Chapter 98: Collar Adorned With Gems
This, this, this is……
The singing and dancing girls looked terrified with their eyes, and the nearby Embroidered Uniform Guards perceived Wei Jiao’s actions, stunned before letting out low cries.
“Oh no.”
With the low cries, the surrounding Embroidered Uniform Guards looked over, their expressions all changing, immediately becoming noisy.
“Imperial Physician!”
“The Imperial Physician didn’t follow this time! The journey was too rushed!”
“Where’s the medicine? Is there any medicine left?”
“We used it up not long ago.”
As they spoke, the Embroidered Uniform Guards surrounded Wei Jiao, with several drawing their belts……
The singing and dancing girls watched in disbelief as these Embroidered Uniform Guards, who had previously been so respectful and somewhat fearful, actually used belts to tie up their captain’s hands and feet.
Their actions were very fierce, seemingly not giving him any chance to resist.
The young captain didn’t feel offended at all, neither roaring angrily nor struggling.
He was still smiling, but his originally spirited brows and eyes drooped down, and his originally dark gaze became even darker, like a void.
Although his hands were tied, he still raised them to his mouth and began to gnaw at his wrist, instantly leaving a row of teeth marks on his wrist, with beads of blood seeping out.
“Quickly help the captain inside.”
“Find a sealed room.”
Accompanied by the voices of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Wei Jiao was lifted by several people and hurriedly escorted to the back, and in the blink of an eye, only the singing and dancing girls scrubbing the floor remained in the hall.
The singing and dancing girls knelt and sat on the ground, looking at each other, their faces deathly pale and expressions bewildered.
What happened?
From the fragmentary words just now mentioning the Imperial Physician and medicine, it seemed like he was sick?
“This was left behind…”
One singing and dancing girl suddenly spotted the small box thrown on the ground.
This was the gift sent by this captain’s father.
What is it? Why did he suddenly become like this after just one glance?
The singing and dancing girl closest to it boldly scooted over, picked up the overturned box, and with a clatter, an object fell to the ground. The singing and dancing girls who gathered around all felt their gazes brighten.
They first saw colorful gems shining, then a collar of pure gold.
“So beautiful.”
Gasps of admiration rose in the hall, and the women temporarily forgot their fear and gathered around, discussing it while looking.
“So many gems.”
“It’s pure gold.”
“No, there’s a circle of leather below.”
“This kind of collar is quite rare.”
Hearing this, one singing and dancing girl suddenly exclaimed, “I’ve seen this kind.”
The gazes in the hall immediately turned to her, curiously asking, “Who wore it?” “In our estate?”
This was the villa Ma Qing used for entertaining, where many beautiful women were kept, and favored women would receive jewelry from Ma Qing or guests.
Of course, when the person died in the end, the jewelry would still be reclaimed by the Ma Family.
That singing and dancing girl murmured, “Not for people, for, dogs.”
Dogs?
Everyone was surprised again.
“One time the lord went hunting, and late at night they started dog fights. I saw the victorious dog at the end being rewarded by the lord with a collar inlaid with gems, saying it was the most fashionable thing in the Capital City’s Imperial Palace.”
As that singing and dancing girl spoke, she began to tremble, her face losing its joy and envy, replaced by fear.
“That night, among more than a dozen sisters, only I survived.”
“The others were all torn apart by the hunting dogs.”
Hearing this, the others around the collar immediately retreated, and looking at the collar again, it was no longer admiring wonder but terror.
……
…….
Darkness, endless darkness.
Wei Jiao struggled to open his eyes, but they seemed tightly wrapped in cloth.
He wanted to raise his hand to remove the cloth, but his hand was as if pressed down by a giant stone.
Why couldn’t he move? What happened to him?
Low roars came from the darkness, followed by screams and wails rising everywhere, as if countless hunting dogs were fighting chaotically around him.
He couldn’t stay still; if he didn’t move, he would be bitten to death.
He let out a scream.
The scream finally broke through the cloth wrapping his mouth and shouted out.
Although the voice was somewhat childish.
He also opened his eyes and saw that this was a large dog cage, with hunting dogs of various sizes, fur colors, and appearances crowded here, their eyes shining with eerie light in the darkness.
“A Jiao—”
A soft female voice came from the dark night.
He raised his head and saw a woman standing ahead, with flickering lights and numerous shadows behind her, and faint sounds of singing and dancing and laughter.
Mother!
“Mother—”
He stepped forward, but the hunting dogs around him made threatening growls, their eerie eyes all turning to him.
“A Jiao, you must live well.”
The woman’s voice came again, then she turned and walked toward the distant crowd of shadows.
Mother! Don’t go, don’t go—
He was afraid!
He extended his hand, bent his legs, knelt and crawled on the ground, slowly crawling outward.
If he acted like a dog, the hunting dogs wouldn’t notice him, right?
These hunting dogs were taller than him; he could see the saliva dripping from their mouths and smell the thick stench of blood.
He closed his eyes and shrank his body to speed up, but in the next moment, countless hunting dogs pounced, biting his back, arm, and legs.
His clothes were torn, and chunks of flesh were bitten off.
He hugged his head and rolled on the ground.
The surroundings fell into darkness again; had his eyes been bitten out?
Was he going to die?
He was going to die, he was going to be eaten.
He would never see Mother again.
No, if he died, he wouldn’t see Mother; Mother told him to live, to live—
He struggled to open his eyes and looked ahead, where flickering lights illuminated a shadow, but it wasn’t his mother.
It was a child.
A child not much bigger than a puppy.
The child was holding a crow in his hand.
The child suddenly looked at him, then bit into the crow.
The crow struggled and screeched in terror.
Blood flowed down from the child’s mouth.
Bite it to death.
Yes, he had a mouth too; he could bite as well.
Whoever bit him, he would bite them—
Bite them to death!
He suddenly flipped up and bit the neck of the nearest dog. This dog was taller and bigger than him, and it yelped miserably trying to shake him off.
His skinny limbs clung tightly to the dog; he could hear the fear in the dog’s miserable cries—
They were afraid of him too.
He became even more excited, proactively pouncing to tear and bite one hunting dog after another.
He didn’t know how many hunting dogs he bit until there were no more screams around him. He lay on the ground, and applause sounded in his ears.
“Good, good, good.”
“Good dog, the best dog under Heaven.”
The best dog under Heaven; he reached out to touch the collar around his neck.
This had originally been around the neck of the fiercest dog in the dog cage.
Now, it belonged to him.
He smiled and turned his head to look aside; the child in the distance was still lying there, biting the crow, smiling at him.
……
……
The sky was slightly bright, and inside Wangyang Pass, the troops were strictly arrayed, with large flags bearing characters like Wei, Longxi Great General, Mighty, and so on, like clouds.
Wei Cui walked out from indoors wearing an old cotton robe.
“Great General.” A messenger soldier hurried forward, paid respects, then said in a low voice, “The Embroidered Uniform Guards left before dawn.”
He paused here.
“Captain Wei left in a carriage; no one saw him.”
Wei Cui looked toward the direction of Qin’an City, sighing lightly, “This parting, who knows when we’ll meet again.” Then he raised his hand to signal.
The messenger soldier stepped back, and attendants came forward to drape a cloak over him and put on his hat, escorting him to the imperial carriage ahead.
Seventh Master Wei was already respectfully standing in front of the carriage, personally helping Wei Cui up, then following him in.
The inside of the carriage was warm.
“What to do about Qin’an City.” Seventh Master Wei said, his expression nervous, “The one surnamed Feng has taken it; it’s unfavorable to us.”
At this point, his expression turned self-reproachful.
“It’s all my fault for being useless, failing to perceive A Jiao’s intentions.”
The key was that Sun Shu’s son was hiding in Qin’an City, and he had no idea, nor did he know where Wei Jiao got the news.
Wei Cui didn’t blame him, smiling, “This child’s mind is unusual; it’s nothing if you didn’t perceive it. No need for self-reproach.”
Seventh Master Wei breathed a sigh of relief, about to say something, when Wei Cui removed his cloak.
“But what’s the deal with that child?” he asked. “How is it that his whereabouts, true appearance, and portrait in disguise all exist, yet you came back empty-handed?”
He paused again here.
“And all our own people died.”
Seventh Master Wei’s breath caught, and he bowed low, knocking his head with such force that even through the thick cushion, it seemed to hit the carriage floor, making a thud.
“Great General, forgive me.” He said in a muffled voice.
