Due to Ye Lihen’s new and old injuries, the strain of traveling was clearly not suitable for him. Fortunately, during the journey to their current residence, the two martial experts in the group ensured that no one was following them. Additionally, they had abandoned the conspicuous carriage, making it difficult for anyone to trace them. As a result, they were confident that this place would be safe. After consulting with Jiang Cheng, Bai Jinshu agreed that it would be best to stay here for now, allowing them to recuperate and focus on extracting the truth about the assassination attempt from the mysterious captive.
Of course, aside from their captive, Bai Jinshu’s attention was also on Ye Lihen.
After Ye Lihen had suddenly shown a temper to Bai Jinshu that day, when they met again, Ye Lihen acted as if nothing had happened. He treated Bai Jinshu as usual, with that same closeness he rarely showed to others, with no sign of lingering resentment.
On the one hand, Bai Jinshu was relieved that Ye Lihen was no longer upset with him. But on the other hand, Ye Lihen’s way of resolving their conflict left Bai Jinshu feeling unsettled. He wanted to apologize for his own attitude and make Ye Lihen realize how reckless and dangerous his actions had been. Yet, Ye Lihen’s nonchalant demeanor made it impossible to naturally bring up the topic again. Bai Jinshu found it hard to disrupt Ye Lihen’s good mood by reopening a painful discussion, especially when Ye Lihen often appeared genuinely happy in his presence, with a faint smile always on his face. Bai Jinshu, who had always enjoyed making Ye Lihen smile, could only protect that smile, refraining from saying anything that might spoil it.
While Bai Jinshu hesitated in dealing with Ye Lihen, their efforts to interrogate the captive were also going nowhere. Despite their attempts, Jiang Cheng and Bai Jinshu were unable to break the assassin’s silence. After two days of futile questioning, they had to put the matter aside and consider other options.
The unexpected occurred on the morning of the third day.
Since the four of them were temporarily staying in the wilderness, with both an injured person and a delicate young woman in their group, relying solely on hunting for sustenance wasn’t practical. To avoid exposing their hideout, Bai Jinshu and Jiang Cheng took turns going to town to purchase supplies. That day, Jiang Cheng went out to buy provisions, leaving Bai Jinshu, Ye Lihen, and Lin Ling behind. Bai Jinshu needed to change Ye Lihen’s bandages, so Lin Ling excused herself to another room, leaving just the two of them.
Bai Jinshu had become quite adept at tending to Ye Lihen’s wounds over the past few days. As he wrapped the bandages, he casually joked, “If these scars don’t fade, your future wife will be heartbroken.”
Ye Lihen thought for a moment before asking, “Do you have any scars?”
Bai Jinshu didn’t think much of it and replied, “As a man of the martial world, I’m covered in scars I could brag about.”
“Then you should never get married.” Ye Lihen said flatly. “It wouldn’t be fair to your wife to make her constantly worry over you.”
Bai Jinshu couldn’t help but laugh at Ye Lihen’s sharp retort. “I’m a rough man; what’s there to worry about? Now, you on the other hand, with skin softer than any girl’s, it would be a real shame if you ended up with scars.”
Ye Lihen pondered this for a while, then suddenly stopped Bai Jinshu from wrapping the bandages. He took out a small bottle from his robe. “Use this medicine before bandaging me.”
“What is it?” Bai Jinshu asked curiously.
“It’s a medicine that helps heal and prevent scars.”
“Why didn’t you use it earlier?”
“I heard it’s really itchy and painful, so I didn’t want to suffer through it.”
Hearing this rather delicate reasoning, Bai Jinshu carefully applied the powder while chuckling. “And now you’re not afraid of pain and itchiness anymore?” As he said this, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind—why had Ye Lihen suddenly decided he wasn’t afraid of the discomfort now?
His hands paused mid-bandage as Bai Jinshu felt as if he had stumbled upon something important, yet couldn’t quite figure it out.
At that moment, a suspicious noise came from the adjacent room. That room was where they were holding their captive. Realizing that someone had infiltrated the premises, Bai Jinshu hesitated for a split second. The memory of the fire incident made him wary that this could be another attempt to lure him away from Ye Lihen. He didn’t dare leave Ye Lihen’s side hastily.
After just a moment of hesitation, he heard the sound of two people leaving the adjacent room, followed by Lin Ling’s voice—
“Stop right there!”
Hearing Lin Ling giving chase, Bai Jinshu had no choice but to follow. After a quick check to make sure there were no other threats nearby, he hurried after her.
Despite his efforts to act quickly, even a brief delay was enough for the enemies to put some distance between themselves and their pursuers. Lin Ling, whose martial arts were mediocre but whose qinggong (lightness skill) was impressive, managed to catch up with them. However, in her eagerness to chase them, she left herself wide open, exposing several vulnerabilities. The fleeing enemies had no intention of engaging further and casually swung their swords behind them, not really aiming to strike but just hoping to fend Lin Ling off. Unfortunately, Lin Ling couldn’t stop herself in time and ended up running straight into the tip of their sword.
Rushing out without his sword, which he had left behind while tending to Ye Lihen, Bai Jinshu couldn’t find a weapon on him. In a moment of desperation, he pulled out the jade flute that Ye Lihen had given him, infused it with internal energy, and threw it as a projectile, deflecting the enemy’s sword just before it could pierce Lin Ling.
Lin Ling narrowly escaped death, drenched in cold sweat and too shaken to continue the chase. Bai Jinshu, concerned that pursuing too far might indeed be falling into a trap, let the enemies and their freed captive escape. Before he could consider how their hideout had been compromised, his attention was drawn to the fact that the jade flute, Ye Lihen’s gift to him, had fallen into the nearby lake.
Though the situation had been dire, it was, after all, a gift from Ye Lihen. Moreover, when Bai Jinshu turned to see Ye Lihen standing behind him, having witnessed the entire event, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. “That was dangerous earlier, and I didn’t have anything else to use. I’m sorry, but the flute you gave me fell into the lake.”
Ye Lihen appeared unbothered and shook his head calmly. “If it were me, I would have done the same. A human life is worth far more than a flute.”
Seeing that Ye Lihen wasn’t blaming him, Bai Jinshu felt relieved.
At that moment, Lin Ling approached them, looking dazed and disoriented.
“Shixiong, I almost died just now.”
Having never faced such danger before, Lin Ling’s face was pale, clearly terrified, and she seemed on the verge of tears. Bai Jinshu hesitated for a moment. Ye Lihen’s wounds still needed to be redressed, but Lin Ling clearly needed comforting more urgently. Just as he was wondering how to explain this to Ye Lihen, the injured youth spoke up quietly, “Go be with your shimei. My wounds aren’t urgent.”
Ye Lihen wasn’t usually so understanding, but he was never one to be insincere or fake. Since he said so, Bai Jinshu knew he truly meant it. Bai Jinshu nodded in acknowledgment. “Wait for me.” He then went to lead his distraught shimei back into the house.
As tough as Lin Ling might normally seem, she had never truly fought anyone before. Sparring with her shixiongs had always been a friendly match, with them holding back and never using lethal techniques. Though the enemies today hadn’t intended to kill, Lin Ling had still brushed against death. Her usual bravado was now replaced with fear and vulnerability. Once inside the room, Lin Ling turned and threw herself into Bai Jinshu’s arms.
When Lin Ling was younger, Bai Jinshu had indeed been quite close to her, but now that she had grown into a young woman, this kind of physical closeness seemed overly intimate. Bai Jinshu gently patted her back to comfort her, while subtly trying to push her away.
However, completely oblivious to any sense of propriety, Lin Ling clung to him even tighter.
“Shixiong, thank goodness you were there. You saved me.” she murmured, burying her face in his shoulder.
Bai Jinshu could only smile wryly as he tried to maintain a bit of distance. “You’re all grown up now, yet you still like to act like a child. Aren’t you afraid I’ll laugh at you?”
Lin Ling shook her head vigorously. “I’m not afraid of you laughing at me. I’m just afraid of you not being there for me.”
“That’s nonsense. I can’t be with you forever.”
Lin Ling hesitated for a moment, then whispered so softly it was almost inaudible, “But I want you to stay with me forever.”
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