Anti-Bone Scarlet Song

Chapitre 20

The young master slowly opened his eyes, looked around, and asked, "Where is the ghost?"

Unable to discern directions, Chu Xia pointed randomly and said, "Perhaps over there."

The young master paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Three months ago, I killed bandits on the Gan-Liang Road. One day, I killed three of them, but then I encountered a dust storm and was buried in the sand."

Chu Xia looked at him, wondering what he wanted to say.

The young master then slowly added, "He was buried along with three corpses. It took a full twelve hours for him to escape."

A chill ran down my spine in early summer, and I involuntarily took a deep breath, my expression somewhat strange.

"how?"

"You...you must smell like a corpse..." Chu Xia stammered, "That white fox fur coat...you actually let me wear it again!"

Chu Xia wanted to cry but had no tears, so she could only stay further away from him. Now, recalling the scene of the young master wrapping her in a white fox fur coat, she felt truly disgusted.

"Shh, listen." The young master suddenly ordered her to be quiet.

Sure enough, a soft sobbing sound came from the opposite bank of the lake, this time quite clearly.

The young master stood up and said, "Let's go take a look."

"I'm not going..." Chu Xia shook her head desperately, "I'm not going!"

"Then you stay here and wait for me." The young master's expression remained unchanged. "I'll be right back."

“Then I’ll go with you.” Chu Xia quickly changed her mind, but then added, “But young master… my legs are weak…”

The young master sighed softly: "I will bear the consequences of your past."

Chu Xia hesitated for a moment, but finally went over.

The young master's upper body was simply bandaged, and if you got close, you could smell a faint herbal scent. His shoulders were broad, and Chu Xia loosely wrapped her arms around his neck. When she looked down, she could see the teeth marks on his neck.

The moonlight was dim, and the young master suddenly leaped up, like a bird in flight, and in the blink of an eye he had already soared forward.

Chu Xia quickly hugged him tightly, and perhaps because of the force of the impact, her cheek involuntarily pressed against the scar, and a strange feeling arose in her heart. A slight itch, a gentle warmth, a sourness, all seemed to be contained in these fluctuations.

She was lost in thought for a moment, and before she knew it, she was on the other side. The young master didn't let her down, but carried her forward. Their shadows overlapped and intertwined, leaving a long trail on the ground, like a splash of ink in a freehand painting.

"Young master, I can get down and walk by myself..." Chu Xia said somewhat awkwardly.

The young master did not answer, but simply stood still. From the darkness not far away, the soft moaning sound came again, quite clearly.

"You want to come down?" the young master said with a faint smile. "If you come down... when you encounter evil spirits and have to escape for your life, I'm afraid you won't be able to run fast enough."

He pretended to put her down, and Chu Xia was so frightened that she hugged him tightly and said, "I... I'll have to trouble you, young master."

The young master hummed in agreement, bent down to pick something up, and walked a little further before asking, "Where's the tinderbox?"

Chu Xia hurriedly took out her torch, lit it, and asked, "Where did you get this torch?"

The young master was silent for a moment before saying, "I just picked it up."

So, this is what He Butuo and the others left behind... Just now, he wouldn't let me get down, probably because he was afraid that the corpses on the ground would frighten him again.

Chu Xia felt a slight warmth in her heart and whispered, "Young Master..."

He turned around: "What?"

“You…” Chu Xia hesitated for a moment, then praised him, “You walk so steadily…steadier than a horse.”

The young master was taken aback for a moment, then smiled gently and said, "Thank you for your compliment."

After walking for about half a cup of tea's time, the crying grew clearer and clearer. The young master stopped, the firelight flickering, and Chu Xia cried out in surprise, "Young master, look!"

Chapter Twenty (Part 1)

It was the same female leopard from yesterday lying on the ground, and the whimpering sound came from under her belly.

Chu Xia saw it clearly, and with a "Ya!" she jumped down from the young master and strode forward.

The young master did not stop her, but stood beside her to prevent the leopard from suddenly attacking.

In early summer, she carefully lifted a cub from under the mother leopard's belly, patted its head, and said, "So it was you who was calling."

The little leopard rolled around on her hand, licked the back of her hand, and then struggled to roll back to its original spot.

"Young master, what's wrong with it?" Chu Xia didn't dare to touch the mother leopard lying on the ground, and asked as she looked up.

By the light of the fire, the young master examined it carefully and sighed, "It was injured last night."

Chu Xia leaned over for a look and indeed saw a deep sword wound on the mother leopard's abdomen; she was already on the verge of death.

Taking advantage of the moment, the little leopard rolled out of Chu Xia's arms, crawled to its mother's side, and carefully licked its wounds, whimpering a few times.

Chu Xia felt a pang of pity and looked at the young master, saying, "Let's think of a way to save it. This little leopard hasn't even grown any teeth yet... How will it survive if its mother dies?"

The young master frowned and said, "There is no medicine for injuries here..."

Chu Xia's eyes lit up: "Then I'll go find some bitter grass."

The young master smiled wryly, "For minor injuries, small bitter herbs can be used. But this sword wound is too deep—"

"Young master, didn't you give me the medicine for my wounds?" Chu Xia suddenly remembered. "My wounds are almost healed. Do you have any left?"

In the flickering firelight, the young master saw that her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and even the tip of her nose was slightly wrinkled, showing that she was extremely anxious. He sighed softly and said, "There are still some left."

Seeing the medicine packaged in a small, exquisite porcelain box, Chu Xia couldn't help but ask curiously, "Young master, when you travel the world, why don't you carry more medicine with you?"

The young master said with a half-smile, "There aren't many opportunities to hurt me."

In early summer, I knelt down to apply medicine to the mother leopard. The leopard was very obedient and didn't move at all, only the cubs whimpered from time to time.

Chu Xia picked it up and held it in her arms, whispering, "Don't cry anymore, let it rest. Maybe it will be better tomorrow."

The little leopard's body was very soft, and its fluffy fur rubbed against Chu Xia's chest. It blinked its emerald green eyes and calmed down. Chu Xia felt a warm bundle in her arms, and because she was already injured, she drifted off to sleep.

The next day, when I woke up, the little leopard was nestled next to its mother, nursing. The mother leopard was still lying on the ground, but her wounds were much better than the day before.

But the young master is no longer here.

Chu Xia felt a little panicked and stood there frozen, but then she saw the little leopard, a fluffy ball of snow, leaping and bounding over, circling around Chu Xia's toes.

In early summer, she bent down and picked it up, but dared not go far, until she heard footsteps behind her.

The young master tossed half a wild boar in front of the mother leopard before looking at Chu Xia and asking with a smile, "Awake?"

Chu Xia was startled by the bloody smell emanating from him and took several steps back before asking, "What have you been doing?"

The young master pointed at the female leopard that had begun to slowly tear at the wild boar and said, "Didn't you want it to live? How can it live without eating?"

Chu Xia paused, as if she didn't recognize the young man in front of her, whose body was covered in blood.

The young master Ye An, whom she knew, would hold a book in his study, play the zither by the window, and admire flowers in the plum valley. He was calm, elegant, and unparalleled in his charm.

But at this moment, he seemed like a young and handsome hunter, devoid of indifference or mystery, simply laughing heartily and unrestrainedly—Chu Xia had never seen Jun Ye'an like this before. Completely transformed.

Seeing that she was lost in thought, he called out to her, "Are you hungry?"

Chu Xia blushed slightly and nodded.

"Come on, let's have some barbecue." The young master ruffled her hair. "Have you ever barbecued before?"

Before leaving, Chu Xia didn't forget to pick up the leopard cub that had drunk its fill of milk and followed behind the young master, whispering, "Young master, is this how you always are when you travel the world?"

The young master didn't turn around: "What do you mean?"

“I can’t say it…” Chu Xia said softly, “but you… it was like you were wearing a mask before.”

The young master slowed his pace, turned around, took her hand, and whispered, "I would love for every day to be like this."

The moment Chu Xia touched his knuckles, it felt as if something had slipped through her heart, and she couldn't help but tremble. But he didn't let go of her; he held her tightly and said calmly, "You saw it when we were at the Jun residence. What seemed like the safest place was actually fraught with danger. Here in the mountains and forests, though we live among wild beasts, we are much more at ease and naturally happy."

“But… we still have to go back.” Chu Xia sighed softly. “You are the master of the Jun family, you are not just anyone.”

The young master sighed very softly, "Yes, we still have to go back."

They stayed there for more than three days, and the mother leopard's wounds were healing day by day, and she was able to get up and walk. However, the young master's wound on his back was healing quite slowly because he refused to apply medicine and only rubbed some bitter herb juice on it each day.

That evening, Chu Xia was playing with the little leopard when she suddenly saw the young master stand up, looking wary. She tensed up immediately, and before she knew it, a white blob fell to the ground from her knee. The little leopard scratched at Chu Xia's leg with its little paws, clearly displeased.

After a moment, the young master relaxed, gestured to Chu Xia, and smiled, "One of us."

Chu Xia was overjoyed: "Can we go out now?"

Sure enough, figures moved swiftly, and several people landed in front of him in the blink of an eye. When they saw that it was the young master, they all knelt on one knee and bowed, saying, "Young master."

The mother leopard, who had been patrolling nearby, became alert and let out a roar when suddenly so many strangers appeared.

The guards immediately drew their weapons, which only made the mother leopard more agitated. Chu Xia, who had grown increasingly familiar with it, quickly stepped in front of the guards, urgently saying, "Put your weapons back! It won't hurt anyone!"

The guards remained motionless, merely watching the young master.

The young master nodded slightly: "Step back."

Chu Xia breathed a sigh of relief, but then saw the leading guard secretly eyeing the young master, and couldn't help but chuckle.

This was undoubtedly the most disheveled Jun Ye'an they had ever seen. He didn't even have a shirt to cover himself, his body was haphazardly bandaged with strips of cloth, and he was covered in wounds, a far cry from the former master of the Jun residence.

The guard quickly took off his outer robe and handed it to the young master, saying in a low voice, "It is my incompetence that I only arrived today."

The young master waved his hand casually: "None of your business. Have all the remnants of the Heavenly Gang been wiped out in Qingchuan River?"

"Yes. A total of 173 people, none of them escaped."

The young master gave a cold laugh: "There are still thirteen people at this Little Mirror Lake."

The guard was taken aback: "Young master, what are your injuries?"

"It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about." The young master casually put on his outer robe. "Now that you've arrived, let's head out of the mountain tonight."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xia was taken aback. She looked down at the little leopard crouching on her feet and felt a deep reluctance in her heart.

She bent down, picked up the leopard cub, and placed it back beside its mother. She patted its head and said, "I have to go now. Next time... I don't know if we'll ever see each other again."

The little leopard seemed to understand her words, its bright green eyes darting around as it cautiously used its front paws to tug at Chu Xia's trouser leg, whimpering softly.

Chu Xia sniffed, gently brushed its paw away, stopped looking at it, and turned to stand up.

The mother leopard let out a low growl behind them and gently bit the cub that was still crawling forward, as if saying goodbye.

Chu Xia dared not look again, and only walked faster and faster. After walking several dozen feet, she found the young master beside her, who asked softly, "Are you crying?"