Second Watch
Ye Youqing paused, then spoke: “How old are you?”
Ah Chi withdrew his hand, pondering deeply for a long while before slowly saying, “Twenty… four or five…”
“You’re seven years older than me, and you call me ‘big brother’?” Ye Youqing frowned.
Although she had lived for more than twenty years herself, this body was genuinely in the prime of youth.
(LP: Ye Youqing is either 17 or 18! I thought her and Ci Ke are in their 20s though…)
“Oh, what’s the big deal? Those people underground don’t even know their own ages, and I’ve recognized quite a few brothers,” Ah Chi said, scratching his head. Then he pushed the two of them inside, “I haven’t seen you all morning. Where were you taken?”
“Waiting tables,” Ye Youqing said flatly, sitting down on a newly laid bed.
“Your job is much better than mine. It was I who begged Old Qi to include you two,” Ah Chi dragged his leg to sit across from Ye Youqing. “But as soon as they saw my lame leg, they wouldn’t let me get close and only had me do chores outside.”
Ah Chi looked pitiful and was disabled, but it seemed nothing could keep him down for long. He had been trembling with fear earlier, but now he was all smiles.
Just as Ye Youqing was feeling helpless, Shi Li suddenly spoke up. She reached out and placed her hand on Ah Chi’s injured leg, looking up inquisitively.
Ah Chi, very casual, rolled up his pants to reveal a deformed calf bone, pointing to it: “This leg doesn’t usually bother me, but the recent rain makes it hurt often.”
Shi Li placed her slender fingers on the injured leg, slowly feeling down, and softly asked, “When did you get hurt?”
“When I was young, about six or seven years ago,” Ah Chi’s tone became somber, as if recalling something.
Shi Li repeated ‘six or seven years’ to herself and was about to ask more when footsteps were heard. The man who had hit them earlier half-stepped inside and barked, “You there, come here!”
Ah Chi was startled and hurriedly let down his pants, using the bed to get up, “Is it about the clothes…”
“The clothes are fine, the young lady quite liked them,” the man smacked his lips in satisfaction, then barked, “Move quickly, there’s more work to do!”
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Ah Chi limped out quickly but not before he told Ye Youqing to take care.
“And you two,” the man hesitated for a moment, pointing at Ye Youqing, “You look smart, come with me to guard the young lady’s door.”
Ye Youqing heard this and was secretly pleased but dared not show it. She only nodded and followed.
There was no one in Ci Ke’s room, the door was ajar. Ye Youqing stood by the door, growing increasingly anxious and decided to act nonchalantly.
“Could it be that she escaped?” Ye Youqing whispered.
The man sneered, turning his head to scrutinize Ye Youqing, “Do you even know where this is? Not even birds can fly away, where could a young lady go? She said she couldn’t sleep and wanted to look around, so Second King took her for a stroll.”
Ye Youqing responded with an ‘oh’.
Ci Ke’s room was halfway up the mountain, overlooking the entire valley. Between the two mountain peaks was a gap, where black-clad men were occasionally seen coming and going, using ox carts to transport something.
It didn’t seem high from this view, but to leave the valley, there was still a long mountain road to descend, making it a strategic spot for both offense and defense.
Ye Youqing covertly scanned the area, pinpointing the location of two caves but did not see Ci Ke. Her hands, hidden behind her back, picked at the wall’s surface, eventually creating a small hole.
After an unknown amount of time, the wind blowing into the valley turned thick and dry. It was only then that Ci Ke appeared, walking and chatting with Second King.
Ci Ke had no expression until she saw Ye Youqing standing at the door, then she paused. Second King, thinking she was hesitant to step onto the stairs, reached out to help but was brushed off by Ci Ke.
Second King’s face briefly darkened, then he replaced it with a smile, “Tired now, ready to rest?”
Ci Ke walked toward Ye Youqing, her dress swirling in the wind, the flowers on her skirt catching the sunlight vividly.
Behind her were the rolling mountains, some birds flying past her, making her slender yet beautiful figure look like she might be carried away by them. She lowered her head and walked past Ye Youqing, pushing the door open to enter the room.
The scent of makeup wafted past Ye Youqing’s nose, and she briefly closed her eyes to savor it.
When she reopened her eyes, Second King was already walking away with a smile, and the man beside her, who had been tense, slowly relaxed.
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They all seemed to fear Second King, Ye Youqing thought.
They knew not to trust Ye Youqing, leaving only her pretty face at the door to reassure people. Every move she made was watched by the man beside her, leaving Ye Youqing unable to do anything.
She stood there stiffly until nightfall.
The mountain stronghold had no lights except for two torches at the entrance. The rest was pitch black, only the deep-sea-like sky above, with clouds like white waves washing over the shining stars.
In the stillness, there was suddenly the sound of a table and chair toppling over. Ye Youqing’s heart sank, and she hurriedly knocked on the door.
“Miss, Miss?”
There was no response from inside. The man beside her also panicked, pounded on the wooden door with his fist, and when there was still no response, he was about to kick the door down but was stopped by Ye Youqing, who pushed him away.
“I’m going in!” Ye Youqing pressed against the door, shouting loudly.
There was no further refusal from inside, so Ye Youqing took a few steps back and kicked the door open with a loud bang. Light spilled out.
They saw Ci Ke half-sitting on the ground, clutching her abdomen in pain, her slender waist curled, revealing half of her sorrowful face.
Ye Youqing’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed, and she rushed over, kneeling down in two steps. She brushed aside Ci Ke’s hair and saw her frowning, eyes closed, lips pale, looking extremely sickly.
“What… what happened? She was fine just now…” The man stepped in, hesitant to move closer, only standing there in panic.
Ye Youqing turned around in a frenzy, angrily shouting, “Is there a doctor in the stronghold? Go get someone!”
“There’s no doctor, no one’s sick… the stronghold has no doctor,” the man said with a troubled face, “Go find Second King, have him come and see.”
“Where is he?” Ye Youqing’s voice changed, making the man shiver. He was about to point down the mountain when he suddenly remembered something, “You don’t know the way, fine, fine!”
“Watch over her, I’ll go find him!” The man said in panic and ran out of the room, heading down the mountain.
Seeing him leave, Ye Youqing was about to check Ci Ke’s condition when cold hands grabbed her, forcing her to bend down.
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Ci Ke no longer appeared in pain, her eyes shining, though her lips were still pale. She pulled Ye Youqing close and urgently whispered, “Ye Youqing, listen to me. During the day, I had him take me around and figured out the locations of the four caves.”
Afraid the man would return, she acted hastily, clumsily pulling a handkerchief from her sleeve and giving it to Ye Youqing. There were bloodstains on it, and Ye Youqing grabbed Ci Ke’s hand, discovering her index finger was injured, the blood now dried.
“Besides those, there’s a fifth cave. It’s all drawn on here. He wouldn’t let me see, saying it’s where they keep deserters…”
“Ci Ke, you…” Ye Youqing saw her finger, mangled like a green onion, and couldn’t tell if she was angry or pained, “This has nothing to do with you. Aren’t you afraid you won’t escape?”
“I can help you. I’m not afraid,” Ci Ke softly said.
“I’m afraid if you’re not,” Ye Youqing was so angry her chest hurt, her voice sinking, “I wanted you to stay safely in Weizhou. Why didn’t you listen?”
“I did listen, I didn’t mean to,” Ci Ke, seeing her anger, panicked and tugged at her sleeve.
