Chapter Ten: Two Letters

Early the next morning.

When Chief Li awoke, he instructed Baldy to fetch brush, ink, and paper, which he then placed before Miss Xue.

Having fallen into the hands of bandits, Xue Yun’er had appeared somewhat unkempt. Yet after bathing in hot water and tying up her hair the previous night, she now looked all the more refined and lovely. She accepted the paper from Li Yun, lifted her head, and glanced at him.

Recalling her embarrassment while bathing last night, her cheeks flushed with unease. Though this courtyard was secluded, the house itself was crude, the door ill-fitted, and there was no wooden tub—she had no choice but to wash herself standing inside, dreading that the mountain bandit chief might be peering at the door.

She could only extinguish the lamp and cleanse herself bit by bit in the darkness. However, this bandit chief did have a measure of gentlemanly conduct; once he’d heated the water, he returned to his own hut to sleep, which set Miss Xue’s anxious heart somewhat at ease.

Because of this, she managed to get a decent night’s sleep.

After arranging the paper, she pondered her words before taking up the brush to pen a letter.

In the letter, she explained that she had been taken to the mountain stronghold, but for the moment remained unharmed, so her family need not worry.

She took particular care to instruct her father: the mountain bandits were formidable, and he must not attempt to come to the mountain himself.

She would find her own way home.

When the letter was finished, a few tears of sorrow fell from her eyes.

She was still mindful of propriety; after drying the ink, she offered the letter to Li Yun, who stood at her side.

“You… you may read it.”

Li made no pretense, reaching out to take the letter. He read it over carefully, then smiled and said, “So you don’t wish for your family to come rescue you, Miss Xue?”

“You…” Miss Xue bit her lip. “When you returned yesterday, I thought you were dragging two people behind you—I was scared witless.”

“But later, when you went to heat water, I saw… it was just two suits of armor.”

She looked at Li Yun and lowered her head. “You must have killed several people yesterday. I was afraid you… might harm my father. He’s a scholar…”

Li Yun gave a wry chuckle. “I did bring a few suits of armor back, but I didn’t kill anyone. I merely stripped them of their armor.”

Then, glancing down at the letter again, he considered for a moment and spoke. “Miss Xue.”

“I have a suggestion.”

Miss Xue looked up at him.

“What are you plotting now…”

“There’s something wrong with the way you’ve written this letter. If you send this to your father, your family will only worry more. Let’s do this: I’ll dictate, you write, and together we’ll resolve this matter.”

Though she remained wary of him, the fate of her letter—and whether it would ever be delivered—rested entirely in this man’s hands. She clenched her teeth and said, “Very well… let’s hear it.”

“Write this,” Li Yun said, stroking his chin. “After you were abducted by the bandits, they were taking you up the mountain when, halfway there, a wandering hero happened upon the scene.”

“At that time, the bandit chief was wounded. The other bandits, concerned for their leader, were no match for the hero, so you were rescued by him.”

“However, you sustained some injuries during the fight and must rest for a time—about a month—before you can return home.”

“What?” Miss Xue gasped, looking up at Li Yun. “How can that be? Isn’t that deceiving my father?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Chief Li crossed his arms and said, “If you want to preserve your reputation, this is the only way. When the time comes, I’ll personally escort you back to Qingyang County.”

“You?” Miss Xue blurted out. “If you set foot off this mountain, you’ll surely be arrested by the authorities.”

“Not necessarily,” Li Yun replied calmly.

He had seen the wanted posters at the foot of the mountain. The sketches were crude and bore little resemblance to him, clearly drawn from the oral accounts of the constables who had briefly glimpsed him.

As long as he tidied himself up, changed clothes, and adopted a new name, few would recognize him—save, of course, for those few constables who had seen him up close, especially the old sergeant, a seasoned veteran who could pick him out at a glance, no matter how he disguised himself.

However…

Those constables, having failed to protect the young lady and allowed her to be captured by bandits, had surely—no, certainly—already been punished by Magistrate Xue.

None of them held official titles; if the magistrate was enraged, the lightest consequence would be expulsion, the worst imprisonment or exile.

It was unlikely he would encounter them again.

Miss Xue lowered her head and asked through clenched teeth, “Why… why must it be after a month? My father will surely search for me as soon as he receives this letter…”

“In a month, the commotion will have died down. Only then can I leave the mountain.”

“Why… why must you leave the mountain?” Miss Xue looked up at Li Yun, suddenly thinking of something, her cheeks flushing.

“Is it because… because you want to pretend to be the hero and…”

Li Yun failed to catch her meaning, instead gazing out the window.

This mountain stronghold was his foundation. But if he wanted to build something greater, he couldn’t remain confined here forever—he had to go down the mountain, to see and understand the world beyond.

While expanding the stronghold, he must also establish ties with the outside world. Otherwise, even if the fortress atop Cang Mountain could never be breached, it would only ever be a tiny, insular world—a mere thirty-odd people playing at self-sufficiency.

“I am not pretending to be a hero,” Chief Li corrected. “I am the hero who rescued you. Both you and your father must acknowledge this, or you’ll never be able to marry in the future.”

Miss Xue bowed her head, pondering for a long time before biting her lip and replying softly, “Very well, I… I agree.”

She looked up at Li Yun, gathering her courage. “But during this month, you must not mistreat me.”

Li Yun laughed. “I never mistreat women.”

Whether their definitions of “mistreat” were the same was hard to say.

Miss Xue wrote quickly. Before long, she had finished another letter, dried the ink, and handed it to Li Yun, who read it through and asked, “Does your father recognize your handwriting?”

Xue Yun’er nodded. “He does.”

“Good.”

He tucked the letter into his breast. “I’ll find a way to get this letter to your father as soon as possible.”

Xue Yun’er looked at Li Yun, still confused. “Since you intend to let me go, why did you abduct me in the first place…”

Li Yun shook his head and sighed. “My mind wasn’t working right at the time.”

“It works just fine now.”

His words made Miss Xue laugh in spite of herself. She was, by nature, lively, though recent days had thoroughly frightened her. Hearing this, she quipped, “So you’re giving up on finding a wife, then?”

Chief Li smiled with confidence.

“There are countless lovely women in the world. I’ll simply marry another.”

“One even more beautiful.”

Though she longed to escape this bandit den every day, the mention of “more beautiful” still sparked a flash of inexplicable anger in Xue Yun’er’s heart.

Perhaps all young women are vexed by those three words.

Despite her annoyance, she dared not lose her temper with Li Yun, so she could only push him out of the room and urge him to attend to his business.

As for Miss Xue, she remained in her chamber, brooding at the bedside for quite some time.

After a while, her anger subsided. Suddenly, she remembered something.

“Oh no…”

She stood up, biting her lip. “My first letter is still with that Li fellow. He… he…”

“Could he… use that letter to threaten me in the future?”

That letter was in her own hand, clearly stating she’d fallen into the bandits’ hands—a piece of ironclad evidence.

With this thought, Miss Xue spent the entire day anxiously in her room. Not until dusk, when Chief Li returned from settling affairs in the stronghold, did she push open her door and look at him.

“Chief Li…”

She mustered her courage and asked, “That first letter I wrote this morning… could you return it to me?”

Li Yun had harbored no ill intent. Upon returning to his own room, he fetched the letter and handed it to her.

“What do you need it for, Miss Xue?”

Xue Yun’er shook her head hurriedly. “It’s… nothing…”

Li Yun, catching on, smiled. “You intend to burn it, don’t you?”

Xue Yun’er nodded, accepted the letter, and hurried back to her room, closing the door behind her.

Inside, she sat by the bed, unfolded the letter, and, once she was sure it was intact, let out a long sigh of relief.

“I… misjudged him…”

She glanced up at the oil lamp, prepared to burn this “evidence,” but after a moment’s thought, she carefully folded it and put it away.

“He can’t necessarily be trusted…”

Miss Xue pondered.

“If he ever breaks his word, this letter…”

“It’ll still be of use.”