Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 39.1

Chapter 39.1 

I swear to God, I’m not Zhang Jiuran 

Hearing these words, Luo Wanqing couldn’t help but raise her head to look at Xie Heng, constantly feeling that the word ‘request’ used here had a deep meaning. She didn’t dare to overthink and followed Xie Heng forward. 

Xie Heng lifted his steps and raised his hand to stop the people who wanted to follow him, leading Luo Wanqing up the mountain alone. She didn’t expect Xie Heng to be so cooperative. Luo Wanqing couldn’t help but strengthen her vigilance. She had never seen Xie Heng fight and didn’t know his skill. If Xie Heng’s skill was not high, although Xiang Sizi probably didn’t act, should she save Xie Heng or not? 

Not saving him means Li Guiyu would lose a significant ally. Perhaps he will not ascend to the throne and her family safe. However, if she assassinated Xie Heng, the Inspection Department would chase her, causing her to be unable to live.

Saving him means she must find a reason to convince Xiang Sizi. Otherwise, her family will be in danger. Hence, for the best, she should stop Xie Heng in the safety zone, let Xiang Sizi scrutinize only, and not let her make a choice. Whether to save or not, in her case, was a loss. 

Xiang Sizi wanted to prove that she could assist him in killing Xie Heng. She would bring Xie Heng to a position where he could see and let him know that she had the ability, which was enough for her to negotiate with Xiang Sizi. She lowered her head and pondered the scale for a while. Xie Heng glanced at her unnoticeably and said, “You have nothing to ask?” 

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes alertly when she heard this. She was unsure what Xie Heng was trying to test and weighed, “I don’t know what to ask and what not to ask.” 

“Not asking why I approached you just now?” Xie Heng folded a tree branch, set aside the thorns on the road, and led Luo Wanqing forward. 

Luo Wanqing looked at the broken thorns on the ground and speculated, “Young Master is trying to let Third Highness know that he is not the only one with leverage. Third Highness is interested in Miss Luo, so he cannot accept Young Master’s moves. It’s an intimidation.” 

“It’s not an intimidation.” Xie Heng corrected, “It’s a test.” 

Luo Wanqing followed Xie Heng without making any sound, only listening to his explanation: “Tonight, I asked you to disguise yourself as a hunter’s daughter to lure him up the mountain so that Zhang Yiran would meet you by chance and then take that wagonload of people to report the case. I asked Xuan Shan to disguise himself as me and wait in the Inspection Department. This human trafficker’s case is something that the Inspection Department has been keeping an eye on. As long as Zhang Yiran enters Dongdu, no matter which magistrate’s office he goes to, he’ll be dragged to the Inspection Department, and when that time comes, Xuan Shan receives him as me. Zhang Yiran is not Jianghu’s people, so it will be difficult for him to recognize the fake. Then, I will have someone His Majesty trusts to testify that I was Dongdu when Li Guiyu died. In addition, the crossbows I prepared are Wang Clan’s special weapon, all seized from the deceased Inspection Department brothers. In the future, when Li Guiyu dies, the Empress and I will be able to climb on each other’s backs, and at worst, I will have lost the favor of the Emperor, but no one will be able to do anything with me.” 

“So, Young Master didn’t choose to negotiate directly with the Third Highness but instead made such a big detour just to lure Lord Zhang Yiran into the situation and testify for you?” Luo Wanqing tried to understand what Xie Heng meant. 

If Xie Heng had directly questioned Li Guiyu, Li Guiyu would not have given him such a perfect opportunity. 

“Is Young Master truly planning to kill him?” Luo Wanqing was curious. 

Xie Heng glanced at her lightly and said, “I have no intention of killing him. But only when I can get out of the danger of killing him will he believe that I might. If he believes this, he will not gamble his own life against Bai Li, giving me a chance to trade. Of course, should he gamble,” Xie Heng’s tone was calm, “I never lose.” 

Because Xie Heng was willing to gamble the Inspection Department against Li Guiyu’s life, that was why Li Guiyu chose to make peace today. 

“Young Master ……” Luo Wanqing heard that he never meant to exchange her with Bai Li and couldn’t help but say, “You never thought of exchanging me for Bai Li?” 

“A mere face, you can’t trade it.” Xie Heng spoke directly.

Luo Wanqing froze and subconsciously said, “Why?” 

Looking at Li Guiyu’s behavior today, he was willing to follow her up the mountain, insisted on exchanging her for Bai Li, and even got angry because of it, so how could he not want to trade? 

“He didn’t go up the mountain because of you.” Xie Heng saw Luo Wanqing’s meaning and said, “He was already planning something and wanted to mislead me by switching you with Bai Li, not letting me know his real intention. He wants me to go to Fang Fei Pavilion ten days later,” Xie Heng emphasized, “This is his real purpose.” 

Luo Wanqing understood. “So, Young Master got close to me ……,” Luo Wanqing frowned. 

“It’s to follow what he wants.” Xie Heng confirmed Luo Wanqing’s thoughts. There was a slight slope on the mountain, and Xie Heng habitually lifted his hand to help Luo Wanqing. This carefulness and treating her as an ordinary lady made her look at him more. Xie Heng, oblivious to it, continued, “I pretended to be confused by him and used you to make him think that I believe he cares about your face too much and was forced to tell the truth. Making him think that I would believe all of his words.” 

“Is Young Master trying to lure him into revealing his plans? But that’s not necessarily accurate.” Luo Wanqing reminded. 

Xie Heng laughed lightly and said, “After the lies, what you analyze by yourself is the truth. There’s always something useful if one talks too much.” 

“Then ……,” Luo Wanqing heard it out and frowned, “Since he doesn’t care about this face of mine, why did Young Master go to such great lengths to make me change my face?” 

“Didn’t you want to kill him?” Xie Heng’s voice was faint, “You will be in and out of the Inspection Department in the future. You can’t keep using that scalded face; sooner or later, you will have to have a face, so why don’t you use the one that will make it easier to kill him? He is not indifferent to your face; he cares so much that he won’t allow you to serve tea with this face. It’s just that for the sake of the big matters, he even killed Luo Wanqing, let alone a fake like you. He won’t be bothered too much. But remember, the experts always die by a hair’s breadth. This face,” Xie Heng glanced at her, “Is the hair’s breadth you can kill him with. Today is just the beginning. Your face will have a great use later.” 

“Will Young Master still find trouble with Third Highness?” Luo Wanqing heard Xie Heng’s unspoken meaning and was puzzled, “Why?” 

“I have something,” Xie Heng seemed to remember, “to ask him in the imperial prison.” 

“Why do you want to ask him in the imperial prison?” Luo Wanqing was puzzled. If he had wanted to ask about the border matter five years ago, he should have promised to ally with Li Guiyu, and Li Guiyu would have told him, just like in the previous life. 

Xie Heng did not say more, only saying, “He is guilty.” 

Luo Wanqing chewed on these words, and momentarily, she couldn’t tell what this so-called ‘guilty’ meant. Was he guilty when he was a prince, or was he guilty of treating Luo Wanqing? But she dismissed the latter thought. What was Luo Wanqing in Xie Heng’s heart? Why would it be so crucial for this Master of the Inspection Department to remember her and stand up for her? She pressed these tumultuous thoughts and said, “Then how will Young Master negotiate with the Third Highness?” 

“Ten days later, I’ll go to Fang Fei Pavilion and pick up Bai Li, pretending to give you to him. The Feng Yu Pavilion will assassinate me that night, and we’ll join forces to eliminate the Feng Yu Pavilion. You can go to his place if we can catch Xiang Sizi.” 

“Young Master trusts him?” Luo Wanqing frowned. She did not understand why Xie Heng suddenly decided to ally with Li Guiyu and accept the trade. 

Xie Heng did not make a sound. He thought for a moment, but then he turned back to look at Luo Wanqing with a probing look: “What do you think?” 

These words made Luo Wanqing’s heart tremble. She didn’t know why Xie Heng suddenly asked her this. It was as if he was interrogating her, and he knew something. The two of them walked up the hill; behind them were all dense forests. Xie Heng lowered his eyes, looked down at the hut below, and softly said, “Do you think if the people from the Feng Yu Pavilion ambushed me here tonight, then ten days later, will they ambush me again?” 

“I am only seeing suspicions and guessing. It is not necessarily the Feng Yu Pavilion.” Luo Wanqing explained, but it was as if Xie Heng hadn’t heard it. He looked down the mountain and asked, “Do you think I should believe you or him?” 

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing raised her eyes to look at Xie Heng. She vaguely sensed that Xie Heng was implying something to her. She couldn’t understand it and wasn’t sure what Xie Heng knew. She only looked at him calmly and said, “You should believe in yourself.” 

Xie Heng didn’t say anything, only stared at Luo Wanqing. After a while, he softly said, “Qin Jue told me that when he first met Zhang Jiuran, he once tested her intentions and identity. He tried many times, and Zhang Jiuran was perfect. So real that he had no doubts.” 

Not expecting Xie Heng to suddenly mention Zhang Jiuran, Luo Wanqing restrained her surprise and looked at Xie Heng blankly, puzzled, “Young Master?” 

“I’ve always wondered what the top assassin of the Feng Yu Pavilion is like. I used to think that she must have high martial arts skills and extreme intelligence.” Xie Heng raised his hand and lightly caressed Luo Wanqing’s cheek, whispering in a voice that only two people could hear. His eyes were filled with deep emotion. 

Luo Wanqing was startled in her heart, realizing that Xie Heng’s actions were abnormal at this moment. This gentleman in front of her, every word, every action, was never done without benefit. What was he trying to do by doing this now? She couldn’t help but glance at the dense forest when she heard Xie Heng say, “Don’t look.” 

He gazed at her with a gentle smile as he icily commanded, “Lower your head, be shy, and step back.” 

Behind her was the encirclement where Xiang Sizi had set up an ambush, and Luo Wanqing instantly understood Xie Heng’s meaning. He confirmed that Xiang Sizi was here and wanted to lure him into making a move. It was true that under normal circumstances, Xiang Sizi would not act, but if Xie Heng revealed a crack, Xiang Sizi would not necessarily give up this opportunity. She didn’t know about Xie Heng’s martial arts, but she had an intuition that Xie Heng would only do something he was sure of, and if he dared to trick Xiang Sizi into making a move, he had the certainty of catching him. However, she couldn’t let Xiang Sizi fall into Xie Heng’s hands now. Otherwise, she couldn’t save her family. She had to keep Xiang Sizi. Her mind was spinning fast while stepping back, as Xie Heng requested. 

Xie Heng watched her bow her head with a gentle smile as if he was teasing a maiden, following Luo Wanqing’s pace of moving backward and approaching step by step. But within the range that only the two could hear, his tone was unusually calm: “Turn around and run.” 

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing gritted her teeth and turned around to run. She tried to raise her head and use her eyes to send a message to Xiang Sizi’s people, but when she raised her head, she felt a huge force coming from behind her. Xie Heng brought her back into his arms as he blocked her, directly crashing and pressing her against the tree. The two people interlaced, and Xie Heng’s nose lightly brushed against Luo Wanqing’s neck, his breathing slightly disorganized.