Fang Shuwen was actually a little puzzled. When had this group appeared, and why were they here?
Was their target Long Qingzhi, or him?
If he was the target, then so be it.
But if it was Long Qingzhi... how had they locked onto her?
The people who besieged the Long Family to capture Long Qingzhi would never be foolish enough to publicize the matter of the Glazed Saint Body.
So, logically speaking, no one other than that group should have come looking for her.
But now, there were quite a few people lying in wait outside. Fang Shuwen could sense no fewer than seven or eight sets of eyes on them, some hidden, some in plain sight.
’Could it be that this group accidentally let word slip?’
’In that case, it makes sense that this mission comes with a four-fold attribute boost.’
Fang Shuwen shook his head gently. Long Qingzhi was like a Ginseng Fruit—everyone wanted to take a bite.
It was rather interesting to encounter such a mission right after entering the Northern Domain.
It was just that with Long Qingzhi now sick, the mission’s difficulty had invisibly increased a notch.
But Fang Shuwen wasn’t complaining.
Anything could happen in the guard profession. Could he really just throw in the towel because he ran into a slightly troublesome client?
Things were far from that point.
After another glance at Long Qingzhi, Fang Shuwen turned and left his room. He went to Long Qingzhi’s room and retrieved her bundle.
There were still a few scattered pieces of clothing on the bed that hadn’t been packed. Fang Shuwen glanced at them and casually grabbed them, stuffing them into the bundle.
He scanned the room and, seeing nothing left behind, carried the bundle back to his own room.
When he opened the door, he heard Long Qingzhi talking in her sleep. It sounded like she was having a nightmare, crying out things like "Father," "Mother," and "Don’t."
Sleep-talking was often disjointed, but the fear in her tone was unmistakable.
Fang Shuwen sighed, placed the bundle on the bed, and went to the side to meditate.
About an hour later, as dusk approached, Long Qingzhi slowly woke up, drenched in sweat just as he’d expected.
She opened her eyes and looked around, her pupils filled with fear. It was only when she saw Fang Shuwen sitting in a chair that she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Hero Fang, I... what happened to me..."
"You fainted earlier. I fetched some medicine for you. How are you feeling now?"
Fang Shuwen opened his eyes.
"I... I feel much better..."
Long Qingzhi said softly.
"Thank you."
"It’s nothing. Since you hired me to protect you, if you died from an illness, wouldn’t that ruin my reputation?"
Fang Shuwen pointed to the bundle and said,
"You were sweating a lot just now. The weather is still cold, so you should change your clothes. Don’t catch a chill and make your condition worse."
"Okay, I... should I change here?"
Seeing that Fang Shuwen had brought her entire bundle over, she sensed something might be wrong, which was why she asked.
Fang Shuwen nodded.
"I’ll turn my back so I don’t see. You can lower the bed curtains.
"When I went to get the medicine earlier, I felt people spying on us. They’re either after you or after me. To be safe, you’ll rest here tonight.
"I’ll just meditate in the chair."
Fang Shuwen said,
"If things go south, we can also make a move and fight our way out immediately.
"By the way, can you ride a horse?"
"Yes."
Long Qingzhi nodded and said,
"I learned from my father when I was young."
"Good. If nothing happens tonight, we’ll go to the market tomorrow morning and buy two horses."
Fang Shuwen said,
"If there’s an incident tonight, we’ll see if our opponents can ’deliver’ two horses to us."
Long Qingzhi nodded and said no more. She lowered the bed curtains, and after opening the bundle, she saw her own bodice right on top, her face instantly flushing red.
She remembered that she hadn’t packed it when she was changing earlier and had left it on the bed.
’Did he pack this for me?’
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Long Qingzhi began to change with a rustle of clothing.
Her body was still weak, but she managed to stand up and hang up the clothes she had changed out of.
Worried that something might happen, she didn’t dare wash them and could only make do.
Fang Shuwen had the waiter bring up food and drinks. After checking them and finding no problems, he and Long Qingzhi began to eat.
The two of them were hardly familiar with each other, so they had nothing to say.
After the meal, one rested on the bed while the other meditated in the chair. It was a peaceful arrangement.
Lying there, however, Long Qingzhi found her gaze fixed on the meditating Fang Shuwen, her mind racing with thoughts.
’He looks so young.’
’But even Dugu Han was no match for him.’
’He said... there were many people spying on us, yet he didn’t show the slightest panic. He’s even plotting to steal their horses.’
’He probably isn’t an expert from the Northern Domain. Is he from the Eastern Domain, or maybe the Central Domain?’
’With such Martial Arts and looks like his, what kind of background could he have?’
’Why would he be willing to work as a guard for someone?’
Her heart was filled with curiosity, one question after another, yet she didn’t dare to ask a single one.
Time ticked by. In the middle of the night, Long Qingzhi’s condition took a turn for the worse. Her brow was tightly furrowed, and even lying down, she felt completely drained of strength.
Fang Shuwen noticed something was wrong and came over to check. He reached out and touched her forehead. The good news was that she didn’t have a fever.
But she seemed even weaker...