Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 230: What, Having Second Thoughts?

"That’s right, we are supposed to kill him..."

Song Lianhe’s conviction faltered.

Seeing that she didn’t dare to look at him, Zhou Cangyan scoffed. "What’s the matter? Getting sentimental?"

"No!"

She tilted her chin up, her eyes wide. "I just... I just..."

’A human life, and the protagonist’s life at that. How could I not be panicking?’

But Zhou Cangyan had no intention of letting her off the hook. He closed the distance between them, his imposing height creating a crushing presence. "Didn’t you say you wanted to save your own life? Or is his life more important than yours?"

"Of course not..."

Song Lianhe steeled herself, clenching a fist and giving it a little shake. "I’m the one who’s more important!"

’In this whole wide world, who else gets a second chance at life? It just goes to show that the heavens favor me!’

’And with the heavens on my side, as for the protagonist... if he has to be killed, he’ll be killed... right?’

Staring at her, Zhou Cangyan remained silent for a long moment.

"Wait, why are you back?" she asked nervously. "Did something happen in Yu State? Old Man Luo didn’t tell me anything. Every time I asked, he just said you wouldn’t die, so there was no need to worry my head off..."

’You could really tell they were grandfather and grandson.’

"He’s not wrong. I certainly won’t die. I’m just... ’grievously injured,’ that’s all."

"Grievously injured??"

The first thing Song Lianhe did was grab his hand to check his pulse. Then she started pulling at the robes over his chest. "Where are you hurt? Quick, let me see!"

He caught her hands. "My being ’grievously injured’ is of no concern. It’s the National Guardian General who’s had a hard time."

"You mean Song Xingfeng?" Song Lianhe instantly understood and waved a hand dismissively. "It’s nothing! As the National Guardian General, his duty is to protect the homeland. He serves the Emperor and earns his keep, so what’s a little hardship?" She patted his shoulder and added solemnly, "However, Prince Qing, since your injuries are so severe, you must take care to rest and recuperate properly."

Zhou Cangyan raised an eyebrow, his hand coming to rest on the crown of her head. "You have gotten a bit cleverer."

Song Lianhe lifted her head proudly. "More than just ’a bit’ cleverer! I’m as sharp as they come, brilliant through and through!"

Nearby, the clash of blades rang out.

Song Lianhe’s heart leaped into her throat.

Seeing the look on her face, Zhou Cangyan said, "Want to go and see? To see... how he dies..."

"There’s no need!"

In the end, Song Lianhe was just too spineless.

What was even more pathetic was that she was actually starting to back out.

’Maybe,’ she mused, ’if I’m just careful to stay far away from the protagonist, I won’t have to repeat the same disastrous path! That has to be better than taking a life for nothing and being tormented by my conscience day after day.’

"Relax. I won’t kill him."

"Huh?"

Song Lianhe stared at him in shock. "Wh-what did you say?"

The man looked down at her, his gaze growing increasingly cold. "I said, I will do as you wish. I won’t kill him."

He strode forward. Ahead of them lay a dense forest—easy to enter, but difficult to leave.

Song Lianhe hurried to keep up, her short legs scrambling for fear of being abandoned.

"What are you talking about? How can you say you’re doing as I wish? I’m the one who put this whole assassination plot together..."

"Hah."

Zhou Cangyan snorted. "Aren’t you the capable one."

Song Lianhe glared at him, her cheeks puffed out. ’Why is he being so passive-aggressive!’

"Why not poison him? If you really wanted him dead, wouldn’t poison be faster?"

"He’s a Prince! They’d demand to see a body. The moment they find traces of poison, it’s like handing them a map for their investigation! The type of poison, its origin, its source... they only need to trace one part of the chain, and we’d all be caught. Hacking him to death might seem crude, but it’s much less trouble in comparison. With so many complex blade wounds, who could tell which enemy dealt which blow? I’d rather go through all this trouble than have Emperor Cheng Xiao follow the clues right back to you!"

Listening to her lay out her reasoning so methodically, Zhou Cangyan thought that if he didn’t know she’d been raised as a sheltered lady her whole life, he would have sworn she came from some secret society of assassins.

"So you’re saying you were doing all this for my sake. It seems I’ve misjudged you."

"Of course!"

After hearing Zhou Cangyan say he wouldn’t kill Zhou Junlin, she visibly relaxed.

Zhou Cangyan saw it all but didn’t call her out on it. His expression, however, darkened considerably.

"By the way, where are we going?" She glanced around at the pitch-black surroundings. The occasional wolf howl pierced the night, and she instinctively huddled closer to Zhou Cangyan.

"This isn’t the way back to the city... Don’t tell me you’re taking me back to Ling’an? But I haven’t properly said goodbye to Old Man Luo, and there’s Da Xi, Da Mei, and Da Tao... and Zhong Shimin..."

She didn’t know what nerve she had struck, but the man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He turned back to look at her, his expression dark and unreadable.

"Wh-what is it?" she asked, looking at him with a hint of fear.

"Heh, you certainly seem to care about a lot of people."

"Er, could that perhaps be interpreted as... humble little me just being very popular?"

The man opposite her curled his lip into a chilling smile, then turned and walked away.

Song Lianhe swallowed her indignation and hurried after him. ’I don’t even know what I said wrong. How can he turn hostile in the blink of an eye...’

Zhou Cangyan walked deeper into the woods, the trees growing more and more dense. Song Lianhe couldn’t help but quicken her pace, subconsciously reaching out to grab the corner of his sleeve. "P-Prince, where on earth are we going?"

"You weren’t afraid when you were plotting to kill a prince, but you’re scared now?"

No matter how she heard it, his tone dripped with passive-aggressive disdain.

She couldn’t help but stick even closer to him. "I don’t know what it is... but when I’m with you, Prince, I feel like I’ve become even more timid."

She wasn’t even sure what she was saying, but Zhou Cangyan seemed to be pleased by it.

"You become more timid?"

She nodded hurriedly.

Zhou Cangyan’s expression actually softened, the curve of his lips relaxed, and a trace of normal human warmth returned to his eyes as he looked at her.

"I’ll remember this."

"?"

Song Lianhe was confused.

’Remembered what?’

’That I’m timid?’

Deciding it probably wasn’t important, Song Lianhe didn’t dwell on it.

As for their destination, it only took a moment for Song Lianhe to find out.

「The ruined temple west of the city, near the main road.」

Inside, Zhou Junlin was injured.

Song Lianhe’s breath caught in her throat.

Sensing her reaction, the man’s cold gaze shifted to her. She immediately waved her hands, frantically mouthing, ’It wasn’t me! I wasn’t the one who did it! Don’t suspect me!’

The man glanced at her, then suddenly let out a silent, scornful laugh.

From behind him, Song Lianhe carefully peered through a crack in the wall behind a Buddha statue.

’Besides Zhou Junlin, Gu Ha is here too!’

’Where’s Kong Yu?’

’Don’t tell me... the plan failed?!’

Just then, she heard a soft, pitying voice. "My Prince, why must you suffer so? Why was it necessary to put yourself in danger?"

Song Lianhe froze, one hand grabbing Zhou Cangyan, the other pointing inside—

Song Xilan!!