Chapter 2: Lushan’s Thoughts

Lushan’s offer to help was a bit anxious and deliberate, causing Zheng to look at Lushan suspiciously.

Lushan was very natural. While helping me sort out the clothes I was going to wear, he said, “He hasn’t eaten for two days since he fell into a coma, so he’s a bit weak. I can’t ask a girl to do this, can I?”

“You young people have such good feelings. Well, I’ll go out first. I must drink a lot today.” Zheng Yide went out muttering, and Lushan really helped me change my clothes.

I was a little uncomfortable, so I grabbed the clothes and said, “Are you serious? I can do it myself.” But when I got up, I realized that I really didn’t have much strength, and I was panicking. On the contrary, my spiritual power was surging like never before.

Lushan took the clothes from my hands and said, “What’s real and what’s not? It’s just helping a friend put on some clothes. I used to take care of Tao Bai like this all the time.”

“Is Tao Bai awake?” I asked, of course just casually, this kid Tao Bai is very strong, he should have woken up long ago.

“No.” Lushan’s expression became worried again, and his hand stopped moving.

“Is something wrong with Tao Bai?” Looking at Lu Shan’s expression, my mood suddenly became solemn.

“Chengyi, actually I want to talk to you about something!” Lu Shan took out another cigarette, and his irritable expression reappeared on his face.

I snatched his cigarette and threw it away, saying, “You’ll die if you keep smoking. Just say it. Is it about Tao Bai or Jiang Yi? Just now you said Jiang Yi was coming, and I felt bad about it.

“You were in a coma, and I haven’t slept well these past two days. I’ve been keeping watch over you, and I’ve been worried.” Lu Shan sighed.

“This time, the call for reinforcements should have caused a lot of noise, and it’s normal to alarm Jiangyi. I can guess part of your worries, that is, our operation this time is basically hidden from Jiangyi. You have concerns, right?” I said with a frown. No wonder Lushan’s eyes were so red. It turned out that he had almost stayed up all night for two days. No wonder the first thing I saw when I woke up was him.

I can guess part of his worries. Although this part is already enough to make people anxious, it is definitely not enough to make Lu Shan so anxious. I waited for Lu Shan to continue.

“This is also part of it, but I have my own way of dealing with it. Jiang Yi has a lot of trust in me. Don’t ask me what the basis for this trust is, just believe it. Although, after this incident, this trust will be greatly reduced. What I’m really worried about is Tao Bai’s state this time. I’m not sure he’ll wake up before Jiang Yi arrives.” Lushan said seriously.

“You’d rather ‘betray’ Jiangyi and follow our actions?” I could feel that Lushan was very concerned about whether he could be with us, so much so that he was willing to fudge Jiangyi and consume Jiangyi’s trust in him, rather than leaving this operation.

“This doesn’t count as betrayal, does it?” Lu Shan’s eyebrows raised slightly, not too concerned, and then continued, “More importantly, I don’t want you to think I have malicious intent. If you really think so, I can only assure you now that I have no malicious intent. No extra explanation is needed. Can you trust me?”

While he was talking, Lushan had already taken off my T-shirt, wiped me clean, and put on a shirt. It seemed like a casual conversation, but his tone was extremely serious.

I helped him button up his shirt while saying, “If we can be called friends, what kind of ill will could there be between us? Besides, we have fought for life and death, and this relationship is even more than that of friends. I’m just curious.”

Lushan’s hand trembled slightly, and then he said, “Unfortunately, I can’t satisfy your curiosity, but instead I have to ask you to take a risk and help me. Are you willing?”

“Tell me.” My expression didn’t change, but in my heart I was already inclined to help Lu Shan.

“When we came back, so many pairs of eyes were watching Tao Bai come back unconscious. I hope that during the time Tao Bai was unconscious, I could prevent Jiang Yi from seeing him. I absolutely couldn’t do it alone, and even if I turned my back on Jiang Yi, it wouldn’t have any effect.” Lushan stopped his hand movements, frowned, and looked at me expectantly, as if I were his only hope.

“You don’t like Jiang Yi? You used the word “turn your back on”? What kind of person is Jiang Yi?” I asked Lu Shan a bunch of questions in a row, naturally, because I was also full of doubts about Jiang Yi.

“I can’t see through Jiang Yi, and I can’t say I like or dislike him. I just have a simple feeling that he is actually very dangerous, but this is just my personal feeling. As for using the word “turn over the face,” it’s just because Tao Bai is very important to me, so important that I can turn over the face with Jiang Yi.” Lu Shan said this to me with his head bowed, and I couldn’t see his expression clearly.

I frowned slightly. I knew that Lushan wasn’t lying to me, but this was the same as saying nothing. It seemed that he had many secrets, so much so that he was careful when he spoke and dared not let go.

I took a deep breath and only two things came to mind. First, he meant no harm. Second, he was at least not lying.

What else is needed? I don’t think so. So I said, “How long will Tao Bai be in a coma? You should have an idea, right? If it’s a long coma, then this is going to be a problem! If it’s a short coma, then I might have some control over it.”

There are many ways to delay Jiangyi, but the length of the delay is definitely a problem.

“According to Jiang Yi, he will arrive at the latest tomorrow morning. Tao Bai will be in a coma for at least five days, which means that he will wake up at the earliest tomorrow night. This is the best case scenario, and the rest of the scenarios are unpredictable. If you can delay Jiang Yi until the night after tomorrow, there should be no accidents.” Lushan said seriously.

Two days to delay him? What kind of reason should I use? I can only take one step at a time and see how it goes.

I nodded, sat up from the bed, and said, “You’d better move Tao Bai to another place and be prepared for both scenarios. I’m not 100% sure.”

Lushan helped me up and said, “There’s one more thing. We need to hide the reason why Tao Bai was injured. It’s best if we can find a good reason and then come up with a good story. According to Jiang Yi’s personality, he will definitely ask in detail about what happened.

Lushan’s words reminded me. I rubbed my forehead and said, “This is a problem. Only we know what exactly happened in the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts. There are some things I don’t want Jiangyi to know! It’s best if we all agree on a word for everything. You go and get them together first. As for me, I’ll deal with those who want to see me first, and then we’ll talk about it.”

“Yes.” Lushan handed me a razor and said, “Do you want to go see Tao Bai?”

“Yes, I’ll go see him before I deal with the others.” I took the razor, walked to the mirror, and started shaving. I felt uneasy, thinking that something else might happen in this village.

But what would it be? I didn’t have the feeling of a life-and-death crisis.

Thinking about my thoughts, I finished shaving in silence. When I opened the door, the dazzling sunlight almost blinded me. In a blur, I saw a person leaning against a pillar at the end of the courtyard staring at me, but when I got used to the sunlight, I looked carefully and didn’t see the figure of that person.

Is it a ghost? This is impossible. Don’t you think about who is staying here? Even if Yucui came, she wouldn’t be able to come and go freely in this three-in-three-out courtyard.

I was a bit dazed, and my body was weak. My feet felt a bit limp on the ground, and I almost fell as soon as I took a step.

Lushan grabbed me and said, “Chengyi, are you serious? You’ve been unconscious for two days and you’re in this condition?”

“No, I just saw someone looking at me there.” Because of my spiritual awareness, I am particularly sensitive to people’s gazes. I didn’t see that person clearly just now, but I could feel his gaze fixed on me.

Following the direction of my finger, Lushan took a closer look and said, “You and Tao Bai live in this small courtyard, which is very quiet and generally no one comes. However, the village has been lively these days. I heard that you woke up and were curious to see you, so it’s not too strange for you to come here.”

Lushan guessed at random. After all, the war had just ended, and all of our hearts were still in a relaxed state, so we didn’t think anything unexpected would happen.

Lushan’s reason was also plausible. Since I didn’t feel any danger, I didn’t care too much after thinking about it.

Tao Bai’s room was right next to mine, so I let Lu Shan lead me to Tao Bai’s room. Standing at the door, Lu Shan suddenly turned around and said to me with a wry smile, “Wait a moment before you enter the room, and you will know why I absolutely don’t want Jiang Yi to see him.”

This really piqued my curiosity, and Lushan had already pushed open the door in front of him.