The snow broke a withered branch in the back courtyard with a crack.

The hand gripping Yu Lingxi’s wrist was scorching hot, restraining her like hot iron, too powerful for a thin, gravely ill young man.

Yu Lingxi’s pupils reflected Ning Yin’s handsome, fierce face. It seemed to overlap with her previous life, and for a moment, she thought he would crush her neck without hesitation.

But it was only for an instant. Ning Yin seemed to regain awareness from his instinctive alertness, the coldness in his eyes dissipating, his tense body gradually relaxing.

Yu Lingxi finally caught her breath and struggled, “Let go!”

She must have touched one of Ning Yin’s wounds, as he groaned and flipped over, falling straight down with his burning breath like scorching fire on her ear.

Too close!

Yu Lingxi’s heart tingled as she hurriedly pushed his head away forcefully, rising to adjust her slightly disheveled hair and clothes.

In her previous life, Yu Lingxi certainly wouldn’t have dared to defy him in the slightest. Even now, she couldn’t forget the terrible consequences of that kick she gave him before her death.

But this wasn’t her previous life. The one at others’ mercy was Ning Yin, not her.

Yu Lingxi raised her slender white hand, but seeing Ning Yin’s face flushed red with fever, her hand paused in mid-air and ultimately didn’t fall.

Instead, she pulled the quilt and shook it, covering Ning Yin’s pitiful yet hateful face completely—out of sight, out of mind.

“Miss, the doctor has arrived,” Hutao’s voice sounded at the right moment, breaking the impasse.

The charcoal brazier crackled. The little stray cat, having eaten and drunk its fill, found a warm spot and curled up to sleep.

The elderly doctor took Ning Yin’s pulse for a while, then lifted his clothes to examine his wounds, his brows furrowing increasingly.

“Two broken ribs, with bone fragments piercing the lungs, severe blood loss, plus exposure to cold—multiple conditions compounded, triggering high fever.”

The old doctor stroked his graying beard, shaking his head and sighing, “That he has survived such severe internal injuries until now is already a miracle. I’ll prescribe some medicine for external application and internal consumption. If he can make it through tomorrow night, then he’ll have saved his life.”

Yu Lingxi hadn’t realized Ning Yin’s injuries were so serious.

Perhaps because in her previous life, he had been too insanely powerful, capable of destroying heaven and earth with nothing standing in his way, Yu Lingxi had overlooked that he too was made of flesh and blood, capable of feeling pain and dying.

If she hadn’t seen his miserable state as a youth, it might have been fine, but fate made her witness it.

Looking at Ning Yin’s deathly pale lips, her heart sank heavily, unable to reach the bottom.

Her detached heart was moved for the first time. Yu Lingxi gave Hutao a signal with her eyes and said softly, “Light two more braziers for warmth, and select two clever servants to brew medicine and attend to him. Also… if he wakes up, report to me immediately.”

Hutao wondered why her mistress cared so much about a “beggar,” but seeing Yu Lingxi’s solemn expression, she had no choice but to obey and make arrangements, her attitude much more serious than the previous night.

Once the small room had warmed up and the servants had changed Ning Yin’s medicine, Yu Lingxi felt reassured enough to leave.

That night, clouds obscured the moon.

The young man lying on the bed suddenly opened his eyes.

His strong will, forged through years of assassination attempts and crises, allowed him to maintain extraordinary alertness whether sick or seriously injured.

He sat up straight, lowered his head to look, and could faintly distinguish in the darkness that the bandages on his chest were clean and tidy, and his dislocated wrist, red and swollen, had been treated with an ointment to reduce swelling and bruising.

It seemed that the cold wind of the previous night had not been endured in vain.

During the half-day he had been unconscious, he had received very meticulous care, which he knew without guessing came from her.

Ning Yin raised his hand, fingers slightly curled, his palm seemingly still retaining the soft feeling of the young woman’s wrist. He vaguely remembered becoming delirious with fever, mistaking that girl for an enemy, and nearly hurting her…

Fortunately, he hadn’t exposed his weakness.

The General’s mansion was the best hiding place. Being near this young lady was much more convenient than being in the Realm of Desire. He had to find a way to stay.

However, before that, he had more important matters to attend to.

Ning Changrui was dead, and the person in the palace would eventually investigate the arena. He must deal with everything cleanly before then.

With this thought, a dark shade flashed through Ning Yin’s eyes. He supported himself to get out of bed, stepped over the sleeping servant on the floor, and walked toward the back door on the moonlit floor.

Avoiding the patrols, he climbed over the wall and landed, his face as white as the accumulated snow. He spat out a mouthful of dark, congealed blood with an “oomph.”

As if feeling no pain, he calmly wiped away the crimson from the corner of his mouth and lifted his finger to whistle.

With the sound of wings cutting through the swift wind, a gray falcon swept across the moonlight and steadily landed on his arm.

The crescent moon tilted westward, and the capital slept in silence.

Gradually, thick smoke rose from the direction of Shengping Street, and the waning moon was dyed blood-red by the flames.

Yu Lingxi was awakened by the clamor of gongs.

With a slight sense of foreboding, she rose and asked, “What’s happening?”

Hutao hurriedly came in, putting on clothes, anxiously saying, “Miss, it seems the Realm of Desire is on fire, a big fire!”

Her heart tightened as Yu Lingxi said, “Let’s go see.”

She put on her cloak and got out of bed. Walking to the corridor to look, she saw black ashes dancing in the sky, and half the sky in the direction of Shengping Street was red.

It was identical to the scene from her previous life, except this time, she was still safely in the once-glorious General’s mansion rather than in the cold back courtyard of her uncle’s residence.

She had changed a small link in fate but ultimately couldn’t prevent the calamity that was meant to befall the capital.

“Two big fires in a year, it’s terrifying,” Hutao sighed and advised, “It’s cold outside, Miss. You’d better not watch and go back to rest.”

Burnt black ashes were carried by the wind in mid-air, covering half the city—the remnants of thousands of luxurious splendors destroyed.

Yu Lingxi thought of something and said softly, “Bring a light, let’s go to the back courtyard.”

The servant who was sound asleep heard the door open, rubbed his eyes, and murmured confusedly, “Who is it? It’s so late…”

Seeing the slender figure standing in the doorway’s light, his sleepiness instantly fled as he hurriedly scrambled up, saying, “Miss, why have you come?”

Yu Lingxi ignored the flustered servant and walked to Ning Yin’s bedside.

She placed the gauze lamp on the table, its faint light falling on Ning Yin’s handsome, elegant profile. With his eyes tightly closed, he looked quiet and vulnerable.

“Has he… not woken up at all?” Yu Lingxi asked.

The servant didn’t dare admit he had been sound asleep and hurriedly shook his head: “No, no, I’ve been guarding the room the whole time, and haven’t seen him wake up.”

At least he hadn’t heard any movements, so he probably… hadn’t woken up, right? The servant thought.

Yu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn’t know where that momentary ominous premonition had come from, making her eager to confirm something. By the time she realized it, she was already in the outer quarters.

With Ning Yin injured like this, it was probably just her overthinking.

Yu Lingxi hesitated for a moment before reaching out to feel Ning Yin’s forehead.

He still had a low fever. Who knew if he could pull through?

Ning Yin lay unconscious, and the little cat he had rescued was temporarily without someone to care for it. Yu Lingxi held the kitten in her arms and said to the servant, “Take good care of him. If you neglect your duties, you’ll be held responsible.”

The servant hurriedly responded “Yes” and respectfully escorted Yu Lingxi out the door.

Almost simultaneously, the young man on the bed opened his eyes.

He raised his cold white knuckles, gently touching his forehead as if savoring the delicate, warm feeling from moments ago.

So this was how a woman’s hand felt?

Before, in the palace, even when he was sick almost to the point of death, the woman who gave birth to him had never stroked him like this.

A pale smile lifted the corners of his mouth as if he had obtained an interesting thing. Suddenly, he felt somewhat eager for his days at the General’s mansion.

…

After two consecutive days of clear weather, the snow had melted, and the icicles under the eaves reflected cold light in the sunshine.

Yu Lingxi leaned on a small couch by the window, playing with the cat.

Ning Yin was still unconscious. The cat he had rescued had been cared for by Yu Lingxi for two days, its fur becoming much smoother, and it was no longer as timid as before.

She absentmindedly scratched the kitten’s head with her fingertips, humming, “In my previous life, I was the one who suffered, yet he’s the one collecting the debt. Tell me, is there any justice in this world?”

While playing, she heard a rapid series of hoofbeats outside, followed by her father dismounting with a black face, and Yu Huanchen in armor behind him.

“What’s wrong with Father?” Yu Lingxi stood up and caught her brother.

Yu Huanchen glanced at the angry General Yu and came close, whispering, “The Realm of Desire has been burned down. Father and the people from the Southern Yamen Imperial Guards have been working frantically. Meanwhile, the Eastern Palace sent people to search for a fighting slave among the burnt corpses. Father was afraid they would destroy evidence at the scene and strongly objected, resulting in a big argument between the two sides. They parted on bad terms.”

So that was it.

But what did this have to do with the Eastern Palace?

Before she could understand the inside story, she heard Hutao’s light footsteps approaching, saying joyfully, “Miss, that beggar has woken up!”

“What beggar?” Yu Huanchen asked.

Hutao had inadvertently let it slip, and Yu Lingxi secretly glared at her.

Ning Yin’s identity was special, and revealing it would certainly cause a great commotion in the mansion.

She stroked the kitten in her arms and explained, “It’s nothing. A few nights ago, a severely injured young beggar was lying in front of our gate. After all, a life is a life, so I took the liberty of letting him recover in the servants’ quarters.”

In any case, she was only sheltering Ning Yin for a few days. Once his wounds were better, she would quickly send him away. Yu Lingxi thought it over and felt there was no need to mention it and add to her father’s and brother’s troubles.

Yu Huanchen didn’t suspect anything and casually said, “That’s fine. Once he’s healed, send him away. There have been many major events in the capital recently; it’s best to be careful.”

“I know,” said Yu Lingxi, followed by a heavy sneeze.

The kitten purred comfortably in her arms.

Yu Lingxi wrinkled her nose and sneezed again twice in succession, making her stagger. Her arms also began to itch…

Yu Lingxi never imagined that after living two lifetimes, she would be allergic to cat fur.

She broke out in many red rashes and had to lie down for half a month before they subsided.

Lady Yu forbade her from keeping that little stray cat, but the kitten was docile, and throwing it out to freeze wasn’t appropriate either.

Lady Yu was kind-hearted and stroked her daughter’s delicate face, saying, “Among the servants, there are those who love cats. Give Huanu to them to raise. Suisui can still look at it from a distance in the future, but never touch it again.”

Huanu was the name Yu Lingxi had given the cat because it was a calico cat.

The kitten was particularly docile and lovable; she didn’t feel at ease giving it to any servant. It had to be someone who truly loved cats from the bottom of their heart.

After much thought, she thought of Ning Yin.

This cat was the one he had held close to his chest and rescued. When he was injured and unconscious, he had even given his only quilt to make a cat nest…

Perhaps the Ning Yin of her previous life had no regard for anyone, but the young Ning Yin of this life seemed to have some humanity.

After all, it was his cat; it was appropriate to give it back to him to take away and raise.

After some thought, Yu Lingxi had someone bring the cat and go to the outer quarters.

Having not been there for half a month, as soon as she entered, a strong medicinal smell mixed with a faint bloody odor hit her face.

Yu Lingxi instinctively frowned, looking around the room. Tea was well-prepared, the charcoal brazier was warm, and the thin young man was leaning on the bed, his complexion still somewhat pale, but his spirit appeared much better.

Seeing Yu Lingxi enter, a slight brightness flashed through his dark eyes as he removed the quilt and got out of bed.

His voice still carried the hoarseness of post-illness as he lowered his brows and called out, “Miss.”

Yu Lingxi was startled by his address, finding it both novel and unfamiliar.

In her previous life, Ning Yin would always curl his lips in a cold smile, looking down at her from above, calling, “Lingxi, come here.”

He had never had such an obedient and respectful tone, formally addressing her as “Miss.”

She had to admit, it was quite satisfying.

Then Yu Lingxi saw that Ning Yin was still wearing that black military uniform, tattered and dirty, still carrying a strong smell of blood.

Yu Lingxi, unusually calm, said to the maid, “Go fetch two sets of men’s winter clothes that would fit him.”

The maid moved quickly, returning with the clothes in a moment. They were spare uniforms for the mansion’s guards, two sets in total.

“All of you, go out,” Yu Lingxi dismissed the servants.

Turning her head, she saw Ning Yin still standing quietly, not reaching for the two clean new sets of clothes.

Yu Lingxi knew he was waiting for her instructions, so she had to say, “Hurry and change. You can’t wear those clothes anymore.”

Only then did Ning Yin obediently pick up one of the sets of clothes and shake it out.

This docile Ning Yin made her extremely curious, and she watched without blinking.

Yu Lingxi originally thought he would be discreet and change behind the screen, but unexpectedly, this young man directly untied his belt in front of her, tore open his upper garment, and revealed his bandaged, lean, and strong upper body.

The clothes and the blood scabs from his wounds had stuck together; tearing them apart caused fresh blood to flow, yet he didn’t even furrow his brow.

If she were the fifteen-year-old Yu Lingxi, she would certainly have blushed and scolded him, “You little hooligan!”

But in reality, Yu Lingxi was only surprised for a moment before quickly regaining her composure.

After all, they had spent two years together in her previous life; this scene was nothing.

Although the young man was thin, unlike the robust and powerful adult he would become after coming of age in her previous life, he didn’t lack any necessary muscles. If one overlooked the deep and shallow wounds all over his body, it would be an exceptionally beautiful physique.

Broad shoulders, long legs, abdominal muscles rising in firm blocks, tight and proportionate, beautiful waist and abdomen lines extending downward…

Hmph, that thing down there, is not cute at all.