7

Li Ruoshui gazed at the scene before her—naked bodies lying scattered—and felt certain that this was the place described in the original novel.

But in the book, when Lu Feiyue and her companion arrived, there hadn’t been nearly this many people. There were only two or three girls locked in cages, and just a handful of masked guards around the courtyard. That was how they managed to capture the leader.

Now, however, the courtyard was packed with masked men, and who knew how many more were hidden inside the building. How were they supposed to rescue anyone like this?

Lu Feiyue, standing nearby, was frowning deeply as well, clearly trying to figure out a solution.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nian had already climbed onto the roof to scout from behind the small house. He returned shortly to Lu Feiyue’s side, shaking his head with a grave expression.

“There are many black-clad guards resting inside—about the same number as those outside. A frontal assault won’t work.”

Lu Feiyue straightened up and scanned the area.

This place was isolated. Even if they sent up a signal flare, reinforcements wouldn’t arrive in time. They couldn’t let the girls be trafficked to another location—once taken, there was no telling when or if they’d be found again.

Her gaze shifted to one side, to the blind young master Lu.

He sat idly beneath the trees, half his face hidden behind swaying pear blossoms, revealing only his elegant jawline and silk-like black hair.

He didn’t look like someone who had just braved danger to get here. He looked more like a gentleman on a leisurely spring outing.

Lu Feiyue had agreed to come largely because she trusted Li Ruoshui.

Some people’s nature could be seen in their eyes, and Li Ruoshui’s were clear—pure, without ill intent. But this Lu fellow… she couldn’t read him.

He was always smiling, came across as friendly enough, and even Jiang Nian had said he seemed kind-hearted. Yet something about him unsettled her—she didn’t like him.

Her instincts told her: it’s best to stay away from him.

But in a situation like this, having his help could significantly increase their chances of success.

Her eyes shifted again, this time to the figure crouching in front of Lu Zhiyao—a girl in a pale yellow dress, peeking curiously in her direction.

Lu Feiyue couldn’t understand how someone like Li Ruoshui ended up involved with a man like him. Was it just because he’d once saved her?

Across the way, Li Ruoshui met Lu Feiyue’s gaze. She didn’t notice the doubt in Lu Feiyue’s eyes and mistook the look as a request for a solution.

What solution could there be at this point?

They had come armed, but not equipped for a siege. Other than retreating or charging in blindly, there weren’t many options.

One must learn to put themselves in the right position. If they really had to charge in, then obviously Lu Zhiyao should take the lead.

Li Ruoshui turned thoughtfully toward him again.

Lu Zhiyao sat casually in the tree, one leg bent, eyes closed, dappled light and petals playing over his form. He looked like a serene statue of a Buddha in a temple, cradling a purification vessel—exuding peace and calm beyond words.

He idly toyed with a small cluster of green mulberries he’d somehow picked, while a tiny sparrow perched on the tip of his other finger.

Earlier, she’d noticed a wild mulberry bush in the pear grove, but the fruit wasn’t ripe yet, so she’d just glanced at it and walked on. When had he managed to pick these?

The sparrow glared at the mulberries with its beady little eyes, trying to dart forward for a peck, but he kept pulling them away just before it could reach them.

After a few rounds of this, Lu Zhiyao let out a soft laugh. Li Ruoshui thought he might finally feed the bird—but instead, he simply flicked his hand and shooed it away.

Probably because the pear trees around here hadn’t yet borne fruit, the hungry little bird circled back, wings fluttering eagerly, only to get smacked midair on its tail feathers by one of the hard green mulberries.

A gray-black feather spun gently to the ground from its backside.

He chuckled and gave the fruit a lazy shake, his expression gentle, though his words held no sharpness at all:

“Behave yourself.”

The sparrow squawked furiously, glaring with its round eyes before flapping away in a hasty retreat that looked almost like panic.

“It’s probably cursing you,” Li Ruoshui said, speechless. Why was he picking a fight with an innocent little bird? He even knocked its tail feather out!

Lu Zhiyao arched a brow and tilted his head up, closed eyes facing forward. Falling pear blossoms drifted into his inky hair like snow, softening his features, though his words were far from pleasant:

“Oh? You understand bird-speak?”

“…” She couldn’t even tell if he was genuinely asking or just insulting her.

“You’re staring at me again.”

“Yes, yes, I’m looking at you. You’re very good-looking, okay?”

Ignoring his laughter, Li Ruoshui turned to scan the area in the distance. Seeing that nothing seemed amiss, she turned back to him, trying to sound casual.

“Do you know what’s going on down there?”

His face, half-shadowed and half-lit, seemed almost unreal. When he heard her question, he raised a finger and pointed at his own eyes.

“I can’t see.”

“There are ten girls locked in cages below. A lot of guards around. We’re going to rescue them.”

“That does sound rather pitiful.” Lu Zhiyao nodded thoughtfully. “So if I don’t help save them, that would prove your dream was false?”

…

Li Ruoshui studied him for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh, quoting the classic traveler’s motto:

“Well, we’re already here.”

She couldn’t quite read his thoughts. Lu Zhiyao was unpredictable—who knew if he’d agree?

He twirled the mulberries between his fingers in silence, as if considering.

Suddenly, ten burly men dressed like coachmen emerged from the second floor. Each carried a horsewhip, one leg slung over the shafts of their carts. They stared blankly ahead, their expressions wooden, eyes vacant.

Nearby, a black-clad guard hauled up a cage marked “Yaozhou,” carrying the girl inside toward a waiting cart.

The bottom of the cart swung open to reveal a square, black-lined compartment. Ignoring the girl’s feeble struggles, they shoved the cage inside, sealing the hatch with perfectly fitted boards that left only a few small breathing holes.

One by one, the other cages in the courtyard were also picked up and carried away.

When Li Ruoshui turned to look at Lu Zhiyao, he finally spoke:

“You want me to help you. That way you not only save them, but you also win your wager.”

He always managed to say the bluntest truths in the gentlest tone.

Li Ruoshui didn’t deny it. Her answer was direct and unflinching:

“Yes.”

“Alright.” Lu Zhiyao lifted the mulberries in his hand, his closed lashes curving slightly with a smile. “Want one?”

Li Ruoshui looked at the fruit in his hand—the same one the sparrow had been so determined to steal—and suddenly understood.

Right now, what interested him most wasn’t saving people or winning any bet. Those priorities would have to wait. For him, satisfying this immediate little whim came first.

Though honestly, she couldn’t figure out what was so entertaining about making her eat this fruit.

Meanwhile, the girls in the cages were all quietly sobbing, unable to think of any way out, forced to wait to be shut into that dark, suffocating compartment.

One of them, a girl marked as coming from the Imperial City, gripped the bars with trembling fingers. She turned her tear-streaked face toward the loquat trees and wept so pitifully that even the black-clad man carrying the cage hesitated.

“Don’t look at her. Last time someone went soft, they had their eyes gouged out and ended up a useless cripple.”

The man jerked his head in a hurried nod, but still couldn’t resist glancing in the direction she was staring.

“What’s she looking at?”

“Don’t know.”

The two of them peered that way, and their curiosity spread. Soon, the other masked men in the courtyard all turned to look as well.

Following their gaze, Lu Feiyue saw the source of attention: Li Ruoshui and Lu Zhiyao, quietly talking under the tree.

Lu Zhiyao sat with closed eyes, lightly smiling as he picked at some red berries. Li Ruoshui squatted in front of him, looking completely exasperated.

Neither of them noticed the growing number of eyes fixed on their backs.

The cluster of mulberries in his pale hand wasn’t large, but each fruit was small, green, and rock-hard. They sat there so obediently against his white jade-like skin, the green and white setting each other off beautifully. But Li Ruoshui wasn’t in the mood to admire them. Just looking made her teeth ache in anticipation.

She gave a wry smile. The poor bird hadn’t gotten a single bite, but she was about to eat them instead.

Perched on the tree trunk, she took a deep breath and reached out her hand, only for him to stop her.

“I’ll feed you.”

Can he see?

Li Ruoshui couldn’t help but wave her hand in front of his eyes. He immediately caught her wrist.

“I really am blind. No need to test it. Eat?”

With a resigned sigh, she grasped his wrist. The cool jade prayer beads clinked softly, sending a chill through her that made her shiver.

She didn’t hesitate any longer. Tilting her head back, she bit down in one go. The unripe mulberries were rock-hard and sour enough to make her salivary glands go haywire the instant they burst. Her teeth ached, her mouth flooded with sourness, and she shuddered involuntarily.

That shiver wasn’t from the cold this time—it was from the mouth-puckering sourness.

Sensing her reaction, Lu Zhiyao let out a low laugh, like someone who’d just heard a cat hiss after stepping on its tail, completely entertained.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the courtyard, Lu Feiyue watched Li Ruoshui’s twisted, grimacing face and felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest. How can those two be eating mulberries at a time like this?!

She waved her hand, trying to get Li Ruoshui’s attention—but Li Ruoshui had her eyes squeezed shut from the sourness and couldn’t see a thing.

“There’s someone up there!”

A black-clad guard suddenly spotted the corner of a garment fluttering among the sea of white blossoms. Shouting, he drew his blade and leapt upward.

But before he could reach them, a pebble struck him in the knee mid-air. A small patch of his black robe darkened with blood, and with a pained cry, he fell back to the ground.

Lu Zhiyao’s smile faded slightly as he stood, looking as radiant as a spring breeze. With one swift motion, he pulled Li Ruoshui up and leapt gracefully into the courtyard below.

“Time to keep my promise—and help you save them.”

Picking that mulberry was the right choice after all. It was much more entertaining than teasing birds.

Seeing Lu Zhiyao finally make a move, the other two didn’t hesitate any longer. They, too, leapt from the tree.

In a window on the second floor of the wooden building, a woman appeared. Dressed in white mourning clothes with a single white silk flower in her hair, she looked about twenty-five or six. Her expression was calm at first, composed—but that changed the moment her eyes landed on Lu Zhiyao.

Her pupils contracted, her jaw clenched, and the hand gripping the windowsill turned white with tension.

“You beast!”

The outburst came so suddenly that not only did Li Ruoshui and the others freeze, even the black-clad guards turned to stare at her in surprise.

Their looks were those of pure shock—like seeing a demure lady from the inner chambers suddenly roll up her sleeves to rip a willow tree from the ground.

The woman’s eyes were blazing red with rage. She seemed to forget everything else, grabbing her sword and charging straight down at Lu Zhiyao.

None of the masked men had expected her to join the fight, and for a moment, they didn’t know whether to advance or retreat.

Her strikes were full of fury, each move laced with deadly intent. But she was focused on one person—Lu Zhiyao.

And yet, no matter how many attacks she threw, she couldn’t land a single hit. All her blows were deflected by his sword. She couldn’t get any closer.

Lu Zhiyao parried her strikes with ease, even as he tried to recall something.

“Your moves feel familiar. I think I’ve faced them before… but that was a long time ago. I don’t quite remember.”

His calm words were like pouring oil onto a roaring fire. The woman’s face flushed with rage, and her sword stabbed forward again and again, more violently each time.

“Catch him! Dead or alive!”

Her order snapped the masked men back into action, and they all rushed toward him. Meanwhile, Li Ruoshui and the others, still standing just outside the fray, were momentarily ignored—like they didn’t even exist.

But halfway through the fight, Lu Feiyue and Jiang Nian, who had originally been preparing to jump in and support, both suddenly stopped. They even instinctively stepped back to shield Li Ruoshui and the others who couldn’t fight.

They were staring at the man in the center of the chaos.

Hearing his laughter, watching him surrounded yet completely unshaken, even Li Ruoshui unconsciously took a step back.

This was the first time in her life she had ever seen someone this… terrifying.

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