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

Chapter 63

"Thank you!"

In the pitch black and still of the night, I heard him calling my name in the dark room, each call frantic and almost tearful.

"Su Xie... Su Xie..." He suddenly became agitated, and the iron chains rattled as he struggled.

The guard shouted at him twice, but seeing that he still kept yelling, he had no choice but to lock the door while cursing and leave.

I stood under the corridor, the gentle breeze causing the red lanterns to flicker. I stood there for a long time, stunned, before finally walking to the tightly closed window. I heard Yan Shu calling my name frantically from inside, "Su Xie! Su Xie..."

Just those two words made me almost cry.

I stood there for a while, then turned around and went back into the house. I covered my head and lay down on the couch to sleep. The soft sound of the wind, the clanging of chains, and his calls all jumbled up my head.

He slept fitfully for half the night, and when he woke up again, he found that Miaoshou had not returned. In the extremely quiet night, Yan Shu seemed to have fallen asleep from exhaustion, and there was no sound from him.

I sat there for a while, then got up and went outside. Standing under the veranda, I heard a faint, almost inaudible sound. Listening carefully, I realized it was coming from the pharmacy.

Yan Shu, inside the room, whispered, "Thank you, Su Xie..."

Weak and dejected.

Author's note: A storyline I've wanted to write for a long, long time has finally been laid out. Hang in there, young man!

75

“Su Xie…”

That faint, dejected sound... I pressed my fingers against the windowpane, gently pushing it open a crack to peek inside. The dark room was filled with the faint scent of medicine, and a sliver of moonlight filtered in from above, casting a hazy, clear glow on the floor.

"Su Xie! Su Xie!" The chains clanged loudly. He reached out his hand in the light, his slender fingers gleaming white in the moonlight, reaching forward desperately, trying to grasp something. He called to me, "Su Xie! Su Xie..."

Can you see me?

I was staring blankly out the window when, just as I was about to close it, someone called my name softly from behind, "Lu Ning."

His back stiffened, and his fingers, which were gripping the window frame, tightened instantly, his nails digging into the mahogany, leaving a gap of wood chips between his fingers.

The night was so quiet. Apart from Yan Shu's soft calls from inside the house, there was only the sound of his breathing behind me. The lanterns under the corridor swayed and bumped against the red pillars, casting gray shadows on the window frames. He was just a few steps behind me.

After a long while, he called my name again, "Lu Ning..." His shadow flickered, and he took a step closer, his fingers touching my shoulder.

In that instant, I drew the dagger from my sleeve, swung it out, dodged to the side, and quickly retreated several steps.

Almost instinctively, it was fast and urgent. The blade flashed past, and I only heard a soft hiss. When I landed, I saw Ruan Bicheng with an incredulous expression. Her hand was still frozen in mid-air, and a small cut in her palm was oozing blood droplets that splattered onto the ground.

He withdrew his hand, looked at the cut on his palm, then at me, his expression complex and enigmatic in the moonlight. "Lu Ning, you...you're so wary of me?"

A string of blood beads clung to the dagger. I stepped back a few paces, looked at him, and laughed. "That's a funny thing to say. You two are irreconcilable enemies. If I didn't guard up, would you be waiting to die?"

“Lu Ning…” He frowned, about to speak.

I interrupted him, saying, "Ruan Bicheng, I am Su Xie."

He stood there stunned for a long time, then withdrew his hand and sighed deeply and softly before saying to me, "I... just wanted to come and see you, I had no other intentions."

"Is that so?" I wiped the blood off the dagger with my sleeve, not looking at him, and smiled, "Now that you've seen it all, Alliance Leader Ruan Bicheng, do you have anything else to say?"

He stood there without answering or leaving, just standing there, looking at me with eyes as deep as the night and the sea.

"I'm sorry." He said this to me out of the blue in the darkness just a few steps away.

I'm sorry. The connection between him and me is basically just these three words. He felt sorry for me and owed me something, so he came to me late at night, full of guilt, just to say these three words to me.

I said "Oh," and turned to go back to my room. He suddenly rushed after me, saying, "I know you hate me to the bone, and you can never forgive me in this lifetime." His voice behind me was full of guilt. "Lu Ning, you can hate me, resent me, even kill me, but don't reject my help. Now that you've left the Demonic Sect, what are your plans for the future? I can help you. You can come back to the Central Plains with me and live in anonymity. I will take care of you and protect you from any harm. If you want to take Miss Leng's child with you, that's fine too. We can go back together and raise her to adulthood together, okay?"

What wonderful plans Ruan Bicheng always showed me the most beautiful future, but then what?

There's nothing there then.

I stood there listening to him finish speaking, then turned to look at him and said very seriously, "Ruan Bicheng, I think you've misunderstood. Wasn't the love and hate between us completely severed back then at the pharmacy? Now we're just two unrelated people, so why would I hate you?"

He didn't answer, so I sighed and said, "Love and hate both take effort. Don't overestimate yourself. You think I should hate you, resent you, or even kill you to avenge you, but I don't think there's anything about you that I should hate so much. It's not worth expending any more energy on you."

He stared at me intently, his brows furrowing and then relaxing, and said in a hoarse voice, "I misunderstood... I just didn't want to see you alone, I wanted to help you."

I looked up and smiled. "Ruan Bicheng, you're just trying to make yourself feel better. It makes you seem more noble, doesn't it?"

"Lu Ning, you've misunderstood me..."

"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, I want to make things clear once and for all." I looked into his dark eyes and said, "Ruan Bicheng, no matter what my future holds, I have no intention of having anything to do with you. Whether I live or die is none of your business."

“Lu Ning…”

"Also, I am Su Xie." I turned to go back to my room when Miao Shou suddenly darted out from the bushes under the corridor.

He grabbed my sleeve, chuckling, "Let's talk this out. Young Master Ruan is only doing this for your own good..."

I chuckled. "What merit do Su Xie have?"

"Xiao Xie, don't be like this..." He was about to continue speaking when a loud clanging sound suddenly came from the dark pharmacy beside him, followed by silence, even Yan Shu's voice was gone.

Miao Shou listened intently, then frowned and asked, "What's going on?" He released my sleeve, pressed his ear against the door to listen, but heard nothing. He then took out his key from his pocket, muttering something as he opened the door.

I stood on the bridge under the corridor. He took down a palace lantern, pushed open the door, and went inside. The sound of his footsteps and the light gradually penetrated the dark room, which was extremely quiet.

With a clang of the iron chain, the lamp suddenly went out and fell to the ground with a soft thud, then crackled and burned. I heard Miao Shou blurt out a cry, and before the sound had even faded, Ruan Bicheng had already darted into the house.

The sword flashed out of the window in an instant, and I rushed in. In the flickering lamplight, I saw Yan Shu kneeling on the ground. He had actually broken the bars of the iron cage, dragging the iron chain with one hand and one foot as he crawled out and knelt on the ground. His other hand was tightly gripping Miao Shou's neck, and his wrist was covered in dripping blood. Ruan Bicheng's sword tip was pointed at his brow.

"He...isn't he stupid? How could he have the strength to escape from the cage?" Miao Shou was terrified, his face deathly pale. He dared not move an inch as Yan Shu gripped his neck, and said to Ruan Bicheng, "Young Master Ruan, save me..."

"Let go," Ruan Bicheng said in a low voice, holding her sword.

Yan Shu remained kneeling on the ground, seemingly oblivious to the sword pointed at his brow. Suddenly, he smiled at me, struggled to his feet, and reached out to grab me, "Su Xie!"

With a clanging sound, the chains broke free, and I dragged him down to his knees, one hand and one foot, half an inch away from me.

"Su Xie! Su Xie!" He seemed to suddenly become agitated, ignoring the blood and gore on his wrists and ankles, desperately pulling on the chains to move forward.

The skilled healer was so frightened that he closed his eyes and screamed, repeatedly saying, "Young Master Ruan..."

"Are you stupid?" Ruan Bicheng looked at him with her sword in hand, frowning. "Are you really stupid or... pretending?" She stepped on Yan Shu's iron chain and asked, looking down, "Does the High Priest remember me?"

Yan Shu was agitated and restless, as if he hadn't heard him at all. He just struggled frantically with the chains. Ruan Bicheng then pointed her sword at his wrist and whispered, "How about I cut your wrist so you can break free from these chains?"

Yan Shu paused, raised her eyes to look at him, her misty eyes filled with confusion. Ruan Bicheng asked again, "Is it alright, High Priest?"

Yan Shu blinked, looked at his wrist, and with a clatter, pulled up the chain, nodding to Ruan Bicheng.

Ruan Bicheng was slightly taken aback, then smiled, "Since the High Priest has agreed, then I will not stand on ceremony." With a flash of sword light, she was about to slash at Yan Shu's wrist.

I grabbed Ruan Bicheng's wrist. He was taken aback and stared at my fingers, saying, "You... do you want to save him again?"

"Who I save is none of your business." I shook off Ruan Bicheng's wrist.

As I stepped forward, he suddenly blocked my way with his arm, frowning as he asked, "You still want to save him now? Look closely, even if this person is stupid or crazy, he's still harming people. What will happen to you if you save him? So many people in Licheng have died at his hands, and you still want to save him?"

"So what if I want to save him!" I suddenly became annoyed and sneered, "Ruan Bicheng, don't forget I saved you too, and how did you treat me?"

He was speechless.

"Ruan Bicheng, you can pretend to be noble in front of anyone, but don't do it in front of me. Exploiting and betraying are far more despicable than murder and arson." I pushed his arm away and took a step forward, but Yan Shu grabbed my skirt.

"Su Xie! Su Xie..." He frantically grabbed my skirt and hugged my ankle, sobbing as if he were crying.

I looked down at him. He was like a frightened kitten, whimpering and rubbing against my ankle. His eyes were wet and misty. Was this Yan Shu?

“Su Xie…”

I squatted down, looked into his eyes, and said calmly, "Yan Shu, let him go."

He reached out to hug my neck, and I grabbed his hand. He then wrapped his arms around mine, rubbing his face against the back of my hand and whimpering, "Su Xie, Su Xie..."

Is he really stupid?

I pulled my hand away, making him look at me, and sighed, "Let him go, Yan Shu, you let him go first..."

He looked at me with his misty eyes, tilted his head, and then looked at Miaoshou.

The skilled hand was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he dared not utter a word.

"He is my friend, Yan Shu, are you going to kill him?" I asked Yan Shu.

He hurriedly shook his head, watching my expression as he slowly loosened his grip on my hand, "Thank you, Su Xie..."

In a split second, the skillful man used both hands and feet to escape.

Yan Shu held my hand and pressed it against her face as if asking for a reward, calling me softly, "Thank you, thank you... don't be angry."

This is probably the first time I've seen Yan Shu so... gentle and non-aggressive? How could he forget so completely?

Miao Shou summoned the guards, who soon rushed into the house, drawing their swords and surrounding Yan Shu.

"Xiao Xie," Miao Shou called from behind me, "Step back and let Young Master Ruan and these guards lock him up."

I looked back, withdrew my hand, and stood up. Yan Shu panicked for a moment, grabbing my sleeve and calling out anxiously, "Su Xie, Su Xie, don't be angry..."

I paused, and the guards behind me swarmed in, grabbed Yan Shu's arm and pressed him to the ground. They pulled so hard that they ripped my sleeve open. "Su Xie!"

The skilled doctor hurriedly stepped forward and pulled me aside, saying loudly, "Let me get some needles to seal his acupoints!"

The chains clanged, and Yan Shu's shout made my heart pound and my brow twitch. I finally said, "Let him go, let me handle this."

Author's note: Will you be able to see this this time...? Have I updated it yet?

The update is incredibly painful. I don't even know how complicated the female lead's feelings are right now... We finally managed to escape, but we've come full circle. If the female lead doesn't save the priest... will you guys kill me?

If nothing unexpected happens, there will be an update tomorrow. I need to finish writing this quickly, or I'll die...

P.S.: If you can't see the content, please feel free to refresh repeatedly...

76

The lights in the room flickered on, and Miaoshou lit the candles. He stood a few steps away and exclaimed in amazement, "He's so stupid, yet he listens to you so much."

The guards had all left the hall. The cage had been broken into pieces by Yan Shu and was no longer usable, so they could only be locked with iron chains.

Yan Shu sat quietly on the ground, tugging at my sleeve, looking at me expectantly, and muttering, "Su Xie, Su Xie..."

One end of the chain was tied to a huge red pillar. Miao Shou handed me the other end and said, "It'll be more secure if it's chained around his neck. He's incredibly strong; he might break free at any moment."

I took the chain and stared at him blankly. His neck, beneath his disheveled long hair, was chafed raw, and his wrists and ankles were bleeding profusely from being pulled. Yet he seemed oblivious to the pain, sitting there dumbfounded.

After thinking for a moment, he finally chained the iron chain to his ankle, and Miao Shou said from behind, "This is not safe..."

"You can't escape. There are so many guards outside. Just don't mess with him." I reached out and locked the door. He obediently handed me his foot and tilted his head to look at me.

Miao Shou was still worried and kept nagging, "He's not quite right in the head right now, so it's better to be careful. Besides, it doesn't matter to him where the lock is..."