10. Blood (1)
Yu Qingjia didn't recognize their current location.
Ahead of her stretched a vast, lush forest, while behind her was an endless dirt road disappearing into the distance. Standing there alone, Yue Qingjia felt, for the first time, as insignificant as a mayfly.
The world was so vast—where was she supposed to go?
Unlike Yu Qingjia, who was covered in bits of grass, Murong Yan was completely spotless, looking as leisurely and composed as though he had come out for a leisurely excursion. He glanced around, then somehow produced a dagger. He cut through the tangled weeds ahead and strode in one direction.
Yu Qingjia watched him, not understanding what he was doing, but she naturally followed his lead. There were only the two of them here, and after what had just happened, she had unconsciously begun relying on the fox spirit, who at least seemed to know what he was doing.
Murong Yan walked quickly. Yu Qingjia, dressed in layer upon layer of robes and skirts and rarely exercising, stumbled her way through the primitive forest. She lifted her skirts and struggled over a rotten tree trunk, only to discover after regaining her footing that Murong Yan had already gone far ahead.
Yu Qingjia instinctively feared the unfamiliar surroundings.
Yu Qingjia was instinctively afraid of the environment around her. She ignored the old grievances between her and Murong Yan, and staggered after him with her skirt in her hand and said,
“Hey Vixen, wait for me.”
When Murong Yan heard this address, his eyes narrowed and dimmed.
However, their current situation is unclear, and he had no time to deal with Yu Qingjia. He would simply keep this account for later.
While holding a dagger, he quickly and lightly parted the grass in front of him.
Yu Qingjia staggered to catch up to him, while trying her best to follow him closely, "Vixen, where are we going? Why don't we take the main road and cross through the forest?"
Murong Yan glanced back at her, and said in a surprised tone, “You don’t know?”
Yu Qingjia was frightened by Murong Yan’s eyes, She gave a small shake of her head and murmured so softly it was almost inaudible,
“You never told me…”
Murong Yan was speechless for a while, he cut off the coiled grass with a backhand swing, and smiled softly, as if mocking her,
“You didn’t even know, yet you dared to follow me here?”
“Because you were in front of me.”
Yu Qingjia was equally confused by his tone, as though she were supposed to know something obvious.
“You never told me. How was I supposed to know?”
Murong Yan gave a soft scoff and ignored her, continuing onward.
Yu Qingjia endured for a while, but she simply could not stand the eerie silence surrounding them. With only one living person nearby, she tried talking to him again.
She secretly caught hold of the corner of Murong Yan’s robe. When he looked back, she immediately turned her head and pretended to be examining the grass beside her, but she refused to loosen her grip.
Murong Yan still held the dagger, so he could not simply yank his robe free. He could only tolerate her for the moment.
Seeing that he did not object, Yu Qingjia felt a tiny burst of delight. Then she immediately scolded herself.
You should be at odds with this vixen. What are you doing now?
But she really did not have the courage to let go. She was afraid that the moment she released him, the vixen would disappear into the distance and leave her alone.
This vicious vixen was absolutely capable of doing that.
Therefore, she unilaterally stopped her cold war with the vixen for the time being, and follow her lead first.
After walking for a while, Yu Qingjia still could not bear the oppressive silence. She had already asked once, so she tried again.
“You still haven't told me why we're going through the forest.”
Murong Yan was truly reaching the limit of his patience. He had met plenty of fools, but someone as confidently foolish as Yu Qingjia was rare.
Instead of answering, he asked,
“Do you have any money?”
Yu Qingjia answered instinctively. “I do. It's with Bai Zhi…”
She trailed off as she realized what he meant.
Bai Zhi had gotten out of the carriage to fetch water. At that time, only Yu Qingjia and Murong Yan had been inside. And as a young lady of a prominent family, Yu Qingjia naturally did not carry cash on her person.
She thought about it for a moment before suddenly understanding.
“You want to find the carriage! Our valuables and luggage are still inside!”
Murong Yan gave her a blank look and could not even be bothered to answer.
Now that Yu Qingjia understood what he intended to do, she immediately felt reassured.
This person is so annoyingly cryptic. He could have just said it earlier. He made me worry all this way for nothing.
Yu Qingjia’s sleeves were wide and cumbersome. As she passed an ancient tree, her foot slipped, and she was about to fall flat on the ground.
Murong Yan reacted instantly, grabbing her arm and lifting her upright.
“You can trip even while walking on level ground. What can you do?”
Murong Yan’s grip was astonishingly strong. Yu Qingjia felt a powerful force around her arm before her entire body was lifted off the ground.
After finally steadying herself, she felt extremely wronged at being treated with such disdain.
“How was I supposed to know I’d end up in a place like this? Robes and skirts aren’t exactly meant for walking through forests.”
Yu Qingjia glanced at Murong Yan’s long, slender arms and narrow waist.
She had to admit that, in most situations, Hu clothing was far more practical than her robes and skirts.
Once we find the carriage, I’ll change out of this impractical outfit too.
She had no idea how Murong Yan managed it, but despite the dense forest blocking out the sky, he led her through several twists and turns and actually found the carriage that had gone over the cliff.
When Yu Qingjia saw the wreckage, her eyes immediately lit up.
“How did you know this was where the carriage fell?”
Murong Yan had never been a patient person when it came to explanations. Yet when he looked into Yu Qingjia’s eyes, he inexplicably answered.
“There was a smell of blood.”
Yu Qingjia looked around and indeed spotted the horse that had lost control and fallen down the cliff. One of its legs had broken, and it was now barely breathing.
With a metallic clang, Murong Yan drew his dagger from its delicate sheath and calmly walked toward the horse.
“You go gather the clothes. Find everything useful from the carriage.”
❖