Consciousness slowly returned to her, and the soreness all over her body assailed her instantly. She couldn't help but groan and raised her hand to her forehead.
"Awake?" A soft voice suddenly came. Fu Zhen was startled and instantly sat up from the ground. She stared blankly at Chen Tingfeng in front of her and murmured, "Cousin?"
Chen Tingfeng nodded slightly, threw the firewood in his hand into the fire, then picked up the water bag beside him and handed it to her. "You've slept for so long. Have some water."
Only then did Fu Zhen realize that her throat was extremely hoarse. She couldn't help but cough and reached out to take the water bag. "Thank you, cousin."
With this movement, the clothes that had been covering her waist instantly slipped off. She looked down and saw that Chen Tingfeng beside her was only wearing his under - clothes. She immediately realized something and blushed as she picked up the clothes and handed them to him. "Here."
Chen Tingfeng glanced at her and took the clothes. Just as Fu Zhen let out a sigh of relief, she saw him unfold the clothes and wrap her up like dressing a child.
Fu Zhen felt that she might still be half - asleep. Otherwise, why was her mind still so muddled?
"Cousin?" She didn't understand his intention and sized up the person beside her with a bit of confusion and wariness.
Seeing her like this, Chen Tingfeng guessed that she must be slandering him in her heart again. He let out a soft snort. "It's already midnight. The night is deep and the dew is heavy. I'm afraid I'll only find a cold corpse when I wake up tomorrow. You'd better put on the clothes."
Fu Zhen: "..."
He really never said anything nice!
She rolled her eyes at him but knew that he meant well. Besides, she was really feeling a bit cold, so she didn't stand on ceremony with him. She tightened the clothes on her body and casually thanked him. "Well, thank you, cousin."
"You're welcome," Chen Tingfeng paused, "cousin."
Fu Zhen looked up at him and saw that he was also looking down at her. In the dim light of the fire, she vaguely glimpsed a hint of tenderness in him.
She couldn't help but turn her head away, as if she couldn't bear such a quiet and ambiguous atmosphere. Then she brought up another topic. "… How did you know I was in their hands?"
Chen Tingfeng showed up at just the right moment. When that arrow pierced through the young man's shoulder, the dagger was only a hair's breadth away from her face.
It was really too much of a coincidence.
Chen Tingfeng paused in his movement of getting up. "I saw it on the mountain."
Those bandits were originally farmers. Even though they had trained for their life as bandits, how could they possibly be a match for Chen Tingfeng? In just a few blinks, he had shaken them off.
He was originally going to head in Xie Yan's direction, but just as he was about to take a step, he saw an unexpected person.
His deep voice was rather pleasant in the late night, like the evening breeze brushing against Fu Zhen's cheek, carrying a touch of lingering tenderness.
Fu Zhen had been listening to him intently at first, but as she listened, she couldn't help but drift off.
It was probably less than half an hour in total, even if she combined two lifetimes, that she had sat down and had a peaceful conversation with him like this.
She lowered her eyes, her mind wandering aimlessly. She thought of the cold treatment in her previous life and the tit - for - tat confrontation in this life. Finally, her mind settled on one thought:
If she had been able to have a peaceful conversation with him in her previous life, would she not have ended up dying alone and miserably?
"… Zhenzhen?" Seeing that she was silent and in a daze, Chen Tingfeng couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. "Forget it. You've suffered a lot today. It's late at night. Lie down and sleep again."
He was being unusually gentle tonight. So gentle that Fu Zhen couldn't help but recall what he had said about regarding her as his younger sister. In this situation, she finally realized belatedly that what Chen Tingfeng had said was true.
She looked up into his eyes, which were still so gentle, not as cold and aggressive as usual.
… Maybe it was because of the fire.
Such dim light must have had some effect on her eyes.
She obediently lay down and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened her eyes resignedly. "I can't sleep."
Chen Tingfeng looked at her. "Are you still expecting a bedtime story at your age?"
He was obviously making fun of her!
Fu Zhen let out a "humph", wrinkled her nose, and deliberately said, "Well, then tell one."
Chen Tingfeng gave a soft laugh. "Close your eyes."
He was actually going to tell her a story.
She closed her eyes, and Chen Tingfeng's deep voice rang in her ears.
The day's hard work must have taken its toll on him. At this moment, his voice was very low and a bit hoarse, but still pleasant to hear.
Although his storytelling skills were really poor, with no intonation changes at all, just like chanting scriptures, Fu Zhen still slowly drifted off into a sweet dream under this voice.
She looked very cute when she was asleep, a completely different kind of beauty from her lively self during the day.
Chen Tingfeng looked at her sleeping face and couldn't help but want to reach out and touch her face, but he stopped just as he was about to.
After a moment, he slowly moved his finger and gently placed it on her bangs, brushing aside the messy strands. Then he tapped her forehead.
"Have a good dream."
Early the next morning.
When Fu Zhen woke up again, the fire had gone out, and there was no sign of Chen Tingfeng in the cave.
Her mind was still hazy, and she sat there in a daze.
After a while, there was a very soft sound of footsteps at the entrance of the cave. Fu Zhen perked up and instantly looked towards the entrance. But when she saw that it was Chen Tingfeng, she relaxed, with a hint of dependence she didn't even notice herself, and asked him, "Where did you go?"
Chen Tingfeng put down his bow and arrow, patted the leaves and dust on his body, and then looked at her. "I climbed a tree to check the situation."
The mountain was not a safe place. He hadn't slept all night, and there were dark circles under his eyes, but he still looked energetic.
Fu Zhen saw that his snow - white under - clothes were now covered in dust. She looked down at the outer clothes covering her and felt a bit embarrassed.
She stood up and handed the outer clothes to him. "Put them on now."
Chen Tingfeng didn't say much. He took the outer clothes and put them on.
His movement paused imperceptibly. The clothes still retained Fu Zhen's body heat and the faint fragrance of flowers on her. Now that he had put on the outer clothes, he felt as if he was surrounded by her scent, which made him feel unusually uncomfortable.
Looking at Fu Zhen's innocent look, his Adam's apple rolled. He suppressed his restless emotions, steadied his mind, and said to her, "Get packed up. I'll take you down the mountain."
Last night had been too peaceful. So peaceful that Fu Zhen thought the bandit - suppression mission was already over. But when she heard what he said just now, it seemed that it wasn't over yet?
Fu Zhen bit her lip. "Cousin, is this matter very difficult?"
She lowered her voice, being a bit vigilant about the surroundings, afraid of being overheard.
Chen Tingfeng looked at her and suddenly flicked her forehead. Hearing her let out a cry of pain, he couldn't help but laugh. "It's not difficult, just a bit complicated. Don't worry. After you get home, stay in the mansion and don't go out again."
Mentioning going out, Fu Zhen just remembered that she had been kidnapped from the Buddhist temple. She immediately lowered her head and felt around in her sleeve, as if looking for something.
"Cousin?" Chen Tingfeng was a bit confused. Even though the sun told him that it would be too late if they didn't go down the mountain soon, he still stood there motionless, patiently waiting for Fu Zhen to finish.
"Great! It's not lost!" Fu Zhen couldn't help but exclaim in joy. She took out an amulet from her sleeve. It was a very simple style, a piece of yellow paper with a thin red string tied to it, and there were symbols drawn on it with cinnabar.
She handed the amulet to him and smiled at him. "This is an amulet I prayed for you. It will bless you to come back safely and smoothly!"