Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 173: Preening Black Dahlia — XIV

Namgung Jihye thought it strange when, all of a sudden, her father — the Namgung clan head — came to a decision completely so out of ordinary for him.

"Lead the Clan’s escort agency to Iron Wall safely." He said, as if he did not realise how strange it appeared.

To Namgung Jihye, this was one of the strangest orders he could have given. He was a martial artist, one of high status and strength. Certainly, her father possessed his own eccentricities, but this? This was even beyond the realms of her expectations.

Oh no, she did not think any work beneath her, that was within reason, of course. However, this in particular was off-putting. Yet, it was not within her rights, even as the eldest daughter and less so as a martial artist of the clan, to refuse the direct command of the Clan Head.

Thus, with little expression of her reluctance to leave, partly due to Namgung Hyein’s fragile mental state, and partly due to the suddenness as well as the strangeness of this order, she agreed.

Hiding her misgivings, the eldest of the Namgung siblings left on the date that had already been decided.

Not without giving thorough instructions of Hyein’s care to Suyeon, that is.

Only, she could not have known the surprise that lay in waiting, counting on an opportunity to catch her off-guard and ambush her unceremoniously.

...

Weeks later.

A few minutes before the nightfall. At the outskirts of the border that separated Xingqing and Taiyuan, where the war between the Heavenly Demon Cult and XiajinYao Clan was underway.

Now, with the nightfall in sight, both the warring parties declared a halt in fighting until the dawn of next day came upon them.

However, it certainly did not mean that the enemies could trust one another and show their backs to them.

Even with the honours of warriors, it was a common knowledge in this abyss of JiangHu: ’Only ever show your back to the enemy if you grow weary of your life’

Everyone knew it, thus, did not turn their backs.

And yet, somehow, even with caution exercised, a man fell prey to the vicious attack from the foe he had been facing, watching. As the blow landed, it tore a burning agony through his body, knocking any air out of his lungs and sent him hurtling down a steep cliff.

Through the blinding pain, a body that bled relentlessly, and the seemingly endless freefall downwards, the only thought that echoed in his mind, disbelieving and dissonant, was:

’This should be impossible.’

Before long, his vison lost focus, flashed for a moment and turned black, just in time for his body to come crashing down on the still river below.

...

In the outskirts of Zhejiang Province.

To say Namgung Jihye was deeply contemplative would be a great understatement. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

It was deep into the night when her and other warriors of the escort team came to a unanimous decision to stop and set up a camp for the night.

After all, everyone had grown tired of the long and tedious journey back to Zhejiang from the territory of the Iron Wall.

Speaking of that, it was nothing short of absolute humility and insignificance, that she felt upon entering the said territory. Obviously, She had known that the Iron Wall was created by the Emperor himself and thus, was immense.

But to hear it from others and to witness it for herself was wildly different.

It boggled her mind when she thought back to it. The innumerable martial artists, the different coloured robes for different ranks. The warriors, none of whose she could gauge the levels of, just roaming the place awaiting any requests of reinforcements.

Sitting apart from the group around the fire, with her back against a tree and eyes closed, the eldest of the Namgung siblings stewed in silence.

Just listening to the quaint noise of the insects, the quiet chatters of the martial artists she was leading, and the soothing crackles of the burning fire.

"Young Miss Namgung?"

Withholding a sigh, Namgung Jihye slowly opened her eyes to peer at the older martial artist standing before her, holding a dried piece of salt-cured meat and a bottle of liquor. "Yes?"

The man smiled down at her, his rough, scarred face softening slightly at the confusion painted across her features. Tentatively, he stepped to take a seat beside her, feeling strangely out of place in doing so. He set the liquor down, lowering the hand holding the jerky in embarrassment.

"I thought this would be good to relieve fatigue."

Namgung Jihye observed the man mutely, unsure of what to say for a while. "Oh, accept my apology," she shuffled away slightly, making some space, "for a lacklustre reaction. I was..." —she glanced at the cured piece of meat briefly— "confused. But I shall acce—"

Before she could finish talking, an abrupt, jarring sound of something, someone, falling into the river nearby cut her off.

Everyone flinched.

Namgung Jihye froze for a moment, shared a look with the older martial artist, and remarked. "That sounded like it fell from a great height." Her words were barely above a whisper and voice strained. In her ears, the young lady could hear her heart thundering in her chest.

The man nodded, his face grim. "Should we investigate?"

Namgung Jihye fell silent at the question. For a moment, she wanted to refuse. To denounce the notion as a foolhardy behaviour. But something compelled her to say otherwise.

Something strange and foreign.

"Yes, let us go." She heard herself say.

And so, against her better judgement, the two, and three more from their group, went to see if the fall had been of a human or an animal. Though everything in her mind tilted her towards the former. It was as if something in her mind was whispering to her.

It is a man she must meet.

Strangely enough, how would she know if the thing that fell was truly a man, a woman, or a child?

Still, she carefully led the group of five people — herself included — to the bank of the river that flowed below. Cautiously, they meandered through the shallow forest and reached the bank. A burning torch raised in her hand, Namgung Jihye lowered herself to get a closer look.

Sure enough, in the meagre light and the thick blanket of night, she could make out a vaguely human form float in through the steadily flowing river. The sight alarmed her immediately as she shot to her feet and ran to the edge of the small cliff and jumped down.

The four men followed after her with varying levels of urgency but no questions.

As her body hit the freezing river water, Namgung Jihye spared not a second in swimming towards the clearly unconscious person.

Shivering, the young lady caught the person’s freezing and limp hand, pulled them towards herself, and swam ashore as quickly as she could.

By the riverbank, the men swiftly pulled her and the person up. Namgung Jihye collapsed on the ground, trembling from cold, and exhausted.

But the alarming amount of blood that stained her clothes did not escape her notice.

It was not hers. Then it had to be from the person she just rescued.

As she caught her breath, Namgung Jihye saw one of her men look over at the person with the torch’s help. However, as soon as she caught the sight of their face, her eyes widened in utter shock.

Her heart caught in her throat, breath tight. That whispered voice in her head was right—

The person was indeed a man.