Probing
The city of Shuozhou was bustling with activity. Soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, while civilians were tidying the streets. Duan Xu stood outside the military tent, still wearing his armour, though the bloodstains on his face and body had been cleaned off. Meng Wan stood by his side.
Duan Xu raised his hands, clasped them together, with fingers intertwined resting on his lips, then separated them, and intertwined them again.
Although Meng Wan understood this was his habitual gesture when thinking, sometimes she didn’t know what he was thinking. She tentatively asked, “Shunxi, are you worried about Captain Han and Miss He?”
Just now, news came that Captain Han encountered an attack from the Danzhi army on the way to Shuozhou to pick up Miss He, and communication has been cut off.
Now it was the second morning, and there was still no news from Captain Han and Miss He.
Duan Xu turned his eyes, the originally vacant look in his eyes gathered light, and he smiled and shook his head.
“I’m not worried about Miss He.”
“Then what are you…”
“Report!” A scout came running and knelt in front of Duan Xu, saying, “Reporting to the General, Captain Han and Miss He’s carriage has arrived, and they will be able to reach the city in half an incense stick’s time.”
Duan Xu smiled at Meng Wan and said, “See, no need to worry about her, send someone to greet them.”
Meng Wan was surprised when she saw Miss He’s carriage. This carriage originally belonged to a wealthy family in Shuozhou, and the owner was also a Han Chinese. Seeing the army of Daliang coming, he was very pleased and took the initiative to offer his carriage for their use.
So this carriage was originally very luxurious, but now it was stained with blood, with patches of darkness and light, half of the curtains burned, and two arrows stuck in the carriage wall. Captain Han was injured, his left arm hanging limp, blood dripping down.
It was evident that the previous battle was fierce.
“Captain Han, are you both alright?” Meng Wan jumped off her horse and walked up to Captain Han.
Han Lingqiu shook his head and said briefly, “We encountered an ambush by the Danzhi army on the road and suffered minor injuries.”
“We just received the news. How many were there? How did you manage to repel them?” Meng Wan asked anxiously.
“There were about a hundred of them… We were outnumbered. We were on the mountainside at the time, and suddenly there were blue ghost fires rolling down from the mountain… They only burned people, not trees or animals. Many enemies were injured, so they retreated.”
“What about you?”
“… It’s strange to say, but the fire didn’t touch us.”
There was a long sigh from inside the carriage, followed by the voice of He Simu: “There are many graves on that mountain. It seems that our ancestors were angry.”
This… ghosts in broad daylight?
Meng Wan couldn’t help but look at the carriage more. Why did Miss He always get involved in ghostly matters? At this moment, she not only felt that Miss He was sinister, but also felt that she was probably not very auspicious.
When the carriage arrived in front of Duan Xu, He Simu finally lifted the curtain. Captain Han and the soldiers all looked weary, but she was unscathed, her sweet and lovely face still smiling, though her complexion looked a bit pale.
However, her calm demeanour didn’t last long.
As she got off the carriage, her legs suddenly went weak, and waving her arms, she stumbled a few steps directly into the arms of Duan Xu standing in front of her.
With a thud, she fell solidly into his arms. Fortunately, Duan Xu’s body was steady, or else she would have fallen to the ground. For a moment, there was silence all around.
Meng Wan’s face turned pale.
Duan Xu widened his eyes in surprise, then raised an eyebrow slightly and distanced himself a little from He Simu.
He placed his hand on her forehead and said, “Little Miss, you’re sick. You have a fever.”
Pausing for a moment, he smiled and said, “Didn’t you notice?”
Didn’t notice?
This little fox is testing again.
He Simu’s eyes shimmered slightly. She looked at Duan Xu for a moment, then wiped her eyes with a hint of grievance and said, “I was too scared on the road. I only relaxed when I saw you. Now I do feel a bit uncomfortable…”
As she spoke, she tilted her head and simply lay in Duan Xu’s arms.
… This girl acts quite convincingly! Meng Wan gritted her teeth.
Actually, He Simu was acting, but not really acting, because she indeed couldn’t fully control this body. Initially, she thought it was because she had been away from this body for too long, but when Duan Xu pointed it out, she realized that the body was actually sick.
Being sick was a headache when possessing someone.
Covered in blankets, He Simu leaned against the bed. This was a warm room specially arranged for her by a wealthy Han merchant in Shuozhou City, with a blazing fire in the stove. The doctor was examining her pulse and asked her, “Have you been feeling tired recently, weak in the limbs, and experiencing abdominal pain?”
“… ” He Simu smiled gracefully and replied, “A little.”
“Do you have chills, loss of appetite?”
“A little.”
“Shortness of breath…”
“A little.”
Maintaining her unchanged smile, no matter what the doctor asked, He Simu gave the same answer – “A little.”
Whether this body was uncomfortable was one thing, but whether the evil spirit possessing it was uncomfortable was another. Evil spirits couldn’t feel temperature, let alone pain, discomfort, or shortness of breath, which were too advanced sensations.
According to He Simu’s usual experience, if the person she possessed was sick, it was most likely necessary to wake up the original host to describe the symptoms, or else a minor illness could be turned into a serious one.
Fortunately, this time the doctor was a military physician who had seen countless patients who couldn’t speak. Seeing He Simu’s vague answers, he didn’t ask further and promptly abandoned the “ask” part of the “look, listen, inquire, and feel” examination, and prescribed medication for her.
He Simu sat bored on the bed, casually telling ghost stories to Chenying while waiting for the medicine to brew.
There was a light knock on the door, three quick taps. He Simu didn’t even lift her head as she said, “Come in.”
Chenying, who had been scared white by the ghost stories, was overjoyed when he heard the knock. He jumped up and shouted, “General Brother!” It was only then that He Simu raised her head to look.
Duan Xu stood in the room holding a bowl of steaming medicine. He wasn’t wearing armour but was dressed in a lightweight round-neck robe. He smiled brightly when their eyes met.
“Young lady, time to take your medicine,” Duan Xu said as he sat by He Simu’s bed.
He Simu asked Chenying to leave first, then took the bowl of medicine from him. There were scabs on his fingers, leaving various marks of depth on his fair skin. One couldn’t help but speculate that under his clothes, there were many scars.
This might also be a deliberate hint – with his martial arts skills, he could perhaps still have some leeway in chaotic battles. How many people could actually harm him?
Thinking in her heart, He Simu showed a surprised smile on her face and said, “How could it be proper to trouble General with such a small matter?”
“You are the eyes and ears of our army and a hero of the Tabai. How can it be considered a small matter if you fall ill?”
“Is this also a custom of the Tabai? If Xia Lang is injured, will the General personally bring him medicine?”
“No, he won’t. I heard from Meng Wan that you like me, so I thought you would be even happier if I brought you medicine.”
The words “you like me” made He Simu spray the medicine all over Duan Xu’s face.
The black soup dripped down along the clear contours of Duan Xu’s face, like a piece of jade lifted from an inkwell.
He blinked, then burst into laughter as if a mischievous child had succeeded in a trick.
Facing Duan Xu’s inexplicable joy, He Simu was momentarily speechless. She had to take out a handkerchief, wiping his face continuously while apologizing repeatedly. Duan Xu didn’t refuse, letting her wipe the medicine off his face, smiling brightly at her.
He Simu’s hand moved from Duan Xu’s jaw to his cheekbone, exerting a little pressure to feel his bones, thinking that this young general indeed had well-structured facial bones.
Duan Xu noticed her gaze shifting to the side of his face and tilted his head slightly, smiling faintly.
“So, Miss doesn’t like me, but my skull, huh? Is it that you like collecting skulls?” he teased.
This conversation could easily connect with the ghost stories she had just told Chenying.
Although in the stories about her, she did indeed like to collect skulls, with a collection of hundreds.
He Simu smiled faintly and said, “I just have some quirks from years of wandering the rivers and lakes. How can I compare to General? Escaping from bandits and marauders at the age of fourteen, traveling hundreds of miles to the southern capital.”
Duan Xu’s eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled, “You’re investigating me.”
“Mutual investigation, you’re no less.”
“In that case, what’s your conclusion?”
“Then what conclusion do you have about me?” He Simu held Duan Xu’s face, shedding her timid and gentle facade, staring directly into his eyes, pulling his face closer.
With almost ear-to-ear distance, she whispered, “We’re both playing a shadow play – let’s not pierce through this layer of paper.”
She paused for a moment, then released her hand from his cheek and distanced herself from him.
Just as they were separated by only a couple of feet, Duan Xu suddenly put his hand on He Simu’s shoulder, pulling her close again. He whispered in her ear, “Perhaps there are a thousand layers of paper. Even if you pierce through this layer, there may be another one, Miss He.”
After saying this, he moved away from her, his youthful smile bright and cheerful, as if the probing just now was all false.
“To me, Miss is a peculiar person who has lost her five senses. Although I don’t know what Miss is aiming for, I am willing to trust you. Since Miss has helped me, I will treat you as an honoured guest and take good care of you,” Duan Xu said.
He Simu hugged her arms and looked at Duan Xu for a while before saying, “Young General, how do you know that this peculiar person will continue to help you? Maybe I’ll turn around and help the Danzhi army instead.”
“Oh? From my observation, their skulls aren’t as attractive as mine, so they probably won’t catch your eye like I do.”
This young general is truly eloquent.
“Are you so sure?” He Simu asked.
“I’m not sure,” Duan Xu turned his head slightly, smiling, “I just have a gambling nature, and my luck is good. I always manage to turn bad luck into good fortune and win at gambling.”
“Do you think you can win this bet?”
“You won’t win if you don’t gamble.”
Duan Xu calmly stood up with the medicine bowl in his right hand, his left hand behind his back, slightly bowing as he said he would get her another bowl of medicine, then turned and left.
Watching his light and brisk steps, He Simu murmured, “Truly a thousand-layered paper.”
People say a gentleman is like jade, but his demeanour is something even more transparent and luminous, like water jade.
This is probably thanks to his eyes, which shine with a certain brilliance.
But in reality, he is as deep as a thousand-foot abyss, with no bottom in sight. These eyes are truly deceiving.