As mid-winter approached, the cold northern wind grew fierce.
The cold in the south differs from the north; the air is damp and chilly, seeping into one’s bones. Standing outside would leave one’s face stiff and frozen. The dungeon of the Nine Layers Pagoda was even worse; water droplets on the walls had turned to frost. With iron windows at both ends of the corridor, the wind blew through, chilling to the bone.
Huo Xian sat by the prison gate, draped in a black fox fur cloak, exuding an air of nobility. One leg was propped up, reminiscent of his arrogant stance during interrogations in the imperial prison.
However, the young man inside the cell was not to be outdone. He met Huo Xian’s gaze with calm eyes that concealed a brewing hostility.
This was Wei Rao, the beggar Ji Yuluo had brought back.
The two silently confronted each other, the cold atmosphere causing even Nanyue to shrink back slightly.
This Young Master Wei was quite troublesome. Normally silent, his temper was fierce, and he would fight at the slightest disagreement, showing no mercy. In just a few months, he had caused numerous incidents.
This time was even more serious. For some unknown reason, he had clashed with Feng Chong, the branch manager, and had stabbed him in the abdomen with a dagger. The blood flowed freely, and after being restrained, he was thrown into the dungeon.
The master didn’t need to come personally, but since he had taken him as an apprentice, he treated him differently.
However, despite taking him as an apprentice, in the past three months, the master hadn’t taught him anything. On good days, he would have him chop wood in the backyard, and on bad days, he would pretend not to see him. He would rather guide Chaolu than teach Wei Rao a single word. Now, even the young girl Chaolu had made considerable progress in her skills.
Huo Xian stood up, adjusted his cloak collar, and said coldly, “Take him out and send him back.”
With that, he walked out of the Nine Layers Pagoda towards the waterside pavilion.
On the way, Nanyue couldn’t help but say, “Master doesn’t like him. Why not send him away? Why let him trouble you? Every time he causes trouble, those people blame you. The lady has really given you a troublesome burden.”
Huo Xian replied, “Who said I don’t like him?”
He glanced at the boy being escorted ahead and said, “Look at him, tall and strong, a good martial arts prospect, and fierce enough. Jianghu men should be fierce and strong.”
One had to admit, Ji Yuluo had a sharp eye. This boy was like a wolf; if trained well, he could become a capable and reliable aide.
Huo Xian had grander ambitions. He hoped that Wei Rao would one day replace Ji Yuluo, so she wouldn’t disappear for days on end. Tsk.
Nanyue sighed, “Then why don’t you teach him martial arts?”
Huo Xian said, “Being too fierce isn’t good either. Let him temper his temper first.”
When Wei Rao returned, he was hung upside down from a tree. In the cold wind, his face turned purple. But Huo Xian, being the cruel person he was, sat under the sun with a chair, warming himself by a fire while poking Wei Rao with a bamboo stick.
He poked him around in circles, and even had his shoes removed to tickle his feet with a feather.
Wei Rao had suffered all kinds of humiliation since childhood. Beating or killing was one thing, but he had never encountered such an ordeal.
His face turned from purple to red and back again. He shouted angrily, “I did nothing wrong! He stole my stuff, so why shouldn’t I kill him?”
“Of course you were wrong,” Huo Xian said.
A voice came from behind, and Huo Xian smiled faintly. Without even turning his head, he knew it was Ji Yuluo who had returned.
She lazily said, “Your mistake was… acting in front of others, giving them something to hold against you. You should have waited for a dark and windy night to stab him and hang him from the tower’s peak. That would make them fear you.”
Her words were crude, but not wrong.
Huo Xian took a sip of hot tea and nodded with a smile, “Precisely.”
The young man watched the couple, his face pale, but he had nothing to say.
Huo Xian pulled Ji Yuluo to sit on the armrest of his chair, repeatedly holding her hand, “So cold.”
He handed her the hot tea.
Ji Yuluo took it as usual, sipped it, and said, “Your hands are just too warm.”
But not only were her hands cold, her lips were also pale.
Huo Xian thought it was too cold here, so he pulled her inside.
Ji Yuluo looked back and asked, “What about him?”
Huo Xian replied, “Let him hang a bit longer to drain the water from his brain. How could he be so stupid?”
Wei Rao: “…”
Back in the inner chamber, the maid lit the charcoal fire.
After lunch, Ji Yuluo changed into something comfortable and nestled on the soft couch, refusing to move.
Huo Xian rarely saw her being lazy and asked, “Nothing to keep you busy today?”
Ji Yuluo, hugging a blanket to her chest, said, “Didn’t you say that those who pull the strings from behind need not handle everything personally?”
Huo Xian smiled at her words. But how could she be so obedient? Usually, if he didn’t go to the Nine-Tiered Tower to catch her, she could stay away from home for days on end.
Just as he was about to take the opportunity to reprimand her a bit, Nanyue knocked on the door, “Master.”
Huo Xian glanced at Ji Yuluo before getting up to leave.
Ji Yuluo raised her eyes slightly. Though she didn’t ask, she wasn’t completely ignorant of Huo Xian’s daily activities. This person seemed to be idle every day, but in reality, he still had ties with the Jinyiwei. Not only with the Jinyiwei, but he also had a pile of secret letters on his desk from various court officials.
Thinking about it, no one should be more aware of the court’s machinations than he was.
At first, Ji Yuluo thought he had the intention of returning to the court and spent several days in anxiety, not daring to ask him.
She feared that asking would instead give him a chance to leave.
Indeed, she was selfish. After much deliberation, she still couldn’t bear to let him go.
Tossing and turning at night, before Ji Yuluo could gather her thoughts, a large hand encircled her body, making her unable to move.
Huo Xian held her, speaking leisurely from behind, “In the autumn, Huo Cong got married. His health is poor, and the military power of the Huo family is too heavy for him to bear. In the future, they can only hope his new wife will bear several children.”
It was an ordinary statement, but Ji Yuluo, being clever, quickly understood his meaning.
From Huo Cong to his sons, it would take at least a decade or more, during which anything could happen. If something were to go wrong with the Huo family during this time, no one could bear the consequences.
There must be preparations made in advance.
He was doing this to pave the way for the future of a child who might or might not be successful, rather than planning his return to the court.
Ji Yuluo felt somewhat reassured by his words, but after a moment of silence, she still turned around and touched his face, asking, “What about you?”
Huo Xian seemed helpless and sighed.
He said, “Ji Yuluo, why don’t you just tie me up? Would that make you feel at ease?”
Feeling exposed and vulnerable, Ji Yuluo blushed.
Huo Xian pressed her hand against his cheek, saying, “I stopped liking that place a long time ago.”
Thinking of this, Ji Yuluo lowered her head and smiled. Suddenly, a pain shot through her shoulder, and she tightened the blanket around her.
The room was warm with the burning charcoal, making it easy to feel lazy and drowsy.
Listening to the low whispers between Huo Xian and Nanyue outside the window, Ji Yuluo closed her eyes for a short nap on the soft couch. When she reopened them, she found Huo Xian standing by the bedside, looking down at her. She couldn’t tell how long he had been standing there.
Startled, Ji Yuluo opened her eyes wide. As she tried to get up, she tugged at the wound on her shoulder, gasping in pain. She noticed her clothes had been changed and the bandages were new.
Seeing the usually confident face looking guilty for once, Huo Xian sneered and sat on a stool, “You hid it well.”
The wound was from a knife, not deep but dangerously close to a vital point, a hair’s breadth could have been fatal.
For someone like Ji Yuluo, who didn’t engage in much activity, minor injuries were common. Normally, she wouldn’t have hidden it from Huo Xian, but for some reason, she instinctively chose to hide it this time.
Now, she felt a bit guilty.
“I—”
“Don’t talk, drink the medicine.” Huo Xian brought over a bowl of medicinal soup, lifted her up, and handed her the bowl, speaking gently, “It’s nothing, just a minor injury. Drink the medicine, rest for a few days, and you’ll be fine, right?”
His tone was so kind, yet every word seemed designed to choke Ji Yuluo.
Seeing him smile so warmly, Ji Yuluo knew he must be very frustrated inside.
Feeling at a disadvantage, Ji Yuluo took the medicine from him. The moment the bowl left her hand, Huo Xian stood up abruptly and walked away.
The wind from his sleeves hit Ji Yuluo’s face.
“……”
She closed her eyes helplessly.
By nightfall, Huo Xian had still not returned.
Ji Yuluo walked barefoot on the rug, pacing a few steps before she couldn’t resist going to the window. She opened it to see that the study across the way was still lit, with Nanyue standing guard outside, leaning on a pillar with his sword in hand.
She cleared her throat, and Nanyue, shaking off his drowsiness, came over and asked, “Madam, what’s the matter?”
Ji Yuluo lifted her chin, pointing across the way, “What’s keeping him so busy?”
Nanyue scratched his head, glanced back slowly, and then lowered his voice, “The master said, if you asked, you should rest first.”
Ji Yuluo fell silent. “Understood.”
To her surprise, the next morning, Huo Xian was still cold and indifferent. No matter what she said, he responded, but his tone remained strangely sarcastic. Despite this, he gently placed a piece of meat in her bowl, saying, “Take the opportunity to nourish yourself while you’re recovering.”
In the afternoon, he had a doctor check her wound and assigned someone to monitor her medication changes. Yet, he didn’t show up himself and instead went straight to discipline his disobedient young apprentice.
Wei Rao was particularly unfortunate. Yesterday, because Huo Xian was preoccupied with Ji Yuluo’s injury, he was left hanging from a tree all night. When Nanyue passed by in the morning and noticed, he hurriedly let him down.
After that night, Wei Rao had a lot to think about.
Initially, he thought Huo Xian was just like any other, lecturing him insincerely. However, what Huo Xian said to Ji Yuluo made sense. Moreover, observing Huo Xian’s skillful guidance in martial arts in recent days, he realized Huo Xian was not an ordinary man. Wei Rao decided to learn from him.
To his dismay, despite behaving properly today, that lunatic turned around and had him strung up again!
Wei Rao was so angry he couldn’t speak, his narrow, phoenix eyes glaring directly at Huo Xian.
Huo Xian leaned his elbow on the armrest, supporting his head, with a cat nestled at his feet to keep warm. Clearly in a bad mood, he mischievously stepped on the cat’s tail, preventing it from moving, making it meow pitifully.
With a sly grin, he said to Wei Rao, “How does it feel? Angry, right?”
Wei Rao remained silent.
Huo Xian sighed dramatically, “So what? You still can’t beat me. See, I can hang you up, and you can’t even run.”
The young man was so furious that his breathing became heavy, unaware that this was just the beginning.
Over the next few days, Huo Xian seemed to be suffering from a strange affliction, waking up before dawn each day and immediately seeking to trouble Wei Rao. He made Wei Rao practice stances under the tree or chop firewood in the shed.
