The Seventh Year of Shenchu
Schemes in the Pool
Zhen Wenjun turned her back to Wei Tingxu, the steam rising on her face, making it even more peach-red and scorching hot.
The greatest inconvenience of disguising as someone else was that no matter what Wei Tingxu said about the past, she had no way to refute it, having only the passage of time to use as an excuse.
“But now we have all grown up, haven’t we?”
Wei Tingxu’s hand slid from Zhen Wenjun’s arm to her shoulder, not minding her words, and continued:
“I have difficulty walking, could my sister help me?”
The hands firmly protecting her chest trembled slightly; how could Zhen Wenjun refuse such a proper reason for a request?
But on second thought, what harm was there in Wei Tingxu getting close to her? So many people wanted to be by her side, willing to risk their lives for it, how could she let this trivial matter of face become an obstacle?
Zhen Wenjun slowly turned around, and Wei Tingxu, sitting by the pool, appeared dreamlike, not very clear to the eye.
Wei Tingxu placed her hands on Zhen Wenjun’s shoulders, moving her body outward with some difficulty, fully trusting that Zhen Wenjun would catch her. At the moment her body was about to fall, Zhen Wenjun quickly opened the hands that had been protecting her modesty, scooped her waist with both arms, and held her securely in her embrace.
The two soft, scorching bodies pressed together, separated only by a single garment, their chests inadvertently rubbing against each other. Zhen Wenjun felt as if her heart was ground hard, feeling both discomfort and numbness. The intertwined soft peaks gradually blossomed into tender, unguarded sensations, a very peculiar feeling, causing unexpected changes in her body, making her secretly grumble in her heart.
To maintain balance, Wei Tingxu’s hands changed from holding to encircling, encircling Zhen Wenjun’s neck, slowly sliding into the hot spring, sitting down steadily.
“Thank you.” Wei Tingxu’s hair floated in the spring water, raising her hand to undo the clasp of her clothes. Zhen Wenjun calmly averted her gaze, slowly swimming in another direction. She planned to swim back and forth once and then fetch her clothes to leave, so as not to appear too abrupt or petty.
“Sister, you have quite some strength.” While speaking, Wei Tingxu placed her soaked clothes on the shore.
“In the past, living on the mountain with my father, I always chopped wood and cooked. Later, after following my adoptive father, I still did laborious work. I didn’t learn much else, but I always had strength.” Zhen Wenjun found that she could now lie with ease.
The sound of water splashing also came from behind. Zhen Wenjun turned her head in slight surprise, letting out a soft “Hmm?”
Understanding Zhen Wenjun’s confusion, Wei Tingxu gracefully pushed her long arms forward and then leisurely stretched them to the sides, swimming freely in the water: “Sister is curious how I can swim with my legs disabled. I cannot walk, relying on a wheelchair or Xiaohua for daily activities, only in the water can I control the direction myself. Lingbi sprinkled some sea salt into the pool, which not only whitens and moisturizes the skin but also increases buoyancy, allowing me to swim more freely. However, lacking my legs, I am ultimately somewhat weaker, at most I can only swim a short distance. When my legs first got injured, I was unwilling to give in, stubbornly trying to swim further with my own strength, but ended up choking on water and nearly drowning. Luckily, Xiaohua pulled me out in time.”
Xiaohua.
With Wei Tingxu mentioning it, Zhen Wenjun remembered that Xiaohua had left. Although there were shadow guards protecting them in the dark, how could they dare to peek while bathing?
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So, now in this quiet hot spring, there were only the two of them.
An idea instantly surfaced in Zhen Wenjun’s mind.
Wei Tingxu swam to the other end of the hot spring, her arms stretched horizontally on the edge of the pool. Her already soaked long hair clung to her raised shoulder blades, her delicate body completely unguarded.
This was a good opportunity to kill her.
As the killing intent arose, Zhen Wenjun’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
During the bath, Wei Tingxu lacked guards, and Zhen Wenjun did not expect such an opportunity to arise. The Golden Cicada Knife was placed in the belt by the poolside; otherwise, she could quietly swim over and slit her throat with one slash. However, even without the Golden Cicada Knife in hand, she could still kill Wei Tingxu with her bare hands. Given Wei Tingxu’s frail body, as long as she pressed her head into the water, Zhen Wenjun was confident she could drown her before she had any chance to call for help.
Treading carefully on the pool bottom, Zhen Wenjun walked towards Wei Tingxu without blinking. In the past year, the cunning strategies and dark arts taught by Jiang Daocheng had been engraved into her bones. Now, she could act obediently and cleverly or transform into a dangerous assassin.
Just when she was only three steps away from Wei Tingxu, and had already raised her arm to reach for the back of her prey’s neck, the prey suddenly moved her shoulder as if she had eyes on the back of her head, startling her into stopping her actions.
“Do you see this scar on my neck?” Wei Tingxu touched the scar on her neck, which had turned bright red from the steam, without turning around. “Over the years, nearly a thousand people have tried to kill me, not one has succeeded, and they all met the King of Hell before I did. Do you know why?”
Zhen Wenjun’s throat went dry. She lowered her hand and took a step back, replying hoarsely, “Because sister is formidable.”
Wei Tingxu smiled slightly and said, “Do you know why I went to such great lengths to cultivate this whole courtyard of off-season trees? You see the lush and verdant foliage, but do you know how many shadow guards can be concealed beneath the dense leaves? Whether I am walking outside, entering a room to sleep, or even bathing, they never leave my side. If some evildoer wants to take this opportunity to harm me, they have miscalculated.”
Zhen Wenjun’s eyes shifted continuously; she felt a coldness engulf her entire body despite being soaked in the hot spring.
“By the way, do you still remember the ‘All-Encompassing’ I gave you? I have a close friend who has loved studying hidden weapons and mechanisms since childhood. That ‘All-Encompassing’ is a little gadget she made. She knows I have a family business in Taojun City and often come here for short stays. She once visited my little courtyard and, for my safety, set up many traps and mechanisms in the courtyard, such as this hot spring…” Wei Tingxu’s hand moved from her neck to a seemingly ordinary stone by the pool, “This stone looks ordinary, but if I press it lightly, apart from this small spot under my feet where I can stand, countless arrows will shoot out from the rest of the pool bottom!”
Zhen Wenjun’s heart shivered, almost causing her to slip into the pool.
Wei Tingxu turned her head, her jet-black long hair scattered across her enchanting face. Her red lips and white teeth made her look like a terrifying female ghost. She pulled the corners of her mouth and lowered her voice, as if whispering, each word blowing into Zhen Wenjun’s heart:
“Those who try to plot against me won’t even understand what happened before they’re riddled with arrows.”
The steam continued to rise between the two, making Zhen Wenjun stand like a petrified stone, unmoving for a long time.
Wei Tingxu chuckled, swam past her, and her hair brushed against Zhen Wenjun’s arm: “Wenjun, don’t worry. You are my benefactor, not an evildoer.”
At this point, Zhen Wenjun forced herself to smile calmly and said, “Sister, you are overthinking. I saw that you always have a sore waist and wanted to give you a massage. In that case, I’ll head back first.”
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Without caring whether the other party would believe such an excuse, Zhen Wenjun swam to the shore, lifted herself out of the water with a splash, grabbed her clothes, and quickly wrapped herself tightly.
“Sister, you soak a bit longer. I’ll wait for you outside. When you’re done, let me know, and I’ll… carry you out.”
Wei Tingxu’s voice came from behind, “No need. Once you’re done soaking, go back and rest early. Xiaohua will be back soon.”
“Then, I’m leaving. Sister, rest early.”
“Mm.”
Zhen Wenjun walked quickly on the warm bluestone with bare feet. Water dripped continuously from her clothes, leaving a trail of wet footprints and water marks on the dry ground.
After leaving the hot spring, the cold night air rushed into her head, blowing away most of the dampness and fear, making her stop in her tracks.
She moved her icy toes, listening to the rustling sound of leaves being blown by the wind from beside her ears. She looked up at the dense forest around her, as if countless eyes were staring at her, making her whole body bristle with goosebumps.
Is this Wei Tingxu’s bluff after a lapse? No, Wei Tingxu dared to live in such a loosely defended courtyard, not only having Xiaohua and shadow guards to protect her, but also an entire courtyard of mechanisms. This indeed makes sense. Just now, every word she said clearly indicated that she had noticed her approach.
Zhen Wenjun had followed Jiang Daochang to learn assassination techniques, moving silently so that even the most vigilant birds found it difficult to detect her movements. Yet Wei Tingxu was meticulous to such an extent.
Returning to her room and closing the door, she only dared to lower her guard slightly after confirming that she was alone inside. She crawled into bed, pulled the quilt tightly around herself, and kept trembling, trying to drive all the tension and fear out of her body.
Mother, what should I do? I might not be able to fight this person. I can’t kill her; she is much stronger than me.
If I am powerless… if I can’t save you… will you blame me?
Zhen Wenjun buried her face in the quilt and cried silently for a long time. Suddenly, she threw off the quilt, jumped up, and brought over the snacks Lingbi had previously sent. She stuffed them into her mouth in big bites, drank more than half a pot of wine in large gulps, and practiced a set of boxing techniques passed down from her mother. After sniffing her reddened nose, her body finally warmed up again, and her mind gradually became more active.
Calm down, don’t be afraid.
Her mother had always taught her not to give up halfway. There is no path in the world that cannot be traversed; the more dangerous the situation, the more one must respond calmly.
Since Wei Tingxu is highly skilled and deeply scheming, one must use their brain and avoid direct confrontation with her. Jiang Daochang had also taught her that when penetrating enemy lines and facing an enemy a hundred times stronger than oneself, one must use wisdom. One should bend when necessary to spring higher later.
Wei Tingxu is like a baby wearing heavy armor. Her mechanisms, shadow guards, and the ever-present Xiaohua are her armor. As long as the armor is peeled off piece by piece, killing her won’t be difficult. The question is how to peel off the armor? Naturally, it is to become her trusted and indispensable person, her right-hand aide.
Zhen Wenjun stared at the all-embracing night sky, her mind racing: To get close to Wei Tingxu, she must genuinely work for her, showing her usable abilities. For these people fighting in chaotic times, whoever can bring them the most benefits will be kept by their side.
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For Zhen Wenjun, the most challenging part of becoming an excellent strategist is not ability but time.
Wei Tingxu needs a long observation period before trusting someone.
What Zhen Wenjun lacks the most now is time.
She has lost contact with the Xie family. If she can’t get the news of her arrival at Wei Tingxu’s side out, her mother will undoubtedly be in danger.
At the beginning, the disguised A Jiao told her that the Xie family would plant hidden stakes in Taojun City. Once she successfully reached Wei Tingxu’s side, she should find an opportunity to seek out these hidden stakes and leave a message for the Xie family. The Xie family would then arrange the next step of the plan.
However, these hidden stakes are only effective for fifteen days. Once an incident occurs, if she cannot contact the Xie family within fifteen days, they will automatically assume that Alai is dead, and her mother will not be able to survive either.
Seeing that two days have already passed out of the fifteen days, although her actions are unimpeded and she can go out whenever she wants, Lingbi follows her closely without leaving a step. If she tries to contact the hidden stakes, it will definitely be discovered.
She needs to think of a neat method to do it.
