chapter 3

I thought I would never see Cheng Jia and the others again.

Who would have thought that, that very night, he would show up alone, carrying his cousin on his back, covered in blood, and collapse outside the Yurt of my home.

I was startled and dragged them inside.

Grandfather objected, his beard bristling and eyes glaring, and we got into an argument-

“Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs, Little Ah Li. We swore before, never to dig graves for anyone again. Life and death are their own fate.”

I knew he was once bitten, twice shy, so I quickly said, “Grandfather, don’t worry. I won’t dig any graves. But since they’ve collapsed at our doorstep, we can’t just watch them die.”

Grandfather snorted, “Fine, but make sure they leave first thing in the morning.”

Inside the Yurt, a room was separated by a curtain. I brought water and cleaned Cheng Jia and his cousin, then applied medicine to their wounds.

Cheng Jia was better off; aside from a deep knife wound on his shoulder, the rest weren’t too serious.

His cousin was much worse. The wound had festered into a blackish-purple, and he was unconscious. The ashen look on his face was the corpse aura of someone near death.

He was doomed, beyond saving.

I sighed, finding it strange, because his cousin’s injuries weren’t just knife wounds-he was clearly poisoned as well.

The Wusun People, when robbing and killing, always acted directly. They looked down on Central Plains Person, never used poison, nor did they pursue and kill after seizing goods, intent on wiping out survivors.

That night, I stepped out of the house, leapt onto the roof of the Yurt in the night wind, and shook the Red Stone Bead Bracelet on my wrist.

The bracelet jingled, the sound faint and crisp. In the distance, the mountains were shrouded in mist and clouds, the fog gathering and surging around the lake, slowly dissipating into the night.

This was the Illusion Technique-no one could find my home.

Afterwards, I decocted medicine and forced Cheng Jia to drink a bowl.

As for his cousin, since he was beyond saving, I didn’t bother further.

Cheng Jia’s clothes were soaked in blood and filthy, so I went to Grandfather for a clean set.

Grandfather snorted, unwilling to pay me any mind, so I took one of his Lapel Robe Hu Clothing myself.

That night, Cheng Jia slept restlessly. Whatever nightmares he had, he broke out in cold sweat, muttering one name over and over.

“Zhou Yuanheng, Zhou Yuanheng, I killed you…” He was trapped in a nightmare, grinding his teeth in hatred.

I thought, he must truly hate that man.