Chapter 170: All of You, Die!

Chapter 170: Go Die, All of You

The blood-soaked scene didn't scare Li Nanli off. After sprinting frantically, holding up her skirt, she suddenly bent down and scooped up a severed snake with her bare hands.

Warm snake blood stained her hands, but she paid it no mind. The snake's head was huge, covered in nasty lumps. Li Nanli clutched the snake, muttering to herself like she was talking to someone.

"It bit him to death... it bit him to death..." Her voice was so soft that Qin Jiao could only catch bits and pieces.

Who got bitten to death?

Qin Jiao watched Li Nanli spin in circles, clutching the snake. Confusion filled his mind.

Was she really just talking crazy because of her episode?

"Miss, please stop! What are you doing?!"

Xiao Li was nearly in tears, too scared of the Sharp-crested Snake to get close. All she could do was stomp and cry where she stood. "That's a poisonous snake, miss! Throw it away!"

"Poisonous snake?" Li Nanli's eyes went blank for a second, then she suddenly jammed the snake head against her own arm and bit down!

Even though the snake was just half a body, it kept writhing. Snake blood soaked her clothes, splattering a few drops on her face. Red blood on pale skin, wild eyes under messy hair. Li Nanli looked even crazier than before.

"It bit him to death! They killed him!" Li Nanli's eyes flashed with terror. "I didn't see anything... I didn't see anything..."

Xie Ji'an felt a strange ache in his chest watching her. Vague memories flashed through his mind, then vanished just as fast.

"Lord Guan," Xie Ji'an called out to Guan Jiu.

"Your servant is here. What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"Knock Miss Li out." Xie Ji'an glanced at Li Nanli. Better to knock her out than let her keep losing it.

"Alright." Guan Jiu nodded, then pointed at two servants. "You two, go! Be gentle—don't actually hurt Miss Li."

The servants obeyed and moved in, but before they could even touch her, she hurled the severed snake at their faces.

"Die! You all deserve to die!"

Li Nanli's mood swung wildly. Right after throwing the snake, she plopped down on the ground and started crying, and while crying, she began pulling off her clothes.

Seeing this, Xie Ji'an immediately raised a hand to stop her. "Miss Li, don't."

"Don't touch me!" Li Nanli shoved Xie Ji'an's hand away. Then, as if just realizing who he was, she froze.

The next second, she pointed at Xie Ji'an and screamed: "Get away from me, you murderer!"

"Miss Li, what are you talking about?" Xie Ji'an's heart jumped, his brows knitting tightly.

Beside them, Xie Nai and Qin Jiao instinctively turned to look at Xie Ji'an too. Xie Nai especially—his gaze was lazy but sharp, full of scrutiny as he studied Xie Ji'an.

Feeling Xie Nai's probing stare, Xie Ji'an's pupils shrank slightly. "Sixth Brother, you know Miss Li is insane." Xie Ji'an quickly explained, afraid of being misunderstood. "I've never killed anyone."

"Mm." Xie Nai neither confirmed nor denied, just gave a faint hum and fell silent.

"Xie Ji'an, are you scared?" Li Nanli laughed softly, smoothing her loose, blood-stained robes with her hands. She looked at Xie Ji'an, her pretty face smiling almost seductively. "There are ghosts in Zhuoqin Forest..."

"Miss Li, stop talking nonsense." Li Nanli's words were all over the place, and Xie Ji'an frowned hard. "Looks like Miss Li is really sick. Lord Guan, send for a doctor right away."

"Alright, I'll have someone fetch a doctor right away!" Guan Jiu finished and shot the two servants a look to go support Li Nanli. Surprisingly, this time Li Nanli didn't resist. Once helped up, she docilely followed the two servants, with Xiao Li hurrying after.

As Li Nanli passed Qin Jiao, she kept muttering, "Aiding evil, aiding evil..."

"Sixth Brother, what's Zhuoqin Forest?"

Qin Jiao held the child, watching Li Nanli walk away, his heart a mess of mixed feelings and suspicion.

"A bamboo garden in the palace." Xie Nai's voice was low and cold. "Our late brother loved going there to read."

"The late Crown Prince?" Qin Jiao felt like something flashed through his mind, too fast to catch.

"Yeah. The Crown Prince would sometimes teach us chess at Zhuoqin Forest."

Xie Ji'an's gaze drifted off, like he was reminiscing. "Time really flies. When Miss Li mentioned Zhuoqin Forest, it hit me that the Crown Prince's been gone for over three years now."

As Xie Ji'an recalled the past, his voice sounded calm, but the hand hidden in his sleeve trembled uncontrollably.

"Did His Highness go to Zhuoqin Forest often?" Qin Jiao asked, trying to sound casual.

"Once or twice a year." Xie Ji'an smiled. "I wonder why Miss Li suddenly brought it up today."

Nobody knew the answer. Probably not even Li Nanli herself.

The courtyard had just gone quiet when an official from the Ministry of Works, who'd come to Xiaoxiang Commandery with Xie Ji'an, rushed over in a panic.

"Your Highness! Last night's heavy rain burst the dike north of Xiaoxiang Commandery! You need to come see right away!"

The official had been running the whole way and nearly tripped coming in. Xie Ji'an quickly steadied him. "How big is the breach? Any civilians hurt?"

Xie Ji'an's main job in coming to Xiaoxiang Commandery was to inspect and prevent flooding. Hearing the dike had burst, his face changed instantly.

"The breach isn't big, but a few civilians are trapped downstream," the official said.

"Let's go now!"

Xie Ji'an strode out with the frantic official. As the local magistrate, Guan Jiu naturally had to "lead the charge" at a time like this. "Your Highness, wait for your servant..." Guan Jiu hurried after them. As they left, they nearly ran into Shen Fuqing, who was just coming back from outside.

"What's going on here?"

Shen Fuqing's voice came from behind Qin Jiao and Xie Nai. He immediately spotted the mess on the ground. "What, you planning to have Sharp-crested Snake soup for breakfast?"

Qin Jiao: "...No, we're not."

Shen Fuqing: "Oh."

Then he noticed the baby girl in Qin Jiao's arms. His gaze swept over Xie Nai, and Shen Fuqing asked flatly: "What, you two already have a kid after just one night?"

Qin Jiao: "...We don't!"

Shen Fuqing: "Oh?"

Shen Fuqing's gaze roamed between Qin Jiao and Xie Nai, making Qin Jiao's skin crawl.

"This is Hu Yuyun's kid!"

Afraid Shen Fuqing might say something even worse, Qin Jiao quickly spoke up and briefly explained what had just happened.

After hearing the whole story, Shen Fuqing stayed completely calm, not a trace of shock.

"It looks like Xiaoxiang Commandery is in for a storm."

Shen Fuqing gazed at the pool of dirty blood on the ground, his dark eyes grave. "From the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall to the commandery office, I ran into four cases of people being bitten by Sharp-crested Snakes on my way back."

Shen Fuqing shared the same thought as Qin Jiao and Xie Nai—thanks to their relentless pressure, the people lurking in the shadows were starting to crack.

"Lord Shen went to the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall early this morning?"

Qin Jiao asked, puzzled. "Aren't visitors banned from there?"

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