“I… I’m the leader of the second detachment of the third battalion of the Yellow Flag Army camp,” the wounded soldier gasped for breath.
“I’m not asking who you are now. I’m asking who you were before. What happened before you joined the Yellow Flag Battalion?” Qin Yunuan stared at the corner of the wounded soldier’s eye with a thick layer of blood scab. While ordering Maner to do some simple treatment before setting the fracture for the wounded soldier, she whispered to the wounded soldier in a low voice, “The black Kylin on your shoulder is the symbol of the Leng Army of Qi.”
The wounded soldier trembled. This secret was only known to the 3,000 people in the Leng Army and General Leng. And he seemed to be familiar with the woman whispering gently beside his ear. Was she the wife of General Leng, the girl of the Qin Family?
“Madam Leng?”
“It’s me.”
The wounded soldier got excited. He wanted to say something, but Qin Yunuan stopped him, “Your ribs are broken. Don’t talk now. I just want to confirm your identity. Now you don’t need to talk.” Qin Yunuan touched the rib of the wounded soldier easily. Three sections were broken, and the fourth section was crooked.
Now that she had got such important information, it was worth the trouble then.
In the evening, Qin Yunuan went back to her own camp, because there were too many things to deal with. She estimated that Jing Donghua would stay in the Yellow Flag Battalion for about three or four days more. Fortunately, everything was fine in the Royal City, and there was no trouble.
There was an elm flower-carving folding screen in the room. Leng Changxi was reading with his head raised high on the soft couch behind the folding screen. Perhaps it was because he had been too tired these days that he fell asleep with a hand holding a book, reading halfway. A thin blanket covering his body dropped to the ground. Qin Yunuan walked towards him silently, picked up the thin blanket on the ground, and covered it on Leng Changxi’s body softly. She couldn’t help caressing Leng Changxi’s powerful arms with her long, slender fingers. His symmetrical muscles were elastic, symbolizing the infinite strength, which was worth people’s dependence.
Qin Yunuan wanted to take down the scroll for Leng Changxi, only to find that he pulled the scroll unusually tightly. Then she suddenly found that, in fact, Leng Changxi had been pretending to be asleep.
“Well, you…” just when Qin Yunuan was to blame Leng Changxi for playing tricks on her, he turned around and pressed Qin Yunuan underneath him. With two people on the small soft couch, it became a little crowded. The two people’s bodies tightly stuck to each other. The romantic atmosphere between the two people was hot and strong. Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi looked at each other. The strong emotion between them was exactly like the wide ocean, too deep for people to breathe.
“I haven’t looked at you so carefully like that for a long time,” Leng Changxi’s long fingers brushed the broken hair beside Qin Yunuan’s ear. A feeling of being numb and chill quickly filled every part of her body. “Let me take a good look at you,” Leng Changxi looked at her with loving eyes as if looking at the world’s most precious treasure. He was so reluctant to give it up. It seemed that he would use up the time of his life to wipe and cherish it.
“You’ve lost weight,” Leng Changxi looked at Qin Yunuan, whose face was smaller. He knew that she had suffered a lot all the way following him here. She did not eat or drink well on the way. What was worse, she had to follow him to wear masks made of human skin and hide her name. If she had married to an ordinary noble family, maybe now she could have lived a rather comfortable life in Qi.
“You’ve lost weight, too,” Qin Yunuan looked at Leng Changxi with gleaming eyes. He never wore a mask when there were two people alone. His handsome, elegant appearance looked more mysterious and graceful in the light of candles. He looked more experienced and mature than before. During these days, he had experienced a lot, so his heart was warmer than in the past, but his eyes could see more clearly than in the past.
The light was dim, and the atmosphere was good. The curtain was dark yellow with a bit of obsolescence. The two people on the bed regained the passion and impulse which occurred only when they were newly married. They had not tried such a fit of fusion for a long time, and they didn’t stop until the moon was clear.
Qin Yunuan rested in the arms of Leng Changxi, wearing a dress of tissue as thin as cicadas’ gauze. Her soft, jade-like skin was colored with the red that only appeared when a teenage girl got shy. She told Leng Changxi about everything she found in the camp of the wounded.
“I asked him later. He said that there were three people in the Leng Army attend the Yellow Flag Battalion along with him, all of whom escaped from Sima Ray’s suppression. He was the only one who got hurt. The other two were still in the group of survivors. He gave me his name tag and asked me to find a person called Zhou Hua. According to him, Zhou Hua was the temporary general who organized the Leng Army to break out of the encirclement. There were about 1,000 people succeeding in breaking the encirclement. Later, perhaps it was because the team of 1,000 people was too large and obvious, they scattered and went to the Liuli Kingdom, North Di, West Xia, and South Yue. However, they all kept in contact with each other. They said that once General Leng wanted to be back to Qi, they would gather together from everywhere.”
When Qin Yunuan was saying, she became excited a little. While the black-armored soldiers of the West Xia were fierce, the Leng Army belonged to the Leng Family after all. Whether from the training or loyalty, they were much higher than the black-armored soldiers.
The Leng Army, which used to have 3,000 people in the past, now only left less than 1,000 people. Although this fact was rueful, they would have been like tigers added wings with the help of the army.
“Zhou Hua,” Leng Changxi was searching the person’s name in his mind, “I remembered this man. He was born in a family of hunters. He is a master with arrows. Shooting the tree from 100 steps away is a piece of cake for him. Once, he had shot the eye of a running brown bear from more than 100 meters away. He can take orders while in danger. What a talent!”
“That’s for the best,” Qin Yunuan lay on the chest of Leng Changxi, analyzing slowly, “Judging from His Majesty’s attitude today, although he’s angry that you don’t want to be a prince of West Xia, he has some ideas about attacking Qi. What’s more, Jing Yuanxiao promised to make a persuasion for us. I assume that not long after returning to Royal City, we’ll be expecting to attack Qi.”
“Yes,” Leng Changxi nodded, agreeing with Qin Yunuan’s words.
Thinking that she’ll see Maner and other people later, Qin Yunuan stood up and dressed at will. She put on a coat and tied up the hair again for Leng Changxi. Suddenly, there was a slight sound outside. A black shadow leaving hurriedly made the two people highly vigilant.
It could definitely not be Maner or other maids, who could walk in from the door.
Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan went out to chase immediately. To their surprise, they saw the Confucian scholar who came to invite Qin Yunuan in the afternoon bent over the ground hastily. He must have tripped. It was unknown how long he had overheard outside the tent and how much he had heard.
“You, you are spies from Qi! And you also sent someone inside the Yellow Flag Battalion of West Xia. What do you want to do?” The Confucian scholar spoke loudly as if fearing that the world would not know.
A cluster of shadows came from distant places. When they heard the movement here, they rushed to run over. It seemed to have attracted the attention of others. Just when Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan were at a loss, they found that the cluster of shadows was exactly Leng Shuang and other maids.
Qin Yunuan stopped for a moment and then said to the Confucian scholar, “You misunderstood us. We are indeed from Qi, but we are also guests of West Xia. As for the Leng Army in West Xia, it was totally an accident. Besides, if we want to be spies to harm the emperor of West Xia, why will we risk our lives to save him?”
“You are merely doing it to gain His Majesty’s trust. I know it well. All of you are cunning.”
The Confucian scholar also saw Leng Shuang, who was coming closer, as if he had seen a life-saving straw. He didn’t know that Leng Shuang and the rest three people were also with Qin Yunuan. He shouted while hugging Leng Shuang’s thigh, “Shuang, be quick! Hurry to inform His Majesty that the two people are spies.”
Leng Shuang was still dressing in purple as she had done before. Her face was calm and emotionless. Lowering her head to glance at the Confucian scholar, she sneered, “If they’re spies, then we are too.”
This Confucian scholar saw the four medical girls before him, who had followed the medical team for a long time, and suddenly felt his heart was cold. Just when he was going to continue to call for help, he was made unconscious by Yuanyang’s palm. She used to be the chief maid beside Old Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion. Later, she was asked by the Old Madam to try her best to assist Qin Yunuan. She did well in accepting Ting Xue and Maner as well as sending the Commander’s Seal.
It was important to know that before she followed Old Madam, she was a young female armed escort who had followed her father all the way to guard their customers. So she was experienced in all kinds of things.
“For this kind of person, lecherous and timid as he is, there’s no need to talk to him.” This Confucian scholar looked like a timid person. He must want to call more people.
“I wonder how long he has been outside this camp, and how much he has heard,” Qin Yunuan turned a circle around the Confucian scholar. There had been a drizzle in the evening. The soil around the camp was all wet. However, the shoe sole of the Confucian scholar was not stained with much mud. It seemed that he had come before the rain when Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi were enjoying themselves, so they failed to find someone eavesdropping outside the camp.
Oh, it was hard to imagine that this man was not only a coward but also a Lovelace.
“How to deal with him?” Although it was the first time for them to meet again after the long separation, Leng Shuang asked Qin Yunuan as if they had never been parted.
“Give him some poison to make him mute. Break the meridian vessels of his hands so that he can’t hold a pen to write. And tomorrow when you hand him to His Majesty, you should tell him that this man has such severe erotomania that he has come to eavesdrop on the camp of Changxi and me. Didn’t you say that he was also extremely lustful in the team of the military doctors? He must have flirted with a lot of medical women. Tomorrow, invite these medical women to testify. I do not believe that he can have the opportunity to quibbling when he can’t speak or write.”
“OK,” Leng Shuang took the order and wanted to leave, but when she turned her head, she was called by Qin Yunuan.
Leng Shuang turned back. Qin Yunuan told her softly, “Be careful.” Leng Shuang felt that her heart went soft. Having learned martial arts for so many years, she had always been strictly treated by her master. Qin Yunuan was the first person to tell her to be careful. Now, while they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, the words from Qin Yunuan still made her heart warm.
After dealing with the eavesdropping thief, the rest three people curtseyed officially to Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi. Yuanyang used to be capable and experienced, and now she was more decisive and thinner. Maner and Ting Xue didn’t change, but their skin became darker. Also, their eyes were not as squeamish as the ones of those maids in prominent families. It was really hard for the four women to come all the way here.
After the greeting, Maner couldn’t help asking, “Madam, Leng Wu… Do you have any message about Leng Wu?”
At this moment, there came a haste footstep outside the camp. A familiar voice came, “General, is Maner really found?”
