Chapter 23 A Desperate Gamble "I promise, after you escape... you won't..."
Ji Ming felt an itch on his shoulder and turned to look at her. He saw Ning Lu wiping his clothes with a handkerchief, looking apologetic.
He seemed to have cried enough; he braced his left hand on the ground and moved aside to make room.
“Okay, I understand that men and women are different.” Ning Lu cried until she was exhausted, then wiped the gloom off her face, lay back on the ground, and let out a long sigh: “Thank you, Mr. Ji.”
Having received a new nickname, Ji Ming glanced at her with a wry smile.
He never liked to explain himself, and after spending so much time with Ning Lu, he became even more reluctant to do so.
No matter what you say, she will ignore it.
"By the way, what did they ask you today? Did they give you any trouble?"
Suddenly remembering the important matter, Ning Lu sprang to her feet and moved back to Ji Ming's side.
Her shifts in topic and mood were remarkably smooth and rapid, catching him completely off guard.
Ji Mingmu shook his head blankly, his gaze lingering on her red nose, before obediently replying, "No."
"That's good." She threw two more pieces of firewood into the fire. "I went to town today and heard a lot of news. One of them is that two of Xie Qinghe's men are looking for you, so I wanted to come back first to give you this message and tell you to pack your things and leave as soon as possible."
"There's another thing: the jade pendant was taken by a general surnamed Zhao, who said he wanted to investigate the traitors."
Mars flickered in Ji Ming's eyes, and after hearing her words, the confusion and bewilderment in his eyes deepened.
"You don't know Zhao Yue?"
Just as Xie Qinghe was the Crown Prince's study companion, and all the officials, near and far, had seen her at least once or twice, Zhao Yue was Prince Jing's personal bodyguard, always by his side. Anyone involved would recognize her, let alone someone who claimed to be under the command of Prince Xian.
He remembered that when she and Zhao Yue met, their expressions were unusual.
At this point, she looked completely bewildered again.
"Zhao Yue? Should I know him?"
Ning Lu was taken aback by his question. Her eyes darted around, and she immediately realized what he meant: "That scarred man is the General Zhao the pawnshop owner mentioned?!"
Ji Ming did not answer or respond, but stared intently into her eyes, looking carefully and cautiously into them.
Having grown accustomed to his ever-probing gaze, Ning Lu spread her hands, letting him scan her.
Seeing that she was acting normally, Ji Ming stopped probing her, nodded gently, and then asked her about the second matter.
"You said your jade pendant has a unique pattern. How unique is it?"
“It’s like… one after another, like clouds or dragons, spiraling and circling, very round.”
Ning Lu tried to draw a few oddly shaped little snakes on the ground with a stick, but then she felt they didn't look right and crossed them out.
She's the kind of person who gets sleepy even in museums, so it's really difficult for her to remember the patterns.
"Although I can't draw it, I looked at it many times before giving it to Yu Niang. If I see it again, I will definitely be able to recognize it."
Ji Ming stared at the blurry pattern in thought for a moment, his eyelashes fluttering as he hovered in mid-air. He leaned over, took the branch from her hand, and hastily sketched a few lines on the ground.
"Hmm—"
Their skin touched, and I could feel the cool touch of his fingertips on the back of my hand.
Ning Lu tilted her head and blinked, unconsciously raising her hand to warm the knuckles he had touched.
It was because of this sudden temperature difference that she noticed that Ji Ming's movements were slower and more sluggish than usual, and he was having difficulty breathing.
Mu Zhi tapped the ground, and seeing Ning Lu still staring blankly at him, Ji Ming shook his head helplessly and asked her, "Is this it?"
A hornless young dragon coils and lingers, poised to take flight.
Exactly the same.
The initial concern was immediately overshadowed by her surprise, and Ning Lu slapped her thigh: "Yes, that's it! You're amazing!"
Ji Ming's fingertips, gripping the branch, turned white. He couldn't stand the cold and coughed softly.
Looking up at her again, I saw a mixture of understanding and helplessness in her eyes.
Do you know its origin?
Shake head.
"You know nothing... cough... how did you get involved?"
Ning Lu scratched her head and gave an apologetic, bitter smile.
Even so, no matter how oblivious she was, she could still sense the danger in Ji Ming's question.
Upon closer inspection of the patterns on the ground, Ning Lu realized something was amiss.
The pattern on the jade was too small, and the dragon's claws and head were not clearly visible. But upon closer inspection, it was clearly the shape of a coiled dragon.
Therefore, this jade was probably not a personal item of the original owner...
Ning Lu's slow-witted mind finally had a flash of inspiration, her breathing quickened slightly, and she grabbed Ji Ming like a lifeline.
"If I said I didn't know why I got involved, would you believe me?"
The man remained silent, his eyes lightly brushing past her eyebrows and eyes with the cold wind, finally settling on her lips, which she had bitten until they turned white.
Not to mention that he was born a suspicious person. To survive in such a complicated environment and to work in the palace, any wrong move or misplaced trust in the wrong person could lead to his death.
Over the years, he has risen through the ranks, and everyone fears and dreads him. They only dare to cry out their innocence in front of him, and no one dares to ask him for a shred of trust.
He asked the woman in front of him, whose origins he didn't know, over and over again.
Ji Ming tried to twitch the corners of his mouth, but ultimately failed.
After a long while, he twirled his fingertips, lowered his eyes, and began to breathe.
Nod slightly.
Ning Lu was unaware of the complex emotions behind that quiet gaze, but she felt inexplicably relieved because of his trust.
"Thank you."
To be honest, saving him and holding onto him was the best decision she made after transmigrating.
"Although I didn't want to save you at first, I later found out that you seemed to be a mysterious person with a special identity, and I was also very scared."
"Then why did you save me?"
“There are many people who want to kill you and capture you, but I’m not much better off myself. In times like these, it’s reassuring to have you here. You have the brains, and I have the strength. If we join forces, we might actually be able to survive this desperate situation.”
Ji Ming chuckled, and a hint of pity was mixed in his complex gaze as he looked at her.
Ning Lu was stunned by the rare tenderness in those eyes and couldn't help but lean forward to confirm it again.
Just then, birds on the distant mountain peaks took flight in fright, and crows cried out one after another.
The rare semblance of peace in his eyes vanished completely. He lightly raised his wrist and pulled his sleeve from her hand.
"Put out the fire. Someone's coming."
"good!"
She must have misread it.
One can't just travel through time and dream of melting a thousand-year-old iceberg, can one?
Despite her inner grumbling, Ning Lu was quite obedient. She nodded decisively, scooped up a handful of soil, covered the fire, and hopped around to extinguish the remaining embers.
While she was struggling with the fire, Ji Ming slowly got up, using the earthen slope behind him as support.
As he staggered, he gripped the collar of his clothes tightly.
He moved two steps with difficulty, leaned against a fairly sturdy tree to straighten up, and made room to turn his head to look at her.
In just two months, Ning Lu had changed drastically from how she looked when they first met.
That night, we met by chance in the valley. She was dressed in black, and although her eyes were full of helplessness and panic in the unfamiliar situation, her brows and eyes revealed a cautious and quiet demeanor that was sometimes strong and sometimes weak.
He could always sense the presence of an assassin or shadow guard in her.
During the time I spent by her side, she not only didn't reveal any more clues, but instead became more natural and genuine, just like...
The soul finally adapted to the body.
"Cough...cough cough..."
A sudden cough rose in Ji Ming's throat, and he immediately covered his mouth, turned to the side, and lowered his voice.
“Ji Amin”.
Ning Lu finished tending to the fire and took a few steps to his side.
"I'm going to find a sheltered place."
"It's too late." He grasped her wrist and shook his head gently.
Eyelashes fluttered, and the firelight flickered at the end of the hilltop, drawing ever closer.
"Are these... pursuers...?"
"You can go now." Ji Ming stopped coughing and gripped the darkened cuff tightly.
The clusters of firelight reflected in his eyes, making his features appear even more sinister.
Ning Lu seemed not to hear him, still holding his cold wrist. When she sensed that he was trying to pull his hand away, she grabbed his palm with both of her hands.
There was no fabric separating them; their bare skin touched.
"Don't you understand?" Ji Ming raised an eyebrow: "You can't leave with me."
"Then I'm leaving, what will you do by yourself?" Ning Lu asked helplessly, hooking his little finger around his hand. "Your hand is still cold, I wonder if you've hurt it again."
"Besides... we just agreed that you'd travel with me, you'd use your brains, I'd use my strength, and I'd protect you."
His gaze lingered on her face, filled with shock at her untimely kindness.
His pupils trembled, and even his struggle to break free was suspended in mid-air.
"Ning Lu." Ji Ming opened his mouth, barely managing to find his voice, but it was terribly hoarse: "Following the stream, northeast, through Ying County to Changzhou... cough cough..."
He was exhausted and forced to stop to catch his breath. His gaze toward her was ambiguous, neither a self-deprecating smile nor a mocking one.
When he spoke again, his words were now seductive: "I promise you, after you escape... you won't be involved in these things again."
Ji Ming's gaze was deep, and his words, spoken slowly and deliberately, sounded to Ning Lu like the devil's murmur before Pandora opened her box, or like some kind of difficult promise.
"Neuropathy."
Without hesitation, Ning Lu grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the opposite direction of the pursuers.
"It's very tempting, Ji Amin, but if I just leave you like this, I'll have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life."
She knows herself too well.
While they are indeed timid and value their lives, they are also outwardly strong but inwardly weak, and easily succumb to internal strife.
"I don't want to wake up from nightmares every night and apologize to your ghost, saying I didn't mean to abandon you. So please, come with me."
"If you still want to part ways with me once we're in a safe place, then we can discuss this further."
Ji Ming stumbled as she pulled him, his breathing becoming increasingly labored, yet he still followed her steps forward as if possessed.
She supported herself on one hand, and with the other hand picked up stones of suitable size from the ground and put them in her pocket, while also taking out the dagger that Ji Ming had thrown to her from her waist.
"I've never killed anyone. You keep yourself safe."
Ning Lu shoved the bloodstain into his palm, drawn to the bloodstain on his sleeve, recalling how he had twisted his sleeve to dodge.
"You coughed up blood?"
Behind them, the hooves of cavalry thundered as Ning Lu pulled Ji Ming and slipped behind a thick tree trunk.
Despite this, she didn't forget to criticize him: "He's a madman."
The pursuing troops stopped beside the carcass of his horse.
The leader was Zhao Yue, whose scars on his face appeared particularly menacing in the flickering firelight.
Ning Lu shivered, somewhat regretting her earlier display of heroism.
But now, even if I try to run, it's probably too late.
"If all else fails, I'll distract them and run in the other direction. You do as I just said, follow the stream northeast."
"I'll come find you after I shake them off."
She unconsciously picked at the tree bark with her fingertips, glancing at Ji Ming as she spoke.
To be honest, although her reason told her that this was the best idea, she really didn't want to split up emotionally.
In solo combat, if someone dies, no one will even know.
But the man before them was deathly pale, like a ghost, and probably had no fighting ability whatsoever.
Ning Lu successfully tore off a piece of bark from the tree and rubbed it repeatedly in her palm, trying to calm herself down.
What if she actually transmigrated into an infinite flow script, where she could restart after dying once, or even travel back to the modern world after dying?
This would save her the trouble of risking her life to travel to Changzhou and visit brothels under Xie Qinghe's nose to find out information about Zhu Qiniangzi's sister.
Seeing Ji Ming's bewildered expression, Ning Lu felt that her panic and guilt had been seen through. She straightened her clothes, puffed out her chest, and raised her voice slightly.
"Well, how about we just leave it at that? Ji A-ming, I... um..."
Before she could finish speaking, a chill ran down her spine, Ning Lu felt a sudden weight on her neck, and her vision went completely black.
His legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
Just when she thought she was about to crash to the ground, that familiar, cool, medicinal scent caught her steadily.
Ning Lu frowned in resentment, mumbled "Ji Amin" before losing consciousness completely.
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Author's Note: The next chapter (Thursday, October 23rd) will be updated a little later, at 23:30. Just letting you know in advance so you don't miss it!
Have a wonderful meal and drinks, everyone! [Orange Heart]
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