The Double
Chapter 231 - 231 101 Blooming_4

231: Chapter 101: Blooming_4 231: Chapter 101: Blooming_4 Her change of subject was abrupt and blunt, yet her demeanor remained natural and gentle as if she were completely unaware.

Jih Heng couldn’t help but give her an extra glance before turning away with a smile and saying, “Well said.”

Seeing that Jih Heng was finally no longer speaking with Jiang Li, Taohong on the stage sang with even more fervor.

Jiang Li, looking on, couldn’t help but find it amusing.

It was said that only the most skilled actors could bring a play alive by losing themselves in the role.

Yet, while Taohong sang her part, her gaze was clearly fixed on Jih Heng.

Distracted, though the girl was wholeheartedly infatuated, her tender feelings were likely to be dashed, for she didn’t realize that the beauty in red was accustomed to being a spectator and never got involved in the play.

“It’s tragic that your fragrant soul dissipates with the wind, leaving me to weep blood-like tears, as if in a torrential downpour.

My heart breaks at the sight of danger; my eyes fixate, and my teeth chatter as my delicate form withers like a fading flower.”

Taohong continued her relentless singing, and the wind brought by her water sleeves even carried a tinge of desolation.

However, Jiang Li sensed a hint of murderous intent.

She thought she might have misheard, as the tragedy being depicted was unmistakable, with vocals full of sorrow.

But perhaps sensitive to the subtlest of emotions, she detected a barely perceptible icy chill amidst the gloom.

She looked up at Taohong.

Taohong, still blissfully casting tender, sweet glances at Jih Heng, had eyes brimming with pity.

Yet Jiang Li felt that Taohong’s locked gaze on Jih Heng resembled that of a predatory beast.

Jiang Li’s spine stiffened involuntarily; her fingers instinctively curled inside her sleeve as if sniffing out some conspiracy.

“Powerlessly watching, I can neither save you nor take your place.

How shall I repay you in my profound sorrow when each year the pear blossoms bring only the deepest grief?”

As Taohong sang the final “grief,” her voice suddenly sharpened, causing furrowed brows.

Jiang Li tensed, and before she could react, she saw Taohong, dressed in white, leap from the stage with her water sleeves fluttering and a flash of silver in her palm, darting straight toward Jih Heng!

She was an assassin bent on killing Jih Heng!

Before Jiang Li could cry out, she saw the actors who had just performed with Taohong suddenly emerge from all directions, looking like vicious demons, far removed from their immersive acting moments before.

This Golden Mansion was actually a front for a band of assassins.

Whoever was behind this clearly knew Jih Heng well, understanding that Jih Heng enjoyed watching and listening to plays, and thus they had constructed this opera troupe to perform a deadly charade akin to the Feast at Swan Goose Gate.

Indeed, an unwarranted disaster!

With assassins rushing in from all sides and the fiercely murderous Taohong coming head-on, Jiang Li found herself with no escape.

She knew even if she was not the target, once Jih Heng was dead, there was no way the assailants would let her live.

Moreover, with the indiscriminate nature of blades and arrows, even if Jih Heng survived, it was possible for them to kill her by mistake.

She had been reborn once, cautiously plotting her every move, and she wasn’t about to die here over such an absurd misunderstanding!

Jiang Li quickly touched the whistle hidden in her sleeve, but Taohong’s martial arts prowess was beyond imagination.

The water sleeves concealed several daggers, and as she was closing in, it was a moment of life and death!

Just then,

A bright light appeared from an angle, as if a peony burst into bloom.

The dagger plunged into the stunning peony, seemingly startled by the flower’s splendor and halting its advance.

Jiang Li fixed her eyes and realized that it wasn’t a peony at all, but Jih Heng’s folding fan.

He unfolded his fan and blocked Taohong’s strike.

In the next moment, she felt herself being lightly lifted as Jih Heng supported her back, pulled her behind him, and the exquisite golden silk folding fan, extended in front of his chest, revealed a dazzlingly complete pattern.

Taohong was also taken aback.

Her dagger, capable of cutting through iron like mud, had been effortlessly parried by the luxurious folding fan, as if her attack was nothing.

The peony on the golden silk folding fan, with its petals spiraling beautifully, seemed to mock her insignificance.

Jiang Li was still in shock.

Despite her usual calm demeanor, she couldn’t help but lose her composure faced with a life-or-death crisis, especially when today’s bizarre and violent ordeal was so unexpected.

The one who faced the situation with a smile was Jih Heng.

He wielded the folding fan in front of him, his gorgeous red robe trailing the ground, gracefully cascading down.

As the light outside dimmed, his brilliance seemed to intensify against the dark backdrop, making the peony on the fan appear as if it were desperately blooming.