The mountain valley was vast. Xiao Moxi and Ye Yueying wandered inside for an entire day but still couldn’t find a way out. As nightfall approached, Xiao Moxi had no choice but to first take Ye Yueying to a cave to camp for the night.
"It’s too damp inside the cave. You rest here for now. I’ll head out to gather so branches."
After saying this, Xiao Moxi strode out of the cave.
Ye Yueying was not the type to passively wait for soone to look after her. After Xiao Moxi left, she didn’t just sit idly; instead, she stepped out of the cave and picked so wild fruits to bring back.
Concerned about the cold night, Xiao Moxi made several trips back and forth, managing to collect a good number of dry branches. On his last return, he also brought back several fish.
Seeing the fruits placed atop the branches, Xiao Moxi smiled and asked, "Where did you pick these fruits? I looked around just now and didn’t find a single one."
Before Ye Yueying could respond, Xiao Moxi didn’t push further. After spending a day together, he had already observed that this young lady disguised as a man was particularly aloof and taciturn.
Xiao Moxi started a fire, placed the fish on to roast, and then picked up one of the fruits to taste. "Sweet! This is the first ti I’ve had this kind of fruit. Broth—uh... brother, I notice you seem very familiar with life in the mountains."
Hearing this, Ye Yueying’s expression flickered slightly. Just as Xiao Moxi thought she might remain silent again, she unexpectedly opened her mouth to speak.
"I used to often follow my father into the mountains."
Xiao Moxi said, "Ah, I see!" Noticing the trace of nostalgia on Ye Yueying’s face, as if she were reminiscing, he refrained from probing into her family matters.
After finishing the fruit, Xiao Moxi adeptly tended to the roasting fish. Soon, the cave was filled with a tantalizing aroma.
"Here, try my cooking."
Xiao Moxi handed the roasted fish to Ye Yueying.
Not accustod to accepting kindness from strangers, Ye Yueying declined, "Thank you, the fruit is enough for ."
Xiao Moxi moved the fish closer to Ye Yueying with a smile. "I already ate the fruit you picked; now you should try the fish I caught. This seasoning recipe was specially prepared by my mother—you won’t find this anywhere else."
Ye Yueying hesitated for a mont, then took the roasted fish and studied Xiao Moxi with a probing expression. "Are you really one of the Jinling Guards?"
Xiao Moxi laughed, "Why? Do I not look like one?"
Ye Yueying nodded seriously, "You don’t."
In her mind, the Jinling Guards might not necessarily be fierce and nacing, but they were surely the type to keep others at arm’s length.
But this man before her spoke with a perpetual faint smile and an unusually gentle tone—he had nothing in common with the fearso reputation of the Jinling Guards.
Xiao Moxi asked, "Then what do you think a Jinling Guard should be like?"
Ye Yueying pondered briefly, "Definitely not like you."
Xiao Moxi chuckled. "The Jinling Guards, you see, are just a governnt position. Different people naturally exhibit different traits; one shouldn’t generalize."
Ye Yueying glanced at Xiao Moxi, then lowered her head to eat her roasted fish.
Xiao Moxi quickly finished his fish and then brought in a bundle of vines from outside.
Ye Yueying found it odd but didn’t ask too many questions.
Xiao Moxi didn’t explain much either. He quietly tied the vines between the large rocks on either side of the cave to make a simple hammock net. After testing its sturdiness, he smiled at Ye Yueying and said, "It’s too damp inside the cave. You should sleep up here tonight."
Ye Yueying hadn’t expected Xiao Moxi to make it for her. Touched though she was, she was also sowhat wary.
Wasn’t this person being a little too kind to strangers?
Noticing Ye Yueying’s hesitation to accept, Xiao Moxi quickly spoke first. "You shouldn’t catch a cold, or it’ll be bad for your health. You ended up in this valley because of , so I have to make sure I return you in one piece. Don’t be too polite with ."
Seeing Xiao Moxi’s warm, spring-like smile, Ye Yueying couldn’t resist swallowing the words of refusal she was about to say. "What about you? Where will you sleep?"
Xiao Moxi tied the remaining vine at the entrance of the cave. "Oh, I’ll sleep up here."
Ye Yueying looked at the lone vine. "Aren’t you afraid of falling off?"
Xiao Moxi smiled, leaping gracefully onto the vine and lying there steadily.
Watching this, Ye Yueying gained an even deeper appreciation of Xiao Moxi’s martial skills.
This man looked only a few years older than her, yet his abilities seed even more impressive than those of Uncle Leng.
"My surna is Ye."
Lying on the vine, Xiao Moxi stared at her in surprise before smiling. "You look younger than , so I’ll call you Brother Ye."
Ye Yueying neither confird nor denied, adding so firewood to the flas before lying on the hammock, sword clasped in hands, and closing her eyes.
Soon, only the crackling of burning branches remained in the cave.
With his arms folded behind his head, Xiao Moxi turned his head to look at Ye Yueying, his face thoughtful.
A young woman—why go to the trouble of disguising herself as a man?
That uncle of hers had impressive martial skills.
What exactly were these two people’s identities?
After a while, Xiao Moxi withdrew his gaze, looking instead at the ceiling of the cave. He took out a token from his chest and thought about the black-clad assassins pursuing them.
He was certain that no local official in Liaodong would dare send killers after him, which ant his visit to Liaodong was still a secret.
If it wasn’t an issue of identity, then it must be that sothing they did triggered soone’s nerves.
Xiao Moxi carefully recalled everything that had happened since arriving in Liaodong. Aside from the unplanned encounter with a few nomads yesterday, nothing else seed out of the ordinary.
So, the black-clad assassins must have started hunting them because of those nomads.
The attack was so sudden, and before they could interrogate the surviving nomad for useful information, the killers had already arrived.
In haste, they had to dispose of the nomad.
Looking at the token in his hand, Xiao Moxi knew it was their only gain.
The situation in Liaodong was more treacherous than he had imagined!
The postal station, the nomads...
How could the assassins locate them so quickly? Was it soone at the postal station who leaked the news?
The night passed without further events.
At the break of dawn, Xiao Moxi and Ye Yueying quickly ate so fruit before setting out to find the way out.
The mountain paths were tough. When going up or down steep slopes, Xiao Moxi politely extended a hand to help Ye Yueying, but she refused each ti.
Though a bit helpless, Xiao Moxi could only chuckle. Internally, however, he gained a higher regard for her.
Having grown up with his mother and sister, he wasn’t fond of those delicate ladies who constantly needed protection. He had much more admiration for independent and capable won.
This young woman in front of him was certainly independent, though perhaps a bit overly aloof.
Seeing the worry and urgency on Ye Yueying’s face, Xiao Moxi knew she was concerned about Leng Feng. After so thought, he offered a word of comfort. "Brother Ye, don’t worry about your uncle. He’s with my n. Escaping pursuit in these mountains shouldn’t be difficult."
Ye Yueying nodded but said no more, simply lowering her head and pressing forward.
By midday, the two finally erged from the valley.
Once outside, Xiao Moxi whistled several tis with varying lengths. Before long, Leng Feng and several Jinling Guards appeared and approached them.
"Uncle Leng."
Ye Yueying hurried to Leng Feng’s side.
The two, seeing each other unhard, both sighed in relief.
Leng Feng didn’t even greet Xiao Moxi, simply saying, "Let’s go."
Ye Yueying glanced at Xiao Moxi and then quickly followed Leng Feng.
Watching them leave, Wu Yutang stepped up beside Xiao Moxi, crossing his arms and scoffing, "These jianghu people, really don’t have any manners."
Xiao Moxi smiled. "They might not necessarily be jianghu people. Besides, it’s understandable that they’d hold so resentnt against us for dragging them into this ss."
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