Xiaomei was already prepared for his attack and immediately pulled Baozhai and herself back. "I figured. You would have noticed," Zhou Haitou chuckled before continuing his attack. Xiaomei immediately pulled them back again to dodge his sharp sword again. At this immediate moment, Baozhai was overwhelmed and tried to rack her brain together. She didn't understand what her uncle was doing or why he was doing it.
Xiaomei didn't wait for Baozhai to understand what was happening, or they would be dead. She immediately pulled them toward the direction where the horses were. "You really do get in my way," Zhou Haitou said deadly, chasing after them and aiming his next attack at Xiaomei. Xiaomei was lucky enough to glance back to see his sword aiming to stab her. She quickly let go of Baozhai's wrist and pushed each other away as the sword stabbed the air between them. "You're really fast at dodging, but let's see about her. I'll save you for last so I can enjoy killing you," he said cunningly. He directed his attention to Baozhai and aimed his attack at her.
Baozhai was stunned as everything was happening too fast with the sword coming towards her. "Why?" Baozhai said, confused and overwhelmed as her body was frozen. Xiaomei's body already moved on its own with her trying to stop Zhou Haitou from attacking Baozhai. She reached her hand out to stop him, but she didn't see his eyes gleaming. At that moment, Zhou Haitou quickly turned back as his sword was planning to stab Xiaomei from the start.
The sword pierced through the air so fast that there was no chance that Xiaomei could dodge it or foresee it. The sharp blade was gleaming against the light and headed straight to her heart.
"Huang Daiyu!" Baozhai shouted as she awoke from shock and stretched her hand to stop him.
Xiaomei's eyes widened as her clothes were slashed open while Zhou Haitou's body was kicked away from her and stumbled onto the ground. A man in a black robe with small golden designs on his sleeves stood in front of Xiaomei. He threw his fur cloak at her to cover her exposed clothes. "Wear this. It's cold," he said.
"ZhangWei... h-how did he get here so fast? What about the others?" Xiaomei thought, pulling his cloak off her face.
"How did you get here so fast?" Zhou Haitou said in disbelief.
"Tsk," ZhangWei said before continuing, "I always felt it was funny when you disappeared to investigate the first assassination attempt. It didn't feel right how the blood trails disappeared into the room close to your room or how Daiyu would always look at you cautiously and entertainingly." Xiaomei was a little startled at the last part.
"He noticed," Xiaomei said in her head.
Zhou Haitou just laughed, "Of course. It wouldn't take you too long to figure out that it was me all along."
"Uncle, why?" Baozhai said in disbelief. She truly trusted him. Her body couldn't stop trembling in disbelief. The tip of her nose and cheeks were bright red from the cold wind, but because her eyes showed great sadness, it looked like she had cried her heart out.
"Why! Why do you think so? An outsider can see the great hatred I have for you and your father!" he said, baffled. "Oh, how I hated your father. How everyone thought he was best in everything he does, and I was just his untalented, useless brother. A nobody! And now, it is you who everyone wants because you are your father's daughter! After everything I had done for them and all the things I had to do to get where I am now!" Zhou Haitou said.
"W-wait... don't tell me y-you killed my p-parents," Baozhai stuttered.
"Of course not. I just used someone else's stupidity to do my work," he laughed.
Baozhai clenched her fist in anger. "Since you all know there's no point in keeping you all," Zhou Haitou said before whistling, and soon his men appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them.
"Do you think I wasn't aware of your men?" ZhangWei chuckled before ZhangWei's shadow guards also appeared around them.
Zhou Haitou gritted his teeth, "It's a shame. You were really useful to have." He lunged at ZhangWei. It was as if that was the signal to start the fight.
"Miss Daiyu, please stay behind me," Junfeng said, appearing in front of her.
"What about Zhou Baozhai?" Xiaomei asked, more concerned about her. "Don't worry. We have our men protecting her as well," Junfeng said. Xiaomei looked over to where Baozhai was and saw she was protected. Baozhai also joined the fight as well since she knew how to fight.
"Where Haoyu? Wasn't he the one who called for help?" Xiaomei asked.
"To answer Miss Daiyu, when Haoyu gave out our signal of help. We were lucky enough to be close by since ZhangWei was looking for you and was informed you went out with Baozhai and Zhou Haitou. ZhangWei didn't feel it was right for you or Baozhai to follow Zhou Haitou into the forest. We went after you, but when we saw Haoyu give the signal. We hurried over," Junfeng answered, blocking the attacks. It didn't seem like he was bothered by Xiaomei talking to him while he continued fighting. Xiaomei wanted to say something but kept her tongue quiet since she wanted him to force on fighting so neither of them would get wounded.
"Don't worry, Miss Daiyu. I am very capable. To inform you, Haoyu went to inform LiJie and them as ZhangWei ordered him," Junfeng said as if he read her mind. Xiaomei forced a nervous smile, refusing to talk as she pointed him to pay attention to the attackers.
Xiaomei saw ZhangWei attacking Zhou Haitou as it looked like Zhou Haitou was losing. It didn't take long before some of Zhou Haitou's men started attacking ZhangWei as ZhangWei was getting distracted by the other attackers. Zhou Haitou immediately charged toward Baozhai.
"Zhou Baozhai, watch out!" Xiaomei shouted. ZhangWei looked over to see that the people who were supposed to protect Baozhai were occupied by Zhou Haitou's men, and Baozhai was also fighting someone. Once Baozhai heard Xiaomei, she turned to see her uncle coming after her. She tried her best to defend herself, but his strength was greater than hers. He flung her sword out of her hand. ZhangWei immediately slashed and kicked the attackers away from him and rushed to Baozhai. Junfeng also kicked the attackers out of his way and tried to head toward Baozhai.
Zhou Haitou smirked before he quickly swung his sword. Baozhai used both of her arms to block his attack before she fell to the ground and struck her head on a rock, knocking her out.
When ZhangWei reached Baozhai, Zhou Haitou immediately did the same trick he had done to Xiaomei. Zhou Haitou turned and stabbed ZhangWei in the stomach, but ZhangWei's expression didn't show any emotion and continued to raise his sword. He slashed Zhou Haitou's arm. Before ZhangWei could aim for Zhou Haitou's neck, Zhou Haitou deflected it. During their fighting, Junfeng quickly checked the unconscious Baozhai.
Zhou Haitou continued to deflect the attacks before glancing in Xiaomei's direction. His eyes instantly glared at her. "She again got in my way," he thought as he remembered how she warned Baozhai, but soon his angry eyes gleamed. He needed to shake ZhangWei off his tail.
Xiaomei was unaware of the next event that was about to happen as her main focus was on the two men who were protecting her.
Zhou Haitou immediately gave a silent signal to his men to distract the two men protecting Xiaomei. ZhangWei immediately noticed Zhou Haitou's signal. He looked back to see most of the attackers headed toward Xiaomei. Junfeng noticed it and tried to hurry back to Xiaomei, but then some of Zhou Haitou's men started attacking Junfeng.
"Where are you looking at," Zhou Haitou laughed and swung his sword at ZhangWei. He smiled, thinking his plan was going in the right direction. Zhou Haitou wanted his men to focus on attacking the unconscious Baozhai and Xiaomei since they were defenseless, so ZhangWei and his men would be in defense mode instead of attack mode. Zhou Haitou was able to injure ZhangWei's arm since ZhangWei was distracted.
Zhou Haitou then kicked ZhangWei down before rushing toward Xiaomei since there was a clear opening.
Xiaomei felt something was off before turning her head to see Zhou Haitou charging at her with his sword aiming at her heart again. Xiaomei stood there, not knowing what to do. She knew she wasn't capable of protecting herself, but her bodyguards were busy. However, she immediately noticed Zhou Haitou's eyes.
ZhangWei pulled himself together. His eyes showed great determination as he gritted his teeth before rushing to save Xiaomei.
Once ZhangWei was getting closer, Zhou Haitou smiled and quickly turned back, aiming his sword straight at ZhangWei's heart. This time ZhangWei was close enough that when Zhou Haitou stabbed him, the blade would pierce right through him.
Xiaomei could not let this trick happen again as her body moved on its own, and one of her hands grabbed the sharp blade and pulled it back. She refused to let it go as the blade only cut through his clothes. ZhangWei was shocked before Zhou Haitou was enraged and pulled back the sword, and she felt the skin on her palm split open.
Zhou Haitou raised his sword to finish her off. ZhangWei directly deflected it before a swooping sound soared through the air, and an arrow pierced the back of Zhou Haitou.
Zhou Haitou groaned before turning his head to see reinforcements (LiJie, Bojing, and Haoyu, as Chuhua was forced to stay back) showing up. Zhou Haitou quickly slashed ZhangWei out of his way since ZhangWei's eyes were blurry from the pain and was not quick enough to stop the attack.
"Retreat," Zhou Haitou shouted before escaping.
"After them," ZhangWei forced out before his shadow guards went after them. Bojing went after them while LiJie jumped off the horse and went to Baozhai. Junfeng knew Baozhai was in good hands before rushing to ZhangWei.
"ZhangWei, are you alright?" Junfeng said, trying to hold him.
"I'm fine. Go after him," ZhangWei ordered. Junfeng wanted to refuse but followed orders and went after them.
"I'm taking Baozhai back," LiJie said, carrying her onto the horse. ZhangWei nodded his head before they galloped back.
"Hurry. Let's take you back too. You got stabbed," Xiaomei said to ZhangWei as he was breathing heavily and enduring the pain. She could see his lips becoming pale and sweat coming down his forehead. She also saw the dampness on his clothes.
He grabbed her wrist and lifted her bloody hand. "A-are you stupid..." he said breathlessly.
At first, she hissed in pain and wanted to argue with him, but he immediately collapsed.
"Wang ZhangWei," she called out his name.
Xiaomei went on her knees, "Wang ZhangWei," she called again. He didn't respond to her but only groaned in pain.
"Junfeng! Haoyu! LiJie! Bojing! Anybody," she shouted for help, but everybody was already too far away. They were all alone.
"No. No. You can't die," she said. She tried to pull him off the ground. However, she failed many times before she got him off the ground. Her body and hand were throbbing in pain, but she didn't care.
She wrapped his arms around her neck and tried to piggyback him, but he was too big and tall for her, so his entire body covered her back, and his feet were still on the ground. When she tried to take one step, she collapsed with him. She groaned in pain before trying to redo everything all over again.
Finally, she was able to do it, even though it took her a long time to get him back on her. When she took a step, it didn't look like she moved, but she did. She was taking tiny steps as her feet were shuffling in the snow. She headed in the direction of the abandoned horses. It didn't take long before each step she took was getting heavier and harder to do. Her mouth was open wide as she was breathing out heavily. Even though her body was aching and couldn't hold it any longer, she didn't care and forced herself to move to the point where she wasn't bothered by the pain from her bleeding hand.
"Hey, you better wake up. I-I can't lift you over the horse," she said breathlessly and tried to take a step but couldn't anymore. At that moment, her body froze as she could feel wetness on her back, and she knew it was his blood seeping into her clothes.
"Y-you better not die. I-I don't want to be carrying a dead person," she said, trying to stop her trembling voice from coming out.
"He can't die. He won't die. In the story, you didn't die. I know you don't get the girl, but at least you lived, so you must survive," she thought.
"Y-you know you remind me of a feisty, stubborn cat," ZhangWei softly chuckled. "L-like a cat who can't decide if it likes you or not but always comes back with its claws ready to pounce when it needs to," he laughed with his voice enduring the pain as he wiped the sweat off the side of her forehead like petting a cat.
Her eyes widened in great relief, and held back tears. She smiled, "Quit yapping, annoying cunning fox." He chuckled as it rang in her ears. She felt him rest his head on her shoulder. "Hey, you're not dead back there, right?" She felt scared again. He then chuckled and nuzzled himself to her. She took a sigh of relief.
"Y-you know you are an idiot. Y-you can leave me here and wait for them to come back. You don't have to carry me," he said, extremely tired.
"They're taking too long. W-what what if...," she couldn't say it.
"I-I don't die that easy," he said, lightly tapping the back of her head.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm still going to carry you," she said, breathing heavily and trying her best to lift her feet to take a step.
1
"Let me go. You stubborn cat...," his voice fading away before he lost consciousness. Immediately, they both collapsed on the ground, and she realized that it was him all along that helped her have the ability to carry him this far. He was conscious from the very beginning but was too tired to speak as he helped her lift himself to her back and moved along with her when she dragged him in the snow.
She was utterly overwhelmed and wanted to get back up, but her body felt so heavy and tired. She was in the snow with him. She was facing him and saw how quiet he was with his eyes quietly closed in peace. "Annoying fox," she called out, but he didn't respond. Her heart started to race in fear as she forced herself to sit up. She felt sharp pain in all parts of her body. She tried to ignore it at first, but this time she couldn't. She had to wait for a second to suppress the pain before reaching over to wake him up. "Annoying fox. Cunning fox. Mister Wei. Wang ZhangWei. ZhangWei," she started calling all sorts of names, but he still didn't wake up. She placed her ear on his chest and gave out a sigh of relief. She could still hear his heartbeat, but it was so soft.
"Miss Daiyu? ZhangWei" Junfeng said, hurrying toward them
"Huang Daiyu?" Bojing said, riding closer to them. She looked up to see them.
Tears swelled in her eyes, "Hurry. He collapsed a while ago. He's bleeding out," she was pressing his wound to stop the bleeding.
Junfeng helped him up.
"General Bojing, please take him back now since you have a horse. Hurry," Xiaomei pleaded.
Bojing saw how desperate she was. "Of course, put him over my horse. I will hurry back," Bojing said. Junfeng and some shadow guards helped carry ZhangWei onto the horse before Bojing galloped quickly.
"Miss Daiyu," Junfeng tried to say as he noticed she wasn't looking so well.
Xiaomei took a deep breath, and once she no longer saw Bojing's horse in sight, she collapsed.
Everyone was back in Zhou Haitou's residence even though he was no longer there. In the small hidden sect, the three physicians were sweating their butts off in treating the three patients as if their lives were on the line.
The sky had turned dark, and the stars lit up the night. The night was silent and cold. There was not a single sound heard. The news shocked every single person in the sect to the point they couldn't utter a single word. They all returned to their homes and hoped to see if they could wake up from this nightmare.
A sound of a blanket rustling was heard in a room, and the person on the bed made a movement. Xiaomei opened her eyes to see a lantern still lit in the room. She turned her head to expect an empty room again. However, to her surprise, she saw Bojing and Chuhua sitting by the table as they were quietly talking.
"How's Wang ZhangWei and Zhou Baozhai," Xiaomei's tried to say as her voice cracked. Bojing and Chuhua quickly turned their attention to Xiaomei.
"Huang Daiyu," he said, getting up and heading toward the bed. Xiaomei tried to get up from the bed. However, her entire body was sore and ached from carrying Zhangwei, and she forgot about her injured hand as she collapsed on the bed again and hissed in pain. Her injured hand was all bandaged up and was now throbbing in pain from when she tried to use it to help her get up.
"Careful," Chuhua said, following Bojing. Chuhua felt bad that she still thought Daiyu was evil, but now she could see how much Daiyu had changed.
"Are you okay?" Bojing said, worried, and tried to reach out to help her up, but Xiaomei didn't seem to notice and used her other hand to help her up. It took her a while as they could see her struggling, but it looked like she didn't want any help, so all they could do was watch her struggle.
"Why are you two here? Why aren't you with Zhou Baozhai?" Xiaomei said, breathless. Her forehead was gleaming from sweat, and her body was exhausted. However, her eyes show great willpower.
"W-we didn't want to leave you all alone since you once again saved Baozhai's life again," Bojing said, concerned. He felt bad, seeing how exhausted she looked.
"Also LiJie is with her. So we know she is safe, while it's best to make sure you are safe too," Chuhua said awkwardly since she knew she was always mean to Xiaomei.
"D-does that mean Zhou Haitou escaped?" Xiaomei said. Bojing and Chuhua went quiet as it answered her question.
"Yes," Bojing finally answered.
She nodded her head and thought, "Of course, he survived. The story still needs him to make the story proceed."
She immediately remembered, "How's Wang ZhangWei?"
"Last we heard was that he is in critical condition," Bojing answered.
"I see," Xiaomei said, pulling the blanket off her.
"Huang Daiyu, what are you doing?" Chuhua asked, worried.
"Huang Daiyu, where are you going?" Bojing asked, worried as well. However, Xiaomei wasn't listening or paying attention to them and struggled to get off the bed.
"Haoyu. Haoyu," she called out. Immediately, he appeared in the room as Chuhua and Bojing were both startled by Haoyu. Bojing was sure he didn't feel another presence with them, but he was falsely wrong in his capabilities.
"What do you need, Miss Daiyu," Haoyu asked.
"Take me to your Young Master, " she said, standing on her two feet.
"Miss Daiyu, it's best for you to rest before visiting Young Master," Haoyu said, seeing her exhausted state.
Xiaomei stared at him and said, "Haoyu, take me to him." Haoyu couldn't utter another word or refuse her. He nodded his head and started to escort Xiaomei, but Bojing said, "Huang Daiyu, you still need to rest to recover."
"Yes," Chuhua agreed with Bojing.
"I'm fine. No need to worry," Xiaomei said weakly and followed Haoyu at a slow pace as she felt each ache and strain on her body, but she still carried on.
"Huang Daiyu, wait," Bojing said, stopping Xiaomei and Haoyu from leaving. She turned her head to look at him again.
"I-I'm sorry... for not believing you and getting you hurt. I'm sorry," Bojing said with his expression showing great regret.
"Yes, me too. I'm so sorry, Huang Daiyu," Chuhua said with great sorrow.
Xiaomei could see how greatly they were remorseful. She paused for a minute before she smiled gently and said, "It's alright." When they saw her light smile, they could feel the genuineness in her smile that brought great warmth to their heart as the guilt vanished.
"Let's go together," Bojing's mouth opened and spoke without him, realizing it.
Chuhua nodded quickly as well, without her knowing it.
Xiaomei was slightly shocked to see how they were reacting. "It's fine. You two should go check on Zhou Baozhai and then head to bed since today was a long day," Xiaomei said with a smile. They wanted to say something, but Xiaomei smiled before leaving with Haoyu. They stood there in awe. Xiaomei's smile was so light and gentle.
Xiaomei reached ZhangWei's residence. It took her a while since she had to stop to catch her breath or suppress her pain. She never noticed how ZhangWei's home was pretty simple and relaxed as it makes a person want to stay and relax in one home. Once she entered, Junfeng was startled to see Xiaomei. "Miss Daiyu, why are you here? You should be resting."
"How is he?" Xiaomei asked, showing great concern. When Junfeng saw Xiaomei's face, he knew why she was there and kept quiet. He showed her ZhangWei's room.
She entered the room alone and saw him on the bed. His face was ghostly pale. His stomach, arm, and shoulder were all bandaged up. She could see the blood seeping through them. Junfeng had told her that ZhangWei was going to be alright, but it was going to take him a few months to recover. She then noticed many scars on his body.
She hovered over him and reached her hand out to touch his forehead. She wiped the sweat off his forehead. Her eyes widened before she placed her hand flat on his forehead. He was burning up. "He has a fever," she said to herself. "Haoyu? Junfeng?" Xiaomei called out.
It didn't take long before both of them showed up. She informed them that ZhangWei has a fever and asked one of them to bring her some water to wipe his forehead.
A couple of minutes later, a maid brought a bowl of water and a small towel, while another maid brought a small bowl of medicine. They set it down before everyone left, leaving Xiaomei alone with ZhangWei. Xiaomei sat beside him on the bed. She lifted his head a bit, but immediately she felt a shot of pain from her hand as she tried to suppress her groan. He then made a deep low moan of pain when she moved him. She held his head in her arms before grabbing the small bowl of medicine. She used her injured hand to scoop the medicine. She blew the medicine to cool it down before forcing the spoon into his mouth. He groaned deeply and slightly moved in her arms.
"Is it your turn to make a fuss," she teased the unconscious ZhangWei, continuing to feed him.
"I learned from the best...," an extremely weak voice said. Her eyes widened and looked down to see his eyes open and a weak smile on his face.
"You're awake," Xiaomei said, setting the medicine aside. She instantly was in high spirits and no longer felt any pain. She tried to put his head back down and get off the bed. "W-where are you going," he said weakly.
"To get the physician. You are awake," she said in a rush, but he used all the strength he had accumulated to grab her sleeve to stop her from putting his head down. "Don't... leave," he said. She looked at his puppy eyes, and her body slowed down before she adjusted her position and called for Haoyu and Junfeng.
The physician finished checking on him and said it was a good sign that ZhangWei regained consciousness even though he was still not in the best condition and he should continue to rest.
Once again, it was just the two of them since everyone left. Xiaomei had finished giving him medicine and was now sitting on the edge of his bed while he was lying down.
Xiaomei squeezed the small towel with one hand to get out the water. She then wiped his forehead and his neck. She remained silent while he watched her. After she finished wiping him, she soaked the towel and squeezed it again before placing the towel on his forehead. "Does this help a little bit?" Xiaomei asked.
"Ngh," he responded at first. "Much better," he said with a smile.
"You should get some rest," she said, pulling the blanket up to him.
"Y-you tooo," he said, looking at her with great concern. He could see how pale she was and how her eyebrows frowned when she was enduring her pain. "Don't worry. Rest," she said. She thought she didn't want to owe him since he protected her, and he also took care of her when she was injured, so it was only right to do the same. He silently looked at her as if he wanted to say something but didn't have the energy to speak. She looked at him and thought of something before saying, "Don't worry. Tomorrow, I'll tell you the news about Zhou Baozhai. I know you are probably worried about her," she said, patting his hand as she assumed he wanted to ask about Baozhai since he liked her. She lightly smiled to assure him. She thought, "Poor guy. He risked his life for her but doesn't get the girl. Hopefully, you find someone. Even though the book doesn't say anything about you finding someone at the end. I will assume you did."
In her deep thoughts to herself, she didn't notice ZhangWei's gaze on her before he struggled to latch onto her hand. "Hm?" Xiaomei snapped out of her thoughts and winced in pain before looking at him. She stared at him, not understanding what he was doing. He lifted her injured hand to his face. "Oh, don't worry. The pain is bearable," she lied as she assumed he was worried about her injured hand. However, she didn't expect him to kiss her hand.
Xiaomei's eyes widened in surprise at his actions and tried to pull away but then he tightened his grip as she slightly hissed in pain. However, she was too shocked by his actions that she didn't mind the pain.
"Mister Wei, y-you should rest now. Y-you must be exhausted," she tried to say as she was flustered and she didn't understand what was happening. She hoped he would let go of her hand, so she could escape but he didn't and closed his eyes. "Mister Wei, can you please let go of my hand," she tried to persuade him, but he didn't. "Mister Wei?" she said nicely. He still didn't respond. "Annoying fox," she called out. She then saw him smiling with his eyes still closed. Her mouth twitched in irritation as she knew he wasn't sleeping. "Cunning fox," she said in irritation. "Wang ZhangWei," she called out in an unfriendly tone, but he still didn't answer. "ZhangWei," she said, and this time he opened his eyes. "Can you let go of my hand? You know that is my injured hand," she said. He then loosened his grip so he didn't hurt her. She realized that he wasn't going to let go of her hand. "Alright, but can you hold my other hand instead," Xiaomei gave up since she was tired. She expected him to let go of her hand, but he didn't. She looked at him to see that he was waiting for her to give her other hand to him first before letting go. It looked like he didn't trust her as if she was going to run away once he let go.
"I won't run away," she said, looking him in the eyes, but he didn't listen. "Alright, here," she said, giving her other hand to him. He then latched on her other hand. "Look who is being the fussy one," she smiled and said, "Don't forget. I'm exhausted as well. My body is aching from carrying you." She was teasing around before she knew it. He pulled her to him, and she groaned in pain as she landed on him. "W-what are you doing? You are injured," she said, shocked. He also groaned in pain. She tried to get up, but he wouldn't let her. "Are you stupid, Mister Wei," she tried to say, but he forced out, "Sleep," with his voice cracked in pain.
"Mister Wei, you know it is improper for a man and woman to be this close to each other," she said, struggling to get up. He once again forced out, "I-it's f-fine sin-ce you are divorced." Her eyebrows twitched in irritation. "Yes, but you are an unmarried man," she said in an unpleasant tone.
"I-it doesn't mat-ter to mee," he said weakly and closed his eyes, still holding her hand. She was on her side as she watched him sleep comfortably.
She then forced a smile before compiling, "Alright, have it your way. You stupid fox," she said to herself. "Shouldn't argue with an injured person since he needs his rest," she continued to mutter to herself. She closed her eyes to sleep since her body had reached its limit. She could feel her body unwilling to move anymore.
Once she was quietly sleeping, he smiled before thinking there was her usual self. He had noticed how shocked and confused she was by his action. She looked like a startled cat ready to flee at any moment. He didn't want to scare her off any further, but he was slightly disappointed that she didn't understand his feelings. He thought it was alright since there was always next time, and he still needed to recover.
The next morning, none of ZhangWei's men or servants entered the room and left them alone. It was past noon, and Xiaomei finally woke up while rustling against the blanket. She rubbed her eyes and started to scan around. The room was quiet and warm. She looked at ZhangWei as he was still sleeping. She placed her hand on his forehead to find he still had a fever but was less hot than yesterday. She sat up on the bed to still find her body to be aching and sore. She once again wiped him down before placing the towel on his forehead. She wanted to know what time it was. She got off the bed and opened the window. She noticed the sun was already high in the sky. When she was about to close the window, Haoyu appeared. "Good afternoon, Miss Daiyu. I wanted to inform you that General Bojing, Miss Chuhua, and Crown Prince LiJie were asking and looking for you. I had informed them that you were still resting at Young Master Wang's residence," he reported. Xiaomei nodded her head before saying, "Alright. Haoyu, your young master will need his medicine again. He still has a fever and brings me something as well."
A few minutes later, Junfeng and the physician entered the room with bowls of medicine. The physician checked Xiaomei and ZhangWei's conditions and said their progress toward recovery is on the right track.
Xiaomei finished her medicine and remembered before asking, "How's Zhou Baozhai? Any news about her condition."
"To answer Miss Daiyu, Miss Baozhai is doing well. She had already regained consciousness," Junfeng said. Xiaomei listened before saying, "Since Wang ZhangWei looks stable. I'm heading back."
"Where are you going," a voice woke up. Xiaomei and Junfeng turned their heads towards ZhangWei, who was awake and getting himself up in a sitting position. His face was still pale, and he was still sweating in pain. "When did you wake up?" Xiaomei asked.
"A while ago. Where are you going," he said. She could feel the cold chill from his voice and said, "I-I was going to head back since you are in good hands..." She saw his eyes as her words slowly got quieter, "But... I'll come back later tonight...," her last statement was barely heard.
"Who said that you can leave?" ZhangWei said, looking at her deeply.
"I'm going to check on Zhou Baozhai for you," she made an excuse, but he saw right through her.
"Didn't Junfeng say she is doing well," ZhangWei said.
"Well... I should go visit and encourage her to get better," Xiaomei said, spouting nonsense.
"You also need to recover," ZhangWei said. Xiaomei immediately smiled as ZhangWei could see what she was up to. She instantly said with great enthusiasm, "You are right, so I should head back to rest."
However, he immediately directed his attention to Junfeng as if he didn't hear her. "So what happened? Has Zhou Haitou been caught?" ZhangWei said.
"Sorry, ZhangWei, but we lost him. Zhou Haitou and his men jumped off the cliff. It looked like he planned an escape route from jumping off the cliff. I have already dispatched people to look for him," Junfeng reported.
"Alright. He still probably went into hiding to recuperate. Have some of the men investigate areas he liked to go to," ZhangWei said. Xiaomei quietly listened to them talk until she realized what he was doing. He was trying to change the topic and distract her so she could forget what she just said. "Heh, what cunning fox," she thought and smiled. "Since you are in a deep conversation, I won't bother you," she said to herself before she slowly made her way out the door.
"Miss Daiyu, do you want me to escort you back," Haoyu said, appearing in front of her. Xiaomei cussed in her head before forcing a smile on her face. "Of course, his men will be on his side," she thought and said, "Oh, that won't be necessary. I can go on my own." Xiaomei could feel ZhangWei's gaze.
"Well, then I'll be going-," she tried to say before Junfeng interrupted her. "ZhangWei, how are you feeling?" Junfeng asked.
"I... I," ZhangWei tried to say before he collapsed on the bed.
1
"ZhangWei," Junfeng said.
1
"Young Master Wang," Haoyu said.
Xiaomei turned back and rushed to him. "Wang ZhangWei," she called out.
She laid her hand on his forehead and felt it was burning up again. "Wang ZhangWei," she said again. "ZhangWei," she wiped his sweat.
"Junfeng, get the physician. Haoyu, get the medicine," Xiaomei said hastily. Junfeng hurried out, and Haoyu handed her the small bowl of medicine. She and Haoyu position ZhangWei in her arms again to feed him. While everyone was busy worrying, no one noticed the smile on ZhangWei's face with his eyes still closed.
Months went by, and winter was ending. The snow had started melting, and spring was here. There was no sign of Zhou Haitou's whereabouts as ZhangWei's men continued to search. Baozhai and Xiaomei had already recovered in a month, and ZhangWei was longer. During those months of ZhangWei's recovery, Xiaomei stayed by his side and took care of him, but once he was able to get off his bed and move around, she immediately stopped showing up to his residence. However, when ZhangWei was able to move around, the position of the new leader was given to him as he was the next best candidate. Since he was the new leader of the sect, he had become busy with business affairs and the search for Zhou Haitou.
After those assassination attempts, they all stopped doubting Xiaomei and started asking her to join them in many things, like having tea or dinner with them. Today, they asked her to join them at the market. She wanted to refuse, but she was already dragged by Baozhai and Chuhua to join them.
During their time outside, Chuhua and Baozhai had their fun while the rest of them (Xiaomei, LiJie, and Bojing) followed them. Xiaomei stood beside the ladies while the two men were two feet away behind them. The two ladies had stopped at a stall that was selling tassels and charms. When Xiaomei glanced behind her, she noticed the two men looking at her. At first, she thought she was blocking the view of their loved ones, so she moved herself to get out of their way; however, their eyes followed her. She didn't know why they were looking at her. She felt awkward being stared at.
"Crown Prince LiJie. General Bojing? Is something the matter," Xiaomei put her usual fake smile on and coy voice. They immediately looked away and acted like they weren't staring at her. "Yeah. Yeah. Be like," Xiaomei thought before redrawing her attention back at the ladies. Once Xiaomei wasn't paying attention to them, the two men stared at her again. At that moment, Chuhua glanced back to see Bojing, looking at Xiaomei. She quietly looked at the tassel, she wanted to buy him one, but she saw he was already wearing a small jade charm. She then looked at Baozhai, who had already picked out what she wanted. "LiJie, look what I got," Baozhai said with a smile. LiJie turned his attention to Baozhai and sweetly smiled at her. His eyes softened when he looked at her. "Here. For you," Baozhai said, handing him a waist tassel with her cheeks turned pink. Chuhua then noticed Bojing's gaze, looking at them. She did know that he liked Baozhai, but now she is unsure.
"Miss, are you going to buy one as well?" The vendor said, looking at Chuhua. "Miss, do you have love troubles?" The vendor noticed her gaze. Chuhua remained silent. "Let me tell you something," the vendor started to say while she listened.
They arrived back, and the night was here. Xiaomei entered her room after a long day. She had taken off her light coat and was about to take off her outer robe before there was a knock on the door. Xiaomei stopped herself and headed to open the door.
"Han Chuhua, what brings you here?" Xiaomei asked, letting her in.
"Um, I wanted someone to consult with," Chuhua said, shy but Xiaomei could tell she had a lot on her mind.
"Consult? With me? What about Zhou Baozhai?" Xiaomei said, not understanding.
"Well, Baozhai has the Crown Prince and may not understand unrequited love like us," Chuhua said, quietly with head looking down.
"Unrequited love?" Xiaomei said in her head before remembering what she saw at the market. "Ah, I see. Come in and have a seat. Would you like some tea?" Xiaomei said, sitting by the table.
"No. It's fine," Chuhua answered before sitting down.
Before Chuhua could open her mouth again, a knock on the door was heard. "Come in," Xiaomei said. The door opened, and Baozhai entered the room.
"Chuhua, there you are. I was looking all over for you. When I asked a maid, they said you went this direction," Baozhai said.
"Oh, Baozhai. What do you need?" Chuhua asked.
"I was just wondering where you went," Baozhai said. "What are you doing here?" Baozhai asked.
"I-I wanted to talk to Huang Daiyu about something," Chuhua said with her cheeks turning pink.
"Oh, is it okay if I stay and join you two?" Baozhai asked. Xiaomei looked at Chuhua.
"Sure," Chuhua hesitantly agreed.
"So you want me to try it first? Why me? Also, I still think this is nonsense," Xiaomei said, "I mean... It's part of it, but there's more to it."
"Well, I-I want to test it out. The vendor said body language is the best thing to see how a person thinks about you. So, I want to see his reaction. Will Bojing allow you to grab his sleeve without swatting you away," Chuhua said.
"I agree with the vendor about body language, but why do I have to grab his sleeve? Why can't you or Zhou Baozhai?" Xiaomei said, still resisting.
"Well, I'm nervous and afraid of what he will do to me. For Zhou Baozhai, I-I already know...," Chuhua said quietly.
"Alright," Xiaomei said quickly to prevent Baozhai from questioning since her face was showing she didn't understand what Chuhua meant with the last sentence as Baozhai only knew that Chuhua likes Bojing.
Chuhua looked up to Xiaomei with great gratitude. Xiaomei sighed in her head, "It's not going to make a difference. Bojing just thinks of me as an acquaintance," she thought. "I'll do it, but since it's already late. I'll do it tomorrow," Xiaomei said.
The two ladies got up and were about to leave when a knock on the door appeared, stopping them. "Huang Daiyu," a voice called out.
"General Bojing?" Xiaomei said as they all were slightly startled.
"Are you sleeping?" Bojing said through the door.
"Ah, no. Come in," Xiaomei said, but Chuhua wasn't ready, so she constantly shook her head. "Might as well, get it over with," Xiaomei said.
"But I'm not ready," Chuhua said, but Baozhai patted her shoulder to comfort her and encourage her.
Bojing entered the room and was surprised to see the rest of the ladies there as well. "What brings you here, General Bojing," Xiaomei asked, looking at him. "Oh, I didn't expect you to have some company right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Have a good night, ladies," he said, turning to leave. He felt awkward talking to Xiaomei with the other two here.
Chuhua and Baozhai both looked at Xiaomei. "Wait, General Bojing," Xiaomei said, reaching out to grab his sleeve. He immediately stopped and turned his head before saying, "Hmm? What's wrong," he said softly as he raised his eyebrows. Even though he raised his eyebrows, his eyes were soft and gentle showing great compassion. Chuhua and Baozhai were surprised to see Bojing's gentle eyes.
Xiaomei was startled by his warm gaze and immediately let go of his sleeve. She didn't expect him to show great warmth in his eyes. Xiaomei didn't understand. BoJing's character was supposed to be like a cold-hearted statue.
"Um?" Xiaomei uttered unsure and withdrew her hand away from him, but then his hand tried to reach out to grab her hand. However, at that moment, another hand appeared out of nowhere, and snatched her hand away before pulling her into his arms.
There was another uproar of surprise, and a small sense of jealousy filled the room. A voice spoke, "Sorry, but she thought you were me." ZhangWei acted shamelessly with his voice having a hint of jealousy. He held her closer as she was completely confused about what was happening. He appeared out of the blue and snatched her in a quick swoop.
Soon there was dead silence in the room, as no one uttered a sound while Bojing and ZhangWei were having a staring contest with each other. Once again, there was a knock at the door. Before anyone could answer, the door opened. "Huang Daiyu, I need to talk to you-," LiJie tried to say as he entered the room, but stopped midway once he noticed the group of people in the room. Another round of silence entered the room. LiJie noticed Xiaomei was in ZhangWei's arms. He felt a little annoyed with the sight of that. Both Chuhua and Baozhai were silently bewildered by what they were watching.
"Um," Xiaomei tried to say and think about what to do next. She struggled to break free from ZhangWei's hand, but it didn't work. It was like she was a mouse stuck in a mouse trap.
She had to clear out this room. There were too many people with their own little drama. Before she could open her mouth, Bojing kindly said, "You needed something." He warmly looked at Xiaomei.
"Like I said she thought you were me," ZhangWei immediately said, stopping Xiaomei from answering.
"How is that possible? You weren't even here when she grabbed my sleeve," Bojing said while both of them were glaring at each other.
Xiaomei quickly interrupted them to stop this from escalating and put on a smile, "Sorry, General Bojing for grabbing your sleeve without your permission. I saw something on your clothes and was trying to get rid of it. Sorry for the confusion." While she was lying to Bojing, she didn't notice ZhangWei's face stiffening in jealousy from her words.
Bojing smiled and said, "Ah, I see. Thank you then." Chuhua was bitterly watching Bojing smile and couldn't endure the pain in her heart. She knew that Bojing would never give that kind of smile to just anyone. She herself never received that kind of smile.
"Huang Daiyu, thank you. I see now. I won't bother doing it. Have a good night. Please excuse me," Chuhua said, quickly leaving.
"Han Chuhua," Xiaomei called out and tried to go after her but ZhangWei refused to let her hand go. BaoZhai quickly went after her before glancing at Xiaomei in understanding but then at LiJie. The two ladies were already out of the room, and the three men remained. Xiaomei didn't understand. She expected them to chase after those two, but they didn't leave.
"Huang Daiyu," both LiJie and Bojing said at the same time. They both looked at each other before continuing, "I need to talk to you alone," they both glared at each other.
ZhangWei stood there, feeling that he was going to burst into jealousy, and immediately answered, "No."
"I wasn't talking to you," LiJie and Bojing said again. Xiaomei was starting to get a headache with these men. She did not understand what was happening and why they were so desperate to talk to her. She was also worried about Chuhua. She knew Chuhua was probably heartbroken now.
They were about to start to argue with each other, but Xiaomei interrupted them. "All of you out. If you want to talk to me, then you can find me tomorrow and we can talk," she said with a hint of anger, and her fake smile showed great annoyance as if she was about to explode. Their backs went cold, and they opened their mouths to apologize, but she shut them up. "You all may not have noticed, but it is late, so I need my rest. Also, it's not proper for a woman to have three men in her room at night, so please leave," she said harshly, pushing them out. Once the door was closed, she let out a great sigh of relief, but what she didn't know was, when she shoved them all out, only two of the men retreated back to their room while the other one sneaked around and climbed back in through the window.
When she turned back to undress, she was startled to see ZhangWei in her room again. "ZhangWei, what are you doing here? Didn't I push you all out? How did you get in?" Xiaomei said.
"Through the window," he said, pointing to the opened window. "Well, it's getting late. You should go back to your residence. It's not right for a lady like me to have you here," she said, acting her usual fake polite self. She was about to turn back to open the door for him to leave, but he reached over and grabbed her sleeve.
He had overheard the conversation about body language as he had finished going out to find any news about the whereabouts of Zhou Haitou and wanted to see Xiaomei before heading back to his residence, but he didn't expect that she had company with her. So he waited for them to finish talking before showing himself to her, but he didn't expect more company to join in.
He worriedly waited for her reaction. She didn't brush him off but instead turned her head and said, concerned, "What's wrong?" He saw how warm and concerned her eyes were looking at him. He instantly felt happy and had great warmth in his heart. He smiled and started to play with her sleeves. "What are you doing?" she said, confused. She noticed him playing with her sleeves as she tried to pull her sleeve away, thinking he was like a cat playing with a string. "Has the fox turned into a cat?" she chuckled before getting her sleeve out of his hand, but then he wrapped his arms around her.
"Stubborn cat, don't let anyone touch you, even on your clothes, or you will be punished," he said, hugging her from behind.
"Wang ZhangWei," she said, "What nonsense are you spouting? What's the matter with you?" Xiaomei tried to escape his arms. She could feel her face getting hotter. He noticed her face getting red and smiled before hugging her tighter. "Wang ZhangWei," she struggled to break free. "Mister Wei," she said, getting irritated and no longer wanting to call his name while she pinched his arm. "Stop messing around," she said, finally escaping his arms. Before he could say a word, she quickly shoved him out the door.
She remembered the window and hurried to the open window, but she wasn't quick enough as he beat her to it. "ZhangWei," she unconsciously said his name instead Mister Wei as his name naturally flowed out her lips. "Let go," she tried to shut the window, but he held on to the window.
At that moment, he jerked the window to open wider as she lost balance and fell into his arms as his arms wrapped around her. He smiled, "I forgot to say goodnight." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. He lightly pushed her chin up to close her mouth for the shocked, and he instantly left before Xiaomei could yell at him. It took a minute for her to comprehend what just happened. "Y-you cunning fox!" Xiaomei's face reddened.
The next morning arrived, and Xiaomei was meeting with Chuhua in the garden.
"Han Chuhua, I'm sorry about yesterday. Things got out of hand," Xiaomei apologized.
"Huang Daiyu, there's no need to apologize. I see now. I should let go now," Chuhua said as her eyes were slightly red.
"Han Chuhua, you shouldn't give-... what I mean is you should see how he reacts first before deciding to give up," Xiaomei said, knowing fully well that they get each other in the end.
"Thanks for the encouragement, but I think I already know what he sees me as. I have known him since we were kids, so I know what he is feeling when I see it in his eyes. So as for me, I'm just that annoying childhood friend who constantly follows him everywhere and can't leave him alone," Chuhua forced a smile.
"He probably hasn't realized his feelings for you," Xiaomei said, knowing that was the case.
Chuhua sadly chuckles, "If that's the case. I will be waiting for a long time." Chuhua stared at the trees that were budding. "But I don't know if I want to wait for that day to come. Silently waiting for a long time is kind of lonely and it might not come," she said softly.
Xiaomei grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes. "It will. Trust me," Xiaomei said, comforting her. Chuhua looked at Xiaomei's guarantee eyes and genuinely smiled.
"I know it will. Sadly, it's something that I can't really help with as it's the process of Bojing coming to terms with his own feelings, not for me to force it out or he will deny it and might get scared away," Xiaomei thought. Xiaomei could only smile back at Chuhua and stare into her depressed eyes.
"There you two are. Zhou Baozhai was looking for you two," Bojing said, entering the garden and finding them. "What are you two doing?" he asked, walking closer to them.
Xiaomei saw how Chuhua was ready to run as her eyes got teary. "I-I'm not ready," Chuhua said. She wasn't ready to face him. She glanced at Bojing and felt a pang in her heart. She quickly looked away to prevent him from not seeing her teary eyes, but his eyes widened in shock.
"Chu-," Bojing tried to say.
"Huang Daiyu, I-I will see you later," Chuhua said quickly and ran off.
Bojing hadn't seen that tear-jerking, heartbreaking expression on Chuhua's face for a very long time ago when they were young. He still remembered that time when Chuhua tagged along with him to learn martial arts.
He was called in to talk to their teacher while Chuhua was still outside practicing. By the time he came out, she showed that expression on her face before breaking into tears. He asked what happened, and all she said was that some boys said some mean things to her. He tried to ask what they said, but she refused to tell him.
Sadly, he never knew that the boys had told Chuhua that she was an annoyance to Bojing and she should give up on him, or she would die alone. Then they started to make fun of her, how no one would like her because she was annoying and was not like a girl.
He immediately felt his back turn cold. His heart was feeling strong pain emitting within him as if his heart was stabbed.
"Chuhua," he unconsciously called out and tried to go after her. However, Xiaomei tried to stop him.
"Wait, General Bojing," Xiaomei tried to say as she thought it was best to leave Chuhua alone for a bit, especially after seeing that heartbreaking expression on Chuhua's face.
"C-can I talk to you later," Bojing said in a hurry and rushed after Chuhua as he was not even looking at Xiaomei. He unconsciously couldn't help himself but chase after Chuhua.