Just as the two women were talking, the black and white striped worm had already reached its prey. It did not slow down at all, but instead used all its strength to lift its entire body into the air, baring its teeth and claws. With its blood-red maw wide open, it pounced on the two women on the ground who were tightly hugging each other, their eyes closed in despair and fear.
Just as their lives hung by a thread, at the very brink of disaster, a handsome man in white robes, with clear features and an elegant figure, suddenly appeared from nowhere. He flew over, or rather, trampled, the imposing head of the giant insect.
In the instant that he raised his sword and brought it down in mid-air, the giant worm, wounded and howling in pain, turned around and fled into the deep forest, with its two cubs following closely behind in a panicked escape.
The man in white robes then landed directly in front of the two women.
The girl, who grew up in the countryside, was naturally bolder. Hearing the noise around her, she seemed to sense something was wrong and opened her eyes in confusion.
Upon seeing the familiar, handsome man before her, she immediately called out in delight, "Young Master Lu? It's you!"
As she spoke, she reached out and gently patted Huan'er's shoulder, whose eyes were still tightly closed and who was trembling as if she were gritting her teeth.
At this moment, Huan'er was startled and suddenly opened her eyes, but seemed not to have heard what the little girl had just said at all, and kept asking in a panic, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Upon seeing this, the young girl couldn't help but cover her mouth with one hand and burst out laughing. She quickly regained her senses and pointed in the direction where the man was standing.
Huan'er then looked over at him, and immediately frowned in surprise, saying, "Young Master Lu, it's you? What are you doing here?"
Before Lu Tianlin could even speak, Huan'er suddenly stood up and hurriedly looked around carefully, asking the two of them in confusion, "Where are the tigers? Where are the three tigers?"
At this moment, Lu Tianlin raised the gleaming sword that had been standing upright in his hand again, preparing to put it back into its sheath.
Upon seeing the bloodstains on the sword in his hand, Huan'er stared at him for a moment, then asked in a surprised voice, "Young Master Lu, did you kill those three tigers?"
"No, that adult worm was only wounded by my sword and fled in panic." Lu Tianlin finished speaking in a deep voice and then sheathed his sword.
"Thank goodness, thank God, they're all still alive and well." Upon hearing this, Huan'er immediately broke into a big smile, clasped her hands together, and prayed repeatedly.
"That big worm almost swallowed you both whole, and after having its meal, you're still hoping it'll survive? I have no idea what kind of logic this is in your head, little girl." Lu Tianlin was stunned by her appearance.
Upon hearing this, Huan'er blushed and quietly turned away, trying not to be noticed. However, she couldn't escape the sharp eyes of the clever little girl. She smiled and teased the man, saying, "Young Master Lu, you don't know, Sister Huan'er, she's a girl raised by a living Bodhisattva, not an ordinary person!"
"Little girl, if you want your foot to swell up bigger than a peach, then try continuing!" Huan'er said sternly as she walked over, squatted down, and returned to the little girl's side, picking up the foot that had just been sprained.
"I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore, Fairy Huan'er, you are the true form of a celestial maiden who has descended to earth to save people from suffering. Please, little fairy, save my foot quickly, it hurts so much!" The little girl continued to tease him.
Just as Huan'er was healing the little girl's wounds, Lu Tianlin looked at the treacherous surroundings and asked in confusion, "Didn't you two say you were just coming up the mountain to find wild vegetables? How did you end up in such a dangerous place? If I remember correctly, this doesn't seem to be part of my Western Qin territory anymore, does it?"
Upon hearing this, the two women silently lowered their heads and suddenly pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Seeing their extremely guilty reaction, Lu Tianlin became even more certain of his thoughts on the way up the mountain and asked, "You didn't come up the mountain to find wild vegetables, did you? What are you looking for?"
Upon hearing this, neither of the two women uttered a sound; instead, they both lowered their heads even further.
Lu Tianlin seemed to have some displeasure on his face at this moment, and then he snorted coldly at the two of them, saying, "Don't think that just because you don't talk, I can't do anything to you. Look at this, what is it?"
As he spoke, he took out a veil from his sleeve that should have been spotless but was now covered in dust. He gently picked up a corner, unfolded it, and placed it between the two women.
At this point, the two women simultaneously and slowly raised their heads to look at the object in front of them.
If the little girl hadn't paid attention on the Lantern Festival, she might not have recognized this.
However, Huan'er, who had been with him day and night for several days, immediately exclaimed in surprise when she saw the very familiar, delicately embroidered "cloud" character and the light blue cloud pattern next to it on the corner of the veil: "Where did you get this... this?"
As she spoke, she reached out to snatch it away. However, Lu Tianlin seemed to have anticipated her move, quickly withdrawing his hand even faster than she did, placing it behind his back, exhaling a breath of stale air, and turning slightly to her, saying, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
After pondering for a moment, Huan'er gritted her teeth and finally told Ruoxi everything.
As soon as Huan'er finished speaking, Lu Tianlin turned around and exclaimed in shock, "What did you say? She has amnesia?"
Huan'er nodded slowly: "Apart from amnesia, all of Ruoxi's injuries have healed. I was wondering how such a deep wound on her head could disappear without a trace overnight. It didn't even leave a scar, it's simply amazing!"
After a moment's thought, Lu Tianlin anxiously asked again, "Miss Huan'er, I'm asking you, is the Ruoxi you're looking for covered by this veil because she has a red birthmark on her face?"
Huan'er stared blankly at the deep eyes in front of her for a moment, and finally nodded.
"Ruoxi...so the Ruoxi you've always referred to is actually her...she's not called Ruoxi." At this point, Lu Tianlin took out the mask from behind him and said to her in a daze.
Huan'er was puzzled, but felt a little strange. She said, "Her name isn't Ruoxi. We gave her that name after we saved her, since she didn't remember anything. From what you're saying, it seems you know her name? Could it be... that you know Ruoxi?"
After a long silence, Lu Tianlin took a deep breath and said softly, "Since things have come to this, I might as well tell you the truth. The person I'm looking for is the Ruoxi you mentioned. Her real name is Yi Shangyun. She is the eldest daughter of the Yi family in the west of the city, a physician in the Qin Prince's mansion in the east of the city, and also my fiancée—the young master of Xiqin Academy, Lu Tianlin.
Upon hearing this, the two women stared at each other in astonishment!
After a while, Huan'er came to her senses, her face somewhat gloomy, and asked him hesitantly, "Your fiancée?"
Lu Tianlin nodded, then hesitated, seemingly regretful, and said, "However, more than half a year ago, I personally went to the Yi family to annul this engagement. Now, I'm afraid there are men even more outstanding than me who are interested in her..."
"Why? Ruoxi... oh, no, I mean Miss Yi. Miss Yi is very kind-hearted and has excellent medical skills. If it weren't for her, Wang Er would probably be in mortal danger this time," Huan'er asked, puzzled.
"Alas, it's a long story!" Lu Tianlin sighed, looking up at the sky.
Seeing that he seemed embarrassed, Huan'er stopped asking and asked again, "By the way, Young Master Lu, where did you find this face covering? I remember Miss Yi was wearing it yesterday when she went out."
Lu Tianlin then came to his senses, but instead of answering her question, he first scolded the two women in front of him, who were now extremely disheveled: "You two careless and reckless fools! You didn't even bother to check the traces left at the scene before searching for someone. You didn't even understand the situation before you went into the mountains so confused. It's been so dangerous for two girls like you on this journey! ...Is the person you came up the mountain looking for a man?"
"How did you know?" the two women asked in unison, surprised.
"In the still damp soil at the foot of the mountain, besides your two fresh footprints, there's only one other man's footprint. You're not looking for him, are you perhaps here to feed the tigers and snakes?" Lu Tianlin raised an eyebrow, snorted, and said disdainfully.
The two women immediately lowered their heads silently.
After a moment, Huan'er said, "The man we're looking for is called Wang Er. He's the one who found Ruoxi—oh, no, Miss Yi—dying in the reeds at the village entrance. Yesterday, I was anxious to find the old lady, but the woodcutter stopped me, saying Wang Er had been poisoned in the mountains and was in critical condition. So, Miss Yi went into the mountains with the woodcutter, and that's how this happened. Of all the people in Peach Blossom Village, Wang Er is the most familiar with this mountain. I think he must have discovered something, which is why..."
"Does Wang Er have any skills like digging holes?" Upon hearing this, Lu Tianlin suddenly asked.
"Drilling holes? We've only heard from the villagers that Wang Er's father could drill holes, and that all the cave dwellings in the village were built by him. But his parents passed away when he was very young, and we've never heard of Wang Er having the skill to drill holes!" The two women looked at each other in surprise.
"What does this have to do with this face covering?" Huan'er suddenly asked, puzzled.
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