Xie Queshan couldn’t quite decipher the meaning behind these words, but he noticed that Zhang Yuehui wasn’t looking at him—his gaze was fixed on Nanyi.

Alarm bells immediately rang in his mind: “What did you do to her?”

From outside, the faint sound of chaotic footsteps could be heard.

Zhang Yuehui frowned, saying impatiently: “Do you want to die? Get out of here before I change my mind.”

If not for the urgent situation, Xie Queshan truly wanted to kill this person… What kind of thing dared to bark orders at him.

But Xie Queshan understood clearly that for Nanyi’s safety at the moment, besides trusting Zhang Yuehui, he had no better choice. Even if there were traps ahead, he had to get through this obstacle first.

Xie Queshan could only swallow this anger, tossing the sword in his hand to Zhang Yuehui before turning toward the depths of the tunnel.

Zhang Yuehui caught Xie Queshan’s sword and immediately understood his meaning. He watched as that door slowly closed—now he had to figure out how to clean up this mess for himself.

Zhang Yuehui walked out, hearing the hasty, chaotic footsteps already entering the tunnel. It should be the Qi people’s ambush soldiers pursuing them inside. He turned the candlestick on the wall, triggering the dungeon’s mechanism.

This could delay them for a little while.

He walked to the corpse of the guard who had died earlier, tossing Xie Queshan’s sword to the ground nearby. He smeared the blood from the body onto his own clothes, thought for a moment, then reluctantly lay down beside the corpse with a frown.

What a case of bringing disaster upon oneself. Zhang Yuehui closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

…

The tunnel indeed led to an inconspicuous exit. Xie Queshan felt it was almost unbelievably smooth, still not daring to believe that Zhang Yuehui had truly done nothing underhanded.

He looked back—Huachao Pavilion was still billowing with thick smoke, already some distance from this location.

He didn’t dare pause for even a moment, rushing back to the estate with Nanyi without stopping.

Earlier, Xie Xiaoliu and Song Muchuan, to help Nanyi escape, had claimed that the Xie family’s eldest daughter-in-law had contracted a malignant disease and been moved to an outer estate. By a fortunate coincidence, Nanyi had actually ended up here.

This was currently the least suspicious place.

The estate had few people, only a few elderly female servants who managed affairs. Though they weren’t Xie Queshan’s own people, they had been arranged by Xie Xiaoliu—they were honest and loyal, not daring to speak carelessly.

The physician prepared by Madam Gantang had also been brought over by He Ping, waiting in the hall early on. Seeing Xie Queshan carry someone through the door, the two physicians immediately stepped forward to treat Nanyi.

Basin after basin of bloody water from cleaning wounds was carried out, and the entire room was filled with thick scents of blood and medicine. Nanyi’s consciousness was weak, never awakening. The physicians administered strong medicine, but at least her life was no longer in danger.

Separated by a gauze curtain, candles burned through the night as Xie Queshan waited in the outer room, sitting through the black night until dawn broke.

“Family Head…”

A thread of daylight seeped in from outside the window, faintly accompanied by several bird calls. At this moment, an old servant emerged from behind the gauze curtain, approaching with difficulty.

“What is it?” This was the first time Xie Queshan had spoken throughout the night. His throat was dry and hoarse, his voice roughened.

“The Madam refuses to let us apply medicine no matter what…”

Xie Queshan entered the curtained area to see Nanyi tightly gripping the bedding, refusing to let go. With her wrapped in the blanket, naturally medicine couldn’t be applied.

The old servant explained guiltily: “Perhaps this old slave was too heavy-handed—whenever I touched the Madam’s wounds, she would grip the blanket tightly and try to hide…”

Applying medicine was when it hurt the most. When the medicinal paste touched the wounds, it was like ten thousand ants gnawing at one’s heart, with fiery pain drilling from skin to bone. Even in unconsciousness, she still feared the pain.

After a moment of silence, Xie Queshan said: “It’s not your fault. Go out.”

The old servants looked at Xie Queshan in surprise… Could it be that he intended to… But he and she were…

However, the injuries the young madam had sustained were already suspicious enough, and she’d been brought back by the family head. Too many strange things had happened tonight. The two old servants were prudent people who didn’t dare question further, lowering their heads as they withdrew.

Xie Queshan carefully cleaned his hands and sat down beside her bed.

The old servants, afraid of hurting her, didn’t dare use force and thus didn’t know what to do. But Xie Queshan had always believed in severing a limb to preserve life—she must have medicine applied, otherwise the wounds would become infected, which would be another difficult ordeal at death’s gate.

No matter how stubborn she was, her strength couldn’t possibly exceed his.

He pried her fingers open one by one, pulled the blanket aside, then helped her sit up, letting her lean against his shoulder.

His hands passed under her arms, embracing her, thus restraining her body and preventing her from moving about.

Even with mental preparation, seeing the crisscrossing whip marks on her back still made Xie Queshan’s eyes ache. The young woman’s body leaned against him completely unclothed, yet at this moment his heart surged with a strange sense of mutual dependence and pain, as if these wounds… were all closely related to him.

Anger crept up again at this moment—once she was settled, he’d settle accounts with that bastard Zhang Yuehui.

He scooped a little medicinal paste with his finger, warming and rubbing it in his palm, then covered her wound with his entire palm, slowly and extremely carefully applying it.

But as soon as the paste touched her wounds, Nanyi began struggling violently.

She had been in a state of confusion all along, her eyelids heavy, unable to open no matter what. Occasionally her consciousness was clear and she could hear sounds from outside; other times she began dreaming aimlessly, her soul wandering through different scenes.

In her daze, she could sense someone feeding her medicine—bitter and hot medicine sliding down her throat, but she knew this could save her life, so she cooperated fully. But then someone began manipulating her body, and piercing pains appeared in every corner of her consciousness. She felt extremely frightened.

She gripped tightly whatever was in her hands, instinctively seeking some sense of security. She heard someone calling “Family Head” and heard Xie Queshan’s voice… How could this be? She thought this was a dream, yet some sensations felt real.

She could sense his domineering strength as he took away what was in her hands. Gradually, she became somewhat more awake, her various senses returning to their places. She discovered this wasn’t a dream—it was real… His warm palm roamed across her back, bringing inch by inch of pain.

She whimpered unconsciously, her hands clawing wildly at his back, trying to break free. But he stood like an immovable mountain before her, unshaken by any wind.

She couldn’t escape… She was about to collapse. Bare-handed, having left behind all the tools others had forged for her, she had no recourse. Like a wild beast caught in a hunter’s net, but she was in too much pain—she could only, primitively and directly, bite down on his shoulder… She wanted to drag him into pain with her, drag him to hell together.

She bit very hard. Xie Queshan’s features immediately tightened, but he still maintained the gentleness of his hand movements. Enduring the pain in his shoulder, his breathing unconsciously grew heavier.

Gradually, she lost strength, released her bite, her head drooping against his shoulder as tears silently fell, quickly soaking a patch of his clothing.

Finally finished applying the medicine, Xie Queshan breathed a sigh of relief. Looking down at her face, he saw that she had awakened at some point.

“Weren’t you going to kill me…” she murmured lowly and desperately, her eye sockets alarmingly red.

Only at this moment was it truly their reunion.

Her currently limited strength could only think about simple things—this situation was still too complex for her. She didn’t understand at all what exactly Xie Queshan wanted to do.

He was the one who wanted to kill her, he was the one who abandoned her, and now he was also the one who saved her and applied medicine to her wounds.

She felt like a leaf blown here and there by the wind, never able to settle anywhere.

Life and death no longer mattered—she just wanted resolution. But Xie Queshan excelled at cutting flesh with a dull knife.

She was very tired, so tired she couldn’t even muster hatred. If she was destined to never escape Xie Queshan, then she wanted to cut open his heart and see exactly what he intended.

Confusion was an emotion that could rival hatred in making one restless and uneasy.

Nanyi stared straight at him, but he wouldn’t speak.

Xie Queshan was at a loss for words—he didn’t know where to begin. He also knew the current scene was puzzling. He had made up his mind to let her go, yet through various twists and turns, she had returned to his side.

Perhaps he was someone skilled in honeyed words, but he wasn’t good at facing his own heart directly. He was accustomed to wearing masks, hiding his true feelings beneath circuitous facades. She wanted an answer; he couldn’t give one.

This certainly wasn’t the time for romantic declarations. Even if he had given up everything to save her, it wasn’t to seek her forgiveness and gratitude. He was merely fulfilling his promise—to protect her safety, teach her survival skills, then send her away.

In his world, he had never considered anything like growing old together. Moreover, mutual affection required the other party’s willingness.

He would only be that ferry across the river, carrying her for one journey. This was the greatest love he could offer.

Beyond this, what else could there be?

Xie Queshan silently pulled over the blanket, wrapped her up again, and placed her on the bed.

He should get up and leave, yet inexplicably remained firmly seated, feeling he should say something. After thinking, since she was awake, he might as well ask her.

He worried that Zhang Yuehui’s release of him and Nanyi was like releasing a tiger back to the mountain, playing a long game to catch a big fish, with an even larger trap waiting behind.

“What did you and Zhang Yuehui discuss?” he asked aloud.

Nanyi’s eyes suddenly widened, even her breathing becoming rapid.

“Zhang Yuehui?”

Xie Queshan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from her, his eyes darkening. He had assumed they must have met, and some unexpected events occurred, causing Zhang Yuehui to change his mind and decide to release her.

But now it seemed she didn’t know of his existence. Then what was Zhang Yuehui regretting? He remembered Zhang Yuehui’s gaze toward Nanyi… Xie Queshan became hesitant.

Xie Queshan’s prolonged silence made Nanyi realize something… She had seen Zhang Yuehui—that wasn’t a dream.

“Master, Huachao Pavilion above has caught fire…”

That sentence she had heard hazily at the time suddenly became clear.

Impossible… How could this be possible!

Nanyi tried to speak, but blood surged violently in her chest. She suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Without even wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she grabbed Xie Queshan’s sleeve, asking urgently: “The jade bracelet… where’s the broken jade bracelet?”

In an instant, Xie Queshan understood. His heart was filled with mixed emotions—grateful for this divine stroke of fate, yet weary of this lingering entanglement.

So that unreliable “fiancé” was Zhang Yuehui.