Xu Ancheng drove the carriage onward, rallying himself for the journey.
After hearing the conversation inside the carriage, he was consumed by guilt.
He had taken a short nap earlier and forgotten to switch places with Miss Ji. As a result, in that brief span of time, the two of them had been roasted into idiots by the sun.
Ji Zhaoxi had applied the medicine Qin Qiwu gave them. It was cool and soothing, and very comfortable against her skin.
Fu Xianyan handed the medicine to Xu Ancheng outside and called out politely, “Young Master Xu.”
Xu Ancheng heard him and turned around. At a glance, he saw Fu Xianyan’s face, red and almost black from the sun.
Xu Ancheng fell silent.
Ji Zhaoxi smiled at him. “This feels very nice.”
Xu Ancheng’s eyes immediately reddened.
With her newly tanned complexion, Miss Ji’s smile made her look even more guileless. The usually aloof Young Master Fu also looked much more down-to-earth now.
Xu Ancheng took the medicine and turned around with a heavy heart.
Qin Qiwu understood his guilt and sighed.
They had to hurry and restore these two little blackened men to their former appearances. Otherwise, Young Master Xu would feel guilty to death.
“Fu Xianyan, it’s much more comfortable inside the carriage,” Ji Zhaoxi said with a grin as she munched on a pear.
Fu Xianyan’s eyes curved slightly. The two of them leaned against each other.
“It really is more comfortable inside.”
After a long while, Zhou Cheng finally woke up. He opened his eyes groggily, but the moment he saw the two people sitting opposite him, he froze.
Who were these two people, red and black all over?
He blinked and looked at them again.
“How much longer until we arrive?”
“Probably another day or two. Are you hungry?”
Only after hearing the familiar voice did Zhou Cheng realize who the two people in front of him were, but even then, he still couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it.
What had happened? He had only taken a nap, so how had these two managed to get sunburned into this state?
The wind had grown slightly cool. Xu Ancheng gripped the reins and finally relaxed a little.
The sun would set soon. Once it did, the temperature would drop.
Xu Ancheng was looking for a place near a stream where they could stop for the night.
“Giddy-up!”
The moment he spoke, a rabbit suddenly darted out from beside the grass.
As though frightened by something, it leaped high into the air, its hind legs flailing wildly.
Smack!
Its hind legs kicked the horse squarely in the face.
The horse was startled and reared up, raising its front hooves. Xu Ancheng had no time to react, and his body fell backward along with the carriage.
Before the rabbit had even landed, it twisted in midair and kicked again.
Bang!
This kick landed solidly on Xu Ancheng’s face.
Xu Ancheng was sent into a daze. That rabbit had some incredible leg strength.
He tried to steady the carriage, but it had already gone completely out of control. The horse let out a long neigh and charged forward without stopping. Then one of the wheels struck a stone beside the road, and the entire carriage overturned.
Xu Ancheng went rolling out with it, tumbling across the grass again and again.
The surroundings fell silent.
Ji Zhaoxi leaped out of the carriage, her head covered in grass. She immediately drew her sword and warily scanned the area.
“Where are the assassins?!”
How outrageous!
They were still sitting inside the carriage. If someone wanted to attack them, the least they could do was give them some warning first. Didn’t they know anything about the rules of the martial world?
Fu Xianyan’s expression also turned serious.
The black-clad man’s eyes lit up. Could someone have come to rescue him?
Heaven had finally shown him mercy. At last, he was going to escape from these people!
Xu Ancheng struggled to his feet and said sheepishly, “There are no assassins… It was a rabbit…”
Qin Qiwu was stunned as well. “A rabbit?”
Not far away, the rabbit stopped and glanced back at them.
Ji Zhaoxi gritted her teeth. “Stop right there!”
The rabbit perked up its ears and sprinted away.
Several people stood in silence, watching the rabbit disappear into the distance.
Ji Zhaoxi felt that there couldn’t possibly be a more unfortunate detective team in the entire world.
The group huffed and puffed as they righted the carriage. Xu Ancheng lowered his head guiltily.
“It’s all right, Young Master Xu. Don’t be upset,” Qin Qiwu said softly.
Fu Xianyan nodded. “It was only an accident.”
Ji Zhaoxi consoled him as well. “It’s all that foul rabbit’s fault for kicking people so hard.”
What an uncivilized rabbit. It had even knocked over their prized blood-sweating horse.
Ji Zhaoxi fed the horse some grass, comforting it as she did so. The horse lowered its head to eat, tossing its head around and letting out an aggrieved snort.
“All right, all right, don’t be sad. If I ever run into that rabbit again, I’ll make sure it regrets ever being born,” Ji Zhaoxi said indignantly.
Fu Xianyan let out a muffled laugh.
They were of the same kind—why be so cruel to one another?
Far too many miserable things had happened that day, and the entire group looked listless.
That included the Black Young Master, who had spent the whole day in black clothes absorbing the heat, as well as Zhou Cheng, who had been trapped underneath everyone else when the carriage overturned.
Both of them looked as if they had aged ten years.
At that moment, the Black Young Master no longer wanted to complete his mission, kill anyone, or even worry about his venomous insects. He only wanted to sit quietly for a while. If there happened to be something to eat, that would be even better.
At last, Xu Ancheng found a place with a stream.
They would probably reach the prefect’s residence tomorrow, so they at least needed to make themselves look presentable.
After washing, everyone felt much better.
Qin Qiwu looked at Ji Zhaoxi and Fu Xianyan with great satisfaction. Once they had cleaned themselves up, Miss Ji and Young Master Fu had become two clean little red-and-black people.
She continued applying medicine to them.
“You need to apply this medicine every day. The skin on both your foreheads has already peeled from the sun.”
Qin Qiwu sighed. These two were far too stubborn.
“Miss Qin, you’re such a kind person.” Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes shone.
Qin Qiwu had been taking care of them throughout the journey.
Fu Xianyan also said politely, “Thank you, Miss Qin.”
Qin Qiwu’s eyes curved into a smile before she went over to apply medicine to Xu Ancheng.
The moment Xu Ancheng saw her approach, he became terribly nervous. He stood stiffly in place. “Miss Qin… I-I’ll sit down.”
He promptly sat on a burr.
His expression twisted for an instant, and he leaped back up in pain.
“J-just a moment!”
Xu Ancheng hurriedly looked for another place to sit. In his panic, he accidentally tripped over his own sword and nearly fell to the ground.
Qin Qiwu was startled. “Young Master Xu, be careful!”
She stood helplessly to the side.
Xu Ancheng forced a smile. “Don’t worry…”
Bang!
His foot slipped, and he fell straight to the ground.
The atmosphere suddenly went silent.
Ji Zhaoxi quietly munched on her pear, while Fu Xianyan sensed the subtle tension and quietly ate a date.
The two exchanged a glance, then silently looked away toward the fire.
Xu Ancheng raised his head, his face burning with embarrassment. His first reaction was to look across from him. When he saw that neither of them had noticed what was happening, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Qiwu turned away and lowered her head, kicking at a pebble.
At last, Xu Ancheng sat down and said softly, “Miss Qin, I’m ready.”
Qin Qiwu coughed lightly before sitting down to apply the medicine to him.
Xu Ancheng didn’t dare look at her. His entire face had turned bright red.
Qin Qiwu gently rubbed the medicine onto him, barely managing to suppress her laughter.
Not far away, Ji Zhaoxi watched the scene with tears in her eyes.
“This is wonderful.”
The two of them were growing closer and closer.
They were no longer the same pair who had once nearly fainted from excitement whenever their eyes met.
Fu Xianyan leaned against the tree trunk. Looking at Ji Zhaoxi with the medicine spread across her face, he lowered his eyes and gave a quiet laugh.
Indeed, it was wonderful.
He had rarely enjoyed such a peaceful life…
Bound to a tree trunk, Zhou Cheng watched the scene with a cold expression.
He was past the age of blushing and heart-pounding excitement.
All he wanted now was for tomorrow to arrive as quickly as possible, so they could reach the prefect’s residence and he could finally get rid of these four people!
Zhou Cheng had worked at the county office for so many years, yet he had never found anything as exhausting as these past few days on the road!
