cloth strips

After Jiang Nian woke up from the military camp, he followed the others to the rear as if he was familiar with the situation, and took some dirty clothes to the unfrozen stream to wash them.

Two months have passed since I said goodbye to Zhou Jinyu.

After dozens of days and nights, she became familiar with life in this difficult military camp.

However, there was only one bad thing, that was that the speed of carriages in ancient times was too slow. He had planned to burn all the food and grass in the military camp and then run back to the capital directly, and maybe even scare Xiao Yingzhu.

But it turned out that she was just dreaming too much.

The woman next to him had been feeling unwell recently, feeling a little dizzy. Just as Jiang Nian was washing clothes and daydreaming, wondering if Lu had left her here for two months without any movement, and whether she had been killed by You, there was a sudden splash of water next to him.

The cold stream water splashed onto Jiang Nian's face. Her heart sank and she immediately turned her head to look into the stream beside her.

The woman was mixed up with her clothes and was struggling hard as the clothes tore her apart.

The stream was not deep, but it was not deep enough for a person to stand up properly. Jiang Nian subconsciously wanted to reach out and pull her up, but then he remembered that the original owner could not swim, and it would be risky to go down and fish her out rashly.

After squatting by the stream for a long time washing clothes, Jiang Nian's feet felt a little sore when he stood up. He turned his head to look behind him and almost tripped over the slippery stone steps.

Fortunately, a soldier patrolling not far away noticed the commotion here. After hearing Jiang Nian's cry for help, he turned back and pulled the woman out.

But because the woman was not in good condition, and if an accident happened in the military camp, it might cause displeasure from the superiors, the soldier nodded to Jiang Nian, who was standing next to the woman, and asked Jiang Nian to take care of the unconscious woman.

Having accidentally gained some free time, Jiang Nian lowered his eyes to look at the unconscious woman lying on the ground, and immediately responded readily. He also found a few kind-hearted people nearby and carried the woman to the rest room in the military camp.

Because the soldiers only asked Jiang Nian to take care of the women, the others went back after a while after settling the women. After Jiang Nian took care of the women neatly, he took advantage of the free time to quietly slip out of the resting place and returned to where they originally slept.

Dong Lan's compartment was dark and lightless, and the sliding door didn't make much noise, which made it easier for Jiang Nian to lean over and move.

There are not many people who can come here during this period of time, so Jiang Nian's actions will be faster than before.

According to the position originally agreed upon with Zhou Jinyu, Jiang Nian bent down and touched a raised area in the open space behind an old black wooden wardrobe. She rubbed it with her fingertips for a moment and then pressed it down easily.

This was the point where she communicated with Zhou Jinyu.

No matter when the war will start in this military camp, when Xiao Yingzhu will come, or when there will be a chance to leave here, as well as the movements of the patrol soldiers in the military camp... there are also some opportunities to escape from here.

Jiang Nian's identity in this military camp is too obvious. After all, the military camp cooperates with Ru, and she is the person Ru wants, so she must be watched all day and night. She rarely has the opportunity to see what information Zhou Jinyu has spread here.

Time is hard to come by now, so Jiang Nian immediately put away the notes. Turning around and about to go out, he heard a burst of light footsteps coming from the quiet room.

"?"

Who would come here at this time?

Jiang Nian became alert. She didn't know many people here, and this place was not a place where people often came. How could someone come here during this time?

Her heart began to beat fast. Her body was behind the dark wooden wardrobe, blending into the shadows. At this moment, if she walked a little further inside...

Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and moved closer while paying attention to the other person in the room.

The black shadow blended her figure very well, and after a while, her entire body was hidden in the darkness.

The quality of the wooden floor was just okay, and when Jiang Nian leaned back, there was no excessive noise.

The light footsteps in the room have not stopped yet, as if someone is searching for something.

Jiang Nian held her breath and tried to calm her pounding heart using the method Ai taught her in Cang County. She concentrated her attention and listened to the person outside the closet next to her, but the person's breathing was extremely shallow. Needless to say, he must be a martial artist.

Who on earth would come here at this time?

She came here just now because the woman was sick and accidentally fell into the water.

If she hadn't come today, would this person... be able to find the note hidden behind the wardrobe?

My heart suddenly contracted and ached.

Jiang Nian hasn't been this nervous in a long time.

The last time I was this nervous was when I was at Zuihualou.

But because there were secret guards under Xiao Yingzhu in the dark, her nervousness at that time was soon calmed down by those secret guards.

But right now, there were no secret guards guarding her in the dark.

This moment was what she had longed for many times before - she wanted to break free from Xiao Yingzhu's protective wings, face it alone, and defeat everything alone.

But when the time came for her to face the situation alone, Jiang Nian felt a little timid again.

She didn't know if her skills could help her escape from the opponent...

In an urgent situation, the footsteps were getting closer and closer. Jiang Nian reached into his sleeve pocket, ready to spray the man's eyes with the stun gas when he came to the closet to take a look, and take the opportunity to escape.

But the footsteps that were getting closer and closer to her suddenly stopped in front of the black wooden wardrobe.

It was so quiet outside that even the sound of footsteps disappeared.

Jiang Nian felt a palpitation in his heart. He was worried about the movement outside while thinking about what to do next.

Should I go out directly or wait until that person goes out?

Her thoughts were wavering. If she could just go out directly, that would be the best thing to do - after all, she had a time limit to take care of the woman. But what if she got discovered by the other party?

She was not sure that she could avoid the other person's sight when leaving the room.

Jiang Nian held the medicine bag in his hand, closed his eyes and pondered these extremely contradictory yet unavoidable thoughts, while paying attention to the movements outside.

However, after a while, the person who entered the room seemed to have discovered something funny. He chuckled for a moment and then began to reach out and search for something on the black wooden cabinet in front of her.

The cabinet in front of her trembled slightly. Jiang Nian listened to the other party slowly opening and closing the cabinet. After a while, in the darkness, the melodious and seemingly otherworldly voice began to sound again.

A very familiar melody.

“…”

Jiang Nian's gaze paused for a moment, not knowing what was going on in her mind. Long-lost memories came out from the depths of her mind, and her hand holding the medicine bag loosened slightly.

The picture in her mind was vague, and she was thinking of someone she hadn't seen for a long time, but who might be here.

But if he can appear here, does it mean that—

Ru is dead?

Jiang Nian was silent for a moment. The question of whether to walk out from behind the wardrobe was still lingering in her mind. After a while, she made up her mind. As the other party continued to open the last few cabinets from left to right, she slowly walked out from behind the black wooden wardrobe.

......

The dark figure blended into the room. Although Jiang Nian's eyes had completely adapted to the darkness, he still paused for a few seconds when looking for the person who came. Only then did his gaze fall on the figure standing not far away, pulling the drawer.

The figure was as familiar as the day when they first met at Zuihualou, with almost no changes.

But in terms of temperament, it seems a little... more strange.

It was as if he had completely lost something he loved, and there was no longer any hope or joy. He just stood there indifferently with a smile on his lips.

Although Jiang Nian couldn't see his expression clearly, he could already imagine his expression at that moment.

The tense mood and tense heartstrings completely relaxed the moment he looked at the other person. Jiang Nian took a few steps forward, suddenly stretched out his hand and smiled at him.

"...Long time no see, Yu."

—

The other party didn't seem overly surprised by Jiang Nian's appearance here, and still maintained a leisurely attitude. When he turned around to shake hands with him, he suddenly smiled.

"Miss Jiang, how are you?"

After a moment of silence, Jiang Nian asked bluntly, "Why are you here?"

She remembered that this was not a place where You might appear.

He looked at her silently with a faint look of worry on his face.

In the darkness, their breathing gradually became audible.

The sound of footsteps nearby gradually faded away from their room. Jiang Nian shifted his attention back from the footsteps outside the door, met the other person's gaze, and continued:

"Since you knew I would appear here, you should be aware of my situation."

"——And you, must have come here for the person who brought me here."

Stream.

A name that doesn't need to be said in plain words, even if it is tacitly understood.

Jiang Nianben's depressed gaze gradually became dull.

She should have thought of this day long ago.

But...she didn't expect that she would actually be able to meet You in person.

She thought that You would contact her through letters while chasing Ru.

After all, this Lu is a hot commodity that both of them want to kill.

"Ms. Jiang, it looks like you haven't changed much."

You looked away from her hand, even as he continued, "You know, this military camp...it won't be long before it's razed to the ground by the cavalry of the neighboring country."

Of course she knew.

The puppet emperor of Donglan did not take this war seriously at all - rather, even if he did take it seriously, he was unable to organize a strong army to resist them.

After all, the desires of the Wu Mi people will never be satisfied, and their desires... will only grow larger and larger.

Jiang Nian slightly shifted his gaze away from You's and continued, "Are you here to find me, or to find...something else?"

You turned around, glanced at the sliding door that let in the dim light from the gloomy weather outside, and replied calmly, "Looking for you."

"In a few days, Lu will come here from the place where he fled. Yes, he will definitely come find you."

"It's really frustrating not being able to see the person you want to kill... Now that he's leaving, I naturally have to get here before him."

You laughed. After not seeing each other for a few months, Jiang Nian could no longer hear or distinguish how many emotions were mixed in his voice.

All his emotions seemed to be washed away on the day the goddess died.

Jiang Nian's gaze fell from his back to his empty hands.

I don't know when, those hands were wrapped with white cloth to cover the scars.