Perfect Encounter - Chapter 15.1
PROOFREAD BY AFREANA
Chapter 15.1
When An Ruochen started to walk away, Xie Jin became anxious.
He had been cautiously watching An Ruochen and was distressed about how he could talk to her in the crowd. This place was full of soldiers and officers. He did not want to attract any trouble. He hadn’t thought of a way to deliver the message yet when the soldiers and generals came out in formation. The scene was majestic, and his attention got diverted. When he looked back, he found An Ruochen’s figure gone from the tent. It startled him. He ran out and saw from afar that An Ruochen was heading west. He intuitively thought this was an opportunity to speak to her alone, so he trailed after her. He was still thinking about how to stop her and was in a hurry to get the money, but at the same time he feared An Ruochen would shout and attract the soldiers.
He was hesitant, but when he saw An Ruochen looking back, he got frightened. Then his heart calmed down. He just needed to say the words and did not have to do anything else. The soldiers and officers would not be able to do anything to him.
However, An Ruochen unexpectedly started to escape. Xie Jin saw his money escaping and hurriedly pulled his feet to chase her.
An Ruochen walked faster and then started to run.
“Miss An!” Xie Jin called out.
He even knew her surname! An Ruochen became panicked. She was alone and didn’t dare to argue with him. Gritting her teeth, she ran even faster.
“Be careful with your life.” Xie Jin chased closely, shouting as he ran, with a very intimidating meaning.
An Ruochen was so frightened that she ran towards the forest and into the low bushes.
“Stop!” Xie Jin shouted, just as a branch jerked toward his face. He was caught off guard and let out a scream, covering his eyes and crouching down.
An Ruochen saw the opportunity to pull the branch of a short tree and pulled it hard. The branch bounced back, and she heard the man scream. It looked like it hit him in the eyes. An Ruochen did not stop. She ducked into a line of bushes, coming from one of its corners, and continued to run, changing direction to hide using the terrain around her. She ran to the other side of the bushes and squatted behind a large tree to cover herself.
Xie Jin cursed, stood up, and blinked hard. He was about to continue his chase when suddenly a large palm covered his mouth from behind. A sharp blade pressed against the back of his waist. An unfamiliar voice rang out behind him: “Do not make a sound, or you will be killed.”
An Ruochen held her breath and hid, not daring to breathe. She did not hear the footsteps of someone coming after her, nor did she hear the man’s shouts. The surrounding area was too quiet, so quiet that it was frightening.
Click.
A tree branch was trampled on not far from where she was hiding.
The sound seemed to step on An Ruochen’s heart, causing her to tremble in fear.
Rustle rustle ……
It was the sound of stepping on fallen leaves. Someone was walking near her.
An Ruochen covered her mouth, deeply afraid to let out even half a movement.
Soon, someone came up to the bushes where she was hiding and seemed to be looking around, walking away, and then coming back, turning in circles. An Ruochen saw the man’s shoes and pants but not the hem of the clothes. He should be dressed in short clothes, this was not the man who just chased her.
” Miss, it’s okay. Come out.”
His tone was kind and unfamiliar.
An Ruochen was not sure. She did not move.
The man walked a few steps away from the bushes she was hiding in and said, “It’s dangerous here, come out. I’ll take you to the General.”
An Ruochen hesitated.
The man walked forward and farther away from her. An Ruochen still did not dare to move but felt that hiding like this was not a solution. She reached out to pluck away the branches of the trees to sneak a peek but heard the sound of yelling and chasing in the distance. An Ruochen fiercely retracted her hand.
The sound of yelling was gradually lost, but it seemed like more people ran into the forest. Someone shouted: “Search carefully, beware of any accomplices he has hiding around.”
It sounded like this “he” they were talking about was the man in the green clothes who chased her. An Ruochen was uncertain about what was happening and whether she should go out. She almost fell and instinctively waved her hands to stabilize but hit a bush and caused it to rustle. Several people ran over and two long spears plucked the bushes away. Two soldiers appeared in front of An Ruochen’s eyes.
An Ruochen shouted: “Help, sir, there are thieves who want to harm me.”
An Ruochen was escorted to a tent on the outskirts of the venue.
She said the An family had come to attend the ceremony with an invitation from General Zong Zeqing. She was not feeling well. She couldn’t breathe because there were too many people on the stage. The soldiers went to report to General Zong Zeqing, and when they returned, they said General Zong wanted to see her. An Ruochen was relieved to be able to see him.
When she arrived at the tent, the guard at the door lifted the fabric. An Ruochen walked in but saw Big Long sitting inside.
“Greetings, General Long.” An Ruochen hurriedly gave a salute.
“You’re getting braver. The trouble you’re making is getting worse every time.” Big Long’s tone was flat. She could hear neither joy nor anger in it.
An Ruochen was afraid Big Long would blame her and hurriedly told the whole story carefully.
Big Long frowned, took the note about the meeting, and read it. He let the guards summon Xie Gang.
Xie Gang soon arrived, kicked Zong Zeqing, who was poking his head in front of the tent with a curious face, and entered. After a short time, he came out. Zong Zeqing grabbed Xie Gang’s shoulder and asked, “Brother, what is the matter with the General and Miss An?”
“The General will tell you if it is relevant to you.”
“It’s my business.” Zong Zeqing looked indignant: “The General instructed me to do this and that, but he didn’t tell me why.”
“Hmm.” Xie Gang seriously nodded his head.
Zong Zeqing waited for him to say more, but Xie Gang didn’t say anything else, only walked away with a serious face. Zong Zeqing was choked and rubbed his face several times as he resisted kicking Xie Gang. After thinking about it, he returned to the front of the tent and waited for Big Long’s order.
In the tent, Big Long asked An Ruochen: “What do you think?”
An Ruochen was nervous every time she was asked this question by Big Long, feeling as if the General was deliberately testing her. “The only person who knows about me is Mr. Xie. I only know of one Mr. Xie. If I took the bait and went to the forest alone, I could have been killed. The man who was after me was wearing green clothes. If I remember correctly, it seems Mr. Xie was wearing the same color when he met with Mrs. Xu in secret.”
She stopped, looked at Big Long’s face, and said, “But this is very risky. After all, the place of the oath ceremony is heavily guarded. There are soldiers and officers everywhere, and the slightest mistake is a death sentence.”
“It is indeed a dead end. That man is dead.” Big Long said.
An Ruochen was surprised. She heard the sound of a chase and knew the soldiers would enter the forest to search, but she did not know the man was dead.
“Before I brought you here, I got the news that the guards patrolling the west side saw a suspicious person. They went into the forest to search but got ambushed. They chased the suspect and stabbed him. He escaped with his wounds, and the guards chased him along the blood trail only to eventually find the body. The man had taken poison and killed himself.”
“Killed himself?”
“Maybe he knew he would be interrogated after his arrest, and he had a secret to keep. He couldn’t escape, so he took poison.”
An Ruochen froze: ”Does the General think so?”