Chapter 11: Faint Fragrance. They were too close.

A gentleman stands in the world by keeping his promises. Shen Ji never considered himself a gentleman, but when he promised someone something, he would naturally do his best to fulfill it.

After Su Zhenyue took her leave, he ordered Ping An to prepare the necessary materials.

Ping An was obedient and quick-witted. He soon returned with the purchased items. Though panting for breath, he still asked curiously, “Young Master, are you going to help Miss Su make a crossbow?”

“No, a regular crossbow is too heavy. It might not be useful in a moment of real danger.” Shen Ji shook his head. “It has to be something that can be carried on one’s person.”

“Then that is…”

“A sleeve arrow.”

Sleeve arrows were concealable and could catch an opponent off guard. Although their range was short, making them unsuitable for long-distance attacks, they were more than enough for a maiden of the inner chambers to defend herself.

Ping An let out a soft “Huh?” his interest piqued. “A sleeve arrow? I’ve never seen one before.”

“You’ll see one in a moment.”

Sleeve arrows were not common at the time, but this was no challenge for Shen Ji. As long as the materials were all there, it was merely a matter of a few more attempts for him.

Shen Ji told Su Zhenyue to come back in three days. During this period, she truly did not set foot in Qingfeng Courtyard.

Each day, she would either play with the kitten with Gu Yuanzhen or do some needlework by herself.

It was still the national mourning period, so Old Madam Wen and the First Madam, Zhou Shi, were busy attending the memorial services at court every day. The newly married Chang Le Princess remained in the palace, never to be seen.

Therefore, Su Zhenyue’s life was relatively relaxed and pleasant.

The three-day period arrived in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Su Zhenyue once again made her way to Qingfeng Courtyard.

Shen Ji was in the courtyard.

Seeing her approach, he merely lifted his eyelids. “The item is ready. It’s on the stone table over there. Go take a look.”

“Alright, thank you, Cousin.” Su Zhenyue’s heart pounded with excitement. She quickened her pace to the stone table and, sure enough, saw a foot-long wooden box.

The box was half-open, its interior lined with a layer of soft cloth, upon which an object lay quietly.

The object was less than a foot long and wrapped in a layer of leather.

Su Zhenyue fixed her gaze on it and couldn’t help but let out a low cry, “This is… a sleeve arrow?!”

Shen Ji turned his gaze to her, his expression a little strange. “You recognize a sleeve arrow?”

Even Ping An had never truly seen one, yet she could recognize it at a glance and call it by its proper name?

“I… I’ve seen it in a book, and I’ve heard Yuanzhen mention it,” Su Zhenyue explained, trying her best to appear nonchalant.

Shen Ji let out a soft “Mm,” and said no more.

The Jing An Marquis Estate had been established on military merit; it wasn’t surprising for the estate to have some miscellaneous books on weaponry.

However, she had been in the Jing An Marquis Estate for much longer than he had. Why didn’t she seek help from the Gu family instead of him?

Shen Ji’s brows furrowed slightly, then he gently shook his head, suppressing the question.

Forget it. It’s already done. Why bother with all that?

Su Zhenyue gently stroked the leather exterior of the sleeve arrow, her thoughts in turmoil.

Of course she had seen a sleeve arrow before, not in real life, but in that long, long dream.

In the dream, after the “cliffside choice,” Su Zhenyue had been thrown off the cliff. With both her legs broken, she was saved by a mysterious masked person. That person was likely an expert in hidden weapons and had crafted many concealable ones. At the time, feeling that revenge was within her grasp, she had gone to great lengths to obtain a sleeve arrow from that person.

Unfortunately, her revenge failed, and she lost her own life in the process.

…

“Be careful. Don’t touch the mechanism by mistake,” Shen Ji’s reminder broke through Su Zhenyue’s thoughts.

She quickly came back to her senses and smiled sweetly. “Thank you for the reminder, Cousin. I’ll be very careful.”

After a moment’s thought, she feigned ignorance and asked, a little embarrassed, “Cousin, how do I use this? I’ve only ever seen it in books, I still don’t know how…”

Shen Ji approached, expressionlessly picked up the sleeve arrow, placed it inside his own sleeve, and strapped it to his forearm.

“Watch closely.” With a flick of his right wrist, a short arrow shot out, embedding itself straight into the ground. “The range is short, only about fifty paces. Don’t use it normally; use it for self-defense in moments of crisis.”

“Wow!” Su Zhenyue exclaimed in admiration. “That’s so impressive.”

She had been about to say directly, “Let me try, can I?”

But as the words reached her lips, she changed her mind at the last second. She casually moved closer to Shen Ji and pleaded softly, “I didn’t see clearly exactly how you did that, Cousin. Could you do it one more time for me to see?”

“You may.” Shen Ji, suspecting nothing, agreed at once.

“Thank you, Cousin.” Su Zhenyue took a few more steps closer, her eyes fixed on his hand without blinking.

They were too close. This was the thought that suddenly surfaced in Shen Ji’s mind.

Presumably for a better view, she was standing on the same side as him, no more than a foot away.

Shen Ji could even smell the faint, sweet fragrance coming from her, a scent that was neither orchid nor musk.

In addition to that, her scorching gaze was fixed on his hand, making it difficult to ignore.

Shen Ji lowered his eyes to glance at her.

The young lady’s cheeks were fair and tender, appearing almost translucent under the sunlight. Her expression was focused, as if she didn’t want to miss a single detail.

Shen Ji abruptly retracted his gaze and shifted his body away slightly, almost imperceptibly, but kept his hand in a direction she could still see clearly. He deliberately slowed his movements and explained aloud, “Look carefully. There’s a mechanism here. Just press it, and the arrow will come out. After one arrow is fired, quickly rotate the cylinder to fire the next one.”

“It can fire in succession. It’s truly amazing,” Su Zhenyue marveled, then asked, “How many arrows are there in total?”

“Six. They are shaped like plum blossoms, so it’s also called a plum blossom sleeve arrow.”

“Then, can I try it?” Su Zhenyue’s eyes were sparkling, showing a certain eagerness.

Shen Ji let out a soft “En,” lowered his head to untie the strap, and handed the sleeve arrow to her.

Su Zhenyue quickly reached out to take it.

In the exchange, she probably hadn’t anticipated the weight of the sleeve arrow. The moment she took it, her hand trembled slightly.

Shen Ji’s heart leaped into his throat.

The next instant, he saw the sleeve arrow held steadily in the young lady’s hand.

Su Zhenyue smiled at him, gently rolled up her sleeve, and, mimicking his earlier actions, strapped the sleeve arrow to her forearm.

This action inevitably revealed a section of her smooth, fair wrist, and the exquisite, translucent white jade bracelet on it.

A glint flashed in Shen Ji’s eyes. He clasped his hands behind his back and turned his head to look at the parasol tree in the distance.

Several days had passed, and more of the withered yellow leaves had fallen. The tree trunk was bare, looking even more desolate.

Only when the rustling sounds behind him gradually ceased did Shen Ji turn his gaze back, his chin moving slightly. “You can try.”

“Alright.” Su Zhenyue steadied her nerves, her expression turning serious. She imitated Shen Ji’s earlier action, flicked her wrist, pressed the mechanism, and a short arrow immediately shot out, embedding itself in the ground.

It landed perfectly parallel to the two arrows Shen Ji had shot earlier.

“Wow, so I can do it too.” Su Zhenyue’s eyes instantly lit up. She looked at Shen Ji with a grin, clearly seeking praise.

Shen Ji raised an eyebrow. “Good aim.”

No one disliked a clever student, and he was no exception.

“Really?” Su Zhenyue smiled, her words exceedingly modest. “It was probably a fluke, just good luck.”

Of course, she wouldn’t say that it was because in that long dream, after she had “turned to the dark side” and was bent on revenge, she had studied under the mysterious person for a while. She just hadn’t expected that the experience from her dream would actually be useful in reality.

As she spoke, Su Zhenyue quickly rotated the arrow cylinder. With a swoosh, another short arrow shot out. The arrow stuck in the ground, still parallel to the previous ones.

One arrow was a fluke; two was a matter of skill.

Shen Ji couldn’t help but glance at her sideways and curl his lips into a smile, but he wasn’t suspicious.

He himself possessed a photographic memory, so he didn’t find it particularly strange that this Miss Su could learn it after just two demonstrations.

Su Zhenyue gently stroked the leather of the sleeve arrow, seemingly unable to part with it. After a thought, she took a few steps forward and bent down to pull out the arrows stuck in the ground.

Shen Ji spoke up to stop her. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll have Ping An clean it up when he gets back.”

“But, there are only two arrows left.” Su Zhenyue raised her hand, touched the sleeve arrow, and looked troubled.

“There are more in that box. It should be enough for you to defend yourself,” Shen Ji said, pointing casually.

Su Zhenyue went to the stone table to look at the wooden box again. Sure enough, beneath the soft cloth were dozens of short arrows, packed densely together.

She subconsciously looked at Shen Ji.

—Although she had asked Shen Ji for help in order to get closer to him, at this moment, she was truly grateful to him.

The two of them were relatives in name only, with no real connection. Yet he had first saved her life at the Zhuangzi, and now he had given her a sleeve arrow for self-defense.

Shen Ji was a truly good person.

Su Zhenyue composed herself slightly and once again thanked him earnestly. “Thank you, Cousin. I will remember this.”

Shen Ji had heard words of thanks from her many times. His brow twitched slightly, his face showing little emotion. “I still have some things to do. You should head back first.”

“En, then you can get back to your work, Cousin. I’ll take my leave.” Su Zhenyue understood the principle of “quitting while you’re ahead.” She gave a curtsy and was about to leave.

“Wait.” Shen Ji suddenly stopped her. “If there are any problems with this sleeve arrow, you can come find me. Also…”

Su Zhenyue looked up, her face serious, listening for his instructions.

Shen Ji paused for a few seconds, his gaze falling upon her as he spoke word by word, his pace extremely slow, “Miss Su, I am giving you this sleeve arrow for you to defend yourself. You must not use it to harm people wantonly.”

His voice was deep and uncharacteristically serious.

Su Zhenyue solemnly replied, “Yes, rest assured, Cousin.”

She had no intention of harming anyone right now; she only wanted to live.