Eighty-Six: The Hand Seal, Part Two

The more she wiped, the dirtier he seemed to become. Xiao Yun’er blushed, a little embarrassed, but Bai Xuehua appeared not to care at all; she still watched him with bright, wandering eyes.

At first Xiao Yun’er had nearly been frightened into illness by Bai Tanhua, but now that he saw Bai Xuehua’s smiling gaze, his heart settled, and his spirits rose considerably.

There were so many outstanding men whom Bai Xuehua could not even be bothered to look at, and yet for some reason she had truly fallen for him. To take him as a lover, he was too immature; to take him as a child, he was already too grown.

Ah, what nonsense was she thinking? Now that he had latched onto her so stubbornly, how could she find a way to leave him? Bai Xuehua’s feelings were extremely complicated. Though she was always indulgent, when she saw Bai Xuehua flushed with peach-blossom color, staring blankly at her, the two of them meeting each other’s eyes, everything was understood without a word.

Though Xiao Yun’er was still young, he already understood a little of the business between men and women. Seeing Bai Xuehua gaze at him with tender affection, he instinctively lifted both hands and wrapped them around Bai Xuehua’s neck. Bai Xuehua did not struggle. Xiao Yun’er could not help tilting his head up, wanting to kiss Bai Xuehua’s red lips, so close before him.

Suddenly Bai Xuehua伸 out her hand and pushed Xiao Yun’er from her arms. Xiao Yun’er froze. He then heard Bai Xuehua say coolly, “What is it?”

Only then did Xiao Yun’er notice a man in black approaching. He saw Bai Xuehua and knelt on one knee. “Miss, Elder Tanhua has discovered traces of enemies nearby. He asks you to go to the main hall and give instructions.”

Bai Xuehua knew that Bai Tanhua must have feared being scolded by her, so she had not dared come herself and had sent a subordinate to invite her instead.

Since many of her people were in the main hall, Bai Xuehua had to leave her some face. Otherwise, how would she be able to command her subordinates in the future? She could not make things too ugly for her.

That girl was cunning indeed, with many schemes. Still, if her own subordinates were not this cunning, how could they ever deal with the enemy’s attacks in the future?

Bai Xuehua said coldly, “Understood. You may go.” Seeing that Bai Xuehua had business to attend to, Xiao Yun’er had no choice but to let go of her, though he felt somewhat reluctant.

Bai Xuehua took Xiao Yun’er by the hand and led him into the main hall. In truth, the so-called main hall was merely a very large cave.

Inside the hall, Bai Tanhua and her subordinates were all waiting for their mistress’s orders. The hall was exceedingly quiet. Everyone wore grave expressions as they waited for their leader, the Miss, to give the command to attack. When Bai Xuehua entered, her face still veiled, the imposing aura she had cultivated over the years made her subordinates not even dare breathe loudly in her presence. Especially when they saw that she was holding the hand of the very boy they had just been teasing, they were both shocked and frightened.

Then the crowd suddenly noticed that on the immaculate white undershirt of their goddess-like young lady, two distinct black handprints had clearly been left behind. Who was it? Who had the audacity to be so rude? Could it have been this little boy? What sort of relationship did they have? The crowd’s imaginations ran wild.

When Bai Tanhua saw it, she could not help wanting to laugh, but dared not, so she had to bite her lip. Bai Xuehua also noticed the astonishment in their eyes and glared at her.

Bai Tanhua immediately lowered her head, not daring to meet Bai Xuehua’s stern gaze. In a low voice she said, “Auntie, we found traces of the Xiao family fort and the Tang sect nearby. Should we wipe them out?”

Bai Xuehua said, “It is not yet time. You and your younger brother should leave here at once with your men and hide yourselves. It is not yet the time to reveal your strength, understand?”

The Snowfield Wolf and Bai Tanhua quickly nodded. “Yes.”

Bai Xuehua continued, “All of you must hide yourselves well. Without my orders, none of you are to engage anyone in battle. Understand? I will go and observe things myself. You may all withdraw.”

Since Bai Xuehua wanted to go out and scout the enemy, naturally it would be best for her to go alone. Her skills were high; moving alone made her more free and untroubled, and she would be less likely to be discovered. But Xiao Yun’er was afraid to leave Bai Xuehua. As soon as she set off, he rushed out after her.

There was no helping it. Bai Xuehua had no choice but to take Xiao Yun’er along.

A fine horse raced across the vast grassland, Bai Xuehua and Xiao Yun’er riding together on one steed. The wind lifted her long hair.

Xiao Yun’er sat behind her, his arms tightly around her waist. Her long, beautiful hair was blown by the wind into his face, making his nose itch. Suddenly he could not help sneezing.

His nose was pressed right against the back of Bai Xuehua’s snow-white neck. With that sneeze, he actually sprayed a bit of mucus onto her white skin.

Xiao Yun’er panicked somewhat. He hurriedly reached out to wipe it away, and his cold hand touched Bai Xuehua’s soft skin, bringing him an oddly pleasant sensation.

Bai Xuehua had been guiding the horse and had not paid attention to Xiao Yun’er behind her. Now that his cold hand had reached in, she felt ticklish and rather uncomfortable.

She instinctively turned her head. One had to thank Bai Xuehua for her good temper; if it had been the Ninth Miss, she would already have twisted Xiao Yun’er’s ear.

Xiao Yun’er gave Bai Xuehua an awkward smile, feeling rather embarrassed. Bai Xuehua was not angry. Instead, she smiled faintly at him and took a handkerchief from her bosom to hand to him.

Xiao Yun’er quickly used it to wipe the mucus from the back of her neck, then returned the handkerchief.

Seeing that there was still mucus on Xiao Yun’er’s nose, Bai Xuehua used the handkerchief to gently wipe it clean. With a soft laugh she said, “Ah, you are already not small, so why are you still like a child?”

Xiao Yun’er hastily tried to explain, “It was that Bai Tanhua, one of your subordinates, causing trouble. She made me catch cold...”

Bai Xuehua said, “All right, don’t resent her any longer. She did not know about the relationship between you and me, otherwise she would not have played such tricks on you.”

After being wiped by her fragrant handkerchief, Xiao Yun’er felt his heart tremble. He could not help saying, “Good sister, tell me, what is my relationship with you?”

Bai Xuehua shot him a look and said, “That you must ask yourself. In your heart, what sort of person do you take me to be?”