11. Overnight Stay (2)
Murong Yan had survived once again, but the wound he had received was severe.
With the cold night rain falling around him, he had managed to stay alive, but he no longer had the strength to make it out of the forest.
If he spent the entire night exposed to the rain with an injury like this, could he even survive until dawn?
Murong Yan did not know.
All he could do was gamble with fate and see whether death or sunrise would come first.
But he had never expected Yu Qingjia to return.
From the very beginning, he had never considered her.
Even among siblings, who would willingly risk the unknown to come back and save someone else?
If he had still been surrounded by servants as he once was, perhaps he could afford to wait.
But to expect someone to personally come looking for him?
That was unthinkable.
So when he heard Yu Qingjia's voice, Murong Yan had neither spoken nor moved.
He had wondered whether it might be another assassin skilled at imitating voices.
Oh, she had apparently kicked a corpse and even cried.
Someone that clumsy and useless was probably not an assassin in disguise.
Yet that only made Murong Yan even more unable to understand her.
What exactly was Yu Qingjia trying to accomplish?
What did she want from him? What could she possibly be scheming for?
He had nothing now. He could not even reveal his true identity.
What was there left for anyone to want from him?
Even without being able to see his face clearly, Yu Qingjia could feel his heavy gaze fixed upon her. The depth and pressure in his eyes made her feel as though there was nowhere to hide.
“Why did you come back?”
Yu Qingjia was soaked through. After finally finding Murong Yan, the tension holding her together suddenly gave way, and she began to cry.
She sniffled, unable to open her eyes because rain and tears had mixed together. Since both her hands were occupied supporting Murong Yan, she could only turn her head and wipe her tears against his clothes.
"I'm afraid of the dark."
The person beside her remained silent for a long while.
Eventually, the young man gave a soft laugh.
His voice was clear and pleasant, so beautiful that it was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
“How stupid of you, coming all the way back.”
Yu Qingjia did not hold it against an injured person.
Supporting Murong Yan, the two of them stumbled through the endless night rain until they finally found a small rocky shelter.
It could hardly be called a cave. It was merely a narrow gap formed where two enormous boulders had wedged against each other, creating a pointed, roof-like opening. Vines covered the outside, making it almost impossible to notice unless one looked carefully.
Yu Qingjia tossed a stone inside to make sure there was nothing lurking within. Only then did she awkwardly help Murong Yan into the gap.
At last, they were out of the rain.
Murong Yan's face had already turned deathly pale. He reached into his clothes, pulled out a fire starter, and tossed it to Yu Qingjia.
“Start a fire.”
Yu Qingjia barely managed to catch it.
She stared at the object in her hand helplessly.
Yu Qingjia narrowly caught the flint, she looked at the things in her hand with difficulty, Murong Yan waited for a while, and gave an incredulous rhetorical question,
“You don't know how?”
Yu Qingjia could only say through gritted teeth,
"I do."
She gathered some dry grass from inside the rocky shelter and tore off a few dried vines outside. Then, recalling how Bai Zhi and Bai Ji had done it before, she fiddled with everything for a long while.
Finally, she managed to produce a tiny, flickering flame.
The sudden firelight illuminated Yu Qingjia's bright eyes. She immediately called out excitedly,
“Vixen, look—”
The rest of her sentence disappeared.
Murong Yan was already leaning against the stone wall, fast asleep.
Now that she was the only person capable of doing anything, Yu Qingjia suddenly felt a strong sense of responsibility.
She gathered all the dry scraps of wood inside the shelter and then removed her soaked outer robe and skirt, wringing them out before laying them near the fire to dry.
Then she remembered that the vixen was still wearing wet clothes.
And he was injured.
Yu Qingjia carefully walked over to Murong Yan. She was just about to reach out and undo his clothes when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
His grip was incredibly strong, almost enough to crush her wrist.
Murong Yan, who had seemed asleep only a moment ago, suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was cold and terrifying.
When he saw that it was Yu Qingjia, the murderous intent in his eyes diminished slightly.
But once he understood what she was trying to do, he was still furious.
“What are you doing?”
Yu Qingjia was caught off guard by his sudden reaction. Murong Yan had not controlled his strength, and his grip hurt terribly.
Tears immediately welled up in her eyes reflexively,
“Your clothes are wet. I wanted to help you change.”
Murong Yan glanced at the miserable little fire beside them and sounded almost exasperated.
“No.”
“But you're injured. You'll get sick if you keep wearing wet clothes!”
“I said no.”
Murong Yan's tone was firm.
Only then did he realize what Yu Qingjia was wearing.
He immediately turned his head away.
His voice was almost gritted through his teeth.
“What are you wearing?”
Yu Qingjia looked down in confusion.
She had removed her outer robe and skirt and was wearing only her inner garment. She was too modest to expose her body in front of the vixen, so she had kept her middle layer on.
Her undergarments were still wet, and she had hurried over to help him change.
So what was wrong with him?
Yu Qingjia felt aggrieved.
The vixen was acting as though she had done something scandalous merely by being dressed this way.
She huffed angrily and stood up.
“Fine. Take them off or don't. Some people really don't know how to appreciate kindness.”
Yu Qingjia returned to the fire and tried to remove the completely soaked undergarment that was clinging to her body.
She was still unmarried, and even though she was wearing her middle coat, she felt embarrassed undressing her undergarments in front of another woman.
She glanced toward Murong Yan.
He was still deliberately looking away, his neck forming a graceful curve as he turned his face toward the stone wall.
Perhaps because of the firelight, the vixen's ears and neck looked rather red.
Yu Qingjia called out fiercely,
“You are not allowed to turn back!”
Murong Yan had originally been wondering what Yu Qingjia was doing.
Then he heard the rustling behind him and suddenly understood.
“You're a young lady…”
Yu Qingjia had both hands behind her back, working at the ties of her undergarment beneath her middle layer.
She looked at Murong Yan innocently.
“What about it?”
Murong Yan had practically twisted his neck around trying not to look.
He pressed his face toward the stone wall, the tips of his ears already red enough to bleed.
Then the fire flickered.
Yu Qingjia sat before the flames, her shadow wavering across the stone wall.
Murong Yan immediately shut his eyes.
He gritted his teeth and waited for a while before finally snapping irritably,
“What are you taking so long for? Hurry up!”
❖