Clear waters and beautiful mountains

Chapter 28

Seeing that he didn't respond, she was about to push him again when she suddenly felt something sticky and wet on her hands. Looking closer, she saw her hands were covered in blood, a horrifying sight. She quickly grabbed some snow and frantically washed the blood away. Composing herself, she reached out again and carefully nudged him, "You...you wake up..."

The silence only fueled her anxiety. She looked around and saw several lush pine trees in the distance, their grounds still clean and free of snow. After a moment's thought, she grabbed his clothes and, with all her might, dragged him to the trees. She turned him over, laying him comfortably.

Having been pampered since childhood and knowing nothing of medicine, she naturally didn't know how to deal with the situation. She could only sit beside him, her brow furrowed, silently watching him. Who was he, and what was his purpose in kidnapping her? Thinking this, she couldn't help but become curious about his appearance. She reached out, wanting to remove the black cloth covering his face.

Just as her hand was about to touch him, he gradually woke up and opened his eyes. The moment their eyes met, hostility flashed in his gaze. He sat up abruptly and slapped her hand away.

She was stunned, but when she came to her senses, she was furious.

"How dare you! How dare you hit me!" she shouted, jumping up suddenly.

He was terrified. If she saw his face, he would surely die. He wanted to leave, but his limbs were too weak to stand. He could only furrow his brow and remain on high alert.

She was about to scold him a few more times when she saw him trembling slightly and breathing heavily, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.

"Hmph! Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you." She put her hands on her hips and looked down at her. "Now that you're injured, you've learned your lesson. As long as you tell me the way back, I won't hold you accountable for kidnapping."

He glanced around at his surroundings and remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, she angrily demanded, "Will you talk or not!"

He glanced at her, but remained silent. He simply took out the wound medicine he always carried with him and began to treat her wound.

Her anger intensified, and she took a few steps forward, grabbing his wrist to stop him from moving.

He hadn't expected her to do this, and coupled with his weakness, his hand slipped, and the medicine slipped from his grasp, rolling to the ground. He looked up, frowning as he stared at her.

The moment she grasped his wrist, a scorching heat emanated from it through his clothes, startling her slightly. Why was he so hot in this freezing weather? Was he running a fever? Thinking this, she glanced again at the medicine that had fallen to the ground and slowly released her grip.

She sat down to the side, looked away with dissatisfaction, and stopped talking.

He silently picked up the medicine, then tore off a piece of his clothing to clean and bandage the wound on his shoulder. After doing this, he closed his eyes, sat down, and regulated his internal energy.

She gazed at the darkness of the night, feeling both resentful and helpless. Now, all she could do was wait for the people from the Prince of Nanling's mansion to arrive... When they did, she was determined to capture this thief and punish him properly.

Just then, she felt a faint hunger in her stomach. She then remembered that she had skipped dinner in a fit of pique, and just as she was feeling unwell, her stomach started growling. The sound was very abrupt in the silence.

She was extremely embarrassed and quickly covered her stomach.

He heard the voice and slowly opened his eyes.

She noticed his gaze and said, embarrassed and annoyed, "What are you looking at? Can't I be hungry?"

He felt a pang of helplessness, got up, walked to her, took out a black cloth bag from his pocket, and silently handed it to her.

She hesitated before taking the small cloth bag and carefully opened it. The bag was full of peeled chestnuts, which surprised her. Was he giving her something to eat?

She was somewhat unhappy, feeling useless for being given charity by robbers. She frowned and said, "I don't like chestnuts!"

He grew increasingly helpless. The girl before him was the granddaughter of the Prince of Nanling, and the daughter of the master of Yuchi Manor and Princess Qingyun. She had been pampered and spoiled since childhood, and probably had never known what true hunger was.

He felt a slight displeasure, lowered his voice, and said, "Chestnuts are filling."

Hearing this, she looked down at the chestnuts in her hand. Hunger-resistant? Is that so? She picked one up and took a small bite. Although sweet, she still didn't like the powdery, mushy taste. She put the chestnut down, thought for a moment, and asked, "Why did you kidnap me?"

He silently walked back to his original spot and continued meditating.

"You want to use me to blackmail Grandpa?" She got up and walked over, pressing him for an answer.

His silence was incredibly stubborn.

"So you want to rape me?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

He then spoke up, saying, "Miss, you are overthinking it."

"If you're not after money or sexual assault, then what is your purpose?" she continued to ask.

Her words reminded him of the orders he had received, and even more so of what had happened before. His emotions became conflicted again, and his eyes filled with sorrow and indignation.

She noticed his expression and asked, "You had no choice?"

Hearing this, he looked up at her. Her expression was calm and composed, meeting his gaze without the slightest hesitation. Her eyes were bright and sincere, devoid of any malice. He involuntarily avoided her gaze, lowering his eyes and remaining silent.

She thought for a moment, put down the chestnuts in her hand, and then took off her hairpins and jewelry one by one and put them into his hand.

“Here you go. A real man should stand tall and be upright. Stop doing these bad things, turn back before it's too late, and start anew!” she said righteously.

He was stunned, and it took him a while to come to his senses. Looking at her righteous and awe-inspiring expression, he couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing his reaction, she was filled with anger. "What are you laughing at! I'm doing this for your own good!"

He laughed so hard he could barely speak.

She frowned and asked softly, "Do you think I'm childish and ridiculous?"

He tried to suppress his smile and shook his head.

"I know I'm childish and ridiculous..." She didn't care about his answer, but just lowered her head, hugged her knees, and muttered to herself, "Actually, even if you hadn't kidnapped me today, I would have wanted to run away from home anyway..."

"Why?" he blurted out, then immediately regretted it. This wasn't a question he should have asked…

She looked up at him, frowned, and said, "I have a father who is no good person, just like you."

Upon hearing this, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

“My mother divorced him long ago, but he keeps sending people to look for me. Humph, I don’t acknowledge him!” Her tone was full of displeasure. “...But...my maternal grandfather says that I’m almost of marriageable age, and it would be good for me to be recognized as a member of the family…”

He remained silent, unsure how to respond.

"I don't want to be the fourth young lady of the Yuchi family..." she said softly, her head buried in her knees.

A sudden pang of melancholy gripped his heart. She didn't want to be the fourth young lady of the Yuchi family, yet someone was determined to kill her because of it. How ridiculous!

He was about to speak, offering some words of comfort, when he heard light footsteps approaching. He quickly stood up, on guard.

A male voice, laced with malice, rang out in the night: "Let's see where you can run now!"

Upon hearing this, she looked in the direction of the voice. Before she could even identify who it was, a figure leaped towards her, accompanied by a sharp killing intent. She was immediately horrified, but then saw the person beside her leap forward to meet the attack and block the fatal blow.

Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared, and a sharp weapon pierced the air, heading straight for her again. Before she could react, all the hidden weapons had been deflected. She looked at him, who was standing in front of her, and felt grateful.

The newcomers were naturally Liang Zhong and Zheng Ling. The two had already taken a breath and recovered somewhat from their injuries.

"It seems I must kill you first today," Liang Zhong said coldly.

She knew who these words were directed at, and she couldn't help but feel angry. She stepped forward and shouted sternly, "Taking advantage of someone's vulnerability and bullying the weak with numbers, don't you feel ashamed!"

Hearing her speak like that, both men were displeased.

She was filled with resentment and about to say something more when she was suddenly pulled back. Before she could react, she smelled that same fragrance again. After only a few breaths, her head began to spin, and she slumped down.

He carefully helped her lie down, then stood up straight and said, "Liang Zhong, Zheng Ling, since you've gone to such lengths to kill me, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Di Xiu, you have quite the nerve! I'll see just how powerful you are!" Zheng Ling said, then stood up and attacked again.

Di Xiu broke off a tree branch to use as a sword and stepped forward. After a few moves, Zheng Ling was shocked, exclaiming, "The Falling Cloud Sword Technique!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Zhong stopped standing by and stepped forward to lend a hand.

Facing two opponents alone, Di Xiu quickly found himself at a disadvantage. His injuries were already quite severe, and he hadn't rested for long; he was only barely holding on. However, a strange thought arose in his mind: even if he died here today, he would never allow her to be harmed in the slightest.

The thought was so strong that it made his blood boil and ignited his fighting spirit. He simply abandoned defense and his swordplay became even more ferocious.

Zheng Ling had previously taken a blow from him, and by this point, he was already somewhat exhausted.

Liang Zhong had not expected Di Xiu to use such a reckless move, and his offensive was thrown into disarray.

At that moment, Di Xiu seized an opening and thrust his weapon at Liang Zhong's throat. This move was so fierce and domineering that Liang Zhong had no way to dodge it. He pulled Zheng Ling over to shield him.

The branch pierced straight through Zheng Ling's throat, blood splattering and staining the white snow red. His face was filled with terror and disbelief, but he could no longer utter a word.

Di Xiu was also taken aback, and the force in his hand eased. Liang Zhong noticed this, pushed Zheng Ling's corpse aside, and struck Di Xiu's chest with another palm.

Di Xiu was caught off guard and took the blow. He staggered back, coughing up blood.

Liang Zhong chuckled dismissively, “Those who survive are the strongest… We all understand that principle.”

Di Xiu's consciousness was beginning to fade, but he still stood in front of her, refusing to back down an inch.

Liang Zhong stepped closer, about to make a move. At that moment, a figure rushed in with a sharp gust of wind, forcing him to withdraw his killing move.

The newcomer was a man dressed in a long robe and turban, resembling a scholar. He was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, handsome and refined, but his martial arts skills were not to be underestimated.

Liang Zhong looked at him, about to make another move, when he heard the urgent hoofbeats and the clamor of voices approaching. He frowned, hesitated for a moment, and finally abandoned his murderous intent, leaping away to escape.

The scholar smiled calmly and then walked towards Di Xiu.

Seeing this, Di Xiu, not knowing whether he was friend or foe, attacked without hesitation.

The man remained relaxed and at ease. He dodged the attack by sidestepping, grabbed Di Xiu's wrist with his right hand, and with a flick of his left hand, tore off the black cloth covering his face.

Di Xiu was shocked and hurriedly withdrew.

The man sized him up and smiled, "You look familiar. If I'm not mistaken, you're one of Master Yuchi's men."

Di Xiu dared not answer easily and could only remain silent.

"It seems that Yuchi Siguang finally couldn't hold back and resorted to such despicable means to snatch back his daughter..." the man said with disdain.

As he finished speaking, a group of cavalrymen rode up, their torches blazing, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime. Leading them was a man in golden armor, about sixty years old, exceptionally handsome and valiant.

The Prince of Nanling? Di Xiu recognized the man and was astonished.

The Prince of Nanling frowned at the situation before him and shouted sternly, "How dare you! You dare to kidnap my granddaughter! Seize her!"

The surrounding soldiers received the order and immediately took action.

At that moment, Di Xiu felt no fear, but rather a sense of relief. In his relaxed state, he swayed, almost falling. He steadied himself, turned around, and glanced at her. Seeing her sleeping peacefully, completely unaware, he felt a sense of satisfaction and a smile spread across his face.

Seeing this, the scholar glanced at the corpse beside him. The corpse's clothes were exactly the same as the person before him. He understood what was going on and reached out to stop the soldier.

"Young brother," the scholar said, "you should return Mingyue to us."

Di Xiu turned her head and glanced at him. He hesitated slightly, then said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Don't let her go back to Yuchi Manor..."

The scholar smiled and asked, "Didn't you come here to kidnap her?"

Di Xiu shook his head and said nothing more.

The scholar's smile deepened, and he was about to step forward. Suddenly, someone flew over and pulled Di Xiu up. Di Xiu recognized the person and called out softly, "A-Yu?"

The newcomer nodded, took out a smoke bomb from his pocket, and threw it out.

Dust billowed up, obscuring everyone's vision. By the time the people from the Nanling Prince's Mansion came to their senses, the two figures had already vanished.

The scholar chuckled and walked to the girl's side. After examining her briefly, he gently picked her up and said to the Prince of Nanling, "Your Highness, rest assured. Mingyue has merely fallen into a deep sleep... she is completely unharmed."

The Prince of Nanling frowned and said, "Hmph! What audacity the Yuchi Manor has! It seems that I was so wrong to let Mingyue return to her clan!"