As Chenyang and Xueyue ran through the field, they noticed something strange.
They had ran for a while now and were bordering the walls of the Chen Manor, but there was a lump of clothes near the pristine white wall.
When they rode closer, there was a heavy metallic smell of blood.
Chenyang"s eyes darkened at the familiar smell. Heiyue whined and took a couple steps backwards, warning Xueyue.
But before any of them could react, the b.l.o.o.d.y hand prints on the wall and blood splotches on the green gra.s.s became visible.
Chenyang immediately stuck his arm out to prevent Xueyue from walking any closer.
"Stay here, I"ll go check." Chenyang said, climbing off his horse and walking closer to the body.
He heard the rustle of clothes behind him and by the time he turned around, Xueyue was already arms length from him.
Chenyang sighed, placing his hands on his hips like an overbearing mother.
"You never listen do you?" He nagged while her a few steps backwards.
"It might be a sight too gruesome for eyes like yours." He added on, pus.h.i.+ng her back a bit.
Xueyue tilted her head in confusion. "Too gruesome for my eyes...?" She thought to herself.
"Ah right, he doesn"t know I"ve experienced beatings that often results in bodies like those..." She thought in her head.
Chenyang bend down and noticed the blood trickling out of the boy.
His eyes lingered on the metal armor, sword, and outstanding craft work on the helmet.
"It"s a dead soldier." Chenyang concluded, not wanting anything to do with the injured man.
"I"ll tell Father and he"ll get someone to remove it."
Chenyang honestly wanted the man gone as soon as possible.
It was dangerous to have a soldier in the house, especially when you didn"t know what rank and position he was in.
For all Chenyang knew, this could"ve been an enemy soldier from Hanjian.
He wasn"t Wenmin whose kind and gentle heart would be generous with everyone he came across.
Chenyang was more logical and tended to see the worst scenario in something.
Right now, he envisioned his entire family being slaughtered or trialed for treason for housing an enemy soldier.
"Come on, lets go back." Chenyang began to walk off, but stopped when he realized Xueyue wasn"t following him.
He turned to see Xueyue peering closer at the man.
"Hey, step away from him. You might get your clothes dirty." Chenyang immediately walked back to her and placed a warm hand on her back to guide her towards the horse.
But Xueyue didn"t budge from her position.
"He"s breathing." She pointed to his chest that was slowly but surely rising up and down.
The man was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess.
There was blood trickling down his forehead. His skin was hauntingly pale, and there was a big pool of blood around him.
It was evident: he was close to Death"s door.
"Well, good for him." Chenyang dishearteningly said, not caring about this man"s condition.
"We have to take him back to the house and patch him up." Xueyue said, eyeing the familiar symbol on the man"s chest plate.
Chenyang scowled. "We are not saving him."
"Why not?"
"Because he"s a soldier and an injured one too. If he"s found dead within our house, it will damage our reputation."
To try to save a soldier and failing will definitely taint the Li family name.
Chenyang couldn"t allow that, not after what happened to Minghua.
"Besides, he might be an enemy soldier- Hey! Don"t touch him. He"s dirty!" Chenyang yelled when Xueyue used her handkerchief to wipe away the dried blood on the symbol.
It revealed a dragon slithering around a sword and s.h.i.+eld.
Underneath the symbol was a writing, "Commander."
"He"s one of Shenzhou"s Commanders! He"s not an ordinary soldier." Xueyue breathed out, recognizing the symbol on the flags she saw in the capital.
Chenyang scowled.
Just great! Now we really have to save him.
"I saw a poster in the town that"s looking for a missing Commander. What was his name..." Xueyue trailed off, placing a finger to her chin in a thinking face.
After a few seconds, she finally remembered the poster. "It was the prodigy Commander, Wen Jinkai!"
Chenyang"s entire body stiffened at the name.
His face became slightly pale.
His best friend was missing?
Why didn"t the Wen family inform the Li?
"Let me see." Chenyang bend down, stared at the name and then his eyes went to the bloodied face.
It was coated with dried blood, so Chenyang uncapped his jug of water and poured it over his face.
"Chenyang!" Xueyue gasped, hitting his arm.
How could he pour water onto an injured person?!
"It really is that b.a.s.t.a.r.d..." Chenyang muttered when the blood was slightly washed away.
Although Wen Jinkai"s face was still covered with blood, it wasn"t enough to hide his alluring face.
Thick eyebrows, long lashes, strong nose, sharp jawline that could cut through rocks, and thin lips, he was the type of man that forced a person to take a second glance.
His appearance was so blinding, Xueyue was left breathless.
Chenyang noticed her curious gaze and waved a hand in front of her face, a small smile on his face.
"You"re drooling." He chuckled, tossing the helmet aside.
Xueyue blushed, touched the corner of her mouth and slapped Chenyang"s arm when she found nothing there.
Chenyang laughed and patted her small head. "Well we can"t leave this fool here anymore. We"ll ride back to the house and tell the servants to carry him back."
He wanted to have someone keep watch of Jinkai while he rode back to the Manor, but the only option was Xueyue.
He would rather risk his own life than hers.
What if Jinkai stood up and attack her because he had mistaken her for an enemy?
He couldn"t take that risk, and decided it was best to ride back together.
Chenyang planned on helping Xueyue onto her horse, but he felt dumb when she fluidly got on.
Her hair blew in the wind, making her look majestic even though she was a small child.
Where has he seen the same posture and face? It was so familiar...
"Race you back!" Xueyue chuckled when Heiyue kicked up dirt and when the wind blew, the thundering horse charged back home.
Chenyang shook his head, hopped onto his horse and raced her home.