flamboyant - Chapter 95
Now Feng Ning cried out without restraint, "It hurts so much! My arm feels like it's been chopped off! Oh well, so be it. Nobody cares about me anyway. I'll get used to it..."
Even though he knew she was faking it, Long San couldn't hold back anymore. He plopped down on the edge of the bed, carefully cradling her arm and examining it closely. He gently straightened the arm, which was wrapped up like a white radish stick, feeling an overwhelming pang of heartache. He couldn't bear to think what would have happened if he hadn't rushed back from Xia Kingdom, if he hadn't arrived at Qingshan Valley in time. Would he still be able to see her again?
He was terrified, but then he saw a hint of smugness in her eyes, as if she was glad she had escaped his wrath. Long San was furious and wanted to teach her a lesson, but he couldn't bring himself to touch her anywhere. In the end, he could only poke her forehead with one finger: "You still dare to complain about the pain? It's all for nothing. I might as well let you die from the pain."
"Hmph, so what if it hurts?" Feng Ning pouted and turned her head to the side. Sure enough, as soon as Long San started lecturing, her stubbornness kicked in.
Long San sighed inwardly, pulled the blanket up for her, and gently stroked the bandage on her arm. Feng Ning turned her head to look at him, and their eyes met. They both understood that they were thankful: Luckily, we were together at that time.
Long San held her hand, unwilling to let go.
71. The Secret Attack of Long San and His Wife
"Long San, Long San..." Feng Ning had been separated from Long San for many days, and her longing for him was beyond words. She was also worried about his safety. Now that they had met, although the situation was not quite right and the atmosphere was not good, she still couldn't help but call out to him again and again.
Long San had finally calmed down, and holding her hand, he felt incredibly at ease. The sight of her covered in blood when they first met had terrified him, but now, though pale, she was safe and sound before him. He was feeling grateful and relieved when Feng Ning's repeated calls woke him.
Oh right, he hasn't taught her a lesson yet.
He coughed twice and stared at her: "Before I left, someone clearly said that if I didn't run around anymore, I wouldn't take any reckless risks, but what happened?"
"As a result, that person came to Qingshan Valley with the divine physician to save the old general in order to save the country from danger, to fulfill the entrustment of his husband before his departure, and to protect his friend." Feng Ning held his large hand, but her arm was difficult to move, so she bent her fingers and scratched his palm.
Long San was ticklish, so he clenched his fist to stop her from interfering. He then said, "You're right. You said it yourself, Xiao Xiao's martial arts skills are not good. The situation in Qingshan Valley is so bad that even General Mu doesn't dare to force his way in. You're taking Xiao Xiao into such danger. If something happens to her, how am I supposed to explain it to A Yan?"
Feng Ning was displeased upon hearing this. She tried to pull her hand away from Long San but failed. Her face hardened. "That Lord Nie isn't my brother. I don't need to explain to him. You don't need to worry either. Anyway, Xiao Xiao is perfectly fine. You don't need to be too concerned."
Long San raised an eyebrow, knowing from these words that his little Feng'er was jealous again. He couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly: "Are you throwing a tantrum again? Xiaoxiao is Ayan's wife, of course someone will dote on her. What does this have to do with me? Why would I dote on her..."
Before he could finish speaking, Feng Ning interrupted him: "How can it be alright? Third Master Long, have you forgotten that Xiaoxiao was once your concubine?"
Long San was taken aback. He had completely forgotten about it, but his little jealous child remembered everything all along. He couldn't help but laugh and patted Feng Ning's head: "Little jealous one, what happened with Xiao Xiao was just a foolish thing that Granny Yu did in her haste, it doesn't count. Besides, didn't I give Xiao Xiao a letter of divorce?"
“Then you even gave me a letter of divorce,” Feng Ning interjected.
Long San pinched her cheek: "Are you bringing up old grievances?"
Feng Ning knew this was pointless, so she hummed twice and fell silent. She had clearly done a good deed, and she had even gotten injured, yet he showed no concern whatsoever. Instead, he blamed her the moment they met. The more Feng Ning thought about it, the more wronged she felt.
Seeing her frowning face, Long San sighed inwardly, lowered his head to rub her nose, and whispered, "You hurt yourself, Feng'er."
Feng Ning's heart skipped a beat. She turned her gaze to him, and Long San said again, "You promised you wouldn't let yourself get hurt." His voice was filled with sadness and sorrow, and Feng Ning's heart softened again. She stammered, "I was already very careful. It's just that there were too many of them, that's why I couldn't beat them. You know, I was outnumbered."
Long San stared at her, and Feng Ning explained, "They said that if Qingshan Valley falls, it will be a huge problem. Xiaoxiao has a good relationship with General Mu, so she naturally wants to save his grandfather. Besides, it's a time of national crisis, so it would be really inexcusable if she didn't come. I also promised to protect her, and of course I had to come with you when you returned. Besides, only I know about that shortcut..."
Long San stared at her, his voice mournful: "You're injured, you've lost a lot of blood..."
"Alright, alright, stop complaining." Feng Ning said impatiently, "You said you wouldn't be able to explain if Xiaoxiao got hurt, and now that I've protected her, you're complaining again. You're always the one who's complaining, no matter what. It's so annoying."
"Hate me?" Long San stopped pretending to be pitiful and bit her cheek: "You can only like me, you can't hate me."
"I hate you, you're the most annoying." Before she could finish speaking, Long San covered her mouth. Neither of them realized that their conversation was childish, even less so than Bao'er's. A kiss made up for so many days of longing.
Someone knocked on the door. Long San finally let go of Feng Ning and went to answer it. It was a soldier who brought her the medicine he had prepared. Long San thanked him and fed Feng Ning spoonful by spoonful. In the end, Feng Ning complained that it was too slow, so she grabbed the bowl with her uninjured hand and gulped it down in one go.
After finishing the medicine, she lay on the bed complaining, "This medicine tastes awful, every sip feels like torture. You weren't doing this on purpose, were you?" Long San smiled and tapped her nose: "You little rascal."
He went out to return the bowl, and when he came back, Feng Ning asked, "Why are you back?"
"What, if I don't come back to be with you, where else can I go?"
"I mean, didn't you accompany City Lord Nie to the Xia Kingdom? Has the matter been settled?"
"Not yet. Ayan is in trouble, and I can't persuade him, so I want to come back and pick up Xiaoxiao so that she can talk to him."
"Pick up Xiaoxiao?" Feng Ning turned her head: "Hmph, what about me?"
“I originally thought that, for safety’s sake, you should stay in Gusha City and wait for me.” Long San’s words immediately earned him a glare from Feng Ning. Long San held her hand reassuringly and continued, “But then I thought, no, your condition is different from ordinary people. Leaving you there by yourself would probably be even more unsafe.”
Are you subtly criticizing me?
“I’m telling the truth. If I take Xiaoxiao away and leave you there alone, wouldn’t you feel uncomfortable? When you’re happy, you run around everywhere. If you’re uncomfortable, how can I keep you tied down? Or if you impulsively run off to Xia Kingdom, wouldn’t that be even more unsafe?”
Feng Ning rolled her eyes, bit her lip, and had to admit that she would indeed do the same. If Long San really took Xiao Xiao away and left her to wait in Gusha City, she would be a fool to wait for him.
She snorted and said, "If you dare to abandon me, I will definitely not forgive you."
Long San chuckled, "No, no, how could I dare to leave you?" He looked at Feng Ning, who was squinting with a hint of smugness, and whispered, "I can't bear to."
Feng Ning blushed slightly. The medicine was slowly taking effect, and coupled with her significant blood loss, she felt tired. She stared at Long San, but as she looked, her eyes grew heavy, and she felt sleepy. She mumbled sleepily, "I won't abandon you either."
She closed her eyes and fell asleep, but Long San was alarmed by her words. He hadn't told her the truth yet, and with the situation so chaotic and Nie Chengyan facing so much trouble, it wouldn't be a good time for him to be caught in the middle. Long San sighed, "Then let's wait and see."
This wait was indeed long. Long San, along with Feng Ning and Han Xiao, went to Xia Kingdom and found Nie Chengyan. Long San couldn't interfere in the Nie family's feud; he wanted to help but was powerless, and Nie Chengyan was as stubborn as a rock, impossible to persuade. Fortunately, Nie Chengyan eventually found a solution. Meanwhile, Long San received a mission.
The mission was given to him by Long Da, but it was actually a secret order from the imperial court. The order was for Long San, who was in the Xia Kingdom, to assassinate the Xia King. On the surface, the imperial court was still in a stalemate with the Xia Kingdom, negotiating peace, but in reality, it had already reached an agreement with the Xia King's brother: kill the Xia King, help him ascend the throne, and in return, the Xia Kingdom would cease its invasion of the Xiao Kingdom, and the two countries would coexist peacefully.
Long San, with his江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) identity, had done this kind of thing for the court on behalf of his elder brother more than once or twice; he was already used to it. He burned the secret letter, secretly met with the spies lurking in the Xia Kingdom, and made all the arrangements.
Before taking action, Long San thought long and hard and finally decided to take Feng Ning with him. This made Feng Ning overjoyed: "Long San, you have good judgment. Taking me with you will guarantee success."
"If you behave well, I'll take you with me wherever I go from now on." As Long San said this, he was thinking that once this matter was settled, he would definitely find an opportunity to tell her the truth.
But Long San forgot that in this matter, God has never been on his side.
That day marked the thirtieth day since Long San and Feng Ning successfully completed their mission; Long San counted it clearly.
Once they had completed the assassination, they secretly left. To ensure the success of the operation, he didn't even go back to find Nie Chengyan. He took Feng Ning, disguised as a couple visiting relatives, and left the Xia Kingdom. They passed through Gusha City and circled around to another small town called Xianghe.