"Eat some, so you can regain your strength," he coaxed.
Yin Wuxiao stared at the rabbit.
First, the rabbit was clearly not as tasty as the field mouse she roasted. She regretted that when she told Baili Qingyi how to catch field mice that day, she hadn't also told him how to roast meat.
Secondly, she had always been self-respecting, independent, and strong-willed since childhood, and had never enjoyed such treatment before, especially being personally fed by the world-renowned Baili Qingyi Gongzi. She was deeply afraid that it would bring her bad luck.
So she tried to raise her hand: "I can do it myself."
It didn't lift up.
Baili Qingyi stuffed a small piece of rabbit meat into her mouth. "Don't be stubborn."
Yin Wuxiao reluctantly swallowed the rabbit meat. Her red lips lightly touched his fingertips.
A slight blush rose to her cheeks.
This is not her fault; the situation is even more ambiguous than the stories in the novels she has read.
Baili Qingyi smiled slightly. He lifted her small face and examined her closely, finding her eyebrows and eyes as gentle as water. Suddenly moved, he let himself kiss her forehead lightly.
Yin Wuxiao stared wide-eyed, gasped, and her tears stopped abruptly.
“You…” Her face turned completely red.
Baili Qingyi coughed lightly: "How about me?"
Yin Wuxiao glared at him speechlessly, then lowered her head.
"You...don't you mind..." she murmured.
Baili Qingyi held her forehead.
"Xiao'er, you always manage to say the most jarring things." He was completely worn down by her and could only sigh deeply. "I don't care about these things, and you shouldn't care either. Let the pain fade away slowly, okay? From now on, I will never, ever let something like this happen to you again." He solemnly promised.
Yin Wuxiao was somewhat lost in thought. She had to admit that she was quite moved.
"But..." She hesitated for a moment, feeling that there were some things she had to say.
"I still think that you're being nice to me now only because you feel a sense of responsibility."
Baili Qingyi's expression darkened again.
"Look, you and I have only met a few times, you don't know me at all. I only said a few words and you got furious. It's clear you can't stand me at all."
Baili Qingyi buried his head in her hair, and after a long while said in a muffled voice, "I really was furious. I never expected you to recover so well."
Yin Wuxiao was taken aback at first, then smiled slightly: "Actually, I'm still very sad inside, and I'm having some trouble thinking about it. I think I should just throw myself into the river and commit suicide." As she spoke, she made a gesture of gently moving her arm.
Baili Qingyi hurriedly hugged her: "No!"
Yin Wuxiao cried out in pain as his wound was aggravated.
Baili Qingyi laughed out loud: "Isn't this just reaping what you sowed?" After laughing, he straightened his expression and said, "Xiao'er, I won't force you anything now, and you shouldn't overthink it. Let's meet a few more times, get to know each other better, and then make some plans, okay?"
"And only after you've been cured." He added silently to himself.
Yin Wuxiao blinked and smiled slightly.
"Yesterday... why were you targeted by the old scorpion ghost? Why wasn't Yin Bitong by your side?"
Yin Wuxiao forced a smile. His gaze fell on his bare wrist, which, besides minor abrasions, was covered with large bruises and finger marks—the marks left by that lecherous old devil, Poison Scorpion.
At the time, she was numb with despair, but afterwards she felt nauseous all the time.
Baili Qingyi noticed her discomfort and gently put an arm around her shoulder, wrapping her tightly in his arms.
"I shouldn't have let him die so easily." After a long pause, his stiff voice rang out.
Yin Wuxiao blinked, the hatred in his eyes burning like fire within her.
She chuckled, "I believe he died a very difficult death." Had he forgotten that, in his rage, Old Ghost Poison Scorpion was utterly reduced to ashes?
She then recounted in detail how Yin Bitong was stopped by the third of the Five Evil Stars, how she was made to leave, and how she herself encountered the Poisonous Scorpion Old Ghost.
"Actually, he was only forced to do this because he was suffering from severe poisoning. Besides, if I hadn't appeared, I'm afraid Miss Rong would have..."
She suddenly stopped talking.
“Miss Rong?” Baili Qingyi keenly caught the end of her sentence.
Yin Wuxiao sighed.
She knew Heaven meant well, wanting to prevent her from becoming despondent, which was why it orchestrated this whole affair and placed Baili Qingyi before her. But why couldn't they just send a minor deity or monk to offer some mystical Zen advice? Why go to such lengths?
If she hadn't been so indifferent to a woman's reputation, she probably would have already drowned herself for the third time.
Oh, her legs really hurt so much.
At dawn, Baili Hanyi arrived with his men and found the two men, who were disheveled.
Everyone stared at them as if they were rare and exotic animals. Yin Wuxiao covered half of his face with the corner of his clothes, feigning shyness, feeling as if he had been caught in the act of adultery.
Isn't it a blessing to be caught in bed with the young man in blue? She knew Shi Mansi would say that.
No one said anything; they touched their noses and decided to leave the valley.
Yin Wuxiao sighed inwardly. If it had been her and Yin Bitong who were discovered today, Yin Bitong would probably have been branded as a shameless lecher and condemned by everyone. But being with Baili Qingyi, not only did no one question Baili Qingyi's character, but some people even stared at her with strange eyes, as if she had set a trap to ruin the spotless reputation of the young master of the Baili family.
cut.
"Brother, we searched for a long time in this valley before finding you. Those who entered the valley with us yesterday also returned empty-handed. The terrain of Hundred Questions Valley is really strange; we don't know how long it will take to get out of the valley."
Baili Qingyi frowned: "Indeed, if we keep going like this, I don't know when we'll be able to get out of the valley. Hanyi, light torches and burn some bushes along the way to avoid getting lost."
Baili Hanyi nodded and went to light the fire.
Yin Wuxiao coughed lightly: "Uh, look up at the sky."
Everyone was baffled.
"Could you see the morning sun shining through the miasma in the forest, reflecting light in varying shades?"
Everyone craned their necks to look for a long time before finally Baili Hanyi let out a cry.
Yin Wuxiao smiled and said, "Just walk towards that serene area."
"Is it that simple?" Baili Hanyi didn't believe it.
"It's that simple."
"..." The group of men looked at each other for a while, then laughed and patted each other on the shoulder, chatting about the dishes served at the inn last night.
Baili Qingyi looked down at her and said in surprise, "You actually know about these unorthodox things."
Yin Wuxiao pouted, "I just learned that from reading books before." Seeing that everyone was casually glancing at her, she quickly nudged Baili Qingyi, "Can't you just put me down?"
"Can you walk by yourself?" Baili Qingyi raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't there a stretcher or something?"
"How could they? They don't know that you and I encountered danger in the mountains."
"Then...are you going to carry me all the way back like this?"
Why not?
"..."
Yin Wuxiao fell silent. Why not use such excellent laborers, who are good-looking and willing to work?
With no longer worried about getting lost, the group returned to the Dragon Inn in just one hour.
Yuwen Cuiyu was greeting people at the door when she saw Yin Wuxiao in Baili Qingyi's arms, and her expression changed.
Yin Wuxiao was also taken aback when she saw Yuwen Cuiyu. She was so preoccupied with her own pain that she forgot that Baili Qingyi, this tender young man, was already taken, and she also forgot that in addition to the obstacles in their thoughts and feelings, there was also a woman from the martial arts world standing fiercely between her and Baili Qingyi.
She felt extremely embarrassed. After all, lying in the arms of her future husband with her clothes disheveled was not a glorious thing. So she chuckled awkwardly and said, "Miss Yuwen, please don't misunderstand. Young Master Qingyi is very kind and righteous. He saved my life. I am extremely grateful..." She met Baili Qingyi's gloomy gaze and stopped talking awkwardly.
Baili Hanyi, however, excitedly said, disregarding the occasion, "Miss Yin truly deserves to be called the most talented woman in the world. Everyone else couldn't even recognize the path to Baiwen Valley, but she actually revealed the secret in a single sentence. It seems that our next entry into the valley won't be as difficult as last time."
Yuwen Cuiyu glanced at Yin Wuxiao in surprise, then expressed her appreciation kindly: "Miss Yin has such abilities. No wonder the young master in blue valued you so much, and even carried you back all the way here himself."
The words were kind, but why did they sound so awkward?
Baili Qingyi then spoke calmly: "How are the Rong siblings now?"
Everyone was taken aback.
"The Rong siblings were poisoned by scorpion venom, but they have already taken the antidote and are out of danger. They are resting in their room right now, and it will probably be at least half a month before they can walk normally again."
Baili Qingyi nodded: "I'll take Xiao'er back to her room to rest too."
Yuwen Cuiyu's face paled slightly when she heard Baili Qingyi address Yin Wuxiao.
Baili Qingyi walked past her and said to Baili Hanyi, "Keep a close eye on the Rong siblings and don't let them leave your side."
"clear."
He said he would take her back to her room to rest, but once inside, he grabbed her poor little leg and started setting it, causing her excruciating pain that nearly made her lose her mind. The pain also robbed her of most of her reason, and then Baili Qingyi effortlessly tricked her into revealing that Rong Jufeng had used her to fend off the Poisonous Scorpion Old Ghost. She was utterly disheartened.
Yin Wuxiao tugged at Baili Qingyi's sleeve, asking with some concern, "You're not going to cause trouble for those siblings, are you?"
Baili Qingyi snorted: "If you want to cause trouble, you should wait until they've recovered."
Yin Wuxiao felt slightly relieved.
"Don't you hate them?"
“What is there to hate? That’s just who they are. Isn’t it only natural for them to sacrifice strangers to protect their loved ones?” She spread her hands and smiled sadly.
Baili Qingyi remained silent for a while, then said, "What if Bai Can had treated you like this today? Would you have hated him?"
"Huh?" Yin Wuxiao didn't understand why he would mention Bai Can, but he still answered readily, "That guy has always been someone who values women over friends. It's not impossible that he would sell me out for his sweetheart."
"What if it's Yin Bitong?"
Yin Wuxiao laughed: "He's always been someone who doesn't follow any rules, why would I hate him?"
"...What if it were me?" Baili Qingyi suddenly stared at her intently. "If it were me, and I were to abandon you for the sake of someone close to me, would you hate me?"
Yin Wuxiao was genuinely stunned; she didn't know how to answer.
What about Baili Qingyi? After all, Baili Qingyi is also a person. Wouldn't she be willing to abandon her for something else that is more important?
But for some reason, she couldn't let it go. If Baili Qingyi did that, she could certainly forgive him just as she rationally forgave Bai Can and Yin Bitong, but...
But you'll still be sad, right?