CH 139

Villainous Fake Eunuch (16)

When Gu Ruyu awoke, she found herself in darkness. The warmth of light shone on her body, and the air was fresh, with the sound of flowing water, cicadas, and birds chirping in the distance.

Her head still throbbed, and her muscles ached from sleeping for too long. But her body felt refreshed, and the familiar cool sensation of an arrow wound being treated told her that she had been taken care of.

This situation meant that she had not fallen into enemy hands. Gu Ruyu slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

In front of her were blurry, moving shadows. She blinked, but the outside world remained dim and dark.

She remembered the dense smoke that had filled her eyes during her desperate escape with Song Xu Yi. Gu Ruyu made a rough judgement and slowly sat up from the rubble. She adjusted her breathing and soon heard the surprised voice of Song Xu Yi coming closer and closer.

“Ruyu, you’re awake?” Song Xu Yi’s joyful voice sounded in her ears.

Gu Ruyu instinctively looked towards the source of the voice, but she could only see a black shadow in front of her. She could sense that Song Xu Yi was right in front of her, and her happy voice continued to ring in her ears, “Ruyu, how do you feel? You passed out for three days, and I was really worried.”

“Three days…huh?”

Gu Ruyu pursed her lips.

She thought back on the past few days, which had been extremely difficult for her. Each day had felt like an eternity. She longed to see Song Xu Yi but was afraid to do so. Song Xu Yi seemed to have noticed her distance and had started to become formal and distant towards her.

Gu Ruyu had initially thought that she would become accustomed to their situation, and that they would gradually become strangers again.

However, she was wrong.

She had never expected to be so impulsive, to run towards Song Xu Yi in that chaotic situation, even when she had realized that the enemy’s attacks were becoming more intense. She had never even considered abandoning Song Xu Yi, and even felt that if she could die with Xu Yi, it would not be in vain.

As she listened to Song Xu Yi’s concerned questioning, Gu Ruyu was unusually stunned.

But then, the happy and cheerful voice suddenly grew somber – Song Xu Yi had noticed the abnormality in Gu Ruyu’s eyes.

“Ruyu, your eyes…” Song Xu Yi spoke up, worry in her voice as she fought back tears.

Even though she couldn’t see, Gu Ruyu could imagine the worried expression on Song Xu Yi’s face as she looked at her. “It’s alright,” Gu Ruyu replied, her lips pursed. Despite her current situation, she felt a faint sense of joy from Song Xu Yi’s concern, which she hadn’t felt for a long time. While it wasn’t the most difficult situation she had ever faced, she knew enough about medicine to sense that the poison wasn’t severe and that she would recover soon. Even if she did lose her eyesight, while it would bring many complications to her future life, it was still better than losing her life.

However, Song Xu Yi didn’t seem to share her perspective.

Gu Ruyu felt a trembling hand brush over her eyes, the familiar warmth of Song Xu Yi’s breath on her eyeballs. Then Song Xu Yi turned her head and urgently asked, “Miss Zhao, my sister can’t see. Is there a doctor nearby?”

“Miss Song, we’re in the deep mountains; there are no doctors here,” replied Miss Zhao.

“To find a doctor, we would have to go to the city. But the officials are searching the area three times a day. We can’t leave the mountain, or we might be caught,” Miss Zhao explained, hesitantly. “I have some herbs that can promote blood circulation, resolve stasis, and clear heat and toxins. Would you like me to make a poultice for her? It’s too dangerous for you to go to the city now.”

Gu Ruyu listened as Song Xu Yi thanked Miss Zhao repeatedly, and then Miss Zhao went into the room to look for herbs.

Later, from Song Xu Yi’s words, Gu Ruyu learned about their current situation. They had escaped to this mountain yesterday, with Song Xu Yi pretending that she and Gu Ruyu were wealthy patrons’ singers. They had taken advantage of the chaos and escaped during a search by officials. They were taken in by a girl named Zhao Qin, who was kind-hearted and sheltered them.

Gu Ruyu had never imagined that Song Xu Yi could praise someone so much.

As Song Xu Yi described the beautiful and cheerful Zhao Qin, who was kind and intelligent and could cook delicious food that left a lasting impression, Gu Ruyu felt a sense of discomfort in her heart.

Especially when she remembered how Song Xu Yi had described her when she was disguised as Zhao San, Gu Ruyu tightened her lips and inexplicably wanted to leave the small room. Her hand unconsciously reached for her waist: there was a special fragrance in Gu Ruyu’s sachet that certain beasts would track down. Last time, when she and Song Xu Yi fell off a cliff together, her follower was able to locate them quickly because of the scent. But this time, Gu Ruyu’s waist was empty…

Had she lost it during their escape? That’s why her follower hadn’t come in the past three days…

Gu Ruyu pursed her lips thoughtfully.

Watching Gu Ruyu reach for her waist, Song Xu Yi looked away guiltily.

The special fragrance had been intentionally tied to a bird’s leg by the system and had flown away somewhere unknown.

Song Xu Yi hadn’t anticipated that the system would lead them to the residence of the female lead, Zhao Qin, in such dire circumstances.

The silent and forgetful male lead, Zheng Lian, had refused to take them in, though he couldn’t explain why. His sharp eyes were fixed on the unconscious Gu Ruyu, signaling that he found her extremely dangerous.

Song Xu Yi was surprised that Zheng Lian still harbored deep misgivings towards Gu Ruyu. However, his suspicions were only based on intuition, which wasn’t enough to persuade the female lead, Zhao Qin, who still welcomed them and helped them hide from the searching soldiers.

Currently, the male lead had been staying outside chopping firewood and tending to the tea trees in anger for the past three days. He rarely entered the house except during mealtimes.

Gu Ruyu, however, realized that Zheng Lian’s presence was only a matter of time. Song Xu Yi was worried that Gu Ruyu would harm Zheng Lian after waking up from the incident where her subordinates arrived at the cliff too quickly. This incident had raised suspicion, so Song Xu Yi and her system investigated and found an unusual fragrance on Gu Ruyu’s body. They tied it to a bird’s leg to mislead Gu Ruyu’s subordinates while sending a signal to the Emperor’s people.

Song Xu Yi planned to create a time difference: Gu Ruyu was seriously injured and wouldn’t be able to harm Zheng Lian for a while. If the Emperor’s people could find Gu Ruyu and Zheng Lian before Gu Ruyu’s subordinates arrived, it would be an ideal situation for Song Xu Yi.

“System, should we notify Gu Ruyu’s subordinates again? We can’t delay any longer,” Song Xu Yi said, worried that Gu Ruyu would wake up soon. She had examined Gu Ruyu’s body and found that although Gu Ruyu had injured her shoulder again, fortunately, the wound hadn’t become infected and her overall condition appeared normal.

However, Gu Ruyu had slept for three days, and Song Xu Yi was already anxious. She never expected Gu Ruyu to wake up and lose her sight.

Thinking of Gu Ruyu’s once brilliant and dazzling eyesight that might never see anything again, Song Xu Yi felt extremely distressed.

“This…” The system was also panicked. Although it always cursed the main villain, it didn’t want her to be seriously injured, especially for Song Xu Yi’s sake.

After thinking for a while, the system reluctantly considered Gu Ruyu’s feelings.

“The main villain is the only one who knows how to contact her subordinates. If you go and ask her, it will only arouse suspicion,” the system sighed heavily. “Then… take her out for a walk! If she plans to send a message to her subordinates, we will pretend we didn’t see it.”

Song Xu Yi understood that this was the biggest concession the system could make. Currently, the soldiers were still searching everywhere. Going down the mountain would undoubtedly be walking into the lion’s den. There seemed to be no other way besides this method.

After finalizing the plan, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but look at Gu Ruyu, who was in front of her. Gu Ruyu, who was blind, had slightly pale lips and was wearing white clothes that hung loosely on her body. Her eyes had lost their previous brilliance, and her expression was dazed, emitting a pitiful and lost aura that made people feel sorry for her.

She must feel so sad in her heart, having fallen from being such a proud and strong person to this state.

When Song Xu Yi thought that Gu Ruyu had become like this for her sake, endless remorse flooded her heart.

“Ruyu,” Song Xu Yi softened her voice and took a careful step forward to hold Gu Ruyu’s hand. “You’ve been in bed for many days. Do you want to drink some water first?”

Gu Ruyu nodded, and Song Xu Yi poured her a glass of water.

Gu Ruyu drank the water quietly, and the gentle sunlight softened the coldness on her face. Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders, giving her a gentle and obedient look.

“The sun outside is scorching. Would you like to go out for a walk and soak up some sun?” Seeing Gu Ruyu looking so gentle, Song Xu Yi’s voice unconsciously became lighter.

Gu Ruyu pursed her lips, lost in thought. Her lifeless eyes swept in the direction of Song Xu Yi before finally curving her lips. “Okay.”

“Then wait a moment—” Song Xu Yi had grown accustomed to Gu Ruyu’s teasing and bossiness. But when she saw Gu Ruyu so obedient and compliant, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Gu Ruyu’s smile. Her face suddenly felt hot, and she had to pretend to ask Zhao Qin a question as an excuse to enter the small kitchen.

She borrowed something from Zhao Qin and set up a small table and chair under the tree in the courtyard, cutting up some fruit and placing it on top. Song Xu Yi felt her chaotic heart rate had finally calmed down before returning to Gu Ruyu’s side, carefully helping her to the chair.

“Try lying down first, how does it feel?”

As Gu Ruyu half-lay on the chair, her beautiful face became even more striking, almost saintly. She accurately “looked” in Song Xu Yi’s direction, and a trace of a smile flowed through her dreamy eyes. Her lips curved slightly, “If it’s arranged by Xu Yi, it must be good.”

However, Song Xu Yi frowned and examined Gu Ruyu’s smiling face carefully. In the past, Song Xu Yi would not dare to look at Gu Ruyu in this way, but now that Gu Ruyu couldn’t see her, Song Xu Yi indulged herself and examined her closely.

At such a close range, Gu Ruyu’s perfect face still had no flaws. Song Xu Yi admired her, but at the same time, she was puzzled. Why did Gu Ruyu suddenly become so compliant and gentle?

Normally, if a person suddenly went blind, they would find it hard to accept, but Gu Ruyu seemed to have accepted it instantly, and then she acted as if nothing had changed.

Song Xu Yi’s gaze lingered on Gu Ruyu’s sightless eyes, wondering if she was putting on a brave face to mask her true feelings. They were now dependent on each other, and Song Xu Yi feared that Gu Ruyu might think she would abandon her.

Feeling uneasy, Song Xu Yi didn’t want to see Gu Ruyu “force a smile” for her sake. To show her gratitude for saving her life, Song Xu Yi knelt beside Gu Ruyu and spoke softly, “I’m so thankful for what you did that night. I know I can’t do much for you now, but don’t worry. I will do my best to help heal your eyes. Until then, let me take care of you. You don’t have to be afraid.”

Gu Ruyu’s lifeless eyes widened briefly in surprise before she quickly composed herself, closing her eyes and replying softly, “Okay.”

Unknown to Song Xu Yi, Gu Ruyu had withdrawn her fingers that had been reaching for a bag of bait in her sleeve’s inside pocket. The bait could summon special animals and her subordinates. Instead, Gu Ruyu smiled at Song Xu Yi, comparing herself to Zhao Qin, whom Song Xu Yi had described as cheerful and lively. Gu Ruyu noticed the slight irregularity in Song Xu Yi’s breathing.

She had wanted to contact her subordinates earlier, but Song Xu Yi had promised to care for her always.

Would there be other chances in the future for her to indulge herself and get close to Xu Yi like this?

Gu Ruyu bit her lower lip…

Just… indulge herself this time!

The author has something to say:

Awooo, I ended up in the hospital the night before last because I stayed up too late. It’s highly unlikely that I’ll update after 24:00 from now on, so my little angels, don’t stay up late like me and rest early.