Huo Liuxing had already gone three days and three nights without closing his eyes. Persuaded to temporarily swallow his bellyful of anger, he rested in the adjacent guest room and managed to sleep for barely two hours until the next morning when knocking sounded at the door.
Jingmo said that Shen Lingzhen had personally come to bring him breakfast.
When he said this, he deliberately emphasized the word “personally,” clearly unwilling to affect the bigger picture and intentionally acting as a peacemaker to ease the relationship between Huo Liuxing and Shen Lingzhen.
Huo Liuxing naturally heard this particularly clearly. Lying on his back, he blinked, then suddenly gave a scoffing laugh. He then turned over, put on his clothes, got out of bed, and yanked open the door. At a glance, he saw Shen Lingzhen standing outside with her head lowered.
She wore a plain lotus-colored gauze dress without any embroidery, her head slightly bowed as she personally held a lacquered tray. On the tray sat the inn’s simple fare: a bowl of thin congee, two corn-flour steamed buns, and a small dish of pickled vegetables.
“You returned late last night and probably didn’t have time to eat anything to fill your stomach. I had the inn’s cook prepare this for you.” Shen Lingzhen said with downcast eyes.
Huo Liuxing’s gaze focused.
This place had no delicacies, so preparing even these items thoroughly must have taken some thought. Thinking this, he looked more carefully at this so-called simple fare and found the thin congee had a lustrous sheen, the corn-flour buns had golden-yellow skin and faintly emanated a milky fragrance, and even the dull-colored pickled vegetables seemed quite refined, making one’s appetite stir involuntarily.
Looking again at Shen Lingzhen’s obedient manner, he felt considerably more comfortable. Even the murderous intent from his dream of desperately chasing down her savior dissipated without a trace.
He coughed lightly and took the lacquered tray from her hands. “Isn’t it heavy?” Saying this, he placed the food on an eight-immortals table in the room. Turning back to see her still standing outside the door, he beckoned to her. “Come in.”
Shen Lingzhen hesitantly took one small step forward, then stopped at the threshold as if fearful and not daring.
Huo Liuxing stepped forward to pull her in.
The moment he touched her wrist, she trembled and desperately tried to shrink back.
He shook his head helplessly. “I won’t use force.” Saying this, he loosely encircled her wrist and brought her into the room, closing the door behind them with his other hand. He gently lifted her sleeve.
In his anger last night, he had lost control. The red marks on her wrist had naturally faded by now, but one could imagine how vicious they had been before.
He fell silent for a moment, then lowered his head and blew on her wrist a few times. “Does it still hurt?”
Shen Lingzhen unnaturally withdrew her hand and said with lowered head, “It doesn’t hurt anymore… Last night I was momentarily rash and said excessive things, which angered you. You are magnanimous—please don’t hold it against me.”
Huo Liuxing’s expression froze. He hadn’t apologized yet, but she had already humbled herself.
Her attitude stirred his heart into anxious disorder. Seeing that she had kept her head lowered from earlier until now, he found it strange. He reached out to lift her chin, and only upon lifting it did he discover that she seemed to have cried for a long time—her eyes were as red as a rabbit’s.
He opened his mouth to say something. The word “I” came out but then got stuck. His brows furrowed even tighter.
She had followed him on this arduous journey, and actually hadn’t fared much better than him with his sleepless nights. Looking carefully now, she appeared haggard and pale as a vegetable. The scabbed wound on her temple still glaringly stabbed at his eyes, making the strings in his mind tighten and throb, his veins pulsing.
He raised his hand to support her shoulder, but before his hand arrived, he saw her tremble again in fear.
He could only withdraw his hand. “I was wrong first. I’m not holding it against you. Go back and rest.”
But Shen Lingzhen refused to leave. She hesitantly probed, “Then will you hold it against someone else?”
“Someone else?” The wisps of moisture in Huo Liuxing’s eyes suddenly dried up. He laughed in exasperation. “Who are you talking about?”
Shen Lingzhen pressed her lips together without speaking, as if tacitly confirming his guess.
Huo Liuxing began nodding to himself.
So she had been furious last night, but after crying half the night, she was willing to humble herself like this—personally bringing breakfast, apologizing with lowered brows and compliant eyes—it was all to calm his anger and thereby protect her dear benefactor.
He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. “What do you want me to do?”
“I previously gave you a message, asking you to send someone to the Duke’s manor to retrieve that cloak and that silk handkerchief. Since… since they aren’t yours, could you pretend this matter never happened and not take them away…”
Huo Liuxing laughed in anger. “You’re afraid I’ll get my hands on the cloak and handkerchief, track down your benefactor through those clues, and harm him?”
Her expression flickered as she said, “No, I just thought that since they belong to someone else, they should be returned to their rightful owner.”
Huo Liuxing shook his head. “Shen Lingzhen, you can’t lie. Don’t lie to me.”
She sniffled and carefully reached for his hand. “If you’re angry about my insolence last night, feel free to punish me, but can you please not hurt innocent people?”
Huo Liuxing looked down at her hand, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he suddenly smiled. “Punish you? How should I punish you?”
Shen Lingzhen shivered but still persisted. “However you wish…”
He smiled again. “Husband and wife should be harmonious. To speak of punishment is too harsh. How about this—I won’t use force, but you do something to make me happy.”
Shen Lingzhen was startled. “What should I do to make you happy?”
“Naturally, do what husband and wife should do. Look, you’ve been married to me for so long, yet we haven’t consummated our marriage. Shouldn’t we complete this union?”
Shen Lingzhen was shocked. She stared at him wide-eyed, then looked at that simple wooden bed, wringing her hands. “Here? Right… right now?”
Huo Liuxing strode to the bedside and sat down, bracing his knees as he looked at her. “Here, right now. Come here.”
She panicked, her gaze dodging, not daring to look at him. “I…”
Huo Liuxing watched her with a hooked smile. Seeing her retreat one step and shrink back, his smile deepened. But unexpectedly, in the next moment, she struggled forward one step. “Alright, but I… I don’t know how. You might need to be patient and teach me step by step…”
Huo Liuxing’s smile instantly “shattered into pieces.”
An indescribable irritation and frustration suddenly filled his heart.
Investigating the identity of Shen Lingzhen’s savior was not an impulsive act for him. This person knew him inside and out, was extremely familiar with him, yet his position as friend or foe was unclear and his whereabouts unknown. He investigated him for the greater good, not to throw a tantrum.
So no matter how Shen Lingzhen begged, he couldn’t give up.
Of course, he hadn’t truly planned to consummate the marriage with her now. He was merely brandishing a gleaming sword to frighten her, hoping she would retreat in the face of difficulty.
Who knew that for that person’s sake, she would be willing to advance toward the blade?
Huo Liuxing closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“Husband?” Shen Lingzhen tentatively called to him from afar.
He opened his eyes, his voice hoarse. “Shen Lingzhen, on the very day you first proposed the idea of that message, I already sent people to the Duke’s manor. Before long, the cloak and handkerchief will be delivered into my hands. You should stop being foolish.”
Shen Lingzhen froze. The grievances she had suppressed all night resurfaced. “So just now you were toying with me?”
“No,” he sighed and stood up. “I can’t promise you I won’t search for that person. But I can promise you that as long as he doesn’t do anything harmful to me, I won’t harm him in the slightest either. I have killed many people, but I never kill the innocent. Moreover, since he has been kind to you, he should also be my benefactor. When I said I would kill him last night, I was deliberately frightening you. Be smart and don’t let me deceive you.”
Shen Lingzhen looked at him guardedly. “Which of your words are true and which are false—I can no longer tell them apart.”
Huo Liuxing showed a helpless expression and held up three fingers, palm vertical. “These are true words. If even half a sentence is false, let me, Huo Liuxing, be sent back into the Xiqiang prisoner-of-war camp and truly have these two…”
Shen Lingzhen rushed forward in a panic and covered his mouth tightly, somehow finding the strength to charge at him like a little leopard.
Only after stopping his word “legs” did she breathe a sigh of relief. She lowered her hand and walked to the window, leaning halfway out and waving at the sky. “Just now no one made a vow, no one made a vow… You heard wrong…”
Huo Liuxing stared blankly at her back, then was suddenly amused to laughter.
Hearing his seemingly smug, seemingly comfortable laughter, Shen Lingzhen turned around with a stern face and glared at him fiercely. “What are you laughing at? The body, hair, and skin are received from parents. I just think you shouldn’t let your family down because of your own mistakes, making them bear the consequences with you.”
He suppressed his laughter and nodded seriously. “Mm, your lesson is very reasonable. I made that vow incorrectly.”
Shen Lingzhen nodded. Like a little adult, she clasped her hands behind her back and raised her chin. “Fine, I’ll tentatively believe your promise just now. But I also want to make it clear to you—I haven’t forgiven you for deceiving me in the past. Now I want to ask you, from this moment on, can I justifiably be angry with you?”
Huo Liuxing naturally knew she shouldn’t calm down so quickly. That show of forced compliance just now was merely her considering the bigger picture again.
Now that she saw he was only a paper tiger, she naturally had no more concerns.
Shen Lingzhen’s honest way of even being angry truly left Huo Liuxing uncertain whether to be pleased or worried. After a long silence, he nodded. “You can.”
“Good,” Shen Lingzhen glanced at him coolly. “I’m not paying attention to you anymore.” Saying this, she left the room with her back ramrod straight.
Huo Liuxing sighed and shook his head. Then, as if remembering something, he followed and told her, “After I finish breakfast, I have to leave Baibao City. I might not make it back before dark…”
Shen Lingzhen turned back and glared at him. “Why should I care whether you come back or not? Even if you do come back, I won’t see you!”
“…” Huo Liuxing’s face darkened, and he nodded as if resigned to fate.
Fine. He indeed shouldn’t have been so naive as to believe her sweet words about “you can just be yourself in front of me.” Look—as soon as he became himself, she ran away.
——
Shen Lingzhen returned to her guest room and climbed onto the bed.
She had truly worried last night that Huo Liuxing would harm the innocent in his anger. She had pondered this matter the entire latter half of the night without closing her eyes for a moment. And because of his threats, she didn’t dare explain the full situation to Jianjia, only falsely claiming she had been frightened by a mouse while silently struggling with her worries.
Now she could finally set her mind at ease and catch up on some sleep.
But just as Jianjia finished serving her and covering her with the quilt, the scene of Huo Liuxing sitting on the bedside with his knees braced, telling her to “come here,” suddenly surfaced in her mind.
When she had agreed earlier to consummate the marriage with him today, she had actually been single-mindedly concerned for her benefactor’s safety. Just as when she had jumped into that river by the Qingyang teahouse, she hadn’t thought much about it. But now, recalling it, she felt genuine fear. Her heart pounded chaotically, unable to calm down. Tossing and turning, all she could see before her eyes was Huo Liuxing’s deviously wicked appearance and his smiling yet not-quite-smiling face.
She waved her hand in annoyance, trying to disperse this “person.”
Jianjia was startled. “Young Madam, is it too hot? Are there mosquitoes?”
“Indeed there are—lingering like a restless ghost.” She said with furrowed brows.
Jianjia picked up a cattail-leaf fan to help drive away the “mosquitoes,” sighing as she worked. “Why did you suffer by following the master on this trip?”
Shen Lingzhen was also feeling indignant. Had she known earlier that Huo Liuxing was this kind of person, she would never have brought this suffering upon herself.
Seeing her say nothing, Jianjia continued, “The master’s legs…” She paused. “This servant didn’t know before, but now that I do, I’ve discovered the master is truly no simple character. Young Madam, you care for him so deeply—please don’t suffer losses in the future!”
Shen Lingzhen froze. “Don’t talk nonsense. How could I…” How could she develop true feelings for a liar full of falsehoods? Before, her feelings toward him were gratitude for his kindness. Now that she knew the truth, when she looked at him, it was like looking at an annoying fly.
She turned over irritably and closed her eyes, slowly cultivating drowsiness. After who knows how long, she finally stopped being disturbed by that “fly” and fell into a deep sleep.
This time, she was awakened by Jingmo’s shouting.
In her muddled dream, she suddenly heard an urgent sentence: “Master!”
She abruptly came to her senses, blinked, and discovered that outside the window it had already grown dark. Then she heard Jingmo’s next sentence from outside her door: “Master, why have you returned covered in blood!”
Shen Lingzhen instinctively startled and sat up abruptly from the bed. She was about to throw off the quilt and get down when she suddenly sensed something amiss.
For her safety, Jingmo had arranged her guest room on the second floor of the inn in an interior position, while Huo Liuxing’s room was closer to the stairs.
Given their current relationship, Huo Liuxing shouldn’t come to her room. But if he had returned to his own place, why would Jingmo be standing outside her door shouting this sentence?
After coming up the stairs, Huo Liuxing wouldn’t pass by here at all.
Moreover, under normal circumstances, if he saw him covered in blood, Jingmo should reasonably ask “Master, what happened to you?” Why would he specifically emphasize the redundant phrase “covered in blood”?
Unless he was deliberately trying to attract someone’s attention.
Shameless.
Shen Lingzhen huffily lay back down and ignored them. But after the surroundings quieted for a moment, strange sounds came from next door, like someone suppressing painful groans: “Sss—”
Though it was far away and she couldn’t hear the tone clearly, she could guess it mostly came from the “blood-covered” Huo Liuxing. She pulled the quilt over herself and continued to remain silent. However, the sounds from that side only intensified: “Mm—ugh—sss—mm—”
Unable to bear the disturbance, Shen Lingzhen got out of bed, put on her clothes, and walked to the window.
The walls of this inn were built very thick, and the doors were made solidly—clearly intentionally soundproofed. Such sounds absolutely couldn’t easily reach her here.
The only possibility was that the person next door was deliberately groaning toward his wide-open window for her to hear.
Scoundrel.
Using the fastest technique of her life, Shen Lingzhen suddenly pushed open her window and indeed saw a dark head flash back from the adjacent window.
She snorted softly and said, “Children in our Bianjing tire of such tricks by age seven. You truly have an undying childlike heart! Please face your age squarely and stop making such childish moves. Your behavior not only disturbs the neighbors’ rest and corrupts morality, but also goes against the Huo family’s upright military tradition!”
Next door, Huo Liuxing was so angry his hair stood on end. He gritted his teeth and pointed at Jingmo. “Look at what terrible idea you came up with! The Huo family’s face has been utterly lost today!”