I put my arm around the strong man's slender waist

Chapter 48

"It's my daughter." The tent flap was lifted, and Chang Huan stood in the gloom, smiling at me as dusk settled in.

"Chang Huan?" I was a little stunned and surprised. I pulled him in and asked with a frown, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be going back to your hometown?"

He smiled, took out a white jade token from his sleeve and placed it in my hand, saying softly, "I'm still worried... If it were the girl from before, I would have left without hesitation, but now..." He pulled up his sleeve to wipe the crumbs from the corner of my mouth, his voice incredibly gentle, "I want to stay with you, until you've finished dealing with things, and then we can go back to Jiangnan together, okay?"

The white jade token lay warm in my palm. I stared at it blankly. Something was wrong. Many things were wrong. I loved Ruan Bicheng, I loved him.

I saved Yan Shu willingly. Even if I were to do it all over again now, I would still save him then and there. Sometimes I hate him to death, and sometimes I feel sorry for him... I can't bring myself to hate him. What he wanted was extremely simple, but he just used the wrong method.

No, I am Lu Ning, not Su Xie.

"Miss," Changhuan called to me, looking down at me, "Why do you look so pale?"

"Really?" I put away the white jade token and smiled, "Hungry, aren't you..."

Chang Huan leaped over my shoulder, glanced at the messy table, and frowned slightly. "Is the young lady that hungry?"

That's pretty impressive...

I was too embarrassed to say it, but then I suddenly remembered, so I pulled him inside a bit and asked in a low voice, "You're here, so... where is he?"

We had agreed beforehand that Ruan Bicheng would come to Licheng to meet me after escaping the demonic sect, and we were just waiting for him to arrive.

Chang Huan was slightly taken aback, and looked at me in surprise, saying, "Ruan... he and the Gu siblings came to Licheng a day before me, they should have arrived long ago, could it be that you haven't been able to contact him?"

Have you arrived long ago? Have you already entered Licheng?

My heart was pounding, and I couldn't calm down for a moment. If Changhuan had arrived a day earlier, wouldn't he have arrived yesterday? We clearly agreed beforehand that they would find a way to notify me once we entered Licheng... Why didn't I receive it?

Are they still in Licheng?

Chang Huan hurriedly said, "Perhaps we've missed our chance, young lady? Shall we wait a little longer?"

I can't wait any longer. I've been away from the Demonic Sect for four days, and there are only two days left before the poison takes effect. Moreover, Licheng is in dire straits right now. Could he be trapped here?

Logically speaking, Chang Huan has already found me, so there's no reason why he couldn't find me. Yan Shu has caused such a huge upheaval and is stationed outside Licheng, so he should be able to find me.

Unless something is holding them back.

I suddenly remembered the letter I had been keeping hidden in my bosom—it was given to me by the young master when I left the Demonic Sect, and I hadn't had a chance to read it yet.

The small yellow envelope contained a letter with neat handwriting that read: "Take action in six days."

I read that one sentence over and over again on the letter, but I still couldn't understand it. Take action? Does he know what I'm going to do?

Isn't it just Ye Baizhi and I who know this? I didn't even tell Ruan Bicheng. I only told him to come to Licheng within seven days, and that I would go and meet him after I got the antidote.

How could Ruan Lianhua have known?

I unconsciously folded and folded the letter in my hand, then tore it apart little by little. Suddenly, I looked up and asked Chang Huan, "Where was Yan Shu when you came?"

Chang Huan pondered for a moment and said, "I did not see the High Priest, nor was Ye Baizhi."

"Then I must have gone to Licheng Palace," I said, getting up, grabbing my cloak, and wrapping it around myself as I said, "Wait for me here."

"Where are you going, young lady?" Changhuan stopped me.

“Go to Licheng.” I said to him, “I’m going to Licheng to find someone. You wait here. If Yan Shu comes back, tell him… I went to Licheng to find him.”

Chang Huan wouldn't back down, frowning as she said, "Licheng is in chaos right now, how can you find someone, Miss? If Alliance Leader Ruan arrives in Licheng, he will definitely contact you, so why are you in such a hurry?"

Outside the tent, darkness pressed down. Five days had passed, and more and more things were becoming unpredictable. I feared that things might change if I waited too long.

I looked up at Changhuan and grinned, saying, "I miss my lover terribly, I can't wait a moment longer." I pulled my cap on, pushed aside the curtain that Changhuan had lifted, and prepared to go out.

“Miss!” Chang Huan turned around and followed, saying, “I will go with you.”

I stopped and turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow as I asked, "You know martial arts?"

Chang Huan lowered her brows slightly and shook her head, saying, "Chang Huan... has never learned it."

"Then why are you coming with me?" I said sincerely, "You said it yourself, Licheng is very dangerous. My skills are barely enough to protect myself. If you come along, won't you just cause trouble?"

"I can live and die with you!" Chang Huan said sincerely and earnestly.

I believed him, but spat out a curse and said unhappily, "Who said I was going to die? I can come and go on my own, so why do you insist on coming with me to die?"

Chang Huan was speechless for a moment.

I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, just wait here. Make something to eat when I get back. I'm starving."

I stepped out from behind the curtain and touched the two daggers in my pocket. In a critical moment, I would rely on these to save my life. The white-clad girl guarding outside the tent stopped me and bowed, saying, "Where are you going, young lady? The priest instructed you to rest well."

"Kneel down," I commanded in a stern voice.

The girls in white knelt down in unison, their eyes lowered, not daring to look up.

I walked past them and went straight ahead. They looked up anxiously, "Miss..."

"No one is allowed to get up without my permission!" I slammed my head back and yelled at them, unleashing all of Su Xie's bullying tactics, and squinted as I smiled, "If you say another word, I'll rip your tongues out!"

The girl in white pursed her lips and dared not utter a sound.

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I wrapped myself in a cloak and ran towards Licheng. Outside Licheng, there were people from the Demonic Cult guarding the city, but I entered smoothly with the old cult leader's white jade token.

I was momentarily stunned as the wall of demonic cult guards retreated. The city gate was open, covered in blood, the walls were covered in blood, the ground was covered in blood, and the mud was all red mud soaked with blood. The piles of corpses on both sides of the city gate made it impossible for me to take a step.

“These are all people who want to break out of Licheng.” The guard reached out and said, “I will help the young lady across.”

"No need." I grabbed my cloak and walked quickly and hurriedly, my feet treading on the mud and corpses, feeling a numb sensation running through my limbs. I didn't dare to look back.

Licheng was no longer the same Licheng. People were fleeing and shouting all over the streets, including civilians and soldiers. Fires were burning in the streets, and it was impossible to tell whether the whole city was filled with white smoke or gloom.

I buried my head and dodged the panicked crowd. I remembered running into Xiao Jiu on the street that day. The herbs he was carrying had the name Tongrentang written on them.

Xiao Jiu was determined to find the best pharmacy to get medicine for Leng Baichun. Now that everyone in the city was poisoned, they would all flock to the largest pharmacies, so they should start by looking for Tongrentang, and find one whenever possible.

I avoided the crowds and hurried to Tongrentang.

Sure enough, the pharmacy was crowded with panicked people. People were standing in front of the closed doors and windows, knocking and shouting, but no one could get in.

I retreated to the back of the pharmacy building and looked at the not-too-high second-floor corridor. I mentally calculated the lightness skill that my father had taught me but I hadn't mastered. I gathered all of Su Xie's internal strength, and with a light touch of my toes, I barely managed to leap onto the second floor. Before I could even stand up, a sword was pressed against my throat, and someone whispered, "Who is it!"

I was so startled that I slipped and almost fell down the stairs. Before I could even utter a curse, someone grabbed my wrist, sheathed their sword, and pulled me up into their arms.

I heard him say, surprised and delighted, "Lu Ning?"

My heart skipped a beat. I knew who it was without even looking up—Ruan Bicheng.

"Why are you here?" He pulled me to the veranda, holding my hand with one icy-cold hand.

I pulled off my cap and smiled at him. He had lost weight and looked haggard, with deep-set eyes and a sickly pale face. "I came to see you," I told him honestly.

He paused slightly, his fingers tightening around mine. He reached out and wrapped his arms around me, saying softly yet deeply, "I'm sorry, Lu Ning. I was supposed to contact you, but I had some things to attend to..."

"I know." I didn't like him apologizing to me. His hug was a little painful, his chin digging into my shoulder, so I gently pushed him away and asked, "Is something wrong?"

He released me, paused for a moment, and then said, "I arrived in Licheng last night, and only today did I discover that the entire city of Licheng..."

"Are you poisoned?" I interrupted him and asked, but he didn't look like he'd been poisoned by a mind-altering drug.

He shook his head. "It wasn't me." He added, "I met Xiao Jiu and Leng Baichun."

Leng Baichun?

He pulled me to the window, pushed it open, and I looked inside. In the extremely quiet room, Leng Baichun lay on the couch with her eyes tightly closed, her face pale and bluish. A doctor was taking her pulse, and Xiao Jiu stood to the side.

"She...is poisoned?" I tried to climb through the window, but Ruan Bicheng stopped me.

Xiao Jiu heard the voice and looked over. When she saw it was me, she was taken aback at first, then said somewhat awkwardly and absentmindedly, "Su Xie..."

He remained deeply troubled, but I had no time to pay attention to him and asked, "How is Protector Leng?"

The doctor shook his head, his face weary, and said, "This young lady has been poisoned in the same way as the others, and given that she's about to give birth... I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."

"It's my fault." Xiao Jiu suddenly slumped down, clutching his head. The seven-foot-tall man, clutching his hair, stammered incoherently, "It's my fault for not taking good care of her... Why was she the one who got poisoned, and not me..."

I stood by the window looking at him, then at Leng Baichun, and said, "Wait a moment, you seal her acupoints first to protect her heart and the fetus."

Xiao Jiu suddenly looked up at me, "Su Xie, you...you can save her?"

I didn't answer, turned around to jump down the stairs, glanced at her again, then grinned at Ruan Bicheng and said, "You... take me down, it's a bit too high..."

Author's Note: I tried my best to write in a lighthearted style... not at all depressing or dark! It's a lighthearted story, right? Hehe...

The signs have appeared, both those that were expected and those that weren't!

Can you guess who the Gu siblings are?

P.S.: Lying in bed last night, I was imagining what the Priest and the Alliance Leader looked like, and then for some reason, I thought of a husky and a golden retriever… My HHP (Hyperbole) instantly shattered into pieces… Priest as a husky vs. Alliance Leader as a golden retriever, hahaha!

Fifty-seven

Ruan Bicheng carried me downstairs and landed steadily behind the house.

Just as I was about to leave, he suddenly called out to me, "Lu Ning..." I turned to look at him, his brows furrowed like towering mountains, as if he had something to say. After a long pause, he finally said, "Be careful."

That's all? I thought he had something to say, and seeing his concerned gaze suddenly made me feel a little uncomfortable...

I smiled and nodded at him, then remembered Yan Shu and said, "You hide for a while. I'll go back and get the antidote. Yan Shu might send someone over. Just have Xiao Jiu take care of Protector Leng and make sure Yan Shu's people don't see you."

Yan Shu is so suspicious, he'll definitely find out who I'm trying to save. If he finds out about Ruan Bicheng, everything will be over. It's better to hide.

"Was the poison in Licheng really administered by Yan Shu?" He frowned as he looked at me. "Was it... by himself?"

I don't understand what he's trying to ask.

Just as I was about to ask for clarification, I suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves crossing the street in the distance, accompanied by shouts. I glanced back and saw that they were coming from the city gate. I suspected it was Yan Shu, so I turned to Ruan Bicheng and shouted, "You should hide first."

There was no time to waste, so he turned and ran toward the carriage.

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There were too many people rushing about on the road. I stumbled several times as I pushed and shoved to avoid them. Only when the carriage got closer did I realize that the person sitting in front of it and driving the carriage was none other than Chang Huan.

Overjoyed, I waved and shouted through the crowd, "Chang Huan! Chang Huan!"

Just as I was about to run forward, someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind and tackled me to the ground. My knees and arms went numb from the fall. I instinctively drew the dagger from my pocket, turned around, and stabbed at the person behind me—

"Help me..."

My knife was positioned just below the man's neck, less than half an inch away.

"Save me, Su Xie..."

I froze, gripping the dagger. "Jinglian..." How could she still be in Licheng? Didn't she leave?