Chapter 65 Lighting the Green Lamp: Xue Chan's blood dripped onto Jiang Ce's face.

Jiang Ce panicked immediately and, without thinking, reached out to investigate.

Xue Chan's forehead was burning hot!

They couldn't wait for the palace servants to come looking for them; they had to take Xue Chan away immediately.

Jiang Ce kicked down a thick piece of wood, wrapped Xue Chan lightly in a gauze robe, mounted his horse, and pulled her close.

He used long logs to clear a path as he rode down the mountain.

Fanglu Mountain is too big, and they are far from the imperial palace. Even if they wanted to find a doctor for Xue Chan, the nearest place to go is the Wei River.

Jiang Ce carefully rode his horse quickly to the halfway point of the mountain, but the sky had already darkened.

He walked through a patch of grass and trees, only to find a mountain path suddenly appearing beneath his hooves, with some water stains on the dirt road.

It seems someone was fetching water, so there are probably houses nearby.

Jiang Ce lifted a corner of his gauze robe, and Xue Chan closed her eyes tightly, her brows furrowed in discomfort.

He wiped the blood from his cheek where a branch had scratched him, and rode his horse along the mountain path in search of the wound.

After a short while, he saw a moss-covered staircase with an old, rustic wall on top.

"Lotus Temple..."

Buddhist and Taoist practitioners often combine medicine with medicine; even if they don't, it's good to let her rest for now.

Jiang Ce dismounted, quickly fastened the reins, and hurriedly carried Xue Chan up the stone steps to knock on the door.

A young woman opened the door: "What brings you here, benefactor?"

Jiang Ce was taken aback; so this was a nunnery. He glanced down at Xue Chan and said urgently, "My wife has suffered from heatstroke and we don't have time to go down the mountain to find a doctor. I beg your esteemed nunnery to take us in for a while. Even just a small space or two bowls of water would be helpful."

She hesitated, frowning behind the crack in the door, unable to make up her mind.

"What's up?"

Jiang Ce heard another female voice. A slightly older young woman appeared from behind the door. She had a cold and stern look on her face and stepped forward to examine Jiang Ce and Xue Chan on his back.

She coldly refused.

"It's getting late, and I see there aren't many houses, and they're all inhabited by women. You should leave."

She refused outright.

As the temple gate was about to close, Jiang Ce immediately reached out to stop it: "You cultivate Buddhism and seek the Tao, aren't you all filled with compassion? How can you stand by and watch someone die?"

The other party seemed to be somewhat relenting, and he immediately said, "Don't worry, I will definitely pay a visit the next day to express my gratitude for funding the renovation of your esteemed residence..."

"No!" The female Taoist priest's expression immediately changed when she heard him say he would come another day. "Get out of here!"

Jiang Ce clung tightly to the door while keeping an eye on Xue Chan on his back, and they began to struggle at the doorway.

"I already said, all I need are a few bowls of herbal medicine; money is no problem!"

The commotion startled the people inside the temple, and someone shouted a rebuke.

"Songqing, what are you doing?"

The female Taoist priest who had been blocking the door reluctantly let go, and the gate was opened, with several young female Taoist priests escorting a very old woman in.

Someone said something to her, and the female Taoist first looked Jiang Ce up and down, then glanced at Xue Chan, and immediately smiled.

"Since you two have come to my temple, it is fate, how could I not help you?"

"Make room for Jiang Ce," she instructed the young female Taoist priest following behind her, stepping aside to let him in.

Jiang Ce followed them into the room and gently placed Xue Chan on the couch.

Before long, several people were standing in the room. The female Taoist took Xue Chan's pulse and said, "She's fine. She'll feel much better after taking some medicine and resting here for the night."

Song Qing, standing beside the couch, frowned.

Jiang Ce bowed to everyone and said, "It is already an inconvenience for your temple to take her in. Please leave the care of her to me."

Jiang Ce took a towel and knelt down beside the bed to carefully examine Xue Chan.

Several people were standing in the room, all staring at the two of them, making Jiang Ce feel a chill run down his spine.

He turned his head and saw the female Taoist priest looking at him with a slight smile, while the other young, or perhaps bolder, girls were also staring at him.

Standing at the very back, Song Qing had a cold expression on her face.

Jiang Ce felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, so he took out the silver he had brought with him and spoke to him respectfully.

"I apologize for disturbing your meditation. Please accept this as a small token of my appreciation."

“My lord, there’s no need for that.” The woman returned the money, and then seemed to smile, a smile that made Jiang Ce feel somewhat uncomfortable, so he could only awkwardly smile back.

"Please give her some herbal medicine to make her feel better."

The old nun chuckled and said, "Young man, you are truly beautiful and kind-hearted; Heaven will surely bless you."

Jiang Ce didn't know how to respond, so he just smiled awkwardly, gave a perfunctory bow, and sat back down on the bed to take care of Xue Chan.

Everyone else left one after another, leaving Jiang Ce alone in the room.

He reached out and touched Xue Chan's forehead; it was still burning hot. Her tightly closed eyes and sweat-dampened hair showed her obvious discomfort.

"Don't worry, we'll go back."

Jiang Ce brushed aside her damp hair and carefully wiped Xue Chan's face and hands, then lowered his head and spoke to her softly.

However, Xue Chan only frowned more and more in pain, her lips gradually turning white, and in some places even cracking.

Jiang Ce quickly moistened her lips with a handkerchief.

After a while, the door was pushed open, and someone brought in a basin of water.

Jiang Ce immediately got up to catch it, but Ke Songqing quickly turned to the side and stood at the head of the bed, so he missed.

He stared wide-eyed at the young yet aloof female Taoist priest in disbelief. Although she had just chased him away, Jiang Ce remained polite.

"What does the Primordial Sovereign mean?"

Song Qing simply said, "The medicine is being brewed outside. Go and go see the medicine. I'll clean her up."

Jiang Ce felt something was off about this place and didn't want to leave Xue Chan, so he refused: "No, I need to keep an eye on her."

Song Qing said, "Once she's feeling better, you should take her and leave this place and go down the mountain."

Jiang Ce looked out the window at the sky, which was already mostly dark, and felt somewhat angry.

“It’s getting dark now, and we’re still far from the foot of the mountain. There’s no village or shop in sight, and she’s sick. Can’t we wait until tomorrow to leave?”

"It's already an act of kindness of me to take you in for a few moments. You still want to stay until tomorrow?" Song Qing glanced at him indifferently and sneered. Her sharp gaze swept over the two of them: "You say you are husband and wife, but I don't think so. Not to mention that she still wears the hairstyle of a young lady in her boudoir, either you abducted her here, or you two ran away because of your affair."

Not only were the words harsh, but the looks they gave them were filled with disgust.

Having received a favor from someone, Jiang Ce didn't really have anything to say. However, these words were too harsh, and he couldn't help but want to argue back.

Although Xue Chan was ill and had a high fever, she did not completely faint. She briefly regained consciousness and saw a young woman as soon as she looked up.

"Who are you......"

Although Jiang Ce didn't know the reason for her dislike of him, he didn't care about that now that Xue Chan was awake. He carefully helped Xue Chan sit up, and then stood behind her, trying to let her lean on him as much as possible.

“We are in a Taoist temple in Fanglu Mountain. Songqing Yuanjun is a female Taoist priest who practices here. You have heatstroke and are running a fever. The people in the temple have taken us in.”

The soft-spoken explanation reached Xue Chan's ears. She struggled to turn her head and look up, only to meet Jiang Ce's gaze as he lowered his head to speak to her.

Oh... she remembered, she had just been listening to him spout those meaningless nonsense.

I got dizzy listening to it.

Just as she was about to speak, Xue Chan grabbed his arm and shook her head, then said to Song Qing, "Thank you for taking me in and for the medicine. I will leave as soon as I feel better and will never bother you again."

Ultimately, it was she who took them in; otherwise, it's uncertain whether Xue Chan would have been able to hold out until they descended the mountain.

Jiang Ce gently laid Xue Chan down, stood up and walked to Song Qing, bowing respectfully with his hands clasped.

"I am very grateful to the Lord Yuan today. In addition to the money that was given to me before, I will definitely visit your temple in two days to thank you all."

Song Qing didn't speak, and his extremely cold expression softened slightly.

She simply said, "You don't need to thank me, and you don't need to come again. Once she's feeling better, hurry down the mountain. Go and brew her medicine now."

Jiang Ce really didn't know why she was so cold and hard. He just got up and thought that it wasn't good for him, a man, to be in a Taoist temple full of women.

Are you feeling better?

He sat down by Xue Chan's bedside, reached out and touched her forehead again, and asked her softly.

Perhaps her illness was too sudden, which drained her energy and spirit, leaving her looking extremely listless.

"It's much better than before..." She took two deep breaths, reached out to tug at Jiang Ce's sleeve, and opened her mouth to speak.

But the sound was too soft and fell to the ground before it reached Jiang Ce's ears.

Jiang Ce laid her down, still hesitant, before heading out.

Only Song Qing and Xue Chan remained in the room. She was cold, but she took good care of Xue Chan with care and gentleness.

Thank you so much...

Song Qing fed her a spoonful of water directly into her mouth, silencing her.

"Let's talk less."

Xue Chan was in a daze, and couldn't help but laugh when she heard these words.

She hasn't said anything yet.

At the other end of the Taoist temple, someone knocked on the door: "A message has been sent that a distinguished guest will be arriving tonight."

The female Taoist withdrew her hand, crossed her arms, and circled the unconscious Jiang Ce. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "Keep an eye on her. I'll deal with him after the important person leaves."

The female Taoist priest timidly replied, "Yes," and then asked, "What about the woman he brought...?"

"If she submits willingly, her life will be spared; if she does not... then just do it the way it was before."

It was already late, and the chirping of insects and birds had ceased.

Xue Chan slept for a while and felt much better, but Jiang Ce never came back after he went out. Song Qing said she went to look for him, but she didn't come back either.

She caught her breath, struggled to sit up, then got off the bed and slowly walked around, using the surrounding chests and cabinets as support, taking the opportunity to look around the room.

The window was half open, and outside was a small courtyard with a low wall connecting it to a corridor.

Beneath the window is a dressing table, and inside the chest are a vanity case, filled with rouge, fine clothes...

"We need to leave here..."

Another series of chaotic footsteps sounded outside, and Xue Chan immediately tried her best to climb out of the window.

Although she couldn't see clearly, her hearing was very sharp. The Taoist temple was filled with a cacophony of sounds, even including the clang of swords.

Not knowing where Jiang Ce was, she tried to run along the corridor, but someone entered her old place and shouted, "She ran away!"

Xue Chan dragged her ailing body and struggled to walk, but being unfamiliar with the area, she could only hide as she went. With great difficulty, she climbed a tree, clung to the top of a wall, and descended into the mountains outside.

The man pursuing her is getting closer and closer, and her heart is being drawn high.

"Hmm!"

Xue Chan was pulled and pressed against the dark side of the hillside, her mouth covered.

She dared not utter a sound, and could only hold her breath until the pursuers were far away before she dared to catch her breath. When she looked up, she found that the Taoist temple was already on fire.

By the light of the fire, Xue Chan could roughly see who was pulling her.

It's you.

Song Qing pulled her up: "Let's go!"

Xue Chan was being carried along by her, and asked, "Do you know where he is?"

Song Qing knew she was asking about Jiang Ce, so she said, "He's having a big fight with those people right now."

If he is lucky enough to survive, and we are fortunate enough to meet again, then I will express my gratitude for saving him.

Xue Chan was already seriously ill, and having finally managed to escape, she was now completely exhausted. She released Song Qing's grip on her hand and said, "You should go. My presence will only hinder your escape."

When Jiang Ce helped her, he asked her, "If you meet her, save her as a way of repaying her kindness."

Someone was chasing them in the woods, and Song Qing didn't want to get involved: "You should think it through."

"I wish you peace." Xue Chan turned and left immediately.

The fire at the Taoist temple kept burning.

Jiang Ce was already drugged and was being held captive by that lecherous woman when he discovered a lot of random, incomprehensible things, as well as some obscene pictures, which made him want to vomit.

Having finally broken free, they wanted to take Xue Chan away, but instead encountered a bunch of uninvited guests.

He fought his way out almost bare-handed, leaning against the wall, blood streaming down his arms. He had killed almost all of these people.

Jiang Ce couldn't help but slide to the ground, panting, but Xue Chan had long since disappeared. He could only hope that her escape skills would hold up and that she would survive.

The effects of the medicine hadn't worn off, and he was injured, leaving him feeling dizzy.

Yu Guangzhong saw one of the men he had killed stand up and walk towards him.

Jiang Ce struggled to his feet, trying to reach for the knife.

"Pfft!"

Blood spurted out, and the man who was about to attack him froze, his chest pierced by the knife, before he fell to the ground.

Jiang Ce then realized that Xue Chan had somehow picked up the tip of the broken knife and stabbed the other man. However, because there was no hilt, the blade had already deeply cut her palm, and blood was dripping down the tip.

The blood from her hands dripped onto her face.

Jiang Ce was in so much pain he couldn't breathe; the wound and the veins throbbed with pain. He was a general, and he felt pain even from minor injuries and bumps, let alone from Xue Chan's hand.

Those were hands meant for painting; how could they possibly wield swords and knives, leaving them covered in wounds and blood?

Time gave Jiang Ce no time to feel sorry for her, and Xue Chan grabbed him and ran away.

"Run!"

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Author's Note: Xiao Jiang: Innocence in Danger

Xiao Xue: Life in danger