Chapter 44 – Liu Shi, I Will Never Let You Go

When Mu Feng mentioned rescuing Mu Lin, Shen Nian’s heart, which had just been set at ease, tightened again.

“Mu Lin is injured too. Where is he? Why didn’t he come with you?”

“He’s at the back mountain, near Mu Yang’s tomb. He’s badly injured, and Mu Chen is staying with him. I came first to report to you, fearing you might worry.”

Mu Feng struggled to finish his sentence. He had thought he was going to die there today and just wanted to tell his master so no one would come looking for them unprepared.

“Alright, I understand. You lie down and rest first. I’ll go with your sister-in-law to take a look.” Shen Nian said, then turned to Xia Tian. “Can you come with me? We still need your help with Mu Lin.”

“Of course, Brother Shen. I’ll grab my things.” Xia Tian said, quickly heading to her room to put on a piece of clothing. She filled a clean jar with cool water from the spiritual spring, grabbed two wooden bowls, a clean cloth, and a large piece of unwashed white cloth, then placed everything into her basket.

“Let’s go, Brother Shen.”

The two of them quietly left the house.

It was probably around two or three o’clock in the morning, and everything outside was pitch dark, barely visible.

Shen Nian carried a lantern, with Xia Tian following closely behind him. They slowly made their way up the back mountain.

The darkness was overwhelming, and it was the dead of night. Xia Tian was a bit scared and leaned closer to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian sensed her unease and understood. After all, she was just a young girl, and it was completely natural to be scared in such a dark, desolate night.

After a moment’s hesitation, he switched the lantern to his other hand and reached out with his free hand to hold Xia Tian’s left hand. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll hold your hand. Watch your step.”

“Mm, I’m not afraid.” Xia Tian froze when his hand grabbed hers but then relaxed instantly.

The night was too dark, and no one saw her face turning slightly red.

Shen Nian held her hand, and the two of them stumbled along the rough path, taking half an hour to reach the Mu Yang tomb.

“Mu Lin?” Shen Nian called out softly.

From the bushes ahead came the rustling of movement!

Xia Tian squeezed Shen Nian’s hand tightly, her eyes wide, staring at the source of the noise.

Her heart raced, and instinctively, she moved closer to Shen Nian, her grip on his hand tightening, her palms sweaty from nerves.

“Mu Chen?” Shen Nian called out, raising his voice slightly.

“Master? Is that you?” A voice finally responded from the darkness.

“It’s me. Come out.” Shen Nian raised the lantern higher, trying to light up the area.

“Master, you’re finally here. Mu Lin passed out from his injuries.” Mu Chen’s voice was choked with tears.

Upon hearing that Mu Lin had passed out, Shen Nian quickly walked towards the shadow of a person ahead.

Xia Tian, still gripping his hand, quickly followed him.

As they got closer, Shen Nian lifted the lantern, revealing two figures – one sitting and the other lying in the arms of the seated person. Both were in a sorry state.

The person sitting was Mu Chen, and the one lying down was Mu Lin—both of Shen Nian’s bodyguards.

Seeing them, Xia Tian wasn’t afraid anymore. She released Shen Nian’s hand and quickly set down the basket she was carrying, pulling out a wooden bowl and the jar to pour out some water.

“Where is he hurt?” Shen Nian asked as he squatted down, taking Mu Lin’s hand and feeling his pulse, his heart sinking. This injury was worse than Mu Feng’s. If they waited any longer, Mu Lin might not survive.

“His back and legs are both injured.”

“Brother Shen, give him some water first.” Xia Tian handed over the bowl.

Shen Nian took it, gently lifting Mu Lin’s chin to pour the water into his mouth.

Mu Chen, watching his master, didn’t dare to speak.

It was a miracle that they were still alive to see their master again.

Xia Tian poured another bowl of water and handed it to Mu Chen. “You drink some water too.” She wasn’t sure if he was injured, but it was best to give him something to drink for strength.

Mu Chen didn’t ask any questions and drank the water in one go.

He knew that this young woman was the one Mu Feng had talked about—the one who saved their master. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have followed Shen Nian in the middle of the night to find them.

Shen Nian checked Mu Lin’s injuries. The wound on his thigh had stopped bleeding, but the main concern was the deep gash on his back.

Xia Tian did the same. She used a damp cloth to clean the wound before wrapping it with a clean piece of white cloth.

Mu Chen was fine—just some superficial injuries that he could walk with.

When Mu Chen saw that Shen Nian was about to carry Mu Lin, he struggled to do it himself, but Shen Nian wouldn’t let him.

Mu Chen had already recovered somewhat, and he was sure he could carry someone without a problem.

Shen Nian lifted Mu Lin onto his back, with Xia Tian leading the way with the lantern. Mu Chen followed behind. The three of them slowly made their way back home.

By the time they returned home, a faint light was already starting to appear on the horizon.

Shen Nian carefully laid Mu Lin on the bed. Mu Feng had been woken up by the noise and struggled to get up.

“Don’t move.” Shen Nian frowned and said as he gently laid Mu Lin down on the other side of the bed.

Xia Tian helped Shen Nian position Mu Lin properly, then hurried to the kitchen to fetch a basin of water. The two of them cleaned and re-bandaged him.

Earlier, it was too dark to see clearly, but now, they could see that Mu Lin’s entire back was covered with a long wound, deep enough to see the bone, with the muscles on both sides turned outward. It was a miracle he was still alive.

Xia Tian felt her scalp tingle, and her eyes burned from the sight, but she held back and finished the job.

She carried the basin outside, leaning against the wall for a moment to steady herself.

Once she calmed down, she filled another basin of water, grabbed a clean cloth, and handed it to Shen Nian to clean Mu Chen’s wounds. Then she stepped out of the room.

Mu Chen, though still in pain, was no longer seriously injured. He sat on a stool, pale and weak.

“Take off your clothes.” Shen Nian stood in front of Mu Chen, holding the damp cloth.

“Master, I’m fine.”

“Stop talking and hurry up.”

Seeing Shen Nian’s stern expression, Mu Chen obediently removed his shirt.

Shen Nian gently cleaned the various wounds on Mu Chen’s body. Though none were life-threatening, they crisscrossed in a way that was alarming. Shen Nian suppressed the pain in his heart as he carefully tended to them.

These three, along with Mu Yang, had been with him since childhood. They weren’t just bodyguards; they were like family.

He never imagined that they would all be so seriously injured this time.

Liu Shi, he would never let her go.

Xia Tian, hearing Mu Chen’s occasional sharp breaths, knew his injuries weren’t light either.

Silently, she went back to the kitchen, grabbed another basin of clean water, and placed it by the door. “Brother Shen, here’s a new basin of water. I left it outside the door.”

“Alright.” After a moment, Shen Nian came out to take the basin, cleaned Mu Chen again, and then wrapped his upper body in a clean cloth, letting him rest on the bed.

Xia Tian waited until she heard no more movement from inside, then opened the door and stepped in.

Seeing the three of them lying side by side on the bed, Xia Tian felt both sad and a bit amused.

Fortunately, the bed was large enough, or there wouldn’t have been space for two more injured people.

Seeing Shen Nian’s furrowed brow and tired expression, Xia Tian softly reassured him, “Don’t worry, Mu Feng and the others are fine now. They just need a few days of rest.”

“You’ve been up all night. You should sleep on the bed for a while!”

“I’m fine. You rest first. It’s late now. I’ll make something for you all to eat.”

Xia Tian said, carrying the basin out.

As she walked to the back yard to dispose of the water, she added a bit of spiritual spring water to it. She couldn’t just spill it anywhere, so she went to the vegetable garden to dump it.

As dawn broke, she reached the back yard and was about to pour the water when she froze, her hand shaking as she accidentally dropped the basin to the ground.