Transmigrated into the Villain's Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife (Transmigrated into a Book) - Chapter 15

Although Lin Chu had previously noticed the scent of bl00d on Yan Mingge, she assumed it was Han Zichen’s bl00d splattered on him.

Yan Mingge’s demeanor along the way showed no signs of injury, which made Lin Chu completely forget about it.

“Hang in there, I’ll get you a doctor…” Lin Chu didn’t even realize her voice was trembling with suppressed tears. While reading the novel, she had always thought the ultimate villain was invincible. But now, living in this world, she understood that everyone has their limits.

Even Yan Mingge could get hurt. Even he could die.

She tried to lift his arm onto her shoulder but was startled by how cold his hand was—a symptom of severe bl00d loss.

She had to stop the bleeding immediately!

But the alley was a dead end, and there were pursuers outside…

As Lin Chu helped him up, Yan Mingge barely opened his eyes. His pale lips curved into a faint smile as he looked at her profile and said, 

“Don’t worry, I won’t die…”

That smile was so weak and pale it made her heart ache.

“Don’t talk. Save your strength… but don’t fall asleep!” Lin Chu was flustered, her mind a blank.

Yan Mingge withdrew his arm from her shoulder and leaned against the wall. His voice was strained yet steady. 

“Just run on your own. If you bring me along, I’ll only drag you down.”

Lin Chu, anxious and desperate, snapped, “Yan Mingge! If you’re a real man, shut up! Don’t give me this nonsense about being a burden!”

Yan Mingge fell silent, his gaze locked on her. It was as if he was seeing this woman for the first time. His deep eyes carried thoughts only he understood. In his chest, a feeling he thought long dead stirred with unfamiliar emotion.

“Why?” he heard himself ask.

He had seen enough of human nature five years ago. When the Yan family fell, the girl who had once said she would marry him wept and begged to break off the engagement. He had agreed readily, but that didn’t mean he was unaffected.

People live for their own interests. It’s nothing new. Occasionally recalling it just left a chill in his heart.

This woman had caused such a scene when she first married him. Why was she different now?

Her constant efforts to please him had not escaped his notice. He had suspected she might be someone else’s pawn. After all, he had nothing now. What could he offer her?

He had been testing her, starting from the moment he grabbed her by the throat.

The results of his tests kept surprising him.

Was she just an excellent actress? Or was she truly foolish enough to bet her entire life on a man like him?

Yan Mingge found that he couldn’t understand her at all.

“Why ask so many questions? You’re handsome. Can’t I just not want you to die?” Lin Chu avoided his intense gaze and looked toward the chaotic street outside. Placing the purse she was holding next to him, she said, “The soldiers will start searching soon. I’ll draw them away and find a doctor for you. If I don’t come back… just assume I escaped alone. Try to get yourself to a clinic!”

“I haven’t fallen so low as to need a woman to save my life!” Yan Mingge growled, his fists clenching tightly.

Lin Chu ignored him. There was no time to argue. She ran toward the alley’s exit.

“Tan Yun!” Yan Mingge called after her.

She stopped just short of the alley’s end but didn’t turn around. 

“I’m Lin Chu!” she replied, and without knowing why, she ran off into the chaotic crowd.

The street was a mess. Soldiers on horseback barged through the fleeing civilians, overturning countless stalls in their path.

Lin Chu’s heart pounded fiercely, but she thought of Yan Mingge hiding in the alley and forced herself to blend into the crowd.

The soldiers weren’t fools. They spotted her quickly and shouted, 

“There she is! After her!”

The thunderous sound of hooves made it feel as if the horses were right behind her. A glance back revealed the soldiers charging after her, their ferocious expressions making her legs feel weak.

In moments of extreme tension, the mind becomes unusually clear.

Yan Mingge had told the soldiers earlier to search the northern gate for Jiang Wanxue and her son. But on the way, he had secretly arranged for them to be taken to the western gate instead, splitting the soldiers’ forces.

If not for that, far more soldiers would be chasing her now.

Two legs could never outrun four. No matter how hard Lin Chu tried to lose them in the crowd, overturning stalls as she went, the soldiers closed in steadily.

“Hyah! Hyah!” From the opposite direction came more riders. The already chaotic street turned into complete pandemonium. Lin Chu couldn’t dodge in time and was about to collide with a horse. The rider yanked the reins just in time to stop.

“Bold peasant!” The young nobleman on the horse had just begun to scold when he saw that it was a strikingly beautiful girl. He froze, giving Lin Chu the chance to pull him down.

The nobleman, caught off guard, fell flat on his face. While he struggled to get up, Lin Chu had already climbed onto his horse, grabbed the reins, and galloped off. 

“I’m borrowing your horse to save someone!” she shouted.

Lin Chu had always loved the exhilarating freedom of horseback riding in martial arts dramas. After college, her only hobby had been visiting equestrian clubs, so her riding skills were decent.

The nobleman’s servants rushed over, their faces pale. 

“Your Highness… Young Master, are you all right?” one chubby servant squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

The nobleman stood with their help, his face dark with embarrassment. Watching Lin Chu’s retreating figure, he muttered, 

“Are all the women outside the capital this bold?”

“Out of the way! Move!”

“If you don’t want to die, don’t block the soldiers’ path!”

The pursuing soldiers approached the nobleman’s group, clearly irritated. Assuming they were just local ruffians, one soldier lashed out with his whip.

The chubby servant squealed in fear and used his bulk to shield the nobleman. 

“Protect the Young Master!”

Annoyed, the nobleman kicked the servant aside and caught the soldier’s whip with his bare hand. With a hard yank, he pulled the soldier off his horse.

The soldier tumbled and rolled several times before coming to a stop.

The soldier got up dizzy, and saw the nobleman pulling the reins of the war horse and turning it around. The horse raised its head high and neighed before it stopped.  At the same time, the nobleman’s guards subdued the remaining soldiers. 

The chubby servant nervously offered a handkerchief. “Young Master, there’s no need to dirty your hands with such peasants.”

The soldiers, furious, snarled, “How dare you block the path of the army! Do you want to die?”

The young nobleman, his face both regal and cold, wiped his hands and tossed the handkerchief aside. “My brother praised Commander Feng Yan of Qiang City as a once-in-a-century military genius. Are the soldiers trained by such a general such a bunch of scum?”

Several soldiers, affronted by the blatant disrespect, bristled with hostility. One shouted,

 “How dare a mere brat slander our general!”

“Impudent!” the chubby servant barked shrilly.

A guard stepped forward and revealed a heavy gold token. Upon seeing it, the soldiers’ faces instantly turned pale with fear.

The nobleman declared coldly, “Tie up these scoundrels who have been rampaging on horseback, oppressing the people, and abducting innocent women, and deliver them to Feng Yan’s military camp!”

Abducting women!?

The soldiers were utterly dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Lin Chu galloped frantically on her horse. Along the way, she failed to spot any pharmacies or medical clinics, increasing her anxiety.

The only consolation was that the soldiers had yet to catch up.

Lin Chu speculated that perhaps the horse’s speed was so exceptional that the soldiers simply couldn’t keep up.

However, she wasn’t familiar with the terrain of Qiang City. Before marrying Yan Mingge, the original Tan Yun had lived in the military camp with other exiled women. Consequently, the original host’s memories offered little knowledge of the city’s layout.

After circling around several times, Lin Chu bitterly realized—she was lost!

Resigned, she decided to ask someone for directions. That’s when she spotted a young woman approaching from the opposite direction.

The woman, Shaoyao, carried a basket of vegetables and locked eyes with Lin Chu, who was still on horseback.

“What are you…” Shaoyao looked at Lin Chu, her face filled with surprise and confusion.

“My husband is gravely ill. I’m looking for a doctor. Do you know where I can find a clinic nearby?” Lin Chu’s disheveled appearance was pitiable, but her beauty shone through even in distress. Her reddened eyes tugged at Shaoyao’s heart, making her feel a trace of sympathy despite being a woman herself.

In Kingdom Zhao, a woman’s reputation was of utmost importance. Lin Chu’s was already tarnished, and now she was out in public like this… Shaoyao recalling how Tan Yun used to flourish as a maidservant, couldn’t help but compare her current state to Lin Chu’s plight. A subtle sense of superiority mingled with her sympathy.

Shaoyao herself was married to a low-ranking officer. She had heard plenty about the kind of man Lin Chu had married from her own husband.

Now that Yan Mingge was bedridden with serious injuries, the household was struggling to make ends meet. Medicine and treatment cost money—a lot of it. After some thought, Shaoyao suggested, 

“Go to the military camp and find Doctor Hu. He has a good temper. Since your husband’s injuries are from the battlefield, getting medicine there will save you a few silver coins.”

Doctor Hu had treated Yan Mingge’s injuries before. Seeking him out was indeed the best option.

“Is Doctor Hu in the military camp now?” Lin Chu asked.

If Doctor Hu was in the camp, it would complicate things. The commander of Qiang City seemed eager to get rid of Yan Mingge. If she went there recklessly, it might feel like walking into a trap.

Shaoyao shook her head. “When I was returning after buying pig’s head meatballs, I happened to see Doctor Hu drinking with someone at the tavern.”

Hearing this, Lin Chu breathed a sigh of relief. She thanked Shaoyao, whipped her horse, and headed straight for the tavern Shaoyao had mentioned.

When Lin Chu found Doctor Hu, he was already thoroughly drunk, and the person he had been drinking with was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Chu called him several times, but he didn’t wake up. Fearing something might happen to Yan Mingge, she spotted a pot of cold tea on the table. Apologizing under her breath, she poured it over his head.

“Who dares to mess with me!” Doctor Hu sprang up with a start, like a carp flipping out of water.

“Doctor Hu! My apologies!” Lin Chu said hastily.

Doctor Hu squinted at her in confusion. Seeing Lin Chu in such a wretched state, he paused for a few seconds before recognition dawned.

In the next moment, Lin Chu grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him outside. Alarmed, Doctor Hu shouted, “You reckless girl! Don’t you know the rules of propriety—men and women shouldn’t touch so casually!”

“My husband’s life is in danger! Please, come quickly!” Lin Chu explained briefly.

Upon hearing that Yan Mingge was in trouble, Doctor Hu sobered up immediately. He quickly grabbed his medicine chest, muttering, 

“Slow down, slow down! This old man’s bones can’t take such rough handling…”

Lin Chu managed to ride back to the alley smoothly, without encountering any soldiers along the way.

At the alley’s entrance, Lin Chu helped Doctor Hu dismount. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he bent over and vomited profusely. His legs wobbled, and he had to lean against the wall for support as they entered the alley. 

“You’re as brash as that rascal Yan Mingge. Truly, a match made in heaven!”

Lin Chu didn’t catch what Doctor Hu said. The alley was eerily quiet, devoid of any signs of life. However, a patch of bloodstains remained where Yan Mingge had previously been sitting, still not entirely dry.

Lin Chu’s hands and feet turned icy cold.

Had she returned too late after all?