Who the heck…?
Bai Yu was not an unreasonably cruel person. If there was an injured person in front of her, she would not hesitate to help. But this time, she was tempted to just let this foul-mouthed man die.
"Hurry up, you fool. My magic was suppressed by poison. I need you to heal me."
Bai Yu ignored his weak plea and stood up. Now that she looked more closely, she could see that he was a tall man wearing black clothing like the assassins she had seen often in Chinese period dramas. Half of his face was covered by a black mask, revealing only a part of his chin and his sharp mouth.
Hmph! She would never help him.
"With that kind of mouth, you should just bleed to death." She grimaced at the man before stomping her feet and walking away. But before she could move, her ankle was grabbed once again, making her fell for the second time.
"Ahh….Umph!"
"Quiet!"
She screamed and struggled in an attempt to get away from the stranger. His large, bloodied hand came to silence her as he gave an order. Though his hoarse voice was weak, the authority in his tone could make her keep still immediately.
"Stay still if you don't want to die." Bai Yu defiantly glared back. The speaker's voice was close to her, and she could see his eyes even with his half-mask on. She was surprised by his strange eyes that seemed to be white, like a fogged-up window, resembling a blind person's eyes.
Her irritation waned when she realized that the man seemed to be blind on top of being injured. Bai Yu lay still and rested her head on the arm that was covering her mouth. Her waist was hugged by his other hand as he changed position to lying sideways like he was shielding her from something.
As an actress, her job had made her used to being in intimate positions with men, though Bai Yu was certain that even in this era where closeness between men and women was not strictly frowned upon, it was probably still more conservative than her former world.
"There's blood around here. Find him."
"Understood."
The sound of footsteps in the area followed by the sound of bushes being rustled made Bai Yu immediately understand the current situation. If the man had not pulled her back, she would surely be found by this group of people. Considering her condition right now…Bai Yu had to thank him a thousand times!
"There's a temple past this forest. Send some people to search there."
"Understood."
Those people were heading to the temple!?
"Ummph!"
"Shhh"
She resumed her struggling again when she heard their words. Bai Yu could not be sure whether they had good intentions or not. What made her more worried was that there were only women and monks at the temple. However, the strange man still would not let go of her. Bai Yu mustered all her strength to bite into his hand, yet he was not affected by it at all. His only reaction was to send her a scolding look.
She understood that he had to hide, but she was worried about her people too!
Bai Yu tried to calm down and obediently waited for the sounds of their footsteps to leave. All the while she fought with the man through her gaze, which he returned in kind. Since Bai Yu could not fight the strength of his grip, she continued to bite at his hands to show her protest.
Eventually, the group of people left. Bai Yu only slightly pushed his chest and was easily released.
"What were you fretting for? There are Qin Wang's men protecting the temple. No need for you to worry."
"Then why don't you tell me that in the first place?" Bai Yu completely forgot that Ouyang Mingxian secretly placed his men near the temple to protect Bai Hua.
"Can I say anything with those men right next to us? You truly are a foolish woman."
"So for you, if I'm not an idiot then I'm a fool. Fine, go ahead and find an intelligent woman to help you then!" Who would want to save a foul-mouthed person like this? If he was quiet like Qin Wang when he was found injured by Bai Hua, then she would not hesitate to help.
Did fate create a wrong destiny for the wrong person? This kind of thing should have happened between Ouyang Mingxian and Bia Hua, not her and this brute!
Bai Yu moved to stand up again when he went silent. She thought that he must be feeling guilty so he was letting her go now. However, she could take only a few steps before his voice sounded behind her.
"Now I know why you were in such a hurry to leave while those men were still around."
Bai Yu frowned.
"A beauty wearing thin clothes despite the cold. You could see her alluring curves with just moonlight. No man would be able to refuse."
"You!"
Her eyes widened at the man's demeaning words. Her beautiful face turned into a scowl. Bai Yu did not care about preserving the image of a kind young lady. Right now she only wanted to swear at him until he could not remember where he came from anymore.
Her head was full of various curse words as she whipped her head back, but she was suddenly stopped when she came face to face with the man. Their faces were dangerously close, with her nose almost touching the chin of the person who suddenly approached her from behind. His gaze when he looked at her body was vulgar. But…how could he see her?
"You! Aren't you blind?"
She was in thin nightwear as he said. On her body were only an inner garment and another layer of a robe. Since she was preparing to go to bed, she only covered herself with a thick blanket instead of a fur coat. How could she know that she was going to run after this man's butterfly and met him?
"Hmph!" The man did not answer. He used only one hand to pull her into his strong chest. Bai Yu blurted out 'Shit!' again. She intended to start swearing at him when a strong hand forced her chin to lift up so that their eyes could meet.
The moonlight now was much brighter than moments ago. It was then that she realized that the fogged-up eyes that she saw while hiding were actually not colored white…
But it was silver!
In this world when a person's magic broke through the black level, their body would adapt to support the higher level of magic. For the people of Da Yang, it was their eyes that would change into the color of their magic. And this man in front of her…Silver magic…Silver eyes…This was a magic-user who was two levels higher than her red magic!
"I'm not blind. And I can clearly see your figure."
"You!"
"Although you're a little foolish, at least your appearance can make up for it." He continued riling her up.
"Stop talking!" Her face burned up by both anger and embarrassment. The man's lips moved like he was going to continue, so she raised her hand and bring it down with all her strength.
"Release me!" His large hand caught her wrist before her palm could hit his face. If he did not stop her, her hands would have been hurt by the mask.
Bai Yu tried to struggle, but her arm was tightly gripped by the man. She thought to herself that it must be bruised by him already.
"You've already insulted me by accusing me of being blind. Now you want to hurt me too?"
"That's because you're rude."
"What did I do?"
"You…" Bai Yu pressed her lips together tightly. Her face burned even hotter. "…You were looking…"
"It was you who ran at me."
"You!"
"Can't you be quiet for a moment?"
"Huh?"
Bai Yu who was furious became puzzled by the man's abrupt change in attitude. Suddenly, he let go of her and told her to be quiet with a bored tone. The masked man started panting, unlike his previously annoying actions.
"Where're you going?"
"Ow!" Bai Yu shrieked when her same hand was grabbed again. She was trying to walk away from this mercurial man. He told her to be quiet, so she wanted to leave him to his own silence. What was he stopping her for?
"Can't you be a little gentler? I'm a woman." Her white skin bruised easily, did he not know?
"Stop being stubborn and do what I said, then. I'm exhausted arguing with you."
"Why don't you treat me with more respect—ow!" He squeezed her wrist again.
"Women are all like this."
"Then don't bother with women like me, ow!"
"Stop arguing."
"Can you stop squeezing my arm? This is a human arm, not a blow-up doll's that you can just do whatever you please."
"What is a blow-up doll?"
"Just tell me what you want me to do."
If she talked about something that did not exist in this world, then he would still call her crazy and stupid no matter how much she explained for sure. Bai Yu changed the subject because she was tired of having to argue with the brute.
"Hmph!"
The large hand that was holding her wrist moved to bring her smaller hand to his chest. Bai Yu felt dampness and the metallic smell of blood from his broad chest. Her hands started shaking again. She was so caught up bickering with him that she forgot about her own fear.
The bright moonlight revealed how Bai Yu's face turned from ruddy to pale. The mouth that was talkative unlike a lady was now pressed tightly. Though the injured man was amused by her change from being a lioness to a kitten, he did not laugh out loud and made her insecure. He lightly squeezed Bai Yu's hand while talking in a mild voice, not the aggressive tone from his habit.
"Send your magic to my hand. My wound needs to be healed as soon as possible." He tightened his hand.
"I—I don't know how to use healing magic."
"I'll do it myself."
Bai Yu pressed her lips even tighter. She closed her eyes to concentrate. The image and the smell of blood were so very close to her.
"Show me that you're not a foolish woman."
Eyelids with thick eyelashes slowly opened. Dark eyes met the silver ones.
"I'm not foolish…" Pink lips murmured in displease as she focused her thought on sending the flow of magic to the hand that was touching the strong chest and held by a large hand.
The red light of magic emitted from her small hand. Soon after, a faint, almost invisible, silver light poured out from his large hand. Bai Yu had never heard of a method of using magic like this before, but she still tried to repeat what she had done to create her red butterfly from before. The two colors of magic entwined and expanded to envelop both of them together. Bai Yu sensed the same warmth that she felt when she received treatment from Ouyang Wenrou.
This was similar to the magic of regeneration. The man in front of her could utilize it, but the power was too weak so he had to rely on her magic as support. However, since his magic was two levels higher than her, his injuries could not be completely healed. Still, it was enough to stop the bleeding and close the wound.
The beauty's face was covered in sweat, her whole body shook as she pushed herself to send her magic to him. The masked man held her close to his own body, doing his utmost to prop both of them up and keep the healing process going smoothly even with depleted strength.
Thud! Bai Yu collapsed the moment that everything was over, not even caring about how her hand was still held within his. The magic aura of both colors slowly dissipated.
"Well done" His hand smoothed her hair that had been disheveled since they met. He crouched down while squeezing her hand as a message 'that's enough'. Bai Yu was panting so heavily that she did not pay attention to the praise from the man who had been rude.
"I…huff…I saved your life." She said through her gasps. Fierceness returned to her gaze as she looked at him again. This time, the masked man chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"You look hideous." His fingers stroked her cheek. Bai Yu immediately realized that he had used his bloodied hand to cover her mouth, so her face right now must have been smeared with blood all over. She hurriedly brushed his hand away.
"I saved your life. Please give me due respect!"
"Heh. Sure."
She glared at him again. Why did he enjoy angering her so much?
"I'll take you to the temple."
"That's what you should've done."
"I'll wait until you can walk."
"I'm exhausted because I used up all my magic to help you. You have to carry me there."
"Men and women should not be so intimate."
"You just thought of that now?!"
"You're such a shameless woman."
"And you're an ill-mannered man."
"You're insulting me again."
"You've also insulted me as an unmarried woman many times."
"Stubborn woman."
"Megalomaniac."
"If you have enough strength to bicker then you can walk back by yourself."
"You take me there!"
"Who's the megalomaniac here?"
"I saved your life!"
The man sighed.
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Nothing was out of the ordinary when they arrived at the temple. Bai Yu saw glimpses of Qin Wang's men patrolling around the area. It seemed that the appearance of those men had forced them to appear as well.
Though Ouyang Mingxian himself had already left, he still left his people around to protect the beauty. As expected of someone who knew to value jades and cherish flowers*, unlike this man in front of her.
When he carried her to the temple's front gate, she was suddenly put down. At least he did not throw her away like a sack.
"Qin Wang's men were inside. You'll be safe there. I can only see you off here."
"Thank you so very much to you, sir!"
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"Of course, sir!"
No matter how much she wanted to chop him up into a thousand pieces, he was at the very least a silver magic-user. Even though she could not remember who he was or what role he played in the series, his magic was enough to make her cautious of her actions toward him. She did not want to have bad blood with a powerful person.
But when she tried to treat him with respect, he provoked her. How could anyone control themselves?
A cool jade touched her stained cheek. Bai Yu lifted her face up, intending to look at the man who left her on the ground and was met with a jade tassel. It was made with black jade that was exquisitely carved into a delicate pattern.
"This is my identification jade. If you need help with anything, bring this to general Yue's mansion."
Because of his ongoing mission, he could not personally repay his life debt. Instead, he had to leave his important belonging to her so that someday when she needed urgent help, the Yue family could come to her aid. If he told her to bring the jade to the border, water from afar could not put out a nearby fire* and by then it would have been too late to repay any debt to her.
Bai Yu still stared at the jade in his hand.
"Take it, you fool. I have to go now."
The priceless black jade was haphazardly thrown onto her lap. Suddenly, the tall figure used a martial technique and disappeared from her sight.
He knew martial arts! This man was adept in martial arts and had silver magic!
Bai Yu forcefully pinched herself. Who did you insult, Bai Yu?! She briefly internally scolded herself before heaving a big sigh and pushed herself up. One hand tightly clenched the black jade tassel. Bai Yu slowly and silently drag her worn-out body back to her room.
Though her fear for the owner of the black jade had started to set in, she still could not help herself but cursed him in her head…If you are going to drop me off then why don't you commit to it until the destination? It was because she helped him that she had to be in this state!
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"Miss! Miss, where have you been? I—Aaaah! Umph! Mmmm!"
Bai Yu used her last reserve of strength to darted at Xiao Xi and covered her mouth. The maid had been walking in circles in her room. She must have come in to check on Bai Yu and became distressed when she did not see her in bed. Now that she saw her miss in a state like this, she was possibly shocked.
And if it was her, she would feel the same. A bloodied white dress, disheveled hair, dirty face, and lips stained with blood. If this happened in her past life, people would no doubt thought she was a ghoul. It's over. Her image as the number one beauty was now in shambles.
"Be quiet, now. And go fetch me some water to bathe."
"Mi…miss, what did you do?"
"I heard strange noises so I went outside and rescued a wounded rabbit. I used up a lot of magic and now I want to rest. Hurry up, go get me water." Bai Yu lied to her maid in order to avoid answering further questions. She really was exhausted.
Shortly, Xiao Xi brought warm water for her to clean herself and change into a new set of clothes. Bai Yu let the maid manage everything since she had no strength left to move. Internally, she was dejected. She was hideous as that man had said. She, the number one beauty of the capital, was in such a state in front of a man. Even though they did not know each other, it was still too unimpressive.
"Miss, this jade…"
"Oh."
After finishing her bath, Xiao Xi brought the black jade to her with a puzzled face. Bai Yu immediately took the beautiful jade away from her maid's eyes and dismissed the curious puppy, sending her out of the room with a wave.
As soon as Xiao Xi left, she turned back to examine the jade tassel. The black jade was carved into a dragon encircling the character 'Rui'. Bai Yu remembered that the identification jade tassel of every male royalty in Da Yang was carved into a dragon and a character that show the name of their rank.
The character on this tassel was 'Rui', a one-syllable name, which meant the owner had the position of the first prince of the dynasty who was only second to Emperor and Taizi.
This was the identification jade of 'Rui Qin Wang' or 'Rui Wang'.
Bai Yu dug around in both her memory and the body's, trying to find anything about Rui Wang.
Rui Wang…
Rui Wang…
Rui Wang…
Who the heck…?
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*Value jades and cherish flowers: Being gentle to women
*Water from afar could not put out a nearby fire: A help from far away cannot solve the immediate problem