Han Yunxi could clearly sense that Long Feiye was in excellent spirits. Even if Tang Li had found Ning Jing, he wouldn’t react so much. Just what kind of good news could send him laughing? Han Yunxi couldn’t begin to guess. With a crafty smile, she said, “I don’t want to hear it. You better not tell me.”
Long Feiye was in a mood to whet Han Yunxi’s appet.i.te today, but never thought she’d refuse him instead. He truly wanted to share the good news with her and stopped with the suspense to get straight to the point. “In two days, Gu Beiyue will meet up with us.”
Han Yunxi was stunned before she stammered, “W-who did you say?”
“Gu Beiyue!” Besides Han Yunxi, there was no other name that Long Feiye would ever say with such care.
Han Yunxi’s eyes widened. “Gu Beiyue? Gu Beiyue!”
Heavens, had she heard wrong? Gu Beiyue?!
Seeing her thunderstruck face, Long Feiye calmed down and laughed again. “It is Gu Beiyue. Gu Qishao rescued him and he’ll catch up to us in two days from Three-Way Black Market.”
Even though she’d heard it with her own eyes, Han Yunxi still found it unbelievable. She couldn’t sit still and stared at Long Feiye before clutching his hands. “Just--just what happened? You’re really not lying to me?”
Her heart was half-suspended in the air, deathly afraid that Long Feiye was only joking. She’d never be able to bear the disappointment. Long Feiye smiled pleasantly and took out a secret message from beside him. “You should be able to recognize his handwriting.”
Han Yunxi quickly opened up the letter, but what she saw was Tang Li’s writing instead of Gu Beiyue’s. While she was feeling depressed, the contents of the letter quickly caught her attention and silenced any questions. Tang Li told them all about how Gu Qishao had rescued Gu Beiyue and a summary of their meeting at East Origin Hall. At the end, he added that Gu Qishao had gone to help him find Ning Jing and Mu Linger while Gu Beiyue would be escorted to their side in secret by a few high level experts. Without reading this letter, Han Yunxi would be alright, but now she was beyond stunned. She never thought it’d be Gu Qishao saving Gu Beiyue, or that he’d managed it from a mountain gorge while avoiding Bai Yanqing entirely.
“Gu Qishao did a great piece of work!” Han Yunxi declared.
“Yes.” Although it was only one word, Long Feiye acknowledged Gu Qishao as well. Out of all the things he’d done, this was probably the only thing Long Feiye could accept openly.
“Make a record of his achievements!” Han Yunxi hastily defended.
“Gu Beiyue’s the one who owes him!” Long Feiye replied expressionlessly. In other words, he didn’t owe Gu Qishao a thing. Han Yunxi would definitely believe it if those two were just born to be incompatible.
She didn’t argue with him, but inspected the letter again before asking tensely, “Where’s Gu Beiyue’s handwriting?”
Tang Li’s letter to Long Feiye had been delivered by the shadow guards, so its authenticity was beyond reproach. But without seeing Gu Beiyue’s words, Han Yunxi was still worried.
“The back,” Long Feiye stated.
Han Yunix immediately turned over the paper and saw the familiar characters pop into sight. They were thin and slender, but filled with strength and unrestrained just like their writer. He had only written a few lines:
Please wait for this subordinate to join the princess and treat her wounds so she can stand on the battlefield. For hiding my ident.i.ty, this subordinate will ask for punishment once we meet.
Han Yunxi read it three to four times before slipping into a silly smile. She shook her head helplessly, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over her. Although they hadn’t met in months, Gu Beiyue was still the same gentle man after the big reveal, ever light and easy. One message was enough to make her imagine that jade-like doctor standing in front of her with a warm smile. Seeing Han Yunxi’s foolish expression, Long Feiye’s lips twitched. The next instant, he had s.n.a.t.c.hed the letter back and put it away. Han Yunxi glanced over and caught a glance at his face. She realized he didn’t seem as happy as before and felt like she should speak up, but didn’t know what was appropriate. Meanwhile, Long Feiye seemed resigned to staying quiet and not saying a word. Silence suddenly fell between the couple before the scent of jealousy suffused the air.
Finally, it was Han Yunxi who spoke up. “Long Feiye…”
“Mm,” Long Feiye acknowledged.
“You, you…” Han Yunxi started, then stopped.
“Mm?” Long Feiye seemed willing to respond.
Han Yunxi stared at him before she asked, “Long Feiye, are you hungry? Do you want to eat a midnight snack?” Long Feiye looked at her, not expecting this question, but he quickly responded.
“You’re hungry. What do you want to eat?”
Han Yunxi timidly muttered, “An all-sour feast…” And then she burst into laughter until she lost all dignity! Even at a time like this, when Gu Beiyue’s role was clearer than ever, Long Feiye could still eat vinegar! She really had it with him. If she didn’t ask him for a tart meal of jealously sour dishes, she wouldn’t be satisfied!
Long Feiye was three parts embarra.s.sed and seven parts helpless. He stared at Han Yunxi’s laughing form at a loss. This wasn’t the first time she’d laughed and tricked him, so what else could he do? He quickly called for Xu Donglin. “How long until we reach town?”
“We’ll arrive by daylight. Your Highness...would you like to take a rest stop there?” Xu Donglin was puzzled. They had been rus.h.i.+ng all this time, so it’d be ages since they’d stopped anywhere.
Before Long Feiye could answer, Han Yunxi cut in, “No need, you can withdraw.”
How could Long Feiye be thinking of resting at town? Most likely, he was really going to get her an all-sour feast. After waiting for a while with no sound from His Highness, Xu Donglin silently backed off. He never understood the world of His Highness and the princess! Sometimes he couldn’t help but recall the former head, Chu Xifeng. It had been ages since they’d gotten news from Celestial Mountain. Who knows how ex-Head Commander Chu was doing without any martial arts now? Would it be great if he was still serving His Highness?
“Not eating anymore?” Long Feiye asked, as if Han Yunxi had simply brought up a normal request for a meal.
Han Yunxi pretended nothing had happened at all and simply replied, “I’ve gotten fatter recently, so it’s better if I don’t eat.”
“If you’re hungry, don’t endure it,” Long Feiye was clearly hiding words behind his words.
Han Yunxi wouldn’t lose to him. “I’m not hungry. But if you are, you definitely can’t hold back. If you starve yourself silly, it’ll be bad.” The two had a tacit understanding but were waiting to see who would give way first to their appet.i.tes.
Long Feiye simply changed the subject. “It’s getting late. I’ll help ma.s.sage you, so sleep early.”
But they weren’t done discussing business yet!
“Bai Yanqing has no hostage on his hands, so will he still--” Before Han Yunxi had finished, Long Feiye had sat to one side and placed her legs on his own to pinch the muscles. Han Yunxi couldn’t help but tense up. Her legs would feel uncomfortable if they remained still for long periods, so eventually she needed a ma.s.sage session to loosen them up and help with circulation. Although they’d agreed to ma.s.sage the soles of her feet, Long Feiye always ended up ma.s.saging her entire body. He had excellent technique. Any lighter, and it’d be ticklish; any harder, and it’d be too rough. The amount of force used was just right to make her extremely comfortable. If Han Yunxi wasn’t so nervous, she’d be enjoying a rare moment of bliss.
Unlike their previous ma.s.sage sessions, Long Feiye was very quiet this time. Han Yunxi decided to discuss things with him tomorrow, but he actually told Uncle Gao, “Turn back, we’ll be meeting up with Gu Beiyue!”
Han Yunxi stared at him in disbelief. “If we go a little slower, he’ll be able to catch up. Don’t dally about like this.”
Walking was inconvenient for her, so they had to use a carriage. Meanwhile, Gu Beiyue was hurrying here on horseback, so he’d be much faster.
“It doesn’t matter how much we dally if it means your legs can heal a day earlier,” Long Feiye stated simply.
Han Yunxi looked at him before softly cupping his face. Her head was full of words, but in the end she simply murmured, “I’ll listen to what you say.”
“After we meet with Gu Beiyue, we can give further discussion to dealing with Hundred Poisons Sect,” Long Feiye added.. Han Yunxi nodded. With Gu Beiyue no longer a hostage, they would definitely win this bout. Their letter of challenge had long reached Hundred Poisons Sect and now the news had spread throughout Cloud Realm Continent. Bai Yanqing wasn’t some coward who would shrink away. To put it in perspective, even if the man didn’t show up, they didn’t mind claiming Hundred Poisons Sect for themselves!
After chatting for a while, Han Yunxi suddenly realized a problem in the letter and exclaimed, “Long Feiye, this means that the real master of Golden Wing Hall was Gu Qishao!”
No wonder Gu Qishao had been so liberal with his money and had teashops all across Cloud Realm Continent. In the end, all the troubles at Three-Way Black Market had come from his hands!
Long Feiye didn’t even put Myriad Merchant Hall in his eyes, much less the Three-Way Market’s third-ranked Golden Wing Hall. He only focused on ma.s.saging Han Yunxi’s legs without expressing any opinions.
What did Gu Qishao look like after he found out I solved Myriad Merchant Hall’s problems? That devastatingly pretty face must have crumpled completely! Han Yunxi couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the thought.
“What are you laughing about?” Long Feiye asked.
“Noth…” Han Yunxi wouldn’t dare to admit the truth.
Long Feiye gave her a scrutinizing look until she quickly changed her tone. “I’m happy! So happy that I could almost stand up!”
That should be a reasonable excuse.
By now, Long Feiye had finished ma.s.saging the soles of her feet and carefully s.h.i.+fted her leg aside. Han Yunxi took the chance to steal a glance at him. It was rare to see the man not reach for a yard after getting an inch! But the next thing she knew, Long Feiye quickly leaned over and muttered, “Are you tired?”
As expected, she thought too much. There were no exceptions to his actions when it came to foot ma.s.sages! But unlike other times, Han Yunxi could clearly sense the domineering strength in Long Feiye’s thighs. He came on so strongly that she felt like he was piercing through her very soul and shattering it to pieces. Although he was coa.r.s.e and rough, she gladly endured it and even laughed secretly up her sleeve. He was the one who changed the topic from the subject of jealousy, and yet here he was warning, punis.h.i.+ng, and counterattacking her again. Only she could understand the depths of Long Feiye’s ways!
Very soon, Han Yunxi soon lost the ability to consider anything else at all, because that man’s impressive aura forced her to follow his rhythm with her very soul. Gradually, the air grew taut as if imprisoned by some formless substance, simply waiting for an opening to release…