Below Wanfeng Mountain flowed a river called Lanyue River. Because the mountain roads were difficult to traverse, the terrain was complex, and there were bandits causing trouble, over time, traveling merchants passing through this area mostly preferred to take the waterway. It was fortunate this river existed, otherwise this place would have become a desolate area rarely visited by people.

Today, many passenger boats were docked at the port along the river. Wang Laosan’s boat had received quite a few customers heading to the next town, mostly merchants coming to the mountains to procure goods. Among them, the most memorable was a young couple. The husband dealt in medicinal herbs and was heading to the next town to sell his wares, accompanied by two guards. The young wife beside him had a clever-looking face that smiled before she spoke, obediently following along. Merchants rarely brought their wives on trips—if there were women, they were usually concubines purchased casually along the way. But Wang Laosan noticed the young wife’s lively demeanor and the couple’s intimate behavior. They truly seemed like an ordinary married couple, which was quite enviable.

Unfortunately, once the young wife boarded the boat and the passenger ship left shore, she never emerged from her room again. Wang Laosan’s young daughter went into the room to deliver dinner to the couple. When she came out, she explained that the young wife was seasick and had been lying in the room all day.

The Lanyue River had strong winds and rapid currents. Passengers from land often couldn’t withstand the rocking and became seasick. Wang Laosan wasn’t surprised by this and simply had his daughter send in some snow flower balm to apply to the forehead, which might provide some relief.

The young daughter took the snow flower balm and knocked on the door again. The one who opened the door was still the gentleman from the room. After hearing her purpose, he reached out to take the snow flower balm. As a gesture of thanks, he squinted his phoenix eyes and smiled at her, making the young girl’s face flush red. Although many merchants traveled this river, those as handsome as this young man were rare.

Just as she was thinking this, another commotion came from inside the room. The woman lying on the bed sat up and leaned over the bed’s edge, dry heaving. The man frowned slightly, quickly returned to the room, and sat at the bedside, patting her back.

Under the dim lamplight, behind the gauze screen, the woman with a pale face lay back down on the bed, half-closing her eyes, allowing the man sitting at the bedside to open the medicinal balm sent by the boat family. He dipped his finger in a little and applied it to her temples on both sides.

The girl standing outside the door became somewhat mesmerized watching this scene, until the man at the bedside seemed to sense something and looked up. Though his gaze wasn’t particularly sharp, it startled her. Only then did she realize her impropriety. She hastily closed the door for the couple inside and hurried away.

After the door closed, the guest cabin quieted down again. A cool scent of snow flower balm filled the room. Qiu Xinran didn’t particularly like this smell. She raised her hand to wave it away, striking the man’s hand that was positioned at her forehead. That strike was soft and weak, neither painful nor itchy. Xia Xiuyan smiled with curved lips, got up, and went to the water basin in the room to wash his hands with clean water, removing the balm from them.

“Are you regretting coming along?”

“Who could have known the waterway wouldn’t be much more comfortable than land?” Qiu Xinran lay on the bed and answered weakly.

This morning when Xia Xiuyan went out before dawn, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Qiu Xinran standing outside, looking like she was waiting for a rabbit by a tree stump. Upon seeing him, she first looked him up and down in his ordinary cloth garment disguise, then revealed a knowing smile: “Where is the Marquis going?”

Seeing Xia Xiuyan raise his eyebrows without answering, she turned to glance left and right, then leaned in close and whispered: “Is the Marquis planning to take a boat alone to the next town?”

“How do you know?”

Seeing he didn’t deny it, Qiu Xinran said with satisfaction: “I noticed Attendant Gao has been going out alone these past two days. Yesterday when I ran into General Zhang, I couldn’t help but ask him about it.”

Xia Xiuyan’s eyes narrowed: “Zhang Rong told you?”

“I guessed it myself.” Qiu Xinran hurried to say. “The other day’s attack—we still don’t know the reason. Going further in is Wanfeng Mountain. The enemy is hidden while we’re exposed. The Marquis is worried that facing unexpected situations after entering the mountains will be even harder to handle, so you plan to simply use yourself as bait to lure them out, right?”

Seeing him tacitly agree, Qiu Xinran felt somewhat proud and continued: “If that group’s target is you, they’ll definitely find an opportunity to strike when you’re alone. Then you can catch them all in one net and find the mastermind behind them.”

“You blocked my door so early in the morning just to tell me this?”

Qiu Xinran said with a smile: “If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Marquis bring me along?”

“Hmm?”

She said righteously: “What if that group is coming for me?”

Xia Xiuyan hadn’t expected her to say this so openly, without the slightest bit of concern. He couldn’t help but glance at her and sneer: “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Qiu Xinran was not discouraged at all and continued: “But anyway, there’s at least a one-in-ten-thousand possibility, right?”

“I think you’re just afraid of taking the mountain road and want to switch to the waterway by following along.”

Qiu Xinran said shamelessly: “Although that’s one reason, I’m mainly worried about the Marquis’s safety, which is why I want to travel with you.”

This was obviously a lie, but at this moment, Xia Xiuyan suddenly recalled He Zhong’s absurd reasoning: “…and they find everyone else an eyesore, wishing it could just be the two of them.” The refusal that was about to slip from his tongue suddenly paused at his lips.

Qiu Xinran didn’t know what he was thinking. A pair of eyes looked at him eagerly. Xia Xiuyan’s face grew warm. He looked away and coughed lightly: “You really want to go with me that much?”

Hearing his tone, Qiu Xinran knew there was hope: “If it won’t cause trouble for the Marquis.”

This trip was dangerous—one careless move could lead to an accident. When he first mentioned this idea to Gao Yang and the others, they had strongly opposed it. Now if he were to bring her along as well… Xia Xiuyan looked down at her. That phrase “wishing it could just be the two of them” echoed in his ears, making his heart itch. Finally, he compromised and sighed inwardly: Forget it, since she wants to be alone with him this much, going so far as to block him outside his room early in the morning, what harm is there in bringing her? With his skills, he could certainly protect her safety.

“Bringing you along isn’t impossible…” Xia Xiuyan said slowly. Qiu Xinran’s face showed delight. She hastily looked at him with a sincere expression, making the man before her look away uncomfortably: “On this trip, you must stay by my side the entire way, not leaving even half a step, to avoid any accidents.”

This was natural. Qiu Xinran immediately nodded in agreement. Xia Xiuyan added: “Go change into ordinary women’s clothing. Outside, you and I must pretend to be husband and wife.”

Hearing him say they should pretend to be husband and wife, Qiu Xinran looked hesitant. Seeing this, Xia Xiuyan deliberately asked: “You’re unwilling?”

“It’s not that, it’s just…”

Xia Xiuyan said indifferently: “If you and I don’t pretend to be husband and wife, how can you legitimately stay by my side without leaving even half a step when we’re outside?”

So that’s how it is. Qiu Xinran nodded: “The Marquis’s thinking is indeed thorough.”

At that time, she was only focused on avoiding a section of mountain road and hadn’t expected that once the boat left shore, she’d discover that traveling by boat wasn’t much better than riding in a carriage.

Now, lying on the bed, Qiu Xinran could only console herself: For the same distance, at least the waterway would save half the time compared to the mountain road. As long as she could suffer a few days less, it was worth it.

Xia Xiuyan wiped his hands clean. Turning his head, he saw Qiu Xinran’s expression of utter despair and couldn’t help but find it amusing. He walked to the bedside and gently pushed her, indicating she should lie further in.

The woman on the bed immediately widened her eyes, looking at him incredulously: “The Marquis is also sleeping here?”

Xia Xiuyan glanced at her: “You want me to sleep on the floor?”

Qiu Xinran naturally didn’t have that audacity, so Xia Xiuyan said again: “Then do you want to sleep on the floor?”

With strong winds and rapid waters, the cabin rocked. Lying on the bed was already uncomfortable enough—if she slept on the floor, it would definitely be even worse. Qiu Xinran felt apprehensive and shook her head. Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to yourself. After thinking it over, she finally struggled to roll further into the bed, leaving half the bed space for the person sharing the room.

Seeing her look of bearing humiliation and heavy burdens, Xia Xiuyan laughed silently to himself. He extinguished the candle and lay down with his clothes on.

The two lay properly with eyes closed on a not-very-large bed. Beside their ears was the sound of river water lapping against the hull, making the night seem especially quiet.

Qiu Xinran clutched the edge of the quilt. She’d lain down too much during the day and now had no sleepiness at all. Moreover, with such a large person lying beside her, it was really hard to ignore his presence. So after the room had been quiet for a moment, he heard her ask softly: “Would the Marquis like to switch places with me?”

“Hmm?” Xia Xiuyan didn’t open his eyes, only hummed lightly in response.

Qiu Xinran said with concern: “I’m afraid if I feel unwell in the middle of the night, I’ll vomit on you.”

She certainly knew how to ruin the mood. After a moment of silence, Xia Xiuyan asked: “If an assassin sneaks in under cover of darkness at night, are you going to block the blade for me at the bedside?”

The person beside him immediately fell silent. Xia Xiuyan, with his eyes closed, lightly curved the corners of his lips. The cabin swayed gently. On such a quiet summer night, accompanied by the sound of oars outside, he finally felt the breathing of the person beside him gradually becoming long and steady again.

In the middle of the night, at some unknown hour, Qiu Xinran, half-asleep and half-awake, felt the person beside her turn over. She opened her eyes and turned her head, discovering that Xia Xiuyan had suddenly turned to lie on his side facing her, his back to the door. The cabin was pitch black, but beside her was the boat window, opened a crack. Moonlight leaked through from outside, perfectly outlining his features like a painting—a jade-like face captured in just a few strokes.

“What are you looking at?” The man with closed eyes suddenly asked softly, startling her. She immediately guiltily closed her eyes. After a long while, she said quietly: “Nothing.” As soon as the words fell, she heard the person lying beside her seem to chuckle softly. Getting caught peeking at someone in the middle of the night was rather embarrassing. Qiu Xinran’s face grew slightly warm. After a while, she asked softly: “Has the Marquis not been able to sleep?”

“Mm,” he said with closed eyes. After a while, he added, “There’s someone outside.”

Qiu Xinran was startled. In the darkness, her eyes suddenly widened. She became nervous, and her voice involuntarily tightened: “Then… what should we do?”

“I’m here. What are you afraid of?”

Although he said this, Qiu Xinran couldn’t help but also turn over to lie facing him, carefully casting her gaze past the person at the bedside toward the door. Though she couldn’t see clearly at night, by the fishing fires outside, she could indeed seem to see a black shadow standing by the door.

She clutched the quilt, withdrawing her gaze, and discovered that the man beside her had opened his eyes at some point. Moonlight fell into his eyes, gathering into a point of light that appeared especially bright in the dark night. Qiu Xinran was startled. After a moment, she asked: “The people who ambushed us in the canyon were indeed coming for the Marquis?”

“Maybe they’re coming for you.”

“The Marquis told me earlier not to flatter myself.” Qiu Xinran muttered quietly, then asked, “What do they want to do?”

“Tonight they should just be scouting the situation.”

“But what if they come in with a knife in a moment?” Qiu Xinran nervously bit her fingernail. “Or use knockout drugs, poke through the window paper, knock us out first, then come in to strike.”

Xia Xiuyan said with amusement: “Where did you hear about these things?”

“Disciples from the mountain went down and talked about it when they returned.” Qiu Xinran was very serious. “The Marquis has no experience wandering the martial world, so it’s natural you’ve heard less about such things.”

She was roundaboutly calling him inexperienced. Xia Xiuyan narrowed his eyes slightly and, as if unable to stand it, reached out to take down her hand that was at her mouth biting her fingernail. His palm was warm. When it covered the back of her hand, she couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. Just then, the sound of a door opening came from next door. The dark shadow outside the door moved. After an extremely light rustling sound, the cabin exterior returned to its previous quiet.

The woman lying on the bed breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed Xia Xiuyan was right—this group tonight should indeed only be here to scout the situation and weren’t yet ready to strike. But now they were also on the boat. She didn’t know how many there were in total or who exactly they were.

Xia Xiuyan glanced at her and knew what she was thinking: “Sleep. They probably won’t come again tonight.”

Indeed, overthinking now was useless. The two lay face to face. After quite a while, he heard her ask softly again: “Can’t the Marquis fall asleep?”

The person lying beside her didn’t deny it. After a moment, he said: “That sutra you recited on Fujiao Mountain last time—recite it again.”

“How about I switch to a different one? I can recite many.” The little Daoist seemed to have suddenly found a use for her years of learning elsewhere. She showed off rather proudly: “I’ll recite the Scripture of Purity and Stillness for you.”

Seeing the person before her close his eyes and curve his lips without refusing, Qiu Xinran cleared her throat and closed her eyes, beginning to recite: “The Venerable Lord said: The Great Way has no form, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth; the Great Way has no feelings, yet it moves the sun and moon…”

The passenger boat had probably reached a place where the river water was calm. The sounds of wind and water around them gradually receded. If one listened carefully, one could seem to hear insects chirping from both shores.

The little Daoist’s sutra recitation also slowly grew weaker, the words seemingly sticking together, until finally they completely disappeared.

Xia Xiuyan opened his eyes and quietly gazed at the woman beside him who had fallen asleep. The hair bun at the back of her head had come loose, her ink-black hair spread all over the pillow. In the moonlight, her skin was fair and smooth, with only a shallow, not very obvious scar on her forehead, as if from bumping into something.

The man raised his hand and gently touched that crescent-moon-like scar. His gaze was deep. After a long time, he slowly leaned closer, unconsciously holding his breath, and left a careful and restrained kiss upon it.