Chapter 104 The Uncertainty of the Contract
"There's one more thing you must do for me." Yang Xiao lay on the pillow, glancing at him sideways.
The soldier tilted his head slightly. "What is it?"
"Go steal my gun, and before you leave, get me the Crimson Flame."
"What?" The man nearly jumped up upon hearing this. "Are you crazy?"
“To have survived in my camp for so long,” Yang Xiao rolled her eyes at him and turned her back, “I don’t believe you don’t have the ability.”
The man stood there stunned, then nodded with a bitter laugh, “Fine, get you the gun and the horse the day before you leave.”
"What's your name?" Yang Xiao asked weakly, lying on her pillow.
"Jia Ding," the man added, as if afraid Yang Xiao might misunderstand, "the Ding of An Ding (meaning stable)."
Yang Xiao, who had been listless just moments before, suddenly burst into laughter. The mottled wounds on her back throbbed with pain with each movement, causing her to gasp repeatedly.
"Fake butt?" Yang Xiao barely suppressed a laugh, turning to glance at the person standing to the side. "What a lame name, why not use a real one?"
Upon hearing this, Jia Ding froze on the spot, stunned for a long while. He glanced at Yang Xiao in disbelief, then pointed at her with a furious laugh, "Are you delirious from the fever? How can you use someone's name to humiliate them?"
"We'll be colleagues in the future anyway, what's wrong with making a few jokes?" Yang Xiao chuckled, lying on the pillow, then turned her head to glance at him again, as if she hadn't given up. "Right, Brother Ding?"
"Yang Xiao, you..." Jia Ding raised his arm, about to say something, but then heard footsteps outside the door. He quickly composed himself, then pretended to be respectful and reached for the water on the table.
Yang Xiao coldly watched Jia Ding's hypocritical actions and gave him a disdainful look.
"General!" The young soldier slipped in through the doorway, brushing the chill off his clothes, and looked at Yang Xiao with delight, "How are you? Are you alright?"
Yang Xiao sighed and looked at the soldier with a smile, "Aren't you afraid of being harmed by someone with ulterior motives if you treat me like this?"
“General, what are you saying?” The soldier frowned and shook his head. “Miss Cen will be here soon. I’ll invite her in right away.”
He had just turned around when he saw Jia Ding standing there dumbfounded with a bowl of water in his hand. He was immediately furious. "The water's all cold, why are you giving it to the general?"
Before he could finish speaking, footsteps began to sound outside the door. Jia Ding put down the bowl of cold water, glanced up at the door, and said, "Say less, your Miss Cen is here."
Yang Xiao couldn't help but straighten up and follow their gaze toward the door. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, clutching the corner of the pillow tightly in her hand, quietly waiting for Cen Xun's figure.
-
The door clicked open, and the soft footsteps, carrying a chilling air, swept into the room, instantly dissipating the warmth that had just been there. It was as if with each step Cen Xun took, endless ice flowers spread across the floor.
A cold laugh came from the couch. Yang Xiao glanced at Cen Xun without raising her head and said, "What, are you here to take my life again?"
“To tell you the truth,” Cen Xun’s voice turned cold as she frowned and looked at Yang Xiao, who was covered in wounds, “was our lord actually killed by you?”
Yang Xiao lay on the couch, silent for a long while, then said, "Since you can ask such a question, it seems I don't need to answer it."
“Before the truth is found out,” Cen Xun raised his head and snorted coldly, throwing the medicine box he was carrying onto the table beside him, “I advise you not to die yet.”
Yang Xiao chuckled self-deprecatingly, then, as if realizing something, glanced back at the two soldiers standing bewildered inside the tent. "Get out."
Jia Ding frowned and walked straight out the door. The young soldier looked at the two men, who were about to clash, in disbelief. Realizing that something was wrong, he quickly backed out and closed the door.
The footsteps outside the door grew fainter and fainter, and the fleeting shadow at the window disappeared without a trace. Cen Xun quickly breathed a sigh of relief, then bent down with worry and anxiety, gently placing his hand on Yang Xiao's shoulder.
Yang Xiao finally felt relieved and lay down comfortably on the couch. She reached out and pulled Cen Xun's hand from her shoulder, placing it beside her face and holding it tightly.
“Lingyu,” Cen Xun began, her voice trembling with tears. She knelt before Yang Xiao’s bedside, gently stroking Yang Xiao’s face, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t be afraid, Lingyu, I’m here.” She turned her gaze to the wounds covering Yang Xiao’s back, and her nose stung again. She sighed deeply, her voice trembling, “How much pain this must have caused…”
Yang Xiao held Cen Xun's hand, tilted her head and looked at her with a smile, "I have to say, you acted really well just now."
"What time is it? You're still talking nonsense." Cen Xun, with tears in his eyes, raised his hand and rubbed Yang Xiao's face.
Yang Xiao smiled with relief, gently stroking her hand as she held it. "Don't worry, I'll survive."
“With me here, you will definitely survive.” Cen Xun squeezed Yang Xiao’s hand tightly, stood up and looked at her with certainty. “Bear with it, I will treat your injuries right away.”
The clothes that had been stuck to her wound on her back were gently lifted, and a tearing pain immediately spread throughout Yang Xiao's body. She gripped the sheets tightly, gritted her teeth and hissed, cold sweat seeping from her forehead and rolling down her back.
“Lingyu…” Cen Xun looked at Yang Xiao’s pained expression, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face. She felt as if someone was squeezing her heart tightly, and a suffocating pain welled up inside her.
"Tongxi, I'm alright." Yang Xiao's trembling voice escaped from her tightly clenched lips. Holding Cen Xun's arm, she chuckled softly as she collapsed onto the couch, her eyes brimming with tears. "You acted so convincingly just now, Tongxi, I almost... believed you."
“You have no idea how much it hurts me…” Cen Xun looked at Yang Xiao, tears streaming down her face. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and gently applied medicine to Yang Xiao’s back with a cotton ball. “You have no idea how heartbroken everyone is to see you like this… How could anyone in the entire army not trust you…”
The bitterness in her heart and the stinging pain in her genitals merged into one, binding Yang Xiao tightly. She collapsed helplessly on the bed, seemingly only able to breathe, tears still streaming down her cheeks, soaking the pillow.
“I know, Tongxi,” Yang Xiao’s voice trembled slightly as she gently comforted her, “I trust you all, even more than I trust myself.” She sighed softly and gently wiped the tears from her face onto Cen Xun’s arm. “Alright, stop crying, or you’ll give yourself away when we go out.”
Cen Xun smiled and sighed, nodding through her tears. She kept her left hand in Yang Xiao's arms while her right hand busily applied medicine to Yang Xiao's wounds.
Every touch of the medicine to the wound was accompanied by a strong, suppressed tremor. Yang Xiao's grip tightened, and fine sweat seeped between their fingers, while the blood-soaked cotton piled up more and more beside them.
After cleaning the last wound, Cen Xun straightened up with a sigh of relief. She gently moved her numb fingers and said softly, "Lingyu, let go first, I'll bandage you."
Yang Xiao gave a soft "hmm" and nodded. After withdrawing his hand, Cen Xun noticed that Yang Xiao's forehead was covered in fine sweat, and the bed sheet was already soaked with sweat.
Her heart clenched again, and with tears in her eyes and a heavy heart, she carefully wrapped the bandage around Yang Xiao's body. After securing the last bandage, Cen Xun gently stroked Yang Xiao's back, then knelt by her bedside and softly touched her hair.
"Why the expression?" Yang Xiao laboriously freed one hand and gently rubbed Cen Xun's head, mimicking his manner. "Although the injuries are quite severe, they are still just superficial wounds, much better than Zhao Qing's back then." She turned her head and smiled at Cen Xun. "Thank you for today."
Cen Xun closed his eyes and sighed deeply, tightly grasping Yang Xiao's outstretched hand and pressing it against his forehead. "Lingyu, I can't bear to part with you..."
"How could I possibly let you all go?" Yang Xiao stroked Cen Xun's knuckles with emotion. "But life is unpredictable, and I had no choice. However..." She squeezed Cen Xun's hand and smiled gently, "Whether it's you, Bai Ming, or everyone else, even if we're separated by distance, as long as our hearts are together, we've never truly parted, have we?"
Cen Xun's tears immediately streamed down her face. She pressed against Yang Xiao's hand and nodded forcefully. "You're right, Lingyu." She took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at Yang Xiao firmly. "When our hearts are together, we will never be separated. Lingyu, we will always be here, waiting for you to come back."
Looking into her resolute eyes, Yang Xiao couldn't help but smile and sigh with emotion. She propped herself up on her arms, reached under the pillow and pulled out a cold object, placing it in Cen Xun's hand.
The chill emanating from her fingertips sent a shiver down Cen Xun's spine. She looked down into her palm and saw nothing but the White Tiger General's Token that Yang Xiao always carried with him.
Seeing that the general was present, Yang Xiao handed over his two trump cards to Bai Ming and Cen Xun.
In this way, even if she were to die in Xiao's camp, she would not leave any evidence, and Xiao Yan would have no chance to take advantage of her.
"Forge the sword well," Yang Xiao looked up at Cen Xun tenderly, "and bring this token to rescue me personally."
Cen Xun's raised hand trembled slightly, her gaze solemn and resolute as she stared at the command token in her hand. She closed her eyes, nodded, and held the token to her chest, then looked solemnly at Yang Xiao, whose eyes were full of anticipation.
"Okay." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait for me in Chang'an."
After saying that, she raised her hand to wipe away her tears, resolutely turned around and walked towards the door, never looking back.
Yang Xiao lay on the couch, watching Cen Xun's back, and let out a long, carefree sigh. Then she closed her heavy eyelids and sank into darkness.
-
After an unknown amount of time, a warm feeling fell on Yang Xiao's nose. She groggily opened her eyes and saw sunlight streaming in through the window cracks, dancing on her cheeks.
She couldn't help but smile, stretched her arms forward, and yawned deeply.
After a few days of rest, her wounds were no longer so painful. She raised her hand to rub her groggy head and looked up at the bedside.
The medicine box left by Cen Xun was still on the table, next to a basin of cold water and a teapot filled with hot water.
"General?" The light knocking at the door dispelled Yang Xiao's last bit of drowsiness. She tilted her head to look outside, and with a creak, a head squeezed through the crack in the door. The next moment, the young soldier, carrying a bowl of medicine, ran to Yang Xiao.
"You're awake, General." The soldier was overjoyed to see Yang Xiao smiling at him. He placed the medicine cup on the table, turned around, and squatted down by Yang Xiao's bedside. "You're finally feeling a bit better. Miss Cen told me before she left that she would prepare medicine for you with a new prescription once your fever subsided."
"Thank you." Yang Xiao nodded, and tried to get up by propping herself up on her arm, which startled the soldier, who quickly stood up and raised his hand to protect Yang Xiao. "Hey, General! Your injury hasn't fully healed yet, how can you get up like this?"
Yang Xiao stopped what she was doing, glanced at Xiao Bing, then shook her head with a light laugh, turned around and sat up. "It's alright, it's been several days already. If I kept lying down, my arm would probably be ruined."
“Well…” The soldier hesitated for a moment, then turned back to pick up the medicine bowl on the table. “You should drink the medicine while it’s hot, and please don’t aggravate the wound.”
Yang Xiao stared at the bowl in Xiao Bing's hand, and a pungent smell immediately filled her nostrils from afar. She couldn't help but frown and step back, when she heard a soft laugh coming from above her head, "Good medicine tastes bitter. Drinking the medicine will help your injury heal faster."
Yang Xiao chuckled and sighed, taking the bowl of medicine and gulping down a large mouthful. The bitter, sour taste exploded in her mouth, followed by a sweet aftertaste that rushed to her head. Suppressing her nausea, she frowned at the dark medicine in the bowl, muttering, "What kind of nonsense is this...?"
Seeing her like this, the soldier quickly went to the table and got a cup of hot water. "General, would you like to have some hot water to calm down?"
Back in Lujiang County, the scene of her coaxing Bai Ming to drink his medicine with maltose immediately flashed before her eyes. She chuckled softly, feeling a deep connection to the memory, and looked down at her reflection in the medicine bowl, closing her eyes in deep thought for a long while.
"General?"
"It's not worth it." Yang Xiao shook her head, frowned, held her breath, and then tilted her head back to swallow the remaining medicine, letting the nauseating, sour, and bitter taste assault her taste buds.
A moment later, she opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief, as if she had just come to her senses. She handed the empty medicine bowl to the soldier, then looked up at him and asked, "Where did that man go?"
The soldier paused for a moment, then immediately understood what Yang Xiao meant. He turned around and placed the medicine cup on the table. "He only told me he was going out to look for something, and when I asked him again, he stopped answering me." He answered truthfully, still holding the water in his hand. "General, that medicine is very bitter. I could smell it when I was brewing it. Please have some water."
Yang Xiao smiled upon hearing this, and reached out to take the water from his hand. "Why are you so considerate of me?"
"This..." The soldier was taken aback upon hearing this, then looked down at Yang Xiao with a serious yet worried expression. "I am a soldier under your command. Although I am not in the Eagle Squad and have not fought many battles with you, but..." He looked up at Yang Xiao, "I joined the army because of you. I have heard about all your deeds, so you must not have done what you did to our lord. You must have been framed by a villain..."
“Just pretend I did it,” Yang Xiao interrupted the soldier, raising her eyes. “It’s better for both of us.” She sighed softly, smiling at the soldier who dared not say more. “How old are you? What’s your name?”
The soldier stood obediently in place, his big eyes looking earnestly at Yang Xiao. "My name is Shen Zhu, and I have just turned twelve."
“Shen Zhu…”
"Mm," Shen Zhu nodded in response.
“It’s a good name,” Yang Xiao sighed with a smile, raising her hand to pat his thin shoulder. “After this mess is over, go talk to Zhang Ping privately, and then go see Cen Xun.”
“Okay,” Shen Zhu nodded obediently, then glanced at Yang Xiao with some confusion, “But why…”
"Alright, let's put this behind us." Yang Xiao put her index finger to her lips. "Be careful, the walls may be overheard."
Shen Zhu suddenly looked towards the door as if remembering something, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was there. He turned around and nodded to Yang Xiao, "Understood, General."
Before long, a series of footsteps approached from afar.
There seemed to be some metallic clanging noise.
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