Chestnut ran to the wheelchair and barked.

Shi Ting recognized it as Yan Qing’s. It had been flung there roughly and was badly damaged — it was clearly beyond repair.

The wheelchair was here. Yan Qing couldn’t be far.

Shi Ting pressed on upward with Chestnut, and finally, beneath a pine tree, found Yan Qing lying on the ground.

Chestnut bounded over and circled her joyfully.

Shi Ting pushed through the sodden mud and grass, his steps uneven, and reached her. He checked first at her nostrils, and when he felt the faint warmth of her breath, the tension in his chest slowly released.

He had witnessed countless deaths, stood at the scene of more murders than he could count — but in that single instant, his mind had gone completely blank, as though he had forgotten how to think. Even reaching out his hand had felt mechanical.

“Yan Qing.” Shi Ting gently shook her shoulder. “Yan Qing, wake up.”

In the wind and rain, her lips were sealed tight. No response.

With no time to hesitate, Shi Ting removed his rain cape and draped it over Yan Qing, then bent down and lifted her into his arms. He called for Chestnut, and the pair — man and dog — started down the mountain.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning split the night sky. Thunder rolled in from the distance. The intermittent drizzle suddenly became a downpour.

Chestnut barked twice and broke into a run.

By the time Shi Ting carried Yan Qing back down to the foot of the mountain, both he and Chestnut were completely soaked. But the rain was only growing heavier, as though intent on consuming the world.

Shi Ting opened the car door for Chestnut to jump into the passenger seat first, then placed Yan Qing gently in the back.

There were several clean towels in the car. He set aside his own drenched state and picked up a towel to dry her hair.

She had been left on the mountain too long and was thoroughly soaked. Her small face was drained of all color, and her thin lips had taken on a bluish tinge.

He remembered there was a military coat in the car, but layering it over wet clothing would only let the rain seep through and offer no warmth at all.

After deliberating for a moment, Shi Ting decided the best course was to first remove Yan Qing’s outer garment — a sensible thought in theory, but proving difficult in practice. After several attempts that came to nothing, a quiet sound came from behind him.

He turned. Chestnut was draped over the gap between the front and rear seats, its dark round eyes fixed on him without blinking.

“Stop looking.” Shi Ting frowned.

Chestnut blinked those large black eyes, as if it understood, and obediently retreated to the front seat.

Shi Ting drew a slow breath and gave up on the idea. Whatever the circumstances, Yan Qing was a woman of unblemished reputation. Even for her own sake, the boundary between men and women had to be respected.

This was not an open society. Under the grip of tradition, a woman’s honor weighed more heavily than the sky itself.

He draped the coat over Yan Qing and opened the car door to move to the front seat — but the moment he pushed the door, wind and rain rushed in as if they had found an opening. Looking down, he saw that water had already spread rapidly across the ground, and half the car was sunken into it.

He had not realized the terrain here was low-lying. The rain had come fast and fierce, and the car was now stuck.

Shi Ting quickly shut the door again. He glanced back, and his eyes met Chestnut’s. Man and dog stared at each other for a long moment before he let out a sigh. “We wait for rescue.”

With the car unable to move and no immediate danger of flooding, there was nothing to do but wait for Bai Jin to bring people to find them.

After securing the door, Shi Ting reached over and touched Yan Qing’s forehead — and found it burning.

She had always been frail, and the ordeal had taken its toll. Her old illness had flared, and she was running a high fever.

“Yan Qing.” Shi Ting quickly sat her up against himself and held the water cup to her lips, coaxing her to drink a few sips.

After swallowing a little water, Yan Qing began slowly to come around. Despite the heat radiating through her body, she felt bitterly cold, as though cold air was pressing in from all directions.

There was one spot, however, that was warm — warmth she reached for instinctively. She stretched out both arms and held on.

That place was not only warm but solid and reassuring, and its scent was pleasant. She couldn’t help but hold on a little tighter.

Shi Ting, who was being held, went rigid without intending to. A man who made cold decisions and faced violence without flinching was now as motionless as a young boy struck with sudden nerves.

From the front seat, Chestnut had its paws propped on the gap between the seats, tongue lolling, panting steadily while staring right at him.

“Don’t look.” Shi Ting scowled.

Chestnut blinked its large dark eyes as if it perfectly understood, and dutifully settled back into the passenger seat.

Shi Ting inhaled slowly and, with the hand that had not yet gone stiff, reached up to pull the coat a little higher over her. But the moment he moved, she held on tighter still — and to make matters worse, pressed her soft face against his chest with a contented nuzzle.

If Yan Qing had been conscious, she would have felt the heart about to break free of his ribs, and the body gone rigid as iron.

But she seemed perfectly at ease — sleeping deeply and soundly, as though she had decided he was simply a very comfortable sofa.

The car was quiet. Outside, the rain was loud, hammering at the roof with steady force.

Shi Ting forced his gaze toward the window and fixed it on the rivulets of rain tracing their way down the glass. His thoughts refused to settle.

In the end, it was Chestnut’s two barks that finally drew Yan Qing out of unconsciousness. She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was an elegantly crafted uniform button. Following it upward — a man’s long neck, a jaw with clean, fluid lines.

Yan Qing bolted upright on instinct, and once she had put some distance between them, Shi Ting’s face came sharply into focus.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Chestnut lay very still, only its eyes moving, its very breathing seemingly slowed to a murmur.

Heat rose in waves across Yan Qing’s face. Whether from the fever or something else entirely, she couldn’t say.

“You’re awake.” Shi Ting’s tone was composed, as though nothing had happened. “Once the rain lets up a little and the water recedes, we can go back.”

“Oh.” Yan Qing stared straight ahead, as if she hadn’t quite heard what he said.

If that hadn’t been a fever dream, she had woken up cradled in Shi Ting’s arms — and her hands had still been wrapped tightly around his waist when she opened her eyes.

Good heavens. Had the fever truly addled her brain?

This was Shi Ting. And she had held him. Quite tightly, by the feel of it.

What was she supposed to do now?

“Do you remember who brought you here?” Shi Ting’s voice was clear and calm — the kind that steadied nerves and smoothed over awkwardness.

“I was reading in my room when I sensed someone walking up behind me. I assumed it was Jing Zhi. Before I could even turn around, I blacked out.” The memory of the attack made the back of her neck ache faintly again.

“I suspect the culprit is someone within your household,” Shi Ting said.

Yan Qing looked up at him with wide, dark eyes — and the moment she caught the depth of his gaze, looked quickly away, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

“They knew the layout of the Yan Mansion well — knew exactly where the back gate of your courtyard was — and managed to remove you from the premises without alerting anyone.”

“From the back gate of the courtyard, turning right leads to the garage, turning left to the concubines’ courtyard. To reach the concubines’ courtyard, one would have to pass through two moon arch gates and the passageway beside the kitchen, where servants live in the adjoining side rooms. The concubines’ courtyard is also far from the main gate. So the only viable way to take you out of the Yan Mansion unseen was to go right — toward the garage.”

Yan Qing nodded. “There’s a door in the garage that cars can drive directly in and out through. Usually the cars are driven out from there to wait at the front gate, and everyone in the household enters and exits from the front. The garage door itself is used only by the drivers.”

“I heard from E’Yuan that one of your drivers was found dead in the Yan household today. When you were at the scene, the suspect may well have been in the crowd watching. Afraid you would uncover their crime, they moved quickly to silence you. Knowing you have limited mobility, they simply abandoned you on the mountain to perish. Whoever it was knows the Yan household inside and out — it has to be someone who lives here. And the drivers are the most likely suspects.”

Shi Ting continued, “When I followed the trail here, I could still make out tire tracks on the road. That means whoever it was had free access to the Yan family’s vehicles and knew the surrounding roads well.”

This was not an era when anyone could simply sit behind a wheel. Cars were a rare thing, and those who could drive them were few. The drivers employed by wealthy households had typically learned behind the wheel in the military.

“Cough, cough!” Yan Qing covered her mouth and coughed.

Shi Ting quickly held out the water cup. “Drink some water. It shouldn’t be much longer — the rain may let up soon.”

“Mm.” Yan Qing reached to take it, cradled the cup in both hands, and suddenly remembered something. “How did you find out I was missing?”

“Master Yan has been coming to pick up a few prescriptions lately. I happened to be at your home collecting medicine.”

Yan Qing could easily picture her father in complete disarray. Without Shi Ting to hold things together, she might well have been left to die on that mountain.

“Shi Ting, thank you — truly.” She said it with genuine gratitude. “If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be nothing but bones by now.”

Not the least bit of exaggeration. The mountain was full of wild animals. Left there, she would have either starved or been eaten. She really had escaped death by sheer fortune.

“No need to thank me. You’ve helped me a great deal as well.” Shi Ting said, “Are you feeling any better?”

Yan Qing instinctively hugged her arms. “I feel a bit cold.”

Her clothes were still damp. The chill and the wet pressed in on her from both sides, combined with the fever. She felt as if the entire world had turned to ice.

Shi Ting quickly tucked the coat more snugly around her. “Hold on a little longer.”

“Woof!” Chestnut, too restless to stay quiet, stretched its head over once more and waved its pink tongue at Yan Qing with a cheerful showing off.

At the sight of it, Yan Qing felt an immediate warmth and reached out to pat its head. “Thank you too, Chestnut.”

“Be careful — it doesn’t warm up to strangers easily,” Shi Ting warned.

Chestnut promptly proved its owner wrong, ducking its head under Yan Qing’s hand and pressing into the touch with enthusiasm.

Shi Ting stared in silence.

Faithless creature.

Yan Qing smiled and gently stroked its head in response.

“Who said it doesn’t warm up to strangers? It seems perfectly friendly to me!”

Shi Ting cast Chestnut a cold look. It was true that Chestnut was usually wary of strangers — but in the presence of a pretty woman, it abandoned all principle entirely. A thoroughly spineless, fence-sitting dog.

After a while of playing with Chestnut, Yan Qing felt her head growing heavier and heavier. With the fever burning on, she had begun to shiver.

“Yan Qing — what’s wrong?” Shi Ting noticed her discomfort and asked quickly.