasty, there hasn’t been a general with the surname Wu. However, towards the end of the previous dynasty, there was a general named Wu Shou who fiercely resisted Su for several years. For some unknown reason, he eventually turned against his own dynasty, slaughtering all the noble families before disappearing without a trace.”

He Qingsheng raised an eyebrow. She had been contemplating whether there was some connection between the wood demon Ming Shu and the mountain god of Qishan.

Her junior brother or rather, the Zhenyuan Sect, had even gone so far as to sacrifice their cultivation, crossing the spirit realm to the mortal world to assist these two in their schemes.

The wood demon Ming Shu harbored deep hatred for humanity after his close friend Yun Shuiqing was sacrificed alive. Yun Shuiqing’s sacrifice, in turn, had been orchestrated by her own father, who had defected from the previous dynasty to the new emperor and was desperate for political achievements.

As for the mountain god Wu Qilu, he was the lover of the fallen general of the previous dynasty. Seeking to prolong the life of his prematurely deceased child, he had harmed many mortal cultivators with dark arts.

Both of these individuals were intricately tied to the previous dynasty.

The fortunes of a dynasty are finite, prosperity has its time, and downfall is inevitable.

What, then, was her junior brother and those behind him seeking in all this?

When He Qingsheng didn’t continue, Ying Qujie suddenly thought of that solitary grave.

General Wu Shou, on the brink of the previous dynasty’s collapse, had slaughtered all the noble families who had defected to the new regime. His methods were ruthless, sparing neither the elderly nor children. To this day, scholars still debate and criticize his actions, with opinions sharply divided.

Some said General Wu Shou was bloodthirsty by nature, knowing he had lost power and determined to drag others down with him in his final moments. Others claimed he was pure-hearted, unable to tolerate the noble families’ inaction and betrayal of their country. There were also those who argued that General Wu Shou willingly bore the infamy of his actions, eradicating the deeply entrenched noble families to pave the way for the new dynasty’s prosperity.

Alas, no one truly knew what thoughts lay in the heart of the general who emerged from that sea of blood and corpses.

Now, even his only wife and child met tragic ends.

Such is the unpredictability of fate.

Ying Qujie didn’t press the topic further and proceeded toward the general’s residence.

“Sir, please hold. Do you have an invitation?”

A servant stepped in front of Ying Qujie, bowing respectfully.

Ying Qujie retrieved a longevity lock from his robe and handed it over. “Give this to the elder madam. She will know who I am.”

“Sir, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but the household is in mourning. The general has specifically instructed not to disturb the elder madam. Perhaps you could return another day with an invitation?”

Ying Qujie frowned. “I see no mourning decorations in the residence. Who has passed?”

The servant hesitated, but Ying Qujie understood and handed him a silver coin.

The servant’s reluctance vanished instantly. He pulled Ying Qujie aside and whispered, “The general’s eldest son met an unfortunate demise. Today is the day of the funeral. The general and his wife are in no mood for visitors. If you have business, I advise against coming today, it’s bad luck.”

“Might I ask the name of the general’s eldest son?”

“I heard it was Ying Qujie. ‘Qujie’ to escape calamity yet he couldn’t escape this one. After years away, he finally returned home only to be killed by bandits. A tragic fate.”

At that moment, Ying Qujie, the supposedly “tragic” one, stood speechless before the servant.

He Qingsheng burst into laughter. “Physician Ying, need any help?”

“No need.”

Ying Qujie didn’t press further. The general’s residence was heavily guarded, and even a direct confrontation might not grant him an audience with the elder madam.

What intrigued him more was how they had become so certain of his death on the road.

The identity token left by his mother hadn’t been lost. While he wasn’t surprised that the woman could convince his father, how had she managed to make his grandmother believe it as well?

Ying Qujie found an inn in the capital to rest before dealing with matters at the General’s residence.

There was still some time before the coming-of-age ceremony, so there was no need to rush.

He chose a large, well-appointed inn with excellent food and hot water.

The outer areas were lively and bustling by the street, while the inner quarters were quiet and serene.

During their journey, He Qingsheng and Ying Qujie had been practically inseparable.

So, when Ying Qujie finished bathing and noticed He Qingsheng was nowhere to be found in the room, he felt a slight unease.

Over the past few days, he had observed that He Qingsheng’s soul had grown more solid, but she hadn’t encountered any lightning strikes like back in Jimo.

She seemed to have found a delicate balance, moving about more freely these days.

Why would she leave without telling him? Had she spotted something else at a street stall that caught her eye?

Earlier, when they entered the city, he noticed her gaze lingering on the toy silk dolls. But when he offered to buy her one, she refused.

In a flash of insight, Ying Qujie thought he had figured out the logic behind the ghost girl’s behavior.

Now that they were in the capital, he would find some wood tomorrow to practice carving.

He would try to carve her a new movable body before the Imperial Preceptor captured her.

His thoughts drifted further.

At dinner, he had noticed a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

Well, he might as well look for a way to let ghosts eat while he was at it.

Would burning incense as an offering work?

After waiting half an hour with no sign of the little wooden figure returning, he draped on his outer robe and decided to go look for her.

Before he could reach the door,

BANG!

A loud crash of splintering wood, several masked men in black burst through the door and collapsed at his feet.

“Ahhh! ghost!!”

A gleaming white blade hovered in midair.

Ying Qujie met He Qingsheng’s mischievous grin.

“What’s going on?”

“These thieves wanted to peek at you bathing. I intercepted them successfully,” she said, clearly fishing for praise.

“If it’s an assassination attempt, just say so.” Ying Qujie suddenly paused. “Wait, did you peek at me bathing?”

He Qingsheng averted her gaze. As if I haven’t seen abs before in my 500 years of existence.

Okay, fine, she hadn’t.

Damn the cultivation world for lacking male bodhisattvas.

She had only glanced because she noticed a group of suspicious-looking mortals sneaking around and was worried about Ying Qujie’s safety.

If she hadn’t stopped those men in black, Ying Qujie might have been ambushed mid-bath.

“They were acting suspiciously, and their martial skills were no joke. Did you offend someone?” He Qingsheng’s topic-shifting skills were flawless.

At least, she didn’t think it was awkward.

Ying Qujie fell silent for a moment before tightening his collar. “Someone in the General’s residence doesn’t want me back.”

How to ensure he died on the road?

By sending assassins, of course.

Sooner or later, no matter when he returned or when he presented the token, the name “Ying Qujie” would only signify his death today in the General’s residence.

Madam Su’s method was simple but brutally effective.

She probably never expected the sickly child who once begged for medical treatment to survive a squad of professional killers.

“Physician Ying, your General’s residence isn’t exactly welcoming. You’re not even back yet, and they’ve already sent such a grand gift.”

He Qingsheng twirled the knife, randomly selecting targets among the men in black like a game of whack-a-mole.

The men on the floor wailed and scrambled to dodge.

“Stop playing around,” Ying Qujie called out. “Leave them alive.”

“Fine.” Unable to kill them, He Qingsheng disappointedly tossed the knife aside.

The sound of the blade clattering to the ground made the black-clad man shudder violently again, as if it wasn’t the knife that had fallen, but his own head.

Ying Qujie dusted off the small porcelain vial in his hand and sprinkled a fine powder evenly over the black-clad man.

The man’s nostrils twitched a few times, and his eyes instantly cleared.

“Who sent you?” Ying Qujie asked in a low voice.

He heard a name that slightly surprised him.

“Lord Ying.”

His own father.

He had assumed it was the doing of his father’s new wife, Lady Su, but it turned out not to be the case.

The other black-clad man kneeling nearby hesitated before adding, “Lady Su.”

Hah, so it was two separate groups.

Ying Qujie rubbed his knuckles and suddenly let out a soft chuckle. “Go back and report that Ying Qujie is already dead.”

“Now get out.”

Ying Qujie went to the innkeeper to change rooms. The innkeeper, staring at the broken door and the gold ingot, didn’t dare ask any questions and immediately bowed and scraped to arrange a new room for him.

He Qingsheng was curious about the various vials and jars Ying Qujie carried. She hadn’t even noticed when he had prepared the pills.

The medicinal herbs he had gathered along the way were now nearly depleted, and she had no idea when he had used them.

Ying Qujie lay flat on his back, his sharp nose giving his profile a stern edge.

“You just let them go like that?” He Qingsheng floated near the bed canopy, idly playing with the tassels.

After leaving Jimo, Ying Qujie’s healer instincts had fully awakened. It was one thing to treat injured little animals, but now he was even sparing assassins.

“What’s with that look?” Ying Qujie eyed her suspiciously.

“Nothing.” Poor little thing.

“I poisoned them.”

He Qingsheng decided to take back her previous thought.