9
Huo Pingxiao carried the girl’s petite body over the corpses of several bandit soldiers.
The dull ache in Ruan An’s lower abdomen gradually faded. She knew she had short legs and wouldn’t be able to keep pace with him during the escape. Carrying her like this was more convenient for Huo Pingxiao, eliminating unnecessary trouble.
Yet, being in this position still made the girl feel extremely embarrassed.
Ruan An lowered her eyes. Her undergarment was far too thin; she could even feel the rough, calloused palms of the man’s broad hands. With her head hanging down, a tingling sensation of blood rushing backward pulsed from the back of her neck.
Huo Pingxiao’s heart, separated by the thick, solid armor, pressed against her own fluttering heart.
As she tried to calm her unsteady heartbeat, Ruan An slowly exhaled a sweet, fresh breath.
“You scared?”
Sensing Ruan An’s nervousness, Huo Pingxiao asked in a low voice.
Ruan An replied softly, “This head-down position… isn’t very comfortable.”
As soon as the girl’s soft words fell, Huo Pingxiao continued striding forward. However, his powerful arm carrying Ruan An lifted in an arc—his large hand, with its distinct knuckles, tilted upward, and with effortless ease, he flipped the girl over.
Ruan An’s eyes widened in shock.
As if holding a baby, the man used only one hand to grip her waist, firmly and securely clutching the petite girl against his chest.
Ruan An, once again steady in Huo Pingxiao’s arms, was still startled by his bold, even somewhat rough, actions. Her small, palm-sized face showed alarm.
Huo Pingxiao then lowered his head, his dark, ink-like eyes gazing at her. The man’s features leaned toward the cold side, but now, a hint of faint amusement seemed to linger at the corners of his eyes. Beneath his helmet, his facial features appeared even more intensely handsome and deep.
His gaze towards her was open and forthright. He said in a low voice, “You weigh less than one of my knives. How could I possibly drop you?”
Ruan An’s small face flushed with embarrassment at his words. She quickly averted her gaze. Huo Pingxiao then held her even more securely against his chest.
Just then, the distant sound of a horse’s high-pitched neighing rang out. The thundering “da-da” of hooves grew closer and closer.
Huo Pingxiao’s pace paused slightly. Ruan An also looked towards the distant sound—
She saw a completely black, robust, and sturdy large horse running towards them. Its bearing was like that of a king among thousands of horses. The horse’s mane flew in the wind, its muscles rippled with strength, exuding a wild, untamable aura.
The horse mirrored its master. Ruan An knew at once that this was Huo Pingxiao’s warhorse.
When it reached Huo Pingxiao, it quickly restrained its wild nature, lowering its head to its master in submission.
“Jinwu.”
Huo Pingxiao suddenly raised his voice, calling the warhorse’s name, then commanded in a deep voice, “Keep it steady for a while. My savior is timid. Be gentle.”
Although he was now a young man of capping age, Ruan An could still hear the youthful spirit and carefree arrogance in his voice.
With that, Huo Pingxiao, with steady strength, held the girl in his arms and mounted the horse with a vigorous, agile leap.
Ruan An slowly closed her eyes.
Once seated steadily on Jinwu’s back, she felt the mountain wind behind her blowing her black hair forward. Strands of hair brushed across her face, also hiding her gradually reddening eyes.
Love rises with the wind; when the wind stops, the feeling lingers on.
The body heat of the tall man behind her gradually enveloped her. Huo Pingxiao clearly gave her a full sense of protection, yet Ruan An knew in her heart that once the bandit troubles here were quelled, he would set off for Chang’an, lead the army on an expedition, defend the borders, and protect the country.
She also knew that Huo Pingxiao was like the unreachable sun on the horizon. She could feel his radiance, but she could only look up to him from afar, not dare to harbor hopes.
In her short seventeen years of life, all memories of this man were as warm and intense as the blazing sun, etched into her bones, engraved upon her heart, never to be forgotten.
He would eventually marry a virtuous lady from a noble family. Although what happened between her and him had occurred, that memory was not something she should possess.
Jinwu, upon seeing Huo Pingxiao, was exceptionally excited. The horse raised its neck and once again galloped forward, hooves pounding.
The wind stopped howling in her ears. Ruan An held back her tears and took a deep breath. She reached out and grasped the reins firmly.
But as a resident of Jiazhou and Healer Ruan, the itinerant female physician of Jiannan Circuit, everything about to happen now belonged exclusively to her and the Marquis of Dingbei.
She would suppress the bandits and quell the rebellion together with him, and she would also firmly engrave these memories in her heart.
Chen Yunzhong, donned in armor, stood on the watchtower. Watching his bandit soldiers fiercely engage with the formidable Huo army, his eyes grew bloodshot.
This army, much like their general Huo Pingxiao, every soldier possessed a strong sense of conviction. Without any need for encouragement, their morale was extremely high, exuding the oppressive aura of ferocious beasts on the hunt, bristling with killing intent.
The several deputy generals under Huo Pingxiao were also wolfish by nature and possessed formidable combat strength. Wolves were, after all, pack hunters. Faced with such terrifying wolf generals, no matter how massive or brave the opposing warriors, they could only admit defeat.
Wolves possessed both explosive wildness and abundant patience. The cavalry of Dongwan had been worn down to death by Huo Pingxiao’s Wolf Cavalry Regiment.
Chen Yunzhong had once been Huo Pingxiao’s best friend. Since childhood, Huo Pingxiao had been exceptionally talented, like a cherished child favored by heaven. No matter how hard Chen Yunzhong tried, he could never catch up to Huo Pingxiao’s pace.
Whether in civil strategy or military tactics.
Whatever Huo Pingxiao did, he seemed to achieve effortlessly, reaching the pinnacle and attaining the highest excellence.
Chen Yunzhong was well aware of the gap between himself and Huo Pingxiao and tried his best to catch up. He too had once possessed lofty ambitions. However, when he was in his teens, a misfortune occurred in his family. His father became a sacrifice in the internal power struggles of the Jiannan officialdom, was stripped of his post, and died of depression.
Having grown accustomed to fair-weather friends and the faces of opportunists who trim their sails with the wind, Chen Yunzhong gradually developed a great ambition for power and influence.
But Huo Pingxiao’s life was entirely different from his. His family background was already exceptionally illustrious. At sixteen, he participated in the military imperial examinations in Jiannan and obtained a military post. Never relying on his father Huo Lang’s influence, his official career nevertheless soared from then on. At nineteen, he was granted the title of marquis for his achievements in battle.
Chen Yunzhong felt he could never catch up. He knew that before that incident, Huo Pingxiao had regarded him as his most trusted friend.
After their master passed away, Chen Yunzhong would meet Huo Pingxiao every year at a pointed circular pavilion on the main peak of Meishan. They would drink together and mourn their deceased master.
Chen Yunzhong also understood Huo Pingxiao’s temperament. If he were to be intimate with a girl, even if he had no feelings for her, he would still fulfill his responsibility towards her.
Chen Yunzhong’s younger sister had long admired Huo Pingxiao. So, he drugged Huo Pingxiao’s wine. The drug’s potency was extremely strong. Huo Pingxiao attempted to suppress it with his internal energy. He was intercepted by soldiers midway and suffered an arm injury. Although his combat ability was compromised, he still managed to escape from the mountainside.
He had still underestimated Huo Pingxiao’s cunning. He didn’t realize that the man had long been toying with him.
Just then, a bandit soldier came to report, “Chieftain, the madam has been taken.”
Chen Yunzhong’s gaze turned ferocious. He also saw, below the watchtower, that vigorous figure on horseback, charging forward.
He saw the girl’s fair, small face, Ruan An protected in Huo Pingxiao’s arms.
So, that so-called fiancé of hers… was it actually Huo Pingxiao?
As this thought arose, Chen Yunzhong drew his blade in a flash. Descending from the watchtower and fighting through several clashes with Huo’s army, he galloped towards Huo Pingxiao’s direction.
The two armies were still engaged in battle. Before Chen Yunzhong could react, Huo Pingxiao had already ridden up to him. A fierce, cold light suddenly flashed before Chen Yunzhong’s eyes. The man swung his two handed saber with a sharp “whoosh,” the black iron blade carrying a force capable of splitting the rushing wind.
“Crunch—” Blood splattered.
The expressions of the surrounding bandit soldiers changed drastically. Chen Yunzhong’s face turned deathly pale. In an instant, only a half-shattered stump remained where his left arm had been.
Then they saw the Marquis of Dingbei, seated on his horse, young and handsome. His unruly eyes held a hint of disdain. The blade pointing towards the blazing sun was dripping with Chen Yunzhong’s blood, exuding a cruel and brutal aura.
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was cold and deep as he said, “Chen Yunzhong, I considered you a close friend for many years, yet you drugged and harmed me for your own selfish desires.”
Chen Yunzhong’s lips were pale. His eyes were fixed intently on Ruan An as he replied in a trembling voice, “You knew I liked her, so you used her as bait to trap me!”
As soon as these words fell, Huo Pingxiao clearly felt the soft, delicate body in his arms gradually stiffen.
His sharp, dark eyebrows furrowed tightly. After fiercely snapping his horsewhip and pulling the girl in his arms closer, he whispered in her ear, “Once we’re safe, I will explain everything to you.”
But Chen Yunzhong, ignoring his severed arm, looked at Ruan An with an obsessive and insane gaze and ordered his personal guards to capture her at all costs.
Much of what happened next, for Ruan An, existed in fragmented, somewhat blurry memories.
She remembered Huo Pingxiao’s deputy general taking command of everything. The man rode his horse, carrying her deep into the forest, using throwing darts to kill the bandits pursuing them.
Ruan An had been constantly worried that Chen Yunzhong would set the mountain on fire and destroy the medicinal herb fields.
Only when it began to rain lightly from the sky did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
By the time she and Huo Pingxiao entered the forest, darkness had already fallen. The thunder grew louder, and the rain became heavier.
Huo Pingxiao found a cave, and the two took temporary shelter there.
There were straw mattresses left by previous travelers in the cave. Jinwu could also fit inside. Mountain dwellers often took refuge from the rain here.
When Huo Pingxiao had rescued Ruan An, she had been wearing wooden clogs, but during the galloping ride, both clogs had fallen off somewhere.
Having just gotten wet in the rain, she was now barefoot, her two small, pale feet standing on the cold, rocky ground. She couldn’t help but shiver. The girl’s black hair hung behind her, and her eyes seemed veiled in a layer of mist.
After Huo Pingxiao started a fire, he looked at Ruan An. A hint of compassion unexpectedly appeared in his sharp, dark brows and eyes.
He spoke first: “Miss Ruan.”
Ruan An lowered her eyes dejectedly, her bare feet enduring the cold rising from the ground. Her voice was soft but carried a hint of sarcasm: “Marquis Huo is truly loyal. You personally came to rescue me, a mere village girl.”
“You are my savior, and you were imprisoned because of me. Naturally, I should rescue you personally.”
Ruan An looked up. The rising bonfire reflected in the man’s deep, dark eyes. He looked at her without evasion, his gaze still open and forthright.
Shivering uncontrollably, she mustered all her strength and asked, “You knew all along that Chen Yunzhong had feelings for me, so you pretended to be my husband, wanting to use me as bait. You also suspected that his identity was Qi Yixiong, right?”
“Correct.”
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was low and firm.
Ruan An said softly, “Marquis Huo is truly a master strategist.”
Huo Pingxiao silently removed the fierce beast helmet from his head. He didn’t know how to explain things to Ruan An.
He had indeed made a deal with Ruan An. It hadn’t been convenient to tell her that she was being used as bait, so he had simply sent Northern Guard experts to protect her. He hadn’t expected Chen Yunzhong to be so impatient, nor had he anticipated that Yang Wei would fail to keep a proper watch over Ruan An, allowing her to be kidnapped.
Ruan An hadn’t eaten or drunk tea properly for two days, nor had she rested well. She didn’t have Huo Pingxiao’s physical stamina, and on top of that, she had caught a chill.
When Huo Pingxiao looked up at her again, he saw the girl’s petite body leaning forward, about to faint and fall to the ground.
He quickly walked over to Ruan An, scooped her up horizontally in time, and carefully placed her on the straw mat.
The rain showed no sign of stopping. The two of them would have to spend the night in this mountain cave.
Ruan An slept fitfully for a while, aware that she had developed a high fever. When she slightly regained consciousness, she felt that Huo Pingxiao seemed to have removed his armor and had pulled her entirely into his arms.
The man’s body was strong and masculine, much warmer than her own temperature. He was using his body to warm her up, without making any other presumptuous moves.
She wanted to resist his care, yet she couldn’t help but greedily cling to the warmth of his body.
Clearly, she had liked him for a long time, had adored him for a long time, yet she still didn’t dare to let herself fall completely.
After all, she was just one among thousands of young women, only able to silently adore him.
If Ruan An had to say when she had started liking him, she thought it must have been during their reunion in Lingnan.
Huo Pingxiao pinched the girl’s delicate chin and fed her some water from a water skin.
Ruan An regained some consciousness. Although she thought the man probably didn’t care about her chastity, she still felt she needed to explain: “Chen Yunzhong is not a good person, but he treated me very well. He would never force me to do anything…”
“Mm.”
Huo Pingxiao replied in a deep voice, reaching out to feel the temperature of the girl in his arms.
The man’s palm, rough and large from martial arts training, rested on her fair, smooth forehead. It could almost completely cover her entire small face.
Due to the high fever, Ruan An began to babble deliriously, complaining softly, “The matter with the medicine apprentices, the matter with Xiao Tao… you calculated everything in advance. And yet you made it seem like you were granting me two wishes.”
When she was clear-headed, Ruan An was somewhat afraid of him, but when she was delirious, she dared to scold him. However, the girl’s voice was soft and naive; even her reproach sounded like she was being coquettish with someone.
Seeing that Huo Pingxiao didn’t reply, Ruan An dazedly raised her warm, weak almond-shaped eyes, stared at him, and asked, “Right?”
“Right.”
The man’s lowered tone gradually became warm and mellow.
Huo Pingxiao’s temperament was arrogant and proud; he wasn’t an easygoing person. Yet, for some reason, in front of Ruan An, he always had immense patience.
The man smelled the faint scent of medicine emanating from the girl. This bitter, light aroma had become familiar to him lately. He detested the heavy smell of powder and rouge on the noble ladies of Chang’an, but he didn’t find this medicinal scent repulsive; in fact, he felt it could calm his mind.
“That being the case, I owe you two wishes. After you wake up, remember to ask them of me.”
As he finished speaking, Ruan An actually giggled foolishly in his arms, her two fair, moist little feet kicking haphazardly against his legs.
Once, then again.
The force wasn’t heavy, yet Huo Pingxiao’s breathing abruptly deepened. He hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from himself.
His sharp brows furrowed slightly, his hard, cold Adam’s apple moved subtly. He was just about to stop Ruan An’s actions.
Then he suddenly remembered the evasive look in Ruan An’s eyes when she had woken up that day.
Huo Pingxiao again cupped her small face in his palm, his voice deep as he asked, “That day… did something happen between us?”
Just then, the wind and rain blowing into the cave extinguished the bonfire. Since she was in her early teens, Ruan An had always had trouble with her night vision. She had drunk countless remedies, but none had helped.
She couldn’t see the man’s deep, unfathomable eyes, nor had her reason completely abandoned her.
Huo Pingxiao would eventually marry a virtuous lady from a noble family. Even if he had other female confidantes, they could only become concubines relegated to side courtyards and wing rooms.
She came from humble beginnings, unfit for grand occasions. Moreover, being trapped within the deep walls of a marquis’s residence was not her wish.
Before encountering Huo Pingxiao, Ruan An had also imagined what her future husband might be like. At the very least, he would have to share her interests and have some knowledge of pharmacology and medicine.
The two of them, as husband and wife, could run a small business, travel the mountains and rivers, and treat strange diseases everywhere.
Ruan An also wanted to complete the compendium of effective remedies she had always dreamed of writing. She had even thought of the title: The Record of an Itinerant Doctor of Jiannan.
Ruan An used her usual excuse to fob him off, mumbling, “What could have happened? I have a fiancé in Chang’an, you know.”
Hearing her mention her fiancé, a dimness appeared in Huo Pingxiao’s eyes, unnoticed even by himself. His large hand, with its distinct knuckles, cupped the girl’s small head, his voice deep and somber: “I have a feeling this fiancé of yours isn’t a good man.”
“He’s already betrothed to you, yet he uses the imperial examinations as an excuse to abandon you in these mountains, without a care?”
“Chang’an is full of talented men. Of course, he has to focus solely on preparing for the imperial examinations. He wants to become the capital magistrate who speaks up for the common people. Once he passes the provincial examinations and his official career stabilizes, we will naturally choose an auspicious date to get married.”
Listening to the girl explain to him in her soft voice, Huo Pingxiao’s expression remained gloomy and cold. He was about to get up and relight the extinguished bonfire when he felt the girl in his arms squirm and struggle a few more times.
The man suddenly clenched his knuckles, pinched her delicate nape, and with great patience, his voice slightly hoarse, asked, “Are you comfortable sleeping?”
Ruan An didn’t catch the gritted-teeth undertone in his voice and answered honestly, “Not really. There seems to be something poking me…”
“Poking you?”
Huo Pingxiao felt a mischievous impulse. His dark eyes carried an intense pressure. He suddenly leaned down, gazing at the girl’s face in the darkness, and asked again in a deep voice, “What’s poking you?”
Ruan An’s consciousness was gradually fading. She answered him casually, “Feels like a rock or something…”
“A rock, huh.”
He drew out the final syllable. Resigned, he released Ruan An’s nape.
Sensing that the girl’s two small feet resting on his knees were far too cold, Huo Pingxiao’s dark lashes lowered slightly. He was silent for a moment, then still took those two fair, small feet into his rough, calloused palms.
If she said it was a rock, then a rock it was.
**