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The savage stared blankly at the small map in my hand that looked like it had been through a shredder. After blinking a couple of times, he suddenly grabbed my hand, his voice weak, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?!"

“No…” I handed the note back to the savage. “Xu Yi saved us at the cliff edge, so he definitely knows the way back. It’s much better than this thumbnail of yours.”

The savage froze. I glanced at his thin, veiny hand and said, "This map must be related to the treasure everyone's looking for, right? It's a huge loss for you to let others see it! Besides, if you want me to leave, just say so. Why make such a fuss? I'm not as cunning as you. How could I have guessed that you hid a map in the jade pendant? Even if I had—" I leaned closer, squinting into the savage's somewhat dazed eyes, "Don't you think Xu Yi is already in dire straits himself? How could he possibly have time to care about me? You've really entrusted yourself to the wrong person!"

The savage suddenly shuddered, because I was so close to him that our noses were almost touching. If I turned my head slightly, I could bite his mouth.

He smelled of bitter Chinese medicine. Under his fairly well-covered collar, his collarbone was prominent. I suddenly pulled open his clothes to examine him—I could see at a glance that his flesh was all sucked in like it had been vacuumed up, with bones laid out under his skin. His skin was like wax, dry and without any luster.

On that moment, I felt like I couldn't breathe...

No matter what happens, I know I'm prone to overreacting. But no matter how much we bicker or argue, whether he tries to drive me away or I reject him... or even if I can't express my love, I can accept it all. Even if he really doesn't like me anymore, or even if four years is too long and our relationship has expired, I don't think I'll ever be so heartbroken that it hurts to the bone, like those prominent bones on his body are piercing my eyes, making my blood run cold...

Of course, the savage immediately pulled his clothes back and forcefully yanked my hand away. I held my breath as I watched him frantically straighten his clothes, and suddenly remembered what Xu Yi had said when he treated his anorexia: "...If this continues, you'll be close to death..."

"Fine!" I blurted out out of the blue. The savage looked up at me in surprise. I climbed off the bed, slipped on my shoes, and stood up abruptly. "Anyway, you're not far from death..." I felt a lump in my throat, and I felt the savage's face suddenly distorted... "Fine," I gasped, "What's the point of hanging out with someone as hopeless as you? I really regret running around trying to find you... I was so happy to go home for Christmas at first, but now—now even the summer sale is over, and I can only buy shoes in my size..." I bent down to tie my shoelaces. "I really don't know what I was doing all this for... What's so good about you? You're disobedient, silent, half-dead all day long—and so skinny!!" I said the last four words the loudest, turning back to look at him. He was expressionless, not at all like someone who had been publicly reprimanded.

The savage simply sat quietly, looking back at me. His expression lacked the despair I had hoped for. He rested his hand on the edge of the bed, his head slightly raised, the flickering room light casting a hazy glow on his pale face… In truth, four years had only changed him, or perhaps I had changed too, but my intuition to see through people at a glance hadn't disappeared. After hearing my furious outburst about returning home, contrary to his grief, he felt a sense of relief, only a deeper sorrow. He watched me turn away, watched me turn back hoping he would stop me, watched me take one step and then hesitate three, watched me, who had only meant to express his feelings but hoped he would give me a way out, pull me back to submit to him…

The savage was truly determined, which is why he never felt the slightest bit of elation at having something lost and then found. After all, he never intended to see me again, and now that he had, that was that...

I pushed open the bedroom door one last time, and when I turned around, he was still sitting in the same spot by the large bed with its golden canopy. The bed was carved with exquisitely crafted landscapes, waterfalls, and moonlit scenes that the ancients admired. The atmosphere created by the flickering candlelight was breathtakingly beautiful. But according to my previous aesthetic standards, I probably would have felt that such a scene made people look even more vulgar. In the past, I thought most things in this world were ugly and should be criticized. In the past, I would never, ever have gone this far for a man.

Just a moment ago, he told me to go back to Savage Valley with Xu Yi. Did he know that I almost died at Xu Yi's hands, or did he use him as a pawn? Does he even know that he almost killed me?!

Of course he didn't know, because I didn't dare tell him.

I was afraid he would be sad, afraid he would be upset, afraid something would happen to him, afraid he wouldn't be able to find me... All these things combined, he only responded with one sentence: "Some things are pointless to explain too much."

Even if it's all in vain, I hope we can face some things together, but he wants to push me far away.

But things are really hard to predict, because even if I get to Savage Valley, I might not be able to get back... And even though I'm the kind of person who speaks without thinking, I still don't want to bring up that statement at a crucial moment to provoke him.

What's the point of this? Two people who should be together drift apart before they even have a chance to clarify anything...

Upon exiting the building and seeing Song Guan, he said, "It's been a long time." Before he could finish speaking, a loud "thump" came from the door behind him.

I turned around, and the door was still half open. The savage, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, suddenly rolled off the bed.

"Savage!" I cried out and ran over. I saw him lying face down on the ground, his hand outstretched, clutching the jade Maitreya Buddha tightly. He had already passed out.

“…So I came to find you.” I explained to the divine healer, then added, “Although the savage told me to leave, I never listen to him, so I came out to find you…”

Chapter 62...

"Do you want to hear my thoughts?" Xu Yi asked me, pouring tea with one hand and glancing sideways at me.

"What ideas could you possibly have?" I asked dejectedly.

“First,” he said, “I must have misunderstood him about faking his death.”

"You misunderstood him? You still have times when you care about him?"

Xu Yi took a small sip of tea and finished speaking, "When the Nangong residence caught fire, I initially thought it was a case of someone else taking his place, but just now, after examining him closely, I discovered..." The divine physician deliberately paused for a moment, glancing at me, giving me enough time to let my mind wander...

"What exactly did they find?!" I asked nervously.

“He has burn scars on his back…it’s very serious.”

"Ah...!" A chill ran through me, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head—"Why didn't you tell me sooner? No, I have to go check on him!"

"Wait a minute," Xu Yi called out to me. "I finally managed to get him to sleep, don't disturb him."

"Sleeping peacefully?" I turned around. "Are you sure he's not just unconscious?!"

"Please sit down first," Xu Yi gestured for me to sit down with his eyes.

As I walked back, my feet felt like they were dragging lead weights; I was hunched over, my steps heavy.

"You just said that he left you a map?" Xu Yi asked again after I sat down. "So you think I was right? You think he planned to fake his death and escape in advance, and that he put the map of the valley into the Buddha statue he gave you, hoping that you would leave on your own?"

"Isn't that right?" Just thinking about it makes me angry. The first time he gave me something, I was so happy and excited that I couldn't contain myself. How could I have known that he would quietly pave the way for me? Doesn't he know me? Even if the world is dangerous, it's better than a peaceful life. He has things he wants to do. I didn't say I wouldn't accompany him. Anyway, there are no exams or classes. It's nice to roam the world. But he decided my fate without even thinking. He was arbitrary and did things his own way. Like when he made me lose my memory, he didn't even ask me. It's just unreasonable, barbaric, and arrogant!

"So you suspect him already?" Xu Yi suddenly laughed when he saw me fuming. "But there's something you shouldn't forget... To keep you, he even took a risky gamble and almost lost you... Besides, he only put the map inside the Buddha statue, without telling you the secret of the statue—perhaps you would never have touched that statue in your life, so how would you have discovered the map inside?" The divine doctor asked the question, then looked at me expectantly, waiting for my response.

"So I've got it all backwards?" I suddenly had an idea, but I still felt like I couldn't grasp the key point. "So you mean, the savage didn't push me away because he was going to do something dangerous, he pushed me away because he felt he might be in danger, so... so he...?"

“So he was making arrangements for his own funeral…” The divine physician slowly put down his cup and continued my words, “He was just preparing for the worst, doing everything he could to take care of everything for you—after all, his situation was precarious, and if something unexpected happened to him, you would have a 50% chance of unraveling the mystery of the Buddha statue and finding your way back.”

"Then he can ask you for a favor."

“I might not necessarily help him.” The divine doctor was once again blunt and sharp. “I’m helping you this time because I don’t want to owe you anything.”

"I know!" I waved my hand. "It's a shame the savage said you were a trustworthy person. You've really let him down—but Xu Yi, this time... really, haven't you gone a bit too far with your petty schemes? You even misled me into thinking the savage had planned to set fire to the house, fake his death, and then dump me, this huge burden—but that's not true at all. The fire at the Nangong family's house had nothing to do with the savage. He almost burned to death himself, and there's also the map inside the Buddha statue..."

"The savage drew the picture because he was thinking of me. He was afraid that something might happen to him... But the savage hid the picture so well because in his mind, there was no 'what if,' and I should never see the picture in my entire life!"

The divine physician remained silent, lowered his eyes to look at the ground, and slightly furrowed his brows.

"Will he be alright?" I asked obsessively, a hundred times, then a hundred and one more. "Xu Yi, can you swear to God that the savage will be fine!"

Xu Yi turned to me and said, “What good is my swearing? I have already explained his illness to you in detail. You also know that worry can harm the body… The reason he is like this now is mostly due to depression, and all I can do is replenish his qi and blood, not relieve his worries…”

"Depression can actually lead to illness? That's unbelievable...!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "And he only takes supplements and doesn't eat regular meals. Is he trying to die and ascend to heaven?!"

“Four years…” Xu Yi ignored my mutterings and suddenly brought up the issue of the time break. “Sun Qingshan, have you ever thought about this?” Xu Yi asked, “Shao Yanhe left you a way out and hid the way home in the Buddha statue. But as soon as he left, you disappeared without a trace for four years. What did he think?”

"He...? Ah!!" I exclaimed softly, "He...he doesn't think I've already gone back to the future, does he?!"

The doctor remained silent, watching me quietly, which was clearly an admission of guilt.

"No wonder..." My heart clenched, "No wonder he said he never thought he'd see me again..."

“…Therefore, before you appeared here, whatever Shao Yanhe was doing, had done, or was about to do would have been irrelevant to you, and you wouldn’t have been taken into account at all. And yet, you just had to appear at the most inopportune time…” Xu Yi paused, “No wonder he wanted to get rid of you…”

"No wonder?!" I smiled bitterly. This was no longer a question of whether to hurry or not; it was a question that no one could decide. To the Wild Man, he was no longer the pure-blooded Wild Man I knew. Two years ago, he took my luggage from Chengdu and gave up looking for me. He probably really thought I had gone home, so he naturally became Shao Yanhe again and could do whatever he wanted. Those things, whether it was grudges in the martial world or the pursuit of fame and fortune, were things that the Wild Man had once given up for me without hesitation. But this time, would it be so easy to pick them up and put them down again?

“Relax a bit,” Xu Yi comforted me in a flat tone, “Give him some time, after all, he can’t get rid of you.”

"He can't get rid of me..." Xu Yi was completely talking without any sense of the situation, while I could barely manage a bitter smile. "...The savage is the one who truly can't bear to see me sad and heartbroken..."

...

Before the savage woke up, I hurried to find Song Guan and told him I wanted to see Shao Qingyou.

Song Guan treated me quite well, leading me directly to the secret room.

In the brightly lit secret room, Shao Qingyou was in a daze, while a pair of eyes glared fiercely at me from afar.

“Little brother,” I glared back, “one must not forget one’s roots. No matter what your brother Yan He has done wrong, it is always wrong for brothers to fight each other!”

The little brother suddenly jumped high into the air, but luckily his wrists and ankles were firmly bound by chains, so he couldn't get out of bed. I was standing far away by the door, so even though he was disheveled and looked fierce, he was still furious and couldn't reach me.

I really wanted to jump around, swinging my braids, and shout at him, "Can't catch you, can't catch you, just can't catch you!" But that would make me seem childish—"Honestly," I pointed at him, "look in the mirror, even when you're throwing a tantrum, you're 60% like a savage. What did he do to you that you want him to commit suicide—and you even know to use me as bait?!"

This time, Shao Qingyou stopped struggling. He rolled his eyes at me, but he was very stubborn and didn't say a word to me.

“Just as difficult as your brother…” I sighed, but then I saw his face darken – “He’s not my brother!” I heard Qingyou’s younger brother grit his teeth, “I don’t have a brother like him!!”

Sure enough, Qingyou is capable of acting impulsively over a single sentence.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have used me to threaten the savage without any planning. The question is, how did he know I was the savage's beloved? And the savage too, is he really so single-minded? If he's been orchestrating everything from behind the scenes, why was he unaware that the divine physician had arrived at Liangfeng Manor? Or... does he simply not have the energy to deal with anything else? I know he's tired, very tired. The limits of the body are the most terrifying; they leave one with no energy left to think about anything else...

"Calm down!" I gestured to Shao Qingyou. "Stay calm! I'm not one of Shao Yanhe's people. You saw it yourself. I was almost strangled to death by you, yet I can still talk to you so calmly. So calm down too—in short, I'm not here to spy on anything. I just want to know what kind of person Shao Yanhe really is—and why do you hate him so much?"

Qingyou's younger brother calmed down, panting heavily, his chest heaving, his fingers clenching so tightly they cracked. He glanced at me and said, "What's it to you what my family's business is?!"

“Originally, this had nothing to do with me, but think about it,” I advised Shao Qingyou, “I know even you are nervous about the Wild Man. So if you tell me about the shameful things he did in the past, and I reshape my impression of him, so that I think he is a scoundrel and will never admire him again, and will even help you to attack him—wouldn’t that be even more devastating for him? You’d feel more satisfied than if you saw him commit suicide. Actually, you’d be the one who wins!!”

"Hmph!" Shao Qingyou snorted coldly, full of disdain.

"Speak, speak..." I urged him on while carefully walking along the wall. I turned a corner, grabbed a stool from a table not far away, and walked back along the wall to the entrance of the secret room. I placed the stool down and sat down comfortably, waiting for my brother Qingyou to tell his grievances.

"There's nothing to say..." But Qingyou said this, and like me, he plopped back down on the bed. The iron chains on his hands and feet rattled, and after a while, only a few trembling "clangs" remained.

"Is he treating you badly?" I prompted. "Abusing you? Stealing your sweetheart? Publicly cheating on you?"

“He’s a madman,” Qingyou’s younger brother replied. “Ever since Father died, all he’s thought about is revenge. He’s willing to do anything and sacrifice anyone. He’s long since turned his back on his family. How could he possibly care about his own brother like me?!”

"Revenge?" I found the crux of the matter. "What revenge? Your father was murdered?"

"I told you it's my family's business!" Qingyou's younger brother immediately retorted. "Who do you think you are? Just a woman—Shao Yanhe has had many women around him, and none of them have had a good ending—" As he spoke, Qingyou's younger brother's gaze shifted, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Haven't you heard of Shi Shenghuan?" he asked me with a half-smile.

"Ah, right—!" I exclaimed as if waking from a dream. "Shi Shenghuan!! What's going on with this woman? Does Shao Yanhe really like her? What's going on between the two of them?!"

"Like?" Qingyou's younger brother sneered. "Shi Shenghuan has always been kept in seclusion. Including the night of their wedding, Shao Yanhe has only met her a total of no more than five times. How could he like her?! Moreover, he married her not because he liked her, but because her father is the leader of the martial arts alliance. Shao Yanhe wants everything her father has, including the lives of her entire family!"

A chill ran through me. Could it be true? The savage really killed Shi Shenghuan—then why, why was he still so attached to her?! I remembered the savage saying: Shenghuan was light, the only light in the darkness—but in the end, he was the one who extinguished that light with his own hands…

"How many enemies do you have?" I asked after calming down, but the other person's face was somber, clearly not wanting to say more.

“Then let me ask you a different question,” I carefully observed Shao Qingyou’s expression, “Have you ever been betrayed by your brother?”

Sure enough, the person by the bed changed color instantly.

"I heard Shao Yanhe forced your mother to remarry?" I added, "I also heard he sold you, and for money, he made you marry an old maid, and even have you become his son-in-law?!"

Shao Qingyou remained silent for a long while before I noticed that the iron chain in his hand, which was clanging, had inadvertently lengthened—he had actually stretched it out by force?! I was speechless, unsure whether to say that the iron was too malleable or that he was using too much force.

“Look at my hands.” Shao Qingyou raised his hands with a clang, the chains around them slamming shut. “The so-called three cardinal guides and five constant virtues of wealthy families mean that the wife is the head of the household, that the husband must obey her, and that she can beat and scold him as she pleases…” he asked, “Do you still want to ask how he forced me to marry into his family…”

"You?!" I stared blankly at Qingyou's hand, a hand with only four fingers, the middle finger missing.

"But I'd say I've made a profit and avoided a loss..." Qingyou's younger brother said with a gloomy face, his lips slowly curving upwards. "He, Shao Yanhe, made me lose a middle finger, so I broke three of his fingers—he gave me a woman, so I gave him ten men—"

"What did you say?!" I exclaimed in shock. "You did it to the savage?! Then he—then he—then he…?!" My brain was throbbing with blood, and I couldn't utter another word.

A moment later...

After calming myself down, I asked Shao Qingyou, who had become surprisingly composed since the last moment, "Back then, Shao Yanhe disappeared halfway through becoming the Alliance Leader. Was it related to you—did you frame him?!"

Shao Qingyou turned to look at me and laughed, "How could I have such great abilities? He was arrogant and offended others, while I was just involved, doing a little work and mediating..."

"Are you even human?!" My blood was boiling, and I grabbed the door frame with one hand, afraid that I might accidentally run towards him and end up handing him over instead of slapping him.

"No matter what, Shao Yanhe is still your brother!"

“Yes, he’s my brother…” Shao Qingyou nodded, “But do you know what kind of person he is… When I was three, my mother went out, and he cooked me the only meal he ever did. The next day, he put a knife and a live chicken in my hands, telling me to return that meal to him and to let me, the three-year-old, kill the chicken for him to eat—that chicken,” Shao Qingyou gestured, “Stand up straight, come here to me…”

Chapter 63

The place where the wild man lived was separate from the main part of Liangfeng Mountain Villa. It was located deep in a lush and verdant grove of trees, and no unauthorized people were allowed to enter.

After visiting my younger brother Qingyou's prison, amidst the cicadas' chirping and the soft glow of the sun, I rushed into the grove hoping to see the wild man again. But Red Treasure Duck was already guarding the door, preventing me from entering.

"He doesn't want to see you," the woman in red said bluntly.

If I turn hostile, the savage behind the door will surely wake up and hear my voice, knowing I've arrived—"If you don't want to see him, why don't you just tell me yourself?" I crouched down, trying to squeeze through, "Excuse me, excuse me—!"