Chapter 13 Sharing the Night

Chapter 13 Sharing the Night

After a quick check, Liang Yun released her.

"It's not broken," he said.

Ying Shi let out a sigh of relief when she heard this.

A broken bone would have been a real hassle, needing at least a month or two of bed rest even with proper care. A sprain, though, would heal in just a few days, which was a lucky break.

But... it hurt so much she couldn’t even stand. How was she supposed to hike the mountain trail?

Tears welled in Ying Shi's eyes as she gripped her skirt, feeling completely helpless.

The clear sky let sunlight filter through the leaves, casting golden flecks on Liang Yun's handsome face, like scattered gold.

He knelt down in front of her.

"Hop on, I’ll carry you."

Ying Shi was taken aback.

His broad back was right there, but she was too flustered to climb on.

She tried to stand, but her stubbornness just made it worse. She winced in pain and collapsed back down.

Liang Yun tilted his head, his deep eyes catching her reflection. He said, "If we wait till dark, this forest will be crawling with predators."

Ying Shi was scared by his warning. With no other choice, she reluctantly said, "Then I’ll have to trouble you, brother."

She had a slender frame, her simple dress highlighting her graceful figure.

She rolled up her sleeves and reached out to climb onto his back.

His shoulders were broad and strong, tapering to a narrow waist. As she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her face brushed close to his.

She could count his long lashes and the sharp bridge of his nose.

Ying Shi was briefly stunned. She had never thought a man could have such long eyelashes.

Thick, but not feminine.

Honestly, he was strikingly handsome. Though he seemed cold, he’d cared for her without complaint, and now he was even carrying her—

She ought to be grateful.

But—Ying Shi's lips slowly curled into a self-mocking smile.

Back then, when she had no other choice but to write to him for help, he had returned her letters multiple times, citing them as improper.

In the end... he even personally wrote a letter reprimanding her.

At that time, she was gravely ill, hoping he would be fair just once. She had seen him as her only salvation, but he had turned a blind eye.

It had almost been the final straw that crushed her will to live. With no other options, she could only wait for death day by day.

Time had passed, but Ying Shi still found it difficult to pull herself away from those painful memories when she thought about it.

She was indeed foolish... How could she have hoped he would save her?

Liang Ji was his brother, yet she still expected him to side with her, an outsider, against his own brother?

Indeed, it was.

The Liang family was utterly corrupt. How could it produce someone with a conscience?

Liang Yun only helped her because she had given up everything to marry his brother...

Ying Shi held back her pain and resentment, trying to breathe lightly and not get too close to him.

But with every breath, she inevitably caught his faint scent.

On closer inspection, the scent wasn’t just from bath beans, but also a faint medicinal aroma, bitter and cool when she breathed it in. Surprisingly, it wasn’t unpleasant.

It even seemed to calm her.

The scent gradually soothed Ying Shi’s emotions, even making her forget her resentment for a moment. She only felt peaceful and very tired.

Since she was tired, she decided not to think about anything.

Her breathing, once tense, gradually lightened, as soft as the fan’s softest feather. The feather’s tip gently brushed Liang Yun’s cheek.

...

By noon, the sun was at its highest.

The ground beneath their feet radiated heat.

The air was thick with the scent of vegetation, mixed with the earthy smell, as if weaving an invisible net.

The farther they walked, the harder it became to breathe, and the more humid and hot it felt.

Though it was only May, it felt like summer.

The dense forest and weeds were teeming with mosquitoes.

At first, Ying Shi made sure to return the favor. Since he was carrying her, she helped shoo away the noisy mosquitoes, as a way of doing a good deed for Liang Yun.

But she had not slept much last night, and the journey today had almost exhausted her. Now that she didn’t have to walk, she naturally felt very comfortable and at ease.

In less than half an hour, Ying Shi's eyelids began to droop, and her head bobbed up and down on Liang Yun's shoulder as if she were fishing.

In her drowsiness, she felt stuffy and hot, thirsty and hungry, her stomach growling with hunger, and her ankles sore and swollen.

The buzzing of mosquitoes in her ears was extremely annoying.

In her sleep, Ying Shi's mind was still muddled, but her hand had already skillfully waved towards the sound closest to her ear.

Slap—

The girl’s soft palm slapped down.

Her palm was as soft as a cat’s belly, and hot.

Ying Shi felt a tingling sensation in her palm, as if it had rubbed against gravel.

She turned her head and slowly opened her eyes, only then realizing where her hand had landed.

Ying Shi gulped and clamped her lips shut, unsure how to explain.

Her averted gaze couldn’t help sneaking guilty glances at Liang Yun’s face a few times. She saw how Liang Yun’s overly pale face gradually turned red.

He seemed to be holding back his anger.

Liang Yun was angry—

Realizing things were bad, Ying Shi quickly held up her pale palm to his face and explained, "Uh, I saw a mosquito land on your face..."

As she spoke, she quickly blew on her palm before he could see it, erasing the imaginary mosquito.

However, the breath was a bit too strong, and most of it ended up hitting Liang Yun's ear.

Liang Yun’s brow furrowed deeper.

Ying Shi didn’t dare speak recklessly again.

For the rest of the journey, she stayed quiet, lying obediently on his back, even her breathing was careful.

...

Liang Yun’s claim they could walk out in a day was a lie, just to reassure her.

The foot of the mountain was at least several dozen miles away. The rugged mountain path was too much for Liang Yun to traverse in a day while carrying her.

As the sun set, dangers started to appear one after another.

Withered leaves, wild weeds, and dense thickets of shrubs, the occasional rustling from the shadows.

Even a roar from some unknown animal echoed in the forest.

Ying Shi’s face paled as she scanned her surroundings vigilantly, afraid she might be eaten by a wild beast if she wasn’t careful.

Liang Yun, carrying her, suddenly stopped at a mountainside.

Neither of them had drunk a drop of water since last night, and now they were both extremely thirsty.

Just as Ying Shi thought she might die of thirst, she heard the clear sound of flowing water. Following the sound, she saw a stream not far away, winding its way through the lush forest.

For a moment, Ying Shi thought she was seeing a mirage.

Until Liang Yun set her down on a flat rock.

On both sides of the stream, branches intertwined, forming a canopy of green. The ground was covered with wildflowers and grass, and the veins of the leaves and the surface of the stream were bathed in a shimmering glow from the evening sun.

Ying Shi's tense expression from the journey suddenly disappeared when faced with this scene.

"Tomorrow we'll follow the stream downstream, and we'll surely find a village soon."

Ying Shi could no longer hear what he was saying.

She had been forcing herself to endure, her body wet and sticky, but now that she finally saw the stream, she couldn't hold back anymore. Limping, she ran to the edge of the stream.

Ying Shi rolled up her sleeves, cupped her hands, and drank two big gulps of the clear spring water until she choked and coughed repeatedly, then stopped.

She turned her head and saw that Liang Yun, knowing to keep his distance, had already walked to the other side of the rock with his back to her.

Ying Shi took off her shoes and soaked her injured foot in the stream to ease the pain in her ankle.

She eagerly cupped handfuls of clear water and splashed them onto her flushed cheeks. The cool stream water soothed her sun-kissed face, and Ying Shi thought there couldn’t be a more comfortable moment than this.

Every inch of her skin felt free, allowing her to breathe deeply and joyfully.

She rested for a while until she noticed the sky darkening, and only then did she finally go to look for Liang Yun.

But she found the other side of the rock was already empty, with no one in sight.

Ying Shi’s face turned anxious, and she quickly steadied herself on the rock’s edge to stand up and go ashore to look for him, the pain in her ankle almost making her sit back down.

"Brother?" Her voice trembled.

Ying Shi felt like he had already abandoned her.

It was already evening, and they still hadn’t escaped the forest. If he was further slowed down by her, he might end up in a beast’s belly...

"I’m here."

Suddenly, Ying Shi heard Liang Yun’s voice from behind.

In just a moment, Liang Yun returned from walking around the area. He heard Ying Shi anxiously calling for him from a distance, and his heart raced as he quickened his pace to return.

Thinking she was in danger, he rushed back only to see her bare feet, delicate as lotus roots, and quickly looked away.

Liang Yun didn’t know about her worries. He had seen her washing and intentionally left her alone in a spacious area, so he walked away.

He didn’t realize it had scared her.

"I found a thatched hut nearby. It’s a bit run-down, but it’ll keep us dry. Tonight... I’m sorry to ask you, sister-in-law, to stay there."