After being scolded so harshly by Ji Yunshu, Luoyang became even more certain that his earlier guess was undoubtedly correct.

The person wearing the mask was the person in the portrait!

And also the person Ji Yunshu was looking for!

Ji Yunshu looked at him with warning in her eyes. “Luoyang, you’d better swallow this matter down. If you let others know about it, I’ll cut out your tongue.”

Ugh!

At these words, Luoyang couldn’t help but retract his tongue.

This woman appeared soft and weak, but her methods were extremely ruthless. Who knows, she might really pull out his tongue and cut it off.

He looked around in all directions and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. That surnamed Wen can’t wait to kill me, so I certainly won’t tell him about this. He and I are enemies—you’re the one who’s my teammate.”

“I don’t have such a stupid teammate.”

“I… stupid?”

“If you weren’t stupid, how could you have gone and kidnapped Young Master Wen?”

“I…”

“You hadn’t even figured out his identity yet, and you dared to capture him. If he had really died, would you and Xiao Ba still be standing here?”

“…” Luoyang had always been straightforward in his thinking. Now, choked by Ji Yunshu’s words, he was left speechless several times.

Thinking about it now, combined with yesterday’s near-death experience, it really did send chills down his spine.

Seeing that he seemed to be feeling afraid in retrospect, Ji Yunshu didn’t pursue the matter further. She warned, “In any case, if you dare leak even one word about that person still being alive, I’ll definitely make you suffer.”

“Don’t worry, this young master isn’t that gossipy, and I’m too lazy to stir up trouble.”

Heh!

Ji Yunshu was also too lazy to waste more words with him and was about to leave—

Unexpectedly, the large ship suddenly rocked violently.

Her footing became unstable, and her body tilted toward the ship’s railing, nearly tumbling into the river.

Fortunately, Luoyang had sharp eyes and quick hands, wrapping an arm around her waist!

He held her securely!

Two figures pressed tightly together.

Ji Yunshu was pulled back by that force, avoiding the risk of falling into the river.

She looked at Luoyang’s face, so close at hand. Though somewhat dark and rough, his features were well-proportioned and even rather handsome. If carefully groomed, he would certainly be a handsome man.

This was also the first time Luoyang had looked at her so carefully.

This woman had a jade-like face with delicate features, picturesque in every way. Her eyes and brows were extremely beautiful, making one want to look at her more.

In this moment, something in his heart seemed to be wildly pounding.

As if it wanted to jump out of his throat!

Ji Yunshu felt it highly improper and immediately pushed him away, stepping to the side. “Thank you.”

All the roguish air vanished from Luoyang’s face, replaced by some awkwardness and shyness, with even a hint of secret delight in his eyes. He shuffled his feet, his throat feeling like it was burning with fire, blocking all his words. To cover up these various emotions that suddenly surged up, he quickly raised his hand to scratch his ear, putting on an expression of “complete indifference,” and said, “It was nothing. If you had really fallen in, others would think I pushed you. Then they’d send me to the authorities, and wouldn’t I be at a great loss.”

Good grief!

This fellow could always twist any serious topic into something so frivolous.

“In any case, thank you!” After speaking, she was about to leave, but after a few steps, she stopped and turned back. “Also, be careful yourself. Don’t sleep too deeply tonight!”

A warning!

Luoyang was baffled and too lazy to ponder her words.

He just stared blankly at her retreating figure.

…

The ship traveled for a day, sailing upstream along the river.

They reached the Three Gorges region!

Passing through Yuanhe Town.

Looking from the ship in the distance, one could see the myriad lights of Yuanhe Town, almost enveloping the entire mountain range.

Ji Yunshu’s cabin happened to have a window facing Yuanhe Town.

She lay against the windowsill, her gaze fixed on that direction. As the large ship continued moving forward, those specks of light gradually disappeared from view.

“Sigh…”

Whenever deep night fell, her heart would feel especially painful, as if feathers were constantly stirring in the gaps between her bones, leaving her nowhere to scratch.

As soon as she closed her eyes, Jingrong’s appearance would appear before her.

But when she opened her eyes, what she saw was endless darkness.

Like sharp silver needles, piercing countless small holes throughout her body.

And she didn’t know from when, but the image appearing in her mind had become Li Chuan’s masked face.

“My name is Li Chuan!”

These words also kept circling in her heart, unable to be dispelled.

Li Chuan! Jingrong!

What exactly had happened back then?

That made him forget even her.

Without realizing it, tears had fallen. She was completely unaware when the tears slid down her cheeks.

Not until the tears dripped onto the back of her hand did she suddenly become aware…

Night had deepened.

Wen Che came out from the cabin and stood at the bow, dismissing all those keeping watch at night.

He clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze somber, an expression of sorrow unavoidably falling upon his cold face.

His eyes were firmly fixed on the distance.

Ten years!

In that battle against Dalin back then, he was covered in wounds and contracted an illness from then on, never again able to fight on the battlefield. For a military general, what humiliation that was.

Everyone said he was the eldest son of the Wen family, and would surely inherit the brave and martial prowess of General Huaihua, defending every city and fortress of Qujiang.

But now, he was merely a civil official strategizing in the court.

Brave and martial prowess, fighting valiantly against enemies, or distinguished military achievements…

None of it had anything to do with him!

Whenever he thought about having ambitions with nowhere to apply them, that feeling was like punching cotton, making one feel utterly powerless.

And this war was something he could never forget for his entire life.

If not for that war, he and that person from the Su family would surely still be brothers united in heart, sharing fortune and hardship together.

But fate was unpredictable—things of the past were ultimately in the past.

He let out a soft sigh, also resenting how harshly Heaven had treated him.

Alas!

He was worried and sorrowful.

Meanwhile, on the other side, sleep had already taken hold.

Luoyang and Xiao Ba were sleeping spread-eagled.

Snoring continuously!

Outside, someone carrying a black cloth bag quietly approached, opened the door crack to peek inside a few times, and saw the people inside sleeping soundly.

“Heh, you’ll have plenty to suffer soon.” A sinister smile appeared at the corner of the person’s mouth.

Then he opened the bag in his hand, inside which were two writhing snakes.

He dumped the snakes out, letting them crawl into the storage room.

Seeing the snakes slowly crawl to Luoyang’s side, only then did he leave.

Shu Tian stood by the side of the ship, waiting for that person to come report.

“It’s all done. The snakes have gone in.”

Shu Tian made an “mm” sound and asked to confirm, “Those snakes definitely aren’t poisonous?”

“Don’t worry, they’re not poisonous. The ship’s family raised them themselves. They won’t bite anyone to death, but getting bitten will still make them suffer for several days.”

“The ship’s family won’t say anything, will they?”

“They won’t. I gave them silver to keep their mouths shut.”

“That’s good. The young master just wants to make those two brats suffer a bit, as long as their lives aren’t taken.”

“Understood.”