Chapter 201 Even with only one eye left, Broken Eyebrow can still see...

Ajiu stood tall and imposing, but her brow twitched uncontrollably. Wanqixi laughed heartily, carrying his sword and walking towards the inner room with his back turned. Suddenly, he remembered something and stopped, glancing back towards the inner room. He raised his eyebrows at Ajiu in a provocative manner.

"Guan Ye? Guan Ye!"

The Feng family's house was dilapidated and drafty. Guan Ye was gathering dry branches to start a fire when she suddenly heard someone calling her name outside. Guan Ye stopped, put down the branches, dusted off the debris, and stood up. The door was pushed open heavily. Guan Ye turned around and saw that the person's face was covered with congealed bloodstains, and large drops of blood were seeping from his left eye due to agitation, each drop falling to the ground and blooming into a small blood flower.

With just one glance, Guan Ye recognized Mu Chenbi. Before Guan Ye could speak, Mu Chenbi strode forward and put his arm around her shoulder. He wanted to hold his beloved woman tightly in his arms like Xiao Ma, but he was a gentleman. He longed for it, but he couldn't do it.

“Your eyes…” Guan Ye reached out to smooth his disheveled hair. Suddenly, she seemed to be transported back to the day A Jiu was injured. A Jiu’s face was covered in blood, but he won the qualification to test the Meteor Sword without any major incident. Under the sword light and blood shadow, his expression remained unchanged, just like a god.

Amidst the blood-red light, Mu Chenbi raised his phoenix-feather eyelashes. Seeing that his eyes were unharmed, Guan Ye felt slightly relieved. Looking at the deep, bone-revealing sword mark, she recognized it. Lou Cangyu, it was Lou Cangyu again.

Guan Ye turned to find some wound medicine. "Sit down, I'll apply some medicine for you."

"It's alright." Mu Chenbi's knees slowly buckled, and he slumped to the ground, leaning against the wall behind him. After a life-or-death battle, he was exhausted and unable to put on a brave front in front of Guan Ye. "Just stay with me."

Guan Ye picked up an earthenware basin, intending to fetch some clean water from the well in the courtyard. "Guan Ye..." Mu Chenbi, seeing her about to leave, raised his hand and reached out to her. "Don't go." Guan Ye glanced at him, but still turned and left. Mu Chenbi leaned against the wall, letting out a few weary whispers.

Wan Qixi, holding his sword, watched from afar and clicked his tongue, saying, "Looks... kind of pitiful."

"He's pitiful?" Ajiu looked incredulous. "More pitiful than you or me?"

Wanqi Xi glanced at Ajiu and said, "According to Cui Jin's plan, you should replace Mu Chenbi. As long as Mu Chenbi dies, with Cui Jin's help, it is not impossible for you to ascend to the position of Azure Dragon. At that time, you will be able to look down on the world and will no longer be the pitiful beggar under Cangshan Mountain."

"You really think of me as a pawn in Cui Jin's game, someone he can manipulate and play with at will?"

"Isn't that right?" Wan Qixi retorted.

Ajiu scoffed, "Then why are you helping us? Aren't you and Cui Jin—no, it should be Ajing—in cahoots?"

“Just think of me as…” Wan Qixi rubbed his nose, “because I’m bored.” Seeing that Ajiu remained silent, Wan Qixi added, “His name is Cui Jin, but he prefers to be called A Jing, because A Jing is the name my sister gave him, and Cui Jin likes the name very much.”

Ajiu's eyes were like the deep sea, her chin resting on the hilt of her sword as she stared intently at Guan Ye, who was splashing water. "He doesn't like the name itself, but rather the person who named it. He should like your sister."

Wan Qixi didn't reply, but raised an eyebrow at Guan Ye and said, "The woman you like, aren't you going to lend her a hand?"

Ajiu frowned and said coldly, "The woman I like is going to save the man I hate. Should I go and help her? Am I stupid or cheap? Why don't you go instead?"

Wan Qixi chuckled a few times and then stopped talking.

Guan Ye brought over clean water. Hearing the noise, Mu Chenbi opened his eyes. Guan Ye rubbed the towel until it was half dry, then squatted down next to Mu Chenbi, closely examining the wounds on his eyebrows and eyes, and checking again to see if his eyes had been injured.

“I can see.” Mu Chenbi saw Guan Ye’s worry for him and forced a relaxed smile. “Even if I really lose one eye, I still have one eye, and I can still see you.”

"Pah, pah, pah." Guan Ye obviously didn't want to hear such unlucky words. She turned away, unable to bear looking into Mu Chenbi's resentful eyes. This man was willing to risk his life for her, but she... couldn't give him anything. "What if you go blind in both eyes? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Mu Chenbi's smile grew even more unrestrained. "You're blind? Then will you stay by my side and be my eyes?"

Seeing Guan Ye freeze in shock, Mu Chenbi quickly said, "I was just talking nonsense, I won't say it again."

Guan Ye held a half-damp towel close to Mu Chenbi's brow bone, slowly melting the congealed bloodstains, and then gently rubbing them clean. Once the bloodstains were gone, a wound several inches deep on the brow bone was revealed. It was a sword wound almost identical to A Jiu's left brow, about two inches long and deep enough to see the bone. If it were half an inch lower, Mu Chenbi's left eye would be in grave danger.

Like Ajiu, Mu Chenbi let Guan Ye do as she pleased, his brows half-closed and his expression unchanged. He should be in pain, but he seemed to feel no pain at all. Guan Ye opened the wound medicine prepared by Feng Shisan and mixed it in her hands. She couldn't help but glance at Mu Chenbi again. He was also made of steel. He didn't feel any pain or cry out. Not only that, he didn't even frown.

Guan Ye applied a dab of wound medicine, and Mu Chenbi's body finally twitched slightly. He hissed between his teeth, and his wheat-colored cheeks flushed slightly. "Be gentle."

Seeing that Guan Ye seemed to be suppressing a laugh, Mu Chenbi was a little embarrassed and annoyed, "That sudden movement of yours... even iron couldn't withstand it... are you... laughing at me?" Seeing that Guan Ye didn't say anything, Mu Chenbi remembered something and said, "Ajiu's injury? Did he not even groan?"

"Ah Jiu again?" Guan Ye rolled her eyes at Mu Chenbi, her movements becoming even rougher. Mu Chenbi knew he had offended Guan Ye with his nonsense, so he kept his lips tightly shut and dared not say anything more. Guan Ye found it amusing, finished quickly in a few strokes, picked up the earthenware pot, and was about to leave.

"Guan Ye..." Mu Chenbi couldn't help but call out again.

"Call me if you need anything." Ajiu suddenly appeared between the two, holding her sword and coldly facing Mu Chenbi. "Don't delay Guan Ye from taking care of others. You're the only one injured? Some people are almost dead." Seeing Guan Ye standing still, Ajiu nudged her with her elbow, her voice filled with suppressed anger, "Aren't you going to treat Ji Fang and Feng Shisan's injuries?"

Watching Guan Ye's hurried departure, Mu Chenbi tilted his head and squinted, ignoring Ajiu. Ajiu looked down at Mu Chenbi, who also had an injured left eyebrow, and said in a hoarse voice, "We're not on the same path after all. Helping us is like us owing you something."

Mu Chenbi let out a long-held sigh, "You didn't even say thank you. It seems I'll have to give my life for you before I can get even half a kind word from you."

Ajiu looked down at Mu Chenbi's wound and said, "Don't worry, you won't die, and you won't die."

"You don't want me to die?" Mu Chenbi clearly still harbored some fear of Ajiu.

Ajiu sneered, "You are clear-headed and value loyalty. When you inherit the throne of the Great Jin Dynasty, you will surely bring justice to all the wronged cases. No one in this house will have to hide their identity and go into hiding. You are everyone's hope. How could I want you to die? I want you to live a long and peaceful life."

Mu Chenbi couldn't believe these words came from Ajiu's mouth. Ajiu was frank about love and hate, and compared to him, he was petty. Mu Chenbi's lips were half open, and he was speechless for a moment. An awkward feeling arose on his face. Suddenly, he felt a weight in his arms. He looked down and saw that it was an oil paper package that Ajiu had thrown to him. He opened it and found warm steamed buns inside. The smell of wheat made him feel a little hungry. Mu Chenbi took out the steamed buns and hesitated before glancing at Ajiu again.

“I didn’t poison it.” Ajiu bit off a piece of bread from her hand. “But this bread was baked by Wanqixi. If it was poisoned, it must have been him. Eat it or not, it’s up to you.”

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Chenbi had already taken a big bite. As he chewed, his tongue turned red with a sweet aftertaste, surpassing countless delicacies in the palace. "How are Ji Fang and Feng Shisan's injuries?" Mu Chenbi asked after swallowing.

Ajiu glanced back at the courtyard. "The injury is quite serious, but as long as the fire in your heart doesn't go out, you won't die. You should take care of yourself."

Having said too much, Mu Chenbi's brow bone, which was covered with medicine, began to throb again. He covered his wound with his palm and hissed as he gasped for breath. Seeing Ajiu staring at him without blinking, he smiled bitterly and said, "I never thought... we would actually become the same kind of people."

Ajiu looked gloomy. "You are a noble and precious person, while I am just a wanderer. How can I be compared to the Crown Prince? How can you and I be the same kind of people? You are injured and are starting to talk nonsense."

Mu Chenbi pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "There's something I need you to do."

Ah Jiu's brow twitched slightly; she neither agreed nor refused.

“Today on the execution ground, our faces have been revealed, but amidst the flashing blades, no one can be certain who those faces truly belong to. I am wounded and unable to return to the palace, and Cui Jin will surely preemptively impeach me before the Emperor, accusing me of being misled into committing a treasonous act…” With each word Mu Chenbi spoke, the wound on her brow bone throbbed with pain. After speaking several long sentences, beads of sweat the size of soybeans had already formed on her forehead. “The Emperor favors you. If you return to his side now, you can keep an eye on Cui Jin. If any other changes occur… you can also help everyone…”

Ah Jiu leaned against the wall, her brow furrowed, her knuckles tapping the hilt of her sword. "You let me near your father, aren't you afraid..."

"We just went through life and death together," Mu Chenbi said with a forced smile. "I believe you."

Ah Jiu chuckled softly, lowering her brows to rest her hand on the hilt of her sword. "I can't even fully trust myself, yet you say you trust me? I haven't heard such a funny joke in a long time."

Winter days are short, and before nightfall, the sky is already dark. The firewood is burning, illuminating everyone's faces. Mei Xiaojing holds tightly to Xiao Ma's arm. She has never seen a blazing fire before, with sparks exploding everywhere. It's like the fireworks the Mei family set off on New Year's Eve. Although not as dazzling, it's still breathtakingly beautiful.

"Are you cold?" Xiao Ma glanced at her. "I'll make the fire burn even brighter."

Mei Xiaoqing shook her head fiercely, leaning on Xiao Ma's shoulder, her eyelids drooping uncontrollably. Xiao Ma took off his smock and draped it over Mei Xiaoqing's back. Looking around at his companions sitting by the fire, he felt a sense of peace and security.

In his own territory, Feng Shisan acted like the head of the family. After several days of hustle and bustle, a ring of stubble had sprouted on his chin and cheeks, adding to the heroic feel of the young swordsman. Touching his stubble, Feng Shisan suddenly coughed and began to clear his throat.

"How about my home?" Feng Shisan asked smugly.

Ji Fang squinted and said lazily, "It's alright, about the same as Pei Chong's house... about the same."

Feng Shisan ignored him and looked at Guan Ye expectantly. "Guan Ye, tell me. I know you always tell the truth, unlike those sour-tongued people."

Although she had been there for half a day, she had been so busy that she hadn't had time to take a closer look at the Feng family's old house. When Feng Shisan asked, Guan Ye looked around. The house was dilapidated with old walls, and the wind was blowing from all sides. If the wind blew a little too hard, the broken tiles on the roof would rattle. If it got any stronger, she would be worried that the house might suddenly collapse... Guan Ye thought to herself, but of course she wouldn't actually say it out loud.

“That’s good.” Guan Ye nodded. “It’s already a rare treat to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain and hide people right now. Thank you, Thirteenth Young Master.”

Feng Shisan was overjoyed, scratching his head with a satisfied look on his face. They had been together for so long, and although he was always competitive in his words, he had never gained the upper hand by just talking and not doing anything. Until now, when everyone had gathered at his home, Feng Shisan had never experienced the feeling of being relied upon for the first time in his life. This feeling was more pleasant than drinking a whole jar of good wine.

Ji Fang then asked, "Where did you get the money? I remember... you used all your money to pay Shi Yage's bills."

Feng Shisan chuckled again. He had been waiting for someone to ask this question. Feng Shisan stood up, rubbed his numb muscles, and pointed to Mu Chenbi's position, saying, "I'll show you what I'm made of."

Mu Chenbi was suddenly pointed at and thought he had stepped on some treasure. He jumped up to look and found that there was nothing but grass and dirt under him. He quickly moved to Guan Ye's side and Guan Ye squeezed over to make room for Mu Chenbi. A Jiu put his arm around Guan Ye's shoulder and glanced coldly at Mu Chenbi. Although he didn't say a word, it was as if he had already insulted his family.