Chapter 7: I Thought You Were Mute

“Are you injured too?” Ji Ruoling glanced at the trace of blood at the corner of the purple-clad man's mouth and asked tentatively.

“……” The purple-clad man did not speak, merely closing his eyes.

Since he didn't speak to refute her, Ji Ruoling took it as a default affirmation.

“How about you come to my room to rest for a while?”

“……”

“Then, shall I carry... oh no, shall I assist you inside?” Ji Ruoling’s eyes narrowed, her smile looking like that of a fox.

“……”

Ji Ruoling laughed even more joyfully, her eyes squinting into thin lines, leaving only her dark, bright pupils visible.

Walking to the side of the pile of corpses, she reached out to grab the purple-clad man's sleeve, intending to pull him down.

Instead, a hand as white as jade emerged from the sleeve, grabbing her arm in return.

Startled, Ji Ruoling instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but she was gripped so tightly that she couldn't move an inch.

The hand looked as though it wasn't exerting much effort, but in reality, its strength was unimaginably great.

A chilling sensation traveled up her arm, giving Ji Ruoling another shock.

This temperature didn't feel like a normal person's; no matter how heavy the injury, one shouldn't be this cold.

Ji Ruoling decided to grab his arm back in response. As the icy temperature transferred from his skin to her palm, she shuddered.

...

Ji Ruoling assisted the man into the room, lamenting to herself as she walked that this monster truly wasn't human; his entire body was cold, and even his faint breaths carried a chill.

As soon as she entered the door, Ji Ruoling felt a headache coming on. She saw Hou Mochen, whom she had just rescued, lying on the floor.

The blood on his body was still flowing, turning the light-colored velvet carpet Ji Yi had sent over into a bloody mess.

Ji Ruoling felt both heartache and helplessness.

She had the purple-clad man sit on a stool, then went to examine Hou Mochen's injuries.

Using her hands to gently lift his clothes, the gruesome wound on his chest appeared before her eyes—a mangled mess of flesh and blood. The room was filled with the scent of iron.

Ji Ruoling frowned, feeling her stomach churn. She forced herself to endure the discomfort so she wouldn't vomit.

“I've really brought back a massive trouble.” Ji Ruoling wanted to rub her temples, but she stopped before touching them.

It was better not to get blood on her face.

“Hehe, Big Brother, could you help me out and lift him up?” Ji Ruoling switched to what she thought was her most friendly and charming smile and spoke to the purple-clad man.

“……”

Her most friendly tone and most charming smile were met with the purple-clad man's usual silence.

Seeing it was useless, Ji Ruoling retracted her smile and lowered her head in resignation to continue checking the wound.

However, Ji Ruoling felt that if she didn't stop the bleeding, Hou Mochen would be dead for sure.

But she didn't know how; she had only dealt with minor scratches. A gruesome wound like this, where the flesh was turned outward, was something she had only seen on television.

Suddenly, she heard a crisp sound, like glass or something similar hitting the floor.

Looking up, she saw a small white jade bottle standing steadily about ten centimeters away from Hou Mochen; it was round and cute.

She looked up in confusion at the purple-clad man, questioning him with her eyes, but he still remained silent.

Ji Ruoling simply assumed he had given it to her to save Hou Mochen.

She reached out to take the white jade bottle, opened it, and poured out a yellowish-brown pill.

The pill looked no different from ordinary ones and had no strange fragrance. Could such an ordinary pill really save Hou Mochen?

“I just give this to him to swallow?” Ji Ruoling asked again, but he still didn't speak or answer.

The previous times he hadn't answered, Ji Ruoling had felt a secret sense of joy, but this time, she felt like tearing him apart.

What if it was poisonous?

With a heart full of doubt, Ji Ruoling steeled her resolve, shoved the pill into Hou Mochen's mouth, then stood up, grabbed the water pitcher from the table, and poured the water down his throat in one go.

...

In the early morning, Ji Ruoling woke up to the sound of birds chirping and went to the courtyard to wash up.

After eating lunch yesterday, she had taken another pill given by the old physician, and her leg had almost fully recovered.

She was very curious about what kind of miraculous medicine the old physician had given her that could make a fractured bone heal as if it were brand new.

Judging by the old physician's expression, he also treated that bottle of medicine as a precious treasure. If Ji Yi hadn't had a deep friendship with him, he probably wouldn't have been willing to let her use it.

After having breakfast in the courtyard, Ji Ruoling hid back in her room alone, telling the four maids not to disturb her.

She claimed she needed to carefully study those books regarding martial artists.

In reality, she didn't want them to discover that she was hiding two men in her room.

Thinking about it last night, Ji Ruoling felt she had been too reckless to let two men hide in her room.

Furthermore, one had nearly brought her death, and the other had an unknown background and a ruthless way of fighting.

At the time, she thought that the Hou family was a great clan in Feng City, second only to the Ji family, and Hou Mochen was the eldest young master of the Hou family. His father was the head of the family, and if nothing went wrong, Hou Mochen would surely be the next head.

Making the future head of the Hou family owe her a massive favor was, no matter how she thought about it, a good deal.

As for that purple-clad man, he said his name was Lin Muxi. He had saved her last night and killed a group of people with a single move; his strength was unimaginable.

Since he had saved her, she had to return the favor.

But today, she hated herself for meddling in things last night...

“Hey, hey, why is your room so small? You, a direct daughter of the Ji family, live in a place like this?” An arrogant male voice rang in her ear, the tone of which gave Ji Ruoling an impulse to punch him.

Hou Mochen paced back and forth in the room, occasionally saying this wasn't pretty or that that was too low-class.

He had been lying on the ground gasping for breath last night, yet he was so energetic this morning; Lin Muxi's medicine was truly miraculous.

Her thoughts returned to last night. After she had poured the water, Hou Mochen's bleeding wound had actually scabbed over at a visible speed, and the bleeding had stopped.

Afterward, she had been worried about what to do with the corpses in the courtyard. The four maids would find out everything as soon as they returned.

While she was worrying, the well-rested Lin Muxi stood up and walked out.

When she realized what was happening and went out, she saw an empty courtyard; the corpses were gone.

After he had sprinkled some unknown liquid, even the bloodstains had vanished.

After her initial shock, she didn't ask much. She simply went back to her room, found a bedsheet in the cabinet, spread it on the floor, and wrapped Hou Mochen in it.

She had woken up once in the early hours of the morning because Hou Mochen had woken up and disturbed her, saying he was sleeping uncomfortably.

Ji Ruoling smiled when she heard this. She was the owner of the house, so she slept in the bed.

Since Lin Muxi was so powerful, she let him sleep on the lounge chair.

Hou Mochen could only wrap himself in the sheet and sleep on the floor. She had thought about letting him squeeze in with Lin Muxi, as the lounge chair was quite wide.

However, Lin Muxi kept staring at her, giving her a feeling of coldness all over her body.

Thus, Hou Mochen had to sleep on the floor.

When Hou Mochen woke up, he was still a bit dazed, even pointing at her nose and asking if she was the one who had kidnapped him here.

Only later did he remember the pursuit.

Speaking of which, Lin Muxi was truly a strange person. He wouldn't say anything, wouldn't even nod or shake his head; he would only stare straight at you.

If he hadn't spoken the three words "Lin Muxi," she would have thought he was a mute.