Only then did Nanyi find something strange about the situation.

This gentleman seemed to have been fishing here for a long time, and this place wasn’t far from where she had just been beaten by the merchant and humiliated by the Qi soldiers.

With such a commotion, it was impossible he hadn’t heard it. If he had been willing to save her, he would have acted long ago.

Xie Queshan’s fishing float moved, and he suddenly lifted his rod. A large fish was seen thrashing about, biting the hook—this was the biggest fish he had caught in recent days. His expression relaxed as he reached out to remove the fish from the hook.

Nanyi looked back at the Qi soldiers who were about to catch up. The ferry had an unobstructed view with no cover or hiding places. She was at her wit’s end, with her last hope resting only on this man.

With eyes full of pleading, she looked up at him, trying to awaken his compassion.

“Young master, please save me.”

Xie Queshan calmly lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on Nanyi’s face.

The ragged, blood-stained girl looked disheveled at first glance, yet her eyes were startlingly bright. Her torn clothes clung to her skin, revealing glimpses of her newly matured figure, like a small beast that had just taken human form, possessing an innocent, bewildered beauty. No wonder those Qi soldiers had been stirred by lust.

But Xie Queshan most despised this kind of weak and spineless woman. Without a trace of emotion in his eyes, he continued with his task, placing his fish into the basket.

“If you don’t want to submit to the Qi people, then you might as well kill yourself to preserve your honor.”

Xie Queshan indifferently drew a dagger from his sleeve and tossed it on the ground.

Nanyi was stunned, staring at the dagger, her mind somewhat dazed. The man before her remained unmoved—she could see not a trace of mercy in his eyes.

The chaotic sound of footsteps behind her gradually drew closer. She knew she didn’t have many choices left. Trembling, she reached toward the dagger, but could never find the courage to grasp it firmly.

“Still dare to run? Don’t want to live?”

A Qi soldier’s hand pressed down on Nanyi’s shoulder. She spun around fiercely and used all her strength to plunge the dagger into the soldier’s arm.

The soldier howled in pain and retreated several steps, clutching his arm.

Nanyi pulled back the dagger, resolutely turned, and jumped into the river water. A few traces of blood appeared on the river’s surface.

The Qi soldier was furious: “Damn wench! Someone come! Chase her!”

The girl’s actions slightly exceeded Xie Queshan’s expectations, and the huge splash on the river surface finally stirred a trace of his compassion.

Xie Queshan raised his head, the last light of day falling on the face beneath his bamboo hat, revealing his features completely. He looked expressionlessly toward the cursing Qi soldiers.

The Qi soldiers who surged forward suddenly froze when they saw Xie Queshan. Before they could speak, Xie Queshan uttered one word.

“Scram.”

This single word carried the weight of a thousand jun, actually making that group of Qi soldiers flee in panic.

Nanyi clung to a black-canopied boat by the water’s edge, emerged from the river to take a deep breath, and was just preparing to dive back underwater when she saw that all the Qi soldiers by the river had run away, leaving only Xie Queshan alone. She was suddenly stunned.

“Can you row?”

Xie Queshan looked at Nanyi in the water.

Nanyi nodded dumbly.

“Ferry me to Tiger Crouching Mountain.”

Xie Queshan removed his cloak and threw it onto the deck of the black-canopied boat.

The black-canopied boat cut long trails through the water on the river. The sky had already darkened, and a lantern hung on the boat. The paper lampshade swayed in the wind and snow, causing the candlelight falling on people’s faces to flicker as well.

Nanyi and Xie Queshan sat facing each other. Nanyi wore Xie Queshan’s cloak and sat on the deck rowing. She would occasionally lift her eyes to steal glances at Xie Queshan sitting under the boat’s canopy.

He was a young gentleman wearing a dark-colored round-collared robe with a wide jade belt around his waist. From the jade belt hung a dark-colored pouch embroidered with flying fish and auspicious cloud patterns. It wasn’t particularly luxurious attire, but he emanated an air of nobility. Though he had the gentle appearance of fine jade, he kept a cold expression on his face, with an unapproachable chill radiating from his brows and eyes.

Xie Queshan poured his catch from the fish basket back into the river along the boat’s side.

Nanyi asked curiously, “Since you caught them, why release them again?”

“Small fish and shrimp, beneath notice.”

Nanyi felt a chill run through her. She instinctively felt she was like those small fish and shrimp in the basket—her life and death were merely at his whim. She could live now only because he disdained to crush her.

Nanyi changed the subject: “Young master doesn’t seem to be from around here. What brings you to Tiger Crouching Mountain?”

“Collecting animal pelts.”

“Business isn’t good this winter.”

Nanyi muttered this comment, but Xie Queshan didn’t respond. Nanyi tactfully fell silent.

The clothes on Nanyi’s body were still not dry, and she could only huddle her body in the heavy snow. Wrapped in Xie Queshan’s spacious cloak, she looked like a tiny figure, her face bearing red marks from the cold. Under the candlelight, she actually appeared rather charming.

Xie Queshan’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then fell to her hands as she rowed.

Each time she moved the oar, her sleeves would slide back a little, revealing a section of lotus-white wrist.

She wore a jade bracelet on her wrist. The quality was good but not rare, only it had just been soaked in water and still had smooth water droplets rolling on it, making the jade appear translucent and making her wrist seem even more delicate. This kind of precious jewelry was somewhat at odds with her attire, but looking at it longer, it didn’t seem incongruous.

Snowflakes fell on her skin and vanished instantly. The surroundings were so quiet—in the Quling River embraced by mountains, only the creaking sound of rowing could be heard, inexplicably creating an intimate atmosphere.

Xie Queshan suddenly realized he had been lost in thought for quite a while. He calmly withdrew his gaze and spoke: “Where are you from?”

“Li Du Mansion.”

Nanyi told a lie. She had only traveled to Li Du Mansion and stayed there for some time. She had no official travel documents for entering and leaving checkpoints, and if the authorities investigated carefully, she would be convicted of a crime. She felt the man before her was either wealthy or noble, so naturally she spoke more carefully.

“Who’s in charge in Li Du Mansion?”

Nanyi was stunned and thought for a moment before answering: “The Li Du Prefect manages three parts, the noble Xie family manages three parts.”

“What about the remaining four parts?”

“Left to fend for themselves.”

Xie Queshan said nothing more. The two sat in silence like this until the black-canopied boat approached the ferry at Ganxi Village.

Xie Queshan rose to go ashore, and Nanyi also stood up, causing the boat to rock slightly. The tall man had just stepped out when he was caught off guard by this sudden movement and stumbled slightly.

Nanyi hurried forward to support Xie Queshan. “Young master, watch your step.”

Xie Queshan instinctively resisted anyone’s approach and imperceptibly avoided her gesture, striding ashore by himself.

Nanyi removed the cloak and caught up to present both the cloak and dagger to Xie Queshan.

“Thank you for saving me today, young master.”

“It’s dirty. I don’t want it.”

Xie Queshan didn’t even glance down and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Nanyi stared at Xie Queshan’s retreating figure, her heart pounding like a drum. Only after seeing him walk far away until even his silhouette disappeared did she breathe a long sigh of relief.

In Nanyi’s hand was suddenly an additional pouch—this was what she had pickpocketed from Xie Queshan just moments ago. She opened it to look and found ten taels of silver inside.

In chaotic times, money could pave the way. At this moment, Nanyi still naively thought this sum could help her smoothly reach the front lines at Fufeng Commandery to find her beloved. She didn’t know that this was only the beginning of all her tribulations.