Thank you leelele for the reward to Xianpa Yuan (5.3)
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Zhu Zan shook off Sifeng's hand and strode towards the soldiers maintaining order among the crowd.
"What's happened?" he shouted loudly.
The soldiers, suddenly hearing someone asking questions as they approached, couldn't help but tense up, but upon seeing that it was Zhu Zan, they relaxed slightly, only to become more anxious when they remembered that Lu Yunqi was standing in the middle of the scene.
Now was certainly not the time for more trouble.
"Lord Heir, please hold back," they hurried to call out.
Zhu Zan shrugged his shoulders and stopped in his tracks.
"I'm just checking to see if any help is needed," he said.
Are you here to help? We'd be thankful enough if you don't add to the chaos, thought one general internally, meanwhile gesturing Zhu Zan to please move to the side.
"No need, no need, all's well," he whispered, "thank you, Lord Heir."
Zhu Zan curled his lip.
"Is Lord Huang injured?" he asked, "Are you sure you don't need help?"
The general stepped forward and lowered his voice.
"Precisely because it is Lord Huang who is injured, Lord Heir, it would be best for you to avoid the situation," he whispered.
Many were aware of Lord Huang's dissatisfaction with Duke Chengguo.
"I'm not the thief here, why should I avoid it?" He said, still, he walked toward where a horse was standing.
Seeing him turn and walk away, both the general and the distant Zhang Baotang and Sifeng chasing after felt a sigh of relief.
Zhu Zan stopped in front of a horse which was strong and handsome, standing calmly and breathing steadily.
"The recent horses are not bad at all, not like those skinny long-haired horses before," he said.
Although discussing horses was untimely at this juncture, it was still more appropriate than discussing Lord Huang.
The general nodded with a smile.
"Indeed, the Pasture Supervision Bureau has finally decided to be generous and give us..." he said.
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Zhu Zan raise his hand and stroke the horse's back.
Witnessing this action, Sifeng, who was approaching, suddenly had a jolt of realization.
Not good!
He instinctively wanted to shout a warning, but he was a step too late. All he could hear was a horse's neighing, and saw the previously calm and docile black horse rear up, swinging its head and tail wildly, and then plunge several steps forward before charging straight towards Lord Huang.
Screams erupted all over the street.
Miss Jun, who was resolutely walking towards Lord Huang, instinctively stopped in her tracks, and before she could see clearly, she was grabbed and dragged backward by Liu'er.
"Danger!" Liu'er screamed shrilly.
Amidst the screams, the black horse broke through the soldiers and charged in.
Scattered Huang Family people fell over like rice stalks in the wind.
Faced with a frightened horse, everyone's first instinctive reaction is to flee.
Boss Huang was aided by servants, darting to the side as the black horse barely missed them, shaking its head and tail as it continued to neigh, landing its hooves with a thud.
As the Huang Family's house servants scattered suddenly, Lord Tang, who was originally standing at the back, found himself at the very front. Whether he was paralyzed with fear or shock, he stood still, watching the oncoming black horse.
The black horse leaped, raised its hooves, and came crashing down.
His gaze followed the horse's rise and fall, then horrifyingly saw the horse's hooves coincidentally land on the prone Lord Huang.
His gaze froze for an instant, and everything in front of him seemed to slow down, the chaos and screaming around him fading away.
He saw the hoof land on Lord Huang, who was crushed like a shrimp, flipped over on the ground, and then fell face down, the blade that had pierced through his palm into his throat struck the ground.
With a crunch.
The dagger finally drove in another fraction.
And that fraction decided a life.
Lord Huang's head shuddered once, and then he was motionless.
At the same moment, there was a ripping sound. Blood splattered over, and Lord Tang, caught completely off guard, was sprayed again in the face and body. He could no longer hold back and let out a high-pitched, altered scream, falling to his knees with a thud.
There was another thud from the other side, as the black horse that had trampled over Lord Huang fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A tall figure stood amidst the dust and blood splatter, his back to the crowd, holding a scimitar in his hand, with a horse's head that had been chopped off rolling at his feet.
The scene was eerie and terrifying.
It wasn't until he raised the knife in his hand, letting out a scream like a frightened girl.
"The horse is spooked," he yelled loudly. "The horse is spooked; it's too horrible, too horrible."
Too horrible.
It truly was too horrible.
All of this seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.
It happened so fast that everyone didn't have time to react.
Miss Jun felt her heart pounding like a drum, everything before her eyes was a blur, and her ears were filled with noise, as if she could hear nothing, yet she could hear cries and shouts, and saw people running, others rolling on the ground.
"Master!"
"Quick, someone come!"
"Grand Old Master!"
"The master is dead!"
Miss Jun's gaze sharpened.
Dead.
She peered through the chaotic crowd and saw Lord Huang lying on the ground.
Without even going over, she knew, with the condition that Lord Huang was in earlier, he could not withstand the slightest jostle, let alone being flipped and lying face down on the ground.
The dagger had certainly claimed his life.
"Is he dead?"
A frail female voice came from the ground amidst the noise.
Miss Jun turned around and saw a girl straining her neck to look in that direction.
Her face was full of expectation.
"Is he dead?" She said again, seemingly wanting to crawl over and see for herself.
"He's dead," Miss Jun said.
The girl lifted her head to look at her, flames igniting in her eyes.
"If I say he is dead, he is dead," Miss Jun said again softly. "I am Miss Jun; you can believe my words."
The girl burst into what seemed like laughter, but she had no energy to make a sound. She laughed until tears streamed down her face, her head knocking against the ground.
Miss Jun watched her.
"Do you need my help?" she whispered.
The girl looked at her, seemingly not understanding.
Miss Jun gazed at her and hooked her foot around a knife that had been dropped by a house servant in the chaos of the spooked horse.
She firmly stepped on the handle of the knife, tilting the blade upward, glistening in the sunlight.
The girl watched her, and then the knife raised before her, and suddenly laughed.
Lord Huang was already dead, and the Huang family would surely not let her go easily; they would make her life worse than death.
Her revenge had been taken, her wish fulfilled; to die cleanly and swiftly was a great fortune.
"Thank you," she said.
She seemed to want to say more, mouthing something, but in the end, she said nothing, closed her eyes, and lunged forward, stretching her neck out.
Miss Jun did not speak again. She lifted her gaze away, and her feet seemed unsteady with a shuffle.
With a soft thud, her skirt and shoes were splashed with blood.
The blood was warm, igniting like fire upon her feet.