Agreement
In this situation, even if Xiao Yingzhu didn't need to explain, Jiang Nian could already tell what Sun Dun was going to do.
She lowered her eyes and stared at the white powder on the handkerchief for a while, then rubbed it with the fingertips of one hand for a while, and the crumb-like powder dissipated into the air.
"When did you get here?"
Jiang Nian casually folded the handkerchief back into the bag, planning to clean it up when he went down the mountain. After he finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Yingzhu's face.
Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyelids and looked at her for a moment, then said calmly, "I arrived before you even got here."
“…”
Jiang Nian remembered the map he saw when he went up the mountain just now. It was found by Qing and Yu. When they found it, they must have had a conversation with Xiao Yingzhu, so Xiao Yingzhu knew to come here.
"You really are..." She sighed. She couldn't just say he was 'idle', after all, he came for her. But if she didn't say anything, Jiang Nian would feel like she was always bothering others.
But in this situation, thanking him is too much, but complaining about his arrival seems heartless.
Seeing Sun Dun tumbling to the ground, still twisting and turning, his limbs beginning to stiffen, Jiang Nian took a few steps back, then belatedly realized the hatred he felt for him. "I didn't mean to kill him."
Jiang Nian's original plan was to knock him unconscious, tie him up here, and then go down the mountain to handle the competition. As for whether Sun Dun could escape from here, it was up to fate.
Therefore, before she came to this mountain, Jiang Nian had instructed Qing and Yu to add a little of the "coma drug" she developed to the air here. Unless people take the antidote, they will have some hallucinations - these hallucinations are all created by their thoughts.
The inspiration for this coma drug came from Wu Mizhong. Fortunately, she had learned some drugs that she had never thought of before in Zuihualou, which allowed her to put all the items of this era to use.
Xiao Yingzhu lazily stood up and took a few steps towards her: "What are you going to do?"
He was too lazy to even call him Sun Dun.
Jiang Nian looked up at Xiao Yingzhu for a moment and said with a smile, "You are different today than before."
"It's a bit like when we first met."
Xiao Yingzhu looked at her for a moment and smiled: "Really? I feel like I haven't changed much."
...That's right. Xiao Yingzhu never cared about other people's eyes. He didn't mind what anyone thought of him. His eyes responded to what he wanted to do.
Seeing the indifferent yet relaxed expression on his face, Jiang Nian shook his head: "As for him, did you bring the secret guards with you? I'm not very clear about the cleanup."
Xiao Yingzhu nodded without surprise, and glanced behind her calmly. A trade wind, who had been squatting somewhere, suddenly emerged from behind a tree. A few strands of grass were still stained on its inky clothes. It looked up and smiled at Jiang Nian, "Long time no see, Miss Jiang."
“…”
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed and nodded at him: "Long time no see, Xinfeng, here...I'll trouble you."
Xinfeng patted his chest and said proudly, "Leave it to me. I'll take care of it, and you can rest assured, young lady."
Jiang Nian laughed and said, "Okay."
Since Sun Dun had been dealt with, there was no need to stay here any longer. She relaxed a little, changed into a slightly more relaxed posture and said to Xiao Yingzhu, "Let's go down first. We can talk later."
She still remembered that the fan came from the air and landed accurately on Sun Dun's chest.
Xiao Yingzhu must have treasured her parents' belongings...
Her thoughts drifted away, and she felt the gazes of the people around her were looking at her. Jiang Nian slightly shifted her eyes and looked to the side. When she met Xiao Yingzhu's gaze, she suddenly felt embarrassed for a moment.
The person I was just thinking about now caught a glimpse of the real person.
With Xiao Yingzhu's observation ability, he wouldn't—
"What are you thinking about?"
The sudden words hit Jiang Nian's ears. Jiang Nian sighed suddenly, then smiled helplessly and said, "Nothing. Let's talk about it when we get down the mountain."
There are not many people living at the foot of this mountain. The closer you get to the mountain, the more empty the houses are. No one knows when the people inside moved out, and no one knows when they will move back.
Jiang Nian looked down the mountain road and saw a straight dirt road that was almost 70 degrees. His heart sank and he subconsciously retracted his legs that were about to go down.
It is easy to go up the mountain but difficult to go down. When she saw this dirt road without stone steps, she always felt that it would be easy to stand unsteadily. If her shoes slipped on the sand on the dirt road, and there was nothing around to hold on to steady her body, she was afraid that she would roll down to the foot of the mountain.
By then, we won’t know whether he is dead or alive, or whether his face will be disfigured.
Xiao Yingzhu, who was walking beside him, didn't seem to react too much to the slope of the dirt road, treating it as flat ground. After walking forward a few steps, he found that Jiang Nian was still standing there, hesitating and not catching up.
He suddenly paused as he was walking forward, and turned back to look: "?"
Seeing Jiang Nian staring at the dirt road under his feet with a hesitant look on his face, he instantly understood something and casually stretched out his hand towards her: "Come here."
“…”
Jiang Nian was a little worried that she would slip, although the shoes she was wearing were cloth shoes, which were not easy to slip.
But what if you can’t stand steadily after taking a step?
She would take Xiao Yingzhu's hand and slide down in front of him in an awkward manner - that would be too embarrassing, no, she didn't want to lose face.
Seeing that Jiang Nian still pursed her lips and didn't move, Xiao Yingzhu sighed slightly. Without thinking, he could guess what she was thinking at the moment: "Don't worry... I'll hold your hand."
His gaze suddenly lifted from the ground and fell on Xiao Yingzhu's calm face. He seemed unaware of what he had just said, and his expression was calm and relaxed.
Standing here all the time was not a good idea. Jiang Nian reached out and held Xiao Yingzhu's hand, took a careful step forward, and after having a good idea of the slope, he slowly moved down a few steps and caught up with Xiao Yingzhu's pace.
They held hands, his long fingers wrapped around her smaller hand, and the slight warmth from his body passed through their clasped skin and into her palm.
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and looked at their clasped hands for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. His somewhat anxious mood relaxed a little, and a sense of security gradually arose in his heart.
It seems that with Xiao Yingzhu around, as long as I can see him in my eyes, I don’t need to worry too much about anything.
Because he is here, and only because he is here.
The two of them walked down in silence for a while. During this time, Jiang Nian felt a little awkward because of maintaining the handshake posture. He wanted to change his hands a little and adjust his slightly stiff arms for a moment, then he saw Xiao Yingzhu, who was facing forward, loosened his grip slightly and switched the left and right sides.
Jiang Nian was a little embarrassed when Xiao Yingzhu noticed his discomfort before he even said it out loud. He caught a glimpse of the pendant hanging from his sleeve and suddenly changed the subject to ease his embarrassment.
"That fan of yours... this is the first time I've seen you use it."
It seemed that Xiao Yingzhu had never personally taken action when he encountered dangers like assassinations. He had his secret guards around him, and usually the assassins would be pierced by the surrounding blades like hedgehogs before they could even make a move.
But today he actually used the fan directly. Jiang Nian thought that the fan was just to scare people, after all, he had never seen him use it in person.
Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes and looked at her for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since it's a weapon, of course it will be stained with blood."
"Why do you think I can't use that fan?"
Jiang Nian was stunned, then sighed and shook his head, "Really? I don't even need to express my doubts now, you already know what I'm thinking and what I'm wondering."
"Honestly, you don't have any mind-reading abilities, do you?"
Meeting Jiang Nian's slightly inquiring gaze, Xiao Yingzhu's eyes flickered slightly, and he said, "Well, as you thought."
The wind blowing by was very quiet. Jiang Nian clearly heard the smile in his voice. Even though she knew he was joking with her, she subconsciously frowned. After a moment, she suddenly relaxed her gaze.
"I really can't do anything about you."
"But I'm very curious about this topic, so I can't avoid it—"
"Can you tell me?"
Jiang Nian tilted his head and looked at Xiao Yingzhu's distracted expression when she looked at him.
He often has this expression to show that he knows someone.
If you are not familiar with him, he will appear more cynical and careless, making it difficult for people to understand what he is thinking.
But after being with Xiao Yingzhu for so long, Jiang Nian can already conclude that he will not take her life, so there is nothing to be afraid of.
She has always been careful with jokes, and with the "anthelmintic recipe" as a backup, nothing usually happens.
Xiao Yingzhu was silent for a moment, and his eyes moved away from her slightly questioning expression. His long, fine eyelashes blocked his thoughts.
"Since the original intention was to use it as a tool to protect people, it should be used from the beginning."
"Unfortunately, the fan didn't protect her, so I kept it with me... until I found its place."
Jiang Nian paused, and suddenly thought of something.
When she went to Qishan Mansion before, she saw the portrait hanging on the wall of the study.
She still remembers that woman's beautiful face. Could she be Xiao Yingzhu's mother?
【Clouds Clear】
The envelope that he saw at the Cangjun State Guesthouse appeared in Jiang Nian's mind again.
The footsteps on the way down the mountain suddenly stopped. The sand on the mountain road had gathered a lot. Jiang Nian raised her foot and missed. Her body suddenly slid down due to inertia. The hand holding her wrist lifted it. Xiao Yingzhu's voice was a little faster: "What are you thinking about?"
"......No."
Jiang Nian looked at the long slope and bumpy dirt road at the foot of the mountain with lingering fear. He took a breath and sighed, "I remembered the portrait I saw at your house."
"portrait?"
Xiao Yingzhu was startled, then recalled what Jiang Nian was referring to. His expression calmed down and he replied calmly, "Yes, that's a portrait of my mother."
"Because my father likes it, he hung it all over the house."
"Qishan's mansion...is a replica of the Duke's Mansion, exactly as it was laid out."
Jiang Nian nodded thoughtfully, then lowered his eyes to look at the pendant on his fan: "The fan you gave me, and the fan in your hand, were they also given to you by your father?"
"No." Xiao Yingzhu shook her head lightly, "He gave it to my mother as a gift."
"Originally, it was just a self-defense weapon for my mother, but ordinary weapons are too sharp and not suitable for her, so I changed it to a decorative one."
Jiang Nian subconsciously glanced at Sun Dun after seeing him just now, and kept holding the fan in his hand.
She raised her hand and observed the fan for a moment, recalling Xiao Yingzhu's previous words. Suddenly, she asked in a low voice, "Then you should know the meaning of this fan."
Xiao Yingzhu's eyes dropped, first to the hands that were clasped together because she was worried that Jiang Nian would slip down the hillside again, then to the fan in Jiang Nian's hand, and she remained silent.
Their relationship was always this close, not too far, as if they couldn't be apart, yet if they wanted to get any closer, they couldn't. They could only maintain a distance that was almost ambiguous, but not quite.
Jiang Nian tacitly put away the fan and changed the subject: "So you just used that fan?"
"Um."
Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing whether he was feeling relieved or a little confused.
The current plan was very clear, so why did she still feel like there was a fog, or a piece of pure white cloth covering her eyes, preventing her from seeing the outside world and unable to clear away the hazy white fog in front of her eyes?
They accompanied each other all the way down the mountain. Looking at the alley in front of them where not many people lived, Jiang Nian broke free from his daze, let go of Xiao Yingzhu's hand, and shook his head slightly.
"Nothing more... I asked everything I wanted to ask when I came down the mountain."
She turned her eyes away, and the fear that rose in her heart wrapped around her like a vine, making her dare not look Xiao Yingzhu in the eye.
But the other person was standing in front of her, and seemed to be able to sense that she had something else to say. He slowly stopped in front of her and waited silently for her next words.
After opening his mouth for a while, Jiang Nian subconsciously pursed his lips.
She wanted to say, "Can our relationship be so vague and uncertain?" The feeling of having someone suddenly tied her heart to her made her feel painful.
But Jiang Nian didn't say what she was thinking in the end. The anger stuck in her chest, making her feel uncomfortable, like a sticky cloth wrapped around her skin, touching and restricting her body. After taking a few deep breaths, she closed her eyes and pretended to be relaxed as she made an invitation to Xiao Yingzhu:
"Are you free to come to the competition the day after tomorrow?"
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