Chapter 143 Northern Desert 3 "Xiao Qiyu, I like you."...

The cave wasn't deep, but it was enough to keep out the biting cold wind of the Gobi Desert night. Several clumps of tumbleweed were piled up at the entrance, rustling softly in the wind.

The cave was dry, with candles made of camel oil flickering dimly. The floor was covered with an old felt blanket that Cui Ying had taken off his horse, which served as a makeshift shelter.

Cui Ying woke up with a soreness; her body had been held too tightly, and half of her body was numb.

In a daze, she suddenly looked up and gazed in that direction, as if she had thought of something.

The boy lay on his side facing her, his arms tightly wrapped around her body. His long eyelashes cast two small shadows on his thin, pale cheeks, rising and falling gently with his breath.

Cui Ying reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly, and gently touched Xiao Qiyu's cheek. After feeling the warmth unique to a living person, she still couldn't believe it. Her fingers lingered for a moment, then moved to his high nose bridge to check his breath.

Her breath was like a gentle breeze, lightly brushing against her fingertips.

Cui Ying finally exhaled the breath that had been hanging in her throat.

It's not a dream, he really is here, alive and breathing.

Just then, Xiao Qiyu's eyelashes fluttered a few times, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The moment he saw Cui Ying, the light in his eyes was impossible to hide, and he instinctively wanted to speak—

"Don't speak, I'll speak first," Cui Ying said without hesitation.

Xiao Qiyu blinked, his eyebrows curving slightly, a soft arc, as he quietly looked at her, a smile playing on his lips.

Cui Ying couldn't laugh. In fact, she frowned and asked in a serious tone, "Where have you been for the past six months? How did you know where I was?"

Unlike the earth-shattering excitement she felt upon first meeting her, Cui Ying now woke up with countless questions weighing on her mind, eager for answers.

Xiao Qiyu's gaze lingered on Cui Ying's face before he slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and dry: "Two days ago, I heard you fighting with someone downstairs at the inn, and then I followed the hoofprints to find you."

Cui Ying's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe she had just missed Xiao Qiyu. She couldn't wait to ask, "How did you get to that inn?"

"It's Xiao Yuncheng."

Xiao Qiyu uttered the name, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "He saved me. I don't remember the specifics, but I remember he dragged me out of the sand and took me to that inn. He gave the people in the inn some money and asked them to take care of me until I woke up."

“Xiao Yuncheng?” Cui Ying frowned, his doubts deepening. “Since he saved you, why didn’t he just ask someone to inform the Protectorate? For the past six months, everyone thought you had died for your country.”

Cui Ying's voice choked up slightly as she continued, "Everyone was frantically searching for you. Who would have thought you'd been lying in a remote inn all this time?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, Cui Ying almost understood.

Based on her understanding of Xiao Yuncheng's character, when he saw Xiao Qiyu seriously injured and alone, he probably suspected that Xiao Qiyu had been plotted against by someone close to him, and sending him back rashly would only make things more dangerous.

These two brothers have completely extreme temperaments. Xiao Qiyu is extremely reckless, and Xiao Yuncheng is extremely cunning. Given his childhood experiences, it's understandable that he would think the worst of everyone.

"Well, so be it," Cui Ying sighed, shaking his head with lingering fear. "It's good that I came back alive."

As long as he can still lie beside her and breathe, nothing else matters.

Seeing Cui Ying's frightened expression, Xiao Qiyu felt a pang of pain in her heart, unable to imagine how she had managed to get through the past six months.

He couldn't bear to see her like this, so he reached out and took her hand tightly, teasing her in a lighthearted manner, "Finished asking?"

Cui Ying let him hold her hand and nodded.

"Then it's my turn."

Xiao Qiyu's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice softened, and he looked into her eyes, which sparkled like stars: "You traveled thousands of miles to the northern desert, just... to find me?"

The cave fell silent instantly, with only the faint crackling of the candlelight. The wind howled outside, further emphasizing the tranquility of the place.

Cui Ying stared at Xiao Qiyu, her body motionless, her eyes unblinking, just staring at him.

Suddenly, she said clearly:

"Xiao Qiyu, I like you."

The light and shadow suddenly shifted, and Xiao Qiyu froze. His grip on Cui Ying's hand tightened instantly, and the cautious light in his eyes spread out, replaced by immense astonishment and ecstasy.

He opened his mouth, his voice trembling, and said, "What did you say? Say it again."

Cui Ying grasped his hand in return, gazed intently into his eyes, took a deep breath, and poured out all her secrets in one breath:

"I've been holding these words in for almost three years. If I don't say them soon, I'll go crazy. Xiao Qiyu, I like you, I like you so much, so much that I didn't even realize how much I liked you until I lost you. It was precisely because I understood my own feelings that I came out to find you, that's why I've come all this way, that's why I—"

Cui Ying spoke too quickly and couldn't help coughing. At this moment, Xiao Qiyu reached out and hugged her tightly.

He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her back, his grip so tight it trembled slightly.

"Okay, Tuantuan..." Xiao Qiyu's voice was extremely gentle, with a heavy nasal tone and a sob, "I know, I know, don't rush, speak slowly, don't choke."

Cui Ying coughed several times, bringing out many tears. Her eyes were red, and she slowly leaned her face against Xiao Qiyu's chest.

Feeling the warm breath on his chest, Xiao Qiyu felt a warm glow in his heart. He put one hand behind Cui Ying and gently stroked her: "I've made you suffer these past six months. I've accepted all your beatings and scoldings..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp crack was heard, and Cui Ying slapped him hard across the face.

Xiao Qiyu was stunned.

He turned back, his face still damp with the steaming slap mark on his pale cheek, his eyes filled with disbelief and grievance: "You actually hit me?"

Cui Ying's eyes were red-rimmed, her chest heaving as she glared at him: "Why can't I really hit you? You heartless bastard! Do you know how I've been these past six months? Do you know how I felt every time I looked at the hairpin you left behind? Do you know how I wished I could die with you when I thought you were dead?!"

Cui Ying punched Xiao Qiyu on the shoulder again, but the force was only about half of what he used to do; it wouldn't have been enough to tickle him in the past.

Xiao Qiyu's face paled instantly, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body trembled involuntarily.

Cui Ying then suddenly realized something was wrong.

From the moment she saw him until now, her mind had been racing, so she hadn't had time to notice many details. Now, as she looked closely, she realized that the shoulder blades and waist of Xiao Qiyu's dark inner robe were a darker color than the rest of the robe, and there was a faint, distinct smell of blood in the air.

Cui Ying's heart clenched suddenly, all her anger instantly replaced by fear, and she reached out to unbutton his clothes.

"Don't look," Xiao Qiyu pressed her hand down, forcing a weak smile, trying to appear calm, "It's very ugly, it will scare you."

Cui Ying wouldn't listen. Ignoring his attempts to stop her, her fingers trembled slightly, but she quickly untied the sash of his inner garment and carefully lifted the collar.

The candlelight fell on the boy's bare upper body, and Cui Ying's breath caught in her throat.

Between his waist and abdomen, there was an extremely gruesome penetrating wound. Although it had been stitched up, large areas of skin around it were swollen, the flesh at the edges was turned outwards, and it was purplish-red. Fresh blood was seeping out from several cracks.

In addition, his chest, arms, shoulders and back were covered with scars of all sizes, old and new. If there were only scars, it would be fine, but there were also many wounds that had not been fully healed. Some were just peeling flesh, while others were so deep that bone was visible, which was shocking.

Cui Ying's fingertips hovered above the wounds, trembling as she dared not touch them, her voice shaking uncontrollably: "These...these are all wounds you sustained half a year ago?"

Xiao Qiyu tilted his head slightly, looking at her pained expression. Although his injury hurt, he felt extremely pleased and laughed, "Look, were you scared?"

Cui Ying's tears fell instantly, and she said in despair, "So much time has passed, why hasn't it healed yet?"

She turned around in a flurry, rummaged through her bag, and found all the wound medicine she could find, applying it all to the gruesome, bleeding wounds.

Xiao Qiyu groaned as she pressed him down, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, but he seemed to be enjoying it. He smiled and replied, "I don't know either. For the past six months, I've been mostly unconscious, my consciousness coming and going. Although I could vaguely sense someone changing my dressings, I could never truly open my eyes and wake up. I was kept alive by that little bit of feeding through my nose until two days ago when I heard your voice at the inn..."

His voice was hoarse, yet incredibly gentle: "That was the only time I was truly awake."

Cui Ying paused in stopping the bleeding from her wound. She looked up, her eyes blurred with tears, at his pale face: "So, you dragged yourself through the sandstorm for two days and two nights with all these injuries?"

Seeing her tears streaming down her face, Xiao Qiyu felt a bittersweet ache in his heart, yet also an overwhelming sweetness. He gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What's wrong? Feeling sad? Heartbroken? Then kiss me—"

"Smack!"

Another slap, lighter than the last one.

"Are you stupid?!" Cui Ying trembled with anger, tears streaming down her face. "You're injured like this and you're still running around! Don't you want to die?!"

Xiao Qiyu lay down and said weakly, "...I can't hear clearly, my ears are ringing."

Looking at his pitiful state, Cui Ying felt a mixture of anger and heartache, and was at a loss for what to do.

She could only take a deep breath, suppressing her overwhelming emotions, and carefully touch the wound on his waist and abdomen, her voice muffled and clearly trembling with tears: "It hurts a lot, doesn't it?"

Xiao Qiyu buried his face in her neck, gently wrapped his arms around her waist, and lightly brushed his nose against her skin. He shook his head and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"The moment I saw you, the pain stopped."

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Author's Note: Xiao Yu: Currently trying to appease my wife, please do not disturb.