Pei Junwu stood up, reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Let her go, I'll heal her wounds," Yi Chunjun said coldly, looking at him with narrowed eyes.
“This is my business from now on.” Pei Junwu pulled her arm closer, drawing her upper body even closer to him.
"It hurts—" Xiao Yuan cried out softly, and this time he wasn't faking it.
Both Yi Chunjun and Pei Junwu froze, neither willing to give up first.
"Let me go, you lot!" she shouted angrily.
Pei Junwu finally sighed and let go, and Yi Chunjun took the opportunity to pull her back into his arms.
"Ugh—" Xiao Yuan felt her nose sting even more, and her eyes throbbed with pain. Blood gushed from her nose like a waterfall, a feeling both disgusting and painful. She heard Yi Chunjun let out a panicked cry and pinch her nose hard. Her already dazed head went completely dark when he pinched it like that.
When she regained consciousness, she was in an unfamiliar suburb. She was leaning against a tree, half-reclining. Yi Chunjun's long robe was placed beneath her.
She frowned and struggled to move her eyes. The setting sun made her squint even more, and she couldn't see her surroundings clearly for a long time.
"Awake?" Pei Junwu was using a dagger to trim tree branches by the water not far from her. When he saw her open her eyes, he put down what he was doing and came over to look at her carefully.
"Where is this?" Her eyes hurt from the shimmering light reflected on the river, so she had to turn her face away to avoid it.
"We'll reach the bamboo forest in another seventy li. The road is remote, so we'll have to camp out there."
"How long was I dizzy?" She touched her nose; thankfully, her breathing was smooth.
"All day long." Pei Junwu brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, his gentle gesture and gaze making her heart skip a beat.
"I... how did I get here?" She looked away, a little embarrassed.
“Yi Chunjun and I will take turns carrying you.” Seeing her startled expression, his heart ached slightly. “We can walk faster than a horse,” he said, making up an unimportant remark.
She hesitated for a moment, her expression shifting slightly. "What about him?"
The way she spoke of "him" was like a sharp knife piercing his heart: "Go gather firewood."
She was taken aback, then couldn't help but smile. Yi Chunjun went to gather firewood?
Pei Junwu stood up without looking at her and silently went to the riverbank to pick up some small stones.
She watched his ethereal figure in silence, and for some reason, she felt a sadness in his silhouette, which made her somewhat heartbroken.
He grabbed a handful of pebbles and threw them into the river, executing a beautiful move called "Flying Snow Leaves Fragrance." After the water splashed, several fish floated to the surface, their white bodies turning white.
Her memories were stirred up, and she suddenly laughed.
Hearing her laughter, he turned around and looked back, a smile unconsciously appearing on his lips as well.
Her heart ached when she smiled, so she could only touch her chest with her hand. "So...so this trick really is used for fishing."
Every moment of their first meeting seemed to flash through his mind again, and he didn't know what to feel in his heart—a bittersweet mix.
“Hmm,” he said, not wanting to recall any further, and lowered his eyes, “the level of skill only determines how many fish you catch.”
Xiao Yuan laughed even harder, and became a little out of breath.
He glared at her. "Don't laugh, it'll make your injury worse."
She nodded, still smiling.
Xiao Yuan blinked slowly. Pei Junwu was cleaning the fish, his long, elegant fingers gripping the knife as he sliced open the fish's belly, bloodily removing its internal organs. Even with such a gruesome task, he performed it with such grace, dressed entirely in white.
Noticing her gaze, Pei Junwu looked up at her, then turned away somewhat embarrassedly, blocking her view. "Don't look, you won't be able to eat."
She smiled slightly, "How could Young Master Pei do this kind of work?"
With his back to her, he kept working, saying, "When my master and I lived in the bamboo forest, I was always the one taking care of him." He scraped off the scales and carefully stuck the fish into the branch he had just shaved.
Watching him methodically make arrangements, her heart was filled with warmth and peace. She rested her chin on her folded knees, thinking that perhaps spending her life with this man wouldn't be so bad... at least she wouldn't always be startled by unexpected events, her heart constantly dangling on a thin rope.
She glanced up absentmindedly at the sound of footsteps and saw Yi Chunjun carrying a large bundle of firewood back in his undershirt. When he met her gaze, he coldly rolled his eyes and ignored her.
I wanted to laugh... but that smile ultimately vanished the moment it appeared on my lips.
Even though the noble young master was only wearing his inner shirt, revealing a patch of smooth, firm breasts, he was still incredibly alluring. In fact, even more alluring; at least her heart trembled. She was angry at herself for thinking such nonsense! But the memory of that night…
Clearly, he and Pei Junwu had reached some kind of tacit understanding. Although they didn't speak to each other, they also didn't argue, each busy with their own affairs. When they were alone, Pei Junwu would look at her and talk to her. When Yi Chunjun returned, the two of them pretended not to know her, not even glancing at her.
After silently eating the grilled fish, it was completely dark. Pei Junwu and Yi Chunjun glanced at each other, then turned their faces and lay down on either side of Xiaoyuan, their backs to her.
Xiao Yuan looked at their backs with amusement. Oh well, as long as the two of them don't fight over her anymore.
Chapter 61 of "The Smiling Flower": The Fatal Blow
The significant blood loss made Xiaoyuan restless and unable to sleep soundly. Even with his eyes closed, he could clearly hear the slightest sound around him.
Her eyelashes were gently brushed by the breeze from her clothes, and she felt the two people beside her stand up at the same time. She opened her eyes inexplicably and saw Pei Junwu and Yi Chunjun sitting on the ground with cold faces in the moonlight.
"You're here." Yi Chunjun raised the corner of his mouth and said coldly.
Pei Junwu remained silent, his gaze drifting away thoughtfully.
Xiao Juyuan arrived, and Xiao Yuan knew it all along. The journey to the bamboo forest was the perfect opportunity for her to make her move.
Although it was not impossible to head straight to the bamboo forest, I insisted on spending the night in the suburbs—that's what I was waiting for!