Li Ang slowly halted, his long boots crunching on the sand and gravel beneath.
The crossbow mounted on the carriage window was nearly an arm’s width, its body dark and unreflective, the arrowhead glinting with a cold gleam.
In design, it was almost identical to the crossbows used by the garrison soldiers.
The narrow alley offered no shelter, with towering walls on both sides and no room to maneuver, nor could one hear if there were people living behind those walls.
The coachman lightly flicked the reins, let his sleeves drape, and turned his head—under the bamboo hat was the face of one of the two Sword Cultivators who had guarded Jiao Cheng in Pingkang Square that day.
Extending from beneath his sleeve was a floating, gently humming hiltless Flying Sword.
Li Ang stepped forward, climbed into the carriage, and immediately smelled the scent of herbal medicine.
Inside the spacious carriage, a thick layer of white cloth was spread. On the double row of seats sat Jiao Cheng, Di Wu, and another middle-aged Sword Cultivator.
Jiao Cheng’s crippled right leg was covered in messy, linear slash wounds, as if a sharp blade had cut through the skin.
Although Di Wu and the other Sword Cultivator, their hands bloodied, had applied herbal powder and cloth to the wound, they could not stop the blood from continuously seeping out and dripping onto the carriage.
"Heal him and this money is yours."
Di Wu took a deep breath and, with a bloodstained palm, pulled out a stack of flying money from his bosom, the smallest denomination being five hundred strings of coins.
"I know you specialize in trauma," pale-faced Jiao Cheng said breathlessly, laboriously retracting the powerful crossbow from the window and leaning against the inner wall of the carriage. "After you left with You Xiao that day, I had someone investigate. You’ve treated trauma in Yizhou before. Heal me."
Jiao Cheng’s tone was resolute, his index finger still resting on the Crossbow Mechanism.
Li Ang glanced at him expressionlessly and did not take the flying money from Di Wu’s hand, saying indifferently, "I don’t have my tools."
"Go to Huai De Square," Jiao Cheng spoke in a low voice. The Cultivator at the front of the carriage flicked the reins, driving the carriage north, and stopped in front of the inn where Li Ang was staying.
Jiao Cheng didn’t disembark. Instead, he directed the Sword Cultivator and Li Ang to jump down from the carriage, go inside to grab the medical kit, return to the carriage, and then instructed the carriage to head southeast.
During the ride, Li Ang, without using pure wine to cleanse his hands, directly stitched Jiao Cheng’s leg wounds using silver hook and silver thread.
It was unknown if the herbal powder covering Jiao Cheng’s leg had some special effect. Throughout the stitching process, Jiao Cheng didn’t cry out in pain, and the wound didn’t bleed profusely, though his complexion grew even paler.
Jiao Cheng handed the Crossbow to Di Wu, instructing him to continue aiming at Li Ang.
The other Sword Cultivator in the carriage also continuously manipulated the Flying Sword, hovering it beside Li Ang’s head.
Outside the carriage window, Chang’an Market was still bustling with noise. In just two days, it would be July 15th, the Ullambana Festival of Buddhism, where rich and poor alike would prepare food and paper money to commemorate the deceased, showing remembrance for their ancestors.
Shops along the streets had already started displaying various sacrificial items, clothing, and hats. Some markets were also hanging up lanterns early, waiting for the Ullambana Festival to light them for blessings.
The streets were noisy. Government Officials and bad people from Chang’an County and Wannian County maintained order at the intersections. Occasionally, some bad people were seen leading fine dogs, sniffing the scents of passersby and carriages.
Li Ang remained silent, slowly and steadily stitching the wound, while Di Wu and the Sword Cultivator driving the carriage became increasingly tense.
As the carriage slowly approached an intersection ahead, a fine dog lying by the roadside seemed to sense something, let out a "WOOF!" and stood up, looking toward the approaching carriage.
Bald Di Wu swallowed hard. His palm, holding the Crossbow Mechanism, was sweaty, and his gaze seemed ready to pierce through the carriage to pin down the fine dog.
With unexpected strength, Jiao Cheng forcefully gripped Di Wu’s wrist, compelling him to lower the Crossbow, while he himself pulled a packet of medicine from his bosom, pinched it open with one hand, and scattered the powder inside the carriage.
A strange, indescribable scent, a mixture of fragrance and stench, filled the carriage and drifted out through the windows.
The vigilant fine dog by the road sniffed, tilted its head in confusion, watching Jiao Cheng’s carriage pass by.
And the bad person holding the leash yawned, completely unaware of any anomaly.
They had actually passed.
Li Ang’s eyelid twitched. The fine dogs in Chang’an City responsible for patrol and alert were trained by the Zhong Family of the garrison, easily capable of detecting and tracking the scent of human blood.
Firstly, the packet of medicine Jiao Cheng held was definitely extremely precious. Secondly, whatever they were plotting, they did not want it discovered by outsiders—otherwise, there was no need for such secretive measures and resorting to kidnapping to force treatment.
Li Ang was to participate in the final examination at the Academic Palace. If he were to disappear the day before the exam, even if some thought Li Ang was evading it, fellow students and Academic Palace personnel would still search for him in the city, causing a stir. After all, to prevent any student from trying to eliminate competition, the Academic Palace would certainly take this very seriously. They might even send Cultivators, in collaboration with garrison personnel, to search the city.
At this point, holding Li Ang hostage...
What exactly is it for?
Li Ang gradually sped up his stitching, and the carriage smoothly exited the intersection, continuing eastward.
Guangde Square, Xinghua Square, Lanling Square, Jinchang Square...
The carriage traveled southeast until it entered the gated area of Qinglong Square and stopped in a secluded bamboo grove.