A wisp of hair hung by the corner of his mouth. Ouyang Jinse stared blankly at Lady Jinhua, who was decked out in jewels and pearls.
The hatred in his eyes made Lady Jinhua take a step back. The atmosphere between the mother and son turned awkward.
After a long while, Ouyang Jinse gave a bitter smile. "Are you satisfied?"
"If you're obedient, this Jinshui Palace will all be yours!" Lady Jinhua dared not meet her son's eyes. She picked up a bowl of sweet congee and offered it to Ouyang Jinse.
Unexpectedly, he knocked it out of her hand. The dull thud made the atmosphere even more awkward.
Ouyang Jinse recalled the first time he met Song Jinyu. He was completely deceived by her and had to spend a whole night on the terrifying back mountain of Tianmen Mountain.
The second time they met, he was again deceived by her cute face. He even went with her to catch small fish in the cold pool. He caught a bad cold, but Song Jinyu was as lively as ever.
It turned out that Song Jinyu wore a warm jade pendant, so she was not afraid of the cold water in the pool. But then she personally made dried cold - pool fish for him, so he didn't hold it against her.
Gradually, Ouyang Jinse grew fonder and fonder of Tianmen Mountain.
He always looked forward to going there every year. When he grew up, he would go there on his own without his mother's company. He knew it was just to see his "little goldfish".
Now, the one he loved had died right in front of him.
Thinking of this, his heart died.
In the dilapidated house, Jinyu finally managed to start a bonfire with flint. She put a clay pot on the fire to boil some water, and it bubbled merrily.
Zhongli Mingye was still unconscious. Jinyu couldn't help but frown.
Although the golden sore medicine from Tianmen Mountain was the best, the wound was too deep. She had only applied the medicine to stop the bleeding, and now she needed some bandages. Looking around, she found that only her inner skirt was soft enough.
She gritted her teeth and tore off a long strip. The skirt became much shorter, but luckily no one was around to see.
She bandaged Zhongli Mingye and covered him with her cloak. After all the bustling around, Jinyu sat by the bonfire, looking at the unconscious Zhongli Mingye.
What kind of person was he?
Why did he risk his life to save her?
And what did he mean when he said "I fancy you"?
Thinking of this, Jinyu touched her face. She felt the fire was too strong.
Well, well, it was a bit hot.
At night, Jinyu sleepily reached out her hand to touch Zhongli Mingye's forehead, worried that he might have a fever. But unexpectedly, he caught her hand.
"Hey, you're awake?" Jinyu looked at Zhongli Mingye in surprise.
Zhongli Mingye's injury was not too serious, so he woke up relatively quickly. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Jinyu sitting beside him. Her little head kept nodding. She looked so cute when sleepy. Even when extremely tired, she still remembered his injury.
He couldn't help but catch her tender hand. His heart was filled with warmth.
"Yeah." It was his response to Jinyu.
"That's great! Have some water!" Jinyu beamed with joy. Her eyes sparkled as she kindly offered the water in the clay pot to Zhongli Mingye.
Zhongli Mingye thought the pot looked very familiar. Did she carry it with her all the time? Jinyu noticed his confusion and kindly explained, "I thought this pot was delicate, so I kept three of them with me."
Jinyu gave Zhongli Mingye a health - nourishing pill.
"What's this?"
"It's the Ten - Complete Health - Nourishing Pill!"
"The Ten - Complete Kidney - Nourishing Pill?" Zhongli Mingye gave her a strange look as his eyes fell on the black pill in her hand.
"There's no food now. This pill is made of purple Ganoderma. It will do you a lot of good." Jinyu didn't understand why he had such a strange expression.
Only then did Zhongli Mingye realize he had misinterpreted it. He took the pill and ate it.
"This name is not good. Let's call it the Heart - Saving Pill!"
"..."
She really didn't know why he was so insistent on the name!
Jinyu folded her arms and sat closer to the bonfire. This dilapidated house could only barely keep out the wind and rain. The temperature in the valley at night was low. Fortunately, she had dried her clothes during the day. Otherwise, it would have been a tough night.
Prince Yu, Zhongli Mingye, looked at the white - fox cloak on himself. He directly wrapped Jinyu with the cloak.
"Hey, you—"
He was injured!
"I'll keep watch. You rest." Zhongli Mingye stood up firmly. He added some firewood to make the bonfire burn brighter.
She was really exhausted. Yawning, she didn't decline anymore. Leaning against the straw pile, she fell asleep. It had been a really tiring day.
Zhongli Mingye looked at her tenderly. There were dark shadows under her eyes, and there were some small bloodstains on her little face. He felt a pang of pity. He covered her with the cloak properly and sat at the door to block the wind for her.
The crescent moon was curved, and the partridges were calling in the night.
The valley was filled with mist. As the night deepened, small nocturnal animals appeared from time to time.
Zhongli Mingye's ears twitched. He threw his dagger, hitting the target with one shot!
It was a grass snake that had come out to look for food. Zhongli Mingye checked carefully to make sure Jinyu wasn't woken up.
He just skinned and cut the snake by the firelight, skewered it, and roasted it on the fire.
There was a valley below Huangshan Cliff, and there were many rivers in it. Yan Fei thought that although Jinyu's martial arts were not very good, she shouldn't be completely defenseless. Moreover, Prince Yu, Zhongli Mingye, had once fought on the battlefield and was extremely powerful.
Yan Fei checked the place where Jinyu had fallen off the cliff and decided to go to the nearby villages to find a way into the valley.
"What! Who gave them the nerve!"
When Miao Yunshen, the master of Tianmen Mountain, heard that his little disciple was in trouble,
he immediately smashed the stone table.
"Sirong, come here! Take everyone from the Zhui Feng Hall to find that girl!"
Wen Sirong was the eldest disciple of Tianmen Mountain and the right - hand man of the master. Seeing the master so angry, everyone took their orders and left.
"That girl has nine lives. She won't die!"
After hearing Cheng Song's report, Miao Yunshen frowned. He couldn't understand why Lady Jinhua wanted to kill Song Jinyu.
He immediately sent Du Zhouli, the second elder of the sect, and He Yan, the second disciple, with everyone from the Yun Yi Hall to the Jinshui Palace to demand an explanation.
After Wen Sirong and the others left, Miao Yunshen slumped into his chair. He kept coughing. If that girl were here, she would surely give him a pill. He was terminally ill and beyond cure. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head. He hoped she could survive this disaster.
It would be worth all the effort he had put into training her.
In Liuzhou City, Song Qinzhou knew that Prince Yu had been missing for several days. He asked Song Chuyu to search every corner of Liuzhou City, but they couldn't find any trace of Prince Yu, Zhongli Mingye. The only clue they could find was that Zhongli Mingye had been outside the city on the day he disappeared.
That day was also the day Jinyu left Liuzhou.
Song Qinzhou frowned deeper and deeper. He pressed his throbbing temple.
The news of Prince Yu's disappearance hadn't spread yet. If something really happened to him, Song Qinzhou would be held responsible. And now, there was no news from Jinyu either.