Chapter 52: "Why would Lord Mu come here in the middle of the night...

"Don't panic, Lord Song. I'll be coming down to rescue you right now!"

Mu Tong spoke as he leaned down the rope ladder. He had only half fallen into the cave when he felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet, tightly wrapping around his ankles and pulling him down.

He couldn't help but shudder. It was so cold down there, and he wondered how long Lord Song had been trapped...

Thinking of this, Mu Tong moved faster. He calmed himself down and climbed most of the rope ladder in a few steps. When he reached the end, he simply jumped down and stopped in an open space a few steps away from Lord Song.

"Master Song!"

Mu Tong walked towards Song Linsheng, calling him and reaching out to help him up.

Lord Song had his outer robe buttoned up in front of him, a rather odd way of wearing it. Mu Tong glanced at him briefly and quickly looked away. Staring at Lord Song straight in the face was clearly inappropriate.

When he got closer and confirmed that only Lord Song was kneeling on the ground, Mu Tong's heart was slightly disturbed. He glanced around inconspicuously -

Sir Song, are you alone here?

Not knowing what he was thinking about, Mu Tong withdrew his gaze and glanced at the outer robe in front of Song Linsheng as if inadvertently, then raised his eyebrows.

"Sir Song, I will help you up."

But at this moment, Song Linsheng looked up and glanced at Mu Jingli, interrupting him with his eyes.

Just when Mu Tong was confused, Song Linsheng lowered his head and one of his hands came out from the robe. His hands were thin and handsome, white as scallions, and the distinct joints were stained with a little bright red. He only opened a tiny gap in the robe.

After Song Linsheng stretched out his hand, he did not move, as if he was afraid of startling the person in his arms. After pausing for a moment, he half-opened the outer robe, revealing Madam Wen Yu hidden inside.

Her beautiful face, as clear as jade or stone, was revealed. The faint firelight leaking through the cave entrance added a soft halo to her face, making her look as clear as jade and as elegant as water.

Her long crow feathers trembled slightly, and she seemed to be sleeping very restlessly.

Song Linsheng even slowed down his breathing, and his movements were so light that they couldn't even raise a speck of dust.

It was as if he was holding the most precious treasure in the world, wanting to lift the curtain to let people see its brilliance, but at the same time, he wanted to cover the curtain again and hide it privately so that no one could covet or peek at it.

For example, the person next to me——

He caught a glimpse of the slightly raised hem of his clothes. The bud-yellow background was embroidered with crescent-colored flowers, which added a touch of playfulness and liveliness to Mu Jingli.

Song Linsheng withdrew his gaze, concentrating solely on Madam Wenyu before him. Now that someone had come to rescue him, there was naturally no need to rush. But leaving Madam Wenyu to sleep like this would be a bad idea. Even if he didn't consider the brothers Mu Jing had brought with him, he had to consider Madam Wenyu's health. She couldn't continue to freeze like this.

Thinking of this, Song Linsheng called out softly, "Madam Wenyu? Madam Wenyu?"

Lord Mu, standing by, felt a pang of unease. He even said, "Lord Song is here all by himself, how can he just lift up his clothes and Lady Wen appear?"

The two of them were like this... Lord Mu frowned and was about to look towards the cave entrance when he heard someone above asking:

"Sir! How is the prefect?"

In this situation, Lord Song had no choice but to ask him to keep quiet. He was afraid that if he spoke a little later, the people under his command would peek down and even come down to investigate.

"It's okay! You guys hold onto the boulder, and the rest of you guys retreat. Don't guard the cave entrance!"

"Sir?" The attendant above called out in confusion, but quickly replied, "Yes! Sir!"

After Mu Tong finished speaking, he stopped talking. He stood beside Song Linsheng and Wen Yu with his hands hanging down, waiting for orders.

This wasn't the time to be funny; he could still tell that.

Perhaps it was Lord Mu's voice that surprised Wen Yu. She frowned, her eyelashes moved slightly, and she muttered as she was about to wake up.

Song Linsheng lowered his head to look at Wen Yu's peach-like cheeks. The bright red petals on them looked like the tips of ripe peaches. When he got closer, he could even see tiny strands of fuzz.

Her breathing became increasingly disordered, a sign that she was about to wake up.

"Madam Wenyu?" Song Linsheng called again, his voice as gentle as water almost drowning people.

“Hmm…”

Wen Yu woke up at the sound and murmured unconsciously.

She opened her sleepy eyes, a fine mist still hanging on her eyelashes. Wen Yu stared blankly ahead, as if she had not yet come back from a deep sleep.

"Xiyan... Xiyan is here..."

"He deserves to be beaten even if he comes! Why did you wait until this late..."

Wen Yu murmured, and licked her lips with a sense of satisfaction.

"It's not about washing the inkstone, it's about Mu's experience..."

Song Linsheng took in her naive appearance. He couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips, and the shallow dimples in his face were filled with a doting and tolerant smile.

Wen Yu's eyelids slowly closed, and she responded listlessly, "Oh...it's Mu Jingli..."

Suddenly, as if she thought of something, her whole body shuddered and she suddenly opened her eyes.

"It's Mu Jingli! Lord Mu?"

Wen Yu straightened up, and the half of her robe slid down her shoulders, forming a graceful streamline on her shoulders.

Song Linsheng saw this and thought it was just a robe, yet it could be so graceful...

Wen Yu's eyes were hazy, as if something was blocking her view. She blinked and looked around, searching for Lord Mu.

"Where is the Lord Mu?"

"cough--"

Just when Wen Yu was confused, Mu Tong coughed lightly at the right time, which answered her question very well.

Wen Yu looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person standing beside her and Song Linsheng with his hands hanging down was actually Lord Mu!

He wore a saffron-yellow robe, his long black hair tied back with a matching jade hairpin, giving him a truly elegant and refined demeanor. Unlike the formal attire he wore when he was on duty at Jiangyang Prefecture, his attire resembled the one he wore to the gods' sacrifice yesterday, making him look elegant and graceful.

"Master Mu!"

Wen Yu screamed and stood up hurriedly. She held the ends of her hair with both hands and was about to stand up, without even talking to Lord Mu.

"Master Mu! Why are you here?"

"But you came just in time!"

"Master Song has been freezing here for a whole day. Hurry up and rescue him and send him back to the mansion!"

In just the time it took to get up, Wen Yu said a lot of things in a row, every word of which was about Song Linsheng, but she didn't mention herself at all.

But she ignored the fact that she had been sitting on the cold and damp ground for a whole day and had just woken up from sleepiness. How could she stand up so suddenly?

She didn't even have time to scream before she felt her feet go soft and numb. The sour feeling ran from the soles of her feet up her calves and spread throughout her body, causing her to fall uncontrollably to one side.

"ah--"

Song Linsheng lifted the remaining half of his robe and opened his arms to take it, but he had been kneeling all day and his legs were like a piece of cake, unable to move.

He had barely stood up when he fell back down in an ungraceful manner.

He could only watch as Mu Jingli beside him moved slightly, stretched out his hand lightly, and easily grabbed Madam Wen Yu, and his yellow sleeve passed through Madam Wen Yu's waist.

The bright colors are really an eyesore and make people feel upset.

Song Linsheng breathed a sigh of relief, but fortunately, Madam Wen Yu did not fall.

What Song Linsheng didn't notice was that his breath was stuck in his throat, and the expression on his face was even more fascinating. He seemed more emotional than before in Shangdu, or perhaps more lively.

Mu Tong, who was standing beside him, noticed his expression and raised an eyebrow without a word. He seemed to have discovered another side of Lord Song that was unknown to others.

Earlier, news came from the prefecture that the court had appointed a new prefect, Song Linsheng. He had been thinking about what kind of person this Mr. Song must be.

I didn't expect that Lord Song would also have a bad temper?

Mu Tong lowered his eyes and glanced at Madam Wen in his arms, and couldn't help but smile with understanding.

The reason behind this is already clear.

"Madam Wen, are you okay?"

Mu Tong held Wen Yu's waist with one hand and held her shoulders with the other hand to help her regain her footing, and then quickly withdrew his hand.

"You can't stand up so quickly after sitting for a long time. Rest for a while..."

Mu Tong reminded gently, his words were polite and courteous, without any inappropriate actions.

Wen Yu put one hand on her waist and clapped the other on her forehead, breathing out hot air with shock and fear. In the chilly March, she actually exhaled layers of fine white mist.

She felt like she had survived a catastrophe. The feeling of losing control of her body was actually... so terrifying...

She used to rely too much on magic, and was not afraid to walk around the Temple of Spring. But after a few days as a mortal in the lower world, she had tasted fear so quickly.

When she came to her senses, she remembered to thank Lord Mu.

"Thank you, Lord Mu, for your help..."

She finished this sentence slowly, then quickly added another sentence as she remembered something.

"Not just now!"

If Lord Mu hadn't arrived, with Xiyan's stupid brain, by the time he remembered, she and Song Linsheng would have been frozen into icicles!

What did she say when she left the house this morning? Oh, Xiyan is a hollow-headed person!

Mu Tong understood without further explanation and knew that what Madam Wen was talking about was his coming to rescue her.

Wen Yu waited until the layers of stars in front of her eyes dissipated a little, then she leaned over to support Song Linsheng and slowly helped him stand up.

"Song Linsheng, slow down! Slow down even more! Don't learn from me!"

Wen Yu muttered as she helped Song Linsheng up. Seeing that he was completely up, she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed her whole body and mind.

As soon as her mind relaxed, she remembered what she had not bothered to ask before. Wen Yu opened her red lips slightly and asked bluntly:

"Why is Lord Mu here in the middle of the night?"