060 Sober up

Pain!

Discomfort!

This was Shen Tang's initial sensation.

A headache, sore hands, aching waist, throbbing legs, sore feet...

Every part of her body was in agony.

As consciousness returned, it seemed like the cells of this body were protesting with drums and gongs. With a slight inhale, the strong scent of earth and blood rushed into her nostrils. She furrowed her brows slightly, feeling a pulsating pain in her temples, her eyelashes fluttering, slowly opening her eyes.

Shen Tang's collapse took everyone by surprise. Zhai Le could only manage to divert his attention long enough to command two black-armored soldiers to assist in guarding, lest casualties occur in the melee. Qi Shan, on the other hand, was both exasperated and amused; who could have anticipated such a sudden turn of events?

As she drew near, she heard Shen Tang muttering curses under her breath.

"Damn it—where the hell am I?"

As soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself face down, half of her face buried in a puddle of mud, cheeks smeared with mud. As she raised her hand to wipe it, her palm was stained with blood. Only then did she realize that it wasn't just any muddy puddle; it was a "blood puddle" formed by the gathering of blood!

Struggling to sit up, she looked around.

The glow of fire reflected in her eyes. Most of the houses in the mountains were destroyed by the fierce flames, and everywhere she looked, there were scattered limbs and corpses strewn about. Blood still trickled from wounds. It was easy to deduce that a fierce battle had erupted here not long ago.

The cries of battle echoed incessantly around her.

This scene made Shen Tang couldn't help but wonder if she had once again traveled through time, and landed on the battlefield of a small-scale skirmish.

It's no wonder she imagined such a scenario.

She clearly remembered being under the porch of a house not long ago, enjoying the moonlight while drinking and drying her wet hair, feeling relaxed and happy. How did she end up here in this unfamiliar mountain hollow with soldiers wearing red and black armor fighting each other?

The only thing she could be grateful for was that the attention of these soldiers was not on her; otherwise, it would have been dangerous if any of them had targeted her.

"Shen Wulang, Shen Xiaolangjun—"

At this moment, a familiar male voice sounded in Shen Tang's ears.

Turning her head in the direction of the voice, she indeed saw a familiar face.

She exclaimed joyfully, "Yuanliang! What are you doing here?"

Qi Shan: "..."

With a simple sentence, he cut off the sarcastic remark he wanted to blurt out, leaving him speechless instead.

What qualifications did Shen Tang have to ask him that question?

Didn't Shen Xiaolangjun have any idea why he was here in the middle of the night?

Qi Shan showed a "gracious" smile and softly asked Shen Tang, "Does Shen Xiaolangjun remember what you did before?"

Shen Tang: "..."

Though utterly perplexed, her intuition told her that Qi Shan's smile was insidious, definitely harboring ill intentions. Just as she finished speaking, Qi Shan's smile became even more "radiant." She felt a slight tingling sensation on her scalp, and her entire body tensed unnaturally.

Shen Tang timidly said, "I don't know."

Then she stammered, "What, what did I do?"

"What did you do?" Qi Shan nearly gritted his teeth, "You ran all the way to the vicinity of the central government office of Xiaocheng, then dashed out of Xiaocheng, and darted into the deep mountains over twenty miles away. Shen Yu'li, oh Shen Yu'li, you sure know how to run!"

Shen Tang: "..."

"Others have a drink, at most they'll get a little tipsy and say some nonsense. But you, you have a drink, and you're ready to draw your sword on anyone you lay eyes on, am I right?"

Shen Tang, who received a barrage of reprimands, blinked in bewilderment and innocence. She belatedly realized that she had a hand in this mess.

"I didn't mean to..."

As a homebody and artist, she knew her tolerance for alcohol wasn't great, but she never imagined that a bowl of wine would knock her out, and that after being knocked out, she would start ranting and brandishing her sword. Seeing Qi Shan's worried anger, she felt embarrassed and ashamed, wishing she could disappear into the ground.

Qi Shan let out a sigh of frustration, feeling deflated like a punctured balloon. He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Drink less in the future."

If Shen Xiaolangjun drank without causing trouble for others, it would be fine, but unfortunately, it was always others who suffered. No matter what, he had to intervene.

Shen Tang: "Oh."

With the loss of their leader, the soldiers in red armor were like headless flies and were soon devoured by the soldiers in black armor. The sounds of battle gradually subsided. Zhai Le withdrew the Tiger Symbol of Martial Valor and, with one hand supporting the heavily injured "thief," approached Shen Tang. There was a faintly smug smile in his peach blossom-like eyes, as he called out loudly, "Brother Shen, I have brought you this thief who stole your treasure!"

Shen Tang was full of question marks: "Huh?"

Qi Shan glanced expressionlessly at the "thief."

Was this the thief that Shen Xiaolangjun went berserk and chased for over twenty miles in the dead of night? It was estimated that he had fallen victim to mistaken identity... Well, that's not entirely accurate. If Shen Xiaolangjun hadn't stumbled upon him by accident, judging from the commotion, this man would've been doomed!

With this in mind, Qi Shan's eyes narrowed slightly.

How could an ordinary person attract such intense pursuit? Even an Eighth Rank Official was not a dime a dozen and could be encountered anywhere. Allowing someone of such strength to come after him...

He narrowed his eyes in contemplation, faintly guessing something.

As for the "thief" mentioned by Zhai Le...

Startled by the words, the heavily injured man was suddenly taken aback. Even though his face was covered in a thick layer of bloodstains, it couldn't hide the confusion on his face. He didn't know when he had become a "thief." He was sure he hadn't "stolen" anything from Shen Tang, but he couldn't deny that he possessed valuable treasures.

He tensed his muscles, alert.

Shen Tang looked puzzled and asked Zhai Le, "What thief?"

Zhai Le was also caught off guard by her question. Pointing at the "thief," he raised his voice, "Didn't Brother Shen say that this person stole your treasure?"

Shen Tang: "..."

She didn't, she hadn't, don't wrong the good guy!

Faced with the scrutiny of three pairs of eyes, Shen Tang took a step back, feeling unsure of herself. "I, I got drunk earlier..."

So, whatever she did had nothing to do with her true self!

For a moment, the atmosphere was so awkward that one could almost dig out a three-room apartment from the ground. Shen Tang looked down and saw, oh, her clogs were on backwards. Taking advantage of no one noticing this detail, she quietly took off the clogs and put them back on the right way, pretending nothing happened.

Hearing these words, the "thief" breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he wasn't targeted, it was fine...

Because they looked so disheveled, Shen Tang and the others couldn't return to Xiaocheng like this. They planned to rough it in the wilderness for the night, while taking the heavily injured "thief" to a house downstream to handle his wounds and clean the stains.

Since there was only one set of nightclothes, Shen Tang could only hastily wash her face. It was still midsummer, not yet autumn, and the air was still humid and oppressive, as if an invisible force was pressing on her chest. Coupled with the bloodstains and grime sticking to her skin, Shen Tang felt uncomfortable all over.

"I'll go chop some firewood."

There was still some firewood left in the house.

After resting for a while, the weakness and fatigue from just waking up had faded. Shen Tang, carrying her Motherly Sword, went to chop wood, while Zhai Le was persuaded by her to dig a pit and bury the bodies. Qi Shan was responsible for taking care of the heavily injured "thief." With limited resources in the wilderness, they could only provide basic treatment for his wounds. But with the recovery ability of a Ninth Rank Official, he would be healed within seven or eight days.

"Many thanks to the three noble saviors."