Chapter 352 Jiang Tianze’s Murderous Intent

Chapter 352: Jiang Tianze's Killing Intent

Jiang Tianze's sword-wielding hand trembled slightly, the cold gleam of the blade wavering uncertainly due to Jiang Shuning's obstruction.

He stared at her, his eyes—once always filled with tenderness, now swallowed by a madness and hatred she could not comprehend, like a cornered beast with no way out.

"A Ning, step aside!" His voice was hoarse, every word seeming to be squeezed from the depths of his throat. "Today, I must take his life!"

Jiang Shuning shook her head in fright, clutching the person beside her even tighter.

She did not understand where this intense hatred in Jiang Tianze came from.

Was it simply because she refused to leave with him, that he vented all his resentment onto Lord Jing?

Lord Jing was so innocent—he had even saved her!

"Tianze, calm down! Look at him, he's badly injured and near death!" Jiang Shuning's voice trembled, almost pleading. "I can't let you kill him. He's my lifesaver!"

Jiang Tianze's handsome face twisted into a grotesque expression.

His gaze moved past Jiang Shuning's shoulder, landing on Xiao Lingchuan, still unconscious. The hatred in his eyes almost solidified, as if it could cut Xiao Lingchuan into a thousand pieces.

It was this man who had killed his biological father and stolen his beloved woman!

Old and new hatred surged like raging waves, roaring madly in his chest.

If he did not take advantage of this moment while Xiao Lingchuan was defenseless to end him with one sword strike, once he recovered, with his influence and cunning, he would have no further chance.

This menace must not be left alive!

"A Ning," he said through clenched teeth, as if forcing each word out, "even if you resent me for it, today, he must die by my hand!"

As his words fell, a ferocious killing intent surfaced on his handsome face.

Jiang Shuning's heart rang with alarm. She was about to speak when she saw him twist his wrist and scatter a handful of white powder toward her face.

A strange, sweet fragrance instantly invaded her nostrils. Her head buzzed, the world spun, and the scene before her began to blur.

In her last moment of consciousness, she only saw Jiang Tianze's face, filled with killing intent and resolve.

Jiang Tianze caught her collapsing body with quick reflexes.

He placed her at the base of a large tree, took off his outer robe, and covered her with it, ensuring she would not catch a chill.

Only after doing this did he stand up again, the last remnants of tenderness on his face vanished instantly.

Sword in hand, he approached the defenseless Xiao Lingchuan inch by inch, the hatred in his eyes nearly erupting.

Die!

He raised his longsword high, and with all his strength, stabbed fiercely toward Xiao Lingchuan's heart!

"Clang—!"

A clear sound of metal striking metal broke the deathly silence of the forest.

Instead of the expected sound of a blade piercing flesh, he felt his wrist go numb from a tremendous force.

Jiang Tianze looked closely and saw a gleaming longsword firmly blocking his blade.

Ling Wu was holding the sword.

Her expression was icy, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt and murderous intent.

"Third Young Master, striking while the prince is wounded and unconscious—such an underhanded move is hardly the act of a gentleman!"

Jiang Tianze's face twisted into an extremely ugly expression. He gritted his teeth and said, "Ling Wu, so you really weren't affected by the gu poison!"

No wonder they had been ambushed by yamen officers that night after she went to the government office.

It turned out she had been putting on an act all along!

Ling Wu let out a contemptuous sneer. With a twist of her wrist, she pushed his sword aside.

"Is this all the Third Young Master can do—such underhanded tricks?" she mocked with a curl of her lips. "Your actions are so vicious and underhanded, your methods far from honorable. No wonder our princess looks down on you!"

These words were like a poisoned knife, stabbing deep into Jiang Tianze's heart.

"Shut up!" He exploded in fury like a beast whose raw nerve had been struck. "What right does a mere servant have to speak about matters between A Ning and me!"

With a roar, he suddenly flung a handful of vermilion powder straight toward Ling Wu's face!

The move was swift and urgent, and with the distance so close, Ling Wu had no time to dodge.

She felt a burning, searing pain in her eyes, and her vision was instantly swallowed by total darkness.

"Ah!" She cried out in pain, instinctively covering her eyes, her body staggering backward.

Seeing this, Jiang Tianze's killing intent surged anew. He was about to take advantage of the moment to finish Xiao Lingchuan with one strike.

Just then, the sound of rapid, dense hoofbeats and footsteps came from outside the forest.

Immediately after, a large group of soldiers wielding blades and spears, radiating murderous intent, poured in from all directions like a tide. The gleam of blades and the flash of swords flashed in the morning mist, instantly surrounding him in an impenetrable circle.

Jiang Tianze's heart sank as if into a bottomless abyss.

Alone, facing these fearsome soldiers, he had no chance of victory.

A wave of overwhelming resentment and venom surged in his heart. He gripped his sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He glared venomously at Xiao Lingchuan, then in the next moment, he flung a handful of knockout powder toward the nearest soldier.

The soldiers, caught off guard, covering their eyes and staggering, their formation falling into chaos.

Taking advantage of the confusion, he pushed off the ground with his toes, his figure retreated like a ghostly shadow, disappearing into the dense woods in a few bounds.

—

When Jiang Shuning slowly came to, she found herself in a side room of the yamen.

Her wounds throbbed dully, reminding her of everything that had happened in the dense forest.

She moved slightly and realized that her bloodstained clothes had been replaced with clean, soft cotton undergarments, and even her wounds had been carefully dressed and bandaged.

A baby's cries jolted her fully awake.

Jiang Shuning turned her head sharply and met a pair of large, red, tear-filled eyes.

Little Yejun was being held by his wet nurse, his small body struggling desperately toward her. His two chubby little arms, like lotus roots, reached straight for her, and he cried out in grievance and urgency: "Hold... hold..."

When the wet nurse saw that Jiang Shuning was awake, a look of relief spread across her face: "Female Doctor Jiang, you're finally awake! If you hadn't woken up soon, we adults would have been driven up the wall by this little tyrant!"

As she soothed the squirming Little Yejun in her arms, she lowered her voice to complain, "These past two days you were gone, the young master wouldn't eat properly, and he cried whenever anyone held him. His voice is nearly hoarse! We really didn't know what to do!"

Seeing her son's red, swollen eyes and his pitiful little face, Jiang Shuning's heart felt as if a large hand were squeezing it—sore and aching.

She propped herself up on her weak body and reached out to the wet nurse: "Give him to me."

As soon as Little Yejun was in her arms, he immediately found shelter like a small boat reaching harbor. He buried his little head deep in the crook of her neck, his small hands gripping her clothes tightly, as if afraid she would disappear again.

Jiang Shuning gently patted his back, and her son's dependence filled the softest part of her heart.

But in a moment, she suddenly remembered that before losing consciousness, Jiang Tianze was about to attack the heavily wounded Xiao Lingchuan.

"Where is Lord Jing?" Her voice carried an uncontrollable urgency and tremor. "How is he?"

The smile on the wet nurse's face froze, and her eyes darted away: "His Lordship... his injuries are far too severe. When the Deputy General led people to find you, His Lordship almost fell victim to a murderous hand. Although he was saved in the end, he had lost too much blood. He still hasn't woken up. The physician has been in there examining him for half a day, afraid that..."

She couldn't finish the sentence, just kept shaking her head and sighing.

Jiang Shuning's heart sank like a stone.

Paying no mind to the now-settled Little Yejun in her arms, she thrust him back into the wet nurse's embrace, grabbed a coat from the side of the couch, threw it over her shoulders, and stumbled out, not even taking the time to put on her shoes properly.

Xiao Lingchuan's room was right next door.

She shoved open the heavy wooden door, and the strong smell of blood and medicine assaulted her, making her throat tighten.

There lay Xiao Lingchuan on the bed, his eyes tightly shut, his face as white as a sheet, his lips completely bloodless.

His body was wrapped in thick bandages, yet dark red blood still faintly seeped through, a shocking sight.

At the bedside sat an elderly man with gray hair and an ethereal aura, his three fingers resting on Xiao Lingchuan's wrist, eyes closed in concentration.

"Physician!" Jiang Shuning rushed to the bedside and asked in a low voice, "How is His Lordship?"

Divine Physician Sun heard her voice and opened his eyes. His cloudy eyes swept over her disguised face and instantly guessed her identity. This must be the disguised princess.

"Wan—" he started, then caught himself and corrected, "—His Lordship's external injuries are indeed horrifying, and he has lost a lot of blood. But fortunately, they did not damage his heart, lungs, or other vital organs. Moreover, thanks to the 'Dragon Blood Cocoon' that Wan—that you administered earlier, the bleeding stopped. I think if he rests carefully for a while, he should be fine..."

The words "be fine" were still stuck in his throat when Xiao Lingchuan, who was supposed to be unconscious, suddenly coughed violently.

A mouthful of thick, dark blood spilled from his mouth, spattering onto the snow-white bedding, like an eerie red plum blossom blooming in the snow.

Jiang Shuning's mind went blank. She stood frozen, staring at the stark bloodstain, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Physician!" Her voice changed pitch. "Didn't you say his internal organs weren't damaged?! How can he be vomiting blood?!"

Divine Physician Sun was also shocked. The calm composure on his face was replaced by astonishment.

The pulse was clearly steady and strong—not at all the sign of severe internal injury. How could this be?

He was about to lean down and take Xiao Lingchuan's pulse again when the man who was supposed to have fallen back into unconsciousness suddenly opened his eyelids.

Those deep, arresting eyes stared unblinkingly at him, cold, sharp, filled with unmistakable warning and menace.

Divine Physician Sun's heart skipped a beat. In an instant, he understood.

He stiffly withdrew his hand, turned his back to Jiang Shuning, and gave a light, discreet cough to hide the fleeting embarrassment on his face.

When he spoke again, his tone had become heavy and hesitant: "Ah, just now... I misdiagnosed."

He turned around, his face full of sorrow as he met Jiang Shuning's panic-stricken eyes, and heaved a heavy sigh: "Wan... His Lordship's internal injuries are extremely severe. His internal organs are severely damaged. I'm afraid it's far more dangerous than I originally thought. In the coming days, he'll need a lot of care!"