Chapter 26 Instead, he took a bite out of Seventeen's hand...
As the three were talking, a figure appeared outside the window. Seventeen immediately became alert, but Mingyue said calmly, "Seventeen, it's someone from the Dark Guard Camp."
"ah?"
Seventeen was taken aback, sheathed his sword, and then saw the window being pushed open. A man in black jumped in through the window and knelt down in front of Long Zhaoming.
Long Zhaoming froze for a moment after being forced to kneel, then secretly glanced at Mingyue. Seeing that she didn't react, he coughed lightly and asked, "What did you find out?"
The kneeling man looked up. Seventeen examined him closely; the man's features were somewhat unfamiliar. He didn't seem to have seen this person before in the Dark Guard camp, but Brother Yue had said he was from the Dark Guard camp...
"Your subordinate, Lingwu, greets Your Highness."
Zero Five reported with his head down: "It has been confirmed that the Dowager Consort Ling is the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, while Zhou Xinren is a collateral relative."
"It really is the Zhou family..."
After reporting, Zero Five slipped away, while Seventeen stared thoughtfully in the direction he disappeared.
"Seventeen? What's wrong?"
Mingyue turned her head to look at the dazed Seventeen, her eyes filled with concern.
"Ah, it's nothing. This is the first time I've met Fifth Brother."
"The guards are all in their own positions, so it's normal that they rarely meet."
He nodded at 17. He understood. So far, he had only not met his third, fourth, and fifth brothers. He had just met his fifth brother.
According to the instructor, all three of them had been sent to other places by His Majesty and had not returned to Yejing for several years, only exchanging letters.
Seeing 05, Seventeen's thoughts inevitably drifted away, and he thought of that person far away in the capital.
"I wonder how His Majesty is doing..."
"What are you saying, Little Seventeen? How could His Majesty possibly be in trouble?"
Long Zhaoming smiled at Seventeen, but his eyes secretly slipped to Mingyue, who was clearly paying no attention to him at all.
"...Your Highness is right."
Seventeen hung her head and remained silent, clearly unhappy. Long Zhaoming didn't understand, but Mingyue knew that the child was homesick.
Unlike the other bodyguards, Seventeen was already old enough to remember things when he arrived, and had already developed his own set of beliefs. The other bodyguards, due to their training and deliberate cultivation from a young age, were more cold-blooded.
But this child is soft-hearted and at the age where he is very attached to his home.
Mingyue suddenly wondered if she had made a mistake back then. She shouldn't have put Seventeen in the Dark Guard Camp, and she shouldn't have... let him get involved in all this mess.
Seventeen composed himself. No matter how troubled he was, he had to do a good job of the things His Majesty had entrusted to him, so as not to disappoint His Majesty.
Noon arrived quickly. After the three of them finished lunch at the inn, Long Zhaoming went to rest first, and Mingyue also prepared to go back for a short rest before going to find the little girl with Seventeen.
At seventeen, I was too young to take a nap, so I simply sat at the entrance of the inn, watching the passersby.
Some shop owners, seeing how handsome he was, handed him some pastries, while others gave him warm rice cakes to his grandmother.
Seventeen was enjoying his meal immensely when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Xiao Wu.
The other person was busy in the shop as usual. Seventeen thought for a moment and called out, "Hey, little... waiter."
He almost blurted out Xiao Wu's name, but then he thought that he had no reason to know the other person's name.
Hearing that someone was calling him, Xiao Wu jogged over with a smile and asked, "Is there anything you need, esteemed guest?"
Seventeen thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know that there's a little girl in your town who's said to be a jinx?"
Xiao Wu's expression changed, and he nodded: "I know."
In fact, Seventeen chose to ask Xiao Wu directly because he felt that Xiao Wu's words that night didn't seem to be in cahoots with Master and the others. Instead, they seemed to be subtly reminding them that perhaps Xiao Wu had some unspeakable secret or that he didn't trust them enough, which was why he made such a suggestive move.
Do you know where that little girl lives?
"I know, go this way, go past three alleys, then turn right, and you'll be there."
Xiao Wu pointed him in a direction, and Seventeen looked and confirmed that it was indeed the east of the city.
Seventeen nodded, took out a few copper coins from his pocket and tossed them to him: "Thank you."
Xiao Wu took the copper coin, but there was little joy on his face. Instead, he hesitated and asked, "Honored guest...what do you want with her?"
"Do all the staff at your shop like to pry?"
Seventeen smiled, but seeing Xiao Wu's panicked expression, she didn't explain, "Just answer my questions, don't ask any unnecessary ones."
Xiao Wu nodded, then turned and left dejectedly.
Seventeen sat for a while longer until a lazy voice came from behind her: "Seventeen, what happened? You've been eating again in the short time I've been gone?"
Mingyue came down the stairs. He had always been puzzled by Seventeen's appetite, as she always gave him the feeling that she was never full.
But then I thought about it again. Seventeen years old is still young. When I was his age in the North, I didn't seem to eat that much either.
"Hey, Brother Yue, this was given to me by that old lady selling rice cakes over there. Would you like to try some?"
Seventeen handed him a piece of rice cake. Mingyue glanced at it for a moment, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, she took a bite from Seventeen's hand.
Seventeen was startled by his action and didn't know what to say for a while. But seeing that Mingyue's expression was normal, Seventeen wondered if he had overreacted.
Hmm... Back in the camp, he often fought with Ninth Brother for food... So this kind of behavior is quite normal, right?
After taking a bite, Mingyue realized what she had done. She coughed lightly and was about to explain when she saw that Seventeen didn't seem to care at all, so she frowned slightly.
"If Brother Yue likes to eat this, then you can have it all. I just ate a lot, and I'm so full."
Seventeen smiled, handed all the rice cakes in her hand to Mingyue, and then said, "I just asked where that little girl lives. Shall we go and see her now?"
Mingyue looked at the rice cake in her hand and sighed softly.
As he walked along the road, Seventeen was worried that he might not be able to find the little girl's house, but after turning the corner, he realized he was overthinking it.
Because the local people live in single-story houses, which are low and small, some are well-maintained, while others are sloppy.
This young girl clearly belongs to the latter category.
Then I thought about it again, this girl has no parents and is still so young, who will take care of her?
Seventeen felt a tightness in his chest. He knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered.
"Not home?"
Seventeen was a little confused and worried that something might have happened, so he simply climbed over the courtyard wall and went inside.
After entering, he opened the door, and the two walked together toward the main house.
As he approached the main house, there was still no sound. Seventeen wondered if the girl was still selling flowers outside. If he were caught climbing into someone's house like this, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.
But as they got closer to the door, Seventeen realized something was wrong—there were people inside!
He slowed his pace and gently approached the main house. The thin paper windows had already been torn in several places. He leaned closer and saw that the little girl was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, and he didn't know if she was asleep.
Seventeen was taken aback. He realized the child had fallen asleep. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Mingyue grabbed him, saying, "That child has a fever."
"What?"
Seventeen was startled and, without thinking, pushed open the door and quickly went inside.
When they got closer to the bed, they realized that what Mingyue said was true. The little girl was lying on the bed with her face flushed, covered with a dirty but thick quilt, and was talking in her sleep.
He leaned closer to listen and heard her calling out something like "Mother." This reminded Seventeen of herself, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She said in a muffled voice, "Brother Yue, let's take her to the clinic."
Mingyue gently shook her head: "No, the people here believe that the master thinks this little girl is a cursed star. If we take her to the clinic rashly, things might get complicated."
Seventeen thought about it and realized that made sense. Besides, he and Yue were both men, so it was inappropriate for them to be together. If there were any rumors about the girl later, he would feel even worse.
"That's right, let's go get some medicine then. I'll leave it to Brother Yue to stay here and keep watch."
Mingyue took the little girl's wrist, lowered her eyes to check her pulse, and said, "Hmm, just get some medicine for a cold. This child just has a bit of a cold in her body."
He nodded at seventeen, then turned and quickly disappeared from sight.
Mingyue stayed inside, looked around, found a well, drew water with great effort, then found a piece of cloth that looked relatively clean, wet it, folded it neatly, and placed it on the little girl's forehead.
The moment she felt the coolness, the little girl let out a sigh, and her expression softened, but she still didn't wake up.
At this time, she caught a cold and had a fever. Although she was extremely hot, she could not take off the blanket, so Mingyue covered her up even more tightly.
Seventeen acted quickly, perhaps because he was anxious, and soon he returned with several packets of medicine.
"Brother Yue, the clinic happened to have some decocted medicine, so I filled a bowl and brought it back, and also took some medicinal herbs."
Seventeen handed the bowl of medicine, which was still intact, to Mingyue. He took it, sniffed it, and confirmed that it was indeed the correct medicine.
“Go and call her. I’ve never met her before, and I’m worried I might scare her.”
At seventeen o'clock, he nodded, sat sideways on the edge of the bed, and gently called out a few times. The little girl, who had already become more awake because of the strip of cloth, opened her eyes groggily when she was called.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw an extremely beautiful person in front of her. The little girl, still half-asleep, mumbled, "Am I...am I dead? Why...why do I seem to see a beautiful fairy..."
Seventeen paused, and Mingyue, who was standing to the side, burst out laughing, but immediately suppressed it.
"Look again, who am I?"
The little girl stared at Seventeen for a long time, her memory gradually returning: "Ah! It's the handsome older brother on the street!"
Seventeen, somewhat helplessly, took the medicine and said gently, "Drink your medicine first, you know you have a fever."
The little girl seemed to have no suspicion of Seventeen, and regardless of whether the medicine in her hand was real or not, she tilted her head back and gulped it down.
After drinking the warm, comforting medicine, the little girl asked in a daze, "Why isn't this medicine bitter?"
Seventeen said with a smile, "There's some sugar in it."
Only then did the little girl come to her senses and ask in surprise, "Handsome brother, what are you doing in my house?"
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