Late Bloomer Brings The Light

Chapter 12

The only sounds surrounding Jiang Ying are the crunching of leaves and twigs under his feet and the sound of Bichen slicing through the thick tree branches. Xie Yun is at the front, leading the way back to Yunmeng, a position Jiang Ying is more than happy to allow him. If he were to try, he would probably get them lost.

A headache has been bothering him all morning, as his head hasn't fully recovered from being struck by the hilt of a sword. It will likely take a while to heal. So, he needs something to take his mind off the annoying pain, and making small talk is all he can think to do. "Hey, is there a wanted poster of me as well?"

Xie Yun continues cutting down the offending branches as he answers, "No, why would they bother with wanted posters of someone like you?"

Jiang Ying glares at Xie Yun, slowly getting used to the teasing. He has less experience dealing with it, as he rarely talks to people his age or older, except for Nie Huaisang. "Why wouldn't they? I'm the prince's mate in the future."

"Which prince's mate?" Xie Yun raises an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.

Jiang Ying crosses his arms over his chest, pouting. "Why are you so mean to me?"

Xie Yun laughs. "Because you make it too easy."

With a pout still on his face, Jiang Ying starts walking again, leaving a laughing Xie Yun behind. He doesn't have Bichen, so he is forced to use his hands to clear a path through the thicket.

Xie Yun stops laughing and catches up with the struggling Jiang Ying. "They wouldn't make a wanted poster for you, even if you wanted one. It would be too dangerous for them to do so."

Jiang Ying halts his movements when a thorn pokes into his palm, causing him to retract his hand as if it has been burned and hold it against his chest. "Why?" he asks, trying to ignore the small pain in his palm.

Xie Yun explains, "Imagine if someone who knows you visits Qishan, sees the wanted poster, and informs your family; it will bring disaster to Wen Ruohan due to your abduction."

"Oh, that makes sense. But isn't there going to be a disaster once I get back to Yunmeng and reveal him?" Jiang Ying shakes his head because he will deal with that later. "So, you got one just for helping me?"

Xie Yun chuckles. "For helping you and being a thief, they figure that if they find me, they'll find you as well."

Jiang Ying cringes and apologizes, "Sorry for dragging you into this mess." No matter how many times he apologizes to Xie Yun, it never feels like enough. His travel partner's entire way of life is uprooted in the span of a day just because he is a shit navigator and ran into him. Frankly, the guilt is starting to weigh on him.

Xie Yun doesn't respond to the apology, only slicing through the forest ahead.

Jiang Ying walks silently behind him, trying to think of new small talk until an arrow hits a tree trunk beside his head. He stares, dumbfounded, at the arrow, not registering what happened until Xie Yun pushes him to the ground. He lands with a thud, feeling the impact of being thrown around a lot in the past two days. He sees two strangers emerge from the trees, one with a bow and arrow and the other with a sword drawn.

"Who would have thought that finding you two would be so easy? I guess you're just as dumb as we thought," one of them sneers.

Jiang Ying's face is marred by a frown as he sits on the ground. For the second time, he hears that rumors claim he is dumb. What kind of rumors are circulating about him?

Xie Yun begins to chuckle as he pulls out Bichen. "Only two of you have come to get us? I don't think Jiang Ying is the dumb one here."

Jiang Ying smiles a little after hearing Xie Yun's comment. At least someone is standing up for him, in his own weird way.