Twenty miles from Good Cloud Mountain lay a bustling market town. This town had only two streets, yet along these short stretches stood thirteen inns.
The place was called Qirong, a vital transportation hub connecting the north-south canal routes. Though small in size, it saw a constant flow of diverse travelers from all walks of life.
Qirong's largest inn was called Baixing Inn, while the smallest was named Youlan Inn. Wanfu Inn fell somewhere in between. Next to Wanfu Inn was a small noodle shop, where a young woman had just hurriedly bought a bowl of noodle soup and was carefully carrying it back to the inn.
This delicate-looking girl was none other than Yu Tuan'er. As she carried the soup upstairs to the second floor of Wanfu Inn, she heard a childish voice calling "Kitty... kitty kitty" from behind a door before she even reached it, and sighed.
Pushing open the door to the last guest room on the second floor, she saw Feng Feng clinging to A Shui's bedside, tugging at her hair while babbling "Kitty... kitty..." A Shui looked exhausted, her face pale as she drifted in and out of consciousness, unable to respond to the child's pulling. Yu Tuan'er set down the soup, grabbed Feng Feng, and glared angrily at Shen Langhun. "What are you doing? How can you let him bully Sister A Shui like this? She's still running a fever! If he aggravates her wounds, think how much it must hurt!"
Shen Langhun sat helplessly in a chair nearby. "He saw a stray cat outside the window and won't stop asking for it. What was I supposed to do?" Yu Tuan'er snapped, "Give him a slap and see if he dares make noise then!" Shen Langhun coughed awkwardly. "I don't hit children." Yu Tuan'er smacked Feng Feng's bottom a few times, making the child's face crumple like a flower as he burst into loud, pitiful wails.
The commotion made A Shui weakly open her eyes for a moment before closing them again. The wound on her chest was severe—though Fang Pingzhai had shown mercy, the irregular blade of Chonghua Ren, a rare and formidable weapon, had shaved off layers of flesh upon entry, making the injury slow to heal. Seeing A Shui's lips move slightly, Yu Tuan'er leaned closer. "What did you say?"
A Shui shook her head and offered a faint smile. She hadn't said anything—it was just that when she heard the noise, for a moment, she had thought Tang Lici had come.
But he hadn't. She told herself there was no reason to feel disappointed, yet every time she opened her eyes, she half-expected to see him.
Perhaps... she had been saved by him so many times that she had grown accustomed to it? She took it for granted that he would come to see her, so she waited unconsciously. When lucid, she knew he wouldn't come, but in her dazed state, she still waited—unable to rest even in delirium.
Fang Pingzhai had taken Liu Yan away. Maybe she had been too careless, failing to notice the changes in him. But even if she had, what could she have done? She had no power to alter Fang Pingzhai or Liu Yan's decisions, nor could she have stopped Fang Pingzhai from taking Liu Yan or striking to kill. Her heart was filled with confusion—were the shifts in life truly so fleeting and untraceable? Why had Fang Pingzhai done this? There must have been something no one else could help him with, some reason behind it all... right?After Fang Pingzhai abducted Liu Yan, his next move was likely to target Tang Lici—otherwise, why would he have taken Liu Yan? In her dazed state, she thought: Young Master Tang always faces so many formidable enemies... I wonder how his plans at Good Cloud Mountain are progressing? Has he already set out for Bodhi Valley? I could guide him there. I know the mechanisms in Piaoling Mei Yuan—they're all the same... the same... No, he's already been to Piaoling Mei Yuan. He doesn’t need me to lead the way anymore...
"Sister A Shui?" Yu Tuan'er noticed her murmuring something and wiped her forehead with a damp cloth. "Are you feeling unwell?" A Shui opened her eyes and smiled faintly, shaking her head. "Rest, little sister. You don’t have to watch over me every moment." Yu Tuan'er shook her head. "I’ll wait until you’re a little better to feed you some noodle soup. You haven’t eaten anything for a whole day and night." A Shui’s lips trembled slightly. "Little sister, are you very worried about... him... but haven’t said it?" She had been brought to Wanfu Inn by the people of Good Cloud Mountain, severely injured. Yu Tuan'er and Shen Langhun already knew something had happened at Chicken Coop Mountain Manor—Fang Pingzhai had taken Liu Yan.
"I..." Yu Tuan'er hesitated. "I don’t think Xiao Fang is a bad person... He wouldn’t hurt him." A Shui spoke softly, "Yes, I think so too... cough ..." Yu Tuan'er whispered, "I don’t think he’d harm you, but he still hurt you this badly." A Shui couldn’t help but smile. " Cough ... So you really are worried about him... silly girl..." Yu Tuan'er’s eyes reddened, and she suddenly burst into tears. "I want to go find him." A Shui soothed her gently, "Don’t worry, don’t be afraid... Young Master Tang will surely save him." Yu Tuan'er stared blankly at A Shui. "But what if someone harms him before Young Master Tang can rescue him? Or what if even Young Master Tang can’t save him?" A Shui shook her head and murmured, "That won’t happen." Yu Tuan'er’s tears fell. "Do you really believe in him?" A Shui whispered, "Of course." Yu Tuan'er pressed, "But hasn’t he often let you down?" A Shui stiffened slightly. "I’ve never been disappointed." Yu Tuan'er gave her a puzzled look. "Why hasn’t Young Master Tang come to see you? He already knows you’re injured, doesn’t he?"
"He won’t come to see me." A Shui’s voice remained gentle. "He’s very busy." Yu Tuan'er frowned. "Why can’t he visit you just because he’s busy? If he wanted to, he could come, couldn’t he? It’s not far."
It wasn’t far. But to Tang Lici, A Shui was neither a friend nor family—at best, she was merely a passing amusement. A Shui’s gaze drifted slowly to the ceiling beams. If he did come to see her in person, she would assume he had ulterior motives.
He wasn’t that gentle.
Beside her, Feng Feng had cried herself to exhaustion, lying against her with occasional sniffles. A Shui felt the warmth of that small body—the only one in this world who would never abandon her.Shen Langhun watched as Tang Lici instructed him to bring Yu Tuan'er to this place, promising to contact him later about future matters. The situation at Good Cloud Mountain was fraught with unpredictability—would Tang Lici’s strategy of retreating to advance succeed? Fang Pingzhai had indeed betrayed them and taken Liu Yan away. Though everything was within Tang Lici’s calculations, could he truly maintain the morale of the thousands on Good Cloud Mountain and have Hong Guniang lead them into battle? The truth was far too complex, and he hadn’t explained it to the two women. With the situation still unclear, even if they understood Fang Pingzhai’s motives for abducting Liu Yan, realized Tang Lici had no time to visit A Shui, or knew of Yu Konghou’s next poisonous scheme—what difference would it make?
It would only mean more people growing anxious and worried, more people lost in uncertainty about the future.
How would Tang Lici extricate himself from Yu Konghou’s deadly plot? How would he smoothly hand over control to Hong Guniang? Shen Langhun’s head ached from thinking, yet he still couldn’t fathom how this extraordinarily capable young master would manage it.
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