ODF Chapter 26

The next morning, Shen Lingzhen energetically assigned roles for the drama they’d planned the night before.

When it came to Huo Liuxing’s situation, everyone was unusually united, setting aside past grievances to cooperate with her.

It began at breakfast, with the whole family gathered around the table. Everyone fussed over Shen Lingzhen, but none more conspicuously than Huo Liuxing, whose excessive concern: “With your forehead injured, how can you even hold chopsticks?”, stood out like a sore thumb.

After the meal, Huo Shuyi, who had been thoroughly ignored at the table, ran into Shen Lingzhen on her way back to her courtyard. She sneered that girls raised in wealthy households were just pampered and delicate.

Jian Jia, indignant, snapped back, which only fueled Huo Shuyi’s anger. The two sides quarreled fiercely, and in the end, Shen Lingzhen retreated, heartbroken, to her room.

That afternoon, feeling wronged, Shen Lingzhen ordered her servants to pack her things. She announced she would be leaving the Huo manor to stay at the Shen residence.

Yu Wanjiang, upon hearing the news, came to persuade her to stay. But when her efforts failed, she turned to Huo Liuxing and suggested that, given the unrest in the city, it was unreasonable to let Shen Lingzhen live alone at the Shen residence. It would be better if he accompanied her for a while to help her recover emotionally.

By evening, Huo Liuxing and Shen Lingzhen left the Huo manor as planned. After nightfall, using the chaos caused by refugee unrest as cover, they quietly slipped out of the Shen residence through a back alley and exited the city.

Since they were still within Qingzhou territory, Huo Liuxing couldn’t openly ride a horse. He and Shen Lingzhen traveled together in a carriage, omitting the use of his wheelchair.

Though the journey was official, Shen Lingzhen was in high spirits. She had expected to travel without her maid, but to her surprise, Huo Liuxing had considered her needs and personally approved Jian Jia to accompany them.

It was this small gesture that revealed something deeper to Shen Lingzhen.

Huo Liuxing’s journey would inevitably involve walking, and allowing her personal maid to join meant exposing the truth about his legs. His trust in her maid was a quiet but unmistakable sign of deeper acceptance toward her.

To make good time, the carriage sped along after leaving the city, bumping and jolting as it passed through rugged mountain roads.

As the carriage hit a deep rut, it jolted violently. Shen Lingzhen’s body suddenly felt weightless, and she shot upward with a start. Just as she braced herself for another “glorious injury,” her scalp brushed gently against a broad palm.

Startled, she looked up and saw Huo Liuxing holding his arm in the air, his hand wedged between her head and the carriage roof.

She quickly reached for his hand. “Did that hurt you?”

Huo Liuxing brushed her hand aside, maintaining his posture, and replied airily, “Do you think I’m you?”

“But holding your arm up like that must be tiring. I can brace myself, it’s fine.”

“You can’t.”

Huo Liuxing gave her a firm, dismissive glance. Sure enough, when the carriage hit another bump, Shen Lingzhen, gripping the handrail tightly, was still tossed upward, only to be saved by his steady hand.

She looked dejectedly at the man beside her, who sat like a mountain, unmoved by the chaos. “Why is it that you sit so steadily, and I can’t manage at all?”

“If you could manage everything, I’d have nothing to do.”

Shen Lingzhen glanced at him, then at the hand shielding her head, and couldn’t help but smile. “Husband, you’re so good to me.”

“Not bad,” he replied.

Huo Liuxing’s expression remained impassive, but he stole a glance at the curve of her smiling lips. That hand, as if encouraged, straightened itself even more dutifully.

They sped onward, from deep night to the first light of dawn, then into sunset, moonrise, and finally the break of day. After two full days and nights, the carriage was finally about to leave Qingzhou.

During those eighteen hours, Jingmo and Jian Jia took turns driving the carriage, switching horses three times. Huo Liuxing remained alert throughout, never sleeping, ears attuned to every sound. Shen Lingzhen, meanwhile, leaned against the carriage wall, drifting in and out of sleep. When hungry, she nibbled on dry rations; when thirsty, she drank from a water jug. By now, she was thoroughly exhausted.

When the carriage came to a sudden halt, she jolted awake and groggily asked, “Are we there?”

“We’re at the border between Qingzhou and the Dingbian Army’s territory. Just stopping for a rest.”

She immediately perked up. “Young Master, I came to help you, not to be a burden. You don’t need to delay the journey for me, let’s press on and enter the city in one go.”

Huo Liuxing shook his head with a faint smile. “It’s not that I’m deliberately accommodating you. We’re approaching White Leopard City, where the stationed troops are complicated and the situation unclear. Jingmo needs to scout ahead. Either way, we’ll be stuck here for a while. Taking the chance to rest isn’t a crime.”

Only then did Shen Lingzhen feel reassured enough to step down from the carriage. But the moment her feet touched the ground, dizziness overtook her, and her legs went numb like needles pricking her skin. She collapsed backward in a faint.

Huo Liuxing, waiting outside, caught her just in time and lifted her upright in his arms like a child.

Shen Lingzhen weakly clung to his belt for support. Huo Liuxing patted her back and held her by the shoulders, then turned to Jian Jia and instructed, “Go find some wild fruits nearby. Pick the ripe ones. If you can’t tell which are edible, bring them all, I’ll sort them.”

Jian Jia stared in shock at Huo Liuxing’s fully upright legs for a full five seconds, then glanced at Shen Lingzhen’s unsurprised expression. She quickly nodded and rushed off, still so stunned that she stumbled and nearly fell.

Shen Lingzhen rested her cheek against Huo Liuxing’s chest for a long while before the feeling returned to her legs. She finally stood up straight.

She looked up at the sky and around the area. It seemed to be nearing the hour of Chen[mfn]7-9am[/mfn]. They were in a densely shaded forest, with a narrow stream flowing gently ahead. The surroundings were pleasantly cool.

Huo Liuxing spread out his cloak on a flat patch by the stream and helped her sit down. Then he turned to fetch the water jug and walked to the stream to fill it.

After two nights and a day in the carriage, Shen Lingzhen found sitting even more exhausting. Seeing him walk away, she refused to stay put and followed him, asking, “Husband, won’t drinking mountain stream water upset your stomach?”

He pulled out the stopper and glanced back at her. “It won’t for me. You, on the other hand, should stick to the tea we brought.”

She nodded and crouched beside him, watching his movements. As the stream gurgled into the jug, she found it oddly fascinating. Suddenly, her vision darkened- a long, shadowy shape appeared before her eyes. Before she could react, Huo Liuxing swiftly covered her eyes with his hand.

A sharp “shhhk” sound rang out beside her ear.

Shen Lingzhen blinked blankly, her thick lashes brushing softly against Huo Liuxing’s palm. A vague sense of foreboding crept in, and she asked in a trembling voice, “Husband… what is this…”

Huo Liuxing kept one hand over her eyes while the other rinsed a thumb-width blade in the stream, washing away the fresh blood. Then, with a tree branch, he deftly flicked a snake, now severed in two, into the bushes across the stream.

Only after stowing the blade did he lower his hand. “It’s nothing.”

But Shen Lingzhen had already caught the metallic scent of blood in the air. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, and she bolted away, scurrying back to the cloak laid out by the stream. She sat down obediently, arms and legs tucked in, eyes wide and alert, scanning the surroundings for “enemy threats.”

Huo Liuxing nearly laughed but held it in. He sat down beside her. “With me here, what are you afraid of?”

Shen Lingzhen, pale-faced, shook her head to show she wasn’t afraid, though her eyes remained fixed on the ground nearby. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Huo Liuxing tilt his head to drink from the stream water and quickly stopped him. “Husband, there was a… how can you still drink that water?”

He was unfazed. “So what?”

She snatched the jug from him. “No, absolutely not. That water’s no good now. There’s still some tea in the carriage, I’ll go get it.”

Huo Liuxing grabbed her wrist and took the jug back. “Why fuss over nothing? Back when we were at war, dying of thirst, we’d find a river filled with corpses, soaked in blood and we’d still drink from it. This is nothing.”

Shen Lingzhen didn’t know why, but her nose stung at his words. She slowly sat back down and looked at him. “Husband… was your past very bitter?”

Huo Liuxing blinked calmly, not denying it. “When you’re born into chaos. it’s unavoidable.”

“When I was living in luxury in Bianjing, you were out there in blood and ruin, defending the country…” Shen Lingzhen lowered her gaze. “If only I’d met you sooner.”

“What difference would that make? You’d share your silks and delicacies with me?”

She nodded earnestly.

Huo Liuxing chuckled. “Then I’m afraid I wouldn’t accept your kindness.”

“Why?”

Ten years ago, the younger Huo Liuxing was all sharp edges and pride, he would never have swallowed his anger or accepted kindness from the daughter of an enemy.

If not for the hardships of the northern expedition, which taught him bitter lessons and wore down his arrogance, he might never have learned that in times of strife, failing to endure is a death sentence.

But instead of saying all this, Huo Liuxing offered a gentler excuse: “Because I was a wild one back then. If I’d seen a delicate little girl like you, I’d probably have tried to scare you with a grasshopper.”

Shen Lingzhen blinked, then burst into laughter. After the giggles faded, she said, “Husband, I think you’re still a little wild now.”

Huo Liuxing turned to her, slightly surprised.

“That gentle, refined man isn’t the real you. You’ve hidden your sharpness for some reason, but it must be exhausting.” Shen Lingzhen tilted her head and looked at him earnestly. “So if you ever want to rest, you can drop the act around me. Just be yourself. I’m not afraid of the fierce version of you.”

Huo Liuxing froze.

After ten years of restraint and countless masks, he had long forgotten what the real Huo Liuxing even looked like. Yet here, in this nameless forest shrouded in mist and weeds, a young woman told him he didn’t need to play a role in front of her.

It was like a stone dropped straight into a deep pool, shattering the calm surface. A tide surged in his eyes.

After a long silence, he looked at her and said, “Shen Lingzhen, you said that.”

She nodded matter-of-factly. “I did.”

About an hour later, Kongqing returned from scouting and reported to Huo Liuxing, “White Leopard City shows no signs of enemy activity. Young Master may proceed with the young lady safely.”

“Is the lodging arranged?”

Jingmo nodded. “The usual place.”

“You and Jian Jia escort her there. I’ll take a horse and head elsewhere for official business.”

Shen Lingzhen hesitated. “Won’t riding a horse risk exposing you?”

He shook his head. “I’ll disguise myself as a soldier.”

She nodded and watched him mount his horse and gallop away. Then she returned to the carriage and continued on to White Leopard City.

Located near Qingzhou, White Leopard City wasn’t as remote as the northern territories held by the Dingbian Army. Once inside the city, the streets were lined with inns, one after another.

The one Huo Liuxing had arranged looked unremarkable from the outside, with little sign of business. But inside, it was orderly and impeccably clean.

Shen Lingzhen recalled Jingmo’s mention of “the usual place” and guessed that this inn might well be under the Huo family’s control.

By the time they arrived, dusk had fallen. Her body felt like it was coming apart at the seams, and she dragged herself into the private room, collapsing onto the bed without even checking if the bedding was clean.

Jian Jia was about to pour her a bowl of water, but turned to find her already fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, she didn’t change her clothes, just covered her with a thin blanket and quietly closed the door behind her.

Shen Lingzhen slept deeply. When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sharp sound of a window shattering.

Still groggy, she was about to scream when the intruder removed his helmet and gestured for silence. In a low voice, he said, “It’s me.”

By the candlelight in the room, she saw it was Huo Liuxing, clad in armor. Outside, the night was thick, it looked like the second half of the night.

She patted her chest to steady her nerves, then lifted the blanket and got out of bed. “How did things go? Was it smooth?” But as she spoke, she noticed the large swath of blood staining his armor and gasped. “Are you hurt?”

“A small cut on the shoulder. The rest isn’t mine.” Huo Liuxing stretched his limbs and began removing the heavy armor. “Tell Jian Jia to bring me a basin of clean water.”

Shen Lingzhen immediately went to the corridor to relay the message. When she returned, Huo Liuxing had already removed his upper garments.

Forgetting her embarrassment, she rushed forward to check his injury. Seeing that it was just a shallow gash on his shoulder, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Huo Liuxing glanced at her. “Not fainting at the sight of blood? Turn around.”

She had only dared to act boldly out of concern. At his words, and now fully aware of the thick scent of blood in the room, dizziness crept in. She quickly turned her back.

But in that brief moment, her eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of Huo Liuxing’s bare waist and abdomen.

Smooth and unblemished, there wasn’t a single scar.

Shen Lingzhen blinked in surprise and let out a soft “Huh?” “Husband, you were wounded so badly in Bianjing… how is there no scar at all?”