Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six

Yin Ruyun's eyelashes fluttered gently, and she slowly opened her eyes, meeting the gaze of Yang Yaozong, which was filled with pleasant surprise and deep concern.

"You're awake. Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" Yang Yaozong asked in a rush, afraid that Yin Ruyun might slip back into unconsciousness.

Hearing Yang Yaozong's question, Liao Qiniang also looked over at Yin Ruyun with concern. When she saw the bare-chested Yang Yaozong tightly embracing the stark-naked Yin Ruyun, she hurriedly and self-consciously turned her head away.

Yin Ruyun shook her head slightly, making a strenuous and feeble effort to speak. "When we fell, I used my inner energy to protect my entire body. It must be that my strength is completely exhausted..." Before she could finish, she suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing, followed by a mouthful of fresh blood.

Putting aside her shyness, Liao Qiniang hurried to Yang Yaozong's side to check on Yin Ruyun's condition. Although Liao Qiniang's martial arts could not compare to Yin Ruyun's, she was nonetheless a top-tier expert in the pugilistic world, and most experts like her possessed at least a rudimentary knowledge of medicine.

After Liao Qiniang carefully took Yin Ruyun's pulse, she looked up to see tears brimming in Yang Yaozong's eyes. Then, gazing at the weak, pale, and bloodless face of Yin Ruyun, she offered a soft word of comfort, "You have sustained internal injuries. Once we descend the mountain, find a good physician to recuperate, and rest for a period of time, you should be fine." With that, she picked up the dried undergarment and began dressing Yin Ruyun.

Only then did Yin Ruyun realize she was lying completely bare in Yang Yaozong's arms. She tried to rise from his embrace, but could not summon even an ounce of strength. Her bloodless, delicate face was stained with a flush of bashfulness.

Yang Yaozong took the garment from Liao Qiniang's hands and said, "Let me do it."

Liao Qiniang nodded, stood up, and began drying the rest of Yin Ruyun's clothes.

As Yang Yaozong dressed Yin Ruyun in her undergarment, he spoke in a tender voice, "You must tell me if anything feels uncomfortable. The moment we go down the mountain, we will return straight to the capital. Xin'er and Yijun will definitely heal you." Glancing at Yin Ruyun, who was frowning as if she had something to say, Yang Yaozong continued, "I know what you are going to say, but I cannot let you have your way this time. Unless you kill me, you must listen to me." His tone allowed no room for objection.

Yang Yaozong kissed Yin Ruyun's tear-streaked, beautiful eyes, gently wiping away her tears as he spoke with tenderness, "I believe Xin'er will not mind. In short, I will handle everything; you need not worry."

From what Yang Yaozong had said to Yin Ruyun, Liao Qiniang could guess that the two were likely not husband and wife. Yet Yin Ruyun had risked her life to protect Yang Yaozong and had even protected her, which truly made her feel both admirable and moving. At this moment, she completely forgot that when she jumped off the cliff, she had intended to cushion Yang Yaozong's fall by hitting the water first to lessen the impact of the deep pool. She had entirely forgotten that she, too, had leaped off the cliff to protect Yang Yaozong.

Taking another piece of clothing from Liao Qiniang's hands, Yang Yaozong draped it over Yin Ruyun, who had slipped back into unconsciousness, and said, "Qiniang, tomorrow you should reorganize the brothers under your command and have them return to the capital alongside General Qin. If any wish to stay at the mountaintop stronghold, let them join the elderly, women, and children of the stronghold to settle there temporarily. I will have General Qin leave enough provisions for the stronghold, and when the weather warms up next year, I will make arrangements for their permanent settlement."

Liao Qiniang wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded heavily.

Yang Yaozong nodded as well and asked, "And... what about you? What are your plans?"

After a moment of contemplation, Liao Qiniang replied, "I will hand the brothers over to Xiong, and let him lead them to follow General Qin's commands. The elderly, women, and children on the stronghold are all like my own family; I will stay behind to take care of them."

Staring intently at Liao Qiniang, Yang Yaozong asked, "Is that your only plan?"

Liao Qiniang looked at Yang Yaozong, letting out a soft "Huh?", somewhat puzzled as to why he would ask such a question.

"When do you plan to come find me? Or when do you plan to let me come find you?" Yang Yaozong followed up immediately.

Instantly, Liao Qiniang's face turned beet red. She averted her gaze from Yang Yaozong, glanced at Yin Ruyun who was still sleeping soundly in his arms, and picked up another piece of clothing to dry in order to mask her lingering nervousness. With a somewhat desolate tone, she said, "You are the Grand Preceptor to the Imperial Grandson, a high-ranking official of the imperial court. And I am a widow, as well as a bandit chieftain."

Yang Yaozong let out a dry, awkward chuckle. "Grand Preceptor to the Imperial Grandson? Well... that is indeed a fact. You must have heard of Nangong Qingyi, right?"

Liao Qiniang nodded. Though she didn't know why Yang Yaozong was bringing up Nangong Qingyi, she still said with a trace of admiration, "She is the female chancellor of Great Zhou. You... must be very close to her!"

Yang Yaozong raised an eyebrow and chuckled heartily, "Close, of course we're close. Well... I am her matrilocal husband." His tone was remarkably casual.

Thinking she had heard wrong, Liao Qiniang stared at Yang Yaozong in astonishment.

Meeting Liao Qiniang's incredulous gaze, Yang Yaozong said airily, "I am also the Prince Consort of Great Zhou! However, not many people know about this. Nangong Qingyi has been stationed at the border and doesn't know either; I only married the princess right before heading north." Looking at Liao Qiniang's deepening shock, Yang Yaozong lowered his head to gaze tenderly at the sleeping Yin Ruyun, then raised his eyes back to Liao Qiniang and continued, "You probably don't know her name yet. Her name is Yin Ruyun; she is of the Miao ethnic group, and the Left Protector of a mysterious Miao sect. Ah, and there's her younger sister as well—her sister's name is Yin Ruyxin, who is the Holy Maiden of this sect. And both of them are my women."

Seeing that Liao Qiniang was too stunned to speak and had completely forgotten that she was still drying a piece of clothing over the fire, Yang Yaozong knew this reaction would happen. He smiled helplessly and said, "The clothes!"

"Huh?"

"They're catching fire!"

"Ah!" Liao Qiniang hurriedly stomped out the burning corner and began patting at the black ash staining the garment. Flustered and frantic, she completely lost her usual capable demeanor.

With a smile, Yang Yaozong said, "I am not a fool; I know why you jumped off that cliff. Even though you didn't say it when I asked, I knew that in such a short span of time, you had no time to weigh whether or not to jump. You jumped because you had me in your heart, believing my life was more important than your own, wanting to save me. That's why you followed me down. I am someone who has jumped from that height twice—the first time was to escape, to jump in order to live. This time, I jumped with the resolve to die. But seeing the two of you jump down along with me made me clearly realize one thing."

Pausing for a moment, Yang Yaozong stared steadily at Liao Qiniang, saying with ringing conviction, "Whatever is mine, I must cherish and hold onto tightly!" Then, breaking into a smile, he continued, "I don't need you to give me an answer right now. You see I have so many women, and I admit I am quite fickle, but I am sincere to every single one of them. I'm not sure when I started falling for you—perhaps the first time I followed you up the stronghold, or perhaps just now when you jumped down for me. In short, I want you to know that I have fallen for you! I don't care about your past; in fact, I'm afraid you might care that I have many women, and that I'm even a matrilocal husband!"

Liao Qiniang's heart pounded wildly from Yang Yaozong's series of confessions. She could tell that every word Yang Yaozong spoke came from the heart, yet she still cared about her own background—for the first time, she cared so deeply about her identity. With misty eyes and a bashful expression, she murmured, "I... still plan to stay at the stronghold with my father for a little while."

Yang Yaozong nodded and smiled. "It's a deal then! Only for a little while, alright?"

Ever since Yang Yaozong had escaped, his figure had been deeply engraved in her heart, making him the object of her day and night yearning, haunting her dreams. It had once led her to believe she was a shameless woman. Meeting Yang Yaozong again, she even felt for a fleeting second that she was dreaming, and secretly pinched herself hard, wishing to use the pain to confirm whether all of this before her eyes was real. Now, Yang Yaozong's confession made her feel that happiness had arrived too quickly and too suddenly, yet it also brought surging to the surface complex factors she had never previously considered or cared about. (To be continued.)