Chapter 65

I remember always hearing Xiao Yu complain that heaven likes to toy with people.

For example, in the morning when going to school, to save a few dollars of taxi fare, she would patiently wait for the bus to arrive. But after waiting left and right, she realized she was almost late for school, and just when she finally steeled herself to call a taxi, the bus came.

Life really is like a joke; many things, when you persist you get no response, but when you want to give up it fulfills you, and in the end this fulfillment comes too late, rendering your earlier persistence meaningless.

Xiao Yu said, on such days, she ultimately still ended up late.

I slowly opened my eyes, looked around, and this place should be an inn.

I turned my head and saw Bu Sha standing by the window, lowering his head to take a slip of paper from a pigeon's leg and read it carefully; after a while, he tore off a corner of the paper, retied it to the pigeon's leg, and let it fly.

"Bu Sha," I called softly.

He turned his head to look at me, his black eyes clear and cold yet holding traces of worry and care.

I forced a smile and said, "Any mission?" I didn't want to ask what mission it was, nor who assigned it to him.

Bu Sha furrowed his brows slightly, looking at me, but eventually nodded, "What are your plans?" he said.

With a sorrowful yet resolute expression I looked at him and said, "The cross I gave to Qi Ran is the key to my return home, Bu Sha..."

I took a deep breath, set my resolve, then calmly said, "Please take me back to Qi Ran's side."

Bu Sha's whole body trembled imperceptibly, his black eyes staring at me without blinking.

"I..." I turned my head to stare at the pale canopy, avoiding his gaze, and said in utter desolation, "Retrieve the cross."

No matter whether I can go back or not, I must retrieve the cross.

If I know the way home but make no effort, I will never forgive myself in this life.

Most importantly, if I now give up the thought of returning home, what were my earlier efforts and struggles for? Why did I originally leave Qi Ran?

"You... you..." Bu Sha's hands at his sides clenched into fists; his expression remained icy as before, but his black eyes surged with boundless anger, and after a while he uttered a few words silently, "It's not just him who is obsessed with the past!"

Bu Sha grabbed my hand and, as if no one else existed, strode step by step into the palace of Yuanyang Zi State. Along the way, both sides were filled with guards holding weapons, yet hesitating not to step forward.

They weren't afraid of death; rather, a few days earlier they had personally seen him and the young master talking alone in the hall, then leaving safely. Hence they hesitated whether to summarily execute these two who had intruded into the palace.

"Bu Sha, the young master summons you." A familiar voice sounded; I looked up and saw a clean-cut, slightly dark face—the very person who had taken Wu Ye away yesterday.

I had wanted to ask him how Wu Ye was, but suddenly my arm tightened, and in a daze the surroundings sped past; when I came to, I found myself in an empty room, facing only one person with blue eyes, black hair, and a silver-gray mask.

"Qi," Bu Sha stood still, coldly saying, "Could you look after her for a month?"

Even though Qi Ran was composed, he blinked slightly, his icy blue eyes resting on me for a moment before he turned and said lightly, "Sure."

"Absolutely... do not let Bai Shengyi approach her." Bu Sha added, and my whole body trembled slightly. That effeminate man truly is my greatest nightmare.

Qi Ran's eyes flashed with a chill killing intent; he snorted coldly and said, "Rest assured. Do you think I'm still the Xiao Qi Ran of before?"

Bu Sha tightened his grip on the knife, his thick brows slightly furrowed, his gaze again falling on Qi Ran's chest, where the silver-cross necklace glinted; his lips moved, and he unexpectedly said in a cold voice I could not stop, "Guard well what hangs on your chest."

I staggered, nearly falling, my heart pounding wildly. I dared not even look at Qi Ran's face, I glared fiercely at Bu Sha, but he didn't even glance at me.

"Good." Qi Ran's voice, soft as flowing water, rang out, making my heart tremble involuntarily.

Bu Sha lightly nodded, said nothing more, turned and left. As he neared the door, he seemed to suddenly recall something, turned back, reached into his bosom, and tossed a beautiful light-blue arc toward Qi Ran.

"It's a keepsake." His words hadn't finished when he had already vanished outside the door.

"What is this?" Qi Ran turned over the light-blue wrist guard in his hand, examined it closely, and couldn't help muttering to himself.

I swore that if I hadn't seen Qi Ran's face show some surprise and confusion, I would never have dared to laugh in front of him as he is now; yet the result was that I still laughed, unafraid of death.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked, his face cold but humbly seeking instruction.

I cleared my throat, suppressed the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, walked up to him, and took the wrist guard from his hand.

"Extend your hand." I said.

He looked at me doubtfully for a while, but eventually obediently stretched out his left hand.

I carefully slipped the wrist guard onto his wrist. His hand remained as slender and strong as before, crystal clear and fair, perfectly matching the size of the guard.

At this moment my heart overflowed with uncontainable warmth and tenderness, moisture glistened in my eyes, the corner of my mouth curled into a faint smile, and I whispered, "This... is called a wrist guard. When practicing swordplay or fighting, it can cushion the injury to your wrist..."

Suddenly a cool, soft sensation touched my face; I startled and lifted my head to see Qi Ran gazing at me with his blue eyes, in that instant showing astonishment and tenderness. His hand lightly brushed the faint dimple at the corner of my mouth, as if trying to gather that fleeting tenderness and smile.

Time flowed silently between us, beautiful and sorrowful. Until...

He somewhat flusteredly averted his gaze, withdrew his hand, and darted past me, bringing a gust of cold wind.

"From now on, keep following Master Ye." His pleasant yet icy, emotionless voice sounded behind me.

I quietly let out a breath, but only felt my heart ache sourly.

"Master." I held Xiao Yin, smiling faintly as I stood before Ye Shenhai, seeing his astonished, disbelieving expression, and I kindly added, "I'm back."

"Xiao Ruo!!" Yuan Yi lunged forward and hugged me excitedly, saying, "Master even said you wouldn't come back. I said, how could Xiao Ruo be so heartless!"

"Xiao Ruo you..." Master stared in astonishment at my unharmed shoulders and relaxed smile, unable to regain his composure for a moment.

I pulled Yuan Yi away from me, bowed sincerely to my master, and said, "Thank you, master, for protecting me with all your strength that day. This time, it is Qi... the young master who asked me to stay and follow you, so please continue to look after me."

"Master, the herbs here have all been gathered..." A familiar female voice approached from afar; I turned sharply and saw Xin Hui in medical attire carrying a basket, who also stared at me in surprise.

"Miss!!" Xin Hui flung herself over and hugged me tightly, tears and snot streaming onto me.

"I'm fine." I also held her tightly, feeling somewhat amused and inexplicably moved.

It turned out that the day they rushed back from Qi State to Yangzi State, they searched for me for several days without success. Then Wu Ye said he had something to attend to and left her alone, while Bu Sha never showed up.

Worried about my safety, when the palace recruited medical attendants, she relied on the medical knowledge she had crammed over those days in the Wei Lingfeng Palace, passed the selection, and sneaked into the palace.

"Xiao Ruo, your identity, as master I also don't wish to investigate." Master's tone was no longer as warm, carrying some distance and vigilance; he said coldly, "Since the young master had you stay, you two should just stay put and not cause any trouble."

I hurriedly lowered my head and answered sincerely, "Yes, master."

"Xin Hui, what are they all doing?" Xin Hui and I walked along the road, seeing everyone suddenly become busy, we retreated to a quiet spot before I asked, puzzled.

"Miss, you arrived here earlier than I did, so why don't you know?" Xin Hui gave me a helpless look and then said, "Yi State has several subsidiary states; this place is merely a tiny one. After they conquer a country, the main force stays there for a few days to reorganize, and only after everything settles do they leave a garrison to govern and defend, while the rest withdraw to the true capital of Yi State. Now a large contingent has already begun the return journey."

"So we're leaving this place?" I asked in surprise.

Xin Hui sighed, "It's you, Miss, who must leave; I have no qualification to join the main force."

"What?" I exclaimed, raising my voice, but before I could utter the next words, I heard frightened sobbing coming from behind a rock not far away.

I and Xin Hui hurried over to look, only to see a delicately featured girl about ten years old sitting shrinking behind a rock, her big, glossy eyes filled with terror as she stared at us, her whole body trembling.

"Little sister, are you alright?" I moved a bit closer and said softly, "Why are you alone here?"

"Ah—bad people—" Before I could even get close, she burst into tears and cries; I quickly stepped back a few paces, looking at her with some confusion.

Seeing that I no longer approached, her crying softened, but she continued to tremble all over, her eyes full of fear and vigilance, her face pallid, lips purple, as if she might faint at any moment.

Xin Hui and I exchanged a glance, seeing the same message in each other's eyes.

"Xin Hui, try approaching her, but remember not to be too eager." I stepped back a few paces and said in a low voice.

Xin Hui nodded, but the result was the same as before: as soon as she came within five meters of the girl, the girl would erupt into hysterical wailing.

"Miss..." Xin Hui said softly, looking at the little girl whose cries had gradually subsided but whose trembling grew worse, "Is this the social anxiety disorder you wrote about in your book?"

I frowned, nodded, then gave a bitter smile as I looked at the trembling girl, feeling only pity and reluctance: "Xin Hui, it seems you've met your first patient."

Xin Hui was about to reply when an angry shout rang out from behind us: "Who let you come near here?!"

Xin Hui and I turned in shock to see a tall, jade-like young man with a fair, refined visage, dressed as a scholar, glaring at us angrily, as if he wanted to swallow us whole.

The man, face cold, swept past us and snatched up the trembling, tear-streaked girl from the ground. Strangely, the girl showed no fear of him; instead, she buried her head in his arms and kept murmuring, "Brother, bad people… there are bad people…"

"Be good, Xiao Nian; with big brother here, don't be afraid." As he spoke, his handsome face overflowed with tenderness and boundless affection. The little girl actually stopped trembling.

"Miss, can her illness be cured?" Xin Hui gazed at the two of them, perhaps thinking of the still-undetermined fate of Xin Luo, and her expression gradually grew sorrowful.

I shrugged. "You've finished reading my 'psychotherapy' haven't you? Now that you've encountered your first patient, how do you think we should treat it…"

"What did you just say?!" A white light flashed before my eyes, and the scholar was already before us, his face a mix of anxiety and shock as he stared at us. I don't know how he heard our soft words, but his ears are as sharp as a dog's.

Xin Hui and I seemed oblivious; she furrowed her brow, tilted her head, pondered for a while, then gave an affirmative smile and said, "We should use Morita therapy to assist hypnotherapy, right, Miss?"

I smiled and nodded, then turned to look at the handsome scholar and the little girl in his arms, who now showed no fear of anyone approaching.

Xin Hui's gaze followed, landing on the girl's rosy cheeks, and she said softly, "Miss, you see she isn't afraid of anyone approaching even in her brother's arms; perhaps the situation isn't that serious—desensitization therapy might work too."

The scholar listened to our conversation, his jaw clicking repeatedly before snapping back into place; he seized Xin Hui's hand, eyes flashing with excitement, and exclaimed, "Can you cure Xiao Nian's illness?"

Xin Hui jerked her hand back, then frowned at him and said, "I'm not sure I can cure her either—I've never treated a person before."

I looked at the scholar, who was awkward, tense, and embarrassed, and couldn't help but chuckle, "Who are you?"

"Please excuse my rudeness, ladies." The scholar seemed to suddenly awaken, his refined, handsome face breaking into a faint smile as he said, "My name is Wen Ruobin."

As he spoke, he held the little girl in his arms; his eyes were jet-black like deep pools, the surface rippling with light while the depths remained dark and tranquil. My heart gave a slight twitch—Wen Ruobin—that name seemed vaguely familiar, though I couldn't recall where I'd heard it.

"Right, right, Miss, you just mentioned some 'field therapy' and 'sensitivity therapy'—could you explain them in detail?"

"Miss..." Xin Hui was startled by his sudden change in expression and attitude, especially since this was her first time treating a person, and she instinctively looked to me for help.

I shook my head with a smile, knowing that if I stayed nearby she would lack confidence and turn to me for help. So I said lightly, "Xin Hui, discuss Xiao Nian's condition properly with Young Master Wen. Master may send someone; I'll head back first. Remember, you must have confidence in yourself."

Having said that, I ignored Xin Hui's uneasy glance and turned to leave. At that moment I caught a glimpse of Wen Ruobin wearing a thoughtful expression, but it flashed by and was gone.

I had the feeling this person wasn't as simple as he appeared; able to come and go freely in the Imperial Palace, with an arrogant, domineering tone when he first appeared—who could he be?

(End of chapter)