Tight abdominal muscles, strong chest muscles, and clearly visible mermaid lines...

After seeing Pei Yan's nearly perfect figure, Tao Ti was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that he looked so frail on weekdays, but had such a muscular figure under his clothes.

But now was not the time to admire it, she quickly turned her gaze to his wounds.

The two sword wounds on his arms and back were not too deep, but the more troublesome one was the sword wound on his chest. Tao Ti stretched out her hand to compare, took a breath of cool air, and said in fear, "It almost pierced my heart!"

She secretly thanked her luck that she threw the vase over in time to distract the assassin's attention. Otherwise, if the assassin stabbed a second time, Pei Yan's life would be in danger!

Good fortune often lurks in the shadow of misfortune, and misfortune often lurks in the shadow of good fortune. It seems that the shoddy railing was not completely useless. At least the accidental collision opened up a new angle for survival.

It was quiet all around at the moment, and Tao Ti couldn't find any clean gauze, so she could only tear the hem of her skirt and bandage him simply.

"Your Highness, please hold on. You are blessed with a good fortune and will be fine."

“…”

"Look, we fell into the river, but we got to shore safely, right?"

She muttered to herself as she bandaged his wound. Fortunately, she had learned some first aid bandaging techniques before. Although the conditions were limited at the moment, she was able to stop the bleeding.

Pei Yan leaned weakly against the stone, quietly letting her do what she wanted.

Tao Ti lowered her head and bandaged him with a focused expression. Her soft fingers were warm and touched his chest from time to time, like a spring breeze blowing across the snowy field.

Soon, she breathed a sigh of relief, "It's wrapped!"

Pei Yan wanted to compliment her out of habit, but he was so weak that he even had difficulty opening his mouth. His gentle gaze inadvertently swept over her, and his pupils twitched slightly.

The thin spring shirt she was wearing was completely soaked, clinging tightly to her body, outlining her graceful curves like a young girl's first ripe peach...

Pei Yan turned his head to the side stiffly, "Ahem."

When Tao Ti heard him cough, she immediately became nervous and quickly reached out to stroke his back, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

Pei Yan's thick eyelashes drooped, his black eyes darkened as he glanced at the soft curves of the little girl who was clinging tightly to his arm. His Adam's apple moved slightly, his throat tightened, and he coughed twice.

Seeing him coughing like this, Tao Ti's nerves tensed up, and she looked around in panic, "Your Highness, we seem to have drifted quite far... I don't know where this is, but the river bank doesn't look like it's in its original state, there should be people living nearby..."

She just simply stopped the bleeding, which was far from enough. She still needed to find a doctor to bandage it properly.

After thinking for a while, she hastily buttoned Pei Yan's robe and half-knelt in front of Pei Yan, "Your Highness, lie down on me, I'll carry you, let's go take a look ahead first."

Pei Yan was stunned when he saw the slender and petite figure in front of him.

She, carrying him?

Tao Ti waited for a while, and seeing that he didn't move, she turned to look at him, "What's wrong?"

Pei Yan's lips moved slightly, his voice hoarse, "Gu, go...by yourself."

Tao Ti frowned, looking worried, "Can you do it?"

How could Pei Yan say "no"? He held his breath and stood up with difficulty.

When Tao Ti saw him like this, she didn't care about anything else and just went straight into his arms so that he could lean on her to stand up.

"Your Highness, you are injured. Don't hold on. I am not injured and I am stronger than you. The most urgent thing is to go out and find someone to help you treat your wounds."

Her eyes were as clear as water, and her brows were full of seriousness.

Pei Yan hummed softly, put his arm on her shoulders, half supporting and half carrying her, and the two of them walked slowly towards the woods in front.

After walking a short distance, Tao Ti felt that Pei Yan was becoming more and more exhausted, and his breathing became heavier, like a broken bellows that had not been repaired for a long time.

She gritted her teeth and whispered, "Your Highness, hold on a little longer and walk through this small forest. It should be fine."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and pulled his waist towards her so that he could share more of his weight with her. "Don't look at me because I'm small. I don't eat all the food I eat for free. I'm very strong. It's okay for you to put more pressure on me."

Both of their clothes were wet, and the already thin fabric seemed to have become even thinner. Their bodies were pressed tightly against each other, and they could clearly feel each other's body temperature.

Tao Ti gradually realized that his body seemed to be particularly hot?

Her heart sank and she stopped walking. She turned her head and her forehead just touched his chin. She reached out a hand and touched his forehead.

So hot!

Her hand suddenly shrank, and the worry in her eyes became even more intense.

After looking around, Tao Ti found a big tree and helped Pei Yan sit down.

After touching Pei Yan's forehead and cheeks again, Tao Ti pursed her lips tightly. It was so hot that she couldn't go on.

Pei Yan was originally a frail man, and now he was injured, had lost too much blood, and had been soaking in the river for most of the night. It would be strange if he didn't get sick!

Pei Yan only felt that he was in a daze. Suddenly, a pair of soft hands touched his cheeks, which was cool and very comfortable.

He raised his head slowly, his peach blossom eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of hazy mist, and he looked quietly at the little girl in front of him.

Her fair face was full of seriousness. She looked at him steadily with her watery eyes. Her soft voice was firm, "Your Highness, wait for me here. I'll find someone to help... Don't worry, I will definitely come back!"

Pei Yannong frowned slightly and raised his hand to pull her sleeve.

Tao Ti bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then held his hand and said solemnly, "You asked me to trust you, so you have to trust me too... Can we trust each other?"

There was a gentle breeze blowing, and the sky became brighter without anyone noticing.

Tao Ti was also a little worried about leaving Pei Yan here alone, especially since he was still injured and very weak, and he was so handsome...

Alas, handsome men can also be dangerous!

After thinking for a moment, she broke off a bunch of branches and placed them in front of him, then picked up some mud from the ground and smeared it on his fair and handsome face.

Even though he was covered in mud, his deep, three-dimensional facial features were still good-looking, but they were still much more low-key than the godly look with red lips and white teeth he had at the beginning.

"Your Highness, wait for me to come back!"

She gave him a long look and hurried out of the woods.

After walking about three miles, she finally found a road!

Tao Ti was overjoyed, and Mr. Lu Xun's famous saying popped into her mind: There are no roads in the world, but when more people walk on them, roads will appear.

Where there is a road, there are people!

She suddenly felt happy, her steps became lighter, and she walked faster along the road.

Not long after she walked, she saw a figure appear in front of her.

He was a lean middle-aged man, wearing coarse cloth, a circle of wild animal skin around his waist, and a quiver on his shoulder. The way he was dressed, he looked like a hunter who came to the woods to hunt.

Tao Ti was delighted to finally see someone, and quickly went up to him, "Hello, big brother, can you help me?"

The hunter was startled when he saw a beautiful young lady emerging from the forest. He thought he had met a fox fairy from a storybook. But when he walked closer and took a look, he was relieved to find that it was a living person.

The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down. Although she looked a little shabby, judging from her attire, she must be from a wealthy family.

"Girl, you...did you encounter bandits?" In the past two years, bandits have often appeared around Luoyang. They specialize in intercepting lone merchant ships and are extremely vicious.

Tao Ti was startled and said quickly, "Yes, yes, we did encounter pirates. Our boat was robbed. I and... my husband, jumped into the river together and managed to save our lives. But my husband was injured and is now in front. Big brother, can you please be kind and help us and take us to find a doctor?"

She paused and touched her head. Her hair was loose and her jewelry had been washed away by the water. Fortunately, the earrings were still there.

Tao Ti quickly took off the pair of jade earrings with a beautiful water color and handed them to the hunter, "Brother, please be kind."

Although the hunter didn't know much about jewelry, he knew the price of the translucent earrings was high when he saw them.

His expression changed immediately, and he took the earring and said, "Okay, okay, young lady, you lead the way, and we will go find your husband."

Tao Ti was overjoyed and hurriedly led him back the way he came.

Pushing aside the obstructing branches, Tao Ti squatted down, touched Pei Yan's forehead, and whispered softly in his ear, "My Lord, I'm back. I found someone to help us."

Her warm breath brushed past his ears, and Pei Yan slowly opened his eyes. Perhaps because he had just rested for some time, he was more conscious than at the beginning.

He looked at Tao Ti, then at the hunter standing in front of him, and hummed softly.

Tao Ti heaved a sigh of relief when she saw his response. She stood up and said to the hunter, "My husband has lost too much blood and is completely exhausted. I would like to trouble you to carry him for a while. When we get to the doctor, we will definitely reward him handsomely!"

The hunter looked at Pei Yan's gorgeous clothes on the ground, then turned to Tao Ti. Although she looked a little haggard, her beauty was still there... He couldn't help but narrow his triangular eyes.

The man is half dead now, and the woman is so weak, why should he go hunting? Isn't this a wife sent by God to him?

Good and evil are often just a thought away. Once this thought comes up, it grows wildly like a weed.

The hunter looked at Tao Ti with increasingly fiery eyes, especially when he saw her slender figure faintly visible under her half-dried clothes, he felt even hotter all over.

Suddenly, he took off his quiver and threw it aside, then rushed towards Tao Ti.

Tao Ti instinctively dodged and looked at him in shock, "What are you doing!"

The hunter rubbed his hands, with an obscene smile on his dark face, "My little beauty, I see your husband's injuries are really serious, and it's not certain whether he can be saved or not. It's fate that we met each other, why don't you follow me and be my wife?"

Tao Ti was stunned. She never expected that the helper she had finally found would turn out to be a jackal with evil intentions!

Her heart was shaken, and she dodged while angrily cursing, "I warn you not to mess around, or I will kill you!"

The hunter was a widower who hadn't touched a woman for a long time. Seeing her like this, he found it interesting and smiled even brighter. "Kill me? A powerless little girl like you? It's not certain who will kill who."

As he spoke, he pounced towards Tao Ti quickly, like a hyena catching its prey.

Tao Ti tried her best to dodge, but she accidentally stepped on a mossy stone and fell backwards with a heavy fall.

Her tailbone seemed to be broken from the fall. She was obviously grimacing in pain, but she didn't care about composure and hurried to get up.

But just as she sat up, the hunter walked up to her and grinned, "Hey, little beauty, where are you going to run to?"

Taoti, “——!”

She instinctively grabbed the stone at hand, and when she saw the hunter was about to bend down, she raised her hands and screamed, "Ah!"

The next moment, scarlet blood spurted out like a burst faucet, splashing onto her cheeks and clothes. The warm and sticky touch made her whole body numb.

Tao Ti was stunned, completely stunned.

She stared with her eyes wide open and her neck twisted stiffly, looking at the stone in her hand.

She...she hasn't even hit it yet!

The hunter's eyes widened, his rough face filled with shock and terror, his pupils dilated rapidly, and his short and stocky body slowly fell to the side.

There was a thumb-sized hole in the aorta of his neck, and bright red blood was still flowing out of the hole, covering his entire face...

Tao Ti felt a chill in her heart and raised her head. The blood that splashed between her eyebrows slowly flowed down, as if a blood-red filter was covering her eyes.

In this enchanting blood-red, she saw Pei Yan, who was wearing a light-colored robe, standing with his waist bent. He was tightly holding a feather arrow used for hunting, and the sharp arrow head was stained with blood. The thick blood also stained his bony hands.

There was blood on his robe, his cold, pale and handsome face, and his deep black eyes seemed to be coated in a layer of blood. He was no longer gentle, indifferent and peaceful as usual, but full of murderous intent, cruelty and sinisterness, like an undercurrent surging under a calm lake. This aggressive pressure made people's breathing become extremely suppressed.

Is this still... Pei Yan?

Tao Ti stared at him blankly with her eyes wide open. Her mind was in a mess and she felt that the person in front of her was extremely strange.

The man threw the arrow in his hand away, then lifted his sleeves and gently wiped the blood off his face, slowly and elegantly.

The blood and dirt on his face were wiped away, revealing his deep and handsome eyebrows and eyes. There was still some splattered blood on his chin, which added a sense of weirdness and evil charm.

He slowly leaned down and stretched out his right hand towards her out of habit, but when he lowered his eyes, he saw that his right hand was covered in blood. His brows twitched slightly, and he retracted his hand and switched to his left hand.

A slender, beautiful, clean left hand without a trace of blood.

He opened his thin lips slightly, and his voice was low, hoarse, and extremely gentle, "Ati."

Tao Ti didn't move, just stared at him.

Pei Yan frowned and his eyelashes drooped slightly. Was he scaring her?

He took off his dirty outer robe and slowly squatted down. Although he was very weak, he still wanted to hug his little girl and tell her not to be afraid of him.

He squatted down in front of her, threw away the stone in her hand, raised his hand again, and touched her head carefully.

Seeing that she didn't dodge, his heart, which had been hanging tightly in his chest, was filled with supreme joy.

He smiled softly, his voice hoarse and low, "Ati, don't be afraid..."

Before he could utter the word "alone", two soft arms suddenly wrapped around his waist.

“Wow—”

Tao Ti threw herself into his arms, her little face pressed tightly against his chest, tears falling like beads from a broken string, "Wuwuwu, I was scared to death, I was really scared to death just now..."

She sobbed and cried, with tears and snot flying, like a child who had been wronged outside and returned to a warm and stable home.

A moist warmth rose in Pei Yan's chest. The warmth penetrated his skin and spread to every part of his body, loosening his tense nerves little by little, and his originally dry and dry heart gradually began to sprout green leaves.

It turned out that she was not afraid of him just now, but was frightened.

She is still a little girl after all...

This realization immediately made him feel better.

He hugged her tightly, patted her back gently, and whispered, "Ati, it's okay. The bad guy has been eliminated."

While he was coaxing her gently, he caught a glimpse of the corpse with its eyes open from the corner of his eye, his eyes were cold and cruel.

If it weren't for the inconvenience at this time, he would definitely cut this lustful beast into pieces.

Tao Ti was tired of crying and left his arms. Her dark eyes were wet, her long and curly eyelashes were stained with crystal tears, and the corners of her eyes were red, like a little rabbit.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault. I found someone and thought he could help us, but I didn't expect he had such bad intentions." She cried so hard that her body twitched when she spoke, and she was extremely upset.

Pei Yan wiped away the tears on her face with his cool fingers. His eyes were gentle as he coaxed her softly, "I don't blame you. Human hearts are extremely complicated. Even bad people don't write the word bad on their faces, ok?"

Tao Ti blinked, "..."

Although this is true, I still can't help but blame myself.

What a pity! How unlucky it is.

Pei Yan lowered his eyes and said half jokingly and half seriously, "Okay, now is not the time to cry. I really can't hold it anymore. A-Ti, think of a way, okay?"

Tao Ti suddenly woke up. Yes, Pei Yan was still running a fever and had just killed someone with great effort! His situation must be terrible now!

At this point, she no longer had the heart to cry. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears and hurriedly helped him sit down beside her, her cheeks puffed up. "You take a rest, I... I'll go find some people. This time, I'll go to the village and find a large group of people. I don't believe that the whole village is full of bad people!"

Pei Yan felt both amused and distressed when he saw her clenching her fists with a solemn look on her face. His little Crown Princess was so adorable.

But before leaving, Tao Ti glanced at the cold hunter, resisted the urge to shoot a few more arrows, gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and dragged him towards the river.

Pei Yan was slightly startled, "Ati, what are you doing?"

Tao Ti didn't turn around, but just said, "We have to deal with the body, otherwise when we call for help later, they will see that there is a dead body and they will definitely not help us."

Pei Yan looked at her calm and resolute profile and pursed his thin lips.

If he had not been so weak, her hands would not have been dirty.

Soon, Tao Ti hid the body in the tall bushes by the river, and threw away Pei Yan's blood-stained robe. She simply cleaned the blood on her body by the river, soaked her sleeves with water, and went back to wipe the blood off Pei Yan.

After making sure there were no mistakes at the scene, Tao Ti broke the feather arrow and hid the half with the arrowhead in her sleeve.

If she encounters danger again later, she will have to rely on herself.

"Your Highness, wait for me to come back," she said.

"Okay." Pei Yan chuckled softly, gently and elegantly, like a banished immortal who had just descended to the mortal world.

…

The first time is new, the second time is familiar. Walking along that path again, Tao Ti felt very familiar with it.

This time, when I was halfway there, I saw a figure.

Tao Ti was startled, her guard was fully raised, she clenched the half-broken feather arrow in her hand, and walked forward nervously and anxiously.

It was already morning, the sky was bright, and the early summer sun was shining brightly. The clear light penetrated the lush forest and through the dense leaves, casting spots of light.

Along with the crisp sound of blowing leaves, two figures appeared on the path, one old and one young.

Seeing this combination, Tao Ti relaxed her clenched hands a little.

She hurried over, and when she got closer, she couldn't help but stop in her tracks, looking at the two people in front of her in surprise.

"Old man, little brother, it's you!"

At this critical moment when I feel helpless and at a loss, it feels so good to meet someone I know.

The old man and the young man in front of them were exactly the grandfather and grandson that Tao Ti and his companions met when they were hiding from the rain in the mountain temple before entering Luoyang City!

The old man was still wearing a grey coarse cloth robe and carrying a large bamboo basket on his back. He came forward in surprise and asked, "Madam, why are you here? And you look like this?"

Tao Ti sighed, "It's a long story."

She looked at the gray-robed old man sincerely and begged, "Old man, please help me. My husband is seriously injured and can't move now. I wonder if you can go and take care of him for a while."

The gray-robed old man asked, "Where are you going?"

Tao Ti said, "I have to find a doctor for him. I don't know how long it will take to reach the village."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little grandson who was hiding behind the gray-robed old man poked out half of his head and said crisply, "Big sister, there is no need to find a doctor. My grandfather is the doctor. He is a very good doctor!"

Tao Ti was stunned for a moment, and looked at the gray-robed old man in front of him in surprise, "Old man, are you a doctor?"

The gray-robed old man patted his grandson's head, raised his head again, and nodded slowly, "Medicine is inseparable from doctors, and doctors are inseparable from medicine. Medicine and medicine are one and the same. If the villagers around here have a headache, fever, shoulder or neck pain, they will come to me to ask for a prescription or two."

This time I really hit the jackpot!

Tao Ti's depressed mood when she first encountered the scumbag was instantly cured!

She bent down and bowed respectfully to the gray-robed old man, "Old man, please save my husband. If you can help me today, I will repay you with gratitude in the future."

The old man in gray robes didn't say anything, but the little grandson interrupted, "Big sister, you don't need to tell me, can you make a few of the baked cakes from last time, and the slightly sweet and fragrant meat jerky? Make these for us, and my grandfather and I will help you!"

Tao Ti was not expecting such a request and was stunned for a moment.

The gray-robed old man tapped his grandson's forehead and said, "You greedy devil, for a bite of food, you're making decisions for your grandfather?"

The grandson laughed and flirted with the old man, "Grandpa, don't you want to eat it? Last time you said that the cake was delicious!"

The old man in gray robe stroked his beard and snorted with a laugh.

The little grandson grinned at Tao Ti, "Big sister, my grandfather has agreed. Come on, lead the way quickly, don't let your husband wait anxiously!"

“Okay, okay…”

Tao Ti came to her senses and hurriedly thanked the two of them, then led the grandfather and grandson back the way they had come.