Chapter 22: The White Moonlight of the Saint of the Miao Frontier 6

Lu Ningshi gripped her umbrella handle and headed upward without hesitation.

Beneath the gray-blue roof tiles, rainwater rushed rapidly down the slope.

Song Yuehua’s eyes were tightly shut, her face deathly pale and bloodless. Her clothes were filthy and disheveled, covered in scratches and scrapes. The camera still hung around her neck, though its lens was completely shattered. She lay on the ground, soaked and shivering, her skin deathly cold.

"Holy Son, is this supposed to be a tourist?"

A young boy squatted on the ground, carefully poking the unconscious person the Holy Son had brought back.

"A-Tian."

A cold, emotionless voice rang out, causing A-Tian to retract his hand in a flash.

The man didn't even look at the person on the ground, commanding coldly, "Hand her over to Youtai. Let him deal with it."

"Yes!"

A-Tian responded loudly and immediately threw on his raincoat, sprinting outside and splashing through the puddles on the ground.

Halfway up the mountain, Lu Ningshi noticed traces of footsteps on the green moss and leaned in for a closer look.

A-Tian brushed past her, then suddenly stopped about ten meters away. He turned and jogged back, calling out a warning: "Hey, girl from outside the mountain, outsiders aren't allowed here. You’d better get down the mountain and leave immediately."

"I'm sorry. A friend of mine went missing. I thought she might have wandered up the mountain while distracted by taking photos, which is why I came up without permission..."

"Taking photos?" A-Tian asked with a strange tone. "Is your friend a girl?"

"Yes, she..." A flash of inspiration hit Lu Ningshi, and she immediately pressed, "Have you seen her?"

"What does she look like?"

"She has curly blonde hair, is about 1.67 meters tall, has healthy, wheat-colored skin, a pimple on her forehead from heat, carries a camera, and is wearing a light blue floral dress."

The specific description made A-Tian lower his guard. He let out a sigh of relief and said slowly, "She fell in the forest and was picked up by the... well, she’s at our home now."

Some things were not for outsiders to know, so A-Tian swallowed the words "Holy Son" back down.

Lu Ningshi, failing to notice his hesitation, asked anxiously, "Where is your home? Would you mind taking me there?"

"Follow me first. Whether you can enter or not depends on whether he allows it."

"Alright, thank you for the trouble."

After walking for about ten minutes, Lu Ningshi followed him to a courtyard deep in the mountains.

"Wait outside," A-Tian said, turning his head before jogging away, leaving her with a fleeting view of his back.

"Holy Son, I'm back."

The man heard the commotion and glanced at him indifferently. "Where is she?"

"I didn't go to the Elder's house." Seeing the man frown, he spoke faster to explain: "I met a girl from outside the mountain on the way. She was looking for her friend, the one you saved, so I brought her over."

"She’s outside the door now. Can you let her in?" A-Tian asked tentatively.

The man was silent for a moment before slowly parting his lips: "Don't let it happen again."

"Oh, thank you, Holy Son!"

A-Tian immediately dashed out, overjoyed. He opened the door, poked his head through the wooden frame, and looked up at Lu Ningshi. "You can come in now."

"Stay close to me. Don't let your eyes wander, don't touch anything inside, and most importantly, do not look at the person inside, and definitely don't try to talk to him. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

Lu Ningshi followed his instructions strictly, keeping her eyes lowered and focused only on the path ahead, refusing to steal a single glance.

A-Tian glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and nodded to himself. Good, she was someone who could follow instructions. The worry he felt about bringing a stranger along subsided slightly.

"We're here. Your friend is inside."

Lu Ningshi lifted her head slightly and, seeing the person on the floor, hurried across the threshold. "Yueyue."

Behind a screen, half a bowl of tea spilled, wetting a sleeve.

Lu Ningshi called out to her, and seeing her eyes tightly shut, she paused for a second, then touched her wrist as if by accident. She let out a small breath of relief and thanked the boy: "Thank you for saving my friend."

"Don't thank me, it's—why did you come out?"

A-Tian’s round eyes widened in shock as he watched the man stride out.

The Holy Son didn't spare him a glance, his gaze fixed intently on Lu Ningshi.

"What is your name?" he asked, his voice unexpectedly gentle.

A-Tian stared at his back, his mouth hanging open. Could the Holy Son... have been bewitched?

A flicker of confusion crossed Lu Ningshi's eyes, but she answered honestly: "My name is Lu Yiwei. Thank you for saving my friend today."

"I am Youlong. My Chinese name is Yang Chengchuan."

"...Oh, h-hello."

Lu Ningshi offered a dry greeting, glancing toward A-Tian and using her eyes to ask if it was alright for the man to be speaking to her. Unfortunately, A-Tian was currently lost in a daze and couldn't respond.

Lu Ningshi: ...So, he’s only responsible for the start, but not the aftermath?

"Um... would you mind if I made a phone call? I have a few other friends still out looking for her."

"As you wish." Yang Chengchuan took a step back, giving her more space.

Lu Ningshi offered a grateful smile. "Thank you."

She walked to the side and called Tang An. While speaking to the window, she felt a gaze on her back so intense it felt scorching. She gave a quick explanation, telling her she had found Song Yuehua. Tang An, fearing she couldn't handle a sick person on her own, eagerly asked for their location. Lu Ningshi paused, saying only that they would return shortly.

Lu Ningshi wasn't foolish. Between the boy's warnings, the geographical location, and the strange-eyed man, she knew she was standing in the private territory of the real Miao people. It wouldn't necessarily be a good thing for Tang An and the others to come here.

Lu Ningshi lowered her eyelids. After hanging up, she gave the man a faint smile, but before she could speak, he interrupted her.

"The rain is too heavy; it isn't safe on the roads."

Lu Ningshi swallowed her words and asked respectfully: "What do you mean..."

"You can stay the night."

Yang Chengchuan returned to his previous demeanor, his tone indifferent yet sincere. "I have medicine for your friend's injuries at home. If you try to move her now, her condition will worsen."

Lu Ningshi looked at her friend on the floor, silenced by the logic. His actions toward his guests were, compared to his words, extremely... contradictory.

She pondered for a moment, finally finding the right term: inconsistent.

Yang Chengchuan followed her gaze, his fingers curling slightly at his sides. He pursed his lips and explained calmly, "I live alone. Since men and women are different, it wasn't appropriate for me to treat her injuries."

After saying this, realizing he couldn't explain why he had left her lying on the floor, he quietly added, "I only have one bed and one set of bedding, so it's also inconvenient."