Chapter 32

Chaotic Shadows of Flowers

The leader of the Qi soldiers looked back with suspicion, but all he saw was Xie Que Shan leaving with the woman in his arms, walking confidently and without any obvious flaws. He could only head off in another direction to continue searching.

As they passed by the pond, Xie Que Shan casually tossed the dart he had pulled from Nan Yi into the water. This could potentially become key evidence in hiding the fugitive and had to be dealt with outside, never to be brought back into the room.

However, even Xie Que Shan didn’t notice that not far from the corner of the hallway, someone, shocked, covered their mouth and hid back into the shadows.

It was Lu Jin Xiu, who had come out to check on the noise. She stood in the diagonal path ahead of Xie Que Shan, and it seemed that the person he was carrying was Nan Yi—had they really been in a “moonlit indulgence”?

Seeing this, Lu Jin Xiu’s hands trembled. The female attendant following her couldn’t help but ask, “Lady Lu, what did you see?”

“It’s nothing... Let’s go back, quickly,” Lu Jin Xiu, unable to believe what she had just seen, forced herself to forget the image. She turned around, her soul lost, and hurried back to her room.

Xie Que Shan carried Nan Yi back to Jing Feng Residence, and He Ping, though surprised for a moment, quickly retrieved the medicine box from a drawer and placed it on the desk.

“He Ping, go guard outside.”

He Ping acknowledged with a “Yes” and turned to leave, closing the door behind him. The wind and snow were shut out, and the room was restored to peace and warmth.

Xie Que Shan gently placed Nan Yi on the couch and asked, “Is Third Uncle safe?”

Nan Yi hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She quickly added, “There was an unexpected change today. Miss Xie Liu altered the rescue plan at the last minute, and I didn’t know about it beforehand... Also, it was Miss Xie Liu who arranged for Third Uncle, so I don’t know where he is.”

At the end of her sentence, Nan Yi felt a little guilty, so she changed the subject. “But why did you save me?”

Xie Que Shan calmly and seriously looked at her. “Thank you for saving my family.”

Nan Yi’s mind exploded with a buzzing sound. This thank-you completely overturned her perception of Xie Que Shan. She was shocked and asked, “So, you’re not working with the Qi people?”

“I may work for the Qi people, but I don’t want my family to be put in danger,” Xie Que Shan replied.

Nan Yi fell silent, realizing the implication—he was still one of the Qi people.

“Then those nights when you made me run all over the city... was that intentional?”

“Familiarity with the terrain is always a useful skill.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier!” Nan Yi said, somewhat frustrated.

“The desire to survive is the best motivator.”

Nan Yi was speechless. He was a ruthless teacher, but she couldn’t deny that his methods were effective.

Xie Que Shan picked up a pair of scissors, preparing to cut open the area of Nan Yi’s clothes where she was injured to tend to her wound.

Nan Yi quickly stopped him. “Don’t cut! This outfit is new, I’ve barely worn it a few times. I can wash and repair it, but if you cut it, it won’t be fixable.”

Xie Que Shan paused for a moment, then put the scissors away.

“Then take off your outer robe.”

Cutting open the clothes would be the simplest solution, but removing the outer robe would inevitably affect the wound. However, Nan Yi, determined to keep her clothes intact, endured the pain and slowly removed the outer robe. By the time she was done, she was drenched in sweat.

Xie Que Shan naturally took her outer robe from her, and she handed it over without thinking. But to her surprise, the next second, he threw her clothes into the brazier.

Nan Yi’s eyes widened, and she urgently tried to stop him, but the pain in her shoulder forced her to stop. She glared at Xie Que Shan.

“What are you doing?”

“The clothes are soaked in blood. Are you afraid someone might see that something’s wrong with you if you take them out to wash and mend?” Xie Que Shan replied.

Nan Yi felt guilty. Sometimes, she was trapped in the narrow mindset of an ordinary person, too shortsighted. She often thought she could secretly get things done, even if it meant taking risks.

She mumbled, “You should’ve told me earlier. I could have saved the trouble of taking off my clothes—you’re just messing with me.”

“Only through pain will you learn your lesson. Next time, you won’t dare take such risks for a small advantage.”

Nan Yi couldn’t argue with Xie Que Shan, so she obediently fell silent.

Xie Que Shan took some alcohol from the medicine box and poured it onto a piece of gauze. Just as he was about to clean her wound, he paused, then took a handkerchief from his sleeve, folded it, and handed it to Nan Yi.

He briefly said, “It will hurt. Bite down and don’t make a sound.”

Nan Yi obediently opened her mouth and bit the handkerchief.

The alcohol-soaked gauze touched the wound, and a sharp, bone-piercing pain instantly spread through her body. Nan Yi instinctively grabbed the nearest object.

Xie Que Shan lowered his gaze as her pale, weak hand clutched his sleeve.

She was obedient, not daring to make a sound. The broken, faint groan in her throat was barely audible, and her chest involuntarily rose and fell.

She was wearing only a thin inner garment, her bare shoulder exposed, and the flickering candlelight cast shadows across her skin, like a light touch brushing over the heart.

In that instant, for some reason, the crackling of the fire and the noise of the silver charcoal seemed unusually clear, and the colors and sounds before him were exaggerated.

Xie Que Shan, who had been focused on tending her wound, suddenly felt his chest surge with heat. He took a deep breath, and his movements became quicker.

Finally, he finished treating her wound, letting out a sigh of relief. He raised his head unexpectedly and saw her eyes filled with tears.

He took the handkerchief from her mouth. “No crying.”

She struggled to hold it in, but the tears still fell, and she muttered, “You’re so fierce.”

Xie Que Shan pretended not to notice and lowered his head to tidy up the medicine box.

“You’ll sleep here tonight.”

“Can’t I go back to Zhe Yue Pavilion?”

“Tonight, both of us were seen in the garden. Although we were careful, it’s impossible that no one will suspect us. There are many eyes on Jing Feng Residence right now, and if you go out, you’ll be in danger.”

Nan Yi immediately accepted. “It’s definitely safest to stay by your side. So, should I sleep on the bed or on the couch?”

Xie Que Shan hesitated. She was so open, and it made him feel strangely uncomfortable. He even felt annoyed—didn’t she have any sense of propriety between a man and a woman?

Nan Yi, unaware of the turmoil in his heart, pretended to be casual. She may not have been serious, but she understood what it meant for a man and woman to be alone in a room.

Though this was a helpless situation, and though she feared Xie Que Shan, she could also see his mysterious and fragile side. After all, he had given her many chances to survive.

She felt grateful to him, especially tonight.

Xie Que Shan shot her a look. “If you’re going to pretend, do it properly. I brought a woman into my room, and I let her sleep on the couch. What do you think others would think if they saw?”

“Alright, then I’ll trouble Third Young Master Xie tonight.”

Nan Yi quickly jumped off the couch and went straight to the bedroom behind the screen.

The two of them, each with their own thoughts, maintained a distance, pretending to mind their own business.

As Nan Yi reached the screen, she suddenly turned back, her teasing expression gone, replaced by a hint of seriousness.

“Tonight, I realized you’re not the villain I thought you were.”

“You’re not completely heartless either, you little brat.”

Nan Yi couldn’t help but chuckle, but the next sentence from Xie Que Shan froze her smile.

“After this is over, I want you to get the location of King Ling’an’s hiding place from Xie Sui’an’s mouth. If you try any tricks next time... I’ll make sure you won’t be able to smile.”

The moonlight that night seemed like an illusion. They had briefly reconciled, only to quickly return to their respective positions.