In the dim cave, shadows loomed over.
Tang Xiaobai, with her mouth and nose covered, stood stiffly, breathing cautiously and with difficulty.
The man behind her seemed to notice her struggle and shifted his hand a little, revealing her nose, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I won't harm the innocent!"
Tang Xiaobai nodded, feeling a bit like laughing.
Who would've thought that on the second day of entering the storybook, she would encounter such a protagonist-like plot—a mysterious, gravely injured man kidnapping her.
But she was certainly not the protagonist, unable to gain the respect due to one.
After covering her mouth, the man casually tucked her under his arm and brought her to the entrance of the fake mountain cave, poking his head out halfway to check outside. When his gaze returned, he glanced down at Tang Xiaobai.
With their eyes meeting, Tang Xiaobai exploited her nine-year-old innocence, blinking pitifully, helplessly.
Hesitation flashed in the man's eyes, and he whispered, "I can let go, but you mustn't make a sound, or else—I'll kill you!" His gaze turned fierce.
Tang Xiaobai nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking rice.
The man's hand cautiously, bit by bit, let go, and Tang Xiaobai exhaled a breath: "You—"
She had just spoken one word before being covered again, the man's eyes instantly showing ferocity.
Scared, Tang Xiaobai stiffened again.
The man probably realized his overreaction; his gaze flickered, and he tucked Tang Xiaobai back into the depths of the cave, threatening fiercely, "Behave yourself!" Then, he let go again.
This time, Tang Xiaobai obediently clamped her mouth shut.
After a moment of silence, the man asked, "What did you want to say just now?"
Tang Xiaobai weakly said, "I just wanted to say, there aren't many people if you go west here, you could escape..."
The man was silent again. When he spoke again, his tone was noticeably moved, "You're kind of heart for someone so young..."
Tang Xiaobai said innocently, "Books say we should help those in need!"
The books said that mysterious, injured men in black masks were harmless beings. Send them off properly, and you might trigger a side quest.
Forget about side quests, she mainly didn't want to match wits with the characters in the book.
After all, she was only nine years old now, with limited wisdom and courage.
With that one sentence, the man's attitude softened even more, he even patted her head, praised her as a "good child", but showed no intention of fleeing.
"I'm injured, and there are pursuers outside, I can't leave for now." the man explained.
"You're hurt?" Tang Xiaobai suddenly thought of a good idea, "I can get you some medicine!" She said and ran outside.
Trusting books blindly is better than having no books, she wasn't the protagonist, so she'd rather not develop this bloody side quest.
However, just as she took a step, she was pulled back by the man.
"No need," the man's tone barely changed, after pulling her back, he let her go, pressing a few points on himself and saying, "I can endure it."
Tang Xiaobai wanted to try again, "Are you hungry? You should eat more when you're hurt, I can get you some—"
Before she finished speaking, she was dragged back again.
This time the man didn't let her go, he directly pulled her in front of him. In the dim light, she could see the man's eyes turning sharp and suspicious.
Tang Xiaobai's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly reassured herself.
What bad intentions could a mysterious, injured man in black masks have? Look, he hasn't even shown a knife—
"Zing!" A soft metallic sound.
Against Tang Xiaobai's neck, there was something cold and hard, seemingly a knife.
"Don't try anything funny, or else—" A threat filled with murderous intent.
Tang Xiaobai weakly said, "I'm not..." Wasn't the one with bad intentions the gentleman holding a knife?
"Stay put and don't move, I'll let you go when it gets dark!" The man warned viciously, putting away the weapon.
Halfway through, suddenly—
"Bang!"
Tang Xiaobai stifled a scream and jumped aside, watching the man in black fall at where she had been standing.
"Second Miss!" Someone called out to her.
Tang Xiaobai gritted her teeth, still trembling as she looked at the suddenly appeared shadow.
A very slender figure, clearly not an adult man, and from the voice, it seemed to be a teenager.
"Who are you?" Tang Xiaobai asked cautiously, covering her neck which was slightly sore from the grip.
"I am a servant from the mansion," the teenager said, "I've knocked out the villain, I'm here to watch, Second Miss, quickly call someone!"
Tang Xiaobai hurriedly responded, sprinting away, not bothering to think about the sudden change and the truth in the teenager's words.
After being provoked by the man in black, she had quickly figured out her position.
She played the role of a cannon fodder in the book, and she couldn't afford to offend anyone.
Whether she would be able to leave the book after death was unknown, but having a knife to her throat was definitely terrifying.
Run if she could, hide if she must.
Even when she called the guards from the Duke Mansion, Tang Xiaobai didn't foolishly return to the fake mountain for the commotion.
The follow-up news only reached her at night—
"...There wasn't any injured man in black mask you mentioned in the cave; instead, there was a pool of blood with a teenage boy lying in it—"
"Teenage boy?" Tang Xiaobai turned pale, could it be that so-called servant who saved her?
Tang Jiaojiao nodded, "The boy's fine, just knocked out, the blood on the ground isn't his. Someone recognized him as one of our rough servants, named Ding Shiqi."
Tang Xiaobai was stunned.
So, it really was a servant from the mansion...
"The County Government sent people to check. They found some footprints, indicating someone had hidden there. As for how that person escaped, we'll have to wait until Ding Shiqi wakes up to ask." Tang Jiaojiao said.
Tang Xiaobai was lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sister, how old is Ding Shiqi?"
"Twelve years old."
Twelve?
A twelve-year-old able to knock out an adult man?
Even with her limited reading, she found it unbelievable!
"Sister, I want to see Ding Shiqi." Tang Xiaobai said.
This teenager was rather peculiar.
But when Tang Xiaobai saw Ding Shiqi, she instantly felt that his peculiarity no longer mattered.
The boy lay quietly on the bed, his eyebrows dark as ink, lips thin as frost, the light scattered fragmented across his pale and delicate features, creating an aura of fragile beauty.
Tang Xiaobai took a deep breath.
Would you believe that with such good looks he didn't hold some identity tag?
Tang Xiaobai definitely didn't believe it.
In the entire Duke Yan Mansion, aside from the members of the Tang Family, only one person held an identity—
Tang Xiaobai suddenly turned, gripping Tang Jiaojiao's hand: "Sister! I need the best physician in the Capital City! Now! Immediately! Right away! Save him!"