Lu Jiaxue took a breath. When he saw that the enemy's manpower was actually small, he realized that this was a diversionary move. He immediately turned back, but he was still a step too late. Luo Yining had been taken away! Luo Shenyuan had ambushed a large number of assassins nearby. He would not act rashly at this time. He did not have many people with him. He had no advantage in the battle.

But he is not a man who will give up easily, after all, that is his wife.

Lu Jiaxue grabbed the horse's reins, turned the horse around, and galloped towards the official road.

*

The weather in the mountains is like a child's face, changing at any time.

The sun was shining just now, but soon the sky was covered with dark clouds and it started to rain heavily.

Fortunately, Daoyan was very familiar with the mountain. He got rid of the people from Shenjiying and took her to the land temple on the mountain to shelter from the rain.

However, when getting off the bus, Yi Ning lost her footing due to the slippery road and nearly fell. Dao Yan looked back at her, as if urging her to hurry up. The heavy rain was icy cold against her body. Yi Ning gritted her teeth and stood up on her own, but in a moment she was soaked. The ankle injury, which had not fully healed, seemed to have relapsed after being twisted again.

Medicinal herbs like ginseng and rhodiola rosea grow year-round on the mountain, and monks often ascended the mountain to collect them, resting here. Therefore, the interior was kept immaculately clean. Although it consisted of only one temple and two side rooms, it was fully equipped with a kang (a bed), tables and chairs, and a stove for cooking. After taking shelter inside and opening the window for some fresh air, Yining saw a torrential downpour outside, turning the road into a muddy mess. It was truly a torrential downpour, and the sky was dark. A carriage stood in the yard, its horses battered by the rain, their manes soaking wet, and they helplessly shook the water off their heads.

There's no way. There's no stable here and the house is too small for it to fit in.

Luo Yining searched the dilapidated temple for a while, then pulled a bucket from a corner, ready to collect some rainwater to heat up and drink, at least to keep the chill at bay. She couldn't stand the cold these days, and otherwise, she'd suffer even more. Without maids to help her, she'd have to do it herself. Her clothes were soaking wet, and she had no change of clothes. They clung to her body, feeling cold and heavy. She wanted to light a fire to warm herself, at least to keep warm.

Daoyan saw her carrying the bucket and said, "It's raining heavily outside. If anything happens, I will have to go and save you. Don't move."

He disagreed, so Yining had no choice but to put down the bucket, and the coldness on his body became even worse.

Seeing this, he slowly closed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the kang, and continued to chant scriptures and count Buddhist beads.

After a while, Yining tried to light the stove again. It was really cold in the late autumn rain, and it was even colder in the mountains than usual. She was only wearing Lu Chou's navy blue jacket, which was soaking wet. She knew how to light a fire; it would have caught fire with one stroke. But now, dizzy and nauseous, she had no strength left, and even after rubbing the flint until her hands ached, she couldn't light it.

Master Daoyan almost ignored her after bringing her in.

After a while, he may have finally been unable to bear it anymore, and a pair of hands wearing Buddhist beads took the flint from her, rubbed it a few times to light the kindling paper, and then put it in to light the charcoal.

The room was now warmer, no longer freezing cold. Yi Ning didn't sit on the kang, but sat on the armchair, huddled together, her chin resting on her knees, letting the fire dry her out as quickly as possible. Although her senior brother Luo Shenyuan had initially wanted to kill her, she still had to maintain a good relationship with him. She wanted to know Daoyan's relationship with Luo Shenyuan, so she asked him, "Master, you and my third brother have been in the same sect since he was a child, haven't you?"

"When I first met him, he was already eleven years old," Daoyan said calmly, "You sit on the kang bed, and I'll sit on the armchair."

"I'm fine...you can just sleep on the kang bed." Yining felt that sitting in the armchair would help him stay more alert.

She didn't even raise her head. On her jade-white neck, she could see the bloodstains from earlier. Although she was sleepy and uncomfortable, she still maintained basic vigilance and didn't dare to fall asleep. After all, Daoyan had just wanted to kill her.

Daoyan sat down and recited the scriptures again. Since she didn't appreciate it, he would just pretend that he had never said anything.

When Yining heard it was still the Heart Sutra, he yawned and forced himself to perk up.

She peered through the partition. The horse had retreated to the temple. The heavy rain had subsided considerably. The mountains were covered in fog after the rain, and only the dark silhouettes of the mountains in the distance were clearly visible. She wondered if Luo Shenyuan had left, or when she could leave again... She wanted to return to the Luo Mansion immediately, to her familiar home. A home that brought her warmth and attachment.

But she remembered what Lu Jiaxue said. As long as she was still Luo Shenyuan's wife, he would not let the Luo family go.

Yi Ning leaned back in her armchair, a feeling of confusion and sadness enveloping her. Perhaps it was the pouring rain, or perhaps it was the cold, but Daoyan seemed unwilling to speak to her in the room. The night was silent and dark. If Luo Shenyuan hadn't come looking for her, would she have had to spend the night in the mountains? She was wet and cold, and if she stayed here overnight, she would definitely have a high fever tomorrow.

It was completely dark and the night in the mountains was even colder, so Yining closed the partition.

Daoyan collected the beads and went out again. When he came back, he was holding a small sweet potato, only half the size of a palm, and threw it into the stove. Immediately, there was a crackling sound.

"This is the only thing you'll have for dinner. It's wild from the mountains."

Yi Ning had thought she wasn't hungry, but when the aroma of steaming sweet potatoes wafted from the stove, she still wanted to eat. It was still hot when she took it out, a palm-sized sweet potato. After peeling it, she gave half to Dao Yan, and he didn't refuse. He must have thought that food was really hard to come by in the mountains.

Perhaps due to the cold, she began to feel dizzy and bloated, and had no appetite or taste. But she had to eat, so Yining managed to swallow half a sweet potato. It was warm and soft, better than nothing.

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