With the road already dimming under the oppressive shadows of the trees, the group knew they had to set up camp before the sun fully vanished. Spotting a small stream, they made their decision: camp on the roadside, right by the creek.
Zhao Renshu made a bonfire. Lee Dachin grabbed the bag of buns and walked towards Ping'an and Zhao Renshu. They started to reheat the buns brought by their friends.
"Look at those beautiful people," Zhao Renshu complained, gesturing towards the rest of the group. "They are really useless. Now I must be their maid and serve them."
"We agreed to help," Ping'an smiled at him. "Please bear with it for another day. When we reach the town, we can leave them there and part our way with them. We don't need to take them."
"We apologize for being your burden," Lee Dachin offered sincerely.
Fang Yaoting sat next to Guo Baiyu, his left shoulder touching Guo Baiyu's right shoulder. He took out a pear and gave it to Guo Baiyu.
Guo Baiyu stared at Zhao Renshu and Ping'an, who were reheating the buns. He stood up. "Excuse me," he murmured, walking to Zhao Renshu and Ping'an.
"Here," Guo Baiyu said, handing the pear Fang Yaoting had just given him to Ping'an.
Ping'an took out her small dagger and cut the pear in half. She gave half to Guo Baiyu, and the other half to Zhao Renshu.
"I gave it to you, why did I get it back?" Guo Baiyu asked, a playful note in his voice.
Ping'an brought Guo Baiyu's left hand close and took a bite, then she brought Zhao Renshu's right hand close and took a bite. The two men shook their heads, smiled, and ate their half of the pear.
Lee Dachin looked at them and smiled, understanding the unspoken affection.
Guo Longtong studied their actions from a distance. He knew that the relationship between them was a bit strange. He recalled how Guo Baiyu viewed Ping'an when they were in the inn. The punch that had landed on Boss Xiong's left face, and the pear Guo Baiyu had just given Ping'an, told Guo Longtong that Guo Baiyu's feelings for Ping'an were undeniable.
"I understand. I know now!" Guo Longtong said excitedly.
"What do you know?" Chen Changchao asked.
Guo Longtong finally realized that he had said it out loud. He adjusted and corrected himself, "I was thinking about something and finally found the answer."
Everyone around him shook their heads, dismissing his odd outburst. He apologized.
The Wu sisters decided to sleep inside the carriage. Su Bofen and Guo Yingyu slept beside the carriage. Lee Dachin, Wu Wangwei, Chen Changchao, and Fang Yaoting all slept under a tree. Zhao Renshu leaned on a tree. Ping'an slept on the ground, her head lying on Zhao Renshu's lap. He stared at Ping'an for a moment and then fell asleep.
Guo Baiyu and Guo Longtong were the first watches. The two men sat around the bonfire. After a moment of silence, Guo Baiyu stood up and walked towards Ping'an and took out his outer robe to cover her.
When he walked back to the bonfire, Guo Longtong smiled at him.
"What?" Guo Baiyu asked, sitting down.
"Baiyu, are we close?" Guo Longtong ventured.
"Yes," Guo Baiyu confirmed.
"You like her," Guo Longtong stated.
Guo Baiyu nodded.
"But Baiyu, as a gentleman, we should never like our friend's girlfriend. Does Brother Zhao know?" Guo Longtong pressed, his voice laced with concern.
Guo Baiyu nodded again.
"Baiyu, but you have a fiancée, and you two will get married in two months," Guo Longtong continued, his brows furrowed. "In addition, Brother Zhao is such a hothead. I'm afraid he will find out and he will kill you. I heard from Childe Fang that he punched you."
"Our situation is difficult to explain," Guo Baiyu sighed.
"How difficult is it?" Guo Longtong asked, still pushing.
"Very difficult," Guo Baiyu replied, sticking a stick into the fire.
"Don't we have all night long?" Guo Longtong joked, sensing the gravity.
Guo Baiyu sighed again, deeply. "I love her, she loves me. He loves her, she loves him. When I am with them, I feel complete. My happiest moment is when I am with them. In short, we love each other."
Guo Longtong opened his mouth, speechless. He looked at Guo Baiyu, utterly stunned.
"I told you this is very complicated," Guo Baiyu scoffed, a wry smile on his face.
Guo Longtong was still shocked. "I... I always believed that you don't like men."
"I don't love him intimately, I love him as a brother, and he feels the same way," Guo Baiyu clarified. "I think we both love her so much that we can accept what she loves. It just so happens that what she loves the most is another man."
Guo Longtong swallowed his saliva hard. "You... You... Not jealous...?"
"Other than him, yes," Guo Baiyu admitted, meaning he was only jealous of Zhao Renshu.
"No wonder you never even looked at her sister once," Guo Longtong mused.
"I hope you can keep it confidential now," Guo Baiyu urged quietly.
"Don't worry about it," Guo Longtong waved a hand dismissively. "Poor Dachin. He came all this way to see you, but you fell for someone else."
"I can't love any other man or woman," Guo Baiyu stated, pointing at Zhao Renshu and Ping'an. "I only love them."
Guo Longtong smiled and sighed at Guo Baiyu, a mixture of understanding and sorrow in his expression.
Fang Yaoting woke up early the next morning. When he looked at Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu, his eyes were full of unbridled anger. He saw Zhao Renshu leaning on Guo Baiyu's right shoulder, and his left hand was just near Guo Baiyu's crotch.
He drew his sword, and he walked slowly towards Zhao Renshu and Guo Baiyu, pointing his sword at Zhao Renshu.
At the same time, Wu Meixiang happened to get out of the carriage. She saw Fang Yaoting point the sword at Guo Baiyu's lower abdomen, so she sent her hairpin directly at Fang Yaoting. Fang Yaoting quickly swung his sword around, splitting the hairpin into two.
When the hairpin hit the ground, it made a soft tingling sound. The soft tingling sound awakened Zhao Renshu and Guo Baiyu.
Guo Baiyu stood up. "What are you doing, Childe Fang?" he demanded, his voice firm.
Zhao Renshu stood beside Guo Baiyu. "I have many creatures and people who want to kill me," he said, shaking his head. "But no one dared to try to kill me while I am sleeping." Zhao Renshu couldn't stand this person anymore. "You really make me angry." He gritted his teeth as he spoke.
By now, everyone was awakened. Ping'an and Lee Dachin came back with some firewood and fish. They didn't know what had happened.
Fang Yaoting pointed at Zhao Renshu with his sword. "I will not kill you. I just need to cut off your left hand." He was very angry. "Your left hand shouldn't be on him!"
"Do you want to cut off my left hand because I put it on him?" Zhao Renshu smiled, giggling to provoke Fang Yaoting. "So if I fuck him, you will also cut off my little brother?"
Everyone gasped in shock.
Ping'an knew that when Zhao Renshu did this, his intention was to anger his opponent as much as possible. Sometimes his opponent would become very angry and lose focus.
Guo Longtong was still in shock. He uttered, "Bai... Bai... Yu... Did... he..."
Guo Baiyu shook his head. "Don't joke too deeply."
Fang Yaoting breathed heavily. "You..." His eyes were bloodshot, and all the blood vessels in them suddenly appeared.
Ping'an gently stroked Zhao Renshu's back shoulder. "Renshu, enough."
"No," Zhao Renshu smirked with a smile. He pulled Guo Baiyu into his arm and kissed Guo Baiyu. Everyone gasped again. Zhao Renshu smiled provocatively at Fang Yaoting. "Come on. Come on, cut off my lips."
Except for Ping'an, everyone else was shocked. She knew that Zhao Renshu could really get on someone's nerves if they made him angry.
"Bastard!" Fang Yaoting shouted. He rushed towards Zhao Renshu with his sword.
Zhao Renshu quickly said, "Sorry, bro. Sorry, dear." He kissed Ping'an on the lips, and then pushed her into Guo Baiyu's arms.
"Childe Fang... Please stop, you will not be able to beat him," Guo Longtong pleaded, trying to intervene.
Before Fang Yaoting even had a chance to approach Zhao Renshu, Zhao Renshu had already sent out five icicles flying at Fang Yaoting. Fang Yaoting dodged the five icicles one by one. Fang Yaoting's attacks on Zhao Renshu were useless. Zhao Renshu blocked Fang Yaoting's attacks. Zhao Renshu realized that Fang Yaoting's swordsmanship was fast and fierce. He did a single somersault over Fang Yaoting's head and he patted Fang Yaoting on the back.
"Go down," Zhao Renshu commanded. He landed on the other side without injury.
Fang Yaoting fell on his knees and couldn't stand up. He felt the weight of two thousand pounds on his shoulders, preventing him from getting up from the ground.
The Wu sisters turned and looked at each other. They realized that Zhao Renshu had just been playing with them yesterday.
Zhao Renshu walked to Fang Yaoting's face. "How are you going to cut off my hand in this situation?" He picked up Fang Yaoting's sword, but Fang Yaoting's sword burned his hand, and he quickly put down the sword. He threatened Fang Yaoting, "I will cut your head with my own sword."
Fang Yaoting stared at him coldly. "You...." he growled, unable to articulate more.
"He is very good," Wu Meirong murmured, impressed.
"He is amazing!" Guo Longtong cut in. "Thanks to him, our town is doing fine now."
Wu Meixiang was very worried. She kept wondering how she was going to compete against someone like Zhao Renshu.
"How long will Childe Fang kneel like this?" Wu Meirong asked.
"I don't know," Guo Longtong shrugged. "The last time he caught Lu Duyi the rapist, Ping'an said that Lu Duyi was kneeling all night."
"Renshu, remove the spell," Ping'an commanded softly.
"No way. He started it," Zhao Renshu retorted stubbornly.
"By now, he should know who the superior one is," Ping'an reasoned.
Zhao Renshu gave Guo Baiyu a knowing, slightly exasperated look. "Told you he is very troublesome."
"He always has his way since I first met him," Guo Baiyu conceded, shaking his head.
"Today is his lucky day," Zhao Renshu declared. "Someone needs to teach him that there is sky beyond the sky."
Guo Baiyu shook his head and corrected Zhao Renshu, "There are peoples beyond peoples, and heavens beyond the heavens."
"What he just said," Zhao Renshu muttered, brushing it off.
"That is enough teaching. Remove the spell," Ping'an insisted. "Think about how kind Master Fang is to us."
"Hello?..." Zhao Renshu scoffed playfully. "I saved his entire family!"
Ping'an turned around and started walking toward Fang Yaoting.
Zhao Renshu hurriedly held her waist. "Hey, hey, hey." He kissed her right cheek. "Don't be angry... I will remove the spell."
Guo Longtong took the opportunity to study Guo Baiyu's facial expressions. He did not see any signs of jealousy.
Zhao Renshu walked to Fang Yaoting's back. Zhao Renshu patted once on Fang Yaoting's back. Fang Yaoting felt that all the weight was lifted immediately.
Zhao Renshu, ever the showman, addressed the group. "Well, everyone. Let us forget what happened and continue to help Mister Su." He smiled and looked at Fang Yaoting. "I'm very touched. Your swordsmanship skills are so great. If we continue to fight, I may not win." He smiled at Fang Yaoting, extending an olive branch. "I would rather be your friend than the enemy."
Guo Longtong walked to Zhao Renshu and Fang Yaoting. "We are all friends here," he affirmed.
"Yes, we are all friends here," Zhao Renshu agreed, with a slight nod to Fang Yaoting. "Sorry, I have gone too far with the joke."
"Fine. Let's go help them, we could settle this matter some other time," Fang Yaoting conceded, still a bit stiff.
"Yes, if we leave now, when we get to town, it will be dark," Su Bofen urged.
The others were already in the carriage. Guo Longtong and Ping'an were the last two. Guo Longtong first stepped into the carriage. Guo Longtong held up the curtain and waited for Ping'an. Zhao Renshu picked her up and sat her on the carriage platform. Guo Baiyu grabbed Ping'an's right foot and gently wiped the dirt on her right shoe. Ping'an stood up and walked into the carriage. Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu climbed on their horses. Guo Baiyu's behavior, particularly his attentiveness to Ping'an, amazed Guo Longtong.
Su Bofen commanded the carriage, and the group of friends continued towards Sunshine Town.