The Reticent Blade-Chapter 91 - A Lamplit Moment

The lamp went out when its wick burned out.

In the Fuzhao Courtyard, Chi Nanwei placed a new wick in the lamp holder, lit it with a firestarter, then covered it with a gauze shade. The warm light once again diffused through the small room.

One wick had already burned out, but Dummy Ye had yet to return. Chi Nanwei leaned on the table, resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly at the flickering flame.

Knock Knock Knock—

The sound of knocking echoed, particularly pronounced in the quiet night.

Chi Nanwei snapped back to reality, lifting her head to look toward the door. "Who... who is it?"

After a while, a slightly deep voice came from outside the door. "It’s me."

Ye Beizhi stood quietly outside the door, wearing the same clothes he had worn when he left in the afternoon. He had changed out of the all-black attire he had worn when he sneaked into the External Prime Minister's residence.

As soon as Ye Beizhi finished speaking, a clattering sound came from inside the room. He assumed that it was probably Chi Nanwei, who was naturally anxious. He hurried to open the door and knocked something over in the process.

After a moment, the room quieted down, and the door opened soon afterward.

Chi Nanwei opened the door and only felt relieved when she finally saw Ye Beizhi standing outside. She tidied her slightly messy hair awkwardly and bashfully said, "Um, I originally saved some food for you... How about you come in first."

Ye Beizhi looked at Chi Nanwei in confusion but still nodded and stepped inside.

As soon as he entered the room, Ye Beizhi noticed broken plates scattered on the floor. Soup and vegetables were splattered everywhere.

"What... happened here?" Ye Beizhi pointed to the ground and turned to look at Chi Nanwei.

Chi Nanwei stared down at her toes, her face burning with embarrassment, and blinked. "Um... that's the food I made for you... I got a bit anxious to answer the door just now, and, um..."

Ye Beizhi looked at the lone bowl of white rice and a plate of pickled vegetables that survived the slaughter and nodded in understanding.

"It’s fine," Ye Beizhi said as he sat at the table and picked up the bowl to eat with the pickled vegetables.

"Mm..." Chi Nanwei nodded with a flushed face. "I’ll go clean up the floor." Saying that, she took small steps to fetch a broom, clearly happy that Ye Beizhi could still eat some of the food she made.

Ye Beizhi quietly ate his meal while Chi Nanwei quietly cleaned the floor, and the room fell silent, with only the soft sound of the broom scraping against the floor.

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"I saw the letter you left for me." Chi Nanwei broke the silence first, her hands not stopping as she continued to sweep, her head bowed as if making small talk.

Ye Beizhi paused his chopsticks in mid-air and then picked up a pickled vegetable. "Mm."

"Mm." Chi Nanwei shook the dust off the broom. "So, did you go to the External Prime Minister's residence?"

"Mm... I did," Ye Beizhi said as he silently chewed on a pickled vegetable.

"Mm..." Chi Nanwei stopped her work, looking at Ye Beizhi's back, pursing her lips and falling silent.

"Mm..." Ye Beizhi nodded and continued to dig into the white rice, knowing the girl behind him was watching him.

For some reason, he didn’t dare to turn around to look at her, and he didn’t know why.

"Eh?" Chi Nanwei suddenly sniffed, her expression somewhat puzzled, "Dummy, you..."

Ye Beizhi's body suddenly stiffened, and he swallowed hard, trying not to show anything unusual.

"Dummy..." Chi Nanwei narrowed her eyes and walked over, examining Ye Beizhi from head to toe, "Why do you smell like blood?"

"I, I, I..." Ye Beizhi pretended to be nonchalant, and reached out to grab another pickled vegetable with his chopsticks, but he still couldn’t pick it up after several tries.

"What?" Chi Nanwei raised her beautiful brows, staring at Ye Beizhi, "Are you really a Dummy? Why are you stuttering now after going out?"

"Uh... it’s not my blood," Ye Beizhi mumbled.

"Not yours?" Chi Nanwei pouted, clearly unconvinced. "Did you get into a fight?" Even though Ye Beizhi was still eating, she approached and directly roved her hands over him to search him.

Ye Beizhi quickly put down his chopsticks and tried to grab Chi Nanwei's restless hands, but she shot him a fierce glare. Pointing at the tip of his nose, she sternly said, "Don’t move!"

Ye Beizhi was taken aback and spread his hands helplessly.

Seeing Ye Beizhi give in, Chi Nanwei nodded in satisfaction and began to check up on him again.

Although he had changed clothes, his injured right chest was only hastily bandaged. Now some time, the outer clothing began to get soaked with blood.

As soon as Chi Nanwei's hand touched his right rib, pain lanced across him, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow.

The sharp-eyed Chi Nanwei noticed Ye Beizhi's reaction immediately. She lifted his shirt, and her expression dramatically changed.

The wound exposed to the air was quite shocking. A long gash had opened across the right side of his chest, revealing his ribs.

Ye Beizhi sighed.

Bing Bang—

Chi Nanwei stumbled to her feet and bumped into the table next to her, accidentally causing the cups and dishes on it to shake wildly.

"I... I’ll go get some medicine..." Chi Nanwei’s voice trembled as she hurried into the inner room.

Chi Nanwei came out with some medicine and hot water, carefully cleaning away the blood and dirt from Ye Beizhi’s wound with a towel. She disinfected it with alcohol, sprinkling on hemostatic powder, and finally wrapping it with a bandage.

The entire time, there was only silence.

Chi Nanwei wrapped the bandage around his torso last time and tied it together meticulously. She wore a scarf around her head and had an unmistakable sense of desolation in her eyes. She gently stroked the bandage on the man’s right rib. "Dummy... does it hurt?"

Ye Beizhi shook his head, he held the girl’s hand and placed it on his knee.

"Ha..." Chi Nanwei placed her hand in the man’s palm and tried to laugh lightly. "You still said you were very strong... but you came back with such a serious injury."

"I..." Ye Beizhi opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He reached out to smooth Chi Nanwei’s messy hair at her temples. "I’m sorry."

Chi Nanwei looked up at Ye Beizhi’s expressionless face, and a vague, indescribable emotion brewed within her eyes. She bit her lip and placed her face into Ye Beizhi's lap, hiding her face between her arms.

Ye Beizhi was stunned for a moment. Then he tentatively placed his hand on her head, took off her scarf, and stroked her silky black hair.

"Dummy..." After a long time, Chi Nanwei’s muffled voice finally broke. "Let’s go back... sniff... I don’t want to take revenge anymore..."

Ye Beizhi lowered his head, feeling a dampness on his knees.