Chapter 86

"The Regent's Consort has arrived outside the city and will be at the villa shortly!"

Chapter 86

He couldn't believe that fate had played such a huge joke on him.

Yesterday, her attitude had clearly softened; she felt sorry for him, cried for him, and hugged him!

He was like a lone traveler in the desert who had finally found home.

How could she so easily forget him today?!

Xie Lang was incredulous. He had never believed in ghosts or gods, but now he wondered if he had done something evil and was being punished in this way.

After finally seeing the light of day, he was told it was all a joke?

His expression became twisted and terrifying, and his whole body curled up uncontrollably, trembling slightly.

Liu Qingqing was even more surprised; she didn't remember many things after waking up...

but.

She curled her fingertips, and suddenly frowned when she saw him about to tear open the scab that was just beginning to scab over on the inside of his wrist. She felt a heavy, unpleasant feeling in her heart, as if many stones were stuck inside.

Especially when you see his severely injured knuckles pressed against the rough ground, rubbing back and forth slightly with his movements, the ground is red with his blood.

He... looked very sad.

Liu Qingqing mustered her courage and reached out to grasp his fingertips. She saw his trembling back stiffen suddenly, and she was a little scared. When she tried to pull her hand back, he gripped it tightly.

As he moved, his knuckles scraped fiercely across the small pebbles on the ground, drawing blood.

For some reason, Liu Qingqing felt a chill run down her spine upon seeing this. She panicked and quickly grabbed his hand, bringing it to her face with a hint of anger. "How could you be so careless? How many good parts of your body do you still have to ruin?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he paused, stunned.

That's very impolite of you!

She cautiously raised her eyes to try and see his expression. In this cramped cave, this man could easily crush her to death. How could she utter such arrogant words? With that thought, annoyance appeared on her face.

The moment she looked up, she was met with his dark, sticky eyes. For some reason, even though his gaze was so frightening, she felt a pang of sadness when she saw the redness at the corners of his eyes. It was a sadness that made it hard for her to breathe.

She blinked, bewildered, and was about to speak when she saw the elegant and handsome man's eyes redden, his face expressionless yet tears streaming down his face.

Liu Qingqing was still in a daze, but her body had its own thoughts, and she rushed over and hugged him.

The man paused, his brooding gaze momentarily blank. "Why are you hugging me? Aren't you afraid of me?"

He looked down at the woman nestled comfortably against his chest.

"I don't know, it just hurts my heart to see you cry."

Her voice was muffled, "I don't want you to cry."

Xie Lang closed his eyes tightly, tightened his arms around her, and pulled her into his embrace, wishing he could bury her inside his body. He lowered his noble head and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Warm water droplets slid down the nape of the neck, past the collarbone, and continued rolling down.

Liu Qingqing blushed, hesitated for a moment, but did not break free from him.

He looked at him... so pitiful, like the little dog she had secretly raised when she was young, which was then snatched away by Liu Qingying. The last thing the little dog she had raised to be round and chubby looked at her was like this—as if she didn't want him anymore.

Wait, Liu Qingying?

For a moment, my foggy, muddled mind cleared up.

But she still couldn't remember who he was, or who she herself was.

Liu Qingqing blatantly slipped away, even though he was hugging her so tightly that she could hardly breathe and the sound of his voice could be heard.

This person is so good-looking, his nose and eyes are the apple of her eye.

It looks so good... her area is even a little wet.

Why did you let me hug you?

His deep, husky voice rang out beside her neck, sending a tingling sensation down her right ear and scalp.

"Oh my God!" she screamed inwardly.

"...I think you're a good person."

As soon as he finished speaking, the small cave fell into an eerie silence once again.

A good person?

Xie Lang felt as if his heart was breaking when he heard this.

She felt the fabric around her neck getting even wetter, and quickly added, "I think... I'm really dependent on you."

The man hesitated for a moment.

"Um."

The tall man gave a muffled hum on her shoulder, which sounded strangely pitiful.

She raised her hand and hesitated in mid-air, then gently patted his back. "My memory isn't very good, I've forgotten some things, don't worry about it."

Xie Lang hummed in response, but still held onto the person tightly.

How could he not overthink it?

He was heartbroken that he had completely forgotten him.

Why are we here?

She asked him with a puzzled look, but her eyes revealed a complete trust that she herself was unaware of.

It warmed his heart.

Xie Lang was afraid of upsetting her, so he didn't hide anything from her. Instead, he told her what he could tell her so that she would be aware of the situation.

Now is not the time to dwell on this. The rain has stopped outside, and after a night's rest, they've come to their senses and it's time to go back.

Last night, it was like a paradise, and Xie Lang was reluctant to leave this wild mountain cave.

After a short while, the man finally let go of her.

She turned around immediately, but didn't even get a clear look at his face.

He was tidying up his things when he picked up a broken iron chain from a corner of the cave.

Liu Qingqing's face scrunched up as she looked at him.

What's their relationship?

Even if she were naive, she could sense that there might be a romantic entanglement between them, and that this person seemed to have deep feelings for her.

Is it possible to play like this... wildly?

She was inwardly complaining when she suddenly noticed the wound on his arm and her face hardened.

"Why don't you take care of yourself? Don't you know how to treat all these wounds?"

Is her benefactor out of her mind?

Liu Qingqing looked at his back with confusion and disdain, rubbing her face in annoyance and frustration, then crossed her arms and muttered to herself, "It's such a pity that he's so good-looking."

Xie Lang stopped moving and lowered his eyes in disappointment.

Once everything was packed, it was time to set off.

The dense forest in summer is full of mosquitoes and flies. It rained yesterday, and now the scorching sun has evaporated the moisture, making it unbearably stuffy.

The mountain path was difficult to walk on; one step could sink into the mud, and if you weren't careful, you'd step into it.

Xie Lang walked quickly, and although he was holding her hand and leading her, she got tired in no time.

She gazed at his back, finding him so silent, his occasional glances filled with tears, making her heart tighten.

She seemed to enjoy seeing him cry, yet she couldn't bear to see him cry.

Could it be that she had already become this perverted without anyone knowing?

Xie Lang was once the moon in her heart!

She had just missed a step, and he quickly turned around to catch her. Her forehead bumped against his firm chest, and that's when she remembered.

Her name was Liu Qingqing, and his name was Xie Lang. They were childhood sweethearts and had been engaged since they were young.

"I can't walk anymore."

She tentatively stopped and pulled his arm back.

Xie Lang turned around and saw her bright, sparkling eyes, which made his heart race. Before he could react, he had already squatted down in front of her. "Get on, I'll carry you."

That would be great.

Liu Qingqing jumped up without hesitation.

Logically, she shouldn't be like this. In her memory, although they were engaged early on, they rarely spoke. Whenever they met, she didn't dare to look him directly in the eye, but would steal glances.

She had no idea what they had gone through to become so close.

She nestled against his back, her cheek resting obediently on his shoulder.

All I could hear was the rustling of the wind through the leaves and grass, and the steady, powerful beat of his heart.

Liu Qingqing pursed her lips, but couldn't hide the subtle upturn of her lips. Her toes also wiggled involuntarily.

"What's wrong?"

He turned to look at her, his eyes like deep pools. "Was the ride uncomfortable?"

"...Xie Lang, you've changed so much since you grew up."

It's not like what she imagined when she was a child. How did she become so gloomy? It's kind of scary.

Upon hearing this, Xie Lang abruptly stopped in his tracks. Because of the sudden stop, he swayed quite a bit, and she quickly clung tightly to his neck.

She peeked at his profile and saw that his eyes were red.

Liu Qingqing asked, puzzled, "I thought of you. Aren't you happy?"

"happy."

He replied in a deep, hoarse voice, "Happy."

Liu Qingqing gently touched the corner of his eye, "Then don't cry, okay? Xie Lang, how come you've become such a crybaby now that you've grown up?"

I wanted to tease him to change his mood.

But then I heard him hum in response.

So pure and innocent, so trusting of him.

It brought him joy, and it also broke his heart.

What stupid thing did he do before to hurt her so badly!

It felt as if a sharp sword had pierced my heart, and was being torn apart.

Emerging from the dense forest, a horse-drawn carriage was already waiting by the roadside.

Upon seeing the two of them appear, Xie Wu and Xie Liu hurriedly led their men to greet them, looking at them with concern, "My lord! Madam!"

Liu Qingqing was shocked; she had never seen such a scene in her incomplete memory.

A group of guards in brocade robes, swords in hand, swiftly approached and formed a protective circle around them.

Xie Wu and Xie Liu suddenly knelt down with a thud, clasped their hands in a salute, and said, "I failed to protect my master, please punish me, sir!"

Liu Qingqing was so frightened that she shrank back behind Xie Lang.

"Keep your voice down, you're startling the lady."

Xie Lang's voice was calm.

But Xie Wu and Xie Liu knew their master very well. Apart from being tired, they could tell that their master was in a good mood.

That means it's nothing serious, otherwise they wouldn't even be willing to risk their lives!

The master and his wife were both unharmed, and they were overjoyed. Xie Liu remained composed, but Xie Wu's eyes reddened.

Fortunately, the lady was unharmed; otherwise, Miss Zhao would never have looked at her again.

Liu Qingqing peeked out from behind Xie Lang's neck, quite curious.

She hadn't missed the surprise in their eyes when she looked up, and only then did she realize that she and Xie Lang seemed to be getting too close.

Feeling embarrassed by the many eyes on him, Liu Qingqing patted his shoulder, trying to get off his back.

Xie Lang, however, seemed oblivious and did not let her go. Instead, he calmly spoke to Xie Wu about serious matters, "How is Fu Xiuzhu? Is he still alive?"

Xie Wu nodded hurriedly: "Lord Wei said that you have a good grasp of the situation. Although the man is barely clinging to life, he can still hold on for a few more days. He is just waiting for you to come back and interrogate him!"

"How is the Northern Qiang army's advance outside the city progressing?"

"General Ying, following the master's strategy, and together with the generals defending the city, trapped them like turtles in a jar, and they have all been executed. The Northern Ghost General is quite strange; in the end, he went mad and his fighting style became completely chaotic."

"Understood"

Xie Lang walked to the carriage, carefully lifted her to his side, and then protected her head as he helped her into the carriage.

It looked like something that was cherished immensely.

He then went up with them and gave the order, "Let's go back to the other courtyard first."

Xie Wu stood ramrod straight and waved his hand, "Back to the other courtyard!"

A soft rustling sound came from the grass. Liu Qingqing lifted the curtain to look out curiously, only to find that besides the guards from before, there were quite a few more hidden in the shadows!

Wow.

She was amazed.

I had never met Xie Lang outside before. I only knew that he had a bright future, but I didn't know that he was so majestic and imposing!

Feeling a gaze fall upon her, she lowered the carriage curtain and turned to look at him.

His gaze was obscure and sticky, something she couldn't quite decipher, yet she found it strangely appealing.

It's as if... he can't live without her.

"Xie Lang, have we married?"

She leaned closer, her bright, watery eyes fixed on him, and asked in a soft voice.

It was as if it were some incredible, earth-shattering secret. As if revealing it would shatter any beautiful dream.

Xie Lang concealed his complicated emotions, nodded to her, and took her hand. "Yes, we're married."

Liu Qingqing's cheeks flushed slightly, and she forced a casual "hmm."

No wonder she used to be a little afraid of Xie Lang, but this time she naturally got close to him.

Oh, so they got married.

Her eyes moved.

They didn't notice Xie Lang's furrowed brow.

He thought of the man named Yu Run from Shennv Village... Now that she has lost her memory, he can't even ask her why she brought that man along, just because she likes him so much.

Having not slept well the night before, the carriage swayed gently, and Liu Qingqing nestled in his arms and fell asleep.

She was still unconscious when they arrived at the villa. Xie Lang carried her to the bedroom. Along the way, people would peek at her from time to time, and then he would smile and purse his lips.

She was placed on the bed, but she showed no signs of waking up, so Xie Lang summoned a doctor to examine her pulse.

Nothing serious, just a bit weak from the shock.

"How could you forget something?"

The doctor said, "She must have been frightened, perhaps she hit her head in the rapids. The doctor said that your wife occasionally remembers some things, but after a while she will be able to remember everything."

Xie Lang looked at her peaceful sleeping face, and his heart sank.

If she remembers, will she distance herself from him again, just like before? Will she go to find that man named Yu Run?

Thinking of this, everything went black before his eyes, and his tall figure swayed involuntarily.

"grown ups!"

"grown ups!"

Xie Wu and the doctor both stepped forward to help him.

The doctor happened to grasp his wrist, and after just a light touch, his face was filled with astonishment, "Sir!!"

Xie Lang raised his hand to interrupt them, "Keep your voices down, Madam is still sleeping, let's talk outside."

He glanced at her again after speaking, then reluctantly turned and left. Xie Wu and the doctor exchanged a look, then followed closely behind.

After taking Xie Lang's pulse, the doctor's expression became solemn and complex, and he couldn't help but step forward and whisper a few words to him.

Just then, Xie Wu, who had just left, hurriedly returned, his steps anxious.

Seeing this, the doctor seized the opportunity to give a few words of advice: "Sir, you must not do this, if you continue, then..."

"Understood."

"My lord, you must heed my advice, alas!"

Xie Wu was already in front of him. "My lord! The Regent's Consort has arrived."

Xie Lang frowned, quickly turned his head, and asked incredulously in a deep voice, "Who?"

"The Regent's Consort has arrived outside the city and will be at the villa soon!"

The arrival of the Regent's wife at this time is likely not a friendly visit!

[Author's Note]

Next chapter preview:

Xie Lang was looking at her sideways. His alluring eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, were as deep and dark as a pool. His gaze was wet and clingy, as if he wanted to devour her.

Suddenly, Liu Qingqing blinked, as if she had remembered something "new".