"You mustn't do anything foolish. You're too good a girl to risk yourself for me; I'm not worth it," Liu Yixuan said anxiously.
"Young Master Liu has finally come for a visit. Let's not talk about such depressing matters. At noon, at Yuelai Lou, I'll treat you to a meal." Without giving Liu Yixuan a chance to refuse, she directly instructed Ping'er to make arrangements.
Meanwhile, Wu Caiwei's progress was far from smooth. Not only had she failed to devise a good plan, but she had also learned that the county magistrate was a relative of the Li family, which explained why Miss Li acted so outrageously.
Before long, Liu Yixuan emerged from the alley and headed to the town's largest restaurant, Yuelai Lou. Another fifteen minutes passed, and Miss Li's sedan chair also stopped at the entrance. If only they had cameras, Wu Caiwei thought to herself, taking a photograph would provide a voucher that could be used for many things.
This outing today had yielded very little for Wu Caiwei. It was almost noon, and if she didn't return soon, Father and Mother Liu would worry.
Time was running late, and the ox cart from Qingshan Village had already left. It was a time of many troubles, and she dared not rent a carriage alone. Who knew if the driver had been bribed by the Li mansion? Wu Caiwei dared not gamble with her own life. So, she boarded an ox cart from a neighboring village, which also carried two women with their children.
After alighting, Wu Caiwei stood still for a moment, confirming that the ox cart had driven away and there was no one around. Only then did she quickly turn towards the mountain; this route to Qingshan Village required going around this mountain.
Even though she was not far from home, she still dared not take the main road, fearing encounter with bad people. Relying on her familiarity with the surrounding terrain, she took a detour via the mountain to hurry home.
As she walked, her heart pounding, she pondered how to resolve her current predicament. She felt a sense of dejection; no cheat codes, no money, no backing, and danger was drawing near, as if trapped in a vicious cycle, with a bleak future ahead.
Just as she was nearing home, the sound of clashing blades suddenly reached her ears. Her heart sank; she feared she had stumbled upon something extraordinary and would lose her life here. Then, recalling some hazy memories of the original owner, her heart leaped with joy. Perhaps she could escape the current predicament of this mission by taking advantage of this incident.
So, she crouched low and cautiously moved closer to the scene of the fight.
After walking about three hundred meters, she saw a young gentleman in a moon-white long gown and a jade crown, surrounded by several guards, engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a group of men in black.
Even as his guards fell one after another and the situation became extremely dire, the young gentleman remained remarkably calm, showing no sign of panic.
Judging by his demeanor, one could tell he was either wealthy or noble. In fact, the original owner's memories were very vague. When she had her accident, Father Liu was also struck and fell into a coma, so he had no inclination to pay attention to his surroundings. She only heard from villagers who came to visit that something had happened, a big shot had died on a nearby mountain, many soldiers had arrived, and the village had been searched repeatedly.
What the outcome was, a minor figure like Liu Feixue could not possibly know.
Looking at the current scene, it was likely that the gentleman in the middle was the "big shot" the villagers had spoken of. It was probable that his fate today was grim.
Wu Caiwei used the cover of the trees to observe every move, not daring to make the slightest sound, for fear of implicating herself.
After about fifteen minutes, the battle concluded.
These men in black were clearly well-trained assassins. Fearing complications, after piercing the young man's heart, they withdrew rapidly.
A gust of wind blew, and Wu Caiwei felt a chill down her spine. She realized her clothes were already soaked. It was the first time in her life she had witnessed such a bloody scene firsthand; it was truly heart-pounding.
After a while, certain that the group would not return, she, with weak limbs, walked towards the white-robed gentleman in the center.
Before coming here, Wu Caiwei had been a nurse. Even though she saw the assassins stab him through the heart and held no hope, as a professional habit of a medical worker, she still checked to confirm if he had a heartbeat or was breathing.
To her surprise, though his breathing was weak and his heartbeat slow, he was definitely still alive.
This man's heart was unlike that of an ordinary person. Others had theirs on the left, but his was on the right. If not for the fear of attracting outsiders, Wu Caiwei really wanted to laugh heartily. Truly, heaven never closes all doors.
The assassins, either fearing exposure or overly confident in their skills, had somehow allowed him to escape death. Well, who would have thought someone's heart was on the right side?
Watching the blood gush from his chest, Wu Caiwei quickly got up to search for medicinal herbs nearby. She had no doubt that if the bleeding was not stopped, he would definitely die in this mountain forest from excessive blood loss, just as in the original owner's memory.
Fortunately, in modern times, out of curiosity for traditional Chinese medicine, she had studied with a TCM teacher from her school for a while. Although not proficient, she could still stop bleeding.
Few people in ancient times recognized medicinal herbs, and hardly anyone came to gather them, which was convenient for Wu Caiwei. With the fastest speed she had ever achieved, she gathered the herbs, crushed them with a stone, scooped them up in a large leaf, and ran to the side of the white-robed gentleman, applying them to him repeatedly.
After an unknown amount of time, the bleeding finally stopped. Wu Caiwei sat on the ground, panting continuously.
She carefully unbuttoned his clothes and looked at the large gaping wound on his chest. Wu Caiwei couldn't help but frown. Without hesitation, she tore the hem of his garment into strips and carefully and meticulously bandaged it, fearing the wound would reopen.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was already overhead without her realizing it. However, the person on the ground had become a big problem. Although she was not far from home, bringing a strange, injured man home so openly would not only invite village gossip but also frighten Father and Mother Liu. Moreover, she couldn't move him.
Wu Caiwei sighed resignedly, "Meeting me, you can only say your fate is not yet sealed. Don't you think it was easy for me to save your life? You'd better repay me handsomely."
She made do with what was available, using branches and vines from the mountain to weave a simple bed. She carefully placed the makeshift bed beneath him and, with her own slender shoulders, began to pull him forward.
The mountain forest was full of obstacles, and the path was difficult. Wu Caiwei could clearly feel her shoulders aching more and her steps becoming heavier. For a moment, she felt the urge to give up. But then, as if her father's smile appeared before her eyes, she was filled with renewed energy. Even if she fell, even if she was exhausted, she never stopped moving forward.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally reached their destination. This was a place Father Liu had discovered by chance more than ten years ago and had told Liu Feixue and Mother Liu about, for emergencies.
Initially, Liu Feixue thought Father Liu was being overly cautious, but now it proved useful.
If not for this memory, Wu Caiwei would not have believed that beneath this huge rock lay a cave. At first glance, it appeared to be just a large rock, with grass in front of it, not particularly dense.
Under normal circumstances, there would be nothing. But if you pushed aside the grass, you would find a hole just large enough for one person to crawl through, its opening below ground level.
Although the entrance was small, once inside, it opened up to a different world.