Chapter 36 of Volume One: All Wounds Can Be Healed

  Returned to the room in a daze, as soon as I lay down on the bed, my whole body suddenly felt like it had fallen apart, with soreness, fatigue, and sharp pain all surging up at once. The small wound on my neck was now negligible.

  There were several familiar faces appearing in front of me, Yuwei's surprised and frightened cries, Jinniang's worried sighs, and Lingyi's angry and worried face. I closed my eyes, too lazy to bother with him again.

  A rustling sound came from rummaging through boxes and cabinets, Ling Yi said in a low voice: "Where is Bing Rou?"

  Jin Niang hastily said: "It's Miss who has put it away!"

  A warm hand reached into the small pocket I had newly sewn in my bosom, and I hastily opened my eyes to find it was Jin Niang. Only she knew that I had sewn such a small pocket inside several of my usual clothes.

  "No, it's too wasteful!" I hastily intervened. That was what I had kept for future emergencies to save my life, and now it was being used to treat this minor injury, what a pity!

  Ling Yi glanced at me and took the small porcelain bottle from Jin Niang's hand, unscrewing the lid. He wouldn't think of applying the medicine himself, would he? I stared at him in horror.

  Jin Niang awkwardly said: "Fort Master, let me do it instead. Yu Wei has gone to fetch water and we need to clean the dirt from the wound first."

  Ling Yi was stunned for a while, then said in a low voice: "Why are you always so stubborn? If you want this medicine, I'll find another bottle for you another day." After saying that, he handed the medicine bottle back to Jin Niang and turned to leave.

  I let out a breath and didn't take his words to heart, half-propping myself up and discussing with Jin Niang: "Jin Niang, this medicine is too precious, let's change to another kind."

  "Miss, just go along with what the castle owner wants, you know." Jin Niang sighed and said.

  I lay back in bed with a thud, bumping the wound on my back and furrowing my brow. Alas, this body is not under my control after all!

  I closed my eyes. Ren Jinniang used a warm towel to clean and wipe the bruises all over my body. A thread of deep pain penetrated into my muscles, I gritted my teeth and frowned, enduring it.

  "Miss, does it hurt?" Jin Niang asked softly and carefully.

  "It hurts. How can it not hurt!" I sighed. But no matter how much it hurts, it's nothing compared to heartache!

  "Alas! I don't know why Master Bao wants to take you to the council hall!" Jin Niang whispered in complaint.

  "Yes. Can't you just lock me up and be done with it?" I muttered in frustration.

  "Miss, I didn't mean it that way." Jin Niang hastily explained.

  "Jin Niang, I wasn't talking about you!" I recalled tonight's experience, why did Ling Yi want to take me to see this play? Was it to remind me not to easily get close to the other people in Furong Fortress? Otherwise, what does this spy have to do with me? Does he know that I've seen the refining scene of Furong Gao and is afraid that I'll reveal his secret to others?

  But I really didn't expect that Fei Qingyun, who is usually gentle and elegant with clear eyes, would actually be a traitor. No, he shouldn't be called a traitor, it's more fitting to call him an undercover agent. The young master of the Red Eagle Manor actually lowered his status to become a small door guest in Furuong Fortress. The allure of Furuong cream is really not ordinary.

  I recalled what Fei Qingyun said to me before he left, and I was puzzled. Why would he be so good to me? Would he definitely come back for me? Was it because I saved him? Could it be that simple? My sensitive nerves started acting up again. When someone treats you exceptionally well without reason, there must be a motive. There's no free lunch in this world, and no pie falls from the sky just like that. Did he like me? I immediately rejected my own foolish thoughts and couldn't help but sneer at my own weak explanation. So why was it? Was it because I really met a good person? But didn't he know that my current identity is as the lady of Furen Fortress? And I'm not some poor little slave girl who needs his rescue, so why?

  My mind was completely muddled, forget it, if he really wants to save me, I'll just ask him directly. A cool thing had been applied to the wound, and a familiar fragrance wafted up, my heart ached for that small bottle of Ice Muscle Dew, drowsiness hit, and I fell asleep in a daze.

  In the following days, I stayed in my room honestly. Ling Yi didn't comment on my behavior that night, probably because I was "doing something wrong and feeling guilty" myself, always afraid of being seen through. But he came to see me every day for several days, and only then did my heart calm down a little.

  He seemed to have forgotten that night's confrontation with me, and I didn't want to take the initiative to break this superficial harmony again. However, every time he saw me, his eyes no longer directly revealed his emotions like before, but instead carried some inquiry and doubt. This made me always nervously guess whether he had seen through my intentions that night. If he were to confirm that I wanted to escape and recklessly detain me, my original escape plan would be ruined. The result of startling the snake in the grass was undoubtedly terrifying. I regretted my impulsiveness that night. If I lost all future opportunities, I could only become a sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

  My words are a bit harsh, but for me, being swapped again or him not finding a body to swap me into would be my doomsday. Although during this period of time, I've started to understand him more deeply and found that he's not as evil as I initially imagined, and even felt some sympathy towards him, but I still don't dare to put my life and future in his hands.

  So I'll just carefully maintain this fragile cooperative relationship for now, I still have a chance to escape, don't I?

  Hong Gu heard about what happened that night, and for the past few days she came to see me. With her straightforward and outgoing personality, she was naturally indignant on my behalf towards Fei Qingyun. I accompanied her in scolding Fei Qingyun, accusing him of deceiving our pure friendship. In the end, we exchanged a knowing smile and from then on never mentioned that name again, as if that person had never existed.

  The wound on my body was just a superficial injury, and with the miraculous medicine of Ice Muscle Dew, it would have healed in three or four days. The sword scar on my neck actually healed the fastest, I kept looking at myself in the mirror, but couldn't find any trace of the injury. Alas, that poor bottle of Ice Muscle Dew was almost empty, yet I still treasured it and hid it away.

  For three or four days, I haven't gone out. I've been itching all over my body and silently counting the days in my heart. Today is already the 22nd day. In the blink of an eye, I've spent half a month in this space-time. There are still two months left before the deadline of 81 days. Although my escape plan hasn't even started yet, I'm more convinced that the route I chose at first was not wrong. Since Fei Qingyun could escape from the back mountain cliff despite being injured, it means that place is definitely not a dead end. My heart is filled with excitement and eagerness to try.

  I was thinking about the hook ring and pulley that Lu Dashi made for me, just as I was about to go out to return to Wuwuyuan, when I heard Ruwei exclaiming outside: "Ah, where did this dirty cat come from!"

  As soon as I opened the door, I saw Ruo Wei jumping under the big banyan tree in the yard. Under the huge roots of the banyan tree, a ball of gray and fluffy thing was crawling.

  If you use your toes to slightly disgustingly poke at it, the fluffy thing makes a faint "whooshing" sound that is almost inaudible.

  It really is a cat, I hastily stopped Yuwei and walked up. This poor little thing was curled up into a ball, thin and dirty, with grey fur all over its body, making it impossible to tell its original color. Its two ears were folded down, not standing upright like normal cats.

  As I walked in, the little cat suddenly lifted its head, a pair of eyes as black as gemstones stared straight at me. I was stunned and stood there, is it a cat? Why can its eyes reveal emotions? I felt that the little cat obviously shrank back, is it afraid of me?

  I suddenly remembered the black shadow that I kicked with one foot that night, and the miserable cry that still sounds like a cat's cry now. Is it? Was it the little thing that I kicked that night? A wave of inexpressible guilt surged up in my heart, and I immediately stepped forward quickly, squatting down in front of it.

  "I don't know where it came from either, miss. Shall I go get some water to wash it?" suggested Jo.

  This little girl is quite perceptive, just now she was calling it dirty, but immediately changed. I didn't respond to her, and gently stretched out my right hand to pet the kitten. Its thin body felt a bit cold, but I could clearly feel its warmth and trembling, my heart softened, so I picked it up.

  I held it in my hands, and it shook even more violently. I felt something damp on the palm of my hand. When I opened my palm to look, ah, it was injured. Although the wound had stopped bleeding, it had already become festering and rotten.

  I hastily ordered Ruo Wei to prepare water and clean towels, while I myself held the kitten and rushed back to the room.

  The door creaked open and I almost bumped into Jin Niang, who was coming out. I didn't have time to think about it and hastily called out to her: "Jin Niang, come quickly and help me."

  Jin Niang frowned and looked at the little cat in my hand, then looked at me again without saying a word. She followed me in and put a clean cushion on the table. I placed the kitten on it and gently pried open its curled up limbs. My heart skipped a beat as I saw that its body was covered in wounds, some of which had already scabbed over while others were festering. Good heavens, could this be the result of my kick that night?!

  Ruth had already prepared the water, I used a damp cloth with water to gently wipe the kitten's wound. It was so weak and tiny, I don't know if it was its helpless eyes that touched me earlier, anyway, there was only one thought in my mind - can't let it die!

  Finally finished treating the wound, I took out the 'Ice Muscle Dew' from my bosom, unscrewed the cap and was about to apply the medicine to the kitten.

  "Miss." Jin Niang dropped the handkerchief and spoke up to stop me, "I'll go find some golden wound medicine instead, Ice Muscle Dew is too expensive."

  I put down the medicine and looked at Jin Niang, saying softly but solemnly: "Jin Niang, it is also a life, why can I use it, but it cannot?"

  "Miss, it's different," Jin Niang hastily said.

  I shook my head at her and said in a low voice, "No, Jin Niang, for me, I am the same as it."

  Jin Niang was stunned and suddenly lost her words. After a long time, she lightly sighed and shook her head.

  I smiled at her and carefully applied the medicine to the kitten, which was still trembling lightly in my hand, but the eyes looking at me no longer had fear.