Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 40: Chapter 22 Each Takes the Separate Way_2

She had thus established extraordinary military achievements, earning the rank of Major General.

Now, all that no longer existed, she was just an abandoned wife, with a child in tow…

She couldn’t afford to act recklessly anymore!

Gu Changsheng looked up to see Zhou Mu, having dealt with everything, standing amidst a pool of blood with an air of desolate independence.

She glanced at Han Qiu, signaled for her to wait here, then turned to walk toward Zhou Mu.

The stench of blood enveloped her, the thick scent of the killing still lingering.

Gu Changsheng stepped over the corpses littered on the ground and came to a halt in front of Zhou Mu.

The dark blue shirt he wore was already stained with blood, his body emanated a palpable killing aura, cold and bloodthirsty, yet his eyes were utterly devoid of emotion.

Like a shell devoid of blood and flesh…

“Zhou Mu…” Gu Changsheng murmured his name, indescribably emotional.

Zhou Mu turned his head woodenly, his eyes gradually focusing as he looked at the woman before him.

Gu Changsheng slowly reached into her bosom and then extended her hand in front of him, revealing a bronze token in her palm.

“Zhou Mu, you never intended to harm us, I knew that from the start.”

“But you are the Commandery Prince of the Zhou Dynasty, high above and caught up in the Imperial Court.”

Gu Changsheng kept her head lowered, not looking at him; she was afraid, afraid of letting go, of feeling attached. She had always loved beauty and cherished the past. After such a long time together, sharing meals and journeys like comrades in arms, she was afraid she couldn’t steel her heart.

“Zhou Mu, I have no interest in being entangled in conflicts; I’m just an ordinary woman with too many people to protect.”

“Although I’ve helped you, it seems now, with your skills, that I was meddling unnecessarily. I helped you once, and you saved Xiao Cui’s life. Now we are even. Here is your token, given back to you. From this point on, let’s just pretend we never met.”

Zhou Mu reined in his aura and frowned as he looked at the token handed to him, not moving for a long time.

Gu Changsheng wasn’t in a hurry, just standing there.

She actually hated goodbyes the most!

After what seemed like an eternity, long enough that Han Qiu began to worry and unconsciously took a few steps in their direction, Zhou Mu finally reached out slowly and took the military token from her hand.

“With this, I will take care of things cleanly, and no one in the world will know of your connection with me.”

His voice was deep and distinct, reaching Gu Changsheng’s ears. She sighed with relief and then timidly raised her head, looking at the strikingly handsome man, “Then, take care!”

The feeling of parting was terribly annoying!

Zhou Mu gave her one look, then turned and walked away, stepping through the pools of blood toward the exit of the alley.

Gu Changsheng turned her head away, refusing to look at his retreating figure. She turned to Han Qiu and called out in a low voice, “Han Qiu, come over and search the bodies. We’re so poor now that we’re down to nothing but the flesh on our bones!”

The departing figure paused for a moment, then accelerated and disappeared into the night.

This woman, you just can’t expect her to react like a normal person!

Han Qiu turned to look at those huddled at the foot of the wall and said, “Don’t get up yet, and keep your eyes closed.”

Han Qiu was much faster at searching the bodies than Little Meat Bun, and Gu Changsheng pushed away that tinge of parting sadness, watching with eager interest.

As a doctor, she still preferred the warmth of living bodies to the coldness of corpses!

“How is it, Han Qiu, is there much silver?”

“Not much,” Han Qiu replied indifferently, passing the collected silver over.

Under the moonlight, Gu Changsheng looked at the silver in her palm and couldn’t help but want to curse; damn! Are all assassins this poor?

So many people and they carried no more than twenty taels of silver!

“Assassins set out with the expectation of death; they don’t plan for anything else,” Han Qiu explained.

Right, when one’s life could be lost at any moment, what use was silver!

Gu Changsheng, feeling internally wounded, angrily kicked the corpse in front of her, “Damn bunch of paupers.”

Kicking one after another, Gu Changsheng’s frustration grew; damn it, from a wealthy family of Wan Yuan, she had fallen into destitution. Just arriving at the Liuzhou Region, still nearly two hundred li from Liuzhou City, with so many people in their group and only twenty taels of silver, buying a horse-drawn carriage was nearly impossible. Being frugal might just barely get them to Liuzhou City.

While Gu Changsheng was venting her frustrations, Xiao Cui walked toward them trembling, with Little Meat Bun in her arms and covering his eyes.

She had seen dead before, but never this many…

“Didn’t I tell you not to get up?” Han Qiu looked at Xiao Cui and Dong Lei, who were shivering with fear, with a cold frown.

Han Mo was better off, indifferent as he held Little Meat Bun’s hand and led Dong Lei. Having been born in a General’s family, this sort of scene hadn’t truly scared him.

“Mistress… Xiao Cui isn’t… isn’t afraid, Xiao Cui also wants… to learn martial arts so I can protect Mistress like Han Qiu,” Xiao Cui stuttered at first, but her voice grew firmer as the fear on her face slowly turned to determination.

Gu Changsheng stopped kicking the bodies and looked at Xiao Cui and Dong Lei, who were also frightened but nodding in agreement with Xiao Cui.

She rubbed her forehead, exasperated, and then said, “Actually, learning martial arts might be a good idea, with the way you two attract attention. If you don’t know some self-protection, you might get kidnapped sooner or later.”

She could protect them for a moment, but not for a lifetime. In times like these, relying on power was far less reliable than relying on oneself.

Upon her response, Xiao Cui and Dong Lei both lowered their heads.

“Mistress, what should we plan to do now?” Han Qiu sheathed her longsword and asked.

“For now, well, the trouble is gone, and the handsome man has left. The key issue is we don’t even have much silver left. We need to find a place to stay for the night. Once the city gates open, we’ll leave, heading for Liuzhou!”

With that, she took her son and headed for the alley exit, mumbling as she walked.

“Can’t even afford a carriage now, have to rely on our legs, oh how hard my life is…”

“In the future, I should keep a low profile, live quietly in Liuzhou, focus on making money peacefully, and stop getting involved with these dangerous fights, just too damn risky…”