Jiang Suizhou was sitting alone on a tree trunk that was stretched across the ground.
Huo Wujiu moved to and fro several times and dealt with the corpses on the ground neatly. The terrain in the mountain was treacherous, and there was a canyon nearby. Huo Wujiu’s movements were quite fast. In short order, everything in front of Jiang Suizhou was clean as a pin.
A few moments later, footsteps sounded in the air. Jiang Suizhou looked up and saw Huo Wujiu landing in front of him.
He did not hide his legs at all. He sat down in front of Jiang Suizhou, and ripped off the hem of his robe.
Jiang Suizhou only stared at his shoulder.
After a moment of silence, Huo Wujiu chuckled deeply.
“Ask whatever you want to ask.” he prodded, “What can you know from staring at me?”
However, he heard Jiang Suizhou take a breath and say in a somewhat wavering voice, “I’ll bandage it for you, all right?”
Huo Wujiu handed the torn cloth on Jiang Suizhou’s lap, and while neatly unfastening his robe, he replied, “No, you don’t know how.”
As he spoke, he had already ripped open half of his lapel, revealing part of his muscular shoulders. It was just that when he exposed this piece of skin, several old wounds, all of which were pale scars, came to light. The deepest one ran across his clavicle. Amidst its hideousness, the smooth and rugged collarbone actually made it appear rather charming.
And in his shoulder socket was the new wound that was still bleeding.
The dagger didn’t pierce too deep, but it also tore his flesh, making it look quite appalling. Huo Wujiu put the cloth over the wound with one hand, bit down on one end, wrapped it a few times, and then roughly bandaged his wound.
Another moment of silence later, he bit the cloth. His eyes fell on his own shoulder, and he addressed Jiang Suizhou, “Aren’t you going to ask when my legs healed?”
Only Huo Wujiu himself knew that he was hiding a trace of apprehension under his lowered eyelashes.
He jumped out of the back window of Jiang Suizhou’s room, bypassed the surrounding guards, and then entered the mountain. When he went up the mountain the day before yesterday, he memorized the right direction and headed straight to the hunting ground.
Sure enough, Pang Shao made a move against Jiang Suizhou on the hunting grounds.
The Hou Zhu drew the whip that fell on Jiang Suizhou’s horse, but Huo Wujiu knew all too well that what drove the horse crazy was the concealed weapon that struck it.
Once he fell off the horse under any circumstances, his life absolutely would be in danger. Huo Wujiu didn’t care to find out who released the concealed weapon. He dove into the forest to chase after the horse. However, just when he caught up, he saw Jiang Suizhou fall into an ambush that was set up early on.
As expected, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. One hoop after the other, Pang Shao made arrangements long ago with no intention of leaving Jiang Suizhou half a chance of survival.
Huo Wujiu could no longer care about anything else, and had no choice but to show himself immediately.
He knew that this was the only way he could save Jiang Suizhou. On the flip side, he also knew that in this manner, his legs would be exposed.
But he didn’t regret it either.
He lowered his gaze, as if seriously dressing his wound, but the force under his hands couldn’t help exert more strength. He even squeezed the wound till it bled.
Just then, Jiang Suizhou interrupted him.
“There’s no need to ask,” he said, “Li Changning lied to me before, didn’t he?
Huo Wujiu ceased moving.
“Mm.,” he responded.
“So that means he’s your man,” Jiang Suizhou said. “The apprentice following him resembled a man in the military camp at first sight. He didn’t look right when he saw you. However, I was ill at that time and had little energy. Li Changning claimed he was a farmer, and I believed it.
Jiang Suizhou’s voice was nothing but calm.
However, Huo Wujiu felt as if a fine silk thread was strangling his heart, tightening by the minute.
His hand that was tying the knot to the wound stopped in place and he didn’t move much.
Sure enough, he said to himself, He has always been smart. So long as he sees something, no further explanation is needed.
Huo Wujiu, however, tasted some bitterness in his mouth.
Akin to a prisoner awaiting his sentence, he had been hanging all day long and the dust finally settled today but he was not happy at all.
“Yes,” he confirmed, “So…”
Therefore, I’m not a frank and honest partner. You can be disappointed with me, but I will still do what I promised before.
He choked in his throat, quite unable to speak.
Just then, Jiang Suizhou interrupted him.
“So you can’t bandage your wound like this,” he leaned down and said to Huo Wujiu, “Although I don’t know anything, I still know that you can’t bandage it tightly. Even if there’s no wound medicine here, shouldn’t you clean the wound first? I vaguely hear the sound of water. Is there a stream nearby?”
Huo Wujiu hesitated: “There’s one half a mile to the west.”
“Come on, let’s go to the stream first,” Jiang Suizhou said as he stood up.
He had been sitting for a long time, and Huo Wujiu carried him earlier, so he had forgotten that he had sprained his foot. As soon as he got up, he took a painful breath and nearly plunged to the ground.
Huo Wujiu raised his hand and caught him.
“What happened to your foot?” Huo Wujiu asked.
Jiang Suizhou was propped up on Huo Wujiu’s arm. His arm muscle was firm, and it felt as hard as a stone to the touch. With his support, everything was seemingly steady with a sense of security.
“When I fell off the horse, I twisted it a little,” he explained.
Huo Wujiu stood still. A moment later, he sighed helplessly and clenched his teeth.
“How can you forget even this?”
Jiang Suizhou was a little embarrassed.
In fact, what happened to Huo Wujiu when he was injured was shocking. Jiang Suizhou was too focused on checking on him and forgot about his sprain.
Huo Wujiu looked down, saw his expression and immediately understood what he was thinking.
There really was nothing he could do about the man in front of him.
He kept silent for a couple of seconds and whispered again.
“As I said earlier, Li Changning lied to you,” he said. “He follows my orders, so it’s I…”
Just then, Jiang Suizhou interrupted him.
“So, it’s a good thing, ah!” Jiang Suizhou exclaimed. “I’ve always had a headache with your legs, but I didn’t expect to have your people come to you and cure you.”
Huo Wujiu once again froze and looked down at Jiang Suizhou.
He found Jiang Suizhou also looking up at him. The sparkling joy in those eyes didn’t seem fake at all.
“So, why don’t we hurry up and go to the stream?” He urged, “If you don’t clean your wound any time soon, your legs might be fine, but your arm will be crippled.”
