A night wind swept through, and the vast, dark wilderness was filled with blood.

The boy's voice was as light as a flowing cloud, yet it sent shivers down her spine.

The roars of wild beasts in the distance were not as chilling as the cold light behind him.

"Your collarbone is beautiful; it would be even more beautiful if it were made into a specimen."

Chu Changning trembled and glanced down at the exposed muscles and bones.

The fight was so intense that their clothes were torn open, revealing glimpses of their glistening skin.

She hesitated, as if about to say something.

My neck was suddenly choked, and a feeling of suffocation surged up.

She immediately swung her knife and slashed.

But the boy was as fast as lightning. His wrist was grabbed, and his body was slammed to the ground like a rag doll.

She felt the pain and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The boy looked down at her.

Oh no, not looking at her.

It was the knife in her hand that I was looking at.

Those azure-blue glass eyes stared intently at the cold blade, carrying a light that was hard to decipher.

Chu Changning gripped the knife tightly and looked up.

The warm moonlight flowed like water onto the boy's face.

Her features were captivating, like a seductive fox in the mountains, her eyebrows and eyes as bright as the moon soaring through the clouds. When the wind blew, it lifted her red robe, making her look like a peach or plum tree in full bloom, dazzling in her beauty.

I'm sorry to have disturbed your rest.

A sound as light as a drizzle slowly reached his ears.

The boy's gaze finally shifted from the knife to her face.

Chu Changning had originally disguised herself as a peasant woman, but after this fight, her hair was disheveled, her glistening collarbone was exposed, and her fair and delicate appearance was clearly not the same person as her wrinkled face.

"Who are you?"

Suddenly, he stepped on her shoulder and leaned down to interrogate her.

Chu Changning winced in pain and hissed, "I fled from Qudu. I don't know why those assassins came to capture us."

Fleeing from war?

The young man raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "How old are you?"

Her eyes darkened slightly as she truthfully replied, "Just past the 29th."

The boy paused, then chuckled softly.

He began to scrutinize her from head to toe, a fleeting, enigmatic light flashing in his bewitching, glassy eyes as he looked at her.

Chu Changning felt a pain from his step and frowned slightly.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, young master. Could you please let me go?"

The boy released her and walked back, his soft, ethereal voice echoing in the cold wind.

"Come over and grill some fish."

Chu Changning watched as he leaped up the tree trunk and lay down lazily.

She paused, then stood up, clutching the discomfort in her shoulder.

In the dark, dense forest, blood and corpses were everywhere, and a pungent, choking smell permeated the air.

Chu Changning wrinkled his nose and woke up the unconscious Taozhi.

"Princess--"

Tao Zhi was shot in the back with an arrow and looked weak.

Chu Changning glanced warily at the boy who was sleeping with his eyes slightly closed on the high branch.

She blocked Taozhi's view, tore open the clothes on her shoulder, and took out a porcelain bottle from her bundle to apply medicine.

She took all of these from Yan Beimo's warehouse; they had medicine for all kinds of injuries.

Tao Zhi had also practiced martial arts since childhood and had great endurance; when she pulled out the arrow, there wasn't a single puncture wound.

Chu Changning deftly bandaged and changed her dressing, giving her a few instructions as he did so.

After finishing all this, she helped Taozhi to rest by the fire and dragged all the corpses away from her.

The man in black had almost no wounds on his body, except for a thin red mark on his neck, indicating that he was killed instantly.

Chu Changning felt a sense of dread; with such powerful internal energy, crushing them would be as easy as killing straw dogs.

"You brat, I told you to grill the fish."

A voice, as smooth as fine snow, rang out, tinged with displeasure.

Chu Changning quickly snapped out of his thoughts and replied.

"Too many corpses will make it stink."

After saying that, she went to the riverbank to wash her hands, gathered firewood, and walked out of the dense forest.

The night wind was chilly, and wild beasts in the depths of the forest let out sharp, piercing cries. The sound of bamboo flutes, played by the boy in harmony with the wind, drifted slowly over, ethereal and distant in this desolate and deep night.

Chu Changning added firewood and handed over the grilled fish.

Under the moonlight, he was dressed in red, looking down at her with a languid posture.

Seeing that the fish in her hand was burnt, he scoffed disdainfully.

"Go bake it again."

"---"

In the deep mountains and forests, let her wade through the water to catch fish?

Chu Changning wanted to curse inwardly, but said softly, "There are no fish around here, let's just make do with this."

"Yeah?"

He glanced at me sideways, toying with a bamboo leaf in his hand.

Chu Changning took a step back cautiously and probed.

"It's too late, it's not good to eat too much."

"I'm happy to."

If you're willing, go and get it yourself. What kind of skill is it to bully a woman?

Chu Changning cursed silently in his heart, put down the burnt grilled fish, and turned to head into the dense forest.

Night had fallen, and the river was cool and dark.

She rolled up her trousers, grabbed a fork, and went into the river.

After a long day of travel and being chased by assassins, she was exhausted both physically and mentally. She managed to catch a fish and hurried back home.

The gentle sound of bamboo rustling echoed through the dense forest, and fireflies, appearing out of nowhere, circled ahead to guide her.

After Chu Changning returned to the resting place, he found that Taozhi had woken up.

She handed her one of the two burnt fish and then put the fresh fish on the fire to grill.

"Princess--"

Peach Branch watched the boy in the tree warily.

Chu Changning shook his head, indicating that she should ignore it.

The night wind was chilly, and a cold sensation ran through my body.

Chu Changning glanced at his wet trouser legs, then walked over to the fire and sat down.

She picked up the burnt fish from the side and ate it slowly.

Suddenly, a sharp object crashed down on my head.

Chu Changning felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and was both surprised and angry. He looked up.

"I haven't eaten yet, what are you going to eat?"

The boy's eyes darted around, and the smile on his lips was extremely wicked.

"---"

Is something wrong with you?

Chu Changning suppressed his anger and pointed to the grilled fish next to him, "Yours will be ready soon."

The boy clicked his tongue, "If it gets burnt again, I'll throw you in to roast."

Neuropathy.

Chu Changning ignored him, rubbed his shoulders, and walked to an open space to eat by himself.

"Hey, what's your name?"

“A-Wan”.

The boy smiled upon hearing this, and under the moonlight, he resembled a bewitching enchantress.

Chu Changning turned around and asked, "What is your honorable name, young master?"

"Gu Xuanye".

Their eyes met in the night, each lost in their own thoughts.

Chu Changning was extremely tired. Seeing that the fish was cooked, he handed it to him.

Fortunately, Gu Xuanye did not make things difficult for her.

The two spent the night peacefully together.

The next day, Chu Changning woke Taozhi up early, wanting to grab his bundle and slip away.

But to their surprise, just as the two mounted their horses, they heard the boy's faint voice behind them.

Why are you running?

Chu Changning, "---"

She turned around and saw Gu Xuanye, dressed in a red robe, leaning against a tree. White light shone through the branches onto his face, giving him an inexplicably sinister air.

"Well, we need to get going. Thank you for saving us last night. Until we meet again."

Gu Xuanye raised an eyebrow and, with a ghostly movement, leaped onto her horse.

Chu Changning was slightly startled and was about to turn around.

He then pulled on the reins and rode away with a spur.

"Miss---"

Taozhi quickly slung her bundle over her shoulder and rode off after them.