Safety

Chapter 38

"What are your orders, sir?"

I repeated what Mo Li had said, and the shopkeeper looked at me with a strange expression, puzzled. "What does the official need these things for?"

I glared at him, placed my hand on my sword, and said gruffly, "What the official wants to do is none of your business! Stop babbling! Go and do it."

He was immediately terrified and shrank back, his head almost touching the ground. "Yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away."

As I watched his retreating figure, I silently apologized twice. Looking down at his official robes, I felt even more disgusted, and I even began to hate myself.

Startled by my outburst, the shopkeeper acted swiftly, quickly bringing me the white cloth and hot water I requested. Finally, he presented me with a knife, saying with a pained expression, "Sir, our shop is a regular business; we don't have any double-edged daggers. I searched the entire kitchen and only found this boning knife. The cook just sharpened it yesterday; it's still quite sharp. Sir, please take a look..."

I glanced at the gleaming white boning knife, and cold sweat broke out on my forehead again. I couldn't refuse, so I lowered my head and said in a low voice, "You go down first, and remember not to let any irrelevant people disturb our rest."

"Yes, yes." He nodded vigorously.

I turned to go upstairs with these things in my arms, but then suddenly remembered something, turned back again, and asked the shopkeeper, "Do you have any clean clothes here?"

The shopkeeper frowned, "Well... my shop is in the middle of nowhere, and even if I wanted to buy something for the official at this time, I couldn't."

I frowned. "As long as the clothes are clean, it doesn't matter if they're new or old."

He thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "I did buy two new outfits before the New Year, but I've only worn them twice. If you don't mind, sir..."

"I don't mind, give it to me," I said immediately, thinking that even a tattered bed sheet was better than the dead man's clothes I was wearing.

He nodded, and soon returned carrying two sets of clothes. I carried this huge pile of things upstairs and spread them out in front of the bed. I washed my hands with hot water, looked up at Mo Li again, and saw that his face was full of hesitation.

He remained quite calm, his gaze sweeping over the items before glancing at me and urging me to take action.

I knew that every moment of hesitation would increase his danger, so I gritted my teeth and followed his instructions to take off his shirt. The needle mark on his shoulder was still there, but the wound on his waist was not the same as the one I had seen by the river. Blood continued to seep out, gradually staining the plain sheets red, like a strange flower blooming on his body.

I helped him change his clothes in the carriage. It was dark and I was in a hurry, so I didn't see anything clearly. Now the room is brightly lit, and I can see his wound. I immediately gasp, "Mo Li, you're bleeding."

He lay face down on the bed, shirtless, without any reaction, as if the person bleeding had nothing to do with him.

I remembered him saying by the river that he had sealed his acupoints to stop the bleeding from his wound, but I forgot that even the most powerful acupoint sealing has a time limit. His wound must have started to bleed when the carriage was bumping around, but I just didn't notice it.

Cheng Wei had mentioned that if sword wounds are not treated properly, they can easily lead to high fever. Given his current condition, if the poisoned needle is not removed soon and the wound continues to worsen, it will definitely endanger his life.

I stared at the pool of blood, a chill running down my spine. He shifted slightly and said in a low voice, "Aren't you going to do it?"

I gritted my teeth, reached out and pressed my hand against his back, releasing my true energy. He immediately responded, guiding my true energy to flow and gradually gather in one place. A black spot appeared under his left rib, gradually deepening in color, a shocking sight.

"See that?" he asked.

I was speechless, only able to nod. One hand remained on his body, continuing to send out true energy, while the other hand gripped the boning knife, heated the blade over the bedside lamplight, and placed it against that black spot, remaining motionless for a long time.

"What are you doing?" he roared. "Why aren't you doing anything!"

I shuddered violently. The sharp tip of the knife sliced through his skin in an instant, and black blood flowed out. My tears rolled down my cheeks and fell onto him.

"Will I die? If I do something wrong, will you die?" I asked, my voice hoarse with fear.

"Life and death are predestined, I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of!" He gritted his teeth and forced himself to finish these two sentences. His breath was already weak, and the true energy that had been gathered in one place in his body began to wander. The black spot faded again and was about to disappear in the blink of an eye.

A deeper fear ended my trembling. Afraid that tears would blur my vision, and not having time to wipe them away, I could only open my eyes wide with all my might and forcefully cut down with the knife in my hand. Black blood spurted out and splashed on my face, but I didn't wipe it away. I just lowered my head and tried to find the poisoned needle. A glimmer of light flashed, and I dropped the knife and reached out to pull it out, but the needle was deeply embedded with a thin tip. In his excruciating pain, his whole body was tense, and I couldn't pull it out. I reached out again in a hurry, but the needle seemed to be alive and burrowed deeper. He shuddered, and when I turned my head, I saw that his eyes were closed, and he had fainted from the pain.

I knew the opportunity was fleeting, and his life hung by a thread. So I risked everything, no longer using my hands, but grabbing the knife and digging deep into the wound, probing along the poison needle, and forcefully pulling it out. The black poison needle flew out with the tip of the knife, landing on the ground with a tinkling sound. The black blood gushing from the wound turned red. I dropped the knife, tightly wrapped his wound with a white cloth, and bandaged the one around his waist as well. After everything was finished, I bent down and pressed my face against his chest. The beating was weak, but it continued and showed no signs of stopping.

He's alive! He's still alive!

My heart sank, and I could no longer support myself. I fell down in front of the bed, completely exhausted. When I tried to look at him again, everything went black.

...

Hai: Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I went out for dinner with her. My dad went on a trip, and his last words were, "I've spent your mom's lunar birthday with her." How carefree...

Narrator: I didn't get to eat anything...

P.S.: In the final stages of writing, there are still 20,000 to 30,000 words left. I'm working incredibly hard!

Chapter 90

I woke up in the morning light, covered with a thin blanket. The sun shone brightly outside the window, and the melodious chirping of unknown birds filled the air. The aroma of food wafted over, a faint fragrance.

I opened my eyes and saw Ji Feng standing in front of the bed, silently watching me.

My eyes widened, and I dared not utter a word or blink, afraid that, like every time before, I would lose him in the blink of an eye.

"Awake? If you're awake, get up." He spoke, and his words filled me with both joy and sorrow.

The good thing is that he seems to have recovered; the bad thing is that only Mo Li would say such a thing. It seems that even his brush with death has not restored him to Ji Feng.

"Are you feeling better?" I need to cheer myself up. Anyway, as long as I'm alive, the road ahead is long, and I'll just keep trying.

He didn't answer, but turned around and went to the window. I saw that he was walking steadily and there was no blood on his body, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems he has already treated his wounds himself. Without the poisoned needles, with his skill, those wounds should be no problem at all and he should be fine.

I got up to get out of bed, but when I looked down I saw that I was only wearing an undershirt under the thin blanket. I was shocked. My hand, which was supporting me on the edge of the bed, slipped and I fell straight off the bed before I could even let out a scream.

Mo Li reacted incredibly quickly, turning around and grabbing me in one swift motion, then gently pulling me back onto the bed, his brows furrowing once more.

Be careful.

I grabbed the blanket and stammered, "I, my clothes..." Before I could finish a sentence, the clothes I asked the shop owner for last night flew from the rack next to me and into my hands.

"Put them on," he ordered.

I stared blankly at my clothes, then remembered something, reached out to look at myself, then touched my face. My hands and face were clean; the bloodstains from last night hadn't left a trace.

"Aren't you going to put it on? Do you want me to put it on for you?" He got impatient and turned around, walked to the window, and ignored me.

I silently got dressed, wanting to ask him when he had taken off my coat and wiped my hands and face clean, but in the end I gave up.

Forget it, I've taken off his clothes more than once. I've seen everything I should and shouldn't have seen. What right do I have to ask him questions?

I dressed myself, got out of bed and walked to his side. Together we looked out the window. The inn faced the main road. There were big trees outside the window, and sunlight shone through the green leaves. A gentle morning breeze was blowing. Someone was lassoing horses downstairs, calling out to his companions. In the distance, the city was shrouded in mist, with wisps of smoke rising. Everyone was busy going in and out, and no one stopped to take a second look at their surroundings.

This was probably all normal to them, but I found it rare and precious, and I lingered there with envy in my eyes.

He glanced at me, and our eyes met. Suddenly, I felt I had so much to say, yet I also felt it didn't matter whether I said it or not; silence was the best thing to do.

His gaze fell, and he didn't say anything. He just reached out and flipped up the cuff of my sleeve that was dragging on the back of my hand. After finishing, he took a step back, shook his head slightly, and then folded the hem of my clothes that was dragging on the ground into his belt and tied it in a knot again.

I looked down and saw his long, slender fingers threading through my belt. My face flushed involuntarily, even more shy than when I woke up wearing only my underwear. He finished tying the knot before speaking.

"You managed to fool the boss like that? The owner of this shop is truly blind."

...

Mo Li, it's probably best for us to keep things quiet between us.

After saying that, he turned and walked out. I quickly followed him and asked, "Where are we going?"

"I'll have breakfast," he replied simply.

"..." I didn't know what to say next.

We went downstairs together. The inn was simple. The only waiter was outside helping guests harness their horses. Inside, only the owner was busy running around. When he saw Mo Li, he was taken aback. When he saw me, he finally came to his senses and greeted me with a big smile.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Is this gentleman feeling much better? Please, have a seat."

Before I could speak, Mo Li had already raised his hand.

"What kind of food is easy to take with us? We still have a long way to go."

The boss nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, freshly steamed buns, and a few pounds of boiled beef."

Boiled beef... I cover my face.

"Wrap them all up. Do you have any plain porridge?"

"Yes, yes." The boss said as he went to the kitchen, and secretly glanced back at me, probably thinking that I was so imposing yesterday, but today I was like a gourd with its mouth sawed off, not saying a word.

Mo Li said he was in a hurry to get on his way, but then he didn't leave. Instead, he sat down with me in the shop. The owner brought out some porridge, and when he picked up his chopsticks but didn't touch it, he pushed the bowl of porridge towards me.

"Finish eating."

I took a few bites, but I couldn't hold back any longer and asked him, "Mo Li, where are we going next?"

He was eating porridge when he heard this, so he put down his chopsticks, glanced at me, and said, "What do you think?"

I gripped my chopsticks and slowly lowered my head. "Are we... still going to that place you mentioned?"

He remained silent. The shopkeeper, carrying a large bag of food, came over and stood to the side, smiling obsequiously, asking, "Sir, everything is ready. What do you think..."

He took the food, stood up, and looked down at me. "Have you finished eating?"

Holding the bowl in my hands, I felt it was heavy, yet I didn't want to put it down, or perhaps I didn't want to leave this place.

Although the inn is simple, upon closer inspection, it's actually quite nice.

"Come out when you're done eating." Seeing that I didn't move, he didn't urge me. After putting the silver on the table, he turned and went out. The waiter had already led the horse we had ridden to the door. The boss stood by the table, staring at the silver for a long time. When he put it away, he couldn't believe it. He carefully put it in his mouth and took a bite before showing a surprised and delighted expression. Then he turned to look at the two of us, separated inside and outside the shop. He seemed to have finally determined who was the boss. He left me behind and scurried out, bowing and scraping to the horse.

The lighting inside the shop was poor. Looking out from where I was sitting, I felt that Mo Li was completely bathed in sunlight, so bright that only a blurry ball of light and shadow remained.

When I realized what I had done, I had already walked out of the store and stood beside him, clutching his sleeve like a child about to be abandoned.

He turned and glanced at me. His face was expressionless at first, but suddenly his eyebrows seemed to relax, and his eyes shone with a faint light. It was the first ray of light shining through the continuous gloom, so beautiful that it took my breath away.

A glint flashed in his eyes, and before I could see it clearly, he had already turned and mounted his horse. Then, he suddenly lowered his head and asked me a completely unrelated question.

"who I am?"

I was still dazed by his smile from before, and without realizing it, I answered, "Who are you? You're Mo Li."

He smiled, reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me onto the horse. The horse let out a low neigh and immediately took off, carrying the two of us straight ahead.

...

Hai: This book has a total of 300,000 words and is now officially in the manuscript submission and publication stage. So I'll be taking a break for a while. Recently, my daily life has been about decorating and rushing to finish the manuscript, and welcoming friends from all over the world to the Shanghai World Expo. In order to avoid collapsing, I've decided to travel throughout July. I will update my Weibo and blog regularly so as not to be thought to have disappeared...

Narrator: Every July you come here... take me with you and I won't hit you *...%##

P.S.: If you have anything to say to me, just leave a message on Weibo or my blog. *flying kisses* *clasped hands* *I'm leaving* Waiting for me to come back and fight again! (echoes a hundred times in the empty valley)