Xie Jiang helped Xu Hengyan sit down, then used her wet sleeve to clean the blood around the wound before carefully applying the medicine.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
"It really wasn't Lu Baohong who had you attacked?"
"It wasn't him."
"You really ran into the blade yourself? What were you doing? Don't you know necks are very fragile?"
"Seeing you fall into the lake, I got a little anxious..."
"Do you have so little faith in me?"
"No, I just..."
Xu Hengyan lowered his eyes to look at her, his long eyelashes distinct, fluttering like butterfly wings, touching his heartstrings with each beat.
Lu Baohong's skin crawled. The way Xu Hengyan looked at that scoundrel Xie Jiang was so tender it was almost dripping with sweetness!
He truly never would have imagined Xu Hengyan was this kind of person!
He had always heard people praise Xu Hengyan, calling him "radiant like the sun after rain," "pure as a jade pot," and so on...
They wished they could throw all the good words they had at Xu Hengyan alone.
He really wanted to tell those people to open their eyes and see the skin-crawling behavior Xu Hengyan was displaying right now!
"Find me some clean cotton cloth," Xie Jiang instructed without looking up.
Lu Baohong refused, "There isn't any!" He still wanted to boss him around!
As a hostage, one should have the awareness of being a hostage, staying put with one's tail tucked between their legs, not having so many demands and requirements!
Xu Hengyan's eyes held a gentle smile, "The wound isn't deep. It will heal quickly after applying the medicine. There's no need to bandage it."
Xie Jiang thought for a moment and nodded, "When the Lu clan members are injured or sick, there's no need to call for doctors or medicine. Let them fend for themselves."
Lu Baohong said angrily, "It's not that I won't give it to you, it's that we genuinely don't have any!"
What kind of environment was it in the prison? Not calling for doctors or medicine when injured or sick, wasn't that the same as waiting to die!
Lu Baohong became agitated just thinking about it, "We came out to kidnap people, why would we bring clean cotton cloth? We don't even have dirty ones!"
He paused, looked down at himself, then pointed to a guard beside him, "Do you want me to strip a piece off my body for you?"
Xie Jiang said disdainfully, "No!"
It was evident that Lu Baohong and his son had fallen on hard times after their escape. They were all dressed no better than beggars. Using their clothes to wrap a wound, wasn't that just hastening death?
Lu Baohong said, "Then we really don't have any."
"The bleeding has stopped, though..." Xie Jiang muttered, staring at the two cuts, still not entirely satisfied.
Lu Baohong complained indignantly, "If you had gotten on the boat even a little later, the wound would have healed. It's just a scratch."
Was Xu Hengyan a delicate young lady, acting like she was dying from a small cut!
Xie Jiang said, "You wouldn't understand, growing up the way you have. Even the slightest flaw in something beautiful can cause immense regret and heartache."
Lu Baohong was hit again, "..."
But looking at Xu Hengyan's face, he couldn't find any words to refute her.
Seeing Xie Jiang tuck the medicine bottle into her pouch, Lu Baohong waved his hand with a dark expression, signaling his subordinates to tie Xie Jiang up.
"Weren't you eager to be a hostage? Grandpa will fulfill your wish today!"
"Just tie up Xu Hengyan. Wherever he is, I am. I'm not sleeping soundly at home and instead followed you, almost getting shot like a hedgehog. Are you worried I'll run away?"
"As a hostage, you must have the awareness of a hostage. Have you ever seen a hostage swaggering around? Isn't Xu Shizi also being tied up?"
Lu Baohong didn't want Xie Jiang to have it too easy. Moreover, after two volleys of arrows, Xie Jiang had managed to board the ship unharmed!
This showed that the bastard had some real skills, not just relying on his looks and his notoriety to get by.
He had to be cautious.
"If you tie up Xu Hengyan, you're tying me up too. My soul is lost with Xu Hengyan. You're all so poor, don't waste the rope."
"You..."
Lu Baohong felt as if his chest had been stabbed again. They had indeed been living a very difficult life recently, eating one meal a day and starving the next, like stray dogs.
And all of this was thanks to whom!
Xu Hengyan also felt like covering her mouth. What was she saying, that her soul was lost with him.
He, he...
Xu Hengyan suddenly felt a bit hot, a dryness spreading from within...
If she kept talking nonsense, he would...
Didn't she know that talking nonsense could also cause trouble!
The next second, he couldn't help but think, fortunately, she only talked nonsense in front of him. If others heard it, and then, without realizing it, took it to heart...
Did she think she hadn't caused enough trouble already!
"Xu Hengyan, why are you glaring at me? You're looking in the wrong direction, Lu Baohong is over there." Xie Jiang pointed at Lu Baohong.
Xu Hengyan: "..."
Was he glaring at Lu Baohong? Why would he glare at Lu Baohong? Who was Lu Baohong to him!
Lu Baohong wanted to gouge his own eyes out. These two were simply shameless! With so many eyes watching, they were already exchanging affectionate glances!
A malicious thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Lu Baohong stared at them sinisterly, "If you could only tie up one of you, who would you choose?"
"Tie up Xu Hengyan."
Xie Jiang answered without hesitation, openly and honestly, not feeling the least bit ashamed or embarrassed.
So heartless, so selfish, wasn't he her lover?
Shouldn't these two have said in unison, "Tie me up instead!"
What did Xu Hengyan see in Xie Jiang? Couldn't be just her face, could it? So Xu Hengyan was that superficial!
Xu Hengyan didn't seem sad or disappointed upon hearing this. Instead, he looked gratified and tender.
Truly sick, utterly sick.
Xu Hengyan felt that Xie Jiang's choice was perfectly fine. It was the correct choice. She, a little tiger who always bared her teeth and was spirited and majestic, would be so pitiful if she were tied up and unable to move.
Moreover, she had ventured deep into enemy territory just to accompany him. What more could he ask for?
He was willing to surrender himself in exchange for Xu Hengyi, why should she also be tied up?
Xie Jiang seemed to hear his thoughts and nodded repeatedly with a smile.
She felt the same way.
She was just that fresh and refined.
Xu Hengyan couldn't stop smiling.
Lu Baohong couldn't bear to watch any longer. Angrily, he waved at his subordinates, "Hurry up and lock them in the cabin! Lock them all in the cabin!"
The subordinates also felt as if they had thorns growing all over them.
Two grown men openly flirting in broad daylight was simply too much!
The appearance and demeanor of Xu Shizi and the young man named Xie were more pleasing to the eye, not to the point of making them feel disgusted or uncomfortable.
It was precisely because of this that it was even more tormenting.
What was with all of them feeling restless inside? Had they been on the run for so long that they were starting to find their companions handsome?
"Lead the way ahead, we'll walk ourselves."
Seeing the Lu guards approaching them, Xu Hengyan frowned. He didn't want them to touch Xie Jiang.
The guards looked at Lu Baohong.
Lu Baohong didn't care how they walked. He just wanted these two to disappear from his sight as quickly as possible. He waved his hand vigorously, indicating they could go as they pleased!