Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

The road ahead seemed incredibly long to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue didn't know how far she had walked, but the similar scenery around her made her feel so suffocated that she could hardly breathe.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the corner, blocking Xia Lanyue's way.

Xia Lanyue shuddered, not bothering to see who it was, and raised her hand to stab the person in the heart.

The man reacted quickly, raising his hand to grab hers in an attempt to resist her strength. Unfortunately, he was too late; the hairpin had already pierced his wound and continued to press against it.

"Ah!" The man screamed, then clutched his chest and stumbled back several steps.

Xia Lanyue then realized that the person who had come was Xia Yao!

Xia Yao clutched his chest in pain, then looked at her in astonishment.

Xia Lanyue was filled with guilt and stood there stunned, not knowing what to do. Then she came to her senses and hurriedly went forward to check his wound.

Just then, they heard women talking not far away, as if they were walking towards them.

Xia Yao was startled. Seeing Xia Lanyue's disheveled hair and clothes, he stepped forward, grabbed Xia Lanyue's arm with one hand, made a shushing gesture to his mouth with the other hand, and pulled her into the reeds.

Once they had steadied themselves, the footsteps outside the reeds grew closer and closer, until they finally stopped.

"Was that someone shouting over here just now?!" a woman said.

"Yes, I heard it too. The sound was quite pitiful, but I didn't see anyone."

Judging from the voice, it sounds like it's Song.

They searched through the reeds, but after a long time, seeing no one, they gave up. "Let's go, everything should be alright now," Song said, and the two seemed to walk forward.

Unbeknownst to them, Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao were standing not far from where they were investigating.

……

In the cramped space, Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao stood facing each other.

Xia Yao gripped her arm with one hand and covered the wound with the other, his gaze fixed on the woman's direction. Xia Lanyue, however, was still reeling from the near-death experience and hadn't yet recovered.

Xia Yao's injury seemed quite serious; blood seeped out from below where he was covering his hand, leaving a bloodstain on his clothes.

The bloodstains caught Xia Lanyue's eye, and she snapped out of her daze, hurriedly pointing to his wound and saying, "You... sob..."

Xia Yao quickly covered her mouth with his hand, preventing her from making a sound. Then he looked down at his clothes, completely unconcerned, as if he wasn't the one who was injured.

At this moment, Xia Lanyue also froze, because she smelled the blood on his hands. Xia Yao actually used the hand that had just been covering his wound to cover her mouth!

Xia Lanyue stared wide-eyed at Xia Yao.

Xia Yao then noticed the trace of blood on his hand. He quickly withdrew his hand and looked at Xia Lanyue with apology.

However, Xia Lanyue was still choked by the fishy smell and couldn't help but vomit.

Xia Lanyue was startled and quickly covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from making a sound.

But it was too late; the sound, though not loud, was still heard by those outside.

"Who's in there?!" Song shouted into the reeds.

Xia Yao sighed helplessly, turned his head, and looked in the direction from which their voices came.

Just then, a stick parted the reeds, revealing a section of their view. Outside the reeds, two women were peering towards Xia Yao and his companions.

Seeing that his whereabouts had been exposed, Xia Yao quickly reacted by grabbing Xia Lanyue's arms with both hands and pulling her to the side, using his entire body to shield Xia Lanyue, leaving only his back to the woman.

Then, he lowered his voice and growled, "Get out of here."

The sound startled Xia Lanyue and also made her drop the stick from the woman's hand.

The reeds closed up again, just like before, and they disappeared back into the reeds.

The people outside were sensible; they didn't investigate further or ask any more questions, and simply left in a hurry.

Hearing their footsteps fading into the distance, Xia Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at Xia Lanyue and realized that he was still holding her arm, so he quickly let go.

Xia Lanyue had been worried about his wound the whole time, her eyes never leaving his chest. Now that she didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing their conversation, Xia Lanyue looked up and asked Xia Yao guiltily, "Are you badly injured?"

However, Xia Yao did not answer her question, but instead looked at her rosy lips.

His gaze slowly moved over her lips, his cold eyes seemingly melting away.

A gentle breeze stirred Xia Lanyue's long hair and also touched her heartstrings.

Xia Lanyue stared into Xia Yao's eyes, and slowly, a hint of anticipation arose in her heart, causing her heart to beat faster and faster.

Finally, Xia Yao withdrew his gaze, turned around, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to Xia Lanyue, "You have bloodstains on your mouth, use this to wipe them yourself."

"Huh?! Oh," Xia Lanyue suddenly realized, and hurriedly took his handkerchief to wipe her mouth.

It turned out to be all a misunderstanding. Xia Lanyue couldn't help but feel disappointed. She almost closed her eyes, and thankfully, Xia Yao didn't find out about this whole thing, or she would have been terribly embarrassed.

"Come on," Xia Yao called out to her when she was distracted and he had already walked out of the reeds.

"They're here!" Xia Lanyue hurriedly followed them out.

They walked back to the Xia family home, one after the other, about five zhang apart, avoiding people.

By the time we reached the door, it was already getting dark.

Reaching the door, Xia Yao stopped and turned around, his eyes returning to their previous coldness. "I'll go in first, you can come in later."

Xia Lanyue nodded.

"Also, fix your hair. You look like someone did something bad to you," she said, and walked straight into the yard.

Xia Lanyue paused for a moment, then touched her hair and clothes before tidying herself up. She first put her hair up in a bun and inserted a hairpin, then patted the dirt off her clothes. Fortunately, her clothes had dried completely on the way back, so it wouldn't cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

She didn't notice that behind a tree in the distance, Song and a woman were hiding, gossiping about them, "See, I told you it was him, I was sure you wouldn't mistake him."

"Tsk tsk, judging by this, it's definitely not innocent!"

Xia Lanyue waited for a while before entering the courtyard.

There was no one in the yard, so she quickly ran back to her house. But when she opened the door, she was startled by the dark figure inside.

At this moment, Dai You was sitting on a stool, waiting for her.

Seeing her disheveled appearance, Dai You rushed over, grabbed her arm, and asked, "What happened? Why are you only coming back now?"

Xia Lanyue did not answer immediately, but asked him to pour her a bowl of water first.

When Dai You returned, she had almost recovered and told him about her experiences that day. However, she didn't mention the part about meeting Xia Yao.

"What!" Dai You stood up angrily. "I'm going to find him!"

"Wait, don't rush! Where are you going to find him tonight?!" Xia Lanyue quickly stopped her.

"Go to that village and search, house to house," Dai You said, already rushing into the courtyard.

Seeing that she couldn't catch up with her, Xia Lanyue had no choice but to resort to her old trick and pretend to be lame!

"Ouch!" she cried out as she quickly crouched down, clutching her leg.

This tactic worked, and Dai You immediately turned back to check on her injuries. She seized the opportunity to grab Dai You, and without even putting on her makeup, said, "Listen to me on this matter. We'll settle the score tomorrow, and I'll go with you."

Dai You looked at Xia Lanyue, remained silent for a moment, suppressed his emotions, and nodded.

Then, he picked up Xia Lanyue from the ground and carried her to her room.

After placing Xia Lanyue on the bed, Dai Youcai noticed that she was missing a shoe. "Where's your shoe?"

"They got lost."

Upon hearing this, Dai You felt a pang of heartache in his eyes, and then comforted him, "I'll go to town tomorrow and buy you a new pair."

Then he got up, picked up her washbasin, said, "I'll get you some hot water," and walked out.

Xia Lanyue sat on the edge of the bed, her thoughts returning to the dangerous scene she had just encountered, still feeling lingering fear.

For some reason, that man gave her a sense of familiarity. Especially when he covered his face, what was he afraid of? Was he afraid she would recognize him? But if she did recognize him, she couldn't place him.