Hua Qing pressed the letter against her heart, closed her eyes before suddenly sniffing the air and said “Feng Zhi Wei, how many days has it been since you bathed?” 

Not stirring at all, Zhi Wei replied lazily “Same as you.” 

The two of them sat up and looked at each other. The current circumstances had made it difficult to take baths and after their little bout of craziness just now, there are dirt mixed with dust caked into their hair. It was easy to ignore when no one thought about it but now that Hua Qing mentioned it then they both felt unbearably dirty and would die soon if they don’t get a bath. 

“When I went down just now, I saw a river a bit of distance away.” Hua Qing pointed to the west. 

“Okay, let’s go take a bath!” Feng Zhi Wei got up immediately and said to the empty air “Brother Gu, I am going to go take a bath, it’s nearby so don’t worry.” 

Hua Qing chuckled and said “You should still worry if you will ended up getting stared at, he will definitely follow.” 

“It’s impolite for opposite genders to stare at one another.” Feng Zhi Wei said solemnly, “He understands that.” 

“Whatever, he is the one who always bathed Zhi Xiao. Is Zhi Xiao not a female?”

Zhi Wei smiled sheepishly and draged her away “Stop being long-winded, let’s go!” 

The river wasn’t big and there is a small forest on the opposite side with few sparse trees. Seeing the clear river water shining under the moonlight, the two women felt their bodies itching even more. Hua Qing immediately started to take off her clothes causing Feng Zhi Wei to quickly gesturing behind her back. 

Master Gu who was following behind obediently turned around. 

He sat by the riverbank, his back to the water, facing a large rock on which the clothes of the two women were laid. Feeling quite safe, Feng Zhi Wei took off her mask and clothes before going into the river. 

With the rare chance of finally taking a bath, Feng Zhi Wei decided to wash her hair as well. Untying her long hair, standing in the river, she bit by bit combed out her somewhat knotted hair. 

The moonlight poured down like milk, shining on the river, shining on the slender female body in the river before casting the shadow onto the white rock on the riverbank. 

Master Gu sat in front of the white rock, focused on his task of safeguarding the two women’s clothes. 

Under the moonlight the white rock is like a mirror, reflecting what’s in the river…and he just happens to be sitting in front of the river. 

Like a curtain, the white stone reflected the woman’s slender and exquisite curves. Hair long like a waterfall, hanging past the delicate shoulders, reaching almost to the knee. Legs as long as jade bamboos, curves as smooth as Pipa (a Chinese instrument), narrow waist, and then upward to the slight bulge that is perfect in size… 

Gu Nan Yi abruptly averted his eyes, his ears turning slightly red. 

Blushing for the first time in his life, just over that person’s shadow projected onto a white rock. His fingers unconsciously digging into the grass, Gu Nan Yi’s heart that has been beating steadily all his life is finally on this night racing and jumping like a wild horse that has been frightened, racing through thousands of miles in an instant. 

Starlight blazing, ears cannot hear, eyes cannot see, Gu Nan Yi pressed a hand to his wildly beating heart, wondering if he has caught some terminal illness at that moment. 

Confused and stunned by the first flare of desire welling up inside him, Gu Nan Yi was so focused on controlling his runaway emotions that in the chaos he failed to notice the faint noise coming from behind him in the small forest. 

  • There was a person hiding in the forest that is observing the two women with his attention specifically on Zhi Wei…including the mask she had placed on a rock. 

A faint smile slowly appeared on his face, like a steel wire, pulling across this quiet night, as blindingly sharp as snow. 

The author doesn’t reveal who this person is at this point and I honestly can’t remember either. It would be tempting to guess Ning Yi but that seems rather unlikely. My best guess at this point is that the person would be the snake-like villain Kelie. 

——————————————————————-

  • Helian is on his way to personally escort food supplies to Zhi Wei. Usually, Helian wouldn’t be coming but he guessed what she is planning on doing and wanted to be with her when she ventures into danger. 

Riding on his horse (the horse Zhi Wei gifted to him after she took it from Jin Siyu), Helian smiled brightly at the thought that he would see Zhi Wei soon. 

There was a sudden commotion at the front.

Helian sat straight up. 

“King!”

A soldier rushed over, his expression full of shock and surprise, “In the front…in the front…”

Frowning, Helian didn’t wait for the man to finish his sentence before he hurried his horse ahead. 

Among a crowd of people, a disheveled and scantily clad woman could vaguely be seen. 

Helian’s heart lurched. His first reaction is that something had happened to the calvary and someone had come to report. Taking a closer look, he realized it wasn’t so. Taking another closer took, Helian was dumbfounded. 

“Mei…Mei…” In a rare sight, Helian stammered. 

The person on the ground raised her head, revealing a head that is bruised, swollen and unrecognizable, only her eyes were still the same color. 

Blinking blankly when she first saw Helian and then the woman squinted her bruised eyes to stare at him for a long moment. By the time she finally recognized him, tears instantly flooded her face. 

It’s the sort of crying that is without sound. As if there are countless fountains inside her body, sprouting out liquid continuously, forever, without end. 

She cried until her body started to convulse. She cried until the tears washed down her scarred and swollen face but even then, no sounds came out. 

If it wasn’t the deepest pain, no one could cry like that. 

An expression of pity appeared on everyone’s face. 

They all know Mei Duo. That bright and honored woman who had lived like a princess in the royal court. No one would connect the her back then to the person in front of them right now. 

“Mei Duo! How did you end up like this!” Helian jumped down from the horse, hugged her “How did you–” 

His voice abruptly stopped as he slowly looked down at Mei Duo’s tattered skirt that revealed her equally tattered underclothing that is stained with old blood mixed with a rotten smell that makes one want to vomit. 

Helian’s expression changed. 

“Ah Li!”

After shaking for a long time, Mei Duo finally exploded with her first word. 

“Ah Li!” Her voice was broken and horse, exploding in the quiet night “If you want to kill me then kill me, why did you treat me like that, why…”

She struggled to get up, throwing herself on Helian, her sharp fingers digging into his arms as she violently hit him with her head while screaming hysterically “Why didn’t you kill me, why didn’t you kill me…” 

Helian sat unmoving, letting her hit him, his arms covered with scratch marks, blood dripping down to the ground. Helian’s guards step forward to pull her away but with one look from Helian no one dared to move. 

  • Helian eventually gets Mei Duo to tell him what happened. Just as Kelie instructed, Mei Duo tells Helian that she was first gang raped by guards he had sent with her and once her new husband realized she wasn’t a virgin then the old man started to abuse her. Mei Duo accuses Zhi Wei of purposefully marrying off to an old abusive man. Helian tries to tell Mei Duo that Zhi Wei is not someone who would do such a thing but of course Mei Duo would not hear any of it. 
  • Helian has Mei Duo’s wounds tended and tries to send her back to the royal court but Mei Duo turns crazy again and insists that she would rather die if she can’t stick by Helian’s side. Mei Duo tells Helian that in the sorry state she is in, she is in no position to be of any threat to his precious wife so he can rest easy. Even Helian’s Eight Braves come to try to talk Helian into letting Mei Duo stay with them. 
  • Smiling to herself when it looks like Helian’s attitude has softened, Mei Duo lets Helian help her into a carriage. Mei Duo’s smile turns to screams when Helian locks the carriages and hits the horse to send it off racing towards the royal court’s direction. (The carriage is for transporting grain so it has no windows and can be locked from the outside.) Helian also sends 20 additional guards to escort Mei Duo back to the royal court. 

“King!” Some of the soldiers yelled out in protest.

How can the King do this! To have such a stony heart! Is this still their King who is always fair and brave?

Helian sits on his horse, not saying a word. 

He is not dumb, he can feel the blanket of disappointment from his men. They have always revered him like a god but today, his cruelty that seemed to come without reason had caused their god to fall from the clouds. 

It takes many years to establish an idol but it only takes a moment to topple and destroy one too. 

The men of the grassland don’t understand all the ins and outs of what might be involved behind the scene. They only know that if one received favor from someone then you must repay, if someone has fallen on hard times then you must help. 

This is the first time Helian has felt hostility and dissatisfaction all around. Only now, does he know how hard it is to endure such a thing. 

Raising his head, Helian lets out a long breath. In the distance, there seem to be thousands of horses galloping, leading the Shunyi Cavalry is that youth wearing a soft black armor, taking the lead, his smile graceful yet strong. 

Zhi Wei.

I can’t bring any danger to your side. Not even if it’s the smallest possibility. 

Even if that means I will be looked down upon by thousands of men. 

I will accept it! 

————————————————————————————

  • The guards (about twenty of them) Helian had sent to escort Mei Duo were convinced by Mei Duo to stop halfway before they reached the royal court because she insists that she was too scared to go back and wanted to wait for Helian to come back. Still feeling bad for Mei Duo, the guards sat around the fire with Mei Duo, loudly complaining about how conniving Helian’s new queen must be. The guards eventually all collapsed after eating dinner…which is when Kelie showed up. Kelie promised Mei Duo again that she will soon be getting her “king” back. It is obvious Mei Duo hates Kelie but it doesn’t stop her from cooperating with him. Kelie is especially interested in finding out where Helian is meeting up with Zhi Wei and laughed as he told Mei Duo that he has some very interesting information for Da Yue’s prince Jin Siyu. 

So it looks like Kelie was the one spying on Zhi Wei that night. 

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

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