Chapter 60: Courting Death

“That’s right, Gui Yun Manor, where I live,” said the silver-fox man. He pressed his hands down and squeezed himself beside Meinang. “I’m here, you sit on the side.”

Pushed aside, Meinang shifted over, somewhat unwillingly. The small carriage had seating on three sides, and everyone knew the center seat was the most comfortable. This man had no sense of decorum, taking the main spot without offering it to a lady. She glanced at her blue robe oh, he must not realize she was a woman.

Ling Xu Zi had mentioned Gui Yun Manor, thirty miles southeast of the city, where he and Zhang Jing Yun stayed. But now there was someone else here. Was this brooding, short-tempered silver-fox man staying with them, or was there another Gui Yun Manor? Meinang was feeling uneasy, having not clarified these details before. To make matters worse, Xu Jun Ying refused to help her, insisting she shouldn’t bother his friends. Meinang had decided to come herself, not afraid of the effort, only worried she might come all this way and not find the right people.

She wanted to ask the silver-fox man but held back, remembering that Lian Da had assured her he knew the way. She decided to wait until they arrived to see if it was indeed the same place.

It was all Xu Jun Ying’s fault. He kept insisting on getting an imperial physician, but skilled imperial doctors couldn’t just leave to treat someone. They might be able to cure simple ailments, but to heal Qin Bo Qing, they wouldn’t be enough. Meinang trusted Zhang Jing Yun and Ling Xu Zi, firmly believing that they alone could cure her brother and end his suffering.

One of the silver-fox man’s attendants sat by Lian Da, guiding the carriage to ensure a quick but steady journey, while others rode around the carriage as guards. Even in this desolate area, the scene was intimidating. Meinang had left her noblewoman identity behind, dressed in disguise to slip out of the city on a small carriage. The addition of this elegant man meant she couldn’t escape the “protected” life, much to her annoyance.

Seeing Lian Da’s wife sitting quietly by the door, the silver-fox man ignored her, while Meinang impatiently peeked out the window, lost in her thoughts, ignoring him. He frowned, stretched his left leg, and as she glanced over, she gasped.

“You’re so badly hurt there’s blood soaking through! You must have fallen off your horse, right?” Meinang exclaimed.

The silver-fox man glared. “Stop shouting. Do I look like someone who would fall off a horse?”

Meinang was too focused on the spreading bloodstain on his pale robe. The man saw her concern, a slight smirk tugging at his lips before his face returned to indifference, watching the blood blossom across his robe as though it were nothing.

He had anticipated this his left leg wound had reopened, and his body was riddled with older, healing injuries that he barely felt anymore. He was numb to pain, to everything.

Meinang knelt, pushing aside his outer robe, but he stopped her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Meinang removed the white scarf around her neck. “I’ll bandage it. If you lose too much blood, you’ll pass out.”

“Pass out?”

“Yes, faint,” she said.

“I won’t die,” he replied, pushing her away.

With a stubborn determination, Meinang ignored him, wrapping her scarf around his injured leg, muttering, “You may not fear death, but I don’t want your blood staining my carriage.”

The silver-fox man glared, yet she ignored him, carefully securing the scarf with a neat knot. She stuffed cushions under his leg to elevate it, finally relaxing. “That should help. If nothing else, it’ll slow the blood loss. You wanted to buy my carriage, right? I’ll sell it to you now, but only if you trade me that silver-fox cloak. Deal?”

The man looked away, dismissing her with, “No deal. Your carriage isn’t worth a penny, and the cloak isn’t even mine.”

Meinang thought, “Just as I suspected this cloak must belong to some woman.” She glanced at his delicate, slender frame, noticing an aura of battle-worn authority despite his youth. It resembled Xu Jun Ying’s, forged from fierce battles and honed on the field. A man like him should be in something rugged, yet here he was, draped in this almost feminine silver-fox cloak.

She couldn’t help asking, “If it’s not yours, why wear it? Whose is it?”

His sharp gaze locked onto her. “I have my reasons. It’s none of your business.”

Her curiosity met his indifference, and Meinang felt a sense of indignation. Why did he have to be so cold? As if putting up with Xu Jun Ying in his house wasn’t enough, now she had to bear the attitude of strangers too?

So he was of noble birth, he still had no right to act this way. Meinang turned away, pulling the window curtain back, giving him a clear view of her back.

But the silver-fox man wasn’t done. “Turn around,” he demanded.

Ignoring him, she drew the brass heater closer, glancing out the window, enjoying the quiet.

“I told you to turn around!” His tone was harsh, anger simmering beneath it.

“Ordering me to speak, then to shut up?” Meinang sat firmly, refusing to acknowledge him.

His temper flared, he kicked the cushions supporting his injured leg, scattering them across the carriage. Meinang was hit and saw him recklessly thrashing, blood spreading on the cushions. She quickly gathered them and wrapped his leg again, angrily saying, “If you want to die, go home and die, not here in my carriage!”

Facing her fierce gaze, he stopped, leaning back, his expression hollow. He murmured, “Nowhere enough not palaces, not empty fields, not even this tiny, shabby carriage. Life… has no meaning left.”

Meinang quickly retrieved the cushions, gently wedging them under his leg. “Your parents raised you, and you throw it away over some trivial whim? How ungrateful! You don’t think living is worthwhile? Do you realize how many people would envy you? Lying in a cold, dark grave is more interesting than life? I don’t believe it.”