Bone Painting Coroner

The news was simply too shocking. Tang Si remained dazed for a while.

Mo Ruo reminded her, "Please keep this a secret for the time being and don’t tell anyone, especially Jing Rong. I will try my best to find a solution for now."

"I know." Tang Si shut up. She wouldn't say anything even if someone beat her to death.

That evening, after changing Ji Yunshu’s clothes and taking a bath himself, Jing Rong stood guard by her bedside, refusing to leave her any longer than a second.

The next day.

A letter had arrived from Yufu from Uncle Fu of the Wei family. "It's for Teacher Ji and was first sent to Yufu, but Zuo Yao knew that we had already left and sent someone to forward the letter right away instead."

Jing Rong took the letter and looked at the unconscious Ji Yunshu on the bed before he left the room to read the letter. In the letter, was the news that Wei Yi was missing, and details on what happened that night.

Wei Yi was missing? There was also blood on the windowsill. The letter in his hand was crumpled up, and his fist slammed down on the table. "Wei Yi is missing."

Lang Po was surprised, "Young Master Wei is missing? What's going on?"

Jing Rong handed the letter to him.

Lang Po took it and smoothed out the crumpled letter. Only then did he know that it was from Uncle Fu, who said that Wei Yi was missing and recounted all of what he had seen in the room that night, down to the smallest detail.

Lang Po's heart trembled with worry, "Your Highness, will Young Master Wei be alright?"

"He'll be fine." He was sure of it.

"Does Your Highness know who took away Young Master Wei?"

"Who else could it be?" Jing Rong's eyes were deep, "Imperial Father issued an imperial decree, summoning this prince to the capital. Jing Yi knows that it’s unfavorable for him and is bound to do everything possible to stop this prince from returning to the capital. Otherwise, there would not have been so many assassins last night."

Oh! Lang Po understood now. "Your Highness means that Young Master Wei was captured by Prince Yi."

He nodded. Definitely! There’s no question about it. There was probably nothing in this world that Jing Yi wouldn't do, if it would achieve his goal. So what if...

Lang Po quickly said, "If he really was captured by Prince Yi, wouldn't it be more dangerous for Young Master Wei? Prince Yi is ruthless. Young Master Wei doesn't know martial arts and he's not very smart either, this..."

Anyway, Wei Yi and he had slept together in the same bed twice, so even if they are not too close, they still could be considered acquaintances. How could he not be nervous when he heard that Wei Yi had been captured? That boy was actually quite adorable. He rather likes Wei Yi as well!

In contrast to his worry, Jing Rong was calm and had a different view. "Wei Yi will be fine! He is now temporarily a chess piece of Jing Yi. The only way to threaten this prince is to keep him alive, which is Jing Yi's last resort."

Last resort! Yes, kidnapping Wei Yi to stop him from entering the capital was indeed a desperate choice that won't be used unless as a last resort.

"Your Highness, why don't you have this humble one send someone back to the capital first, or inform Lu Jiang so that he can go ahead and rescue Young Master Wei. This will still buy us time to avert the crisis if he has yet to arrive in Prince Yi’s hands."

That’s actually a good idea! Jing Rong also agreed and nodded, "Go ahead, no matter what, we must find Wei Yi and bring him back safe and sound."

"Yes."

"But don’t let Teacher Ji find out."

"Yes."

"Then go." Lang Po hurried off to carry out his instructions.

Jing Rong turned back to the room just as Ji Yunshu woke up. She was still bleary with sleep and she had little color in her cheeks. She coughed several times.

"You’re awake?" Surprised, Jing Rong rushed to the bedside and held her hand tightly, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Does your back still hurt? Tell this prince."

She weakly lifted her eyelids to look at the man in front of her, feeling like she'd been dragged back from the gates of hell. Her dry, whitened lips parted, "I'm fine."

"Do you know how worried this prince was for you?" There were tears in his eyes.

She reached out, touching Jing Rong's haggard face, scruffy with a day-old beard as she smiled slightly, "You once said that you would take me to the prairies and to the snowy mountains. I haven't been there yet, so even if I were to die, it would be after I've visited these places."

"You’re not allowed to say things like that." He held her hand tightly. "Yunshu, I will never let go of your hands, and I won't let you get hurt again."

She gave a gentle smile. "You know, I had a dream just now."

"What kind of dream?"

"I dreamt that I was in a very, very dark place with nothing around me, and all of a sudden, I saw a light. There were ghosts all around me, King Yama of Hell was sitting on his throne, and I was being pulled towards the gates of Hell. But someone was pulling on my hand. I looked back and I saw you. You were holding me back and you were about to take the whole palace down. So in the end, the King of Hell let me go, fearing that you would really destroy Hell, and said he would never dare to take me again."

"Silly lass." He brushed away a few stray hairs that had fallen from her forehead. "No matter what happens, this prince will hold your hand tightly and never let go."

She smiled and nodded gently.

After that, Mo Ruo took her pulse and said, "The worst is over, you just need to have more rest. We’ll stay at this inn for the next few days."

She quickly said, "No, I know my injuries and my health. There’s no need to delay the trip for me, I can travel."

Jing Rong objected, "No, nothing is as important as you are. Don’t think too much and rest here peacefully. When you feel better, we will leave."

She knew she couldn't persuade him otherwise and felt a little guilty. She felt terrible that their schedule was delayed because of her injuries.

Thus, the group stayed here for a few days. With the help of Mo Ruo’s excellent medicine, Ji Yunshu’s condition got better and her wound was gradually healed. Sigh, to think about it, it’s always her back that gets injured. How pitiful!

One day, Tang Si bounced into her room. "Ah Ji." She said as if she'd made a big discovery, leaning in and giggling, "Ah Ji, let me ask you something."

"Yes?"

"I want to see your chest."

Pfft! Ji Yunshu almost vomited blood. She put the back of her hand on Tang Si’s forehead and said, "You don’t have a fever though!"

Tang Si leaned back and bit her lips, staring at those round eyes, "Don't hide anything from me, I saw it all the other day when you were hurt."

"What did you see?"

"Your boobs!" She also pointed her finger, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Ji Yunshu froze for a moment.

Tang Si continued to lean forward, narrowing her eyes and smiling real weirdly, "I didn't expect that you were a woman." It was as if she had discovered some great secret!

She giggled. She'd been holding back for days before asking.