"He rode on ahead! My men are pursuing him!" Commander Ling said in a booming voice.
"Go after him!" Duanmu Shiqing said, pulling his horse to the side. His attendants also retreated to the roadside.
"Understood! We are on our way!" Leading his horse past Duanmu Shiqing and his men, Commander Ling leaped onto the saddle, instantly brought his riding crop down on the horse's flank, and the group galloped away.
Hong Yue held Duanmu Furong, her eyes unblinking as she watched Duanmu Shiqing ride out. When Duanmu Shiqing passed closest to Duanmu Furong, the latter's eyelids twitched slightly. Hong Yue was too utterly focused on Duanmu Shiqing to notice. Duanmu Furong looked as though she had just woken up from a deep sleep, trying hard to open her eyes again, but failing. She grew still for a moment, fought to clear her head, and finally forced her heavy eyelids open.
Watching Duanmu Shiqing leave her field of view, Hong Yue kept looking for a while longer. Hearing Duanmu Shiqing's footsteps fade into the distance and confirming that he would not return, she finally began to relax.
Hong Yue looked down at Duanmu Furong. Duanmu Furong's eyes were wide open now. Like someone just waking from a profound dream, she dizzily gazed up at Hong Yue, still unable to tell whether it was a dream or reality, and met Hong Yue's gaze with a questioning look. Hong Yue was genuinely startled and froze. After a long moment, she stammered, "Miss, you're awake."
"What, are you unhappy that I'm awake?" Duanmu Furong widened her already large eyes and glared at Hong Yue.
"No... no... of course Hong Yue was hoping Miss would wake up quickly. Heaven is my witness! If Miss hadn't woken up, Hong Yue would have died of fright." Flustered and panicked, Hong Yue hastily denied Duanmu Furong's words. She truly had been hoping Duanmu Furong would wake up—except just now, while Duanmu Shiqing was still here.
"Really? Then why did my waking up scare you into such a state?" Duanmu Furong stared at her.
"Well, Hong Yue wasn't scared by Miss; I was just staring over that way all this time, and when I suddenly saw Miss wake up, I didn't process it in time, so I was startled." Already feeling a bit guilty under Duanmu Furong's cross-examination, Hong Yue ended up babbling incoherently.
"After all that, it's still my waking up that scared you?" Duanmu Furong shot Hong Yue a fierce glare.
"..." Hong Yue was left speechless.
Hong Yue's left arm had gone completely numb from Duanmu Furong pressing against it.
"Um, Miss, if you're awake, could you please get up? My arm has gone numb." Hong Yue knitted her brows slightly and bit her lip.
"Are you tired of holding me? Well, considering you were holding me, I'll let it slide." Duanmu Furong finally realized she was lying in Hong Yue's arms; no wonder it had felt rather comfortable. She stood up from Hong Yue's embrace, stretching her arms and legs, while Hong Yue massaged her right arm.
"No, Hong Yue isn't tired." She truly wasn't tired; she had just been terrified.
Looking at her surroundings, Duanmu Furong slowly began to remember. It seemed she had been walking along when suddenly she couldn't remember anything at all. In that case...
"How did I get here? Did you carry me over?" Duanmu Furong frowned prettily, somewhat displeased by what had happened.
"Yes, Miss was unconscious and wouldn't wake up no matter how much I shook you." Hong Yue said anxiously.
"I passed out? I thought I just took a nap. How did I faint? Why did I suddenly black out?" Duanmu Furong muttered softly to herself, still trying to retrace the previous events.
"Miss, let's go back," Hong Yue suddenly said.
"We finally managed to get out, why would we go back?" Duanmu Furong said petulantly.
"If Miss isn't going back, Hong Yue is going back by herself. It hasn't even been a day, and we've already fallen into the water and passed out. Who knows what else might happen if we don't go back now?" Hong Yue didn't want to stay outside for another minute; things were much safer back at Duanmu Manor.
"What's the big deal? I just took a bath and had a nap. Come on, let's go—if you don't want to stay here, we'll go somewhere else." Duanmu Furong grabbed Hong Yue's hand and pulled her along.
Hong Yue's hand was ice-cold, her face pale, and the hair at her temples soaked through. Duanmu Furong realized just how terrified she had made her.
"Your hand is freezing, let me warm it up for you." Duanmu Furong squeezed Hong Yue's hand tightly.
"If the two of us had passed out in the middle of nowhere and been dragged off by wolves, nobody would have even known," Hong Yue said indignantly.
She had finally recovered from the shock.
"This really isn't a good spot, but once we walk out of here, it'll be fine. Hong Yue, trust me on this, okay?" Duanmu Furong told her solemnly.
That was up for serious debate, Hong Yue thought to herself. At least today she had been completely scammed by Eldest Miss Duanmu. The only silver lining in this misfortune was that they hadn't been buried out here.
"If I'd known it would come to this, I should have let the Second Young Master drag you back," Hong Yue muttered under her breath.
Unfortunately, Duanmu Furong had sharp ears and caught it.
"What did you say? You should have let my second brother drag me back?" Displeased, Duanmu Furong reached out to pinch Hong Yue's ear.
"Nothing! We were hidden too well, the Second Young Master couldn't find us," Hong Yue cried out while dodging. She was genuinely terrified of Eldest Miss Duanmu.
"What do you mean, hidden too well?" Not understanding, Duanmu Furong stopped her playful assault, halted in her tracks, and looked at Hong Yue with complete seriousness.
"Just now! The Second Young Master came by again. When I was holding you, we were hidden so well that we weren't discovered—we came within a hair's breadth of being found, though," Hong Yue confessed honestly. With that, she let out a breath; keeping secrets bottled up inside felt suffocating.
"My second brother came by, and you didn't have him save me? Hong Yue, do you really not want me to wake up?" Duanmu Furong demanded.
Here we go again. Could she not escape this topic? Hong Yue rubbed her right temple with her right hand—the hair on her forehead was still damp. This question was a genuine headache.
"If Hong Yue could wake up, Miss would wake up too. If Miss wanted the Second Young Master to save you so badly, we can just go right back now." Hong Yue pouted. Honestly, she still wished nothing more than to return to Duanmu Manor.
"Miss really knows how to joke. If Miss hadn't actually woken up, Hong Yue wouldn't have been able to bear the consequences." A wave of bitterness flooded Hong Yue's heart. "Let's just go back to the manor."
"No." Duanmu Furong rejected the idea without a second thought. Seeing Hong Yue's low spirits, her voice was soft but firm.
Hong Yue fell silent. It was useless for her to want to return if Miss refused. She was well aware of that.
"Miss woke up at the most perfect time. If you'd woken up even a little earlier, you would have run right into the Second Young Master." Hong Yue suddenly blurted out.
"Why would I want to see my second brother? To tell him I sneaked out, fell into the water, and inexplicably passed out?" If Duanmu Shiqing saw her in such a wretched state, he would surely drag her back—and probably lock her up, too.
"You missed him by a hair. The moment the Second Young Master walked away, Miss woke up." Hong Yue told the nervous Duanmu Furong.
"What was my second brother doing out here, though?" Duanmu Furong asked doubtfully.
"The Second Young Master had a bunch of men with him, it looked like they were searching for something." Hong Yue blinked and mused slightly. As for what they were looking for, she had no idea.
"Searching for what?" Duanmu Furong asked casually.
"I don't know, I didn't hear," Hong Yue replied earnestly.