Chapter 10

“You little coward. That book is called…”

Xie Tinglan looked at the baffled but expectant expression on Ye Rui’s face. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across the right side of Ye Rui’s face, making even her obsidian-black eyes seem bright and lively, like colored glaze.

“You change my dressing, and I’ll teach you to write.”

Xie Tinglan once again dangled the answer in front of Ye Rui. Ye Rui clicked her tongue, then continued applying medicine to Xie Tinglan’s wound, her gaze fixed on the injury and no longer meeting Xie Tinglan’s eyes.

There were many things Ye Rui had on the tip of her tongue but couldn’t say. For example, she wanted to thank Xie Tinglan for teaching her to read and write; for another, she wanted to say goodbye. But she wasn’t good at voicing those deeply emotional words, and besides, Xie Tinglan might seize the chance to tease her again.

Get me?

Ye Rui found it a little laughable. Xie Tinglan was becoming more and more unrestrained with her teasing. In any case, today they were destined to part ways; after this, they would probably never meet again.

She might as well keep Xie Tinglan’s nonsense in her heart and take it out now and then to savor it. Maybe it would taste different then.

After changing the dressing, Ye Rui sat back down at the wooden table. She picked up the brush and dipped it in ink; Xie Tinglan was already standing behind her, holding her hand from behind.

She was quite practiced at this now!

Never mind. One last time. She could indulge her.

“This is the character for ‘shuang.’”

Xie Tinglan taught patiently, her jade-like, slender fingers guiding Ye Rui as she wrote each stroke.

“This is the character for ‘shu.’”

Xie Tinglan’s smile deepened as she continued, “This is the character for ‘xi.’”

“This is the character for ‘qing.’”

By the time the final stroke was finished, Ye Rui’s whole body had stiffened. Listening to Xie Tinglan’s low laugh behind her, each chuckle seemed to drop like a bead into her heart, making it tremble in waves.

“You bought back such an amorous book; are you hinting at something to me?”

A thin sheen of sweat had already broken out on Ye Rui’s forehead. How was she supposed to know this book was the kind that made everyone’s minds go filthy? She had absolutely meant nothing by it; how had it suddenly turned into her looking like a lecher!

“I-I’m not. I really didn’t know this book was…!”

“You didn’t know?”

Xie Tinglan let go of Ye Rui’s hand, then gave a low laugh before moving to the other side of the table and sitting down. “You may not be able to read, but… there are also several illustrated annotations in this book.”

“Ah!”

Ye Rui shot to her feet, her face flushing crimson. She stammered as she pointed at Two Beauties Play at Love, “Th-this, this, this…” for a long time, but she couldn’t manage to say anything at all.

“And this is a work about two women going together to the clouds of Wu Mountain, with all kinds of scenes and all kinds of positions…”

“Ahhh! Stop talking, stop talking! I really am not, I’m not…!”

Now Ye Rui understood why Xie Tinglan always looked so sly whenever she didn’t tell her the title of the book, and why that bookstore owner had worn such an ambiguous expression when she passed by there again. Oh heavens! Could this world not be a little more proper?

And of all things, it had to be a female-female story. She should have flipped through the book before buying it!

Seeing Ye Rui’s flushed face, her usual boldness gone so completely that she couldn’t even form a sentence, Xie Tinglan felt an inexplicable satisfaction.

“I really didn’t mean that. No, I mean, I…!”

Ye Rui covered her face, not even knowing what she was saying. Seeing Xie Tinglan laugh until her body was shaking, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table.

Hu Tu: [What happened? Your embarrassment value has reached one hundred!]

There was even such a value?! It was embarrassing enough already; they were even digitizing this kind of thing. So humiliating!

Fine, fine. She was leaving today anyway; this social death would only last a little while. After that…

Ye Rui hadn’t even finished comforting herself when a black-clad woman entered from outside the door. She moved soundlessly, as if a gust of wind had carried her to the doorway.

“Milady, we can set out.”

Silver Moon turned and glanced at Ye Rui, her eyes wary. That sharp, blade-like gaze and wind-swift movement made it easy to guess that she was the owner of those mysterious footprints.

Ye Rui hadn’t expected the parting to come so suddenly. Was Xie Tinglan leaving before her humiliation had even settled?

“Good.”

Xie Tinglan rose, then turned to see Ye Rui looking like she wanted to say something but didn’t dare. She smiled. “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pack.”

“Huh?”

Ye Rui was even more confused. What did that mean?

“You’re coming with me.”

After Xie Tinglan said that, she used the sheets of paper on the table to wrap up Two Beauties Play at Love, preparing to leave. But Ye Rui’s mind went blank at Xie Tinglan’s words.

“W-when did I ever say I was leaving with you?”

Ye Rui took a step back and bumped into her small cabinet, her mind in total disarray; she had no idea what Xie Tinglan intended. This was way too sudden!

“That isn’t up to you.”

After Xie Tinglan said that, Silver Moon very “thoughtfully” stepped inside, ready to walk over to Ye Rui’s side. Ye Rui saw that Silver Moon’s bearing was unlike that of an ordinary person; her eyes were cold and hawk-like, sharp and icy as a blade. She was definitely no ordinary guard.

A hunter’s instincts told Ye Rui that the aura around Silver Moon was soaked in blood and lives. If she dared to resist, she was afraid she wouldn’t even know how she died.

“I-I’ll go with you, then!”

A wise man doesn’t fight when the odds are against him. Ye Rui understood that this was not the time to prove how tough she was. She was not the hunter right now; she was the prey.

She quickly packed her clothes, paper, ink, and household registration book. She hesitated for a long time over whether to bring the two books she’d bought, but Xie Tinglan finally ordered her not to bring them, so she left the place she had lived in ever since transmigrating with almost nothing in hand.

Hu Tu: [Ding—! Congratulations, the second main quest has been completed. Your archery has been upgraded to advanced!]

Ye Rui, walking along the mountain path, was startled by Hu Tu. [Next time, can you leave out the ding?]

Hu Tu: [Isn’t that to give you a little more ceremony?]

Ye Rui: […] Thanks a lot.

Hu Tu: [Don’t mention it! We’re sisters, what’s there to be polite about!]

Sometimes Ye Rui was truly speechless. She turned and glanced at Xie Tinglan sitting beside her. Xie Tinglan was walking very slowly, and the mountain road was difficult; her footing could easily slip, so Ye Rui couldn’t help worrying for her.

Hu Tu: [Next main quest: obtain a third-rank guard token. Swordsmanship will increase by one level to beginner. If you fail, you don’t have to do any cosmic trash work; you’ll just regress by twenty strength points to ten.]

Ye Rui: […]

Silver Moon had been following them the whole time. Seeing that Xie Tinglan could barely move an inch, she was about to step forward to say something, but she didn’t dare approach Xie Tinglan. Her suspicious gaze fell on Ye Rui, who was walking side by side with Xie Tinglan; her fingers clenched and loosened, loosened and clenched again, as if there was something she simply couldn’t understand.

“Do you want me to carry you? If you keep walking, it won’t be good for your recovery.”

Ye Rui stopped, instinctively reaching out a hand to support Xie Tinglan. Being this close, she could see the thin sheen of sweat on Xie Tinglan’s face and how many shades paler her complexion had gone.

If you can’t take it, why don’t you just say so?

“Yes.”

Xie Tinglan answered almost without hesitation, as if she had been waiting for Ye Rui to say those words for a long time. Silver Moon behind them stared wide-eyed at the sight as though she had seen something unbelievable; even her usually expressionless face seemed a little more vivid.

She watched as Ye Rui lifted Xie Tinglan into a cradle carry, then said, “Why are you still this light?”

Xie Tinglan only curled her lips slightly when she heard that. “Then it proves your food hasn’t nourished me properly.”

“Nonsense; I clearly made everything to strengthen the body!”

Ye Rui would soon regret saying that. She thought she had already done quite well, but only later did she understand what truly counted as ingredients that could ‘strengthen the body.’

Xie Tinglan only smiled, then gently rested her head on Ye Rui’s shoulder and closed her beautiful eyes, avoiding the glaring sunlight filtered through the dappled shadows of the trees.

Silver Moon behind them was completely stunned. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe; she subconsciously rubbed her eyes…

In front of her, Ye Rui was carrying Xie Tinglan forward with steady steps, occasionally lowering her head to make sure Xie Tinglan wasn’t hurt anywhere, and Xie Tinglan actually…

Silver Moon even wanted to cover her own mouth. She had seen her share of storms in this world, but this scene was still… truly shocking.

After walking for more than half an hour, they finally reached the foot of the mountain, where a carriage was waiting on the path. Its soft curtains hung low; a faint fragrance drifted from within. The frame was made of sandalwood, wrapped in the dark scent of agarwood, and tassels hung from the four corners, fluttering like catkins in the wind.

In front of the carriage stood two black horses, their nostrils flaring as they breathed out mist. Their bones were strong and their coats shone brightly; they looked exceptionally handsome. Even though Ye Rui didn’t know much about horses, she could tell at a glance that these were top-quality steeds.

The coachman stared straight ahead. Ye Rui carried Xie Tinglan onto the carriage; just as she was about to step back, Xie Tinglan grabbed her hand.

“Stay.”

“Huh?”

Xie Tinglan half-lowered her gaze and lazily added, “Come up and sit.”

Ye Rui thought about it; she had just been carrying Xie Tinglan and was tired too. Since Xie Tinglan had asked, she didn’t stand on ceremony and plopped down beside her.

“Set out.”

Silver Moon did not come aboard. Outside, the horses snorted once; then the carriage began to move.

Inside the carriage, Ye Rui used her sleeve to wipe the fine sweat from her neck and asked in a low voice, “Why are you taking me with you?”

“Didn’t you say you were going to the Capital City?”

Xie Tinglan leaned comfortably against the carriage’s soft couch, as if she hadn’t sat this comfortably in a very long time.

“But… but I can go on my own!”

As Ye Rui thought of this, she suddenly remembered something and stretched out a hand toward Xie Tinglan. “Where’s the money for the five stalks of fire-feather grass?”

Xie Tinglan was already so comfortable she looked ready to fall asleep. With her eyes closed, pretending to doze, she said leisurely, “You still don’t know my worth; how am I supposed to give you money?”

Ye Rui opened her mouth, originally intending to say that fifty taels would be enough, but the words stopped right at her lips. She had to stay calm now; maybe she could get even more from her.

Thinking that, Ye Rui no longer asked and also leaned back against the soft couch to pretend to doze. It had to be said, this couch was really comfortable; before long, Ye Rui fell asleep too.

When she woke again, she didn’t know what hour it was. She only heard Silver Moon outside calling Xie Tinglan “Milady.”

Ye Rui woke at once and helped Xie Tinglan down from the carriage, only then realizing they had arrived in front of a magnificent estate with red walls and green tiles. Two stone lions stood fiercely guard at the entrance; the green tiles on the wall glowed with a soft sheen. Above the vermilion doors hung a black wooden plaque, and on it were written two flamboyant characters.

From the handwriting, they were written by Xie Tinglan herself, and Ye Rui recognized one as the character that appeared on the woman’s purse; the other was the character for “residence.”

Several people were also standing at the door: two burly guards, two servants with brooms. In addition, in front of the carriage stood a beauty wearing a moon-white cross-collared long robe embroidered with a subtle silver bamboo pattern; her hem was neatly pressed, and a dark sash embroidered with bamboo was tied at the waist. She had a clean, brisk step.

“This is your home?”

Ye Rui hid behind Xie Tinglan. The beauty looked at her with great curiosity, as if she had spotted something extremely interesting.

“Yes.”

Ye Rui pointed at the characters on the plaque and asked, “What character is that?”

Judging from the TV shows, movies, and novels Ye Rui had seen, that should be this woman’s surname.

“Xie.”

Author’s Note:

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I’m here, I’m here~ Happy Qixi Festival, everyone!

Silver Moon: I must have fetched Milady the wrong way. There’s no way Milady can be this small and delicate!

Prime Minister Xie: Silver Moon, some things you shouldn’t ask about, don’t ask; even if you see them, pretend you didn’t.

Little Ye: Huh? You haven’t even seen her yet… wuuu (covered by Prime Minister Xie’s mouth)

[dog head][dog head]

There’ll still be another update tomorrow!