Chapter 126: I’m Free!! (5,000)

Seeing Luliu's lonely and wounded figure disappear from the courtyard through the doorway, Jin'er finally let her sword lower heavily from her neck, dropped it uselessly to the ground, and burst into tears once more.

How ridiculous it was that she had cowardly used her own life to threaten him, even though that might have been his only vulnerability...

As the shivers in her shoulders grew more violent and the knot in her throat became unbearably tight, Jin'er finally turned and collapsed face down onto the bed, burying her face in the bedding to weep bitterly.

"Nanny, Ying'er... Jin'er has failed you... Sob, sob, sob... I am so useless... I couldn't bring myself to do it... I couldn't bring myself to do it... Sob, sob, sob..." Weeping uncontrollably, her body wracked with tremors, her tears quickly soaked a large patch of the bedding, yet the bitterness in Jin'er's heart seemed not to have been purged at all.

For how long she wept, she did not know; her intense crying gradually subsided into soft sobs, and then, right there on the damp bedding, she fell fast asleep.

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"Jin'er? Jin'er?" In a daze, Jin'er heard someone calling her name, and her body was gently shaken.

She snapped her eyes open, quickly sat up, and looked at the person before her. The trace of joy that had just risen on her face instantly vanished the moment she saw who it was.

"Shishi, wh-why is it you?" She had thought Mo Yan had come looking for her.

Sensing her disappointment, Shiyuan felt a pang in his heart, though his expression remained completely placid.

"Get up quickly, we must leave this place right away. If we delay, the imperial guards might track us down here." With that, he placed a bundle before her, then glanced at her red, swollen eyes and the streak of dried blood on her neck. A flash of heartache and puzzlement instantly crossed his eyes, but in the end, he said nothing more and turned to wait outside.

Wiping her sticky face, Jin'er opened the bundle to find a stack of men's clothing. Frowning, she got out of bed.

After changing into the garments, she realized they fit her perfectly, clearly prepared specifically for her. Not lingering on the thought, she quickly dressed neatly, tucked the belongings she had carried with her into her bosom, went outside to wash her face with water, and then joined Shishi in the courtyard.

Seeing that she was ready, Shishi raised his hand, intending to apply a fake birthmark to her face. Jin'er, not understanding his intent, subconsciously flinched and dodged.

"Your portrait has been posted everywhere now. You need a disguise."

Hearing this, Jin'er finally saw what was in his hand—a goose-egg-sized black artificial birthmark—and could not help feeling a wave of disgust. Yet under his steady gaze, she merely curled her lips in reluctant dissatisfaction, tilting her face and letting him paste that ugly thing onto her left cheek.

Despite how hideous the object was, in Shiyuan's eyes, she remained as breathtaking and moving as ever. Perhaps it was because he knew her true appearance that he simply filtered out the black birthmark entirely.

"Let's go," Shishi said flatly, turning straight away to walk out.

"Where are we going?" Jin'er asked, frowning as she hurried to catch up. Having slept, her emotions seemed to have recovered; the vulnerability of the previous night had vanished, leaving behind only the red, swollen rabbit eyes still lingering on her face.

"Leave the Fire Kingdom."

"Mo Yan... is he alright?" Jin'er turned her head to look at him, asking with a trace of apprehension...

Shiyuan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Jin'er. "He should be fine. He held off a group of imperial guards and told me to catch up and protect you." Pity that by the time he chased his way out of the imperial palace, there was already no trace of her.

Jin'er could almost imagine Mo Yan's anxious and worried expression at that moment, and a sharp, tight pain squeezed her heart. It seemed he did not blame her, and was still so worried for her safety. Yet this realization only made her feel even more guilty.

"You're taking me out of the Fire Kingdom? Where to?"

"The Earth Kingdom." With that, he turned back around and continued walking.

"The Earth Kingdom? Why go there?" Although staying in the Fire Kingdom was indeed unwise right now, she was still curious as to why he had chosen the Earth Kingdom. Given the choice, she would much rather return to the Metal Kingdom.

"Didn't you ask me to wait for you for a month before?" Shishi said flatly as he walked. Though expressionless—virtually possessing a stone face—and speaking in a low tone, he was not chillingly cold like Luliu. Still, his words, much like his expression, were calm and devoid of extra warmth.

Hearing this, Jin'er paused, then realized he was referring to her previous promise to help him save someone. So that person was in the Earth Kingdom; very well, she would help him save them first. Thinking of this, she quickly lifted her feet and followed.

"By the way, how did you find this place?" Jin'er asked with some curiosity.

"I ran into Luliu in the city, and he brought me here," Shishi answered without concealment.

Jin'er's steps faltered, clearly stunned by his answer. Recalling the events of the previous night, a fresh ache flared in her heart. She forced herself to step forward again, feeling an inexplicable sense of stifled frustration.

Stepping out of the courtyard gate, Jin'er walked straight toward the bay horse standing outside. She grabbed the saddle with one hand, placed a foot in the stirrup, and tried twice in succession without managing to mount. It seemed the backlash from her internal power truly was severe.

Just as Jin'er was feeling vexed, she felt a tightness around her waist, and her body was hoisted straight up. She quickly seized the momentum to swing her leg across the horse's back. Immediately afterward, Shishi vaulted up onto the horse behind her.

"Hyah!" Flicking the reins and squeezing his legs against the horse's flanks, the steed neighed and bolted forward.

"Are you injured?" A voice came from above, devoid of emotion yet carrying a faint hint of concern.

"It's nothing."

Hearing this, Shishi looked down at her and said nothing more, but reached out his left arm to encircle her waist.

The sudden contact made Jin'er's body stiffen with tension, but at that moment, she truly needed such a solid arm and chest to lean upon. After remaining rigid for a long while, she gradually relaxed and eventually leaned back against his chest, feeling her body lighten considerably.

Sensing her voluntary reliance, Shishi's heart trembled involuntarily, stirring a flutter of nervous excitement and causing his heartbeat to accelerate inexplicably.

Utterly oblivious to Shishi's emotions, Jin'er rested within his solid embrace and gradually closed her eyes. Though she had always warned herself never to rely on anyone, she sometimes felt that having a chest to lean on could actually be quite blissful.

Having slept for less than an hour the previous night, she was soon lulled by the rhythmic jolting of the horse's back, and before long, she fell fast asleep.

Sensing the figure in front of her leaning abnormally to one side, Shishi looked down and frowned, a wave of tenderness rippling through his eyes.

He took her waist, lifted her body slightly, and repositioned her to sit sideways in front of him, sliding his arm back so she could comfortably press against his chest and rest within the crook of his arm.

Watching her slightly furrowed brows and the deepness of her slumber, Shishi tightened his arm, his heart softening inexplicably. At that moment, he harbored a sweet illusion: the person in his arms belonged to him...

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Jin'er in her sleep twitched her nose, and after a moment, slowly opened her eyes to find herself sitting on the ground, leaning back against a pine tree. A few paces away, a campfire was burning brightly, and Shishi was sitting beside it, roasting game meat. The aroma she had just smelled came entirely from his hand.

Glancing at the horse nearby, which was flicking its tail and grazing on sparse patches of grass, Jin'er realized that she had actually fallen asleep on horseback earlier—truly discovering within herself a remarkable talent for sleeping while riding.

"Awake?" Shishi turned his head to look at her and asked.

She stood up, stretched luxuriously, and walked over to his side. Having left hurriedly this morning, she had forgotten breakfast, and now her stomach was growling with hunger, leaving her limbs even weaker.

"Have I slept for a long time?" Sitting down beside him, Jin'er picked up a half-burnt twig, poked at the campfire, and asked.

"It is now noon." Rather than answering directly, he gave her the answer all the same.

Jin'er smiled bashfully and said nothing more. Shishi, turning his head at that precise moment to catch her smile, was instantly captivated, staring blankly at her charming profile for a long moment without recovering his senses.

Sensing something unusual, Jin'er turned to look at him, and their eyes met.

Shishi missed a heartbeat, snapped back to reality instantly, and hurriedly turned his head away—a speed so rapid that it entirely betrayed his guilty conscience.

Jin'er stared blankly at his somewhat unnatural profile for a moment before bursting into a light laugh.

It would have been fine had she not laughed, but this laughter instantly embarrassed Shishi to no end. His wheat-toned skin even faintly flushed with a reddish hue, yet his face remained as stiff as a stone from sheer tension and awkwardness—a true block of stone...

Jin'er kept her gaze fixed on him, amused by his current expression and laughing even more heartily. A sudden, mischievous urge arose in her to tease him.

"Hey, turn your head back around."

Shishi remained unmoved, though Jin'er could tell he had grown even more nervous, as if a blade were pressed against his throat. Haha, what a cute fellow.

"If you don't turn around, it proves you were just sneaking peeks at me." A flash of sly amusement danced in Jin'er's eyes.

Sure enough, three seconds later, Shishi turned his head back. His expression was utterly bizarre, and he didn't dare meet her gaze. She figured he must have wished he could instantly turn invisible and vanish on the spot.

"I'm this ugly right now, and you still dare to stare?" Jin'er said, deliberately lifting her left cheek for emphasis.

"Not ugly." The words slipped out of Shishi's mouth subconsciously. The moment he spoke, he clamped his mouth shut, filled with profound regret. He should have said "I wasn't looking"—how on earth had he blurted out those last two words first?

Jin'er froze for a second, then burst into hearty laughter, "Ha-ha! Who would've thought that a wooden log like you knows how to coax a girl into being happy? Not bad at all, you've got potential."

Shishi grew even more embarrassed, yet lacking any retort, he simply turned his head back and ignored her.

"Oh, your face is red again. Turn around and let me see?" Laughing, Jin'er reached out to tug at his arm. No matter how she pulled, he stubbornly refused to look back, his complexion shifting from red to dark, and then from dark to pale—keeping Jin'er thoroughly amused for a long while before she finally stopped.

After this commotion, Jin'er's mood seemed much improved, and the gloomy clouds in her heart had been largely scattered by that cascade of laughter.

Suddenly struggling to her feet, she tilted her head back toward the sky and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha-ha-ha..." Amidst her wild shouting and laughter, Jin'er felt as though her former self had truly returned.

Shouldn't it be like this? She had finally shaken off the cold poison, and now possessed a powerful fire spirit along with her dual mastery of poison and medicine; she could live splendidly in this world! Who would dare bully her anymore? Who would dare look down upon her with disdain?

Shishi looked up at her flying dark locks, her brilliant smile, and the dazzling radiance in her eyes with a mixture of fascination and puzzlement. She was free? They had only just gotten a bit further away from the imperial city, and could run into government soldiers at any moment; calling herself free now was far too early.

Besides, she had just parted ways with Mo Yan; shouldn't she be feeling heartbroken rather than this joyful?

Shishi stared at Jin'er, knitting his brows in deep thought. They were supposed to be married in just three days—what on earth had she done to provoke the Emperor's such towering rage? And judging by the look of it, the matter was undoubtedly monumental.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled how she had previously asked him to wait for him for a month. At the time, he had found it slightly strange that a month from then would mark her newlywed days; how could Mo Yan let her out of the palace? But he hadn't thought much of it then. Connecting it to these current events... Could it be that she never wanted to marry Mo Yan in the first place?

Having finished shouting and laughing, Jin'er took a deep breath, feeling much refreshed, and sat back down. Turning her head, she saw Shishi staring at her with knitted brows and a probing expression.

Blinking her eyes, Jin'er asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong? I was never a proper lady to begin with." She assumed he was startled by her exaggerated behavior.

"You didn't want to marry Mo Yan?" Shishi asked flatly, a faint trace of anticipation stirring in his heart.

Jin'er froze, completely unprepared for him to suddenly ask such a question. Seeing him staring unblinkingly, waiting quite earnestly for an answer, Jin'er had to收起 her look of surprise, curled her lips, and said, "How could that be? But now I can't go back anyway; the old Emperor will kill me."

Shiyuan continued to watch her, his eyes carrying a probing look of skepticism.

"Aiya, the meat is almost burning! Hurry, hurry, hurry!..." Fearing he would continue questioning her, Jin'er hastily changed the subject.

Eating with great relish, Jin'er couldn't help but inwardly groan upon seeing Shishi still wearing a pensive look. Why did a mere imperial guard have to rack his brains over so much? Pondering this, the question that had crossed her mind several times before popped up in her head once again.

"Shishi, are you really just a guard? I always felt you weren't." For some reason, she simply had that intuition, and normally he treated Mo Yan with neither subservience nor arrogance, let alone showing any sense of hierarchy toward her. Where on earth did he look like an imperial palace guard? No matter how aloof one's personality, subordinate etiquette was still a necessity.

Shiyuan glanced at her, swallowed a mouthful of food, and asked, "Why?"

"Which guard looks as handsome as you, and possesses such distinct character?" She admitted she was flattering him slightly in hopes of hearing the truth, but she swore every word she spoke was the absolute truth.

Shiyuan pressed his lips together, and a smile unexpectedly flashed across his face. Of course, it was merely fleeting, yet Jin'er had the good fortune to catch it.

She widened her eyes, staring at that face which had already returned to its usual stony stillness, genuinely wondering if her eyes had just deceived her.

Sigh~~! It seemed there was always this type of handsome man in the world; clearly looking wonderfully attractive when smiling, yet deliberately hiding it away as if rationing it out, leaving you yearning for a second glimpse after seeing it just once, or even craving for their smile to bloom solely for you. Perhaps, this was their ultimate weapon...

"Hey, you haven't answered me yet." Jin'er snapped out of her reverie, raised an eyebrow, and continued pressing for an answer.

Shiyuan turned his head back, just about to speak, when his gaze fell upon her face. He raised his hand and gently brushed away a speck of meat juice clinging to her cheek with his finger—an action executed with startling naturalness.

Jin'er froze for an instant, feeling her face inexplicably grow warm. Wasn't this... wasn't this action a bit too intimate?

Seeing her turn away with an unnatural air, Shishi felt a trace of awkwardness himself. The pleasant sensation seemed to linger on his fingertip, making him unconsciously savor it inwardly.

After a long while, he took the initiative to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere. "Four years ago, I was severely injured and rescued by Mo Yan. Because I've never liked owing anyone, I proposed serving as his personal guard for four years to repay the debt." In reality, Mo Yan enjoyed roaming about and preferred solitude, so most of the time he stayed alone in the palace. Thanks to that, however, his martial arts had improved immensely over the past four years.

"So that's how it is... Then have your four years ended?" She knew her intuition was spot on.

"They ended a month ago."

"Oh? Then why didn't you leave before? Were you planning to keep staying?"

"I am leaving now." He could indeed have left earlier, even during the time when the crown prince led a surprise raid, but he couldn't bear to leave. Now, looking back, that initial hesitation and risk-taking had been quite worthwhile. Setting aside the possibility that she might help him save someone, just the chance to be alone with her like this made it entirely worth it.

Jin'er acknowledged with an "oh" and, having no further doubts, stopped questioning and continued eating.

She had thought he was still on duty, but hearing him put it this way, he was now a free man. Still, since she was going to help him save someone anyway, even without Mo Yan's instruction, he would have ensured her safe departure from the Fire Kingdom.

Having finished their meal, the two dared not delay further and resumed their journey. Passing through a town, Jin'er couldn't help feeling somewhat gloomy as she looked at the wanted posters plastered all over the streets and the government soldiers darting past from time to time.

So this was what being a wanted fugitive felt like; it really wasn't a fun experience, as it stirred an involuntary sense of guilt... Fortunately, the ancient era lacked photography, and those sketches left much to be desired. Coupled with the ugly birthmark she had pasted on her face, unless it was someone intimately familiar with her, recognition was highly unlikely.

Facts proved her point. Batch after batch of government soldiers brushed past her, yet she remained entirely safe.

Still, it was best to leave quickly to avoid complications arising from prolonged delay.