Chapter 43 Clean

It was early morning, and the sun had already rise. Yongzheng was still carrying Xue Horan on his back to Li village.

Xue Horan asked, "Yongzheng, where are we going?"

Yongzheng said, "My house."

Xue Horan, "Why there?"

Yongzheng said, "Your da shixiong is seriously injured, Yan Yisheng can help him."

Xue Horan asked, "How is he?"

Yongzheng, "He will live."

Xue Horan looked at Yongzheng and said, "Yongzheng, why don't you rest?"

Yongzheng replied, "I am not tired."

Xue Horan knew that they had been walking for nearly three hours. He can see the sweats on Yongzheng's face. Then he said, "Yongzheng, I'm thirsty."

Yongzheng said, "There should be a stream not too far from here. We can rest and drink some water over there."

After another hour, Yongzheng and Xue Horan came across a small stream. Yongzheng looked at Xue Horan and asked, "Do you want to wash yourself?"

Xue Horan, "Yes."

Xue Horan walked behind a stone and took off his clothes. Then he walked slowly, soaking in the river. He was sitting on a rock submerged his body in the river with only his upper chest visible. He began to scrub himself. Xue Horan felt that he was extremely dirty. He doesn't just want to wash himself, but he wants to peel off the first layer of his skin, hoping that he can be cleaner, but no matter how he scrubs, he still feels dirty. He kept rubbing until his skin turned red, but he still felt very dirty.

Yongzheng, with his back to Xue Horan, heard all the grunts and splashes. He was worried about Xue Horan, and when he turned his head, he saw Xue Horan constantly scrubbing himself. He saw that Xue Horan's skin had turned red on the verge of bleeding, but Xue Horan did not stop and continues to scrub.

Yongzheng rushed into the river and held both of Xue Horan's hands. He said, "Horan, stop…"

Xue Horan cried, "Yongzheng, how do I wipe it off, why do I still feel dirty?" He held Yongzheng's hand. "Yongzheng scrub my back for me, you must scrub very hard."

Yongzheng shouted, "Horan!" Seeing, Xue Horan break down like this, his heart hurt. He know exactly how Xue Horan feels, because he has soaked his hands in hot water many times to try to wash away blood stains, but the blood stains on his hands seem to somehow refused to leave his hands. He held onto Xue Horan's face with both of his hands and he lowered himself down into the river. "Horan, you listen to me. I don't care how others evaluate you or think of you. To me, Horan, is still as pure as the first day I met you in Jiangnan. I will never treat you differently."

Xue Horan looked at Yongzheng in tears. He fell into Yongzheng's arms, "Yongzheng, I don't know how to wash off this dirty feeling. I am to blame. If I obeyed my parents and stayed in Butterfly Island obediently, I would have not taken Cao Fengge back to Butterfly Island. My parents and my seniors would still be alive. This is my fault. I should be blamed."

Yongzheng wiped away Xue Horan's tears and said, "Horan, I also blame myself. If I had come to rescue you earlier, then this matter might not happen to you. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I will take responsibility. Be held accountable." He lowered his head and kissed Xue Horan's forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you again. I can assure you."

Xue Horan raised his head to look at Yongzheng, and at that moment he suddenly understood the feeling of unconditional love. The feeling of love without asking for anything in return. He finally understood what his father wanted to say to him, but he couldn't finish his sentence before he died. What his father wanted to tell him was "he likes you". Xue Horan murmured, "Yongzheng…"

Yongzheng, "Uh…"

Xue Horan didn't say anything. He hugged Yongzheng's waist and fell into Yongzheng's arms. He whispered, "Your clothes are wet." If he wants to speak his heart, he will definitely say "Thank you, I like you too".

After Xue Horan finished washing himself, and dress himself, Yongzheng had caught two fish. The two sat by the river. They were grilling the two fish by the river, then four men in black came over and rested by the river.

The four men dressed in black were sitting not far from Yongzheng and Xue Horan.

Man one, "Drink and hurry back. This matter must be reported to Chief Gu."

Man two, "That bitch won't let us off our trail."

Cheers and laughter poured into their eardrums like thunder. A beautiful middle-aged woman flew up and stood on the rock in front of the four men. She said, "Keep running. Let me see how far you can run."

Man one, "You are in the Gu territory."

The woman said, "I know, this is exactly where I want to be."

Man Three, "You are not afraid, we will kill you."

"

The woman said, "I, Wen Huifang's only fear is gray hair. Death..." She smiled. "Is the only thing I am not afraid of."

A silver leaf flew fast to Wen Huifang. Wen Huifang slowly pulled out her needle with a clear red thread. She smiled and used the needle to scratches the right side of her head twice, and then sent the needle piercing the silver leaf to a rock.

Gu Jinjing flew over the stream and stood in front of Wen Huifang. She asked, "Who are you? How dare you cause trouble in the Gu territory?"

Wen Huifang smiled lightly and said, "I have lived for three decades, come and go as I want. I don't care which territory belongs to whom?"

Gu Jinjing, "Who are you?" She looked at the needle that nailed the leaf to the rock. "Are you from the Cao Household?"

Wen Huifang smiled and said, "Maybe yes, maybe no." She looked at Gu Jinjing and frowned. "Your leaf skill is so bad. How many days did Lao Tang last before he died?"

Gu Jinjing face darken and she said, "Lao Tang? Who is Lao Tang?"

Wen Huifang thought Gu Jinjing's question was ridiculous, and she couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably.

Gu Jinjing, "What's so funny?"

Wen Huifang, "I think your answer is ridiculous. You learned "Silver Leaf", but you don't know who Lao Tang is." Her demander suddenly changed. "Or do you think that the 'Silver Leaf Manual' belong to your Gu family?"

Gu Jinjing, "The Silver Leaf Manual' belongs to the Gu family."

Wen Huifang, "Taken what belongs to other and refused to acknowledge the rightful owner, instead making it your own. How ridiculous? Lao Tang will be heartbroken if he heard this."

Gu Jinjing said, "Speaking of which, you really learned to imitate the Cao 'Red Thread Needle'.

Gu Huifang, "Who imitates who we will soon know."

The two women stared back and forth. Yuan Chaomei stood by the river holding a white umbrella and said, "Wen qianbei, we are here just to pass on a message. Don't waste too much time. Chief, he is not a patient person."

Wen Huifang reached into her robe and threw a letter to Gu Jinjing. She angrily said, "Meet our chief's demands, otherwise be prepare for a complete destruction." She flew back to Yuan Chaomei, and the two women walked away.