"Miss!"
Just as Dongfang Yi was about to collapse, she suddenly heard an exclamation. Immediately afterwards, she felt a pair of hands reach out to her shoulders, straightening her tottering body back up.
She covered her chest and gasped for breath. Then she looked down at the stone on the ground in front of her. With a feeling of relief after surviving a disaster, she thought that if she had fallen forward, she would definitely have gotten injured.
Subconsciously, she said, "Whew—it scared me! Thank you so much."
After saying that, she looked up at the person who had saved her. He was a very good - looking man, but "good - looking" was not the right word to describe him. The toughness between his eyebrows made him look extremely manly. His eyes were like stars and still carried a touch of childishness. Under his blade - like nose were two thin lips.
Men with thin lips are the most heartless, Dongfang Yi immediately thought of this saying. But at the same time, she felt that this man looked very familiar.
"Who are you, sir?" Dongfang Yi looked at the man in front of her warily.
This was the harem. The appearance of a man here was no simple matter.
And this man was naturally Helian Rong, the protagonist of today's banquet.
Helian Rong saw the suddenly wary look in the woman's eyes in front of him. He suddenly found it very interesting. This woman reminded him of an animal - the cat from the Western Regions. It was an animal that was both docile and occasionally fierce.
"Ah—I'm a guard in the palace." Helian Rong replied with a smile.
"A guard...?" Dongfang Yi said softly with doubt.
Of course, she wouldn't believe such nonsense so easily. In just this short time, she had sized up the man in front of her from head to toe. The robe he was wearing was made of the top - grade silk fabric, and just the jade pendant hanging on his waist, judging from its luster, was definitely a rare treasure.
How could a person dressed and adorned like this be just a guard? Thinking of today's palace banquet, she guessed that he must be the young master of some family or a prince. He must have found the banquet boring and come out for some fun.
"You're lying! The jade pendant on your waist is worth ten guards." Dongfang Yi said.
"Hahahahaha—" Helian Rong couldn't help but burst into laughter. He didn't expect this woman to be so interesting. He couldn't help but become curious about her identity.
Just now at the banquet, he really couldn't stand the continuous toasting from those ministers, so he had to sneak out to seek a moment of peace. Then he walked and walked and came to this secluded courtyard.
Just as he was about to go in and sit down, he saw a woman in a white dress with long hair loose. Under the moonlight, she was like a fairy.
He remembered that he had heard a legend in the Western Regions that as long as there was a beautiful scenery, there would be a fairy guarding it. He almost regarded Dongfang Yi as the fairy guarding this beautiful scenery.
It wasn't until he saw her bending down to catch a cricket, and there was a big rock in front of her. That's when he rushed into the courtyard and grabbed her.
"I'm a retainer of General Helian, his left - hand general." Helian Rong lied without batting an eyelid.
Suddenly, he didn't want to tell the woman in front of him his real identity. He was already tired of everyone's boundless flattery. He didn't even know when he was hearing the truth and when he was hearing lies.
"Oh~ It's that General Helian. I've heard people in the palace say that he's very powerful."
Dongfang Yi said. She knew that this man couldn't be just a guard. It turned out that he was the retainer of the much - admired General Helian.
Seeing that she didn't seem very curious about his name, Helian Rong asked, "Don't you like General Helian?"
"What's there to like or not like? I don't even know him. But so many people in the palace are chasing after him. It's like he's a star."
Dongfang Yi replied impatiently. She had no interest in chasing stars, let alone chasing an ancient general.
Hearing her words, although Helian Rong could tell from her tone that she didn't seem to like him very much, he just couldn't get angry. He had never heard anyone talk about him like this before, so he asked, "What's a star?"
"It's a person who is in the spotlight, loved by everyone, and blindly worshipped by people." Dongfang Yi explained word by word.
In modern times, she thought that chasing stars was a rather stupid thing. It cost both money and time, all for a person one could never get. She didn't expect that the same situation still existed in ancient times.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes and sighed that the world was so big and the temptation of handsome men was the greatest!
"Hahaha—You woman, you actually talk about General Helian like this behind his back. Aren't you afraid of being beheaded?" Helian Rong squinted his eyes and teased the woman in front of him.
Dongfang Yi just had a look of "what the hell" on her face, and her eyes almost rolled up to the sky.
Then she continued, "I said, Left - hand General, weren't these words asked by you? I didn't expect that you, who look so dignified, actually like to tell lies with your eyes open."
Helian Rong found it even more interesting. Since his father's death, he had devoted himself to war, only knowing how to wield guns and swords, and indulging in the world of martial arts all day long. It had been so long since he last heard someone talk to him like this.
"But I'm a retainer of General Helian. Isn't it normal for me to say some good words for him?" Helian Rong continued to ask with a smile on his lips.
"Is he really that powerful? Is he that good at fighting? I think you have regular features and are quite handsome. You should be no worse than that general. Why did you become his retainer?" Dongfang Yi also asked.
Helian Rong looked at the cute look of the woman in front of him and said, "General Helian is peerless in martial arts. It's my honor to be his retainer."
Dongfang Yi rolled her eyes again, thinking what kind of retainer this was. He was almost praising his master to the sky.
So she said, "I said, Left - hand General, did you become the left - hand general by flattering your master? Hahaha."
After saying that, she looked at the man in front of her teasingly, with a mocking look on her face.
"You..."
Helian Rong was momentarily speechless. But seeing her self - satisfied look, he didn't want to let her go easily. So he asked, "Then who are you?"
Hearing the question, Dongfang Yi suddenly smiled. Of course, she couldn't tell him her real identity. So she walked up to him and whispered, "I'm a fairy."
After saying that, she was about to walk towards the gate of the garden.
Helian Rong could feel a unique fragrance. Then the fragrance drifted out of the garden. He suddenly turned around and looked at the back that was about to leave the garden and shouted, "Can we meet again, Fairy?"
"It depends on this fairy's mood!"
All he could hear was Dongfang Yi's reply without even turning her head. Then she completely disappeared from Helian Rong's sight.