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"You mean, the young master ordered you to do this?"

“Young Master never said that. But both he and I knew in our hearts that it was the right thing to do. It’s just that Young Master was quite hesitant this time, and kept dragging it out until Daliu Manor, so I took the liberty of making the decision for him.”

"Hesitation?" Qinglong was taken aback. While it was true that Young Master Ye An sometimes made mistakes in his decisions, hesitation... the martial world was fraught with danger, and hesitation was the most unacceptable thing. A moment of hesitation could cost one's life. That was exactly what Young Master Ye An had taught him that day.

Zhuque chuckled softly: "Silly girl, do you think the young master hesitated? It's because he can't bear to part with her—the young master has fallen for that girl!"

Chapter Seventeen

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains, the group was rushing toward Little Mirror Lake.

Before dawn, Chu Xia's eyesight was far worse than that of a martial arts practitioner. She stumbled and struggled along the way, enduring great hardship. However, when she tripped over vines and pebbles, she neither cried nor shouted, but got up and followed.

After walking for about an hour, the scouts returned to report that there was a large lake ahead.

He Bu asked, "How much further is it?"

"We'll arrive by dawn," the man replied. "It's not far."

"Alright! Everyone, quicken your pace!" He Butuo instructed the others, then turned to one of his companions and asked, "Any news?"

"Everything is as usual. The news that came last night is that Jun Ye'an has also arrived at Qingchuan River, but he entered the South Canyon, which is a hundred miles away from here. Moreover, the Qingchuan River in the south is known for its layered mountains and clouds. Once you go in, you won't be able to get out for five or six days."

He Butuo nodded and said, "Very good. That's fine, there's plenty of time."

They rounded a narrow mountain path, only to find the view suddenly open up before them.

"This is Little Mirror Lake."

As dawn broke, the morning glow cast its light upon the valley, making the azure lake before them resemble a piece of fine jade. Because this place is at the bottom of a valley, it is surrounded by mountain walls, with only a rather dilapidated mountain path on the east side.

Chu Xia exclaimed in surprise, "This is it!"

He Bu Tuo turned back to Chu Xia's side and said in a deep voice, "Are you sure this is the place?"

Chu Xia pointed ahead: "Look, the waterfall, the clear spring, the pavilion halfway up the mountain, the willow tree under the pavilion, it's exactly the same as the place depicted in the painting."

Why not take a closer look at the picturesque scenery, suppressing his joy, and urge, "What's next? Where should we go to search?"

Chu Xia coughed softly, her eyes seemingly clouded with dust: "I don't know."

He Butuo snorted heavily, then slapped Chuxia to the ground with his backhand: "Are you going to talk or not?"

Chu Xia wiped the blood from the corner of her lips with the back of her hand, but said indifferently, "I really don't know."

He Butuo narrowed his eyes, but then heard a subordinate beside him whisper, "Chief, now that we've found this place, should we—"

He Butuo said coldly, "Don't rush to silence her. Let's search around the mountainside first to see if there are any hidden caves or mechanisms. We'll meet here at 7 PM. If we can't find them, this girl will still be of some use tonight."

After saying this, he ordered his men to tie up Chu Xia's hands and feet, looked her over, and then threw her into a narrow crevice in the rocks.

In early summer, this wait lasted from dawn until sunset.

She lay on her side in the cold, damp crevice, drifting in and out of sleep, nearly fainting several times. Finally, as the sky gradually darkened, she saw that He Bu Tuo and the others had not returned.

She turned her head to look at the swaying shadows of the trees, and suddenly felt a slight warmth under her feet, as if something had quietly nudged her feet.

She glanced down at her feet a few times, only to meet a pair of emerald green eyes that flickered and shone, which was quite terrifying.

It turns out that when a person is utterly exhausted, they truly disregard life and death. Chu Xia didn't find it frightening at all; she gently moved her toes and rubbed against the furry thing.

But it was an animal about the size of a wildcat that crawled out from between Chu Xia's feet. Its fur was snow-white, its ears were pointed, and it stared at Chu Xia without any fear.

"It's a leopard cub." Chu Xia's heart skipped a beat. "There really are leopards around here."

The little leopard stumbled over her, crawled onto her neck, and licked Chu Xia's cheek with its tongue. It didn't even have any baby teeth yet. After a while, the little leopard nestled beside her head and fell into a sweet sleep. Chu Xia let it rest its head on her shoulder, and her fear lessened considerably.

Footsteps sounded outside the crevice in the rocks, and Chu Xia was immediately awakened. She slowly sat up and shielded the little leopard behind her.

Sure enough, a moment later, his body was lifted up heavily and slammed to the ground.

"Did I ever tell you that tonight is your last chance?" He Butuo stared intently at Chuxia. "If you had been honest and told me everything, I would have found you today and given you a quick death, making sure you died as if in a dream, without any pain."

Chu Xia lay on the ground, breathing softly, and whispered, "Didn't you find it?"

“We’ve searched every inch of the mountainside, but to no avail.” He Butuo narrowed his eyes dangerously. “In that case, I have no choice but to keep my promise from that day.”

He smiled slightly and beckoned to the nearest attendant: "Come here."

"Wait—" Chu Xia suddenly spoke up, "Have you gone to see that pavilion halfway up the mountain?"

As dusk fell, the rather old pavilion stood in the mountains, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

He Bu Tuo thought for a moment and then summoned two men: "Go and see for yourselves, not a single tile should be missed."

Half an hour later, the two men returned, still empty-handed: "Chief, we demolished that pavilion, there's nothing left."

Instead of getting angry, He Butuo laughed, grabbed Chu Xia and threw her to the man in black beside him: "You think I can't see through your attempt to stall for time?" He then pointed to the hole more than three zhang above the ground and said: "Seventh brother, you go have some fun first, and then we'll think about what to do next."

In early summer, I felt alternating chills and heat all over my body. Just as I was about to grit my teeth, someone grabbed my cheeks and stuffed a rag into my mouth.

He Butuo laughed and said, "Want to die? Dying is much harder than living."

Chu Xia nearly fainted, her long eyelashes trembling and drooping, only to see the little leopard still lying in the crevice, staring at her without blinking. A sudden feeling of desolation washed over her, but she stopped struggling and let the man grab her hair, leap up, and throw her into the cave.

The cave was very dark, and they could only make out the faint light from the torches lit by He Butuo and the others outside the cave to see the jagged rocks, which looked quite terrifying. Chu Xia had a strip of cloth stuffed in her mouth and could not speak, so she could only support herself with her hands on the ground and move step by step toward the cave entrance.

Behind her, she heard the rustling sound of a man taking off his clothes. Chu Xia moved a few feet, but someone grabbed her ankle and dragged her backward.

Chu Xiaqiang was turned over, but then she heard the man's cold laugh: "I advise you not to struggle anymore, or you'll suffer less."

Chu Xia shook her head frantically, backing away until she was pressed against the damp, cold stone wall behind her.

The man reached out without hesitation, ripped off her coat, and pinched her neck with his cold fingers. He pulled it down further, immediately revealing a large expanse of smooth skin on her chest.

In the biting chill of early spring, Chu Xia couldn't help but shiver. Just as the man's fingers were about to touch her chest, she closed her eyes and slammed the back of her head against the stone wall.

The man was clearly not prepared for Chu Xia's action. He reached out to stop her, but only managed to block her halfway. Chu Xia's head still hit the stone wall, and blood immediately flowed out.

The man dragged her again and placed her on the ground, away from the stone wall.

A faint smell of blood filled the air. Chu Xia felt the other person's hands tearing off her clothes, roughly and violently. Then a hot, solid male body covered her, and the contact between their skin made her feel desperate and cold.

She could feel the man on top of her getting increasingly excited, his movements becoming more and more frantic, as if he wanted to tear her to pieces… If she had known it would end like this, why had she trusted him in the first place? Chu Xia suddenly remembered what He Butuo had said: “Death is much easier than life.”

She avoided the man's hot and dry aura, and through her teary eyes, she suddenly saw a pair of bright, shining eyes in the darkness.

—It's a leopard!

As expected, the little leopard tumbled down from here; this is the leopard's den!

For some reason, Chu Xia suddenly felt a sense of pleasure, her head throbbing with pain and blood still gushing out—yes, she was going to use her own blood to lure the late-returning mother leopard!

The mother leopard approached silently. The man lying on Chu Xia's body was a top-tier assassin from the Heavenly Gang Sect, but he naturally sensed the danger behind him. He stopped moving and lunged forward.

The mother leopard lunged forward, and Chu Xia managed to roll to the side, barely avoiding the leopard's claws.

In the darkness, the assassin was already fighting with the mother leopard, the leopard roaring repeatedly, while Chu Xia sat blankly at the cave entrance, only looking at the sky, as if she were detached from the situation.

On the first day of the fourth lunar month, the moon is in its new phase, barely perceptible and difficult to discern.

Young master, I have done what I promised you, but what about you?

Without further hesitation, she leaned forward and fell.

The wind whistled past her cheeks. Chu Xia kept her eyes tightly closed, but before she could feel the excruciating pain in her bones, she felt herself gently fall into an embrace.

It was a man's embrace—a chill ran through Chu Xia's heart. If she couldn't even commit suicide this time, then the humiliation she would suffer next was unimaginable.

The man held her, ignoring her struggles. He first reached out and removed the rag from her mouth, then brushed the messy hair from her forehead and said gently, "It's me, Chu Xia."

Chu Xia's struggle abruptly ceased, yet she remained with her eyes closed, unwilling to open them—the voice was so familiar that she felt as if she were having a beautiful dream. But if she opened her eyes, the dream would end, wouldn't it?

She heard her teeth chattering, then someone tapped the back of her head a few times, and the bleeding gradually stopped.

Someone wrapped themselves in a cloak and gently put something on their wrist. It was that familiar and gentle voice again: "The first day of the fourth month, is this what you wanted to tell me?"

It's you, young master! It's you, Lord Jun Ye'an!

Chu Xia suddenly opened her eyes.

The moon was pale and the stars were few that night, but the young master looked down at her, his eyes deep and seemingly calm, yet with undercurrents surging beneath.

She didn't know what to say, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

The young master sighed softly, looked away, and seemed to conceal a strange expression. He put her down on the ground and said gently, "Wait a little longer, I'll deal with these troubles first."

Chu Xia didn't know what she was thinking, or whether she hated or was afraid, but she grabbed his sleeve, not wanting him to leave.

The young master stopped in his tracks, smiled slightly, and bent down to pick up a fluffy thing from the ground.

It was that little leopard.

He placed the little leopard in her arms, stroked her hair, and said gently, "If you're scared, close your eyes and count in your mind from one to one hundred, and I'll be back."

Upon seeing a familiar face, the little leopard snuggled closer to Chu Xia, licked her bleeding wrist, and happily rolled over.

In early summer, she quietly let go of the young master's sleeve.

The young master turned around, facing He Butuo and his group, and raised an eyebrow slightly, saying, "Tian Gang?"

Chapter Eighteen (Part 1)

He Butuo coldly laughed: "Young Master Jun, it is unwise for you to go to this dangerous place alone."

"You still call me Young Master, so you should know that I never do anything without certainty." The Young Master smiled faintly, the moonlight and tree shadows staining his plain white robe with varying shades of ink. "The Great Chief has truly spared no expense for this 'Ballad of Mountains and Rivers'."

He took a step back, forcing a smile: "If these funds can be used on the young master, then it would be worthwhile."

After saying this, he shot out a hidden arrow, which soared straight into the sky with a whoosh.

The young master remained standing with his hands behind his back, seemingly telling him kindly, "There's no need to wait. Your men aren't coming."

He Butuo's expression changed slightly: "What did you say?"

The young master sighed softly, “It seems you still don’t understand. Do you really think I brought this girl with me to get to the Qingchuan River? Do you really think this is the place mentioned in ‘Ballad of Mountains and Rivers’? Do you really think that I’ve been traveling around enjoying the scenery because I have a beautiful woman by my side and am so happy that I don’t want to leave?”

The roars of leopards echoed from the cave above, tearing through the darkness. Chu Xia held the snow-white leopard cub in her arms, but the words of the young master from that day rang in her ears.

It was at the Jun residence. She had just been rescued from the burning courtyard and immediately whispered a place name in the young master's ear, "Dongting Lake, Junshan Mountain." The young master was holding her at the time, his delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, but in an instant, his eyes lit up.