With a “creak—”, the wooden barn door was gently pushed open, then immediately closed.
A bean-sized drop of cold sweat rolled down from Pei Yan’s temple.
The newcomer’s footsteps seemed to pause for a moment at the door, and then, with a clear objective, he strode quickly toward the haystack where he was hiding.
Pei Yan held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
However, nothing happened. Surprised, Pei Yan raised his head, only to freeze.
The newcomer was actually that quiet youth.
His gaze, sharp as an icicle, pierced Pei Yan’s face, as if he might draw his blade and end his life at any moment.
Indeed, Bai Heting was furious. Once that fire burned out completely, the reinforcements would discover that there were no children’s bones in the ruins, and a carpet search would be launched in full force. Yet this foolish brat had absolutely no awareness of counter-tracking; he had left a trail of footprints all across the fields as if practically screaming to the world that a child was hiding here.
But right now, he had no time to teach the brat a lesson.
Bai Heting rushed back to the barn door, but before he could flatten himself against the wall, another person pushed the door open and entered. That person’s reflexes were not slow; the moment Bai Heting struck; he immediately guarded the vital areas of his neck.
However, the appearance of the attacker caused him to hesitate for a fraction of a second.
Bai Heting did not miss this flaw, thrusting his knife toward the man’s heart once again—
Only to be shoved from behind.
Bai Heting bit down hard on his lower lip in sheer frustration, anger surging up in him.
They had only been fighting for a brief few seconds, yet that brat had actually run out on his own.
*
Pei Yan ran aimlessly through the fields, completely disoriented and losing all sense of direction.
He and that youth were complete strangers; how could the other party possibly come to his rescue for no reason at all?
The sudden disaster that had wiped out his family had already stretched his nerves to their absolute limit. From yesterday evening until this morning, he had not a single drop of water or a grain of rice, holding out until now entirely by force of will. Now that his mind was in chaos, his steps were no longer steady. Suddenly, his foot failed to find solid ground, his ankle twisted, and his body lost its balance—
He even lost one of his shoes in the fall.
Sprawled on the ground, Pei Yan panted heavily, his mouth and throat dry and parched. Before he could even manage to rise, his heart suddenly sank with a jolt.
He looked back.
A strange man was galloping toward him on horseback, the long sword in his hand reflecting the dazzling light of the morning sun.
“There’s no escape.”
This was the only thought left in Pei Yan’s mind.
But everything that happened next occurred in the blink of an eye.
Someone grabbed him by the back of his collar.
His body yanked into a powerful embrace.
The person holding him spun around, lowering their head and bending at the waist—
Shielding his entire body underneath them as they fell heavily to their knees on the ground.
*
The youth had run as fast as an arrow leaving a bowstring; the cavalryman had not even noticed where he had sprung out from. He wheeled his horse around, utterly dumbfounded the moment he saw the youth’s face, “You… why are you—”
Bai Heting gritted his teeth and threw the dagger in his hand, choking the remaining half of the sentence back into the man’s throat. Even by the time he led the cavalryman’s horseback, the child kneeling on the ground still looked completely shaken.
Bai Heting asked while looking down at him, “Are you still running?”
Pei Yan panted heavily, his dark eyes wide and round, unable to speak.
Patting the horse’s back, Bai Heting asked again, “Do you know how to ride?”
Pei Yan’s gaze slowly focused, finally landing on the youth’s right shoulder. He murmured, “Your back…”
Just now, this youth had actually used his own flesh and blood to block a blade for him. The spreading crimson had already crawled up to his front collar, making his complexion look increasingly pale.
Ignoring the wound on his back shoulder, Bai Heting merely repeated his previous question, “I asked you, do you know how to ride a horse.”
His tone dropped, carrying a distinct note of impatience. Pei Yan’s legs were still weak, but his mind had finally cleared. Staggering to his feet, he seized the reins with both hands, nudged the horse’s flanks with a few quick kicks, and nimbly pulled himself up into the saddle.
Bai Heting also stepped into the stirrup and mounted the horse.
Keeping a slight distance from the troublesome brat seated in front of him, he issued a cold warning, “Hold on tight.”
