As Zhou Chenyu walked by, Yang Xi had already sensed the movement. Recalling the past, he calmed himself down and slowly opened his eyes.
He could see the bright smile of the person in front of him, like spring flowers in full bloom, and the spring light revealed beneath that smile, which instantly threw him into a state of panic.
Yang Xi clenched his fist, unsure where to look, and said with slight annoyance, "Miss Zhou."
Zhou Chenyu stared at his lowered eyes and knew he wouldn't look at her easily.
"Miss Zhou?" She sat down beside him with a smile, tightened her loose clothes, and resumed her serious demeanor: "Yang Xi, I've already called you by your name directly, it's too formal for you to still call me Miss Zhou."
"Why don't you just call me by my name from now on? People in our village call me Chen Yu, you can call me that too."
Sinking fish.
Yang Xi looked at her; the heat in his earlobes had subsided.
His sharp features were much gentler than before. "Okay, I promise you, I'll call you Chen Yu from now on."
Zhou Chenyu never expected that one day she could talk to him so calmly.
His temper was so explosive; this was something she had never dared to dream of before.
She smiled as she looked at the shadows of the trees and the rain, and the rain seemed less unpleasant to her now.
However, the two only exchanged a few words before the downpour turned into a torrential downpour. The scenery that was just a few meters away from the ancient trees was now just a blurry curtain of rain, and nothing could be seen from the wind and rain outside.
“This rain is probably going to last a while, and we can’t leave anyway, so why don’t we chat?” Zhou Chenyu turned her gaze away from the rain and stared at the scratches on his cheek. “Yang Xi, tell me, what happened to those injuries?”
Yang Xi frowned as he recalled the harrowing events of that day, still feeling lingering fear. He said calmly, "Apart from the knife wound on my shoulder inflicted by the assailant, the rest were injuries I sustained while apprehending the assailant. I accidentally rolled down a cliff and broke my leg."
"I thought this place was a desolate wilderness with few people around, so I was going to try to make my way out. But I didn't expect to run out of strength and fall into a pool of water halfway through and pass out."
A smile of relief appeared on his pale face. "If I hadn't met you and Baoyu, I would have died long ago."
"You're lucky, not everyone is as fortunate as you," Zhou Chenyu joked, noticing the sharp knife beside him.
She had only ever seen such personal protective gear in period dramas before, where the characters looked incredibly imposing when wielding it. She never expected to find one right in front of her.
"May I touch this knife that you value more than your own life?" she asked tentatively.
Seeing her curious expression, Yang Xi sat down beside her and nodded, "The blade is sharp, be careful not to hurt your hand."
"Alright." Zhou Chenyu walked straight past him, her fingertips brushing against the blade. The blade was as smooth as a mirror, and the edge was so thin that it would cut the skin with the slightest force.
"This knife is so sharp, has it ever been stained with human blood?" she asked, both curious and frightened.
Yang Xi glanced at her and nodded heavily.
A knife that has killed people.
Zhou Chenyu got a few goosebumps on her arms, but met Yang Xi's stern and upright gaze.
The people he killed must have been vicious criminals like Qian Rushan.
Zhou Chenyu's fear vanished instantly. She carefully picked up the knife, which suddenly felt much heavier. The blade reflected her face, and in an inconspicuous spot under the hilt, she noticed the character "英" (Ying). Usually, the engraved characters were people's names.
She tilted her head, asking him with a mix of joking and seriousness, "Yang Xi, why do you cherish this knife more than your own life? Is it a gift from someone very important to you?"
Yang Xi looked at her and answered seriously, "Exactly."
Zhou Chenyu pressed her advantage, asking pointedly, "Who was it? Was it a gift from the girl you like?"
Yang Xi's eyes darkened slightly, and he shook his head. "This was given to me by my master."
"Master?" Zhou Chenyu stared straight into the man's eyes. A person's words may lie, but their eyes are the hardest to deceive, especially someone like him.
She stared at him intently. His eyes resembled the phoenix eyes of figures in ancient paintings—long and narrow with upturned corners. When he looked at people with a cold expression, his eyes were sharp and intimidating.
But the menacing glint in his eyes was gone; his pupils looked round and black, and coupled with his unusually serious and solemn expression, he was clearly not the kind of man who would lie or be glib.
Zhou Chenyu examined the blade closely, still somewhat puzzled. The gift from her master was important, but how could it compare to a human life?
"You care so much about it because you'll be punished by your master if you lose it?" As soon as Zhou Chenyu said this, a turbulent undercurrent stirred in Yang Xi's calm black eyes.
His expression was somewhat somber as he said, "My master is no longer alive."
Zhou Chenyu was stunned for a moment, and wanted to slap herself. Why did she speak so without thinking?
"This is the only thing he left me, which is why I desperately searched for it."
She put the knife back, saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Here, take it back."
Yang Xi shook his head. "Ignorance is no excuse. You don't need to take it to heart." He quickly calmed himself down and turned to look at her. "By the way, what about you two? This place is deep in the mountains, deserted and uninhabited. Did you and Baoyu come here to hunt?"
Zhou Chenyu nodded, "Yeah, aren't we amazing?"
Yang Xi showed a hint of appreciation, but frowned in confusion and said, "I remember you and Baoyu were doing quite well in the sweet soup business. Since you already have a livelihood at home, why do you still need to travel all the way here to hunt?"
It would have been better if we hadn't brought this up, because mentioning it made Zhou Chenyu angry. "Isn't that right!"
Zhou Chenyu glared angrily at Yang Xi, ready to pour out her grievances, but her eyes inadvertently caught sight of a wild pheasant sheltering from the rain under the bushes diagonally above. "Hey, there are a few chickens over there!"
Zhou Chenyu swallowed her words instantly. Nothing was more important than the pheasant prey right now. "Yang Xi, wait for me here. I'll be right back!"
After she finished speaking, she picked up her crossbow and immediately hid furtively under the tree.
As they were talking, Zhou Chenyu suddenly ran out, and Yang Xi was caught off guard by what he saw.
He stared intently as she skillfully drew back her longbow, aimed it at one of the pheasants, and the arrowhead struck the pheasant squarely in the belly. In a flash, she released her bow, drew the arrow, and released the bow in one fluid motion. The cone-shaped arrowhead struck the pheasant's abdomen with perfect accuracy, without the slightest error.
"Ah! I hit it! I hit it!" Zhou Chenyu exclaimed happily. It was the first prey she had shot since entering the mountains, and it was of great significance. She braved the rain to run out and retrieve this milestone on her hunting journey.
Yang Xi stared blankly as he followed the pretty figure in the rain, a slight smile creeping onto his lips without him even realizing it.
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