Sun Miao'er squatted on the ground. She wasn't seriously injured, but she was bound to have bruises and swelling.
She rubbed her ankle but felt a pain in her arm as well. When she looked up, she saw Fu Yuchi walking towards her and muttered, "Master."
He bent down, lifted the hem of her skirt, took out medicine from his sleeve and applied it to her ankle. He held her slender, fair ankle in his hand, just the right amount of pressure.
Does it hurt?
His voice was as soft as a feather, falling into her heart.
Her ankle felt slightly hot after the medicine was applied, and her face flushed as well. She shook her head and bit her lower lip. "It doesn't hurt. How did Master find me?"
"You're still asking me?" His tone was clearly reproachful. He rarely questioned her in such a tone, except when she was putting herself in danger.
Sun Miao'er knew that she had acted rashly and without thinking things through, and she had not expected the consequences to be so serious. She was speechless and could only remain silent to show that she had made a mistake.
He bent down and massaged her ankle, rubbing the ointment until it became transparent and blended into her skin. "You're quite smart, making some marks along the way. How could you be so sure I would come looking for you?"
"Isn't it because I'm also afraid of encountering danger?" Sun Miao'er scratched her head and smiled shyly.
When she arrived, she had carved maple leaves on conspicuous tree trunks, and even left fragments of clothing as a mark under the last haystack. She firmly believed that as long as she had these, even if she was controlled, her master would definitely be able to find her.
Her intuition was right; he could find himself no matter where he was.
Fu Yuchi muttered self-reproachfully, "Danger, you know it's dangerous. But I can't always get here in time. What if, what if I'm too late?"
If he really arrives too late, his little Miao'er will be taken to Huizhou. At that time, he will search the entire Huizhou to find her.
Sun Miao'er lowered her head and secretly observed her master's expression. Seeing that he wasn't really angry, she pretended to be coquettish and said, "Master, don't worry, there will definitely not be a next time. I will tell you everything I do from now on."
Fu Yuchi held her breath, ignored her words, put the medicine away, and rubbed her temples.
The dappled shadows of the trees reflected on his face, blurring his handsome features and giving him an unreal, alluring quality.
"Master, what did you mean by 'the ruler of a country' just now?" She recalled their conversation during their fight and wanted to get a clear answer.
Fu Yuchi was taken aback and replied, "Well, that's a long story."
"Then just get to the point!" Sun Miao'er deliberately dragged out her words. She knew that she might not be cute when she acted coquettishly, but that was all she could do now, since she was the one who had done something wrong.
Fu Yuchi had no choice but to smile helplessly, playing with the small pebbles on the ground. "The Feather Camp is the Emperor's personal guard. They are only at the Emperor's beck and call, and they are only allowed to serve the Emperor. They are not allowed to receive any orders from outside the Emperor's command."
"Even the Empress Dowager and the Empress could not command them."
Sun Miao'er was stunned. Could it be that the emperor was secretly collecting women? She continued, "Is it possible that there is a traitor in the Feather Camp?"
“Impossible.” Fu Yuchi was very certain. “More than a hundred years ago, the situation was turbulent and there were disloyal people in the court. That’s why my great-grandfather came up with this idea. He searched for experts in the countryside and, after many rounds of selection, finally chose ten people to form the Feather Camp, which was responsible for protecting the emperor’s safety. Members of the Feather Camp would retire after the age of forty and personally hand over their positions to the next person who would succeed them.”
“Everyone who succeeds the previous one here is an orphan without parents. They receive training in the Feather Camp from a young age to ensure their loyalty to the monarch.”
His great-grandfather probably never imagined that the very strategy he himself had offered would ultimately lead to the deaths of his own descendants.
Sun Miao'er recalled the feathered token that the man wore, which was probably the mark of the Feather Camp. "So, more than ten years ago, it was them who were chasing after Master?"
"More than ten years ago, the Fu family was wiped out by the Yu Camp." Fu Yuchi said, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.
He had just had a golden opportunity to avenge his parents, but he failed. He couldn't kill Fei Yu with his own hands to avenge the Fu family. But there's always next time.
Sun Miao'er's heart skipped a beat. "Master, are you in danger?"
These people are highly trained assassins. From the exchange just now, it's easy to see their qualities as killers. What would Master do if the entire Feather Camp came?
“Now that the Feather Camp knows I’m still alive, and they haven’t been able to kill me all these years, do you think they can succeed this time?” Fu Yuchi showed no fear, but rather some anticipation.
"Furthermore, it is true that there are ten people in the Feather Camp, but it is impossible for them all to be dispatched. The Emperor is in a high position and is extremely worried. He is afraid that someone will use a feint attack, so he will definitely leave at least five people to protect him closely."
Sun Miao'er nodded as if she understood, but the matter was far more complicated than it seemed. "He came to ask Old Man Jin for a woman. The Jin family has been involved in trafficking women for so many years, and they've all sold them to her. My mother might have been bought by them."
"So that's why you came alone?" Fu Yuchi asked in return. "Don't worry, not all ten people in the Feather Camp are skilled. They each have their own duties. Some are responsible for killing people in the dark, some are active in the city to collect information, and some are good at disguise and deception."
"What about Feiyu who just arrived?"
Fu Yuchi raised his eyelids and smiled, "Him? His skills are above average, but I think he's not very bright. When I fought him ten years ago, he had just taken over the Flying Feather and hadn't improved much over the years, which is true."
Sun Miao'er used to think that her master was a weak scholar, after all, he dealt with herbs all day long and occasionally looked after livestock and poultry. She had never seen him fight with anyone. But after seeing him fight with Fei Yu just now, she realized that she knew very little about her master.
His skills are not bad; he can even gain the upper hand when he spars with top experts.
“Huizhou is a good place.” He gazed at the dark forest ahead for a long time before saying this.
Fei Yu had probably been lying low in Huizhou for a long time, or perhaps Huizhou was their base of operations, but he still couldn't figure out why they were collecting so many women.
Sending Fei Yu away like this is a waste of talent, or perhaps these women have a more important role to play.
"Are we still going to the Jin family?" he asked.
Sun Miao'er nodded as if waking from a dream, "Right! I just remembered, I also need to ask that old man where my mother went!"
She almost forgot the most important thing: now that she had her master as her backer, even ten or eight of Old Man Jin's thugs wouldn't be a match for her. She also had the confidence to ask questions.
If she had known her master was so capable, she definitely wouldn't have gone alone.
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