The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 32

Hurting Yanyan (Punishment)

Ming Qin felt as if her heart were being seared, consumed by agonizing regret. Why had she left Murong Yan alone? Why had she allowed her to be bullied by a group of crude men?

She looked at the woman before her, whose brow was slightly knitted as she bit her lip. Turning toward the direction where the group had departed, her murderous intent flared violently. “Don’t be sad,” she said. “I’ll go slice those bastards to pieces right now.”

            

Disregarding the urgency of their journey, she gripped her blade and prepared to set off.

But her sleeve was caught in a tight grip.

“Ah Qin…” Murong Yan murmured, holding fast to her.

            

“What’s wrong?” Ming Qin’s voice softened. To hear the woman’s words more clearly, she dropped to one knee and leaned close, consciously reining in her murderous intent. She feared that this woman, fragile as hand-blown glass, might shatter at her slightest touch.

“You…”

It seemed as if a thousand words were wedged in her throat. Murong Yan clenched her fist. When she finally spoke, her voice was strained. “Why did you let that man hit you?”

            

Ming Qin looked up obediently, answering without a second thought, “Because that way, he wouldn’t cause us any more trouble.”

Staring at the girl’s swollen left cheek, which had flared into an ugly red and purple bruise, Murong Yan felt a sharp, agonizing ache in her chest. “I mean, why did you have to use this method?”

“Because it’s the fastest way, and it minimizes our losses.”

            

Ming Qin answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Fearing Murong Yan might not understand, she explained in detail, “That convoy seems to be heading to the Capital. By now, Your Highness’s portrait has likely been dispatched from the Capital to all the surrounding courier stations and posted at every checkpoint. I was worried that if we caused a scene, we’d leave an impression on them, and they might leak our whereabouts to the Crown Prince.”

Murong Yan watched as Ming Qin spoke endlessly, utterly indifferent to the injury on her own face, focused solely on analyzing the pros and cons.

But…

            

But!

There were clearly so many better ways, Murong Yan thought chaotically.

Even if they had secretly wrecked those men’s carriage, poisoned them to delay their journey, or even slaughtered every last one of them in the desolate wilderness to let wild dogs rip their corpses apart—any of it would have been infinitely better than letting Ah Qin get hurt.

            

When Ah Qin lost a game of chess, Murong Yan would feel vexed on her behalf for half the day.

If she accidentally scraped her palm, Murong Yan would ache inside just looking at the scratch.

When she heard about Ah Qin’s harsh childhood, she would weep with grief in the dead of night.

            

Her Ah Qin, the precious girl she held at the very center of her heart—how could she let that arrogant, filthy, vulgar man strike her?

At the thought, a wave of fury surged within Murong Yan. The tenderness in her lowered eyes hardened into an icy chill. She reached out, her fingers brushing against Ming Qin’s bruised cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

            

Feeling the cool touch of Murong Yan’s fingertips against her burning cheek, Ming Qin closed her eyes in contentment, answering placidly, “He looked like a wealthy young master who didn’t know a lick of martial arts, but he hit surprisingly hard. I don’t feel pain to begin with, though, so it’s fine.”

As if to prove she was truly unscathed, she added, “I made sure to clench my jaw and tilt my head, so my teeth and ears are perfectly fine. It’s no trouble at all.”

She had no idea that her words only fanned the flames of Murong Yan’s fury. Forcing down her rage toward those men, Murong Yan kept her voice as steady as possible. “Ah Qin, never do something like this again.”

            

Stop neglecting yourself, and stop treating everything about yourself as if it doesn’t matter, Murong Yan pleaded silently.

Kneeling on the ground, Ming Qin tilted her head slightly, unable to fully comprehend.

Ming Qin could sense Murong Yan’s anger, but she was not entirely sure what 『this kind of thing』 meant.

            

The young Shadow Guard figured Murong Yan was upset because she had failed to guard her properly, leaving her alone on the street to face such danger. Racked with guilt, she said, “I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry. I’ll never let this happen again.”

I will definitely protect Murong Yan with even greater effort, Ming Qin swore to herself.

Seeing how obediently Ming Qin agreed, Murong Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

            

“I’m not angry with you, Ah Qin. I could never be angry with you.” Pressing her cold hand against the swelling on Ming Qin’s cheek, she gently drew her forward, coaxing, “I’m angry with those men.”

Kneeling on the ground, Ming Qin looked up with bright, clear eyes. She reached under Murong Yan’s cloak to wrap her arms around her waist, her voice eerily calm, devoid of any rising or falling emotion. “Those men made Yanyan angry?”

Resting her hand on Ming Qin’s head, which lay against her lap, Murong Yan murmured, “Yes. I’m very angry.” She gently stroked the soft, dark hair. “They damaged something incredibly precious to me, leaving my heart practically bleeding.”

            

“So they hurt Yanyan that badly…” Ming Qin murmured, her head still tilted. Her lips and warm breath brushed lightly against Murong Yan’s lower abdomen, causing a faint shiver to ripple through the woman’s body beneath her skirts.

“Yes, Ah Qin.”

Murong Yan smiled—a sweet smile that seemed to coexist with dangerous thorns, drawing blood from anyone who touched them. “Do they deserve to be punished?”

            

“They deserve to be punished. Anyone who hurts Yanyan must be punished, without exception.” A hidden murderous intent coursed through her.

Clad in black, Ming Qin was like a beast slumbering at its queen’s feet. Every inch of her muscles quietly concealed a strength that could erupt at any moment, ready to make everyone around her tremble the instant it opened its eyes.

Seemingly knowing she was the chain holding this great beast in check, Murong Yan showed no fear on her face; instead, her smile only deepened. “Then, Ah Qin, will you help Yanyan punish them?”

            

Ming Qin looked up, her pupils dilating like a black panther locking onto its prey. Blood instantly surged through her limbs, as if she were already prepared to violently tear open the other’s fragile throat, chewing up their bones and swallowing them down.

“Of course.”

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“Wine! This young master wants to drink wine! I want to go to a brothel!” the man in luxurious robes roared, throwing open the carriage curtain and shouting at the guards riding alongside him.

            

The saber-bearing guard clad in green tried to soothe him. “Second Young Master, the snow is incredibly thick here, and we’ve already been delayed at the last town. We have to make haste if we want to reach the next inn before nightfall.”

Fearing his willful young master might throw a tantrum, the guard added in a low voice, “If we don’t get there quickly, there are many wild wolves in these parts once the sun goes down.”

Only then did a flicker of fear appear on the arrogant face of the man in luxurious robes. He muttered under his breath, “If only we had brought that good-looking girl from just now along.”

            

The guard nodded. “That girl just now was indeed stunningly beautiful.”

“It’s truly rare to see a girl who remains so willful and domineering after seeing this young master. I really want to know if she can still be this feisty after seeing this young master’s heroic bearing.” The man in luxurious robes did not hide the unsatisfied lust in his eyes at all, glancing at the guard beside him. “If this young master plays to his heart’s content, I can even let you guys have a taste.”

The guard in green did not respond. He had a wife and children at home, possessed no interest in such sordid affairs, and detested the idea of forcing women even more.

            

He was merely acting on orders to escort this profligate playboy. No matter how reprehensible he found the young master’s behavior, he could only turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the man in luxurious robes sighed in exasperation. “Ugh, boring! Utterly boring!” He rubbed his rear and complained crossly, “Are we there yet? Why is this carriage jolting so damn much today?”

As if in answer to his complaint, several pins at the center of the wheel axle slipped out simultaneously. The massive carriage tilted violently to the left, and the harness securing the horses suddenly snapped. The entire carriage plummeted down the steep embankment, tumbling over and over.

            

“Ah! Ah!…”

The man in luxurious robes was tossed around inside the carriage several times, only stopping when it slammed violently into a tree. Dizzy and disoriented from the blow to his head, he cried out, “It hurts so much! Wah! Quick… quick, get this young master out of here! This young master’s leg is broken… It hurts so bad! Wah!…”

In the ensuing chaos, the guards hastily reined in their mounts and scrambled down the snowy slope, flusteredly crowding around the door of the lopsided carriage.

            

“Second Young Master, the door won’t open!” one of the guards called out, straining against the handle. The others rushed to assist, but the carriage door seemed glued shut, refusing to budge a single fraction of an inch.

“Young Master! Try pushing from the inside!” the green-clad guard yelled.

“My leg is broken! And you still want me to use force?!” A pig-squealing wail and a torrent of abuse echoed from inside the carriage. “I’ve really raised a bunch of useless trash! Waste! Hurry up and get me out!”

            

The guards thought of drawing their swords to chop open the wooden door, but when they pulled them out, they realized to their shock that except for the hilts, the scabbards were completely empty. The razor-sharp blades they originally carried had vanished without a trace.

While several of them were busy in the freezing forest looking for anything to substitute for blades, the sky had quietly darkened, and the howl of a wolf came from not far away.

A first howl, a second, a third, and then they rose and fell from all around.

            

The horses nervously stamped their hooves, their heavy breathing radiating fear.

The man inside the carriage was completely oblivious, still cursing loudly at his guards’ incompetence.

The several men outside the carriage exchanged glances, listening to the vulgar abuse from inside and the approaching roars of the wild beasts in the distance.

            

When the first man turned, walked back up the slope, and galloped away on his horse, the rest followed without any further hesitation.

In the forest, as snowflakes drifted down flake by flake, nothing remained but an overturned carriage and the curses of the oblivious man inside.

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