The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 94

With her brain pierced by a bolt and her monstrous heart shredded, Zhang E had no hope of survival.

She looked back at the dead larvae on the ground. After releasing one final, unwilling note, she let her head fall heavily.

Zhao Li watched the last tear slide from Zhang E’s ruby-like eye. Then the light in her pupil faded.

The instant Zhang E died, every white moth within Jiahui Ward lost its life and fell from the sky.

Their gray-white wings formed a thick carpet across the ground.

Zhao Li had no time to admire such a rare spectacle. The system’s quest-completion notice had already arrived.

*[Quest Complete! You successfully defended Great Jing and prevented it from becoming a Nü’e nest.]*

*[Reward: 2,500 experience points.]*

*[Due to the host’s outstanding ability to draw hostility, you have gained an additional status: Moth-Woman’s Hatred. (Increased hostility attraction from insects. Insects are more likely to attack you.)]*

The Moth-Woman’s Hatred wiped away all Zhao Li’s delight at seeing so much experience.

“Insects” covered far too broad a range. With this status hanging over her, she might get two extra mosquito bites every summer.

She cursed inwardly and prayed she would never encounter a troublesome insect monster.

*[Congratulations! The host’s class proficiency has increased. You have advanced to Jingning Guard Enforcer.]*

*[Class Advancement Reward: Constitution +15.]*

*[Skills Awarded: Hound’s Perception (You can detect danger more keenly); Enforcer’s Intimidation (Slightly increases your success rate when threatening or extorting others).]*

What did it mean, “slightly increases your success rate when threatening or extorting others”?

Could this system not hope for something better from her for once?

Annoyed, Zhao Li flourished her saber, flinging away the blue blood on its blade, and slid it back into its sheath.

Only then did she breathe a small sigh of relief.

In truth, if not for the troublemaking constitution brought by Lin Yu’s Gratitude, Zhao Li would never have happened across Head Constable Xing and uncovered the affair.

Had they been any later, and the things inside Yang Jian had hatched…

She imagined countless monsters like Zhang E floating through the sky, searching everywhere for people with whom to make children, and could not suppress a shudder.

That shudder gave Shen Yan the wrong idea.

He hurriedly steadied her and examined the wound beneath her ribs.

The handkerchief pressed against it had disappeared at some point. The wound, more than a finger long, gaped like a mouth and was crusted with dried blood.

Shen Yan frowned and reached out to pick Zhao Li up, but she nimbly dodged him.

“There’s no need, Lord Shen. The wound isn’t serious. I’m tough.”

Zhao Li did not decline his kindness out of concern for propriety between men and women.

She was a woman who had seen the world. Men and radishes looked about the same to her.

The problem was that Shen Yan always took advantage of his height to tuck her into one arm like an adult carrying a child.

She had her dignity too!

When she refused, Shen Yan’s eyes immediately dimmed. He silently drew his hands back.

Tan Ying spoke from beside them.

“A-Li, come on. Big Sister Ying will take you to Imperial Physician Zhang.”

Before Zhao Li could react, Tan Ying swept her up in both arms.

Tan Ying was tall and long-legged, with powerful arms. Curled in her embrace, Zhao Li stared blankly for a moment before quietly hooking an arm around the older woman’s neck.

She did not want to trouble anyone, but a big sister was carrying her like a princess!

Shen Yan was left standing behind them, staring after their retreating figures with a face dark enough to drip water.

He was worried, but there were still matters Zhao Li had repeatedly insisted must be handled here. He had to stay.

After a long while, he glanced at Lu Jianxing and Zheng Lian, who were standing as silent as chickens nearby.

“What are you looking at me for? Seal the scene. We’ll begin the cleanup after daybreak.”

Tan Ying carried Zhao Li all the way to the specially established logistics station.

The moment they entered the requisitioned residence, Zhao Li saw people bustling everywhere.

The man directing them was Eunuch Zhang, the Palace Attendant at Emperor Longqing’s side.

Prince Rui had been delivered in that condition, and Imperial Physician Zhang had not dared act rashly regarding the thing in his abdomen. He had hurriedly sent someone to report to the palace.

Eunuch Zhang had rushed over with a team from the Imperial Medical Office and a vast quantity of medicinal ingredients.

At the sight of Prince Rui, Eunuch Zhang had nearly dropped to his knees. He immediately ordered the imperial physicians to treat him.

Every physician in the palace was a shrewd man who treasured his own life. They poured three large pots of medicine into Prince Rui, but not one dared open his mouth to suggest what should be done about the thing lodged in his navel.

Eunuch Zhang did not dare decide either, so he dispatched another messenger to ask the palace.

Seeing the chaos in the courtyard, Tan Ying paused at the door.

The hand supporting Zhao Li gave her a gentle pinch.

Zhao Li immediately understood and leaned against Tan Ying’s shoulder, pretending to be unconscious.

Eunuch Zhang nearly broke down when he saw Tan Ying carry in yet another person.

He wanted to ask whether Zhao Li also had one of those things in her belly, but she was a young woman and he could hardly bring himself to say it.

Tan Ying answered his stumbling questions vaguely and carried Zhao Li into a room.

Imperial Physician Zhang lit a lamp and studied Zhao Li’s wound for a long time. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he announced, “It needs suturing.”

If Eunuch Zhang had not been standing nearby, Zhao Li might have jumped to her feet.

She had never expected the suturing technique she taught the old man to be used on her.

Tan Ying had no idea what suturing was. She nodded blankly.

Zhao Li was wondering whether she ought to wake up and prove she was fine when a dripping wet cloth landed over her face with a slap.

A pungent medicinal odor mixed with floral perfume rushed into her nose. Her mind turned foggy at once.

She heard Imperial Physician Zhang say, “It’s all right. This is an anesthetic formula this old man developed himself, and I’ve practiced suturing for a long time! No need to worry, no need to worry!”

Zhao Li wanted to resist, but her limbs had gone limp. Soon her head lolled to one side and she truly lost consciousness.

By the time she woke, it was already daytime.

She had no idea what drug Imperial Physician Zhang had used, but her head buzzed after waking.

Zhao Li sat up. She was still in a residence within Jiahui Ward, but someone had wiped her down and changed her into clean underclothes.

She pulled open her collar and looked down.

Layer upon layer of gauze circled the wound at her waist. The tightly bound injury throbbed with mild pain, but it did not hinder her.

Zhao Li climbed out of bed and put on the everyday clothes draped over a chair. She rinsed her mouth with water from the table and casually wiped her face.

When she opened the door, her eyes lit up.

A shattered silver wing hung from a wooden frame in the courtyard.

Sunlight flowed across it. The originally silver-white wing refracted a multitude of brilliant colors, like an exquisite piece of jewelry.

The holes in it and several fist-sized black scorch marks were the only cause for regret.

Beneath the wing sat a large bowl of white jade containing two compound eyes that resembled red gemstones.

A formation to purge baleful energy had been arranged beside them. One glance was enough to recognize the handiwork of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Once all baleful energy had been removed, the two objects would be sent to the palace as proof of the monster’s death and presented to Emperor Longqing.

As for Zhang E’s monstrous body, her egg sacs, and the larvae, they would be burned at the scene.

If such things entered the treacherous depths of the imperial palace, no one knew whether some death-seeking fool might use them to unleash another disaster.

Zhao Li looked at the beautiful wing and sighed with feeling before walking outside.