Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 399: Originally, I Intended to Spare Your Life

Chapter 399: Chapter 399: Originally, I Intended to Spare Your Life

"Get back. Leave this to me."

Xuan Mei froze, stunned by the man who had suddenly appeared before her.

The man was dressed in black martial attire, wielding a longsword that glinted with a chilling light. He was like a god descended from the heavens, fearlessly placing himself in front of her.

His movements were incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he was in pursuit, forcing back the men dragging E Jintang away with a few slashes of his sword. He moved so fast all one could see was an afterimage.

When Xuan Mei snapped out of it, she immediately ran over to help pull E Jintang back.

SWOOSH—

Several arrows flew toward them, forcing them to let go and leap aside.

Just as they were about to lunge forward again, three more arrows whistled through the air—THWIP, THWIP, THWIP—and struck the ground before them.

Xuan Mei looked up.

Yan Jiayu sat atop his horse, slowly lowering the repeating crossbow from which he had just fired three arrows. His icy gaze fell upon them.

Xuan Mei gritted her teeth. She tried to go for E Jintang again, but the man beside her grabbed her arm.

"He can’t be saved. We have to go back."

"No!"

"Do you want to save one man, or all the civilians behind us? Besides, he..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Xuan Mei understood his meaning all too well.

Xuan Mei gripped her dagger, the rims of her eyes turning red.

"We’re going back!"

Without another word, the man pulled her back with him. His sword became a blur, an impenetrable shield that deflected every arrow shot at them.

Once they had retreated to the mouth of the alley, she whirled around to confront him. "What are you doing here? You’re the commander of the imperial guard! You can’t leave the Imperial City without an imperial edict. It’s a capital offense!"

Xuan Mei’s cheeks were flushed with anger.

"Commander Cao?"

Song Lianhe stared at him in astonishment as well. ’Shouldn’t he be in Ling’an City?’

She glanced at Xuan Mei. Xuan Mei’s eyes were full of accusation, yet her expression held an underlying trace of anxiety.

Cao Jin tightened his grip on his sword. His gaze, fixed on Xuan Mei, was calm and resolute. "I had a reason I had to come."

"What reason could possibly be worth such a risk?"

"...You."

Xuan Mei froze. She slowly gritted her teeth, her eyes swirling with emotion as she stared at him. Finally, she turned away. After a moment of struggling to compose herself, she whispered to Song Lianhe, "I’m sorry. I couldn’t save him."

Gazing at the unmoving figure in the distance, Song Lianhe pressed her lips together. When she spoke again, her voice trembled with suppressed emotion. "It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault."

Nearby, Manager Meng was directing people to barricade the alley entrance with sandbags and hastily torn-down door panels. At the very least, it would block the incoming arrows.

"Commander Cao."

Song Lianhe suddenly asked, "So we... we have to save ourselves, don’t we?"

Cao Jin’s silence was her answer.

"Zhou Cangyan... How is he doing?"

"He’s been pinned down," he said. "Nanchen and Wu Qi Country have joined forces. They’ve sent master assassins and an elite squad, dead set on killing him. As it stands... we can only leave it to fate. He and his men are our only hope. So right now, we need to stall."

Song Lianhe pressed her lips together and nodded slightly. "I understand."

She took a deep breath, then turned her head. "If you’re here, what about Scholar Cao?"

"I’ve already been ’disowned.’ Whatever I do has nothing to do with the Cao Family. They won’t be implicated."

Since he had decided on this course of action, he had naturally made thorough preparations.

Of course, ’thorough preparations’ merely meant protecting the Cao Family and ensuring his actions wouldn’t bring them harm.

Throughout this, Xuan Mei kept her lips pressed together, saying nothing.

Song Lianhe couldn’t help but look at Cao Jin with a hint of worry.

’She knew Cao Jin had a soft spot for Xuan Mei, but according to the original plot, he wasn’t supposed to be here.’

’In the original novel, Cao Jin wasn’t a major character, but he was a memorable one. He was discreet, a brilliant strategist, and no matter who ultimately took the throne, he and the Cao Family were always able to emerge unscathed.’

’So where, exactly, did things go off track?’

’Ever since she’d entered the world of the book for the second time, the plot had become unpredictable. It was as if everything—including the characters themselves—was beginning to spiral out of control...’

"It’s oil!"

A cry of alarm went up, and panic erupted.

Nanchen was clearly intent on burning them alive. A tongue of fire spread rapidly across the ground.

"Quick! Back to the clinic!"

Manager Meng directed everyone to fall back into the clinic. He called over a trusted assistant, handed him a key, and the assistant began leading people inside in groups.

Song Lianhe said urgently, "The clinic can’t hold this many people!"

Manager Meng planted his hands on his hips, a smug look on his face. "Don’t you worry, Princess Consort. I may not be able to dig a tunnel out of the city, but you think I can’t dig through to my neighbors? I’m not just bragging! My clinic might not look like much, but the secret passages underneath are a sprawling network. It’s like a maze down there! They won’t find anyone for a good long while!"

As soon as he finished, Manager Meng seemed to deflate. "Sigh... that was my last Life-saving Talisman! And now... it’s all gone."

’Song Lianhe watched Manager Meng. In the novel, he was just a nameless background character, but here, he was a living, breathing person.’

’She was finding it harder and harder to tell which world was real—this one, or the one outside the book.’

The fire was spreading. Cao Jin spotted a water vat in the corner and, looking up, saw a quilt drying on a bamboo pole. He quickly pulled the quilt down and spread it on the ground. Then, he smashed the vat. The gushing water soaked the quilt. He laid the heavy, sodden blanket on the ground, stopping the fire from advancing.

He turned back and said calmly, "The civilians are only safe for now. We don’t have much time."

Xuan Mei ordered decisively, "Ah Jun, get the Princess Consort out of here!"

Ah Jun didn’t respond, looking hesitantly toward Song Lianhe.

Song Lianhe seemed not to have heard. She tilted her head back, narrowed her eyes, and murmured, "It’s an east wind..."

She said suddenly, "Ah Jun, go find some Valley Powder."

Ah Jun didn’t understand why she wanted Valley Powder at a time like this, but he acknowledged the order and disappeared briskly back into the alley.

Song Lianhe had no time to explain. Seeing that almost everyone had retreated into the clinic, she turned and shut the doors!

"Little Lan! Guard this spot! If anyone dares to approach, bite them!"

It was impossible to know if Little Lan understood, but it dutifully slithered onto the door latch and coiled itself up. At a glance, you wouldn’t even notice the small snake resting there.

More and more flaming arrows rained down, and the fire began to rage out of control.

Xuan Mei grew frantic. She grabbed Song Lianhe’s arm. "If we don’t go now, it’ll be too late!"

Cao Jin deflected an incoming arrow and said without turning, "We’ll hold them off! You need to go, now!"

Song Lianhe shook her head, her voice calm. "I’ve already lost two companions today. I’m not losing anyone else."

"Sister! I’ve got the Valley Powder!"

Ah Jun came running up, panting, with one sack slung over his shoulder and another tucked under his arm.

Xuan Mei was baffled. "Why did you want this stuff?"

"You’ll see in a minute."

Song Lianhe immediately took a sack, untied it, and threw a double handful of the powder into the air. Then another!

Though Cao Jin didn’t understand her plan, he saw what she was trying to do and immediately stepped forward. "Let me."

He was much stronger. He hefted the sack of Valley Powder, leaped onto the top of a wall, and tossed half its contents into the air.

Instantly, the air was filled with a cloud of fine powder.

At that exact moment, Yan Jiayu’s second-in-command ordered his men to charge.

’Now!’

Song Lianhe snatched up a burning, red-hot piece of wood and hurled it into the air—

BOOM—

The Valley Powder, carried on the east wind toward the charging soldiers, met the open flame and instantly detonated.

"AHHH!"

Screams of agony filled the air.

Xuan Mei’s eyes lit up. Without a word, she grabbed the other sack and repeated the process, setting off another explosion.

’Who knew this Valley Powder could be so powerful!’

Without waiting for Song Lianhe’s order, Ah Jun scrambled back to find more Valley Powder.

After a few such explosions, the second-in-command didn’t dare to advance rashly again.

But before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, Yan Jiayu’s cold voice cut through the roar of the flames.

"Princess Qing, I had originally planned to spare your life."