A fire was kindled. Qiao Mu sat beside Yanu, the gleaming knife in her hand.

It was fortunate that Jiu’er had instructed them all to keep a small supply of medicine on their persons at all times — otherwise, even once she removed the arrowhead, there would be no way to stop the bleeding from the wound.

“It’s going to hurt,” she said, looking at Yanu. The man’s face was still completely covered with gauze, but those beautiful eyes alone were enough to make one feel reluctant to cause him pain.

Those eyes, like gems, truly made it harder and harder to look away the more she gazed at them.

Yanu closed his eyes and gave a nod.

With his eyes no longer visible, Qiao Mu seemed to suddenly snap back to her senses. She quickly reined in her thoughts, set the knife aside, and reached out to tear open Yanu’s clothing.

Yanu suddenly opened his eyes and instinctively shrank back.

“This…” Qiao Mu was a little taken aback. She had naturally assumed that for a grown man, having his clothing removed was nothing out of the ordinary.

But clearly, Yanu was very resistant to her touching his body.

How had it come to this — where she now seemed like some forward young woman in the presence of a man she was imposing upon?

“I… I have no ill intentions.”

She stared at the cold arrow in his shoulder and said helplessly, “Your wound must be treated. There is no one else here, and I have no way of finding you a male physician at a moment’s notice.”

But Yanu still appeared deeply reluctant.

Qiao Mu was at something of a loss. Seeing the wound in his shoulder still seeping blood, she suddenly raised one long finger.

Yanu felt a brief numbness at his neck, and his entire body went slack, no longer able to move.

“Forgive me.”

Qiao Mu tore open the fabric near his wound, and the fair, delicate skin exposed before her instantly sent a flush of heat blazing across her face.

She had never imagined that a man’s skin could be this fine and smooth — even she, a woman, felt humbled by it.

She gave her head a firm shake. Seeing him close his eyes, she felt equally helpless.

“I truly am not… not trying to take liberties with you.”

Really — he was clearly a grown man, so why was it that she felt as though she had somehow defiled him simply by being near?

Still, the wound was truly in a serious state by now. The longer it went untreated, the worse it would become.

She saw that the short knife had been left by the fire and gave it a few gentle passes through the heat, then looked at Yanu’s tightly closed eyes.

“It will hurt. You need to bear through it.”

Yanu said nothing. Qiao Mu hesitated no longer. The tip of the blade descended upon the wound…

By the time the wound had been treated and wrapped in bandages, Yanu had his eyes shut tight and had lost consciousness again.

Not from the pain — but from having lost too much blood, leaving him with almost no strength remaining.

The gauze on his face had been dampened by sweat, hanging loose and slack, looking as though it might fall off.

Though Qiao Mu did not know how to change the dressing on his face — Jiu’er had never mentioned it — gauze soaked through with sweat and left pressed against the skin was doing his facial wounds no good at all.

After some thought, she carefully repositioned Yanu, letting him lie on his side.

Once she had put away the short knife, she set about slowly and carefully unwinding the gauze from his face, layer by layer.

But she had not expected that with each layer removed, the brightness in Qiao Mu’s eyes would increase a degree — until, unwrapping further, she found herself doubting her own sight.

This… was Yanu’s true face?

From his forehead, around his eyes, down to his nose — to his lips — to his chin…

Qiao Mu held the gauze in her hand, staring at Yanu’s face, her fingertips trembling.

Heavens above. So beautiful. Truly, breathtakingly beautiful.

She had seen Mu Mu’s handsomeness and the Ninth Prince’s transcendent beauty, yet the kind of beauty Yanu possessed was something that struck one with awe and wonder — while at the same time filling you with an urge to shield him in your arms and cherish him without end.

Those long lashes fell like curtains — thick, curling, and full — making him look delicate and quietly heartbreaking.

His high-bridged nose carried such bold, masculine character, yet was at the same time so fine and achingly beautiful.

His thin lips were as lovely as flower petals — slender and faintly pink, so fresh and tender they seemed to glisten.

Before she knew it, she had almost… leaned in.

Heavens, that was absolutely not what she actually meant to do. She had absolutely not wanted to take liberties with the sleeping beauty before her.

In the past she had greatly admired the Ninth Prince — yet the Ninth Prince was always remote, lofty, and supremely cold. Utterly unattainable.

But Yanu was different. Yanu seemed… within reach. So close that if one used force, he would have absolutely no capacity to resist.

If one were to use force…

Qiao Mu was not sure what she was thinking. She seemed to be drawing, bit by bit, closer to the beautiful young man before her.

Closer still, and perhaps just a fraction more…

No. He was Jiu’er’s person. If she wanted him, she would at least need Jiu’er’s approval first.

No, no, no — he was an independent individual. How could Jiu’er have the final say? He would need to be willing himself.

Goodness — what was she even thinking? How had she somehow gone from here to already being mentally prepared to take him as a husband?

No! Yanu was a man. If there were to be a marriage, she would be the one marrying him… Heavens above! What complete and utter nonsense was going through her head?

By the time Qiao Mu came back to herself, she realized she had drawn extremely close to Yanu — so close that just one fraction more, and she would have been able to reach out and touch his face, touch his lips.

No! She was taking advantage of someone in a helpless state!

Qiao Mu was so startled she shot to her feet and fled to the cave entrance in a flustered rush.

The night wind swept in, cool against her cheeks, and at last brought a small measure of clarity back to her.

Phew! Just now, she had genuinely almost pounced on Yanu.

It was all his fault — growing a face this impossibly beautiful. Even standing beside the Ninth Prince, he would not have appeared the least bit inferior.

Yanu and the Ninth Prince were completely different types of men. Yanu truly made one long to cherish and protect him.

Qiao Mu raised her hand and gave herself two firm smacks on the forehead, hoping to knock some sense back into herself.

Truly unconscionable — she had nearly forced herself upon someone…

When had she become so reckless and shameless — letting her imagination run wild over a man who had already fainted?

What’s more, the man was currently injured, and she was already thinking about how to devour him whole!

It was entirely Yanu’s fault for being far too beautiful. The visual impact was simply too much — truly, overwhelmingly too much!

She did not know how much time passed before she finally returned to the cave.

She took a vial of life-saving medicinal pills from the bundle and, supporting the still dazed and groggy Yanu, helped him take them.

Xue Gu had handed the bundle to her, and it was full of valuable medicines — now at last they had come to good use.

But that face of Yanu’s…

Qiao Mu forced her eyes shut, compelling herself to look away. She absolutely forbade herself from staring any longer.

If she kept looking, she really did not know whether she would end up doing something unforgivable to him.

Honestly — what was the point of being this beautiful, for no reason at all?

Jiu’er had probably never seen Yanu’s true face. For all those years, his face had been covered in layer upon layer of scarring, looking quite frightening.

That slightly roguish woman Jiu’er — she had always been one to be drawn in by a pretty face at a glance.

Now that Yanu was healed, would she also want to keep Yanu by her side?

Absolutely not! Jiu’er already had the Ninth Prince. Yanu… could actually be entrusted to someone else’s tender care, couldn’t he?