After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

Artuya sneered, "You Central Plains guys only know how to use these underhanded tricks."

Pearl smiled too, but her smile was especially gentle. "What does it matter if it's not presentable or not? As long as it's useful, isn't that enough?"

"Don't even think about ruining my marriage with Xin Hui." Atuya looked down at Pearl. "I was going to spare your life, but now it seems you'd better die."

Artuya turned and left, "Throw him into the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons."

Several young men rushed forward.

Just as Pearl was about to retreat, someone behind her covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

Pearl turned around and slammed the person behind her to the ground.

Seeing that Pearl knew martial arts, the men threw some medicinal powder at him.

In her dizzy state, Pearl felt as if the figures of the people in front of her had overlapped.

He patted his cheeks and suddenly smelled a faint scent of grass and trees, like the scent on Zhao Duo.

He looked down and saw the medicine bell at his waist. He then squatted down and used his wide sleeves to cover his actions of smelling the bell.

This group of people seemed unaware of the medicine bell's function; he needed to hide it to prevent it from being stolen.

In just a moment, Pearl's mind cleared.

He casually pulled the pink dagger his father had given him from his boot and assumed a defensive stance. "I don't want to hurt you, so please don't make things difficult for me either."

The men looked strange.

"He's alright?"

"Just knock him out."

"Let's do it."

Seeing the group surrounding him again, Pearl immediately brandished her dagger to protect herself.

Although I don't know exactly what the Ten Thousand Poison Cave is, just from the name, I know it's definitely not a good place.

Although these people were skilled in using poison, their martial arts skills were mediocre.

Although Pearl is a boy, he has been learning martial arts from his father since he was a child. Although he cannot defeat an enemy with one move like his father, he can still protect himself.

He defended while looking for an opportunity to slip away.

Suddenly, a butterfly landed on the sachet at Pearl's waist.

Pearl blinked, then instantly withdrew her dagger and stopped attacking.

His stopping was completely unexpected by everyone.

The Atu family thug closest to him landed a solid blow on Pearl's shoulder.

Pearl winced in pain, but when she caught a glimpse of a navy blue figure out of the corner of her eye, she gave a sly smile.

He fell to the ground, his mask fell off, and his big, watery eyes looked pitiful.

The thugs thought they had subdued Pearl, so one of them took a rope and tried to tie him up.

Before the man could even get close, he was kicked to the ground.

Zhao Duo picked up Pearl horizontally and said to the group, "I will settle this score with your clan leader today."

The problem today needs to be addressed at its root.

Pearl shyly hugged the boy's neck, buried her face in his shoulder, and secretly giggled.

Since this place was some distance from Five Poisons Fortress, Zhao Duo took Pearl and headed into the mountains.

"Sweetie, does it hurt?"

Pearl originally thought she could handle this on her own, and the injury on her shoulder didn't hurt that much.

Upon hearing Zhao Duo's gentle concern, he immediately said, feeling wronged, "It hurts..."

Zhao Duo placed the pearl under an ancient tree and had him sit on the broad roots.

He had just seen the man strike Pearl's shoulder with a palm.

The little rascal has delicate skin; this slap will surely injure him.

That's why he brought Pearl up the mountain, intending to get some herbs to treat her injuries.

"Let me see." Zhao Duo knelt before Pearl, his Adam's apple bobbing, and asked in a low voice, "Is it alright?"

Pearl pursed her lips and nodded gently.

Zhao Duo gently peeled off Pearl's clothes, revealing only her fair and tender rounded shoulders.

Even though she only had one shoulder visible, Pearl was still very embarrassed, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes filled with shyness.

He had been pampered since childhood, and his skin was so delicate it looked like it could be squeezed for moisture. So the red and swollen skin on his shoulder at this moment made Zhao Duo feel sorry for him.

"My dear, wait here for me a moment, I'll go and get some medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis."

Pearl nodded obediently, "Mmm."

Zhao Duo left after tidying up Pearl's clothes. He was very familiar with the mountains near Five Poison Fortress and quickly picked the necessary herbs.

When Pearl saw him return, she pulled down her clothes, revealing her injured shoulder.

His movements were not as gentle as Zhao Duo's; with such a bold tug, he almost pulled his own clothes off.

"Don't move." Zhao Duo glared at him.

Pearl sensed something different in the boy's seemingly harmless gaze. He tilted his head and asked, "Zhao Duo, are you shy?"

Zhao Duo: "..."

Zhao Duo didn't speak, but focused on crushing the herbs and applying them to Pearl's shoulder.

Pearl's little face was flushed. He clutched his clothes and silently watched Zhao Duo's actions.

He particularly liked Zhao Duo's hands; his fingers were long and slender, his nails were neatly trimmed, and his pale skin was without a trace of blemish, so the veins on the back of his hands were clearly visible.

"Brother," Pearl's voice was soft and delicate, yet her tone carried a hint of lightness, "you're shy."

Since he became sensible, he rarely called Zhao Duo that.

People usually call him by his full name or call him Xin Hui like everyone else; they rarely call him "brother" in a soft voice.

Because he knew Zhao Duo couldn't withstand it.

"Brother," Pearl called softly, her eyes crinkling.

This time, Zhao Duo didn't let him finish speaking. He stuffed a small flower into Pearl's mouth and said, "Chew it and swallow it."

While chewing, Pearl reached out and gently touched Zhao Duo's burning earlobe.

Zhao Duo grabbed the mischievous hand, and even though the good boy had teased him, he wouldn't scold him.

Where is your handkerchief?

Pearl took a handkerchief from her waist sash. "Do you want this?"

Zhao Duo draped the handkerchief over the herbs, then helped Pearl put her clothes back on. "Don't let it get stained; it won't look good."

Pearl suddenly realized, "It's okay, I have lots of white dresses."

It's impossible to fit into all of them, there's simply no way to fit into all of them.

Zhao Duo hummed in agreement, put one arm around her waist, and slipped the other under her legs to pick up Pearl. "Let's go back."

Pearl said, "My leg isn't injured, and I can walk on my own."

"I know."

A moment later, Zhao Duo said again, "I want to hug you."

Pearl simply continued to bury her face in the boy's shoulder. As long as no one saw that he was blushing, he wasn't shy!

On the way back, Zhao Duo was in a less hurry and would occasionally attract a few butterflies for Pearl to play with.

Pearl suddenly remembered that the boy was supposed to lead his people to worship the mountain god today, and it might not be good for him to run out like this.

"Brother, why don't you put me down? The ritual is more important."

Zhao Duo said, "It's alright, your uncle is here."

"How did you know I was in danger?" Pearl asked curiously. "Who told you?"