Chapter 25 Born with a Stone Heart "Don't go, please."

Qi Baitong's eyes froze, filled with resentment, and her face went numb.

Hot springs... Gu Shanyue never mentioned them again after that night, nor did he.

He knew that it meant nothing to Gu Shanyue and wouldn't change their relationship.

He was merely a secret guard trapped in the imperial city, while she was a free-spirited swordswoman. The world was vast, and everywhere was her home, except here.

He was just... a toy for her to play with temporarily.

When Gu Shanyue brought up the hot springs, Qi Baitong was at a loss, completely unsure how to respond.

"And what about you?" Gu Shanyue leaned closer, tilting her head to look at his flustered face, "You also used your looks to please men, and have been with many girls?"

"No! Absolutely not! I am, I am..."

Qi Baitong's face flushed slightly, whether from anxiety or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

But when you lower your eyes, you can see Gu Shanyue's blinking eyes. Her eyelashes are long and her eyes are clear, making your heart leap out of your chest.

Qi Baitong suddenly stood up, her face serious and her ears red, and said, "I have never been intimate with anyone else before. That night at the hot spring was my first time..."

"First time?" Gu Shanyue also stood up and walked in front of him. He turned his face away, and she leaned in to meet his face. "Then will you make me take responsibility? I think I can refuse to take responsibility."

Qi Baitong's heart pounded, and his breathing became rapid. Only his face could barely maintain an expression. He calmly shook his head: "No need."

Forget about taking responsibility, he was afraid that if she thought of His Highness the Crown Prince, she would even feel disgusted with and distance herself from him.

It's fortunate that everything is back to normal now.

“How come you’re not like the characters in the play?” Gu Shanyue recalled the plays she had heard and said with great interest, “You should have scolded me, and then cried and begged me not to leave, clinging to my legs.”

Qi Baitong: "..."

She interrupted all my chaotic and chaotic thoughts, leaving only the absurd scene she described.

Qi Baitong stammered, "Do I want...like that?"

Gu Shanyue nodded: "I'll take it."

Qi Baitong closed her eyes, knelt down with a thud, hugged Gu Shanyue's leg, her face flushed, and said, "Don't go, please."

Gu Shanyue burst out laughing: "That's fun, let's do it again!"

So, while the opera was being performed in the theater, the stiff-faced Qi Baitong on the upper floor also joined in the fun.

But Gu Shanyue laughed happily, more happily than ever before. Her hair shone brightly in the sunlight, and her smile seemed to glow.

Suppressing his embarrassment, Qi Baitong went through it again and again. Looking at her smiling face, he suddenly remembered that Gu Shanyue had always been alone.

She lost Wushan Yu, she lost Li Yuheng, and in the end, she was still alone.

People may think that a genius swordsman should travel the world alone with his sword, as proud and aloof as a crane. But even a crane has companions. So what about her?

Besides a flawless sword, what else could accompany her through countless lonely years?

Qi Baitong recalled Li Yuheng saying that she was a heartless person.

How could she be a heartless person? She was clearly just an innocent and naive girl.

Gu Shanyue had a great time today. As dusk fell, the two of them chatted and laughed as they walked side by side toward the Crown Prince's residence, their shadows stretching long.

As they walked through a narrow alley, a pile of debris in the corner suddenly moved, and the two of them immediately stopped in their tracks.

One man held the knife, the other the sword.

A faint meow came from the corner of the wall, and a small, thin orange kitten wobbled out, its tail held high and trembling slightly, meowing softly.

"It's a kitten."

Gu Shanyue stared at the kitten that was wobbling over and gestured to Qi Baitong: "Hey, share some of the meat pie with it."

Qi Baitong rummaged through a pile of food and toys and found a meat patty, then bent down and handed it to the trembling kitten that was walking towards her.

He was tall, so even when he bent over, the kittens had to strain their heads to reach the meat pie, crying out in frustration.

Gu Shanyue found it amusing, took the meat pie, squatted down, broke it in half with both hands, kept one half in his mouth, and put the other half on the ground.

The kitten opened its mouth and meowed. Gu Shanyue pointed at the meat pie on the ground and commanded, "Kitten, eat."

The kitten's nose twitched incessantly as it whimpered and nuzzled against the meat patty, the meat sauce almost smearing its forehead.

Gu Shanyue clicked his tongue, picked up the meat pie, and the kitten raised its head again, meowing loudly.

How can such a small cat have such a loud voice?

"You're so noisy."

Gu Shanyue muttered to herself as she broke the meat pie into small pieces and offered them to the kitten's mouth. The kitten ate them one piece at a time, wolfing them down.

Gu Shanyue couldn't break the pieces as fast as the kitten ate them. Before it could finish, the kitten's fluffy head nudged Gu Shanyue's fingers, whimpering softly.

"Eat, eat, stop meowing." Gu Shanyue held the meat pie up to the kitten's nose.

The two, one human and one cat, were very harmonious. After watching for a while, Qi Baitong also squatted down.

You like cats?

"It's not really a big deal. It's such a tiny thing, and it only eats a tiny bit. We can't just watch it starve to death."

As Gu Shanyue spoke, she gently poked the kitten's ear with her finger. The big ear nimbly sprang away from Gu Shanyue's finger.

"You're quite good at dodging," Gu Shanyue laughed.

"Do you want me to feed it, and you can play with it?" Qi Baitong reached out to take the meat pie.

“No need, feeding it is quite fun,” Gu Shanyue shook her head, a smile with a hint of reminiscence on her lips, “Yu’er was like this when she was little.”

The smile in Qi Baitong's eyes faded by three points in an instant, and her outstretched hand froze in mid-air before slowly retracting.

He did not expect Gu Shanyue to suddenly bring up Li Yuheng.

Qi Baitong looked at her, but Gu Shanyue was oblivious, focused on feeding the kittens, her naturally upturned lips curving into a smile, her face gentle.

It was as if Li Yuheng was a natural part of her life, and mentioning him was the most ordinary thing.

After a long pause, Qi Baitong spoke: "You and His Highness the Crown Prince..."

He spoke slowly and carefully, choosing his words, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask any further questions.

Gu Shanyue glanced at him, then looked back at the kitten: "What happened between Yu'er and me?"

Qi Baitong paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "When Your Highness was young, were you the one who took care of you?"

“Yes, he was poisoned at the time and was very young. I didn’t trust anyone else to take care of him,” Gu Shanyue said naturally as she fed the kitten.

Qi Baitong sometimes liked her frankness, and sometimes she was afraid of it.

"Ten years has passed; your feelings for each other must be very deep, right?"

Gu Shanyue rubbed the cat's head and answered without hesitation, "Of course."

How many decades does one have in a lifetime? Ten years of relying on each other to raise a weak, poisoned five-year-old child into a handsome young man—how could their bond not be deep?

This is a question whose answer is obvious without even asking.

Qi Baitong lowered her eyes and fell silent.

For a moment, only the voices of Gu Shanyue and the kitten could be heard in the alley. The little kitten actually ate half a meat pie the size of a palm.

Gu Shanyue exclaimed in surprise, "You can really eat!"

The kitten sat on the ground licking its fur, then raised its head and let out a proud howl.

Gu Shanyue smiled, left the remaining half of the cake, and got up.

Qi Baitong was still in the same spot. Gu Shanyue turned around and asked, "Why aren't you leaving?"

"Just leaving like that?" Qi Baitong glanced at the kitten on the ground and pursed her lips slightly. "I thought you were going to keep it."

Gu Shanyue shook his head: "A meal is enough."

"But didn't you say it resembled His Highness the Crown Prince when he was young? People often say that love extends to everything connected to the beloved." As he said the last sentence, Qi Baitong's tone carried an almost imperceptible coldness.

“I won’t keep it,” Gu Shanyue said without hesitation. “It can’t travel the world with me. What will happen to it if I keep it now?”

These words struck like a bolt of lightning, illuminating the unfathomable darkness churning within Qi Baitong's heart.

He suddenly had a revelation.

In any case, the Crown Prince could never have followed Gu Shanyue to wander the world; otherwise, he would not have left Gu Shanyue and returned to the imperial city of Shengjing back then.

But it's not impossible for him.

Qi Baitong suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze brightening like a faint, dark fire beneath a deep blue sky.

Gu Shanyue's figure was right in front of him. A smile appeared on his lips as he strode after her.

Back in the courtyard, only the two of them remained. As soon as the gate was closed, Qi Baitong busied himself like a husband returning home, taking care of everything from front to back.

Gu Shanyue, holding his sword, slumped onto a recliner under the eaves, exuding an air of languor.

After a short while, she spoke: "Purple White Paulownia".

Qi Baitong, holding a broom, rushed over: "A-Yue, what's wrong?"

I'm hungry.

"I'll prepare dinner now."

Qi Baitong put down the broom and went to the small kitchen to cook. Originally, Gu Shanyue's meals were supplied by the mansion's kitchen, but Gu Shanyue was always out of sight, leaving early and returning late. The kitchen staff would rush to deliver meals to her when she returned, but she would often fall asleep as soon as she got back.

If others didn't get to eat, they would have their maids go to the kitchen to get more food, but Gu Shanyue never ordered her maids to fetch food, nor did she ever complain to the Crown Prince.

As a result, the kitchen staff inevitably became lax, and Qi Baitong took care of almost all the meals in the courtyard. Only when he was really too busy would he send someone to fetch the food.

Ever since Qi Baitong discovered that Gu Shanyue enjoyed his cooking, he has become even more enthusiastic about studying food.

"Paulownia lacquer." Gu Shanyue's voice rang out again in the courtyard.

Qi Baitong, carrying some green vegetables, rushed over: "What's wrong, A-Yue?"

"I want to drink," Gu Shanyue said.

Qi Baitong hesitated for a moment and said, "Dinner will be ready soon. There will be chestnut and matsutake chicken soup. Let me pour you a glass of ginger and honey water first, okay?"

Gu Shanyue refused: "The ginger is too spicy, I don't want to drink it."

Ginger honey water contains honey, and when seasoned properly, it doesn't have a strong spicy taste.

But Qi Baitong didn't say any of that, and just went along with Gu Shanyue: "How about we change it to kumquat honey water? It's sweet and sour and delicious, isn't that great?"

Gu Shanyue thought for a moment and said, "Alright."

Soon, a pot of orange-yellow kumquat honey water was placed on the small table next to Gu Shanyue, along with a plate of fragrant osmanthus pastries.

Qi Baitong poured the honey water and brought it to Gu Shanyue's lips, wanting to feed her.

Gu Shanyue took it herself, tasted it, and nodded: "Delicious."

Qi Baitong smiled and said, "Sit down for a while. If you get hungry, you can have some osmanthus cheese. The food will be ready soon."

"Mm," Gu Shanyue replied.

Qi Baitong turned around and went back to work. No matter how many times Gu Shanyue called him, he showed no impatience whatsoever.

Gu Shanyue didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

Qi Baitong is her person, so naturally she can use her however she pleases.

Gu Shanyue ate cheese and drank honey water, squinting at Qi Baitong's busy back. Clearly, both of them were very comfortable.

The food was prepared to Gu Shanyue's liking. She didn't care much about what she ate or drank, but people always have preferences.

Sometimes, her preferences, which she herself was unaware of, would be noticed by Qi Baitong, and over time, everything he did would better suit her tastes.

Gu Shanyue tasted the greens; they were fresh, tender, and vibrant green. She said, "Today's greens are tastier than yesterday's."

Qi Baitong served her some food, saying, "Eat more, I'll make more tomorrow."

On the kitchen stove, a plate of green vegetables with shredded ginger sat quietly. The plate on the dining table was the one Gu Shanyue made again after he refused the ginger honey water.

Gu Shanyue ate comfortably, rested for a while, then got up to wash up and go to bed.

The water temperature in the bathroom was just right. Gu Shanyue took a bath for a while, and when he came out, Qi Baitong had just finished cleaning up the kitchen.

The two met face to face. Gu Shanyue was wearing a thin nightgown, her long hair was loose, and her face was slightly red from the hot water, as if it had been tinted with rouge. She exuded a fresh and gentle aura.

"A-Yue," Qi Baitong called to Gu Shanyue, who was walking out of the house.

Gu Shanyue turned around: "Hmm?"

Qi Baitong asked, "Do you have an answer to your question from last time?"

As he spoke, his gaze swept across Gu Shanyue's face, focusing only on her shoulder.

Gu Shanyue recognized this look immediately and understood what Qi Baitong was asking.

"You mean, mating and taming?"

“…Yes,” Qi Baitong’s gaze shifted, slowly settling on her face, “Did you get the answer you wanted?”

Upon hearing Qi Baitong's question, Gu Shanyue recalled that she seemed to have been too engrossed in her pleasure that day and hadn't given the question much thought, focusing only on her comfort.

Looking at it this way, this matter is indeed misleading, but Gu Shanyue still doesn't feel any sense of being tamed or not.

She was still herself, and her sword was still as fast as ever.

"It seems not," Gu Shanyue replied, frowning.

She didn't understand the connection between the two. But Qi Baitong had said that she had tamed him.

Gu Shanyue looked up at him, and Qi Baitong was also looking at her.

"you……"

"I……"

They both spoke at the same time, and then stopped at the same time.

Gu Shanyue blinked: "What?"

Qi Baitong's Adam's apple bobbed, and his clenched fist trembled slightly as he maintained a casual demeanor, saying, "Perhaps, we can try again."

"Try again?" Gu Shanyue pondered. "It's not impossible. Then I'll find..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qi Baitong interrupted, "Looking for me!"

Gu Shanyue: "Tonight?"

Qi Baitong's jaw was stiff, making it difficult for him to speak. His back was covered in sweat, which soaked his inner shirt.

"Anytime is fine, even now."

Gu Shanyue did not reply immediately. His clear eyes swept over Qi Baitong, and he looked her up and down.

Qi Baitong's face flushed red instantly, and he stood even straighter, his heart pounding so loudly that he wondered if Gu Shanyue could hear it too.

"Okay," Gu Shanyue replied casually.

"Then wait for me, I'll go take a shower..."

Before Qi Baitong could finish speaking, he had already flown away.

Is it really necessary to use light-body skills in such a small place?

Gu Shanyue shook her head, puzzled, and went back into the house.

That night at the hot spring, although the two engaged in some intimate behavior, Gu Shanyue was not an ignorant child and naturally knew that the two had not actually consummated their relationship.

If you really think about it, it should just be a little trick in bed?

Gu Shanyue also wanted to try again. Firstly, Qi Baitong had indeed served her very well, and secondly, she hadn't actually done it yet, which was probably why she didn't understand those words.

Gu Shanyue lay down on the bed. The room was clean and tidy, with everything in its proper place. The clothes she would wear the next day were hanging on the rack, and calming incense was burning by the window. The bed was also made soft and comfortable.

The white lacquer is still very useful.

On the other side, Qi Baitong quickly washed himself thoroughly and rushed back. His hurried steps stopped in front of Gu Shanyue's door. He let out a soft breath to calm himself before whispering, "A-Yue?"

Gu Shanyue didn't respond, so he called out again, but there was still no response from inside the house.

The door wasn't closed. Qi Baitong hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the half-closed door and went inside.

A subtle fragrance wafted through the room, and a candle burned, illuminating the girl who was already fast asleep on the bed.

She fell asleep.

Qi Baitong's heart, which had been pounding with excitement, gradually slowed down. In the quiet room, there were only him and her, and she was soundly asleep.

He walked over quietly, his tall figure carefully sitting down on the footstool in front of the bed.

Gu Shanyue's sleeping posture was also very casual. She lay on the bed with her face facing outwards, pressed against the pillow, her cheeks squeezed into a small fleshy curve, her hands resting on the edge of the bed, her fingers hanging down.

She sleeps like a little child.

A smile appeared in Qi Baitong's eyes as he quietly gazed at her sleeping face.

Even though his wish was not fulfilled, he was still happy to be sitting next to her like this.

A small crack was left in the window, and a gentle breeze would occasionally blow in, ruffling Gu Shanyue's hair. A strand of long hair fluttered down and fell across her brow.

Gu Shanyue frowned and her eyelashes fluttered.

Qi Baitong immediately and gently brushed aside that strand of hair, then gently placed it down, her fingertips never touching Gu Shanyue.

With no more bothersome hair, Gu Shanyue's sleeping face regained its tranquility.

She was asleep, and Qi Baitong sat on a low footstool watching her.

She allowed him to come over tonight, and even if she falls asleep, he should be able to stay.

Qi Baitong thought to herself.

He sat there until the wee hours of the morning, and apart from his unwavering gaze and surging emotions, Qi Baitong never touched Gu Shanyue once.

He just looked at her.

As night deepened, Gu Shanyue's eyes trembled slightly beneath his eyelids, and his fingers quivered as he raised and lowered them.

She seems to be dreaming.

What might she dream about?

Gu Shanyue's lips moved slightly, and Qi Baitong couldn't help but lean closer, wanting to hear that murmured dream clearly.

"……obedient"

Even in dreams, one must obey; Qi Baitong chuckled silently.

"Yu'er..."

The murmur was faint, and Qi Baitong's smile froze on his lips.

He shouldn't have gotten so close.

Even in my dreams I call out the prince's name, is that... something you like?

But the sleeping person wouldn't answer his question, just slept soundly, leaving him alone to silently feel the bitterness and pain in his heart.

The next day, the morning light shone, and birds sang and insects chirped.

Gu Shanyue slept soundly for a while, but her ears woke up first.

No, there's some noise.

Gu Shanyue acted faster than he thought, throwing a punch that slammed into a muscular chest.

A hoarse groan rang out.

“Ah Yue”.

Gu Shanyue, who had just opened his eyes, caught sight of Qi Baitong's slightly pale face and was speechless for a moment.

"What are you doing sitting on my bedside? It's a good thing I didn't draw my sword, otherwise I'd probably have to get up and collect your corpse by now."

Gu Shanyue scolded him, and Qi Baitong's face not only turned pale, but his eyes were also dark and bluish, as if he hadn't slept well.

“We agreed last night… when I came over, you were already asleep,” Qi Baitong explained in a low voice.

Gu Shanyue then remembered that there seemed to be such a thing. She always kept her word, so how could she have unintentionally broken a promise yesterday?

Gu Shanyue rubbed his head and suggested, "How about we do it now?"

Sunlight streamed through the window onto the bed. Gu Shanyue sat on the bed, her long hair falling down, and reached out her hand to him.

Qi Baitong was slightly taken aback, and her aching heart began to pound again.

He thought he was born with a heart of stone, and that no emotion, whether it was pain, life or death, contempt, or humiliation, could shake him.

His master said he was a born bodyguard, best suited for this line of work.

Qi Baitong used to think so too.

But after meeting Gu Shanyue, his numb and heavy heart was like a withered tree coming back to life in spring, sprouting new branches and becoming more active than ever before.

He was moved by her, felt pain for her, and was overjoyed for her.

His stone heart came back to life.