The person’s voice was somewhat coarse and hoarse, as if deliberately lowered.

Fu Tingyun looked up to see a face with delicate features.

Doesn’t this man understand that there should be no physical contact between men and women?

How could she possibly accept a handkerchief from a man?

Perhaps due to her poor impression of them, Fu Tingyun felt annoyed, but remembering that they had saved Ninth Master and herself, she softly said, “Thank you,” and continued, “I will never forget the debt of gratitude for saving our lives, but I dare not trouble you further!” After speaking, she turned her face away and bent down to help Zhao Jiu.

The young man was slightly startled, then showed a relieved smile: “Miss, let me help! How could you lift him by yourself?” His voice was now fine and gentle, like a spring breeze in March, very pleasant to hear, completely different from the hoarseness before.

This must be his actual voice, right?

Why had he deliberately lowered his voice when speaking to her earlier?

Fu Tingyun gave him a curious glance.

He appeared slightly embarrassed as he crouched down to help Zhao Jiu.

“Don’t move him carelessly!” The burly man approached them, his fan-sized hands still stained with blood, either his own or that of Square Face’s subordinates. “He has overexerted himself and likely has internal injuries. Be careful not to worsen his condition!”

Upon hearing this, Fu Tingyun became anxious. Thinking that this man could identify Zhao Jiu’s injuries suggested he knew something about medicine. Her gaze carried a pleading look: “Then, what should we do?”

Her black eyes, brimming with tears, appeared even more crystal clear, like the finest water jade.

The burly man couldn’t help but look at her twice before saying: “I’ll check his pulse!”

Fu Tingyun quickly stood up to make room for him.

He crouched down, placing his thick, calloused fingers on Zhao Jiu’s pulse points at the wrist, closing his eyes as if sensing the pulse pattern.

Fu Tingyun and the delicate-featured young man didn’t dare to breathe. Because of this silence, although the two people speaking at the entrance of the hall were talking softly, their words carried over intermittently.

“…completely looted… these days the authorities are investigating closely, so they didn’t dare to keep… before they had time, they encountered us.”

It was the voice of the manager-like man.

Were they talking about the two women who had fainted from fear?

Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but glance in that direction.

She saw the carefree-mannered man looking displeased as he spoke to the manager-like man: “Wasn’t the Shanxi Military Commission supposed to mobilize troops to eliminate these bandits? Why is there still no movement?”

“Moving an army takes time!” The manager-like man smiled, his smile carrying a hint of caution. “There should be some action in the next few days.”

The carefree-mannered man gave a cold laugh: “What if the Tartars invaded? Would they also drag their feet like this? The court feeds soldiers for a thousand days to use them for one hour…”

Fu Tingyun suppressed her shock.

Who was this person?

Not only was he well-informed about the court’s movements, but he was also criticizing the court’s failings from the perspective of someone in a high position!

Fu Tingyun grew cautious and strained her ears to listen more carefully, but her attention was drawn away by the burly man’s voice: “Liansheng, you should have some Danshen Elixir with you, right? Give me two pills for this emergency!”

Fu Tingyun’s attention was drawn to his words, and she turned from the two conversing men to look at the delicate-featured young man.

This young man, addressed as “Liansheng” by the burly man, nodded and then hesitantly said: “I also brought some Gongjian Powder. Do you think we should give him two doses of that as well?”

“We cannot use Gongjian Powder,” the burly man said. “Gongjian Powder promotes circulation and removes stagnation. While it would be beneficial for his internal injuries, he also has external wounds. Let’s first use the Danshen Elixir to strengthen his foundation, and once he’s conscious, we can use Gongjian Powder.”

Fu Tingyun had read some medical texts and knew both medicines. The therapeutic principles seemed appropriate, so she mentally nodded in approval, gaining more confidence in this man’s medical skills.

Liansheng tiptoed around the corpses in the hall to retrieve two medicine bottles.

Fu Tingyun had already found her bowl among the scattered belongings and prepared water.

As the burly man administered the medicine to Zhao Jiu, he asked Fu Tingyun: “Do you have any clean old clothes? I want to apply some wound medicine to his injuries.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Fu Tingyun thought of her moon-white cocoon silk right-lapel garment and quickly retrieved it, intending to tear it into strips.

Someone entered with light, swift steps: “Sixteenth Master!”

Fu Tingyun looked toward the voice.

It was the rugged-faced man who had disappeared earlier… He respectfully bowed to the carefree-mannered man: “This humble one…” his voice suddenly lowered, and Fu Tingyun couldn’t hear clearly, “…mission accomplished!”

Were they working together?

Then why had they pretended not to know each other earlier?

Fu Tingyun was shocked, her hands and feet went weak, and for a moment she couldn’t even muster the strength to tear the cloth.

With such exceptional martial skills, they had chosen to pay money rather than confront Square Face, and they hadn’t intervened when she was hovering between life and death, appearing reluctant to get involved… So why had they changed their minds and saved Ninth Master and her?

Fu Tingyun felt a chill down her spine, vaguely sensing that she had stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have.

Her hands and feet trembled. She took several deep breaths before finally tearing the cocoon silk with a “rip.”

The Sixteenth Master smiled and nodded at the rugged-faced man, saying “Thank you for your hard work,” then asked: “Are you alone?”

“We came with twenty people in total,” the rugged-faced man replied calmly, with a mountain-like steadiness. “Those with me are…” He lowered his voice again. “Only we were fortunate enough to encounter the Sixteenth Master. He went back to send a message. He will arrive soon.”

The Sixteenth Master nodded slightly and walked toward Fu Tingyun.

The rugged-faced man and the manager-like man exchanged nods and smiles in greeting, appearing quite cordial.

Both men followed two steps behind the Sixteenth Master.

“How is he?” the Sixteenth Master asked the burly man. “What’s the extent of his injuries?”

The burly man quickly stood up and bowed, respectfully saying: “He has knife wounds on his shoulder and back. They appear to be less than two days old and not in vital areas, but they haven’t been cleaned or treated with wound medicine, and there’s some festering. It would be best to find a doctor to prescribe something antiseptic and cooling. His internal injuries are also severe. He’ll need at least one or two months of bed rest to recover…”

Fu Tingyun, partly out of embarrassment and partly because she didn’t know how to dress wounds, had only glanced at Zhao Jiu’s garment from the outside and didn’t know he had a wound on his back.

Hearing the burly man’s assessment, her heart ached terribly.

She wondered how Zhao Jiu had endured all these days… and still smiled to comfort her.

Tears welled in her eyes, and anxiety gripped her heart.

With such severe injuries, it would be best to find a renowned physician from Xi’an Prefecture, but he needed rest and couldn’t endure the strain of travel. In normal circumstances, with two thousand taels in silver notes and fine goods worth over a thousand taels of silver, she could have easily rented a place and invited a famous doctor from Xi’an Prefecture without concern for expenses. But now with the famine, even with money, those renowned doctors wouldn’t leave Xi’an Prefecture, and even if they rented a place, they would fear attacks from refugees…

She needed to find a way to get the Sixteenth Master to send them to Xi’an Prefecture.

Once they reached Xi’an Prefecture, with Yucheng and Yuanbao’s help, the Ninth Master would be safe.

Fu Tingyun bit her lip and knelt upright before the Sixteenth Master.

“Benefactor!” She slightly lowered her head, showing strength mixed with vulnerability. “Thank you for saving our lives. May I know your name? This humble woman would like to set up a longevity tablet for you, praying to Buddha for your peace, happiness, prosperity, numerous descendants, and flourishing business…”

As she spoke, she could feel the Sixteenth Master’s gaze fixed on her, making her uncomfortable. She didn’t dare to observe his expression, but her peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of his shoes.

Fu Tingyun froze.

She saw his socks.

White Songjiang triangular cloth, embroidered with treasure flowers, tied with bright yellow ribbons.

Bright yellow ribbons… then she thought of Liansheng’s voice… the official silver…

Her mind buzzed, sweat breaking out on her forehead, temples, and back. Her voice grew increasingly tense and slow without her noticing.

“What is your relationship to him?” The Sixteenth Master’s voice hammered at her heart. “For whom are you in mourning?”

Fu Tingyun came to her senses, momentarily unsure how to answer.

If she said they had an employer-employee relationship, and if the Sixteenth Master continued to question, she would certainly reveal inconsistencies. Without thinking, she immediately rejected this explanation.

If she claimed they were cousins, there would be either paternal or maternal relations. If she and Ninth Master were paternal cousins, her uncle would be Ninth Master’s “father,” her maternal aunt would be Ninth Master’s “maternal aunt,” and her father would be Ninth Master’s “uncle-in-law.” If they were maternal cousins, her mother would be Ninth Master’s “maternal aunt,” her maternal aunt would be Ninth Master’s “mother,” and her uncle would be Ninth Master’s “uncle.” How could she be in mourning while Ninth Master was not?

Her palms were covered in sweat.

But she couldn’t delay even for a moment.

There was only one possibility… She steeled herself and softly said: “I am his betrothed wife, not yet officially married!”

Being not yet married, Ninth Master naturally wouldn’t observe mourning for her “father.”

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

Had she answered incorrectly?

Fu Tingyun suddenly thought of Ninth Master’s appearance… and her appearance… one weathered by hardship, the other raised in privilege…

Cold sweat broke out all over her.

“My husband’s family is from Longxi County,” she continued. That place was under the jurisdiction of Gongchang Prefecture, more than a thousand li from Xi’an Prefecture, and it was where the first refugees had fled from, making it difficult to verify even if they wanted to investigate. This also explained why the Ninth Master was so gaunt. “This humble woman is from Pingliang County,” she incorporated what the Ninth Master had said at Li Family Hollow, but Longxi and Pingliang were quite far apart, so how did this marriage come about? Her mind raced. “Both families had elders who were merchants traveling abroad. They became good friends and arranged this marriage.” That should pass muster! “Later, Gongchang Prefecture suffered a severe drought, and my betrothed came to seek refuge with us. Who would have thought that our family had also moved to Weinan to stay with relatives due to hardship? My betrothed searched for us along the way, and we finally met in Huayin County, only to be robbed by refugees. My betrothed protected me as we escaped…” She began to sob softly.

As for whom she was in mourning for, she would let them draw their conclusions!