Chapter 9

Lian Ai followed Bu Nian and his men down the mountain. Once they had put some distance between themselves and the martial artists, he heard one of the guards up ahead lower his voice and speak to Bu Nian.

“General, should we send word to the garrison at Hangu Pass?”

Bu Nian pressed a hand to his chest and shot the man a sharp glare. His bloodless lips parted.

“Are you as stupid as they are? Do you think a garrison can be mobilized that easily? I was bluffing, nothing more.”

The guard immediately lowered his head and backed off, no longer daring to speak.

Maybe it tugged at his injury, but Bu Nian started coughing again, a low, harsh sound that rocked his frame. Lian Ai stepped forward in a hurry to support him.

“General…”

Bu Nian cut him a sideways glance, eyes heavy with fatigue.

“At least you know when to act.”

Lian Ai wasn’t sure how to respond. Afraid it might be sarcasm, he simply kept his head down and said nothing.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, a large, extravagant carriage was already waiting. Several soldiers in black armor stood guard beside it.

Lian Ai recognized the banner bearing the character Bu fluttering on top. It was the general’s personal carriage. He helped him over at once.

The two climbed in. Before long, the carriage began to move.

Now that everything around them had quieted, Lian Ai’s mind wandered back to everything that had just happened, especially that cold, piercing look Bu Nian had given him. His chest tightened. He had no idea how the general planned to deal with him.

The carriage jolted slightly. Right after, another fit of coughing came from Bu Nian.

Lian Ai glanced at him. His brow was furrowed, lips pressed into a tight line. Then a thin stream of blood slid down from the corner of his mouth.

Lian Ai couldn’t help but gasp.

“General, you’re..”

Bu Nian shot him a glare sharp as a blade. Lian Ai flinched and immediately shut his mouth. He lowered his gaze and pulled a clean handkerchief from his sleeve, offering it with both hands.

Bu Nian took it and pressed it to the corner of his mouth. “Why were you with that Zuo family boy? Who told you to go with him?”

Lian Ai knew this was where the reckoning began. He dropped to his knees, clutching Bu Nian’s leg.

“I didn’t go willingly. He forced me to come! Please believe me, General!”

Bu Nian grabbed his chin and forced his face up. “Still lying? Maybe you never learn your lesson. Should I just carve out your eyes, cut off your tongue, slice off your limbs and turn you into a human pig?”

The hand gripping his jaw was ice-cold. The chill seeped into Lian Ai’s skin and went straight to his bones. He couldn’t stop himself from trembling.

“Please… don’t… General…”
Tears welled in his eyes. His fingers scrambled helplessly at Bu Nian’s wrist as he choked out a plea, voice shaking with desperation.

“Don’t?” Bu Nian let out a short, humorless laugh and tilted his mouth into a half-smile.
“Even you dare say no to me now?”

Then he shoved him aside.

Lian Ai landed on the cushioned floor. It didn’t hurt much, but just as he tried to sit up, a heavy black boot pressed down on his hand, pinning him in place.

“Do you even know what Mianmian really is?”

Lian Ai lay there in a twisted position, staring up at Bu Nian’s blank face, heart hammering in his chest. He was terrified the general might crush his bones on the spot.

“It’s the poison you gave me…”
He chose his words carefully.

Bu Nian tossed the bloodied cloth into the incense burner inside the carriage. Within moments, it caught flame and began to burn with the rest of the herbs, filling the space with a pungent, acrid scent.

“Mianmian isn’t a poison. It’s a gu curse.”
Bu Nian leaned down, locking eyes with him. “A female worm lives in your bones. The male lives in your flesh. They stay dormant most of the time. But on nights of the full moon, they awaken. They crawl through your body, trying desperately to meet and mate. Mianmian means endlessly yearning.”

Lian Ai didn’t know if it was his mind playing tricks on him, but the moment he heard those words, a strange itching began to spread through his limbs. His skin prickled, and a chill crept up his spine.

Bu Nian went on. “It’s a vicious kind of gu worm. I paid a high price for it from the southern Miao tribes. It was meant for hardened criminals who refused to talk. Never thought you’d be the first to try it.”
He slowly pulled a black-sheathed dagger from his sleeve.

Even at a glance, the weapon was clearly no ordinary blade. When drawn, it gave off a faint metallic hum. The snowy gleam of the blade was so sharp it made Lian Ai flinch and turn his head.

Then Bu Nian’s hoarse voice sounded beside his ear. “Once I extract Mianmian, I’ll send you on your way.”

Mianmian shouldn’t activate for another two days. But Lian Ai began to scream inside the carriage.

Every bone in his body itched, not one spared. It felt like a swarm of ants gnawing at him from the inside, forcing him to scratch even as white-hot pain surged across his skin with every touch. The pain only deepened the agony.

His entire body spasmed between unbearable itching and waves of stabbing pain. He rolled back and forth across the carriage floor, sobbing and gasping, voice growing more and more hoarse.

There were many people outside, but not one of them would help.

Soaked in sweat, Lian Ai’s trembling fingers reached for the edge of Bu Nian’s boot.
“General… please, I won’t disobey again… please… spare me…”

Bu Nian’s gaze stayed fixed on the dagger’s cold gleam, not a flicker of emotion crossing his face. “My father always said I lacked the resolve to kill. I never agreed. But now that I think about it… he was probably right.”

Lian Ai shook his head weakly, his strength already spent.

Bu Nian gripped the dagger and straddled him, knees on either side. He pushed aside the damp hair clinging to Lian Ai’s skin.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m quick with a blade.”

He yanked down the back of Lian Ai’s collar, exposing the pale, trembling nape of his neck. With his thumb, he rubbed the skin that twitched beneath his touch. His right hand rose, blade poised to strike.

But just then, outside the carriage came the clash of steel.

An instant later, a flaming arrow tore through the roof and embedded itself in the wooden wall at the far end of the cabin.

Bu Nian stared at the arrow, his face giving nothing away. He flicked his arm and snuffed out the flame, then pulled the curtain open.

“What’s going on?”

A soldier stepped forward and cupped his fists. “General, we’ve been ambushed. It must be those martial artists. They must have taken offense and are trying to assassinate you.”

To avoid stirring further conflict, Bu Nian had left most of his troops stationed at the Zhongzhou post and brought only a dozen men up Mount Xiao. Now, caught in an ambush halfway down, his small group was struggling to hold the attackers off. Whoever these people were, they were strong, too strong for mere wanderers of the martial world.

He had barely left the mountain, and someone already dared to strike. Who had the nerve?

The carriage driver tried to force a way out, charging ahead blindly. But an arrow struck, pinning him to the wall in an instant.

Bu Nian moved to get up, but the horses, spooked by the commotion, bolted. The carriage lurched violently, slamming him into the wall. He coughed up blood again.

The incense burner toppled, scattering herbs across the floor. The scent that once filled the air vanished with the dying embers.

Lian Ai’s mind was a haze, though the itching and pain in his body had slowly begun to fade. Unaware of what was happening outside, he was flung forward by the jolt and landed hard in Bu Nian’s arms.

Bu Nian let out a grunt, reaching to shove him away, but the carriage was already in chaos. It flipped, tossing them both. Bu Nian took several hard blows. Fearing he might cough up blood again, he locked an arm around Lian Ai’s waist to hold him in place.

Lian Ai slumped against Bu Nian’s chest, the steady thump of his heartbeat echoing in his ears. When he looked up, all he could see was the sharp line of the man’s jaw.

Then came the drop.

His body suddenly felt weightless. Panic surged through him, but he hadn’t even had time to cry out before icy water rushed in from all sides, flooding the carriage and swallowing them both.

The carriage had tumbled off a cliff and plunged into a raging river. It swept through several forks before finally washing the two of them into a remote valley choked with trees and untouched by people.

Lian Ai woke with a full-body ache. The valley was cold and damp, the sun blocked by the high cliffs. A breeze blew past, and the wet clothes clinging to his skin made him shiver.

All he remembered was the general trying to kill him. Then the chaos. Then the river…

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of dark fabric in the grass nearby.

His eyes flew open.

He scrambled over and found, just as he feared, that it was Bu Nian.

“General?” he called out. There was no response. He leaned in to check for breath and barely felt a faint rise and fall.

He quickly pulled his hand back, unsure what to do.

Looking around, the scenery was entirely unfamiliar. From the bushes came the cries of birds or animals he couldn’t name. It made him shrink into himself and inch a little closer to where Bu Nian lay.

Where were they? How did they end up here? Would the general survive? Would he? Would anyone come looking?

One question after another crowded into his head, tightening the knot in his chest.

And as if things weren’t already bad enough, the wind in the valley began to pick up. Within moments, dark clouds rolled in overhead. Thunder cracked across the sky. A storm was coming.

Lian Ai hugged himself and glanced at the unconscious general. Then he stood up and walked off.

Rain started to fall. Slowly at first, then faster, until it poured in sheets.

About the time it would take for a single stick of incense to burn, Lian Ai returned. His clothes were torn and streaked with mud. He looked like he had taken more than a few falls.

Hooking his arms under Bu Nian’s, he struggled to drag the man’s heavy body. It took time and effort, but he finally managed to get them to the mouth of a shallow cave.

It still leaked a little from the ceiling, but it was better than lying exposed to the storm.

The sky grew darker. Lian Ai sat hugging his knees, shivering against the damp wall. The cold was seeping into his bones.

He couldn’t find dry wood. Starting a fire was out of the question. All he could do was endure it.

Then a faint sound came from nearby. He turned to look and saw Bu Nian wrapped in wet clothes, face flushed with fever. His body had begun to burn.

Bu Nian’s brows were tightly furrowed. He kept murmuring incoherently, as if trapped in a nightmare he couldn’t wake from. His skin was burning hot, yet he kept whispering that he was cold.

Lian Ai leaned closer, placing his ear near Bu Nian’s lips. After a moment of hesitation at what he heard, he straightened and began removing his own wet clothes. Once he was undressed, he opened Bu Nian’s robes and pressed their bodies together.

If he had been alone, the freezing night would have been unbearable. Sharing warmth like this was the only way to make it through until morning.

Birdsong woke Lian Ai the next day. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was skin. He jerked back, pulling away from the warmth of Bu Nian’s chest.

Then he looked up and found a pair of fully awake eyes staring right at him.

Panic gripped him. He didn’t even have time to scream before scrambling away on hands and feet, backing himself into the other end of the cave.

Bu Nian propped himself up slowly. But halfway through, his body tensed. He clutched his side, pain twisting across his face.

He finally reached the wall for support. Sweat broke out across his forehead.

“Put this on.”

Before the words had finished, a half-dry outer robe landed on Lian Ai’s head.

He pulled it off and saw Bu Nian’s face tight with pain. Just reaching for that robe had clearly cost him. A suspicion rose in Lian Ai’s mind.

“General… are you injured?”

Bu Nian tried to steady his breathing. Even his voice came out measured and quiet.
“My rib is fractured.”

Lian Ai froze with the robe still half in his arms, then rushed over and knelt beside him. “What do we do now? I don’t know how to treat broken bones. I can’t make fire. There’s water here, but we can’t just go without food…”

He already knew that in a place like this, being separated from Bu Nian meant certain death. Even if the poison was gone, even if he were truly free, he had no way out. The mountains stretched endlessly, and he had no skills to survive in the wild.

He would not even last the night. A wild beast would tear him apart before sunrise.

He understood his own limits. He was like a vine that could only cling to something stronger. He was never meant to grow tall on his own.

Bu Nian had been watching him the whole time he spoke. His eyes shifted from mere observation to something more contemplative. Then, he cut him off.

“If you do exactly as I say, you won’t die.”

Lian Ai froze for a moment. “I’ve always listened to you.”

Bu Nian leaned back against the cave wall and closed his eyes. “Go find dry leaves and wood. As much as you can carry. If you see any wild fruit, no matter what it looks like, bring it back first. I’ll decide if it’s safe to eat.”

“Alright.” Lian Ai nodded quickly and turned to run out of the cave.

The rain from the day before made dry things hard to find, let alone dry wood or leaves. Lian Ai didn’t dare venture too far. He searched the area for a long while before finally spotting a patch of dry branches and fallen leaves warmed by the sun.

He tore a strip from the hem of his shirt to use as a makeshift sack, gathered everything he could find, and was about to head back when his eyes caught a tree heavy with fruit not far away.

He hadn’t eaten since the day before. It had been more than ten hours, and just looking at the plump, glossy purple fruit made his mouth water. He wanted nothing more than to shove them in his mouth one after another.

But he remembered what Bu Nian had told him. He couldn’t eat anything without checking first. So he picked up two of the fallen fruits with intact skins and carried them back along with the bundle.

Bu Nian opened his eyes at the sound of approaching footsteps. He saw Lian Ai step inside with his arms full.

“General, I found this fruit. It smells sweet, but I don’t know if it’s safe…” As he spoke, he set the bundle down and picked out the two fruits, holding them out.

Bu Nian’s eyes lingered on the fruit for a moment before he looked up.
“You eat it first.”

Lian Ai thought he was being asked to test for poison. He rubbed one of the fruits against his shirt and took a small bite.

Nothing happened. After a few moments, he held out the rest. “It’s safe.”

Bu Nian looked at the fruit with a bite mark, the edge of his brow lifting just slightly. His eyes flicked back to Lian Ai’s face.

“I knew it wasn’t poisonous,” Bu Nian said. “The reason I told you to eat first is because you’re the only one who can move. You need to conserve your strength.”

Lian Ai realized he had misunderstood and felt his cheeks warm. “There’s plenty more outside. Once I finish these, I’ll go pick more for you.”

Bu Nian stared at him again. He watched so intently that Lian Ai nearly couldn’t finish his fruit.

At last, Bu Nian looked away and closed his eyes to rest. Lian Ai let out a silent breath of relief.

After eating both of the purple fruits, the emptiness in his stomach eased a little. He wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve and began to rise, ready to gather more for Bu Nian.

“Wait.”

Bu Nian stopped him. Enduring the pain in his ribs, he reached up and pulled the silver hairpin from his crown. He pressed something on it, and the smooth pin clicked, extending into a slender, sharp blade. A hidden spike glinted in the dim light as he held it out to Lian Ai.

Lian Ai stepped back and forced down the lump in his throat.

Bu Nian gave a faint, amused scoff.
“What are you afraid of? You think I’d kill you and doom myself too? Take it. Use it to protect yourself.”

So it wasn’t to kill him…

Lian Ai understood. Bu Nian was right. In their current situation, they needed each other to survive. Neither could afford to be without the other.

He gave a quiet nod, took the hairpin, and said, “I’ll be back soon.” Then he turned and stepped out of the cave once more.