The calming broth carried a faint bitterness. Bai Qingqing drank it all in silence, swallowing even when the taste made her nauseous.
"I'm sorry."
She lifted the light quilt and tried to get out of bed, but Ning Yan pressed her down at once.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Did I delay everyone’s journey? I’m sorry... I was so useless..."
Her brows knitted with guilt, and though she looked ashamed, her eyes were utterly vacant—like a body whose soul had not yet returned, desperate to make amends.
"I'm sorry, truly sorry. I said I wouldn’t cause trouble, and I meant it. I’m fine now, really. There’s still daylight—we can still make up for lost time, I’ll just—"
She tried to wriggle out of Ning Yan’s arms. Wen Jiang, watching from the side, felt a pang in his chest. He quietly gathered up the empty bowl and slipped out, gently closing the door behind him.
For a girl like Bai Qingqing, raised with dignity and sheltered from filth, this ordeal had been horrific beyond measure. It would have been natural if she’d collapsed entirely, fallen into a lingering illness. But this—this was how she responded. There was a strength in her far beyond the delicate beauty she wore on the surface.
Inside the room, Ning Yan’s arms didn’t budge. Bai Qingqing noticed, looked up at him, and suddenly her eyes brimmed with fear.
"Is it... is it because I was too weak? Do you regret bringing me? I—I didn’t mean to... I was just so scared. Next time—"
Before she could finish, Ning Yan’s hand cupped the back of her head and pulled her against his chest.
The scent of blood on him had faded, replaced by a cool, subdued fragrance—one that Bai Qingqing had made for him. Mingled with his body heat, it became something uniquely Ning Yan’s.
"You don’t need to apologize. And I have no regrets."
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His voice rumbled faintly through his chest, just where Bai Qingqing’s ear rested. The sound of his heartbeat pulsed beneath it—steady, firm, like a mallet striking deep into her veins, calming every ripple of fear.
"We’ll stay here for a few days. The extermination of the mountain bandits has to be reported. That girl’s maid has already been helped with the burial. Once her family gets the news, they’ll come and take her home."
He paused. His palm on the back of Bai Qingqing’s head shifted gently, fingers slowly threading through her hair.
"As long as I’m here, you don’t need to be afraid. Don’t force yourself. I told you I’d take you to the Southwest and bring you safely back to Xuancheng—I’ll keep that promise."
Bai Qingqing had never heard Ning Yan speak in such a gentle tone. It was grounding, reassuring.
From the moment she left Xuancheng, her heart had been in her throat. She reminded herself constantly that it was only through Ning Yan’s kindness that this journey had gone so smoothly. And after witnessing the girl’s tragic fate, she’d completely fallen apart.
"I just kept thinking... if I had gone to the Southwest alone, would I have ended up like her..."
She closed her eyes slowly, missing the sudden, icy glint in Ning Yan’s gaze.
"Don’t think about it. You’ve had the medicine—rest now. I’ll be right here, watching over you."
He eased her back under the covers and sat beside the bed on a round stool, eyes falling on her slender hand exposed outside the quilt. Ning Yan shut his eyes for a moment, forcing back the rage that surged within him.
He didn’t know why, but every time he imagined Bai Qingqing meeting the same fate, something inside him ignited—wild, uncontrollable. He’d have to rewrite the report sent back to Xuancheng. The chaos these bandits sowed in Xuan Dynasty could no longer be allowed to fester.