Lan Yan stepped forward, wanting to hold Jun Yelan's clenched fist, but found blood trickling down. She cried out, "You're injured!"
She quickly took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wrapped it around Jun Yelan's palm, tying a knot.
Jun Yelan, watching her actions, felt a flicker in his eyes. He had sustained injuries a hundred times more severe than this before, but no one had ever been willing to do this. Yet, the person before him genuinely cared, bandaging him with a clean handkerchief.
Something within him shifted.
Lan Yan stared at Jun Yelan's palm, still murmuring, "Your body is your own, don't get hurt so easily in the future." She thought Jun Yelan wouldn't respond, but a "Mm" came through.
This time, it was her turn to be surprised. She couldn't help but lift her head, their eyes meeting.
Colors flowed in both their gazes.
At that moment, a sharp, sarcastic voice interrupted them. Liu Tingting was holding a rope, to which two snake-tribe men behind her were tied, their bodies covered in scars.
Seeing Lan Yan holding Jun Yelan's hand, she sneered, "Oh, so there are people who treasure snake-tribe slaves. It truly shames us young ladies from respectable families."
She was shocked by Jun Yelan's retracting snake tail, but no matter what, he was just a slave and didn't need to be treated with such care!
Lan Yan cast a cold glance over, sneering, "I wondered who it was, but it's the eldest miss Liu, whom I embarrassingly chased away. Eldest miss Liu, the way you fell back then was truly disgraceful."
She had finally managed a normal interaction with Jun Yelan, only for this person to ruin it, and she felt an urge to lash out.
Liu Tingting's eyes blazed with anger at being spoken to like that. She didn't know what had happened last time, but after returning, both her knees had turned blue and took several days to heal.
She had been seething during those days, and as soon as she had recovered, she immediately came to select two new slaves.
She yanked heavily on the snake-tribe men behind her and angrily shouted, "Have you no manners? Since you are slaves, kneel and crawl for me."
The two snake-tribe men trembled, not daring to disobey, and both knelt on the ground.
Liu Tingting's eyes immediately lit up, and she looked smugly at Lan Yan. "Lan Yan, this is the proper way to treat slaves. You provide them with good food and clothes, but they won't be grateful to you. One day, they'll inevitably betray you."
"Heh, are you talking about yourself!" Lan Yan retorted disdainfully. "Besides, only those without ability vent their anger on others. Liu Tingting, by doing this, you are digging your own grave sooner or later."
Liu Tingting, infuriated, threw down the whip in her hand and was about to charge at Lan Yan. But the next moment, her foot was hit by a small pebble, causing her to jump up in pain.
She clutched her toes and bit her lip, not daring to move.
Seeing Liu Tingting quiet down, Lan Yan said, "What do they say? Heaven sees all deeds! Bye-bye!" She couldn't be bothered to look at Liu Tingting's face any longer. She turned to Jun Yelan and called out, "Let's go."
Jun Yelan glanced at the two snake-tribe slaves, his eyes shadowed as he left.
Liu Tingting, seeing that everyone had left, angrily kicked a slave and shouted, "Get up and walk! You're delaying me from eating, I'll starve you to death." She tugged at the rope and walked forward.
At this moment, Lan Yan was walking on the street. She turned and saw Jun Yelan with a cold expression, and smiled, "I'll take you somewhere."
Jun Yelan was somewhat puzzled. He followed Lan Yan, and they arrived at a restaurant. Outside the restaurant, people were tied to the pillars – the snake-tribe slaves from earlier. Liu Tingting was nowhere to be seen.
Lan Yan pulled Jun Yelan to a corner and said, "They are your kin. You must want to save them. But if we had acted just now, not only would we not have saved them, but we would have gotten ourselves into trouble."
"That's why I walked slowly with you, to wait for Liu Tingting to go eat. Later, I'll go in and stall Liu Tingting, and you can take the opportunity to rescue those two."
Seeing that Jun Yelan remained silent, she waved her hand in front of him. He suddenly grabbed her wrist. "It seems you've remembered everything. I'll go ahead then."
She went in directly. The moment she entered, she glanced at her wrist.
Outside the door, Jun Yelan was also looking at his palm, as if the warmth of her touch still lingered. Lan Yan was different from him; she had warmth. He gently clenched his fist and looked at the tied snake-tribe people.
Lan Yan sat in a seat behind Liu Tingting, separated by a screen. She heard Liu Tingting ordering dishes. Every time Liu Tingting announced a dish, Lan Yan echoed it.
Liu Tingting heard the familiar voice, turned, and saw Lan Yan again. She immediately cursed, "Lan Yan, why is it you again!"
Lan Yan wasn't in a hurry. She propped her chin with one hand and twirled chopsticks with the other, quietly listening to Liu Tingting's words. Her gaze was fixed on the entrance, and seeing Jun Yelan had already passed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Outside the entrance, there was a shed specifically for guests' carriages and horses. Liu Tingting, to insult the snake-tribe slaves, had tied them there like horses.
Jun Yelan walked over, untied the ropes from the pillars, and said, "The two of you run south. Once you meet the snake-tribe people at the border pass, you'll be safe. This jade pendant is for your travel expenses."
He reached into his robe, felt a bracelet, then touched a jade pendant and took it out. This jade pendant was given to him by Lan Yan. With no money on him, he could only borrow it. He vowed to return it once he retrieved his silver!
The two snake-tribe men stood there fearfully, not daring to take the jade pendant.
Jun Yelan's tone grew heavier. "Do you want that woman to beat you to death! She is a ruthless person, adept at torturing people before killing them!"
The two snake-tribe men immediately trembled. Their fingers shaking, they took the jade pendant and carefully hid it in their chests. They looked up at Jun Yelan and noticed that he had the appearance of a snake-tribe person, but no snake tail.
There was only one reason for this. They exclaimed in shock, "Your snake tail... is it..."
"Hurry and go, don't delay any longer," Jun Yelan urged them to leave. Watching their retreating figures, he then looked down at his own legs. He pursed his lips into a thin line, suppressing the thoughts in his heart, and headed towards the entrance.
Lan Yan saw Jun Yelan and didn't have time to tangle with Liu Tingting further. She got up and called out, "There's a dog barking incessantly, it's really affecting my appetite. I'm not eating anymore."
She left directly, met up with Jun Yelan, and walked ahead with a bright smile.
After Liu Tingting finished her meal, she saw that the snake-tribe slaves at the entrance were gone and angrily shouted, "Who let my slaves go!" But no one responded, so she blamed everything on Lan Yan.
"Lan Yan, I will never forgive you!"
Continuing to walk on the street, Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan beside him, who was beaming with a bright smile, and asked, "Why did you save those two snake-tribe people?" They had nothing to do with her.
"They were also caught up in it and did nothing wrong themselves. If there were no wars between the two tribes in the future, and their people traded and benefited each other, there would be less prejudice, and fewer such unfortunate people."
Jun Yelan was stunned. He had not expected Lan Yan to say something like this, which was exactly what he thought. His heart trembled, and he looked at Lan Yan's eyes, his lips parting slightly.