Chapter 68
Chapter 68
“It was a joke.” Shengsheng gave a dry laugh.
Rong stretched her mouth into a smile that was not a smile.
Did the child honestly think that was funny?
With a sigh, Shengsheng jumped down and approached her. “You’re Auntie Rong Li, right?”
Rong fell silent.
She might remain unmarried, but was “Auntie” truly necessary?
Apparently realizing how outrageously familiar she sounded, Shengsheng rubbed her nose. “I’m Shengsheng Zhou’s younger sister. My name is Dafu Zhou.”
Rong had suffered too many shocks today.
She was exhausted.
No wonder the child looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, even the red mole beneath her eye exactly matched the face of the little palace maid in Rong’s memory.
“Does your elder sister… know you’ve become a bandit?”
A crazed possibility entered Rong’s mind. Could Shengsheng hate His Majesty so much that she had sent her own sister to rebel in the territory of her former employer?
One sister excelled beyond compare as a palace maid. The other swept all before her as a bandit.
What had the Zhou family endured to raise two daughters cursed with such talent?
Shengsheng smiled. “She probably doesn’t know.”
None of this had anything to do with Shengsheng Zhou! They could take their complaints to Dafu Zhou.
Her disguise safely in place, Shengsheng showered Rong with boundless goodwill.
Because of their “old acquaintance,” and because Rong was genuinely anxious, she revealed Siran’s whereabouts.
Her answer was: “I don’t know.”
She had become separated from His Majesty and had no idea where he was. She was grateful he had not fallen into the trap, yet worried by his disappearance.
Shengsheng readily promised to handle it.
But when Rong asked to have her bonds removed, Shengsheng refused.
“Sorry, Auntie Rong. If you free the soldiers while I’m away and wipe out our whole nest, how could I answer to my brothers?”
Rong stared at her.
She had predicted Rong’s prediction.
* * *
Shengsheng herself had only recently arrived and remained unfamiliar with Mount Liang. The delicate work of finding someone naturally belonged to those who had spent years scrambling over these mountains.
Yet only half an hour after issuing the order, someone came to report.
Shengsheng hurried outside.
Two men lay side by side on the ground. The one on the left wore a sack, scarcely covered anything, offended the eyes, and had no sense of shame. She did not spare him a glance, walking straight to the armored man.
His head had taken a heavy blow. A large wound split his forehead, and blood still trickled from it.
Blood obscured his face, but it could not hide his exceptional good looks.
Shengsheng frowned at his rare state of disarray.
This man…
Had bled all night without dying?
She stared incredulously at the wound and once again marveled at the power of a male lead’s halo.
Women could bleed a week every month without dying. Apart from them, only Siran Ming could overcome such a biological disadvantage.
In her tiny body, Shengsheng could not possibly carry him. She had to trouble San Zhang to bring him inside.
San looked at the young man lying on the bed, forehead bandaged and handsome face clean of blood.
Were generals this competitive now?
First came the pretty female commander. Now here was another general so handsome he barely seemed mortal.
Fortunately, San was a eu–no, a thief.
Otherwise, how embarrassing would that be?
Shengsheng sat on a small stool beside the bed, watching Siran’s miserable state while happily eating cherry tomatoes one after another.
The eyelashes of the unconscious man suddenly trembled.
Shengsheng shoved the tomatoes beneath the bed with a single smooth, practiced motion.
Images flashed through Siran’s mind.
Red candles flickering in and out of darkness. A slender figure behind layer upon layer of crimson bed curtains…
Who was she?
The woman’s delicate face held a tender, indulgent smile. She smiled at him, his own reflection captured in her curving black eyes.
“Xiao Ming… Xiao Ming… Xiao Ming…”
“You’ve only lost your memories… You’ll regret this…”
“Xiao Ming… Let me grind your ink…”
“Xiao Ming?”
“Goodbye, Xiao Ming.”
The dream shattered.
Something broke through the shackles of space and time, stumbling forth with fierce, desperate hunger.
His mind snapped awake. Siran’s eyes flew open, and he gulped air like a drowning man breaking the surface.
“You’re awake,” said a child’s tender voice nearby.
Once he steadied himself, he turned toward it.
Shengsheng coughed. “Well, I am–”
Before she could finish, Siran crushed her in his arms.
His entire body shook. He held her like a precious treasure recovered after a lifetime of loss.
“Shengsheng…” Her name emerged in a hoarse voice laden with grief.
Shengsheng’s pupils contracted. She quickly recovered and pushed at him with both tiny hands.
Unfortunately, she was so weak that the rejection felt more like a caress.
Damn it. If she headbutted Siran now, he would probably die on the spot.
Helpless, she spoke, hoping her childish voice would make him release her.
“Big Brother, my name is Dafu Zhou. Shengsheng Zhou is my elder sister.”
If he had not been clutching her, she would have called him Uncle.
At her words, Siran’s grip suddenly loosened.
Delighted, Shengsheng wriggled free.
She had just tried to jump from his lap when he scooped her up again before her heels touched the floor.
Only then did Shengsheng truly see his eyes.
How could she describe them?
Like a wolf that had wandered the wilderness for years and finally found meat–greedy, ravenous, ready to pounce…
Did you think that was how she would put it?
No.
To Shengsheng, he looked like Zhu Bajie on the pilgrimage, finally permitted by some miracle to return to Gao Village and see his beloved Cuilan.
As though he had recovered what he lost, yet remained pitifully wronged.
Shengsheng abruptly understood.
“Xiao Ming?”
Siran answered softly. He placed her on the floor with exquisite care, as though afraid of hurting her.
Then he retreated several steps and kept his distance, not daring to come closer.
He watched her without blinking, as though she might disappear the next instant, but still refused to approach.
Shengsheng ignored his strange behavior. “How did you recognize me? I’ve shrunk this much.”
The tall, imposing man huddled pitifully in the corner. His eyes locked onto her like a wolf’s, yet his voice was weak.
“Your scent.”
Shengsheng stared.
The more he evolved, the more he resembled a dog.
She rubbed her forehead. Honestly, she had thought she would never see him again.
That little scoundrel A-Pang had sold her fake medicine!
No sooner did the thought arise than Siran stood.
His face turned dreadful, his eyes dark and vicious. “Are you going to throw me away again?”
“Can I?”
All his menace vanished.
“No,” he said softly.