Chapter 27 I'll Take You Out

The Jinwu Guard general spoke the second half of the sentence in a very low voice, and couldn't help but look up to see Qi Jincheng's expression.

The Duke of Zhenguo had rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor and had an almost fraternal relationship with him.

If Chu Xiao were to get into trouble, the Emperor would likely be furious.

Sure enough, Qi Jincheng's eyes suddenly sharpened like arrows, and his voice was frighteningly cold.

"Take all the belongings back with you and check who has been in contact with the Shen family's carriage in the past few days."

After saying this, he pointed to a few Imperial Guards, took the torches himself, and prepared to go down into the valley to find someone.

The eunuch was so frightened that he quickly stopped him.

"Your Majesty, this matter should be handled by the Imperial Guard."

The place was slippery and wet, and they knew nothing about the situation below the valley. If anything happened to the emperor, everyone present would lose their heads.

Qi Jincheng stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down into the valley.

It was pitch black all around, and I couldn't see anything.

He paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Send men down from the gentler slopes to search the valley floor."

"If you can't find the Duke of Zhenguo and Miss Shen, bring me your heads."

"Yes," the general composed himself and quickly led his men to search.

Seeing this, Mu Geng also picked up a torch and joined them.

However, it had just rained in the afternoon, and the mountain road was not easy to walk on. Moreover, it was nighttime, which made the search more difficult.

It's unlikely there will be any results in the short term.

When Shen Yao learned that Shen You's carriage had an accident, he rushed over from the imperial palace.

Chen Qiurong and Shen Xiangning followed behind.

"Greetings, Your Majesty..."

"Get up," Qi Jincheng interrupted him, his voice laced with anger.

Shen Yao was anxious, noticing the Emperor's unpleasant expression. After learning the situation from the eunuch beside him, he dared not say another word.

The family stood with Qi Jincheng for more than an hour.

The commander of the Imperial Guard came to report every hour, but he did not bring back any good news.

Qi Jincheng seemed determined not to return until he found the person. The eunuch beside him looked at the sky and could only advise, "Your Majesty, why don't you go back and wait?"

"Right now, not being able to find anyone is actually good news."

I want to see him alive or dead.

Sometimes, no news is the best news.

"The Duke is highly skilled in martial arts, and Miss Shen is blessed with good fortune. The two of them will surely return safely."

"Her Majesty the Empress is still waiting for you."

These last two sentences convinced Qi Jincheng.

Moreover, the details of that carriage are still unknown.

This could not possibly have been just an accident.

Thinking of this, Qi Jincheng turned and left with a sullen face.

The eunuch understood and sternly ordered the person beside him, "Search carefully."

"yes."

Qi Jincheng left, and Shen Yao quickly followed.

But Chen Xiangning was worried, and kept looking back, clearly not wanting to go back.

"Father, how about I..."

Stay and wait.

But before she could finish speaking, Chen Qiurong tugged at her sleeve.

Shen Yao turned around and saw the anxiety and worry in her eyes. He felt relieved, but he still did not agree to let her stay.

"His Majesty has already gone back, so let's go back and wait too."

Shen Xiangning glanced at Qi Jincheng's departing figure, then could only nod silently and follow behind them.

——

As night fell and the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) approached, the rain finally stopped completely.

However, time could not be determined inside the cave, and Shen You had no idea what time it was.

The summer night after the rain was particularly humid, and the night wind carried gusts of moisture into the cave.

But in front of Shen You and Chu Xiao, the fire burned brightly, as if the damp cold was being kept out.

Shen You was still worried, so he picked up a few more branches and threw them in.

The flickering firelight illuminated this part of the cave even brighter.

Chu Xiao stayed close to her, remaining silent for a long time.

Shen You turned his head to look and realized that he had closed his eyes and fallen asleep at some point.

"Chu Xiao..."

She called to him softly, unsure whether she should let him sleep at this moment.

I was worried that he would be too tired to rest, and I was also worried that he would fall into a coma if he fell asleep.

The cave was unusually quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the fire and the patter of raindrops outside.

Chu Xiao did not respond to her.

Shen You's heart tightened, and she subconsciously checked his breathing again.

The man had deep-set, strong features and a sharp facial contour, but his lips were pale and he didn't look as fierce as usual.

His high, straight nose cast a small shadow in the flickering light, and his face was pale.

She had never seen him so vulnerable.

Shen You pursed her lips, withdrew her hand that was about to touch his cheek, and turned to look at the injury on his calf. Only after confirming that the bleeding had stopped did she feel relieved.

She was utterly exhausted after experiencing all of this today.

But she dared not sleep, and could only force herself to stay awake, scanning the cave with her eyes to check the situation inside.

But drowsiness and fatigue struck at the same time, and in just a moment, Shen You could not resist them. Her eyelashes trembled and her eyelids closed gently.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen You was awakened by a rustling sound.

Just as I was about to open my eyes, a low, husky voice reached my ears, "It's so nice, I dreamt of you again..."

Immediately afterwards, a large hand with an abnormally hot palm touched her face.

She suddenly opened her eyes.

What came into view was Chu Xiao's deep, hazy black eyes, his gaze fixed on her face, as if he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion.

Shen You held his hand and touched his forehead.

It's so hot.

He has a fever.

"Chu Xiao..."

She called his name anxiously, which only elicited a soft chuckle from him.

"It's been so long since I've heard you call me that..."

He moved closer, pressing himself even tighter against her.

His head rested on her shoulder, feeling heavy, and his breath was unusually hot.

He raised his hand again and stroked her cheek.

“Youyou…”

“Youyou…”

He was delirious with fever and clearly no longer knew that this was reality, but rather that it was a dream, and he followed his heart and wanted to be close to her.

Those long arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her directly into his embrace.

The faint fragrance of osmanthus and Longjing tea wafted through the air, and he greedily inhaled the scent from her neck.

His high, straight nose pressed against her earlobe, and his hot breath sprayed onto her skin again and again.

This caused her to tremble slightly.

"Chu Xiao..."

Shen You rested her hands on his shoulders, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

She never expected that Chu Xiao's fever would be like this.

Like a scoundrel, like a child, and even more like... being a hooligan.

He didn't say a word, but called her name again and again with dazed eyes.

Shen You wanted to push him away, but was afraid of aggravating his injuries. The two were in an intimate position, but were somewhat at an impasse.

In this position, he was almost leaning his whole body against her.

The man's tall, heavy body pressed down on her so hard she almost fell backward. Helpless, Shen You could only say, "You're going to strangle me."

"Chu Xiao, let go..."

Chu Xiao, who was running a fever, had obviously heard her words. He paused, silently loosened his grip slightly, and then pitifully nuzzled her cheek, "Youyou, don't go..."

Shen You's struggling movements stopped abruptly.

She didn't know what those four words reminded her of, but her expression calmed down considerably. However, in order to get him to let go, she could only go along with him and reply, "I won't leave."

There was no way she could abandon him in this cave.

These words clearly had an effect on Chu Xiao, who loosened his grip slightly but still held her tightly.

Shen You's head was pressed against his chest, and through the fabric, his heartbeat could be clearly heard.

Perhaps because of the fever, his heart was beating very fast.

Shen Youxiu's brows finally relaxed a little.

It's impossible to be cold and sarcastic when dealing with a patient, especially one who became ill due to their own injury.

She reached out to touch his forehead, her palm feeling its burning heat, and softly asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Just bear with it a little longer. I'll take you out when it's light."

Chu Xiao, who was in a daze, did not respond to her. He held her tightly against the rock wall and gradually fell asleep again.

Shen You dared not close his eyes again.

There is no water or food here. If Chu Xiao continues to burn like this, things may not go well.

The two remained in this position for an unknown amount of time before Shen You carefully straightened up from his embrace.

A faint light shone in from the cave entrance, indicating that dawn was approaching.

They didn't return all night, so the people in the palace must already know and will send people out to look for them.

The cave is not at the bottom of the valley, so they cannot stay here for long. They need to go down to have any hope of meeting other people.

Thinking of this, Shen You helped Chu Xiao lean against the rock wall, added some branches to the fire, and then felt his way out along the rock wall.

The shadows of the trees sway gently in the mountains and forests.

The dense canopy of trees blocked much of the dawn light overhead, but fortunately, visibility was still clear.

The slope on the other side of the cave entrance is gentler, and there are also branches and vines intertwined around it.

Chu Xiao is currently injured and unconscious, and she cannot take care of him by herself; she needs to rely on external help.

Shen You took out the small knife that Chu Xiao had given her and made a cut specifically on branches about the size of a forearm and vines that were not easy to break.

The pampered young lady from the Marquis's mansion had never done such rough work before.

In just a short while, his hands were rubbed raw and bleeding, and he was panting heavily.

But they could only continue.

She tied the cut branches together with vines to make a raft-like plank, and then tied vines to both ends of the raft, leaving a section in the middle for later use as a tow bar.

The vines are quite sturdy, and the deck won't loosen.

Shen You returned to the cave, placed Chu Xiao on the trolley, used vines as a rope to drape his shoulders, and dragged the trolley away little by little.

The girl's light blue dress was already filthy, her cheeks were smudged, and her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

Even so, she still struggled to drag Chu Xiao down from the cave and tried to move forward.

However, it is very easy to get lost when walking in the mountains. Shen You did not know where he was, and because the weather was gloomy and there was no sunlight, he could not even distinguish his basic location.

She could only rely on her intuition to keep moving forward.

Several times I tripped over the tree roots and vines that were sprawling on the ground, but I didn’t dare to stop for a moment.

She had only one thought: she had to get Chu Xiao out of here as soon as possible.

His leg can't be delayed any longer.

Otherwise, even if it can be cured, it will become incurable.

Having gone nearly a day and a night without food, Shen You's physical strength was almost at its limit.

In the end, he staggered and was almost entirely sustained by willpower.

The forest was exceptionally quiet, so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of the planks against the leaves and roots.

It numbed Shen You's senses.

She swayed, her eyelids heavy, but her hands still clung tightly to the vines that were dragging the slipper.

Until...

Until the moment she could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, she seemed to see someone running towards them.