Si Zhan’s dark eyelashes trembled slightly. He shared a personal moment: during painful nights, he remembered her words: “As long as we don’t give up on our own lives, we can definitely survive.” He would force himself to paint in the darkness, thinking of her face until the pain became insignificant.
“Because I paint not with eyes, but with heart,” Si Zhan said, gazing at her tenderly. “Wan Wan, you’ve taken root and sprouted in my heart.”
Just then, a dramatic interruption occurred involving a potential assassination attempt, causing the crowd to panic and flee, shouting, “Oh no, murder! Murder!” The scene instantly became chaotic.
Tourists scattered in panic, leaving only eight or nine strong men. They removed their disguises, revealing black outfits and brandishing traditional Chinese sabers, glaring fiercely at Si Zhan and his group.
Xiao Jingji and Yun Li the painter quickly hid under a table. Si Zhan pushed Yuan Bi aside and strode towards Ning Wanwan, who turned and ran towards him.
“Attack!” the black-clothed men shouted, rushing forward.
Yuan Bi swiftly eliminated two assassins, prompting the others to disperse and surround him, clearly intent on eliminating this guard to reach Si Zhan.
Si Zhan pulled Ning Wanwan behind him, coldly staring at the attackers, his eyebrows furrowing. In the ensuing battle, Yuan Bi took down several more assassins.
Ning Wanwan suddenly remembered Fu Yi and looked around, finally spotting her standing near a table, terrified and motionless. At that moment, she noticed Xiao Jingji, also under the table, coldly staring at Fu Yi while drawing a traditional saber.
“Fu Yi! Watch out!” Ning Wanwan shouted.
Fu Yi blankly turned her head, fearfully finding Ning Wanwan, her face pale as she stood frozen in terror.
Xiao Jingji raised the knife to stab Fu Yi’s back. Ning Wanwan, anxious, broke free from Si Zhan’s grip and rushed toward Fu Yi, shouting, “Careful behind you, move!”
Fu Yi turned just in time to see the blade inches away but couldn’t retreat. Fortunately, Ning Wanwan pushed Fu Yi aside. However, Xiao Jingji smoothly redirected the blade towards Ning Wanwan’s heart.
As Ning Wanwan rushed toward the sword’s tip, her momentum suddenly halted, and everything spun. The next moment, she was tightly embraced by Si Zhan.
Ning Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief, then heard Si Zhan emit a muffled groan. “Master!” Yuan Bi shouted, then swung his arm, driving his sword through Xiao Jingji’s heart.
With a loud clang, Xiao Jingji fell, blood covering the saber’s tip. An assassin took the chance to stab Yuan Bi’s arm. Enraged, Yuan Bi snapped the assassin’s neck with his bare hands.
However, Si Zhan remained motionless, holding Ning Wanwan.
“Ning Wanwan stared at Si Zhan in terror, trembling, “Uncle, what’s wrong with you?” After a pause, she added, “If you’re in pain, you can lie down.”
No need,” Si Zhan finally said after a while.
Ning Wanwan felt something was wrong. Being stabbed would definitely hurt.
She leaned closer to Si Zhan, her big round eyes staring at his face. “But Uncle, your complexion looks really bad. If you’re hurting, just cry out.”
Si Zhan pressed his lips together and didn’t speak. He could barely lift his eyelids, his long eyelashes trembling.
Ning Wanwan remembered that biting someone might help when feeling uncomfortable. She thought that as a dignified man, Si Zhan would not cry out in pain in front of her.
“Uncle, if you’re too embarrassed to cry out, then you can bite me instead.” She raised her arm, exposing a jade-like wrist, and extended it in front of him.
“No…” Si Zhan grabbed her hand and suddenly collapsed toward her.
“Huh? Uncle, you…” Ning Wanwan was startled and instinctively held Si Zhan. “Uncle? What, what’s wrong with you?”
Although Si Zhan looked thin, when he collapsed, Ning Wanwan could barely support him, realizing how heavy he actually was.
When she hugged him, her hands became sticky. Looking down, they were covered in blood. She was so scared she almost stopped breathing.
Si Zhan didn’t want her to see his wound. After hearing Yuan Bi say it wasn’t fatal, she thought it was minor. She never expected so much blood.
Yuan Bi called from outside, “Princess, what’s happening to the master?”
Ning Wanwan panicked, “Blood… Uncle’s wound, it doesn’t seem to stop… he’s passed out…”
Yuan Bi calmly replied, “Princess, don’t panic. The master has a weak constitution, and external wounds are difficult to heal. There’s a small wooden box in the left corner of the carriage with a red medicine bottle for stopping bleeding. Please help our master.”
“…Okay…”
Ning Wanwan looked towards the corner and found a carved red wooden box. With Si Zhan’s weight on her, she stretched out her right hand to reach the box. After some effort, she pulled it over.
Opening the box, she found a small red medicine bottle and shouted outside, “Found it!”
Yuan Bi instructed, “Just pour it directly on the wound.”
Holding Si Zhan with one hand and the medicine with the other, she didn’t know how to proceed. She first put down the medicine and tried to push Si Zhan away, but he was too heavy.
With no choice, she used her shoulder for support and began to undress him.
Fortunately, his clothes had overlapping collars, making removal easier.
She first took off his outer robe and middle garment, then struggled with the inner garment. The sides were tied with strings, so she could only pull at the collar, peeking over his shoulder but unable to see the wound.
Feeling along his exposed back, she couldn’t locate the wound, which seemed to be lower. After several attempts, she mustered all her strength and yanked hard, causing the inner garment to tear and completely expose his upper body.
Ning Wanwan was stunned, slowly lowering her head to see Si Zhan’s smooth shoulder blades. The wound was finally visible, located just below the center of his back.
Realizing the wound’s dangerous location, she felt a wave of fear. Without delay, she grabbed the medicine bottle, bit off the cork, and poured it on the wound, finally stopping the bleeding.
After applying the medicine, she collapsed in exhaustion. Looking down to dress him, she noticed the inner garment’s sleeve was torn, wondering how to explain this.
Suddenly, Si Zhan shivered and began to tremble lightly.
Ning Wanwan was startled and tried to put the torn inner garment on Si Zhan, but it was too damaged to stay in place. After struggling with the middle and outer garments, which were half trapped under him, she finally wrapped him in clothing.
Her movements caused the wound to reopen, and blood flowed again. Freezing in place until the bleeding stopped, she dared not move again.
However, Si Zhan continued to shiver. Being more cold-sensitive, Ning Wanwan feared he might catch a chill. She moved closer, pressed her body against his cold chest to share warmth, and gently stroked his back, comforting, “Uncle, just hold on a little longer. We’ll be home soon.”
After a moment, Si Zhan stopped shaking and lay steadily on her shoulder, his breathing becoming more even. She quietly checked his pulse; it was deep but gradually calming, indicating he was likely out of danger.
An hour later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Yi Wang Mansion. Zhou Shu and Yuan Zhu, having received the signal, waited anxiously on the steps outside.
“What happened?” Zhou Shu strode forward.
“We encountered assassins. The master was injured,” Yuan Bi said briefly, jumping down from the front of the carriage and helping Fu Yi down. Fu Yi blushed and stood to one side.
Zhou Shu looked puzzled at Fu Yi and asked Yuan Bi, “Where is the young master?”
“Inside the carriage,” Yuan Bi replied, jumping back to lift the curtain. Suddenly, he froze.
