The storm had arrived without warning. The wolf cub’s wounds could not be exposed to rain. Seeing the little creature curled into a trembling ball of pain, Zhao Shu no longer had the leisure to dwell on that unexpected moment of intimacy with the man before her. She immediately tucked the blood-stained gray bundle securely inside the front of her robes, swung onto her horse, and followed Ying Wuji toward the cliff face ahead.
Sure enough, after riding only a short distance, they spotted several caves hidden within a cleft in the mountainside, their entrances concealed behind thick hanging vines.
Ying Wuji chose one on slightly higher ground. Grasping the vines, he climbed up first and inspected the interior before turning back to pull both Zhao Shu and her horse’s belongings inside.
He set the enormous gray wild rabbit down. It kicked its hind legs twice, rubbed its drenched face with its paws, then hopped over to a pile of dead branches against the cave wall.
Strangely enough, it made no attempt to flee.
The cave stretched deep into the mountain. Hidden behind dense forest and layers of vines, very little daylight reached inside, even at noon.
“Oh, I forgot to bring a fire starter.”
Before Zhao Shu could finish speaking, the man quietly replied, “Wait.”
A moment later, a small fire, built from dry branches and withered leaves, sprang to life. There was little fuel, so the flames remained weak.
Zhao Shu had only just laid the wolf cub upon a flat rock when she noticed the fire suddenly burning brighter.
Glancing sideways, she saw Ying Wuji crouching beside it. He had spread his outer robe on the ground, lifted the giant rabbit onto it with one hand, and was gradually feeding into the fire the pile of dry branches that had originally been beneath the rabbit.
Without giving it further thought, Zhao Shu took advantage of the brighter flames. She unpacked the medicine pouch she had removed from her saddle. Though her supplies were few, they were complete enough. Setting her acupuncture needles aside, she quickly arranged her knife, scissors, and wound medicine with her left hand while continuing to soothe the wolf cub with the other.
Ying Wuji watched quietly for a while, unwilling to disturb her. “I’ll be back within a quarter of an hour.” With that, he climbed back out through the cave entrance.
Although the wolf cub had been fortunate enough to avoid any vital organs, its abdomen had still been pierced clean through. Zhao Shu dared not take the injury lightly. Kneeling on one knee, she spent nearly half an hour carefully treating its wounds.
The few handfuls of dry branches could not keep the fire burning brightly for long. Though she never looked back during the entire time, she heard Ying Wuji entering and leaving the cave several times. Whenever the flames began to dim, he always returned just in time with another armful of dry leaves.
Half an hour later, Zhao Shu finally let out a long breath. She carefully carried the sleeping wolf cub to a dry corner before leaning back against the cave wall to dry herself.
While she had been tending the cub, a simple wooden drying rack had somehow been built inside the cave. After a brief hesitation, she removed her half-soaked outer robe and hung it upon the rack before settling down to rest.
The fire now blazed brightly. He had even arranged broken stones into a crude little stove. A shallow, naturally concave slab of stone rested above the flames as a makeshift pot, where freshly collected rainwater bubbled merrily to a boil.
In such a short time, he had managed to do all this?
And now he’d gone outside again?
The wolf cub had fallen asleep after receiving its medicine. As Zhao Shu rested, her gaze gradually drifted toward the rabbit sitting atop Ying Wuji’s robe.
She discovered that the giant rabbit had not fallen asleep. Curled into itself, it stared fixedly at the fire, its long gray-and-white ears twitching from time to time.
“Don’t be afraid.” She cautiously scooted closer and gently patted its head. Once it seemed to trust her, she slipped her hands beneath its forelegs and lifted it onto her lap. Then she casually pulled over the outer robe Ying Wuji had left behind and used it to rub the rainwater from the rabbit’s fur.
Outside the cave, only the endless sounds of rain and snow striking branches and vines could be heard.
The great gray rabbit nestled in her lap had a pair of amber-colored eyes, and its fur felt unbelievably soft beneath her hands. As she dried it, she murmured, “You’re afraid of fire… and you’re cold too, aren’t you? I won’t eat you. The one who saved you just now, he’s a vegetarian. He definitely won’t eat you either…”
Midway through her sentence, she felt a breeze drift in from outside. Turning her head, she met a pair of jade-green eyes veiled with moisture.
The rest of her words caught in her throat.
She had expected him to scold her for using his robe to dry the rabbit. Instead, he quietly placed a handful of freshly dug mountain yams and winter berries, still dusted with earth, beside her feet. Sitting down nearby, Ying Wuji merely glanced at the rabbit. “I don’t know what kind of grass it eats. Let it have a couple of these fruits first.”
Only now, sitting so close, did Zhao Shu notice how completely soaked he was. Droplets of water continuously slid down his prominent brow bone and straight nose before disappearing beneath the half-open collar of his robe onto his chilled chest.
Outside, the rain continued without end. Watching him lower his eyes as he quietly tended the fire, she found herself inexplicably struck by a sense of loneliness about him.
Late winter clothing was still thick and heavy. Yet he simply sat there cross-legged in his soaked garments, seemingly oblivious to the cold, peeling the mountain yams with his dagger.
The agate set into the dagger’s hilt was soon completely smeared over with thick mud from the yams.
The flickering firelight danced across his face, softening the elegant lines of his handsome profile. Whenever he remained silent, the delicate beauty of his features became even more apparent.
Like polished jade given human form.
Especially now compared to three years ago, when he had fully grown into adulthood.
Lost in thought, Zhao Shu was startled by a soft crackle from the fire. Ying Wuji dropped the peeled slices of snowy-white yam into the stone pot.
Then he stood up and began taking off his clothes beside the fire.
Her heart skipped violently. Trying to disguise her reaction, she quickly lowered her head and pretended to examine the giant rabbit instead.
Naturally, none of this escaped Ying Wuji’s notice.
Without a word, he swiftly stripped off his two completely soaked outer garments. After shaking them out and hanging them neatly upon the drying rack, he suddenly bent down until his face was directly before hers.
“Why are you lowering your head? It’s not as though I have sores all over my body.”
“I, I was just checking whether it had been grazed by an iron arrow.”
The fire crackled softly. Time seemed to stretch on without end. Although Ying Wuji had at least kept on his last, still-damp inner robe, his tall figure nevertheless enclosed her in its shadow. It felt as though someone had seized hold of her heart. The faster she tried to calm herself, the faster it beat.
No matter how enormous a wild rabbit might be, there were only so many places to inspect. After turning it over once or twice, there was really nothing left to examine on its plump, round little body.
“Is it hurt anywhere?” The man leaned two inches closer. He was asking about the rabbit, yet his gaze rested on her instead. A hidden flame flickered within his jade-green eyes.
The giant rabbit had been turned onto its back. Unwilling to show any weakness, Zhao Shu unconsciously pressed her lips together. One hand stroked the rabbit’s back while the other clutched its long ears tightly.
“I’ve checked. It’s not hurt at all.”
Warm breath brushed against her ear, followed by a soft chuckle. “Are you afraid of me?” The man reached out as though to draw her into his arms.
The hairs on Zhao Shu’s back instantly stood on end. Hugging the rabbit tightly, she instinctively tried to retreat.
Perhaps because she was too nervous, she failed to control her strength.
The giant rabbit cried out with a sharp squeak as she squeezed it too hard.
Frowning, she loosened her grip. The instant she lifted the rabbit, she sensed the man beside her leaning over her.
Panicked, Zhao Shu hoisted the rabbit up with both hands and, without thinking, shoved it straight toward him.
Smack.
The rabbit’s little three-part mouth landed squarely against the tip of his nose in a gentle nibble. Then, taking advantage of the opportunity, the giant rabbit wriggled free and kicked its way into his half-damp embrace.
Ying Wuji steadied the rabbit with one hand, brushed aside its long ears, and looked over at Zhao Shu with burning eyes.
His gaze met her startled apricot eyes.
Her hair was still damp, one loose strand clinging to her pale cheek. Perhaps because she was cold, her shoulders shivered from time to time. Looking at her now, she somehow seemed even more pitiful than the plump, well-fed rabbit in his arms.
Ying Wuji’s gaze paused. Suddenly, he reached out with his right hand and wrapped both of hers within his own. Her hands were icy cold. Far colder than his own, though he had gone out into the rain and snow several times.
The contrast in warmth startled Zhao Shu so badly she nearly jerked away. Yet before she could react, his warm hand had already released hers. Carrying the rabbit, Ying Wuji stood up and stirred the fire until it burned more brightly.
The fragrant aroma of cooking yam drifted through the cave. Only after noticing the lump of melting ice clinging to the broad back of his shoulders did Zhao Shu finally calm herself enough to replay everything that had just happened.
The ruthless Imperial Grandson Qin, renowned for his merciless methods had spent the spring hunt protecting living creatures alongside her. He had quietly found the cave, built the fire, and prepared their meal without saying a word.
And when he had held her hands, it had simply been because he was worried she was too cold.
Then that night beneath the moon after drinking in the library…
Perhaps… perhaps it truly had just been an accident. She knew better than anyone how much this man detested relations between men.
Accepting the broad banana leaf filled with steaming yam soup, Zhao Shu hesitated with a troubled expression. After taking one sip of the hot broth, she finally said softly, “Your inner robe is soaked through. You should take that off too and dry it by the fire.”
Her tone was composed and matter-of-fact. She felt there was no need to act awkwardly before him. After all, she truly had been under his care today. There was no reason to let him catch a chill and fall ill because of it.
Her words made Ying Wuji’s heart skip. He had indeed been hesitant, worried that removing his last garment might frighten her. Turning to look at her now, the concern he found in her eyes made even his breathing quicken slightly. Without another word, he walked to the other side of the drying rack. And there, he truly removed even his last damp inner robe.
Sitting quietly behind the rack with his head lowered, he scooped himself half a leaf-cup of hot soup. Neither of them attempted to draw closer again.
***
The rain continued to pour, growing heavier by the moment. The cave was deep within the mountain. Though noon had only recently passed, it already felt as dim as night. The fire flickered softly. Within the cave, the only sounds were the wolf cub’s gentle snores as it slept and the bubbling aroma of yam soup filling the air. There was an unexpected peace to it all like family returning home late to share a simple meal.
Half an hour later, warmth gradually spread through Zhao Shu’s body.
The snores of the rabbit and the wolf cub rose and fell together. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until, leaning against the cave wall, she gradually drifted into a light doze. Eventually, exhaustion overwhelmed her. Without even realizing when it happened, she slowly slid down the wall and fell asleep.
Silence lingered for another moment. Then the man behind the drying rack quietly rose and walked over without making a sound.
His fingertips hovered lightly over her face. His gaze slowly descended to the gentle curve of her slender waist, and the hidden fire within his jade-green eyes flared to life once more.
Without blinking, he simply looked at her.
“He’s only a powerless hostage slave from a conquered state. Someday, just grant him a pair of fiefs and send him away. He won’t even have sons or daughters to complicate matters. Wouldn’t everyone be satisfied?”
Cheng Wu’s words echoed once again in his mind. After sobering up from that drunken night, he had actually thought long and hard about those very words.
He had no taste for men. And yet for this person, a genuine desire had taken root, one he found impossible to escape.
Cheng Wu had been right. He had lived too long in hardship and deprivation.
The cracks within the ice around his heart had begun to spread. He was nearly twenty years old, never before had he experienced such feelings.
Whatever had happened in the past, he wanted this person.
Besides… with another man, there would indeed be fewer complications in the future.
He had always been a man of decisive action. Now that he had understood his own heart, he saw no reason to keep restraining himself.
Curled slightly on his side against the cave wall, Zhao Shu slept with the same faint little snores as the other two creatures nearby. Without her outer robe covering her, the graceful, slender lines of her body rose and fell gently beneath her clothes. Even asleep, her features were gentle and youthful.
It was difficult to imagine how radiant and untamed this same face must once have been back in Handan.
He had already considered it. If something truly were to happen between them, then from this day forward, he would have to cherish her more and could no longer treat her with the cold indifference of the past.
His gaze wandered over her. His eyes darkened further. Her rosy lips were parted just slightly, revealing two tiny snow-white teeth beneath them. Merely looking at her, he could already feel heat stirring throughout his body.
The rough pad of his thumb gently rested against the corner of her lips. His breathing grew heavier.
With a self-mocking smile, he changed his mind almost immediately.
So it turned out even among men, there truly existed someone worthy of being called a calamity that could bring kingdoms to ruin.
Breathing unevenly, he thought: better today than another day. There was no returning while the storm raged anyway. Why not indulge himself just this once? Why not simply make him his today?
With that thought, his hand reached toward the sash at her waist.
Then, everything changed in an instant.
Just as he was about to act, the deeply sleeping Zhao Shu suddenly shuddered.
It was as though she had been pierced by an arrow.
The movement happened so quickly that Ying Wuji almost thought he had imagined it.
After a brief hesitation, seeing no further reaction from her, his long fingers resumed their deft movements. His fingers had just loosened her sash when he wondered whether he ought to wake her first. Before he could decide, the body beneath his hands suddenly began convulsing violently.
Almost instantly, Ying Wuji thought of the similar illness his father, Lord Hengyuan, suffered from.
But Zhao Shu’s convulsions were far more severe than any attack he had ever witnessed his father endure. Afraid she might bite through her tongue, he immediately seized her jaw to keep her mouth open. The pain jolted Zhao Shu awake. Opening her eyes abruptly, she found herself staring into the man’s stunned expression.
The convulsions lasted only a brief moment before subsiding. Then, the same deathly cold that had nearly claimed her life not long ago returned like the flicking tongue of a venomous serpent, racing from her heart through her limbs with terrifying speed.
Ying Wuji scooped her into his arms. Beneath his hands, her body felt firm and solid. Zhao Shu had no mind to care that he wore no upper garment. Shivering violently, she raised a trembling finger toward the medicine pouch beside the wolf cub.
Her voice came in broken fragments. Only a breathy whisper escaped her lips as she repeatedly forced out a single word. “Needles…”
Fortunately, the man asked no questions. Stretching out his long arm, he hooked the medicine pouch over, dumped every tool onto the ground, quickly located the roll of silver needles, and, with astonishing speed, passed each one through the fire to sterilize it.
Barely enough time had passed for a few breaths.
The heated silver needles were already spread neatly before her, arranged in order of thickness and length.
She had no time to thank him.
Relying on the memory of her previous attack, Zhao Shu forced herself to seal several acupuncture points on her lower abdomen first. Only after catching a painful breath did she whisper, “Go… to the cave below… wait for a while…”
“All right.” The questions she had expected never came. The man simply picked up a fire starter. Without even putting on his inner robe, he turned and strode away. Before climbing out of the cave, he added without looking back, “If you can’t hold on, throw out a rock.”
The instant his tall figure disappeared, Zhao Shu could wait no longer. One hand gripped the needles. The other reached for her clothing.
As her fingertips touched the loosened sash at her waist, her eyelashes trembled.
This middle robe was made of rather stiff fabric and fastened with only a single knot on the right side of her waist. Because of the material, once it became wet, that knot was especially difficult to untie. Besides, she distinctly remembered falling asleep on her right side. Before drifting off, she had even checked that the sash was still tied.
The moment the answer became clear, gloom flickered across Zhao Shu’s eyes.
But the cold poison surged too fiercely. She had no time to dwell on it. In two swift motions, she loosened the chest bindings beneath her robe and, turning her wrist, plunged a needle into the major acupuncture point over her heart.
…
Less than a quarter of an hour later, she had just finished tying the final sash while leaning against the cave wall when rustling sounds came from the entrance.
Ying Wuji climbed back inside. The first thing he met was a pair of wary, fearful eyes. Instead, it was he who suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze. Without saying anything, he went first to the drying rack and slipped his inner robe back on.
Only when he walked closer did he notice that her smooth forehead was covered in cold sweat. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably. She looked chilled to the very core. In only that short span of time, bluish-gray shadows had already spread beneath her eyes.
“Why are you this cold? It doesn’t seem like some lingering illness from before.” Even Ying Wuji himself failed to notice how unusually gentle and low his voice had become. Seeing how violently she shivered, he added more dry branches to the fire before ladling out another serving of hot soup in a banana leaf.
He reached out, intending to help her up into his arms. Yet the moment he did, the exhausted Zhao Shu suddenly leaned sideways and collapsed away from him.
His hands grasped only empty air. She herself ended up slumped awkwardly to one side. For a moment, an uncomfortable silence settled between them.
“It’s… an old illness… I’ve had since childhood…” A single sentence came out in three labored breaths. Tilting up her small face, her rosy lips were slightly parted, yet so dry and pale they had begun to take on a bluish tint.
The rejection.
The guardedness.
It was all too obvious.
Suppressing the irritation rising within him, Ying Wuji stuffed the banana leaf of hot soup into her hands. Though he understood little of medicine, he had witnessed countless hidden illnesses and unspeakable secrets within the royal palace. For the moment, he could not guess the cause. But he absolutely refused to believe that what he had just witnessed was merely an ordinary sickness.
If she would not tell him, he had other ways of finding out.
“I’m afraid we won’t be able to return tonight. Do you have any medicine you usually take?” Dusk was gradually approaching. Outside, the rain continued to intensify. The forest was filled with steep cliffs, and the mountain path they had used that morning was almost certainly impassable by now.
Thinking this, Ying Wuji lowered his gaze to the person still clutching the hot soup in both trembling hands. “We’re running low on firewood. I’ll go down again.” He paused. “…Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
As he spoke, his gaze drifted almost unconsciously toward the giant rabbit sleeping in the corner. As though it understood him, the rabbit suddenly perked up its long ears and opened its damp eyes.
Zhao Shu hurriedly shook her head. “This illness… has nothing to do with food. This… is more than enough.”
Her voice was nearly swallowed by the torrential rain outside. The downpour crashed against the world until everything seemed at once deafening and strangely silent.
Ying Wuji nodded. Before she could even hesitate to stop him, his tall figure had already disappeared beyond the cave entrance once more.
After he had gone far enough away, the banana leaf slipped from Zhao Shu’s hands. Half a serving of hot soup spilled onto the ground, quickly disappearing into the cracks between the rocks. Suddenly, she curled into herself. Burying her face against her knees, she quietly began to sob.
Only seven days remained until March. She could clearly tell that this attack had been far more violent and far swifter than the last. Perhaps the next time it struck would also be the moment she died.
But Zhao Shu had still been too optimistic.
Half an hour later, when the vines at the cave entrance stirred and a blast of cold wind carrying rain slipped inside, she had only been pretending to sleep. Now her eyes flew open in horror. The deathly chill surged through her body once more. This time it came like a rushing river bursting through its banks. In scarcely the time it took to draw a breath, it had already spread from her chest to her waist and upper arms.
“You… why…” Ying Wuji stood there soaked through from head to toe. He had only just stepped toward her when he saw Zhao Shu frantically searching for the silver needles with reddened eyes, all the while pointing desperately toward the cave entrance. Her fingers shook so violently they were barely recognizable. Yet she stubbornly continued urging him to leave.
This time, he could no longer suppress the anger welling up inside him. Striding over, he skillfully found the silver needles, sterilized them over the fire, then, without saying a word, dragged her upright into his arms. His free hand immediately reached for the sash at her waist.
Feeling her struggle beneath his grip, he caught her wrist in one swift motion. His voice rang out with restrained fury. “What kind of cursed disease is this, that you’re still worrying about propriety when your life’s at stake?”
The frustration and anxiety born of not knowing the truth finally overwhelmed his patience.
No longer did he spare any thought for her resistance.
“Go… get away from me!” she cried hoarsely. “Get out!”
Resistance was useless. The sash was untied once more. The instant the shoulder of her middle robe was pulled aside, shame and despair finally overwhelmed her. She broke down, sobbing aloud.
Her quiet, broken weeping made the man’s fingers pause for an instant before he continued, his voice unexpectedly gentle. “No one will see your sores. Sit still. I’ll turn around and won’t look…”
The middle robe slipped halfway down, revealing beneath it a moon-white inner garment embroidered with dark-gold patterns, the medium-grade fabric supplied by the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau to officials of ministerial rank. The cloth, woven with silk, was light and nearly translucent. Beneath the thin material, the smooth, slender line of her shoulder blade could almost be seen, while her lotus-root-white arms appeared faintly through the fabric.
Because the material was so sheer, the back of the garment was almost transparent. He could vaguely make out a strip of bandage wrapped across her back.
Ying Wuji assumed the diseased sores she had spoken of were on her back. Just as he reached to continue removing her clothing, the person in his arms suddenly let out a miserable cry. Another violent seizure immediately followed.
Before he could ask what was wrong, she abruptly lost consciousness.
Undressing her was useless now. Ying Wuji’s heart suddenly sank. From childhood he had studied strategy and politics, mastered military tactics, and excelled with swordsmanship. Aside from occasionally saving a few wild animals during spring hunts, he knew virtually nothing about medicine.
The royal palace at Xianyang housed the finest physicians in the western frontier. Yet simply riding from this mountain cave back to the hunting camp would take more than half an hour. Seeking medical treatment would take even longer.
He gently laid her upon the ground. For perhaps the first time in his life, he was completely at a loss.
The convulsions had stopped. Yet Zhao Shu’s condition seemed even worse than before.
Her forehead, neck, and fingertips were all ice-cold. When he reached to feel her abdomen, the cold there far exceeded even the chill in her hands and feet.
Ying Wuji’s brows knitted deeply. How could a living person possess a body as cold as solid ice?
Anxious beyond control, he shook and called to her again and again. She remained utterly motionless.
Gradually, even her breathing began to falter. Each exhale grew longer. Each inhale shorter.
In a flash, a thought suddenly struck him. Ying Wuji froze, recalling every symptom she had just displayed.
Still kneeling before her, he murmured several words under his breath.
At the very moment her breathing seemed about to stop altogether, determination and unwillingness flashed across his jade-green eyes. Clenching his teeth, he hurried over to shoo the rabbit aside before pulling a bamboo tube from where it hung at his waist.
Several reddish-brown pills rolled out into his hand. He stared at them one last time. Tilting back his head, he took a mouthful of water, held it together with the medicine then bent down and fed it into those icy, colorless lips.
The next half hour felt like an eternity. Only after the young man’s breathing gradually steadied did the tension finally ease from Ying Wuji’s cold, stern features.
The strange medicine his father took had actually worked on her!
Ordinarily, he would have questioned and analyzed such an unbelievable coincidence. But at this moment, Ying Wuji only felt as though he had exhausted every ounce of luck he would ever possess. How could such an impossible coincidence exist?
Had he failed to gamble on that desperate chance…
Had he not happened to carry his father’s medicine…
Or had he returned only a moment later…
Even without medical knowledge, after witnessing Zhao Shu’s condition, he knew he would have died here today.
The firelight flickered. His eyelashes lowered slightly. Almost unconsciously, he tightened his embrace around the unconscious figure in his arms.
Her body was still far too cold. After a moment’s thought, he released her, stood up, and removed the rest of his own damp clothing. Pulling his thick outer robe around them both, he seated her upon his lap before the fire and wrapped them together inside the robe.
Her shoes and socks were still wet as well. Feeling them beneath his hands, he removed them too. The robe was not long enough to cover everything, so he pulled the giant rabbit over from where it had been huddling against the wall and settled it beside her. The rabbit’s long, thick fur happened to drape perfectly over her bare feet.
Rain pattered outside, mingling with the crackling fire. Night had fallen completely. Judging by the darkness, it was probably already around the Hour of Xu. Inside the cave, the two of them remained wrapped together. Ying Wuji had draped nearly all of his clothing over Zhao Shu, leaving one shoulder bare while relying solely on the warmth of the fire.
Holding her like that, he no longer knew whether it was because her body was so terribly cold or because his own stomach had grown so empty. Though her soft body rested in his arms, every lingering romantic thought from earlier had completely vanished. With countless thoughts crowding his mind, he eventually drifted off to sleep while still holding her.
***
The following morning, after the rain had passed and the skies cleared, Zhao Shu awoke before dawn had fully broken.
She was cold. Almost instinctively, she burrowed slightly toward the warmth behind her. At once, a powerful arm naturally settled more firmly around her waist.
The added weight stirred her fully awake. Opening her eyes groggily, she looked up through the dim gray morning light filtering into the cave, straight into a handsome, sleeping face.
Looking downward, Zhao Shu’s heart skipped violently. She found herself completely enclosed within his long arms and legs. And this man, aside from a short pair of underdrawers, was practically naked.
Realizing at last that the warmth she had sensed in her dreams throughout the night had been him, her face instantly flushed so red it seemed ready to drip blood.
As she noticed that, although her body was still chilled, the bone-deep cold poison had completely disappeared, Zhao Shu sat stunned for only a brief moment before understanding.
Her clothing remained completely intact. Nor did this man appear to know anything about acupuncture.
She remembered last night’s condition all too clearly. Without some external means of suppressing the cold poison, there was no possibility it could simply have vanished on its own.
She simply did not know, what method he had used to save her life.
Whatever it had been, he had saved her once again.
The cave remained dim. The man before her was still fast asleep. After steadying herself, Zhao Shu did not immediately push him away. Instead, she remained quietly nestled within his embrace, studying him thoughtfully.
His raven-black eyelashes were long and thick like feathered fans. His brow bone and nose were slightly higher than those of people from the Central Plains. The corners of his eyes were long and faintly upturned. Though he was a man skilled in swordsmanship, archery, and horsemanship, while sleeping, not the slightest trace of murderous ferocity remained upon him.
Only his physique still revealed the northern Hu blood flowing through his veins. Though he had not yet reached twenty, he carried an even more imposing presence than many seasoned generals.
She leaned in extremely close, yet still could not find the slightest flaw in his features. Perhaps because he was still so young, upon closer inspection, his beauty leaned more toward the striking and exquisite than the ruggedly handsome.
“Have you looked enough?”
After that languid call, those jade-green eyes, their corners lifting like butterfly wings, slowly opened. At the same time, the hand resting behind her waist suddenly tightened.
His voice was low and husky. There was a hint of reproach at the corners of his brows, yet his eyes smiled. Though he had only just awakened, clarity returned to his gaze almost instantly as he looked at her with burning intensity.
“…Thank you for saving me last night.” Perhaps because they were lying so close together, wrapped in such an intimate embrace, Zhao Shu’s heart inexplicably fell into disarray. Avoiding his gaze, she scarcely dared to look at him.
Bracing both hands between them, she had no mind to ask about what had happened the previous night. She only wanted to get up. “I owe Your Lordship another life. Someday, if I…”
Before she could finish saying she would repay his kindness, she had only just propped herself up on one elbow when the man suddenly let out a mocking laugh and made his move. With only the slightest exertion, he effortlessly hooked her back down.
A soft cry escaped her lips as the slender youth crashed heavily back against the man’s broad chest, scarred from countless old wounds.
She was held tightly against him. The moment she tried to push him away, her arms were firmly restrained, leaving her unable to move. One of her palms was pressed directly over his burning heart.
The invasive closeness made her instantly turn her head away, her cheek barely brushing past the bridge of his handsome nose.
“You were about to say you’d repay me someday?” Ying Wuji refused to let her avoid him. He reached out directly, pinching her chin and turning her face back toward him.
The danger of the previous night had passed. Waking in the early morning, the fantasies he had harbored for months suddenly spiraled out of control. Merely one glance from her was enough to set them ablaze like wildfire.
He had intended to smile and ask whether she meant to repay him with herself.
But the resistance in Zhao Shu’s eyes filled him with displeasure.
The skin beneath his fingertips was smooth as silk. Having already seen every inch of her the night before, the person so close to him now seemed even smaller, her conflicted face scarcely larger than his palm. Though her features were by no means as flawless as his own, they stirred restless longing and an overwhelming desire to cherish her.
Ying Wuji could not help but wonder. It seemed as though this person had remained frozen exactly as she had been three years ago. Had neither her face nor her figure grown at all?
She was even more delicate than a rabbit boy. It truly seemed a waste of her imperial bloodline. By Cheng Wu’s way of thinking, a youth with such looks, if lacking power, was naturally destined to become a plaything for noble sons and princes.
He had always despised such people who survived by attaching themselves to others.
Thinking this, Ying Wuji swallowed the confession that had nearly left his lips. Holding her chin firmly, he said, “Now that neither Zhou nor Zhao wants you anymore, you have no fief, no army, no retainers. You’re nothing but a weak shell without the strength to truss a chicken. You know neither military strategy nor statecraft nor debate. On what grounds do you think you can repay me?”
Ying Wuji felt that, now that she had been driven into a dead end, there were certain words she ought to take the initiative to say herself.
“I… I’ll learn in the future…” Her palm rested over the powerful beat of his heart. Uneasy beneath his unwavering gaze, Zhao Shu desperately pulled her hand free and tried to pry his fingers away. “Y-you… let go of me first!”
She struggled for quite some time, but instead only stirred the desires buried deep within the man’s heart.
When she became aware of the unmistakable hardness pressing against her thigh, Zhao Shu was struck with overwhelming shock. Though only seventeen, she had spent time in pleasure quarters and taverns. Unlike innocent princesses sheltered from the world, even if she had never personally encountered such a thing before, she knew perfectly well what it meant.
If the drunken incident last time had been unintentional, then now, in this cold, barren cave, he had reacted merely from holding her like this…
Terror, shame, and anger instantly overwhelmed her, throwing her mind into chaos. Feeling violated and coveted, she reacted without thinking, raising her hand to strike him.
Ying Wuji had already taken one slap from her that night. There was no way he would tolerate a second. He seized both her wrists in one hand and slammed them against the ground, laughing in furious disbelief. “Still think you’re the Crown Prince? An imperial grandson of Zhou? Is this how you repay me?”
The person in his arms glared at him in frightened fury, struggling desperately to escape. As she moved, her slightly parted lips grew richer with color, their crimson curve resembling fallen spring blossoms. In an instant, heat surged through him. His emerald eyes darkened as though bewitched. No longer willing to waste another word, he leaned in to taste those lips.
“Y-you… aren’t you the one who hates Longyang?”
The soft warmth from his fantasies never reached her lips, blocked instead by a smooth, slender hand.
Her palm pressed against his mouth. Yet rather than becoming angry at being thwarted, he merely froze, his lips unconsciously moving against her hand as a thought flashed through his mind in astonishment.
Just how pampered has this person been? Even her palms are this soft.
That youth sent by Mi Rong had once tried to seduce him. While pretending to grind ink, the boy had lightly brushed the back of his hand. Even when Ying Wuji had flung him aside, he had distinctly felt the roughness and hard bones of a man’s fingers.
With that thought, he raised his hand and captured the troublesome hand before him, slowly squeezing each of her fingers one by one.
“This sort of thing defies both morality and Heaven’s laws. The very thought of it is disgusting.”
Her fingers were slender as scallion shoots, and there was not even the slightest callus that years of riding and archery should have left behind. As the heat within him intensified, contempt also settled in his heart.
So Zhao Wang had never truly valued this child. More than ten years of indulgence and naming an heir… perhaps it had all been nothing more than raising her for ruin.
Since neither Zhou nor Zhao wanted her anymore, then he might as well take her for himself.
His grip left Zhao Shu’s fingers tingling with numbness. Looking up anxiously, she was shaken by the blazing darkness in those jade-green eyes. She could clearly feel the restrained strength coiled within the man’s solid arms, like a caged beast that, at any moment, would burst free without restraint.
In her panic, she suddenly felt the urgent need to relieve herself. Before he could make another move, she hurriedly pleaded in a pitiful voice, “I… I need to go relieve myself.”
Still clouded by desire, Ying Wuji stared blankly for a moment before finally releasing her.
Once he stood, certain signs could no longer be concealed. Even he felt a rare trace of embarrassment. He hastily pulled on his clothes in just a few motions before striding toward the cave wall to retrieve the two wild animals he had rescued the night before, only to discover that the wolf cub had vanished without a trace.
“It truly is impossible to tame a wild creature.”
After glancing at the large wild rabbit huddled in the corner, he frowned in thought for a moment before bending down and picking it up. Carrying the rabbit in his arms, he walked straight past Zhao Shu without so much as sparing her a glance. Before leaving the cave, he tossed back, “I’ll go down below and find the horses first. Hurry up.”
***
A quarter of an hour later, Chiji’s iron-shod hooves carried it lightly across a narrow, muddy mountain path.
The large wild rabbit was held tightly in Zhao Shu’s arms, while she leaned against the man’s chest before her, her brows knitted tightly as she kept her eyes shut, not daring to move in the slightest.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and dense mist filled the deep forest. The mountain trail beneath them was so narrow that only two people could pass side by side. In such poor visibility, the slightest lapse in concentration could send them plunging into a bottomless ravine.
Only moments ago she had still been lamenting the loss of the horse she had ridden here. Now, however, Zhao Shu found herself secretly thankful. If she had been forced to ride through this place on her own, even if she had been given twice the courage, she would not have had the slightest confidence she could make it across.
“You can’t even cross a path this narrow. Old General Lian’s lifelong reputation was wasted on you. If His Majesty hadn’t insisted, I doubt he would ever have accepted a disciple like you. Then again… Lian Xu really has grown old. A god of slaughter like him actually retreated before the enemy. Surrounded and without supplies for forty-two days, everyone at court feared he would suddenly launch a desperate counterattack. Who would have thought he would simply surrender?”
Only after focusing completely did they clear the dangerous path. Sharing the same saddle in such close proximity, that restless agitation stirred within Ying Wuji once more. Irritated with himself, his frustration bled into his words.
Zhao Shu had practically been raised under Lian Xu’s watchful eye. In her memory, though the old general had spent half his life on the battlefield and often claimed that his hands were stained with too much blood, that he had become Zhao’s fiercest general through three reigns, he had always treated Zhao Shu with nothing but warmth and kindness. He constantly lamented the weight of his own sins, saying that Zhao Shu’s gentle temperament would not prevent her from becoming a good ruler. So long as the Lian family remained, any dirty work or ruthless scheming could be left to Lian Yu.
Because of that, Zhao Shu’s relationship with the Lian family had never felt like that between ruler and subject. Her bond with the old general had been as close as that of a granddaughter and her grandfather.
Those memories swept back into her mind, reopening wounds that had barely scarred over. She could endure insults directed at herself, but she could not bear anyone mocking Old General Lian. The surrender at Pingcheng had indeed been her decision, but the one willing to sacrifice a lifetime of honor to save two hundred thousand Zhao soldiers had in truth been the old general himself.
“Heaven’s will cannot be defied. At least this old man has finally paid for his sins.”
Before her royal father had even issued the royal decree, Lian Xu had already taken his own life beneath the walls of Handan. Those had been the last words he had left her.
Paid for what sins? What evil had he ever atoned for?
At that moment, Zhao Shu was consumed by regret and anguish unlike anything she had ever known. The craftsmen held hostage in Handan had spat on her. Her father and the royal house of Zhou had abandoned her. And now even this former slave could casually slander the teacher she revered.
Grief and fury clouded her mind. Hugging the rabbit tightly, she half-rose and turned back, sobbing as she shouted, “You’re nothing but the son of a barbarian servant woman! You’ve only risen by borrowing the influence of Lady Mi of Yong. And now you’re some Western Qin Imperial Grandson from a tribe of frontier savages…” She hiccupped through her tears before yelling on, “Three years ago, at Old General Lian’s residence, you followed me into the estate and secretly copied the Lian family’s swordsmanship! What right does someone of your birth have to insult the Lian family?”
Her apricot eyes were crimson with tears, glistening like peach blossoms after spring rain.
Sharp-tongued, relentless once she believed herself in the right, proud to the point of arrogance, that was the Young Lord Zhao Shu of three years ago.
Ying Wuji’s expression never changed. He merely tightened his arm around her and smiled faintly. “For seven hundred years, the feudal states have looked down on and ostracized Qin. ‘Frontier savages of the western border,’ is it? Would you dare repeat those words in front of my grandfather?”
The icy wind only made the heat in his chest burn fiercer. After throwing those words back at her, he took advantage of the moment she was stunned. Pulling sharply on the reins, he guided the horse over the last dangerous mountain ravine. In the next instant, one hand left the reins, pressed her firmly against his chest, and he lowered his head to kiss her.
After her futile struggle, he sensed the overwhelming despair in her. His arms only tightened, drawing even the rabbit into his embrace. Yet the forcefulness of his kiss gradually softened.
Chiji galloped ever more freely, while his kiss slowly became gentle and restrained. It was still burning with passion, but cautious, lingering between closeness and distance. Anyone willing to truly feel it would have sensed the yearning, and even the faint trace of pleading, hidden within it.
Amid her fear, Zhao Shu found her heart stirred despite herself. A strange weakness spread through her body, leaving her limbs limp. Tears gradually welled in her apricot eyes before spilling down both their faces.
Those tears were cool, yet they seemed to scald like boiling water. Breathing heavily, Ying Wuji abruptly pushed her away. Even the rabbit was jolted against the horse’s back, letting out an innocent little squeak.
Panting in alarm, Zhao Shu hurriedly steadied the rabbit in her arms.
From his rescue at the quarry, to the confusion of that drunken night, to the burning passion inside the cave, and now this… by now she fully understood the nature of his intentions.
Before she could angrily demand an explanation, the tear upon her cheek was suddenly brushed away by his rough fingertips. In a hoarse voice, Ying Wuji abruptly changed the subject. “The spy network in Handan is extremely difficult to penetrate. Think carefully. Who in Zhao… truly wanted you dead?”
The latter half of his sentence struck like an icy wind blowing straight from the gates of the underworld, making Zhao Shu shudder violently. She slapped his hand away and stammered, “I… I’ve never made enemies. How would I know?”
The man behind her replied coolly, “Is that so?”
She suddenly flared up again. “It was Zhao Wang! My own royal father wanted me dead! Satisfied now?”
His arms tightened around her. A heavily callused hand covered her tear-filled eyes as he leaned close to her ear and sighed softly. “Take your time and think. Once we’re back at camp, write down everything you remember.”
***
Only after returning to camp did they learn that even Princess Weiyang had been stranded in the mountains. Lord Hengyuan had already returned to Changming Palace the previous night. It was said that while hunting, he had encountered a beautiful village girl and lamented how he had wasted his life until now. On the spot, he ordered his attendants to gather more than a hundred young women from the nearby villages before immediately returning to the palace with them.
Ying Wuji had long since grown accustomed to his father’s absurd behavior. Coincidentally, a Zhao spy had returned to the capital today. The similarities between the two illnesses still weighed heavily on his mind. After lying low for many days, it was finally time for him to enter court and pay his respects to his grandfather.
Facing the retainers who came to greet him, he carried himself with effortless elegance and courteous reserve. It was as though the emotions and burning passion of the previous night and this morning had been nothing more than an empty dream, a reflection of flowers in a mirror or the moon upon water, leaving not the slightest trace behind.
Even after all of his retainers had gone on ahead, the man neither spoke another word to her nor spared her another glance.
To him, matters of the heart were nothing more than fleeting trifles.
Besides, with the poison from the previous night, her life now depended entirely upon him.
Thus, Ying Wuji merely escorted her to the entrance of the main encampment, instructed a young eunuch to notify Cheng Wu, then mounted his horse and rode toward the crossbow camp.
As Chiji passed by her one last time, he suddenly leaned low from the saddle and gently rubbed the rabbit’s head nestled in Zhao Shu’s arms.
***
After he had gone, Zhao Shu carried the wild rabbit, which weighed more than an infant, and followed the young eunuch back toward her own tent. Only after the terror of the past day and night gradually subsided did she finally calm herself enough to ponder the strange pattern of the cold poison’s sudden changes. Because she had been so shaken by his intentions, she had never even found the opportunity to ask how he had managed to save her the night before.
By nature, however, she was someone who retreated from trouble whenever possible. In any case, she intended to avoid him at all costs in the future. There would surely be another chance to ask about last night’s events.
The Grand National Preceptor had warned her long ago that becoming a living vessel for poison meant carrying poison for life. Though she had once lived a carefree and seemingly glamorous existence, she had long since prepared herself for such a fate.
Now that her own survival hung by a thread, the most urgent matter was to find a way to settle Qi Ying’s future as quickly as possible.
Thinking this, she arrived at the felt tent beside the Ba River. She set the wild rabbit down outside the entrance and called out loudly for Qi Ying.
Silence answered her.
She searched the inside and outside of the tent four or five times. Aside from cold cookware and an abandoned hearth, there was no trace of the girl anywhere.
“My lady, are you looking for Miss Qi?” the young eunuch quietly explained from behind her. “She was selected and taken to Changming Palace last night.”
The Ba River flowed gently beside them, broken ice drifting upon its surface. Zhao Shu froze where she stood. The sound of the cracking ice striking together echoed repeatedly against her heart, as though each collision were drawing away the last lingering warmth from her chest.
Staring at the frozen river, she tucked both hands into her sleeves and heard herself ask in an emotionless voice, “The woman His Lordship Hengyuan encountered while hunting yesterday… how long ago did they leave?”
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