This might well be a bone-chilling conspiracy of fratricide.
The night breeze was refreshing, sneaking in through the cracks of the window that had not been closed tightly, blowing on the face, feeling doubly comfortable, and reviving the spirits a great deal.
He would occasionally caress her body, all the while restraining that raging desire.
Even when they were discussing serious matters, it was the same.
"When we were in the ancient tomb, he always slept in a coffin, took his medicine, and was very quiet. Probably to prevent me from escaping, that savage uncle often tossed me into the coffin and covered the lid," she said.
His hand caressing her back suddenly tightened, pinching her a bit painfully.
She straightened her back and her body shrank a bit.
Feeling her body retract immediately, he apologized in a low voice, "Oh, I pinched too hard, please continue."
Gu Youyou nodded and said, "You could pinch a bit harder on the shoulder, my shoulder is sore from working all day."
"The first time I moved to the town he came to see me, the same night Yue Rujing came, and while Yue Rujing was in the yard, he was on the beam of my room. Zijin, at that time I didn’t trust you, and you didn’t trust me either, and I didn’t know where Yue Rujing sprang from. You won’t blame me for saving him, will you?"
Jin Zijin laughed and said, "So...that was actually the second time you saved him?"
"That’s not the point, ah, forget it, I’m trying to discuss something serious with you."
"When he came, I guess at first he just wanted to make sure I wasn’t dead, and later he probably felt pity for me, so he let me go with him. If I had known he was a tough nut to crack that you guys couldn’t chew, actually going with him to find the answer would have been nice. But I was afraid, scared that he wouldn’t last long before you guys caught him, so I didn’t dare. Ouch, be gentle."
Jin Zijin’s face darkened, still regretting not leaving with another man? Punishment is due!
Jin Zijin pinched her shoulder hard, then justified himself boldly, "Didn’t you say your shoulder was sore? How could it get better if I don’t pinch harder?"
Ignoring him, Gu Youyou continued: "It was then that he told me his name, Jin Yi, styled Ziyuan. Because I gave him a prescription, the one I use myself, which can suppress cold poison. One reason was out of pity for him, and the other because I had my own selfish motives. I didn’t want him to kick the bucket too soon."
Jin Zijin gently massaged her shoulder, thinking to himself: That’s more like it.
Back then she knew nothing, aware only that her situation was very dangerous, and that there was no one she could really trust.
Even in such a situation, she was clever enough to keep a safeguard for herself without showing any sign.
"Jin Yi, styled Ziyuan. Jin Yan, styled Zijin, your eyes look so similar, I suspected your relationship at the time. But then, when Banxia and I went to the countryside to collect herbs, and met him again, he said he had nothing to do with you. Does that mean he actually doesn’t know who you are?"
"Yes!" Jin Zijin didn’t deny it, sighing, "But now he should have guessed... a bit."
Guessed one identity, the other he could not possibly know.
Gu Youyou asked, "It’s not a coincidence your names are so similar, is it?"
Jin Zijin immediately said, "No, it is just a coincidence."
Gu Youyou: "..." What a coincidence.
That night, she told Jin Zijin everything about Jin Ziyuan but kept one thing from him, the matter of the object Jin Ziyuan gave her.
People always keep some safeguards for themselves, even when facing those closest to them — this would be her safeguard for herself.