ATLAS TRANSLATES

When Lu Yun and Prince Hengyang’s troops surrounded Lin Ye, the Northern vanguard forces who initially had the upper hand changed expression dramatically after seeing their leader shot by Lu Yun’s three consecutive arrows. They all stood up and grabbed their weapons. In an instant, the martially skilled young Prince Liu Mu leaped down from his horse with his spear, leading his troops to charge at the enemy!

They trampled over corpses and waded through blood!

The spear cut through the snowy ground, kicking up swirling snow mist. Each snowflake that rose up reflected off young Liu Mu’s sharp brow ridge, seeming to carry weight as they struck toward the enemy army.

Liu Mu shouted loudly: “Men, follow me and kill! Don’t let a single one escape—”

From Nanyang to Yingchuan, from Yingchuan to Ruyang, they met the advancing Northern vanguard forces. The two sides clashed instantly! Liu Mu’s aura surged powerfully as his soldiers followed to engage. Having heard reports of the crisis in Ruyang along the way, how could they hesitate now upon encountering the enemy? As Liu Mu fought with the enemy, his sharp gaze swept past, seeing Lu Yun kneeling in the snow.

That lady’s face was completely blocked by him, and everyone could only see her thick black hair falling over Lu Yun’s arm. It was elegant, like a waterfall.

Seeing this, Liu Mu grew even more enraged, thinking of how those Northern soldiers had surrounded Lady Luo when they arrived earlier… How dare they!

Did they think the South had no one, that they could abuse ladies at will?

Thinking this, Liu Mu wielded his spear with even greater ferocity. The howling wind formed solid blades of killing intent, surrounding the Northern army. The previously domineering enemy troops now began to anxiously retreat and try to flee as more and more bodies fell to the ground…

Lu Yun held Luo Lingyu tightly, pressing her face against his chest. He gave her a sense of security through his embrace, using his body’s warmth to warm her, letting her no longer remain frozen stiff.

Luo Lingyu closed her eyes, tears falling from their corners as she listened to Lu Yun’s intense heartbeat.

Gradually, she truly felt safe. If he had arrived any later, she would have had to find other ways to deal with the enemy. Behind her great composure was extreme fear, but she couldn’t let others know she was afraid. Only Lu Yun… only Lu Yun… The tears falling down the lady’s face wet the young man’s clothes at his chest.

His body trembled slightly, and without a word, he held her even tighter.

The world seemed ancient and desolate as the snow mist gradually dissipated.

Lu Yun held this girl, the feeling of losing and regaining her gripping his heart. His blood flowed rapidly, his body alternating between hot and cold. His own men were battling the enemy, but right now, he only wanted to save Luo Lingyu first.

She trembled in his arms, making his heart feel as if someone had carved out a piece. And it was continuous, endless, carving at his heart.

He felt his heart constrict painfully.

He could barely breathe.

Those people who tortured her, scared her, chased her. In Lu Yun’s usually clear eyes, beneath the calm abyss, blade-like killing intent swirled heavily.

The sounds around them grew fainter.

Liu Mu stood several zhang away from them and after a moment of silence, said: “The enemy forces are either dead or captured. We shouldn’t linger here.”

The romance must end here.

Lu Yun made a sound of acknowledgment without looking back, asking his attendant for a crane-feather cloak to wrap around the lady in his arms. As the fighting died down, after being held by Lu Yun for so long, Luo Lingyu’s body temperature slowly returned to normal and her mind cleared. The surrounding soldiers looked over as Lu Yun calmly and slowly tied her clothes and brushed away the snow and strands of hair from her face. Luo Lingyu’s face reddened slightly. When Lu Yun tried to carry her up, she avoided it. Luo Lingyu didn’t want to appear weak or give rise to any speculation.

Supported by Lu Yun, she stood up and gave a slight smile to Liu Mu who was watching her.

The lady’s face was pale, and when she smiled, Liu Mu deliberately maintained a stern expression without showing any reaction. However, the soldiers behind Liu Mu all blushed and turned away, not daring to look. A lady who could make enemy forces chase after her collectively must be a beauty like Xi Shi or Bao Si from ancient texts (T/N: They are considered the most beautiful beauties of ancient China).

Luo Lingyu gathered herself: “I came south from Ruyang, currently Ruyang…”

With military formations ahead and banners flying, the lady was about to speak properly to Liu Mu and Lu Yun about the situation in Ruyang. After all, with the nation in crisis, her personal matters were insignificant before national affairs.

Moreover, seeing the thousands of troops behind Prince Hengyang, she knew they were heading north to aid Ruyang. But before Luo Lingyu could finish speaking, Lu Yun beside her interrupted: “No need to say more, I understand the general situation.”

Liu Mu: “…”

He glanced at Lu Yun: You’re quite omniscient, able to guess the situation just by observing the fleeing people along the way, seeing one Fan Fourth Young Master, and examining the tracks of carriages and horses. I don’t know the situation and need someone to explain it. But you cherish your beloved and don’t want her to speak much, so I’ll have to suffer.

Lu Yun continued: “The enemy forces just now weren’t many but their morale was high – they must be the enemy’s vanguard. As for their main force, they have either broken through Ruyang or are still around Ruyang’s periphery. We must head north to intercept them and prevent them from joining with the forces at Nanyang. With eight hundred li of Funiu Mountain and three hundred li of Tongbai Mountain connected, the enemy has too many places to hide. We must cut through the middle.”

Though Lu Yun wasn’t a military talent, he was skilled in strategy. Hearing his words, Liu Mu made a sound of agreement, thinking this was exactly what should be done.

The two then settled on the military plans for the march ahead.

Luo Lingyu listened by Lu Yun’s side for a long while, and after they finished speaking, she smiled and said: “Since that’s the case, shall we set off now?”

Liu Mu was startled, his eyes brightening slightly as he looked at her admiringly: Having encountered such danger, was she not afraid? She still dared to follow the army?

The young man’s gaze was somewhat intense, making Luo Lingyu pause. But before any opportunity could arise, Lu Yun had already lowered his head to look at her. Lu Yun said: “I’ll give my troops to you, Young Master. You are a military talent and should lead the army north. My body is unwell, so I’ll travel slowly behind with Lingyu. Don’t wait for me.”

Liu Mu was stunned for a moment, finally understanding why Lu Yun had explained the battle strategy in such detail earlier – it was because Lu Yun didn’t want to go with him. He wanted to… stay behind to take care of his cousin. Liu Mu frowned, instinctively wanting to object. But when he met Lu Yun’s dark gaze and saw Lu Yun’s hand on Luo Lingyu’s shoulder, his eyes dimmed slightly. Liu Mu nodded once, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Luo Lingyu was stunned.

In the blink of an eye, the army had cleanly and neatly distanced themselves from her and Lu Yun, leaving only a few attendants. She grew somewhat anxious, but Lu Yun looked down at her and said softly: “We’re not going. Lingyu, get some good rest and recover your spirit. I’ll stay with you, you can feel at ease.”

Looking up to meet Lu Yun’s gaze, after a long while, Luo Lingyu’s tense nerves slowly relaxed again.

As she lowered her head, she felt her eyes growing moist again. The lady’s lips curved in a smile, weak and self-pitying. Head lowered, she was lifted onto the horse by Lu Yun. He mounted after her, holding her protectively against his chest. This time, leaning against the young lord’s chest behind her, she was finally able to relax her mind and fall asleep.

The sense of security she couldn’t obtain was finally given to her by Lu Yun.

Lu Yun’s horsemanship was excellent as he carried Luo Lingyu along the road. The horse’s gait remained steady throughout, and the lady in his arms slept very peacefully. Lu Yun instructed his attendants to communicate with Nanyang while bringing over Fan Fourth Young Master and the others who had been captured earlier. With all the terrain of this area memorized in his mind, Lu Yun easily carried Luo Lingyu to find the nearest official post station.

The station was in panic, though not all the minor officials had fled yet. After Lu Yun showed his waist token proving his identity, the minor officials immediately arranged lodging and hot water, letting them wash up and rest. Seeing Lu Yun carrying a sleeping lady in his arms, Lu Yun had them bring women’s clothing that the station normally kept prepared for emergencies.

Half an hour later, charcoal fires were lit in the room. Lu Yun sat by Luo Lingyu’s bed, holding a cloth in his hand. He leaned down, rolled up his sleeves, and personally wiped her body clean, changing her out of that eye-catching red wedding dress.

The charcoal fire made the room as warm as spring. The lady must have been truly exhausted, sleeping so peacefully. Her long hair spread like clouds as she slept on her side, her snow-white face flushed pink from the fire’s heat. Lu Yun reached beneath her ear to remove her earrings. His eyes were clear and dark, his face like snow – no one knew what he was looking at or thinking about.

Suddenly, Lu Yun brushed aside Luo Lingyu’s long hair, his gaze falling on the area behind her ear and pausing—

He saw a red mark on her snow-white skin behind her ear.

Like a bite or a kiss.

This mark left in such an ambiguous place behind her ear made Lu Yun’s eyes suddenly darken, fierce intent arising. He reached out and rubbed that red mark once, but instead of wiping it away, it only made her skin behind her ear redder. Lu Yun’s expression was extremely cold as he tried to rub it again with his fingertip. Perhaps his touch was too heavy, making the lady in her sleep tremble and shrink away.

Lu Yun suddenly came to his senses.

He stared at Luo Lingyu’s face, emotions surging extremely in his eyes. Looking at her crimson lips and slender neck, his finger pressed behind her ear, moving slightly. For a moment, he almost wanted to strip off her clothes and inspect her entire body to see if there were more marks like this!

Black and blue, whether ambiguous!

But Lu Yun’s face remained dark, and in the end he only moved his finger slightly, doing nothing more. He turned his face away in extreme shame, trying to calm his emotions of extreme anger and pain. He closed his eyes briefly, his long dark lashes resting quietly above like his cooling dark thoughts.

When Lu Yun opened his eyes again, he had suppressed his emotions. He didn’t wake her up, didn’t question her, didn’t forcefully remove her clothes to inspect. He continued calmly changing her outer garments, smoothing down her long hair to cover that little bite mark behind her ear.

Perhaps because Lu Yun was nearby, his scent could be smelled with each breath. She could feel him moving around, seemed to hear him speaking softly with others outside the door, seemed to hear him walking back in wooden clogs to sit by her bedside watching her… Lu Yun’s presence made Luo Lingyu feel at ease. This sleep lasted long, and when she sat up from the bed upon waking, she stared blankly at the candlelight on the table.

The sky had already darkened again.

Having just woken up, Luo Lingyu temporarily forgot everything. She sat dazed for a long while until smelling food from outside made her realize she was hungry. Then hearing Lu Yun’s cool voice outside talking to attendants. His mood seemed poor, suppressing anger as he coldly said things like “kill them” and “don’t let any escape”.

Luo Lingyu blinked, supporting herself on the bed to feel for wooden clogs on the ground, wanting to get up. She called out tentatively: “Brother Xuechen?”

The voices outside stopped immediately.

When Lu Yun spoke to her, his tone changed to a gentle one: “You’re awake? I’ll go get you some porridge. Conditions aren’t good, please bear with it.”

Luo Lingyu naturally agreed. As Lu Yun walked away, she got out of bed herself and walked around the room. The furniture was simple, but flowers were placed in the window, barely making it suitable as a lady’s resting chamber. Luo Lingyu assessed the current situation as she went to the table, picking up the bronze mirror to examine her appearance.

She never forgot to mind her beauty.

Afraid her makeup wasn’t proper and she looked haggard, worried about offending Lu Yun’s eyes later.

When Lu Yun pushed open the door, he saw her brushing her long hair while looking left and right. The dim bronze mirror reflected toward behind her ear, and she was about to see… Lu Yun interrupted: “It’s late at night, no one is looking at you. You’re always staring at your face, and there’s no powder here – who are you making yourself up for?”

Luo Lingyu’s face flushed red at his words as she put down the mirror sheepishly. The kiss mark behind her ear remained unseen by her.

Seeing Lu Yun after waking, the young lord was still elegantly handsome, making her both heart-stirred and self-conscious. Thinking of the scene when she was rescued by Lu Yun, she felt even more uncomfortable. Those men surrounding her, her seducing that officer… Had Lu Yun seen all of this?

Would he be disgusted?

Lu Yun raised his eyes, gesturing for her to come have porridge. He seemed somewhat distracted too, thinking about something. Luo Lingyu hesitated before slowly moving over to sit down. She bit her lip, now awake and needing to think about how to bring up to Lu Yun what she had been doing before. How she left Nanyang, what she and Young Master Fan did along the way… These were nauseating things a lady didn’t want to mention.

The jade spoon reached her lips. Luo Lingyu looked over blankly to see Lu Yun sitting across from her, actually personally holding the bowl to feed her. Luo Lingyu was startled, seeing his brow ridge as graceful as wings, how extraordinarily handsome. But Lu Yun actually feeding her… Someone like Lu Yun would feed her?

Lu Yun raised an eyebrow: “The porridge is at your mouth, aren’t you hungry?”

Luo Lingyu suddenly lowered her eyes with a smile, obediently opening her mouth to take the spoon.

He fed her spoonful by spoonful, his movements not very practiced, but Luo Lingyu felt very happy in her heart. Lu Yun watched the secret smile blooming at the corners of her lips behind his back and lost focus again. After a while, Lu Yun suddenly spoke: “Do you hate me?”

Luo Lingyu was slightly startled: “No… why would I hate you?”

Lu Yun gave a self-mocking smile.

He said: “You were right.”

Luo Lingyu was confused.

Lu Yun said softly: “I was wrong. That day when you came to Jianye and wouldn’t save me on the boat. I held onto that grudge for so long, always blaming you in my heart… How arrogant of me. You and I are ultimately different. An ordinary young lady traveling far from home shouldn’t randomly reach out to save strangers she encounters. You not saving me then – you were right, I was wrong.”

Lu Yun was actually apologizing to her!

Luo Lingyu’s eyes rippled like clear water, her heart suddenly skipping a beat. He brought up the knot that had always existed between them, brought up that ever-present issue… making her both aggrieved and softened.

Luo Lingyu lowered her head: “No… I truly wasn’t kind enough. You were seriously injured then, I should have saved you. You are different from others… I didn’t save you because I thought you were useless. But if I had saved you then, it wouldn’t have been out of kindness either. I must have been drawn to your bearing, your looks, thinking you were a noble young lord before deciding to save… Brother Xuechen, I’ve always been this bad.”

Lu Yun: “Being a little bad is good. Being bad means you won’t get hurt, being kind means getting hurt by others. It’s quite good.”

The beautiful eyes under Luo Lingyu’s lashes flickered with emotion, her heart sweet that he finally spoke of her this way, finally no longer looked down on her… Her heart softened under his gentle gaze, suddenly filled with immense courage, thinking if Lu Yun understood her, if she told him what happened, he wouldn’t despise her, right?

The lady gathered her courage: “Young Master Fan and I…”

“Don’t tell me!” Lu Yun interrupted.

Luo Lingyu froze, looking up at him once, her eyes shrinking slightly with hurt as she lowered them. Her fingers on her knee unconsciously curled back to hide, but in her peripheral vision she saw the young lord’s blue robe sweep up as Lu Yun stood. Was he going to leave? He suspected her…

Luo Lingyu’s eyes reddened as she sat rigidly straight. She pressed her lips together refusing to admit defeat, refusing to beg him to stay. She felt terrible, about to cry, tears about to spill from her eyes when that blue robe settled and her hand suddenly felt warm. Lu Yun hadn’t left – he had only stood to put down the bowl, now crouching before her and holding the hand she had placed on her knee.

He looked up at her from below, his features gentle and clear in the candlelight.

Lu Yun said softly: “Lingyu, some things you shouldn’t say – saying them would embarrass you and make me unhappy. What I want to know, I’ll find out myself. What I don’t bring up is because I consider it unimportant… Let me investigate on my own, I don’t want to hear you say it, understand?”

Luo Lingyu was stunned: “…I don’t understand… why?”

He said: “If you say it yourself, watching you, I’ll feel heartache. Whether you lost your virtue or not, I don’t care.”

He looked at her quietly, letting her see the light in his eyes.

Luo Lingyu: “…Then what do you care about?”

Lu Yun stood up and sat beside her. He pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes. The handsome young lord pressed his forehead to hers, their breaths mingling. With eyes closed he radiated the elegance of an immortal in exile. He didn’t answer her question, but instead said: “The world all loves the rose’s fragrance, none care for its thorns. I saw these thorns… I quite like these thorns.”

“Little sister Lingyu, are you willing… to be intimate with me?”