“Lord Duan, why don’t we find a safe place to rest and leave at dawn? There’s no miasma here during the day.”
Duan Ling, seeing the miasma, remained unperturbed and didn’t object:
“Then, as Miss Lin Qi suggests, we’ll find a place to rest and leave at dawn.”
Lin Ting found a cave.
The cave was quiet and cold, with damp stone walls and occasional drops of water falling onto moss growing in the corners, making a crisp sound.
The temperature at night on the mountain was even lower.
It was cold outside, and it was cold inside the cave as well.
Lin Ting inspected the cave to ensure there were no wild animals or other dangers, then gathered some branches to start a fire.
Meanwhile, Duan Ling had somehow found water and brought it back in a few large leaves.
Duan Ling had washed his face and hands, and droplets of water slid down his nearly flawless skin, accentuating his delicate features.
He stood in the cave like a mountain spirit luring passersby with his beauty.
Lin Ting, sitting on a rock, couldn’t help but glance at him a few times, her gaze unconsciously following another droplet of water on his face.
It slid down from under his eye, then past his slightly pale lips.
Her gaze shifted slightly, landing on Duan Ling’s thin lips, which looked very kissable.
Back when she had forcefully kissed him at Nan Shan Pavilion, she hadn’t paid much attention.
Now, recalling it, his lips seemed to carry a hint of sandalwood, and they felt soft not just looked kissable, but actually were.
A strong sense of hunger pulled Lin Ting’s thoughts back.
She was so hungry.
She touched her flat stomach and she hadn’t eaten anything all day.
She went over to take the water Duan Ling had brought back, hoping to quench her hunger:
“Can I drink this water?”
Duan Ling replied with a “yes” and left the cave for a moment, returning with a cleaned wild chicken.
Lin Ting’s eyes lit up, and she immediately put down the water, walking over to him:
“You caught a wild chicken.”
He gave a faint “hmm” and placed the chicken over the fire to roast.
Soon, the cave was filled with the aroma of meat.
She squatted beside him, cupping her chin with her hands, watching intently and swallowing her saliva, temporarily forgetting that Duan Ling was a ruthless man.
Lin Ting’s focused gaze on the roasting chicken was as if she were looking at something she deeply loved.
Duan Ling glanced at her.
After what felt like an eternity, Lin Ting finally got to eat the chicken, feeling satisfied:
“You’re really good at roasting chicken. If you ever stop being an imperial guard, opening a roasted chicken shop would be a surefire success.”
Before he could respond, she swallowed a bite of chicken leg and added:
“What am I saying? Even if you stop being an imperial guard, you wouldn’t be short on money.”
Duan Ling smiled without saying a word.
The roasted chicken was delicious, and Lin Ting couldn’t stop eating.
Duan Ling, however, didn’t eat much.
Both chicken legs ended up in her stomach, and she was completely full.
After finishing the chicken, Lin Ting’s gaze fell on Duan Ling’s hands.
She hadn’t seen them clearly outside, but now, with the firelight, she could see that both his hands were injured.
One had been pierced by a dagger from Prince Liang’s men, and the other had been injured when he caught the arrow.
The hand pierced by the dagger was the most severe, with glimpses of white bone beneath the flesh.
However, the bone was stained with blood, turning it red.
Wouldn’t Duan Ling be in excruciating pain if left untreated?
Imperial guards weren’t made of iron, after all.
Lin Ting looked at the gruesome wounds and felt phantom pain herself, inhaling sharply.
She took out a bottle of wound medicine from her waist:
“Let me bandage your wounds.”
Duan Ling didn’t refuse.
Usually, the moment when the medicinal powder was sprinkled on the wound was the most painful, but Duan Ling didn’t even flinch, as if the injured person wasn’t him.
Lin Ting suspected that Duan Ling was numb to the pain, or else he wouldn’t have no reaction. She took out a handkerchief to wrap his wound, not daring to tie it too tightly, afraid of causing bleeding or, worse, crippling his hand in her attempt to help.
As she bandaged him, Lin Ting asked with every movement:
“Does it hurt?”
Duan Ling: “No.”
“No?”
She was skeptical.
He countered:
“Whether it hurts or not, you’re going to keep bandaging, aren’t you?”
Lin Ting:
“That’s true, but if it hurts, you should tell me. I can bandage more gently so you don’t have to endure as much pain.”
He didn’t respond further.
After bandaging Duan Ling’s wounds, Lin Ting gently moved his hand back.
Duan Ling thanked her, gazing at the fire without looking at her:
“How did Miss Lin Qi discover that I had been captured by Prince Liang’s men?”
Lin Ting added some dry wood to the fire:
“I happened to pass by and see it.”
“Pass by?”
Lin Ting couldn’t let Duan Ling know that she often inquired about his whereabouts:
“The weather was nice today, so I decided to go out of the city for a stroll. Coincidentally, I saw you being abducted halfway.”
She fabricated a story:
“So, I sent Tao Zhu and the coachman back to the city to report to the authorities, and I followed them, leaving marks along the way.”
Duan Ling smiled faintly:
“You’re quite bold, daring to follow them alone.”
A cold breeze entered through the cave entrance, and Lin Ting moved closer to the fire to warm herself:
“You’re Lingyun’s second brother. I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing if something happened to you.”
The burning wood occasionally crackled, and Duan Ling lowered his gaze to the rising flames:
“But you had already sent someone back to report to the authorities. Why take the risk to follow?”
“The Northern Garrison may act quickly, but it still takes time. There’s no guarantee you wouldn’t be killed in the meantime. By following, I could adapt to the situation, and besides, I always prioritize my own safety.”
Lin Ting’s words were half-truths.
Duan Ling also added some wood to the fire:
“Miss Lin Qi is quite thoughtful.”
She picked up a straight stick and began doodling on the ground, pretending to ask casually:Â
“Lord Duan, did you lure Prince Liang out of the city today under the pretense of an official mission for the imperial guards?”
“You guessed correctly.”
Earlier that morning, the Left Prime Minister had just impeached Prince Liang for privately mining iron.
Shortly after leaving the palace, Duan Ling had left the city, making it hard not to suspect that he was gathering evidence to present to the emperor.
Lin Ting probed further:
“So, you didn’t actually need to leave the capital for official business?”
The fire grew stronger, and Duan Ling stopped adding wood.
His eyes reflected the flames:
“No. Why?”
She tossed the stick aside and drank some water:
“Nothing. I just thought that with your injuries, it’s not suitable for you to leave the capital for
official business. It’s best to rest in the capital for a month or two.”
The time limit for her seduction was one and a half months.
Before completing her task, Lin Ting hoped he wouldn’t go anywhere.
Duan Ling’s gaze crossed the fire and landed on Lin Ting, who had returned to her seat:Â
“Thank you for your concern, Miss Lin Qi. I’ll be mindful.”
Lin Ting didn’t want Duan Ling to think she cared about him, so she added:
“Lingyun only has you as her brother now. If something happened to you, she would be devastated.”
Duan Ling’s father, apart from his official wife, Lady Feng, had several concubines, but for some reason, none of them bore children.
The Duan family’s only three children were all born to Lady Feng in her younger years.
The eldest son of the Duan family had died young, leaving only Duan Ling and Duan Xinning.
“I’ll be mindful.”
Duan Ling repeated the same words.
He glanced at the darkness outside the cave:
“It’s getting late. Aren’t you going to rest?”
Lin Ting warmed her hands by the fire:
“The cave isn’t entirely safe. Someone needs to keep watch.”
“I’ll keep watch.”
She suppressed her overwhelming drowsiness:
“You’re injured. You should rest. How can I let you keep watch? I’ll do it. You go rest.”
The cave had a smaller inner chamber where they could build another fire, making it safer and warmer than the area near the entrance.
Duan Ling: “Imperial guards can go days without rest. I’m used to it.”
Lin Ting reminded him again:
“You’re injured. It’s different from before. Don’t worry. My martial arts may not be great, but I have a loud voice. I’ll definitely wake you up if there’s danger.”
“In that case, I’ll keep watch for the first half of the night, and you can take the second half.”
“…Alright.”
Lin Ting’s reason for wanting to keep watch was that she wasn’t used to sleeping with a man nearby.
She knew Duan Ling wouldn’t kill her, at least not today, and she also knew he wouldn’t take advantage of her while she slept.
It was just a matter of habit.
But since he had already said that, insisting further would make it seem like she had ulterior motives, as if she wanted to do something while he was asleep.
Taking turns it was.
Lin Ting picked up some wood and branches and built a fire in the inner chamber.
The entrance to the smaller cave had a lot of weeds, forming a natural “door.”
Once she let go, the weeds blocked the view between the two chambers.
“Then I’ll keep watch for the second half of the night. Remember to wake me.”
Although she probably wouldn’t fall asleep, it didn’t hurt to say it.
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Ting was still awake.
Thirty minutes later, Lin Ting was still awake.
After almost an hour, she was still awake.
It wasn’t that Lin Ting wasn’t tired.
On the contrary, she was so exhausted that her eyelids ached.
But being tired didn’t mean she could sleep.
She just wasn’t used to sleeping with a man nearby, so no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fall asleep.
Lin Ting had a habit of flailing her arms and legs in her sleep.
Even her maids couldn’t restrain her.
When she was awake, she could control herself and not move much, but she was worried that any noise might reach the next chamber and disturb Duan Ling.
Unable to move freely, Lin Ting stared at the cave wall, counting the drops of water falling from it.
On the other side of the wall, sweat dripped into another fire, causing sparks to fly and the flames to grow stronger, casting a red glow on the smooth cave wall.
Duan Ling was currently battling an overwhelming urge, sweat continuously dripping down his face and neck, soaking his clothes.
He clenched his robes tightly, trying his best to resist this sudden wave of desire.
Today, even an injury couldn’t stop the waves of desire from coming, one after another.
Duan Ling’s entire body went numb, with the strongest sensation concentrated in his waist and abdomen.
He pursed his lips tightly, suppressing the soft moan that nearly escaped his throat.
Originally seated, he silently lay down on the ground due to the sudden surge of desire.
Duan Ling instinctively grabbed the damp cave wall beside him, his fingers scraping across the surface, leaving behind several marks.
Behind the wall lay Lin Ting, who was awake but completely unaware of what was happening.
The endless waves of desire felt like tidal water pouring into a wound, causing unbearable swelling and pain.
Unable to endure it any longer, Duan Ling bit his lip until it bled, his face flushed with a sickly red hue.
He didn’t touch himself, instead gripping the cave wall with all his might, trying to alleviate the unrelenting agony.
Pebbles tumbled down the cave wall.
Inside the small cave, Lin Ting heard the commotion outside and quickly sat up.
She glanced suspiciously toward the entrance, which was obscured by weeds, but didn’t make a sound.
Concerned that something might be wrong outside, she picked up a sturdy stick with her left hand and pulled out a handful of sedative powder with her right.
Quietly, she moved to the entrance, pushed aside the obstructing weeds, and peered out.