It's New Year's, and You're Already Here

Whether someone was simple and innocent was a matter of perspective.

Zhao Changhe had never thought of himself as some innocent kid. Back at school, if he was punished by being made to stand, he would skip class instead-a born rebel. But looking back, that bookish campus version of Zhao Changhe was nowhere to be found anymore. In his place stood a man steeped in bandit swagger, foul language pouring from his mouth and heads raining beneath his saber.

Compared with him now, hadn't he been innocent back then?

Once Yue Hongling asked that question, Zhao Changhe could more or less imagine why she still hadn't left this godforsaken place.

She was probably wrestling with whether she had saved a demon back then, and had deliberately stayed here to observe him.

As for what her observations had revealed, well... he certainly wasn't the same as her first impression, but neither was he a demon. On the contrary, he could keep the Mountain Stronghold in line and prevent it from harming innocents. He didn't know how she judged him in her heart, but she must at least have breathed a sigh of relief.

And so, after being injured, she had actually come here for refuge, worried that something might go wrong...

If he truly wasn't the man he had been, would he seize the chance to carry her off as his bandit bride?

Oh, please. He couldn't seize her at all. Even wounded, she could slip into his room without a sound. Wouldn't cutting off his head be child's play? Did he really think she was a fish on his chopping block?

"Then I'd suggest you not trust me. Everyone in the Mountain Stronghold knows we're short of nothing now except a bandit bride." Zhao Changhe casually set the wound medicine and bandages on the table beside the window, his gaze slightly lowered. "Can you apply it yourself? Someone who roams the martial world shouldn't need help with something this small, right? I'll go outside and stand guard."

Those two remarks meant completely opposite things. Yue Hongling was rather speechless, unsure what to make of him... if only she had known the word "tsundere."

"I can apply it myself. Thanks." She ignored the remark about a bandit bride, took the medicine in her hand, and looked at Zhao Changhe, signaling that she was about to begin.

Zhao Changhe strode out, without even using his Eyes Behind the Head to look, and walked far away.

She could still hear him calling outside. "No need to set anything up over here. Go farther out to dig, over on the square. It looks like the place where we muster and drill, so nobody would expect traps even there. Once that's done, we're finished for the day. Tonight, everyone can eat and drink their fill!"

Yue Hongling smiled faintly, then lowered her head, bit her lower lip, and gently lifted the clothing over her lower abdomen.

A sword wound lay there, shocking to behold.

In fact, the wound had already received basic treatment. The bloodstains weren't from blood still seeping out, but from earlier.

She carried her own wound medicine, probably of better quality than Zhao Changhe's, and didn't need his. She merely needed somewhere relatively safe before she dared settle down to heal. After all, this wasn't just an external wound. Sword Qi was still rampaging through her body; it wasn't nearly as trivial as it looked on the surface.

She wasn't guarding against her opponent from this fight. On the contrary, she admired that opponent quite a bit... she was guarding against the others who had witnessed their battle. There was no telling whether some petty villain might harbor evil intentions. Alone, she would struggle to fend off an ambush; at the very least, she needed someone trustworthy standing guard nearby.

As it happened, people of that sort weren't particularly strong, and Zhao Changhe's forces were now more than sufficient to keep them at bay.

She had truly come to Zhao Changhe for refuge. Just a few hours earlier, even she had never imagined things would turn out this way.

Now, Zhao Changhe's response proved she hadn't misjudged him.

"Are you done?" Zhao Changhe's voice came from outside.

Yue Hongling carefully secured the bandages and lowered her clothes. Thinking of how this man had been just outside while she lifted her clothing, she involuntarily flushed a little, then quickly composed herself. "I'm done."

Zhao Changhe stepped inside. Seeing her still leaning languidly and weakly beside the window, looking nothing like herself, he couldn't help frowning. "Your injury doesn't seem that simple. Do you have internal injuries too?"

"Yes. At this level, injuries are rarely purely external." Yue Hongling smiled. "But it's nothing serious. If I can rest here in peace for a few days, I'll be fine."

"In this little North Mang, even I've beaten everyone without finding a match. Who could hurt you? That's ridiculous. Doesn't that mean my Mountain Stronghold could be wiped out in the blink of an eye?"

"If someone took it seriously, your Mountain Stronghold could indeed be wiped out in the blink of an eye."

"...So just who is this mighty figure?"

"Third among the Hidden Dragons, Cui Yuanyong of the Qinghe Cui Family."

"Third among the Hidden Dragons? So the former second place, whom you pushed down to third?"

"Yes."

"So you really did take his spot, and he came looking for trouble because he couldn't swallow it? Coming all the way from Qinghe to North Mang, he must have been searching for you. He probably heard you'd appeared in North Mang and came here specifically?"

"Yes."

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky. "The Book of Troubled Times hasn't changed... I get the feeling wins and losses in fights like yours are different from mine. Fights between people on the rankings really can decide their places. Since the rankings haven't changed, that means although you're hurt, he's hurt even worse, right?"

"Yes." After saying yes three times in succession, Yue Hongling suddenly laughed. "What are you doing? Proving you're not an uncouth brute?"

Zhao Changhe remained expressionless. "I'm just wondering whether I can take his life while he's down and get rid of this future threat."

"Even wounded, he isn't someone you can easily deal with. Besides, he has a younger sister guarding him." Yue Hongling sighed. "And I wouldn't want to do that. He openly challenged me to a duel on the street. That is the way of a martial artist. How could I go looking for trouble afterward?"

"Didn't you come here because you were worried he'd make trouble?"

"He isn't the one I'm worried about. He's open and upright, with a bearing of his own... what's that look on your face?"

Zhao Changhe's expression had indeed darkened, his face stiff. At her question, he said woodenly, "Nothing. A young master from a great family naturally has bearing. Hidden Dragons admire one another's brilliance. We stronghold bandits only know how to prey on people when they're vulnerable."

The sourness of his jealousy was practically spilling beyond the mountain. Yue Hongling watched him with a strange expression for a long while before finally saying, "But I sought shelter with you, not him."

Zhao Changhe's expression improved somewhat. Then he realized his jealousy was completely baseless. Yue Hongling wasn't anything to him, and wasn't that mutual respect between martial artists, that exhilarating challenge, precisely the spirit of the martial world? Wasn't it something he liked too?

So what on earth was he being jealous about...

Feeling he had lost some dignity and embarrassed himself, he clumsily changed the subject. "Have you eaten-at the Profound Pass Eighth Level, you still need food, right?"

"Yes." Yue Hongling wasn't coy about it. She smiled and cupped her fist. "I'm rather hungry, actually. Sorry for imposing, Chief Zhao."

Zhao Changhe truly admired her straightforwardness, yet for some reason, what came out of his mouth was still this: "We meet again in the martial world, and you call me Chief Zhao?"

Yue Hongling seemed amused. "Is this the martial world? Isn't it your lair?"

Zhao Changhe froze for a moment. I thought you'd solemnly ask what else you should call me, but you dodged it like that instead. So you do have a sly little streak...

That's right. In the end, she's just a girl younger than me. Why should she be trapped in some fixed image of a bold, dashing heroine?

Zhao Changhe couldn't help laughing. He didn't argue with her, but strode outside. "They've only just gone into town for supplies, so the good stuff isn't here yet. I'll see what's left from lunch and bring you something first. Don't wander off. There are traps all over the Mountain Stronghold now. Without someone guiding you, it's easy to fall into one."

Watching Zhao Changhe stride out, Yue Hongling let out a breath.

"Whether the Heavenly Dao exists or not, I'll walk my own path!"

It seemed she really had made the right choice. This man had a code in his heart; he was no ordinary bandit.

What should I call you? How would I know?

With some difficulty, she braced herself against the table and stood, briefly checking the Sword Qi darting wildly through her body. Her condition seemed tolerable, so she carefully climbed out through the window and darted toward the ground beyond the rear courtyard.

Since she still needed food, naturally there were other things too... for instance, even a heroine had to relieve herself.

How could she possibly have the nerve to look for a chamber pot in his room? Of course she would go into the hills instead.

But the moment she darted beyond the courtyard, Yue Hongling felt something wrong with where her foot was about to land. Her heart lurched, and she tried to muster her qi and leap clear. Yet the Sword Qi twisted painfully in her abdomen. Her leap failed, and with a thud, she fell into a trap.

Yue Hongling was furious and frantic. Zhao Changhe, is something wrong with you? You dug traps right beside your own courtyard wall? Aren't you afraid of setting one off while training?

But for the moment, her true qi was twisting painfully, and she couldn't jump out!

"Someone's there!"

"Behind the boss's courtyard! Go take a look!"

"Fuck, someone really is that blind? Coming here to get themselves killed!"

"Wait, that direction... feels like they came out of the boss's room..."

In that brief moment, voices rose everywhere, and a crowd rushed over from all directions.

Soon, someone poked his head over the trap to look inside. Yue Hongling covered her face.

"Huh, looks like a woman... uh, from the boss's room..."

"Move, move!" Zhao Changhe came striding over and yanked the gawker behind him. "What are you looking at? Is it so strange that I've got a bandit bride hidden in my room? Get lost, all of you!"

Yue Hongling nearly wanted to claw her own face off.

The bandits were filled with grief and indignation.

They should have known. This bastard had a history. He'd hidden Luo Qi in his room before, and now he was hiding a woman.

Was that really necessary? He was so formidable now that nobody would dare fight him for her anyway. What was the point of hiding her?

Someone shouted into the pit, "Sister-in-law, the boss is great in every way, except he's always hiding things. That's no fun. It's New Year's, and you're already here. We're having a bonfire feast later, so come out and join the fun..."

What the hell do you mean, sister-in-law! What fun!

Yue Hongling simply wanted to die.

She was too famous. In some places, people even sold portraits of her, and plenty of people in the martial world could recognize her. Just like Wang Dashan had known Yue Hongling was there the moment he saw her pass by that day...

So were they trying to make sure that, by tomorrow, the whole world would hear Yue Hongling had become a bandit bride in some mountain den of thieves?