Chapter 45
The wheel ruts rolled over the cobblestone road, swaying and shaking, and went out of the city gate unimpeded.
Shen Aheng looked at Ashina Yu leaning against the wall of the car, her eyelashes drooping slightly, and even the hand that had been tightly holding her loosened. She looked droopy, like a listless puppy.
Shen Ah Heng deliberately moved closer to him, gently bumped his knee against his, and teased him with a smile: "Why, don't you want me to visit the place where you grew up?"
Ashina Yu immediately raised her eyes to deny it, her eyelashes trembling, her voice a little muffled: "No." The rest of the words were stuck on her lips.
It's not that he doesn't want to, it's that he's afraid.
He was afraid that the elders in the sect would see his weakness, and that those cold and rigid rules would restrict her. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he couldn't bear it and didn't even dare to think about it.
Seeing the gloom in his eyes, Shen Ah Heng simply moved to his side, gently holding his face with both hands, and rubbing his slightly cold cheeks with her fingertips. The soft touch made her unable to help but rub it, as if rubbing a piece of warm jade: "Okay, okay, don't worry about me. Have you forgotten how this "divine doctor" got the name? They can use poison, but don't I know how to detoxify? If I can't beat them, I will run away. I haven't been in the martial arts world for so many years for nothing."
As she spoke, she bent down and kissed the corner of his lips, as lightly as a feather brushing against his lips.
Ashina Yu's whole body trembled slightly, and the corners of her eyes instantly turned red. There was a bit of moisture in her beautiful eyes, making them watery, like a puppy that had been teased badly, beautiful and cute.
Shen Ah Heng felt an itch in his heart when he saw this, and he couldn't help but kissed his face again, and deliberately poked his red ear tip with his fingertips.
Ashina Yu's breathing suddenly softened, and he let her hand slide down his collar and gently grab the fabric on his chest.
Seeing that he didn't move to resist, Shen Aheng pulled him down mischievously. Before she could move again, Ashina Yu subconsciously pressed her hand, her voice soft and light, with a bit of embarrassment: "Why are you so... rascal..."
Shen Aheng raised his eyebrows, deliberately trying to pull his hand back, with a regretful tone: "You don't let me see it? Then I won't touch it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ashina Yu instead clenched her hand tightly and refused to let go.
He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes trembled even more violently, and even the tips of his ears turned red, but he didn't say anything else. He just quietly moved closer to her and buried his face gently in the crook of her neck.
"For you to see."
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It was more than five thousand miles from the Central Plains to the Western Regions, but the horses Ashina Yu rode were strong horses unique to the Western Regions, and they ran very fast. By the time they entered the Western Regions and arrived at the Yaochen Sect where Ashina Yu was, it was already the nineteenth day since they left the capital.
The journey from the bustling capital to the Gobi oasis became clearer as we got closer to the sect.
As they approached the mountain gate, the temperature plummeted, a stark contrast to the Central Plains. The carriage slowed down. The crimson-violet-robed subordinate who had delivered the message from the capital was already waiting at the intersection with a dozen or so others in matching uniforms. Upon seeing the carriage stop, the subordinate stepped forward and bowed, "Master Lingchi, Miss Chen, the elders are waiting inside the mountain gate."
Ashina Yu first lifted the curtain of the car, and his fingertips touched the wind outside. It was early summer in the Central Plains, but the spring breeze in the Western Regions was still chilly. He did not rush to help Chen Ahheng get out of the car. Instead, he turned around, took a thick velvet cloak from the car, and carefully wrapped it around her shoulders.
"It's cold here, don't catch a cold."
Ashina Yu lowered his voice to a very low level, and when he reached out to hold her hand, his strength was heavy, almost grasping her hand in his own.
When he helped her get off the carriage, his eyes swept over the group of people lined up around her, then quickly fell back on Shen Ah Heng, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, just follow me."
As soon as Shen Aheng stood firm, he saw the subordinates standing in front of him retreat to both sides, making way for a path leading to the mountain gate.
The subordinate in brocade robe at the front immediately turned around and led the way, walking steadily. He would look back every few steps to make sure the two of them were following.
Ashina Yu held Shen Aheng's hand all the time, never letting go, and even deliberately slowed down her pace to help her adapt to the sand under her feet.
The two men walked through a long and narrow passage, passed a stone archway engraved with the sect's totem, and arrived at an open square in front. Several old men with white hair and beards, wearing dark gold-woven robes, were standing in the middle of the square, their eyes fixed on the two men.
Ashina Yu took Shen Aheng's hand and walked to the elder, then stopped. The aura around him unconsciously sank, but the hand holding Shen Aheng was still steady, without any looseness.
The wind in the square was filled with fine sand, causing the corners of people's clothes to flutter.
Among the elders, a tall, thin old man on the far left stepped forward first. His cheeks were sunken, his hair and beard white. He placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly in a proper sect salute. His voice was steady yet a bit cold as he spoke in standard Western dialect, "Lord Lingchi has worked hard on this trip to the Central Plains. Not only did he handle important matters for the sect, but he also established a good relationship between our Wulun Kingdom and the imperial court. This is truly an invaluable contribution."
He paused, his eyes seemingly casually sweeping over Shen Ah Heng before continuing, "The Emperor is grateful for Lord Ling Chi's sincerity and has sent a message that a banquet will be held in the palace tomorrow, inviting Lord Ling Chi and this young lady to join him in the palace for the banquet, as a welcome for the two of you."
Ashina Yu held Shen Aheng's hand and tightened it. He didn't respond immediately. He just raised his eyes to look at the tall and thin old man, hiding the vigilance in his eyes. When he turned his head to look at Shen Aheng, his tone softened a bit: "The emperor invites us to the palace for a banquet tomorrow. If you don't want to go, I will return to this banquet now. It's nothing serious."
Shen Aheng's eyes lit up, and he shook his hand: "I'll go, why not? I haven't seen what the palace in the Western Regions looks like, so it's a good time to go and see what's going on."
As soon as she finished speaking, a tall, thin old man beside her seemed to understand her Central Plains dialect and suddenly spoke. Although his Central Plains dialect had a slightly foreign accent, every word was clear: "This young lady is interested, which is in line with the emperor's wishes."
As he spoke, he raised his eyes slightly, his gaze moving across their clasped hands, and added, "The palace has prepared grape wine from the Western Regions and roasted whole lamb. I'm sure you won't find it boring."
Shen Ah Heng couldn't stand this temptation the most, and immediately couldn't help but salivate in his mouth. Go, you must go!
Hearing this, Ashina Yu's eyebrows seemed a little helpless. He quietly protected Shen Aheng behind him, and then said to the old man: "I know, we will attend the banquet on time tomorrow."
After that, without giving the old man a chance to say more, he took Shen Aheng’s hand and turned to walk towards his residence. His pace was faster than when he came, but the strength in his palm never loosened.
Following the sect's old servant who led the way, they turned two stone corridors and arrived at Ashina Yu's residence, a two-story building covered with wool carpets.
As soon as the door was opened, a warm fragrance hit me in the face. Although the furnishings in the house were not as exquisite as those in the Central Plains houses, it exuded nobility everywhere. Whole tiger skins were hung on the wall, copper lamps inlaid with gems were placed by the window, and even the tables and chairs were made of polished hardwood, and the floor was covered with thick gold-woven cushions.
Shen Ah Heng immediately set his eyes on the large bed in the inner room covered with a cashmere mattress. As soon as the old servant left, he couldn't wait to take off his shoes and pounce on it. He rolled around on the soft bedding and sighed in comfort: "This bed is too soft, it's more comfortable than any bed I've slept on before!"
Ashina Yu closed the door and followed her in. Seeing her curled up at the end of the bed like a happy kitten, the coldness in his eyes completely dissipated. He walked over and sat beside her bed, raised his hand and touched the top of her head: "You've been going through so much trouble. Are you hungry?"
Shen Ah Heng nodded immediately, poking his head out from under the quilt, his eyes sparkling: “I’m hungry, I haven’t had a proper meal in the past few days, I’m so hungry now that I can eat a cow!”
Ashina Yu chuckled, stood up, walked outside and told the servant to bring food.
In less than half an incense stick's time, a servant came in with a tray on which were placed fragrant flatbreads, fried beef rolls, lamb chunks dipped in sauce, and two bowls of steaming milk custard.
They are all foods with Western characteristics.
The two of them sat at a low table. Shen Ahheng's nose was stained with greasy food. Ashina Yu helped her pass the handkerchief and pick up food from time to time, but she didn't eat much herself and just stared at her.
After eating, Shen Ah Heng lay back on the bed, holding his round belly with both hands, humming comfortably: "If I had known that the accommodation in the Western Regions was so comfortable, I would have come with you earlier. It's much better than squeezing into an inn in the capital!"
Ashina Yu walked over, sat beside the bed and helped her brush away the loose hair on her forehead. Looking at her lazily lying on the bed, his eyes were full of helplessness, but also hid an indelible satisfaction.
In the past three years, he was the only one in the deserted house, but now with her coming and going, the house finally feels homely.
His pale fingertips gently poked her bulging belly and chuckled softly: "If you lie down again, you won't be able to sleep tonight."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ah Heng's eyes widened immediately, and he slapped his hand away: "You look down on me, don't you? Even if I sleep for a day, I will still be full of energy the next day."
Ashina Yu was about to say it was just a joke when there was a sudden knock on the door. His smile faded, and he stood up and walked over quickly. He opened the door and heard the servant outside say in a stiff Central Plains dialect, "Master Ling-Lingchi, the master wants you to come over now. We have something to discuss."
Ashina Yu replied "I know", closed the door and turned back, the gentleness on her face was gone.
Shen Ah Heng sat up, looked at his tense jaw, and asked quickly: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
"Nothing." Ashina Yu came over and helped her tidy up her messy hair. He said in a gentle tone, "The headmaster wants to discuss something with me. Please stay in the room and don't go out casually. I'll be back soon."
Shen Ah Heng frowned and muttered, “I haven’t met your leader yet, but judging from the appearance of those elders during the day, he is definitely not someone who is easy to talk to.”
After she finished speaking, she quickly waved at him, but he grabbed her wrist.
The light in Ashina Yu's eyes dimmed, her fingertips tightened unconsciously, and her voice was a little tense that was not easy to detect: "Will you really stay here? Don't run around, if I don't see you when I come back..." She didn't finish the rest of the words, but Shen Aheng understood.
Seeing him looking like an abandoned puppy, her heart softened. She grabbed his hand and shook it, saying, "I won't run away. Don't worry. I was wrong before, but from now on, I will never disappear from your sight again. I will wait for you to come back."
Ashina Yu stared at the seriousness in her eyes, his Adam's apple rolled slightly, and the grip on her wrist slowly loosened a little, but he didn't let go completely. His fingertips still rubbed her delicate wrist lightly, as if confirming something.
After a moment of silence, he murmured, "Okay."
Before turning around, he glanced at the room again to make sure there was nothing he had missed, then he gently closed the door and left.
As soon as the door closed, Shen Aheng sighed, fell back on the bed, reached out and touched the light red mark on his wrist that had just been squeezed, and his heart felt soft and painful.
Beneath him was the soft mattress, but he no longer had the energy to roll around. Staring at the pattern on the tent ceiling, he couldn't help but sigh, "It's been so long, and you're still so worried..."
Having said that, she still didn't move, and even suppressed the thought of getting up to open the window, for fear that he would not see anyone when he came back and would panic again.
The mattress wrapped in cashmere was very warm. Just after eating and drinking, sleepiness came over him in waves. Shen Ah Heng yawned, and his eyelids were almost stuck together.
But just as he was about to fall asleep, there was a muffled sound of a heavy object hitting the wall outside the door, followed by a man's suppressed scolding, sentences in Western dialect spoken quickly and intermittently floated in.
The voice was very low, but Shen Ah Heng was still awakened. She sat up and heard these fragmented arguments again.
I couldn't help but frown and wondered in my heart, how could there be an idle person coming up near my residence? Who was that person?
Just when he was thinking about going out to take a look, he was afraid that going out would make Ashina Yu worry, so he went back to sit on the edge of the bed, his fingers unconsciously picking at the quilt.
Shen Ah Heng listened for a while and heard no more movement. He just breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to lie back down when suddenly another muffled groan came from outside, mixed with the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other.
It was obvious that someone was being beaten.
Shen Ah Heng's heart tightened, and he didn't care about Ashina Yu's instructions. He quickly got out of bed, opened the door, and looked into the corridor.
In the dim light, a subordinate in crimson and purple clothes was kicking an old man. The old man was wearing a coarse brown woolen coat that was washed white, with patches all over the lapels. He was holding a broom with broken teeth in his arms. He was kicked and staggered against the stone wall. His skinny body curled up into a ball, and he didn't even dare to groan loudly.
Shen Ah Heng couldn't help but clenched the door frame. This subordinate looked like someone from the sect, so why was he so heavy-handed towards an old servant who was sweeping the floor?
Seeing the old slave curled up on the ground motionless, the subordinate became even more furious and kicked the old man on the head. If the kick was strong enough, the old slave would probably be covered in blood on the spot.
"stop!"
Shen Aheng couldn’t bear it anymore and walked out of the door quickly.
When the subordinate saw her, his expression changed instantly. He quickly retracted his foot, his hands hanging awkwardly, and bowed to greet her in a halting Central Plains dialect: "Ms. Shen, Ms. Shen... why did you come out?"
Shen Aheng ignored his words, walked quickly to the old slave, squatted down and wanted to check his injuries, but before she touched him, she saw the other party hurriedly shrinking to the side, lowering his head and not daring to look at her, his skinny hand still tightly grasping the broken-tooth broom.
Shen Ah Heng raised his eyes and glared at the subordinate, his tone full of coldness: "Why did you hit him so hard?"
The subordinate was stunned by her gaze and hurriedly took a half step back, stammering in defense, "Miss, it wasn't my intention to attack! This old servant had evil intentions and was sneaking towards Master Lingchi's residence. He was acting so stealthy. I was afraid that he would do something bad to you and Master Lingchi, so I wanted to teach him a lesson!"
Shen Aheng turned his head and glanced at the trembling old slave beside him. The old man couldn't even stand steadily, and his hands were still tightly grasping the broom. He didn't look like he could "sneak attack" at all.
Shen Aheng frowned and was about to ask again when he heard hurried footsteps from the other end of the corridor, revealing a sense of panic. It was Ashina Yu who came back.
Sure enough, not long after, a light gray figure suddenly flashed by the corridor. It had obviously heard the noise before it got close. Its face was tense, and it came close almost instantly. Its eyes were immediately locked on Shen Ah Heng. Seeing that she was fine, it was slightly relieved. Then it glanced at the old slave on the ground and the subordinates beside it, and asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"
The subordinate was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowed repeatedly, and said quickly in stiff Central Plains dialect: "I pay my respects to Lord Lingchi! It was this old slave, this old slave, who broke into your residence secretly. I was afraid that he would hurt the young lady, so I stopped him and taught him a lesson. Young lady... Young lady misunderstood!" After saying that, he looked up at Chen Aheng, his eyes full of pleading.
Ashina Yu didn't look at him. Her gaze returned to Shen Aheng's face, but her tone softened: "You're not frightened, are you? Why did you come out?"
Seeing his cold and cruel expression, Shen Aheng was obviously angry. She didn't want Ashina Yu to be hurt, so she quickly stepped forward, stretched out her hand to grab his sleeve, and said quickly: "I'm fine, don't be angry, it's just a misunderstanding, don't make a fuss late at night, it's better to have less trouble than more, let them go."
Ashina Yu looked at her, his tense jaw slowly relaxing, and his hands hanging at his sides quietly loosened their grip. Finally, he just said to his subordinate in a deep voice, "Get lost."
The subordinate immediately felt as if he had been pardoned, and he got up and ran away, crawling.
The old slave also hurriedly stood up by supporting himself against the wall, his skinny hands still tightly gripping the broom with broken teeth. He quickly glanced at the two of them, then lowered his head and staggered back.
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