The sky gradually darkened, a waning moon hanging lonely among the treetops.
Due to the temple's cramped Space and the large number of prisoners, it was impossible for everyone to stay overnight inside.
Thus, the Yamen runners drove some people outside to sleep in the open, including the Xie Jia family.
"You don't need to move," Hu Dahai quickly said with a smile when he saw Shen Wan about to stand up. "It's well-ventilated here by the entrance. You two can sleep right here."
Sun Shi's face turned pale with anger at the sight.
That damned ugly woman! She just happened to luck out like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse by curing that Yamen runner's illness, and now she could overshadow her at every turn!
In a fit of rage, Sun Shi paid another bribe, and only then did the Yamen runners agree to let them inside.
Shen Wan was quite curious—just how much could that single pearl be worth?
No matter how valuable it was, the fellow prisoners couldn't possibly offer a high price, since they themselves had little to begin with.
At Sun Shi's current spending rate, she'd likely run out of money soon.
Xie Murong also wanted to go inside but was stopped by the Yamen runners.
"Third Sister-in-law!" she pleaded desperately, tugging at Sun Shi's sleeve. "I really don't want to sleep outside."
For a noble young lady from a prestigious household to sleep on the ground was indeed a hardship for her.
Just as Sun Shi was about to speak, Zhou Yiniang's face darkened. "If you want to go in, pay for it yourself!"
Where would Xie Murong get the money?
If she had any, why would she be gnawing on those hard-to-swallow Wo Wo Tou all day?
Zhou Yiniang ignored her and walked straight into the temple.
Sun Shi's eyes shifted cunningly, and she leaned close to Xie Murong's ear, whispering, "Good sister, it's not that I don't want to help you. But you know how Zhou Yiniang is—she has a terrible temper."
"How about this: go beg that ugly woman."
"That ugly woman is the Yamen runners' favorite now. If she says one word, it'll definitely work!"
"If that doesn't work, you can still ask your Fifth Brother. That woman likes him the most!"
Hearing this, Xie Murong felt conflicted.
Now that she and Xie Mubai were on bad terms, she had no face to ask him for help.
But looking at the hard ground and the mosquito bites covering her in red welts, she swallowed her pride and turned to Xie Mubai. "Fifth Brother, I'm scared sleeping outside alone at night!"
Xie Mubai acted as if he hadn't heard, turning his face away and closing his eyes.
"You're really okay with her sleeping outside?" Shen Wan asked curiously after seeing this.
The book mentioned that the great villain doted on this half-sister immensely.
If she asked, he'd even pluck the moon from the sky for her.
In the past, the original host had argued with him countless times over this half-sister.
Xie Mubai didn't open his eyes, his cold voice laced with sharp frost. "If she can't endure even this little hardship, she doesn't deserve to be a daughter of Xie Jia!"
Deep down, he still cared for that cold-hearted half-sister—after all, their blood ties could never be severed.
But these past few days had made him face reality.
Xie Jia had fallen, and Xie Murong had to bow to reality, no longer able to live as a pampered young lady.
The road to the Great Northwest was long. If she continued like this, whether she could even survive to reach the exile location was uncertain.
"It must be that ugly woman who refused!" Sun Shi hadn't clearly heard what Shen Wan said but still seized the chance to sow discord. "Your Fifth Brother can't move easily now—he has to follow that ugly woman's every whim."
"Murong, be careful yourself. I'm going in first, or else Zhou Yiniang will scold us again."
Before the words faded, she swayed her plump slender waist and entered the dilapidated temple.
Xie Murong shot a venomous glare toward Shen Wan upon hearing this.
Yes, it was her!
Before, Fifth Brother had doted on her the most, but ever since this ugly woman arrived, he stopped giving her chicken legs and hadn't even shown her a kind expression!
"What are you still standing here for? Move aside!" A yamen runner yelled impatiently when he saw her lingering at the entrance.
Xie Murong had been pampered since childhood and had never suffered such humiliation.
Tears streaming down her face, she reluctantly turned away.
Though the temple was shabby, at least it offered some shelter from the wind and rain.
But for Xie Murong, things were different now—she could only resign herself to fate.
On a midsummer night, the mosquitoes were terrifyingly numerous.
Shen Wan couldn't conveniently take out the floral water, so she quietly retrieved some medicinal herbs from her Space and placed them between the two of them.
Catching the scent of the herbs, Xie Mubai couldn't help but open his eyes.
"What's this?" He asked with some surprise, looking at the small bundle of fresh green grass beside him.
Shen Wan explained, "It's mosquito-repelling grass I picked by the roadside. With this, the mosquitoes won't bite us."
"Then why didn't the mosquitoes bite me last night?" A flicker of doubt crossed Xie Mubai's eyes.
He remembered clearly that this woman had only gathered the herbs today.
"That's because I spent the whole night swatting mosquitoes for you!" Shen Wan lied without batting an eye, her crisp voice tinged with a hint of grievance. "Otherwise, in such a big room with just the two of us, wouldn't the mosquitoes have carried you away?"
Xie Mubai believed her.
He felt a slight warmth in his heart, and Hu Dahai's words echoed in his ears once more.
"You don't need to be so kind to me," he said after a moment's thought, somewhat awkwardly. "I'm not worth this."
The love she wanted, he couldn't give, and he didn't want to owe her too much.
His voice was very low, and Shen Wan didn't catch it at all, busy as she was arranging the straw on the ground.
"Let's sleep now," she said after finishing, helping Xie Mubai lie down.
The temple was small to begin with, and with not much straw, Shen Wan had to lie down close to him.
After everyone had fallen asleep, she edged closer to Xie Mubai and quietly slipped a small pill to his lips.
Without even looking at it, Xie Mubai swallowed it directly.
"How come you didn't even glance at it?" Shen Wan's eyes twinkled mischievously as she teased, "Aren't you afraid it might be poison?"
The warm breath from her words sprayed onto his face, making him feel somewhat ticklish.
Xie Mubai turned his head away and ignored her.
Shen Wan, feeling snubbed, rolled her eyes in displeasure.
When she heard the soft snoring beside her, she quietly leaned in again.
Making sure the great villain was sound asleep, Shen Wan then slipped into her Space.
After taking a shower, she went straight to the laboratory.
The toxin had been in the original host's body for too long, and if delayed further, she seriously feared she might turn completely mad.
However, this poison was extremely rare, and even she, a professional military doctor, was somewhat at a loss.
After working for a while, Shen Wan had to leave as too much time had passed.
Just as she emerged, she saw Xie Mubai with his eyes open, his ink-black pupils emitting a cold, desolate gleam in the darkness.
Oh no, could the great villain have discovered what just happened?
If he found out, he'd surely suspect she was some kind of demon!
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Shen Wan's heart tightened as she asked with some guilt.
In the darkness, Xie Mubai's deep voice sounded exceptionally cold: "Just woke up. Why aren't you sleeping either?"
Hearing this, Shen Wan breathed a long sigh of relief.
She patted her chest, putting on an act of being frightened: "I just had a nightmare that scared me awake."
By the pale moonlight, Xie Mubai clearly saw that small dark face with its baby fat.
Paired with those large eyes carrying a slightly frightened gleam, she looked even more like a little girl who hadn't grown up.
He extended his long arm and gently patted her arm: "Go to sleep now."
Xie Mubai's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of security.
Having traveled for so long, Shen Wan was indeed tired.
Smelling his pleasant scent, she soon fell asleep.
But Xie Mubai didn't sleep, instead staring intently at the small woman before him.
Actually, he had never been asleep, merely feigning sleep while lying there.
When he noticed her breathing had disappeared from beside him, he opened his eyes.
The space beside him was empty, with only the thin layer of straw still carrying body warmth.
Had she gone out?
Impossible!
With his hearing, it was impossible for him not to hear someone moving around.
Just as he couldn't figure out this bizarre situation, her breathing sound suddenly reappeared, and she materialized before his eyes out of thin air!
Could she be a monster?
At this thought, Xie Mubai's gaze grew increasingly complicated.