Xu Hengyan did not dare to sleep too deeply, even though he knew she was nearby.
It was only when he heard her footsteps in his daze and felt her presence that Xu Hengyan's taut nerves gradually relaxed.
Suddenly, a weight settled on him, followed by a wave of warmth.
Xu Hengyan knew she was resting against him.
Xie Jiang avoided his injured side and leaned on him. If he hadn't been so badly wounded, she could have used him as a cushion and lay directly on him.
Xie Jiang yawned; she was truly sleepy and exhausted.
She would seize the opportunity to recuperate, as there might be another fierce battle ahead. Even if there wasn't, she still had to continue her pursuit of Young Master Xu.
Both their bodies desperately needed to recover, and they slept for an unusually long time.
When Xie Jiang woke up, she noticed the light in the cave was dim.
She casually reached out to touch Xu Hengyan's head; his fever had not subsided, and he was still like a furnace.
She checked his pulse again, and it was stable.
Martial artists had robust physiques. As long as his injuries did not worsen, he would be fine.
Xie Jiang got up and stretched her limbs as she walked towards the cave entrance. Every part of her body ached.
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the mountains and fields. Had they slept for most of the day?
A rabbit hopped past her. Xie Jiang bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it. The rabbit fell to the ground, its legs twitching.
Xie Jiang happily jumped down the slope, picked up the rabbit, and weighed it. It was about five to six pounds.
It was just the contusion on its abdomen and the scrape on its knee that were so incredibly painful.
As she climbed back up the slope, preparing to take the rabbit back, she saw Xu Hengyan emerging from the cave.
"Yanyan, you're awake!"
Xie Jiang ran towards him joyfully.
Xu Hengyan looked at her and smiled, his eyes crinkling with amusement. He looked at the rabbit in her hand. "Why did you go hunting for rabbits again? Didn't we already have two?"
As soon as he woke up, he had seen two rabbits in the cave, along with a large pile of about twenty wild duck eggs. She must have gathered them when she went out in the morning.
They had enough food for tonight and tomorrow morning.
Had she gone out hunting rabbits as soon as she woke up? Did she eat most of the rabbits and fish from the morning, and not have enough herself?
Xie Jiang said proudly, "It came to me on its own. I was standing there to get some air, and it just walked over. Such a plump rabbit, should I have let it go?"
Xu Hengyan chuckled, "That would be unacceptable."
She loved roasted rabbit legs the most.
Xie Jiang took the rabbit back into the cave and quickly ran out again. "It seems we'll be spending the night here again."
Her subordinates and the Huang Lanshan bandits had not yet found them, indicating they had been washed a long distance by the swift current.
Xu Hengyan nodded. "How is your hand? Is it still bleeding?"
Xie Jiang held up both her paws for him to see.
The bandages on both her hands were stained with green grass juice and smelled faintly of medicinal herbs.
"Did you find herbs to dress it?"
"Yes, it's not bleeding anymore."
"That's good."
Xu Hengyan had been worried about her hand, and now he felt slightly relieved.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine."
Xu Hengyan's head still felt like it would explode at any moment, but he felt at least a little better than he had in the morning.
Xie Jiang's stomach rumbled.
Xu Hengyan smiled. "You're hungry?"
"I'm starving."
Xie Jiang rubbed her stomach. She was indeed famished. They had slept through lunch and hadn't eaten.
"I need to go find some more firewood, otherwise, we won't have enough to burn at night. You can stay here and relax for a bit."
It was getting late, and after gathering firewood, they would still need to prepare the rabbit. It wouldn't be convenient after dark.
Xu Hengyan cautioned, "Be careful with your hand injury."
...
As he emerged from Yuanyou Palace and saw Shan Bai, who should have been at the manor, entering the palace, Yi Yan Geng felt a vague premonition of something bad.
"Master."
Shan Bai, usually quite calm, was pacing anxiously outside Yuanyou Palace. Seeing his master finally emerge, he immediately hurried over.
Shan Bai looked extremely disheveled. He had likely fallen more than once; the hem of his robe was torn at the knees, and there was a bruise on his forehead.
Wen Feng's heart sank when he saw this.
With Shan Bai in such a state, had the sky fallen or the earth caved in?
His immediate thought was, could it be about Miss Xie...?
"What happened?" Yi Yan Geng asked, his face grim.
Shan Bai swallowed the words that were about to come out, glancing at the eunuch who had escorted Yi Yan Geng out.
Wen Feng quickly signaled the eunuch that he didn't need to escort them further.
Yi Yan Geng strode out, and once they reached an open space, Shan Bai nervously said, "It, it's Miss Xie who had an accident."
Yi Yan Geng's head snapped up, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.
Calculating the time since she left the capital and the time it took for the news to reach him, he had already guessed about seventy to eighty percent.
"Ambushed on the way to Ninghe?"
The Huang Lanshan bandits had suffered a great loss at her hands. Even if they were initially intimidated by her methods, they would have recovered after this much time.
She was not a renowned figure with outstanding military achievements. The ferocious Huang Lanshan bandits would not be scared off by a single encounter and avoid her name thereafter.
Moreover, like most people, they believed that the battle at Gangshi Town was orchestrated by Xu Hengyan.
Unless she stayed far away from the Baiyou region, the Huang Lanshan bandits, known for their rampant cruelty and vindictiveness, would not let her off the hook so easily.
He had specifically reminded her before she left to bring more people. Had she not listened to him again!
"More than five hundred Huang Lanshan bandits ambushed them at Nanlong Slope. Miss Xie's escort was insufficient..."
He knew it! Yi Yan Geng's face turned chillingly dark, his panic and unease uncontrollable. "How is she?"
"Miss Xie fell into the river from the suspension bridge. The current was swift, and her whereabouts are unknown." Shan Bai could barely look at his master as he quickly explained.
"Miss Xie only had Da Chui left with her. Although the other guards managed to draw away most of the bandits, the number of bandits ambushing Miss Xie was overwhelming. Although Miss Xie broke through the encirclement, there was no path forward..."
Yi Yan Geng's mind buzzed. A sudden dizziness made him feel as if he were on a cloud, swaying precariously.
What was she trying to do?
He had repeatedly warned her to bring more people! If she didn't have enough, he could provide them! He could give her anything she wanted! Why did she disregard his words!
Only bringing eight people!
Was she beckoning the Huang Lanshan bandits to come and seek revenge on her!
The words "forced into a corner" hit him like a flood, suffocating him.
Which river did she fall into? Was the current fast? Was she injured? Had they sent people to search for her?
They had searched! As soon as they received the news, they dispatched people. They sent everyone they could!
"When did this happen?"
"The night before last."
"News of something that happened the night before last is only being reported now! All of you are useless!"
"We already did it immediately..."
Shan Bai stopped arguing. He knew his master had gone mad with worry.