But he couldn't do it.
cannot.
This is Yun Shuyue's territory.
If he were to physically harm someone, all three years of forbearance would be for naught.
not to mention.
His gaze swept quickly over the old pine tree on the hillside.
A small section of the brim of the straw hat peeked out from behind the branches.
She's watching.
Zhao Wuxu released his finger from the dart.
Not only can they not take action, they also have to keep the act going.
"Great hero... I truly... was merely passing by..."
Tuoba Mang lifted him up, like lifting a chicken, or like lifting a fish frozen stiff in winter.
I'm asking you one last time.
Tuoba Mang brought his face close, his nose almost touching Zhao Wuxu's, and his hot breath sprayed all over Zhao Wuxu's face.
Are you looking for those women from the mountains?
"No!"
"Then why have you been squatting here for three days?"
"I..."
"Explain!"
Zhao Wuxu's lips trembled slightly.
"I... I'm waiting for someone..."
He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.
Tuoba Mang's eyes widened.
"Waiting for someone? Waiting for whom? Waiting for the sister-in-law on the mountain?!"
"Not my sister-in-law."
"That's... the boss?! Holy crap, you're into men!"
Zhao Wuxu opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He was indeed waiting for Yun Shuyue.
But he absolutely could not admit it.
"I..."
"OK."
Tuoba Mang's voice lowered instead.
"It's one thing to be attracted to men, but to have her eye on the leader himself is another."
"OK."
Zhao Wuxu saw Tuoba Mang raise his entire arm.
It wasn't a slap anymore.
It's a push.
He struck Zhao Wuxu in the chest with a palm, not with full force, but enough for a "down-on-his-luck scholar".
Zhao Wuxu was thrown into the air, his back first hitting a large blue stone by the stream, bounced, and then tumbled into the stream.
The water splashed three feet high.
Tuoba Mang clapped his hands.
"Cool down, cool off, wake up."
"You son of a bitch, you dare to covet my sister-in-law's brother!"
Above the hillside.
Yun Shuyue squatted on the branches of an old pine tree, her straw hat pulled low, her palms sweaty.
She had indeed made her plans.
Taking advantage of the moment when the two thugs were shoving the scholar, he gracefully descended, kicked one of the thugs to the ground, and then nonchalantly tossed out the words, " Black Wind Stronghold territory, those who bully others die."
So handsome.
Unexpectedly, the burly man from the Northern Territory made the first move.
It wasn't the thugs who were causing trouble, but the scholars.
She lay on the tree branch, her lips twitching several times.
Tiedan perched on a lower branch, chewing on beef jerky, watching with great interest.
"Boss, that big guy is really fierce. Why don't we take him in? We can rob more."
"Can you handle it? I can't beat him at all."
Yun Shuyue's gaze never left Zhao Wuxu in the stream.
The water wasn't deep, only up to an adult's waist. There were many rocks on the bottom of the stream, and the current was a bit swift, but not dangerous.
She observed Zhao Wuxu's reaction after he fell into the water very carefully.
First breath.
His arm made a motion underwater.
The movement was small and quickly stopped, but the trajectory of that stroke was clean and crisp, and the angle of the wrist rotation was a standard treading water posture.
Only someone who can swim can draw that arc.
Second breath.
He started to struggle.
He thrashed his hands across the water, swallowed half a mouthful of water, and sank a bit.
But Yun Shuyue noticed his legs.
The area below the thighs remained completely still.
A person who truly cannot swim will kick their limbs wildly if they fall into the water.
He only moved his upper body; his lower body remained as steady as if it were nailed to the bottom of the water.
He's faking drowning.
Third breath.
He reached out and grabbed a rock that was protruding from the water in the stream.
The timing of the grab was perfect.
Yun Shuyue recognized that stone; she had squatted down there while washing clothes. The stone was covered in moss and so slippery that it was impossible to stand on it.
There was a dry, angular rock just half a foot away, and anyone who fell into the water would instinctively grab onto it.
He deliberately grabbed the slippery part.
His fingers slipped away, and his body sank further, looking even more miserable.
It's fake.
Yun Shuyue's gaze moved downwards.
After Zhao Wuxu was soaked through, his sleeves clung to his forearms.
There was a small bulge on the inside of my left arm, with a narrow and long outline. It wasn't a fold in my clothing; it was a hard object.
It's tied to the skin.
It is shaped like a dart.
Her right hand touched the hilt of the short knife, her fingertips tightening.
A down-on-his-luck scholar, carrying neither pen nor ink, nor a book box, with a hidden weapon strapped to his forearm.
Yun Shuyue then recalled another detail.
When Tuoba Mang slapped him just now, he was knocked around and looked completely powerless to fight back.
But every time he fell, he never truly went into chaos.
She saw it more clearly the time she fell to the ground.
He landed on his bottom just in time to avoid the sharp rock next to him.
This ability to control the point of impact while being hit is not something a scholar can acquire.
And his eyes.
When he was being beaten the worst, he secretly swept his arms towards the hillside twice.
The angle is precise; it's about finding someone.
I was looking in the direction she was standing.
He knew she was watching from up there.
This thought sent a chill down Yun Shuyue's spine.
Tiedan is still urging him.
"Boss, aren't you going down to save him?"
Yun Shuyue stared at the pale-faced scholar struggling more and more miserably in the stream, her voice very low.
"No."
Why?
He's faking it.
Tiedan blinked.
What are you pretending for?
"Pretending not to know how to swim."
Yun Shuyue touched the stream surface with her chin.
"Look at his legs, they're not moving at all. Have you ever seen a real drowning person? Last time you fell into the pool behind the mountain, all four legs—"
I only have two legs!
"You were pedaling like a chariot back then."
"He's different. His upper body splashes around in the water with gusto, while his lower body is as steady as a pillar. What do you call that?"
Tiedan thought about it seriously.
"This is called... lying?"
"Clever."
Yun Shuyue glanced at Zhao Wuxu's left arm again.
"And he had something tied to his sleeve, something hard and short. I guess it was a concealed weapon."
Tiedan was startled and almost dropped the jerky.
"So he's a bad guy?"
Yun Shuyue did not answer immediately.
Below the stream, Tuoba Mang had already bent down and pulled Zhao Wuxu out of the water.
Like trying to catch a dead fish.
He casually tossed it onto the shore.
Zhao Wuxu lay sprawled on the pebbles on the shore, soaked to the bone, his hair sticking to his face.
The blood at the corner of his mouth was diluted by the stream water, mixing with mud and smearing onto his chin.
His left hand slowly loosened and clenched again inside his sleeve, the veins on the back of his hand bulging three times.
No darts.
Yun Shuyue saw him let go.
He had hidden weapons; despite taking so many hits, he refrained from retaliating.
I don't want to be exposed.
The direction his gaze had just swept was where she was hiding.
This person is probably after her.
Tuoba Mang's voice came from below.
If I see you heading up the mountain again, next time it won't just be a slap.
He really wanted to beat this scumbag to death, but Murong Xue had specifically instructed him not to kill anyone.
Zhao Wuxu lay motionless on the ground.
After a few breaths, he slowly stood up, supporting himself on the rocks.
Water was dripping from his body, his wet clothes clung to his skin, and the bulge on the inside of his left arm was even more noticeable.
He didn't turn around.
He limped away into the distance.
Tuoba Mang slung the bag of dried meat over his shoulder again, tucked the trembling old hen under his arm, hummed an off-key Northern Territory song, and swaggered up the mountain.
Yun Shuyue squatted on the tree, half of her face hidden in shadow under her straw hat.
She looked down at her palms.
The broken branch pierced a small patch of bark, and a drop of blood oozed out.
He pulled his hands back into his sleeves, flipped over, and leaped down from the branch, landing silently.
"They're gone."
Where to?
"Go back and deal with the big guy."
Tiedan slid down from the tree and followed behind her, muttering to himself.
"Boss, is that scholar a good person or a bad person?"
Yun Shuyue took three steps without turning back.
"Be careful, he's not a scholar."