Chapter 10

Usually, Su Ci wouldn’t be so startled, but today’s events were too overwhelming. Her movements were a bit exaggerated, and Yang Yanzong’s gaze immediately swept over. His cheek was splattered with a bit of blood, the crimson color particularly striking at the corner of his eye. His gaze, still filled with icy, chilling killing intent, made anyone he looked at feel as if they had fallen from the scorching summer into the depths of winter.

Although she knew it wasn’t directed at her, Su Ci’s heart still shivered.

Looking at Su Ci, Yang Yanzong’s cold expression finally softened a bit. He said, “You go ahead. Your mother and sister are on the western cliff.”

He asked A’Kang to take her there. Su Ci swallowed and, without looking at the dripping head in his hand, said, “I can go by myself.”

No need to be escorted; they were surely short-handed here.

She couldn’t help but glance at his right hand holding the sword, “Your hand…”

Yang Yanzong’s wrist was still in a splint. As a medical student, she had performed the surgery herself, and her sense of responsibility surged, “Your hand, your hand can’t move yet… If the stitches inside break, it’ll be a big problem.”

Yang Yanzong responded with a simple “Hmm.” He sheathed the sword with a backhand motion, casually tossed the head to Akang, and switched the long sword to his left hand.

‘Hmm,’ what does that even mean?

…

Yang Yanzong didn’t explain what that “hmm” meant and quickly sent her away. The women and wounded were in the safe area on the western cliff, divided into several groups to avoid being wiped out in one go.

Su Ci found the first place and saw the anxious Su Yan. She was panting and squatted down bonelessly, not wanting to move. Oh my!

“What happened?” Su Yan was more anxious than her own parents. After waiting for several days, she finally saw her sister return. Before she could even feel happy, she rushed out and saw the blood on her sister’s face, almost scaring her to death. She quickly helped her sister sit down and checked her over. Fortunately, the blood wasn’t her sister’s.

“Don’t even mention it. It was terrifying.”

The two sisters whispered to each other. Su Yan quickly opened her water pouch, wet a cloth, and handed it to Su Ci.

Su Ci hurriedly took it and vigorously wiped her face. She cleaned her face and changed her clothes, but there was nothing she could do about her hair, so she just wiped it a few times with the cloth. The smell was still fishy. She was usually brave, but she was a bit scared this time. It was the first time she had seen blood in such an unusual situation, and killing someone and cutting off their head so close to her. The scene was too intense.

Su Ci’s heart was still pounding. After wiping her face, she leaned on her sister. She needed to take a moment to calm down. But before she could relax, Su Yan quickly came over with the cloth again. She was thinking about something else and whispered in her ear, “Ah Ci, what about that man?”

“Who?”

Su Ci and Su Yan looked at each other for half a second and immediately understood. “…He probably ran away.”

Su Yan was referring to Ji Chengtang. Su Ci had almost forgotten about him until Su Yan reminded her. She quickly recalled that when the cliff collapsed, Ji Chengtang stood slightly farther away than Liang Shen, but they were all in the same area. She didn’t know if he was injured.

However, when Liang Shen and Yang Yanzong fought fiercely, and she tripped, Su Ci seemed to see a blue figure moving in the distance as if someone was being carried.

Ji Chengtang had two guards who were wearing dark blue outfits today.

The distance was quite far, and the other party’s movements were small. Due to the dust, visibility was very low, so Su Ci only vaguely saw it out of the corner of her eye. But the situation was tense, and no one could pay attention to these details.

Looking back now, it must have been Ji Chengtang’s guards moving, and the person being carried was undoubtedly Ji Chengtang himself. He was motionless, likely unconscious or injured. However, Su Ci judged that the cliff had slid down rather than collapsed directly. As long as one wasn’t as unlucky as Zhang Mou, they wouldn’t be killed outright. Evaluating the movements of Ji Chengtang’s guards, Su Ci concluded that Ji Chengtang was likely unconscious but not in mortal danger.

With chaos on both sides and the situation unclear, Ji Chengtang’s guards probably wanted to get their master away from Su Ci as soon as possible. This was the perfect opportunity, so they must have taken Ji Chengtang and left.

That’s why Su Ci said he ran away.

Su Yan clenched her fists, “Why couldn’t he have been killed?!”

Su Yan really wished she could kill the man who deceived her sister. She spoke through gritted teeth, knowing that society was much harsher on girls than on boys. Regardless of the reason, this man had truly harmed her sister.

Su Ci was a bit nervous, “He didn’t find out, did he?”

By “he,” she meant Yang Yanzong, of course.

Su Yan quickly replied, “No, no, don’t worry. I covered it up.”

After the incident, Su Yan quickly took the blame. She had carefully thought through her excuses, saying as little as possible, and if necessary, she would cry. Yang Yanzong was too busy to care about these trivial matters at the time, so they probably didn’t get exposed.

“That’s good!”

Su Ci patted her chest, and the two sisters exchanged a glance, both breathing a sigh of relief.

The alarm was lifted, and there was no danger. This Ji guy probably won’t cause any trouble in the short term, so we’ll find a way to deal with him later!

Su Yan pulled over a blanket, having been on edge for half a month without sleeping well, “I need to lie down.”

Su Ci quickly hurried over, sharing half the bed with her sister. Having a blanket was the best; her frightened little heart needed to calm down, too.

Oh my, tonight was too intense. This wasn’t the life she wanted!

Her little heart couldn’t take it. It was too difficult.

Su Ci thought she would rely on her medical skills to survive. After all, good doctors were always in short supply. As for everything else, a life full of ups and downs was never ideal for a lazy person. Once in a while was fine, but she definitely wouldn’t do it long-term. Moreover, this male lead was too difficult to deal with, and just thinking about “finally winning his heart in old age” made Su Ci feel she couldn’t support it. She clutched her little heart, deciding to give up!

…

But what Su Ci didn’t expect was that Yang Yanzong was quite satisfied with her. She slept for half the night, and the sounds of clashing weapons had gradually subsided by the second half. After successfully taking over the town’s soldiers, Yang Yanzong and the others returned.

Su Ci rubbed her eyes and carried the medicine box over. She checked Yang Yanzong’s right hand. Fortunately, the surface of the wound had healed, and now only the scabs from the stitches were visible. She carefully moved each finger one by one, observing their sensitivity and asking about his feelings. The results were good. After more than half a month, the tendons had slowly started to heal together, and the range of motion wasn’t too extensive, so the internal stitches should not have come apart.

“It’s okay, but you must not move this hand until the stitches and splint are removed.” Otherwise, luck might not always be on your side. She decided to secure the splint more tightly, though she wished she had some plaster.

The campfire blazed, and the camp, which had been on edge for half the night, relaxed. There was laughter and a high-spirited atmosphere, with the aroma of food wafting from the large pot. From Yang Yanzong’s position, he could even overlook the large troop he had just gathered in the military town.

Her father and A’Kang were down below, keeping watch.

Seeing Su Ci looking down, Yang Yanzong said, “Tomorrow, go down and find some water and food for them. We will rest here for a day.”

Although there was a lot of greenery below, the overall environment was becoming increasingly dry, so it was best to leave as soon as possible. With many people, the need for stored food and water had surged, and there wasn’t much time for the people below to search slowly.

“Okay.”

Su Ci responded while cleaning Yang Yanzong’s wound. The flames of the campfire reflected on his face, his sharp features looking like a knife carved them. Su Ci asked softly, “Where are we going next?”

Yang Yanzong opened his half-closed eyes and glanced at her. The girl had wiped the dirt off her face, making her big eyes look even clearer and more distinct. She was staring at him with wide eyes.

Su Ci’s performance was commendable, earning her a treatment neither Su Yan nor Su Rong could receive. Although still concise, Yang Yanzong answered her question with a rare gentleness: “Suiping.”

“But before that, we will go to Yizhou.”

Su Ci wrapped bandages around his firmly bound right hand. Yang Yanzong glanced at it, then spread out a map, pointing to a spot in the northwest corner, “What do you think of Yizhou?”

Su Ci’s recent performance fully demonstrated her capabilities. Although Yizhou was on the edge of the disaster area, providing food and drink for thousands of people was still not easy. So, before making a decision, Yang Yanzong sought her opinion.

Su Ci threw the scissors and cotton thread back into the medical kit. Yang Yanzong originally had good military doctors, but now they were gone. Besides survival skills, Su Ci also had professional medical skills and knowledge, filling this gap perfectly.

Yang Yanzong asked for a while, but hearing no response, he frowned and looked at Su Ci, who was lost in thought.

“Hmm?”

Su Ci snapped back to reality: “Oh, oh.”

She quickly leaned over to look. The map was placed on Yang Yanzong’s lap, and Su Ci had to get close to see it clearly. This position was quite stressful. She focused and looked for a while. If she didn’t understand something, she asked Yang Yanzong. After careful consideration, she said, “Yizhou is fine, but I think Quzhou might be better. However, Yizhou is not far from Quzhou, so we can go there if needed.”

Su Ci’s opinion was based on the analysis of terrain, rivers, and population, making her suggestions well-founded. Yang Yanzong pondered for a moment and nodded: “Okay.”

…

Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Su Ci quickly picked up the medicine box and slipped away. At dawn, they went down to join the main force. The next day was a day of rest.

Su Di was also very dirty, with yellow soil mixed with bloodstains, but fortunately, none of it was his. Seeing his daughter return safely, he and Mrs. Chen finally felt relieved.

Next, it was Su Yan’s turn to be scolded. This scolding was necessary.

Su Di gritted his teeth and said with deep regret, “How did I teach you? How did your mother teach you? Alright, alright, you actually dared to…” engage in private interactions, “You are simply too bold. Watch me not beat you!..”

Go ahead and beat me. It won’t hurt much anyway. Su Yan lowered her head in a repentant manner, even squeezing out a few tears to show her regret, but she didn’t actually feel much.

After all, the previous plan went wrong because of Ji Chengtang’s mess, so this scolding was necessary.

Su Di was partly acting, but he was also genuinely angry. However, he didn’t dare to raise his voice or reveal any key details, fearing it would damage his daughter’s reputation.

Feeling guilty, Su Ci shrank back and quickly glanced at Yang Yanzong.

Unexpectedly, they were also talking about this matter over there. Yang Yanxin spoke with a hint of disdain, listening to Su Di’s scolding and complaining a bit. As they talked, the topic inevitably shifted to Su Ci: “Fortunately, our sister-in-law isn’t like that.”

The third Yang, Yang Yanzhen, an eighteen-year-old young man with eyebrows and eyes quite similar to his brother’s but with rounder eyes that made him look less sharp and more delicate and youthful, quickly agreed: “Yes, yes! Luckily, we have our sister-in-law!”

He looked at his elder brother’s hand, “Otherwise, our elder brother’s hand would have been delayed.”

Yang Yanzhen was full of gratitude just for this. His elder brother had taken care of them since they were young, holding a place in their hearts equal to or even greater than their father.

Yang Yanzong nodded. He raised his tightly bandaged right wrist and examined it. The splint was perfectly positioned, and the exposed parts of the gauze were all the same size, making the bandaging look very neat.

Previously, Su Ci had been just a vague figure in his mind. After the events at the military town and with Liang Shen, she became more vivid and clear. With a better understanding, he was very satisfied with Su Ci.

Yang Yanzhen happily said, “Brother, you’re about the right age!”

“Once we handle these matters and bring our parents back, we can arrange the marriage!”

Yang Yanzong did not oppose this idea; he indeed needed to settle down.

He glanced over at Su Ci, who happened to be sneaking a look at him and was caught red-handed. Feeling guilty, she quickly forced a smile. The impact of the beheading incident hadn’t worn off, and she was a bit jumpy.

Unexpectedly, perhaps because he was in a good mood after successfully dealing with Liang Shen and taking over the town’s soldiers, or maybe because he was satisfied with Su Ci, Yang Yanzong actually smiled back at her.

Su Ci: “???”

Meow meow meow, who am I? Where am I?

She suddenly had a terrible feeling. What’s going on??