Everything happened too suddenly, and everyone in the hall was stunned.
Ji Zixiu was the quickest to react. She drew a whip from her waist, coiled it around the soldier's waist, and as she slammed him to the ground, she leaped down and stomped on his head.
By the time everyone came to their senses, they saw the soldier still struggling as if possessed. His muscles bulged like massive stones, and his face was as ferocious as a vengeful ghost.
Suddenly, the soldier opened his mouth wide and lunged to bite Ji Zixiu's ankle.
Han Jingyu rushed to the soldier's side in a few strides, raising his saber to chop off the soldier's head.
"You can't kill him!" Ji Zizhao called out.
Han Jingyu immediately changed the trajectory of his saber, slashing towards the soldier's limbs.
However, even though the soldier's limbs and tendons were severed, he still twitched on the ground, oblivious to the pain, and tried to attack again.
The Second Prince had already jumped onto a stool in fright, pulling the eunuch beside him to shield himself.
The Tenth Prince seemed to be petrified, standing rooted to the spot, unable to move.
Ji Zizhao grabbed the Tenth Prince and pushed him towards the Seventh Prince, then stood up and walked towards the soldier.
Seeing someone approach, the soldier opened his mouth again.
Ji Zizhao picked up the long saber from the ground and wedged it into the soldier's mouth.
When everyone came back to their senses, they were all covered in a cold sweat from Ji Zizhao's roughness.
Was she saving him or killing him?
Ji Zizhao squatted down, placed her hand on the soldier's wrist, and her brows furrowed even tighter.
A normal person's pulse has four beats per breath, but this person's pulse was less than one beat per breath, the slowest possible.
By normal inference, this was a dying pulse.
Ji Zizhao then lifted the soldier's eyelids. His cloudy eyes were bloodshot, and upon closer inspection, it seemed as if tiny worms were wriggling rapidly, making one's scalp tingle.
She then probed the soldier's other meridians and found that the blood flow within them was even more bizarre.
Seeing that her elder sister was taking too long, Ji Zixiu, worried, wanted to step forward and investigate.
However, she was stopped by Ji Zizhao's sharp command, "Don't come any closer!"
Xie Jingqi, though equally concerned, did not admit it. "Ji Zizhao, you haven't contracted this madness, have you?"
"Madness" was the general term for mentally ill patients in this era.
Ji Zizhao replied, "If only it were madness."
Xie Jingqi frowned slightly. "What do you mean? Have you figured something out?"
Ji Zizhao looked at Han Jingyu and said, "I trouble Major General Han to return to the army and invite the military doctor to investigate."
Although she said that, Ji Zizhao already had an idea in mind.
She feared this was...
the most difficult kind of illness!
Han Jingyu instructed the soldiers present to escort the masters back to their rooms, and then he left the restaurant.
Without a word, Ji Zixiu followed him.
Han Jingyu glanced at the wound on Ji Zixiu's shoulder. "You stay here and recuperate."
Ji Zixiu replied, "Since I am Major General Han's soldier, I must ensure your safety."
Looking at the resolute Ji Zixiu, Han Jingyu felt a mix of sorrow and warmth.
Ji Zixiu, a mere woman, was full of such indomitable spirit. One could imagine the demeanor of the men of the Ji family.
No wonder the late Emperor had said that it was a blessing from heaven and extreme good fortune for the Yu Lin to have the Ji family.
If the Emperor, who had inadvertently pushed the Ji family into an abyss, recalled the late Emperor's words, would he regret it in his dreams?
As a member of the escort, Ji Zixiu was naturally there to wield a sword for the general.
Just as Ji Zixiu reached out to take the long saber at Han Jingyu's waist, another hand beat her to it.
Ji Zixiu looked up and saw Cao Yan approaching from behind Han Jingyu.
Ji Zixiu asked, puzzled, "My accompanying Major General Han back to the camp is sufficient."
Cao Yan glanced at Ji Zixiu's still bleeding shoulder. "I really don't understand you Ji family women. You're all women, why do you have to be so strong and make us men seem like less than scum?"
With that, he led the way out of the restaurant, following Han Jingyu.
Ji Zixiu, angered, chased after him. "Cao Yan, are you looking for a beating again?"
Cao Yan snorted. "You can beat me after you've recovered from your injuries."
Ji Zixiu: "..."
He was quite proactive about being beaten?
Han Jingyu couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
This trip to Luoyi, though fraught with danger, was worthwhile.
Not only had the second daughter of the Ji family matured, but even the usually idle Young Master Cao had grown up considerably.
If they could truly return to the imperial city alive, this new army would surely grow rapidly.
In the inn, the princes had already left the hall under the escort of soldiers.
However, no one dared to approach the soldier still struggling on the ground.
Ji Zizhao said to Qing Zhu, "Take him back to the room. Be careful not to let him bite you."
Qing Zhu nodded and dragged the soldier all the way back to the fourth floor.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they returned to the room, there was a knock on the door.
Ji Zizhao opened the door and saw the Seventh Prince standing at the door with an embarrassed expression.
"Your Highness, are you perhaps too idle, so you've come to stand at my door and space out?"
Xie Jingqi coughed awkwardly and squeezed into the room. "How could that be? I came to watch because I was worried that the soldier would cause trouble again, and I feared that you, a woman with weak arms, wouldn't be able to handle him."
Qing Zhu let out a silent chuckle.
If His Highness the Seventh Prince had seen his young lady's true abilities, he would know who was truly weak.
Xie Jingqi raised an eyebrow at Qing Zhu. "You've hit the nail on the head. So you're secretly happy, aren't you? But Ji Zizhao, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you struggled even to hold a wine cup, yet you still had to provoke that little Turk general. If I hadn't given you a helping kick, your throw wouldn't even have tickled him."
Qing Zhu: "..."
Your Highness, your brain is truly a good thing.
Ji Zizhao naturally wouldn't reveal that she was hiding her abilities in front of the Turks, nor would she explain. Before throwing the wine cup, she had already seen the veins on that person's fist bulging with suppressed anger.
The Emperor had only slightly guarded against the Ji family and had mistakenly sent all the men of the Ji family to their deaths.
Now, although the Emperor felt guilty towards the Ji family, he felt more at ease.
If the Emperor knew that she understood martial arts and was even more skilled in medicine, it would only arouse his suspicion.
When the Son of Heaven is enraged, millions will fall.
When the Son of Heaven is suspicious, who can bear the consequences?
The Ji family could not afford another round of suspicion and calculation.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
The tightly shut door was knocked upon again.
Xie Jingqi got up to open the door and saw the Tenth Prince standing outside.
The brothers' eyes met, and they spoke in unison, "What are you doing here?"
The Tenth Prince grinned. "I heard that the fairy sister brought that soldier back, so I came to check, worried about you."
Xie Jingqi frowned. "Look at your pathetic self. That woman kills without blinking. Even ghosts have to go around her. What's there to be worried about?"
The Tenth Prince: "..."
Then why are you here, Seventh Brother?