Both spat up blood simultaneously.
But it wasn’t over yet. Behind them, waves surged up like a wall, instantly pressing both of them under the water!
In the moment before being pressed underwater, their ears ringing from being deafened by the close-range explosive blast, the two heard screams, cries, calls for help, and running footsteps from the shore and stone embankment.
Fourth Master Xiao was ruthless and vicious – he had planted explosives in the tunnel they emerged from, then had someone detonate them while flooding the area again with river water. He not only wanted their lives but also wanted to frame them for this disaster once more!
When that water crashed down on her, Tie Ci felt her chest and lungs explode. The qi flow in her dantian automatically reversed again, surging wildly and rushing toward the three passes. She vaguely felt pain inside her body, with a metallic resonance, but had no time to think about it carefully. Enduring the explosive pain choking her chest, she desperately reached out to grab Feiyu. However, the water was extremely violent – with the embankment broken again, the current was rushing backward in a frenzy. In the blink of an eye, it could sweep someone away for miles, and she couldn’t tell where to look.
She then remembered Gu Xiaoxiao, who had still been on the broken embankment during the explosion, as well as the common people on the stone embankment. Her anxiety grew even greater – the embankment had broken again, and the water was rushing toward those people. Who knew how many would be swept away this time!
The raging current behind her pushed her forward, seemingly through some kind of hole. Countless stones tumbled through the water, crashing toward her. She covered her head and face, curled up her body, then with a powerful thrust, seemed to burst out of the hole with a splash.
Her hands flailed wildly in the water, trying to grab something she could climb. Suddenly touching an object, she quickly grasped it – it was an iron chain securing the foundation of the stone embankment. Her heart leaped with joy, knowing she hadn’t been swept very far.
Someone crashed into her in the water. She reached out to grab them – it wasn’t Feiyu, but a man, probably one of the common people working on the embankment who had been swept down. She held onto him and swam toward the stone embankment.
Swimming with someone in rushing water was extremely exhausting. When she finally reached the edge of the stone embankment and deposited the man there, she looked up to see Fourth Master Xiao hurriedly getting into his carriage on the shore.
In the river water, high waves rolled as water rushed downstream. Countless common people struggled and called for help in the icy water.
Her gaze swept over those bobbing heads, but in the darkness, fine rain, and high waves, where could she distinguish Feiyu’s face?
Fourth Master Xiao bent to enter his carriage, then suddenly turned and met her eyes directly.
Fourth Master Xiao froze for a moment, then tilted his head. Several people lunged toward her direction. Standing in the darkness, Fourth Master Xiao suddenly curved his lips and smiled at her.
Then he pointed at the sky, made a downward striking gesture, flicked his sleeve, and got into the carriage.
Tie Ci stared at his retreating figure. Enemies approached from the front, Heaven rained down from above, people cried behind her, and in the cold water, her confidant – the person she liked – was still nowhere to be found.
She suddenly shouted loudly: “Fourth Master Xiao! Evildoers will receive Heaven’s punishment!”
She raised her hand, first also pointing at the sky, then suddenly pointing directly at Fourth Master Xiao’s back.
In an instant, dark clouds gathered and shifted, fierce winds arose, layers of haze covered the sky, and a thick, bright white light appeared from the horizon. “Crack!” Following her fingertip, it struck viciously at Fourth Master Xiao’s back!
Fourth Master Xiao suddenly staggered and tumbled into the carriage. The entire vehicle shook violently, and moments later, the carriage burst into flames.
Tie Ci: “!!!”
She had only been unwilling to be framed, angry at that gesture meaning “Heaven will strike you too,” and had pointed back in retaliation.
How had it actually summoned down lightning?
She looked at her palm somewhat bewildered – ordinary and white, dripping wet, with nothing unusual about it.
Even the people struggling and calling for help in the water stopped, staring dumbfounded at the shore where lightning had struck a living person.
In the simple worldview of common folk, thunder was Heaven’s wrath, striking those evildoers whom earthly justice had failed to punish.
This was even more effective than holding court and executing formal punishment in establishing someone’s guilt.
The people who had rushed forward to attack Tie Ci also stood stunned. After a moment, they hurried back to fight the fire. The carriage interior was ablaze, but Fourth Master Xiao hadn’t emerged or screamed – whether he was dead or unconscious was unknown.
Tie Ci sincerely prayed for lightning to defeat Fourth Master Xiao soon.
She turned and dove back into the river water.
She began rescuing people.
Grabbing one person, checking their face – not Feiyu, not Gu Xiaoxiao.
Throwing them onto the stone embankment.
Grabbing another person, checking their face – not them, throwing them over too.
Grabbing yet another person…
She went back and forth in the water, searching person by person, growing more anxious the longer she searched, just like that day when the embankment was breached, when she had searched for Feiyu and the others among those traveling merchants from other places.
Similar circumstances and weather, but this time she seemed to lack the good fortune of last time. They had rescued themselves – she turned around to see a rope with all their friends and family tied neatly together.
Tie Ci looked back countless times, seeing only common people clinging to the stone embankment and crying, and the low rolling clouds.
That irresistible despair and anxiety surged up again, her throat and chest aching sharply, as if all the blood in her body was blocked.
This feeling made pain and exhaustion surge even more fiercely. For a moment, she didn’t want to save anyone.
She tilted her head back and let out a sharp whistle.
This was the whistle to summon the Nine Guards without signal flares. Generally, some of the Nine Guards would stay not far from her, and she hoped they could arrive in time.
Suddenly a signal flare shot into the sky – deep purple, the Nine Guards’ emergency rescue signal.
She turned around in wild joy, and in the pale purple light reflected in the sky, she saw Gu Xiaoxiao clinging to the edge of the stone embankment.
He seemed injured, with blood stains on his calf, sitting dangerously on the embankment’s edge. Seeing her approach, he reached out to grab her shoulder, trying to pull her up.
Tie Ci leaned against the stone, grabbing his hand tightly, “You’re alright! Didn’t you say you couldn’t swim? Who saved you?”
Gu Xiaoxiao said: “Feiyu…”
“Where is she!”
“I don’t know…” Gu Xiaoxiao said, “I was swept off the embankment by the water and was about to be carried away when she grabbed me. Just as we were about to reach shore, a big wave came. She pushed me onto the stone embankment, but when I tried to grab her again, I couldn’t see her anymore…”
Tie Ci turned to look at the river water.
If Feiyu hadn’t been swept away, she would definitely appear by now.
She had actually gone to save Gu Xiaoxiao.
She clearly didn’t like Xiaoxiao and wasn’t someone with excessive kindness. Especially toward people she disliked, she would never sacrifice herself to save them.
She would generally be decisive and ruthless in making such people disappear forever.
Why had she saved Gu Xiaoxiao?
Tie Ci suddenly didn’t dare to think about it.
Figures came running frantically, stripping off clothes as they went, jumping into the water without a word, all shouting for their master.
Tie Ci recognized one voice as Dan Shuang.
Her heart leaped with joy, and she waved and called out.
Dan Shuang quickly swam over, followed by a man. Upon seeing Tie Ci, the man’s expression changed, and he called urgently: “Where is my master?”
Tie Ci stared at this person – he was very tall, and his build seemed vaguely familiar.
She could guess this person was looking for Feiyu. Shaking her head, she said to Dan Shuang: “Stay here to take care of Xiaoxiao. When the Nine Guards arrive, direct the rescue efforts.”
“Master, what about you…”
Before Dan Shuang could finish speaking, Tie Ci had already dove back into the river water.
“I’m going to turn myself in!”
…
Tie Ci drifted along with the river current, grabbing onto a ship’s plank midway.
The autumn river water was icy cold. She had been injured earlier and had wounds on her body. Now she felt exhausted and weary, as if all her strength and warmth were flowing away, as though she could fall asleep if she just let her eyelids droop.
She knew she couldn’t sleep, so she grasped the jade brush at her waist. The brush tip extended a golden point, and whenever she was about to fall asleep, she would prick herself with it.
On that brush tip, there could be poison but also potent medicines for strengthening sinews and bones and treating internal injuries. The medicinal pricks were very painful, enough to jolt her awake for a long time.
It was now the darkest period before dawn, pitch black in all directions where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Only her soft calls floated on the water’s surface.
She didn’t know when she dozily fell asleep anyway, seemingly having a dream where Feiyu suddenly emerged from the water, laughing and saying it was just a joke, then reaching out to touch her face. But those fingers were bone-chillingly cold, startling her awake. She realized she had drifted past a reed marsh, and the sensation of being touched was just reed leaves brushing her face.
But that bone-deep horror from the dream lingered. Her heart was pounding as she felt grateful that even while sleeping or unconscious, she had held tightly to the ship’s plank. She was also terrified by that dream – so terrified she didn’t dare think about it further.
She gripped the plank and straightened up. There was a faint hint of dawn on the horizon, and she looked forward to daylight, which would make searching for people easier.
She didn’t know how long she had drifted when the water current gradually slowed here, and numerous boats appeared ahead – seemingly a gathering place for water-dwelling fishing families.
Tie Ci suddenly remembered that many fishermen would set nets in the water. What if Feiyu had been swept downstream and caught by these fishing nets?
She hurriedly approached those fishing boats quietly, though she didn’t hold much hope. After all, if they had pulled up a person, it would be a big matter. These boat families lived together, and everyone would be disturbed. But now everything was quiet – everyone was sleeping, not looking like they had discovered anything.
Thinking back, Feiyu didn’t seem seriously injured and was good at swimming. After being swept away, she could have saved herself completely. Why would she need these fishing boats to rescue her?
She just couldn’t give up, searching boat by boat. Finding nothing, she was about to turn away from the last fishing net when something caught the corner of her eye.
She went over and took down a small cloth bag from the fishing net – it contained sunflower seeds.
She suddenly looked up toward the boat above.
Only then did she notice this boat was somewhat larger and was gently swaying.
She leaped onto the deck. Her head was buzzing now, and nosebleed was flowing down. She wiped away the nosebleed before hearing people talking quietly inside.
“Thought it was some big catch…”
“This is also a catch… Look at her, so beautiful… That face, that delicate skin all over, that waist, those legs, that chest… Ouch, what’s this on her chest, it’s pricking my hand!”
“Let me see… You’re not trying to keep this girl to yourself and making up stories to fool me, are you…”
“What nonsense, this girl’s chest is strange. If you don’t believe me, I’ll tear it open to show you…”
The sound of fabric tearing.
Tie Ci strode forward and suddenly lifted the curtain.
The two men inside looked up in panic.
But Tie Ci only saw Feiyu lying on the deck with her garment half-torn, soaking wet all over, with a large bump on her forehead.
A flash of snow-white skin in the darkness – she turned her gaze away, stepped forward and waved her hand, pulling the curtain to cover her while grabbing one boatman’s neck with the other hand and smashing him into the other man’s forehead.
Bang! Both men fell unconscious together.
Tie Ci lifted her hand and threw both men onto the deck, then crouched down to call to Feiyu, “Feiyu! Feiyu!” pressing one hand to her pulse and sending true qi surging in.
Because of this action, her nosebleed flowed even more fiercely, dripping onto Feiyu.
Tie Ci examined Feiyu’s entire body – there was a patch of blood red at the base of her thighs, a bump on her forehead, but no other wounds visible elsewhere.
To render her unconscious and unable to resist, she must have hit her head when swept away by the water.
Tie Ci stared at that bump, thinking it wouldn’t be so melodramatic as memory loss, would it?
Then wouldn’t she have to chase her wife to the crematorium?
Thinking about the current situation again, even if there was no memory loss, it would probably still be chasing wife to the crematorium.
Distant sounds could be faintly heard, but Tie Ci paid no attention. The urgent matter was to wake Feiyu.
She stared at Feiyu unblinkingly, her mind wandering: this face has such beautiful contours, not a fraction more or less would do. These eyelashes are so thick and long, even their slanted curve is beautiful. Even with that bump, the bump is round and cute. Indeed, this person is beautiful everywhere, just looking brings comfort to the heart. No wonder the nosebleed is gushing like this.
It turns out I have an ailment – its name is lust.
Suddenly seeing those eyelashes flutter, Tie Ci withdrew her hand and watched Feiyu somewhat nervously.
She was truly afraid she would open her eyes and say: “Who are you?”
Or say: “Who am I?”
The beauty opened her eyes, saw her, and a trace of confusion passed through her gaze before she looked at the rough ceiling of the small boat.
Tie Ci thought, it’s over, it’s over.
Then she heard the lying person say: “Who are you?”
Tie Ci: “!!!”
Then she heard her say: “Are you Liu Xiahui?”
Tie Ci: “???”
Feiyu lay straight and stiff, her gaze passing over the curtain covering her, staring at the boat’s ceiling, and said quietly: “Such a beauty faints before you, half-undressed, ready to be plucked, yet you don’t look, don’t touch, don’t make a move. You didn’t even give me a chance to blackmail you. You’ve disappointed me greatly, brother.”
Tie Ci: “…”
This feeling was exactly like a damn roller coaster.
Actually, it wasn’t that she didn’t dare, but that she had certain thoughts in her mind, and before taking action, she felt guilty, afraid that if she owed too much debt, she couldn’t handle the interest.
But since the beauty was inviting…
Tie Ci rubbed her hands together and said kindly: “Then shall I find some clothes to change you into?”
Feiyu was about to answer when she suddenly frowned.
Tie Ci heard it too and spun around.
In the distance, there were faint sounds of metal clashing and the thud of marching feet, quite orderly, like the noise made by a regular army on the move.
Tie Ci went to help Feiyu up. No matter who was coming at this time, it was best to leave this boat first.
But Feiyu only got halfway up before suddenly falling backward and turning her head to vomit.
Tie Ci immediately pressed her back down on the deck, saying: “Don’t move!”
She had hit her head but hadn’t lost her memory – it was a concussion.
Feiyu couldn’t be moved now. Tie Ci thought about the two boatmen on deck and was about to go up and gag and bind them to prevent them from alerting the arrivals. But when she looked up, she saw a faint black band in the distance.
Looking carefully, it wasn’t a black band but a stretch of winding black mist.
Tie Ci’s heart skipped a beat.
Could it be the Poison Maniac?
Was that old monster still alive?
Since that black band and the footsteps came from the same direction, it couldn’t be her own Imperial Guard Nine.
It was very likely soldiers from the Patrol Office. The Xiao family had already torn off all pretense with her, so naturally they wouldn’t let the tiger return to the mountain again. They had mobilized local military forces.
The footsteps were approaching. The riverbank stretched endlessly on all sides – they would be seen no matter which way they went.
Now they could only hide here and hope the other party wouldn’t discover them.
Tie Ci untied the two men and pressed their unconsciousness points so they couldn’t wake up. She searched the boat for liquor but found none, so she quickly searched all the nearby boats. Finally, she found half a pot of inferior wine, broke it and splashed it on the two men and in the cabin. She gently picked up Feiyu and moved to the stern, also going into the water.
The two stood at the stern near the shore, half-submerged in water, using the stern’s shadow to hide their forms.
The sound of military boots approached quickly – there were many of them, splashing wet mud that slapped against the boat sides. The bamboo and wood dock creaked under their feet, and the boat families were awakened and roughly dragged from their cabins. Screams and cries rang out across the mudflats.
Someone said in a low voice: “On the boats, under the boats – not one place can be missed! All boat families into the water!”
The sound of splashing continued as long poles probed the boat bottoms, getting closer and closer.
The person who had given orders earlier said again: “The target is cunning. If you discover anything, don’t approach – report to the Old Ancestor first!”
Tie Ci kept her head down, nosebleed still flowing, spreading in thin threads through the clear water.
She knew she had internal injuries, and Feiyu couldn’t move now. At this moment, troops were searching for both of them, and that old monster might be nearby too. This was the most dangerous moment.
She turned to look at Feiyu, and Feiyu happened to turn to look at her too.
Their gazes met, each experiencing inexplicable tremors.
One thought: We’ve been through life and death several times, feelings have deepened, and intentions are as clear as they can be. All worries and concerns are ultimately just excuses for indecision and being overly cautious about gains and losses. Even if my identity is temporarily inappropriate to reveal, and this gender must still be concealed – even I can’t stand watching myself – now, taking advantage of this crisis moment when we care for and understand each other, I’ll honestly confess. Whether she accepts or not, regardless of what happens with Rong Wei, at least I’ll be honest with someone who has true feelings—
The other thought: His gaze toward me today is extraordinarily unusual – clearly he’s been moved by me. Now I’m injured with danger ahead. Why not make things clear with him at this moment, cut through this mess with a quick blade and sever these entanglements? I imagine he’s probably passionate and worked up right now – perhaps in his excitement he might agree without thinking. Opportunity knocks but once—
Each having decided, Tie Ci’s hand holding Feiyu’s arm tightened, while Feiyu’s hand supporting Tie Ci’s waist loosened.
Both turned their gazes away again, thinking about how to begin without being too abrupt.
Just then, Tie Ci looked down and saw Feiyu’s wet skirt clinging to her body, with blood stains at her thigh area, and said: “You’re injured?”
Feiyu turned her head and also saw a faint red patch below Tie Ci’s left chest, saying: “You here…”
Both said simultaneously: “Let me check your wound.”
Then both fell silent again, thinking of the unspeakable nature of those locations.
The army’s search footsteps grew closer and closer, and a faint colorful mist spread across the water surface.
A long pole checking the water bottom was withdrawn too hastily, swinging in an arc and nearly poking Tie Ci through the boat.
Tie Ci dodged, took a breath, and whispered urgently with a smile: “Alright! But before that, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Feiyu also said: “…Fine, then let me tell you something first.”
Tie Ci listened to the commotion nearby while also having to focus on this proactive revelation, her nerves tense. Not paying attention to what Feiyu was saying, she grabbed Feiyu’s hand.
But Feiyu simultaneously lifted her skirt and grabbed Tie Ci’s hand, guiding it down to explore her own thigh area, saying: “Actually, what you have, I also have…”
Tie Ci grabbed Feiyu’s hand that was around her waist and moved it toward her chest, saying: “Actually, what you have, I also have…”
“…”
Both stopped simultaneously.
Silence.
Under their hands, there was actually no mysterious sensation – one still felt a flat chest, the other stopped in time at the thigh’s edge.
After a moment, both said simultaneously: “…What do you mean ‘what you have, I also have’?”
Feiyu’s hand poked at Tie Ci’s chest, while Tie Ci’s hand groped at Feiyu’s thigh.
They looked at each other again.
A long silence.
For the Nth time in unison: “You’re not a man (woman)?”
Under the boat in the dim light, both their faces were extraordinarily pale.
Half from injury, half from shock.
Tie Ci suddenly pushed away Feiyu’s hand, turned half-sideways, and like removing clothing from her waist down, rolled and tore something off – a large piece of white skin fell down.
It looked exactly like human skin, and in the current circumstances, had a very horrifying effect.
Feiyu also reached into her chest area, and after a moment pulled out two bulging things that swayed in the water like two fish before sinking to the bottom.
“…”
This time even the water flow seemed to freeze.
Neither dared look at the other’s expression.
Am I blind, or is this world changing too fast?
Tie Ci looked down at those two surging objects, and her nosebleed flowed even faster.
That large piece of white skin rolled over like a ray, nearly covering Feiyu’s face. Feiyu turned her head and vomited.
Tie Ci: “…”
Feiyu: “…”
Author’s Note: What you have, I also have.
What you have, I don’t have.
Right, we’re talking about monthly votes.