Chapter 17 You are very important to me

The sound of swords clashing suddenly rose outside the cave, mixed with Fang Duobing's angry shouts. Li Lianhua's heart tightened, and just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly felt a familiar chill rising from her dantian, quickly spreading to every part of her body.

The poison of green tea!

Li Lianhua's face paled instantly, and cold sweat streamed down his face. He exerted his inner strength to suppress the poison, but found that today's attack was more intense than ever before. The poison pierced his meridians like icy needles, causing excruciating pain.

"Fang Duobing...the sound of the flute..." He called out with difficulty, but his voice was so weak that he could hardly hear it himself.

The sounds of fighting outside the cave intensified. Through the cracks in the rocks, Li Lianhua watched Fang Duobing desperately fight several men in black, but he was gradually losing ground due to the disparity in strength. Di Feisheng was entangled by three masters, unable to escape.

"Be careful!" Li Lianhua saw a man in black quietly circling behind the young man. She wanted to warn him but couldn't make a sound.

Fang Duobing turned around when he heard the sound, but it was too late to dodge. He was hit on the back by a palm and fell to the ground.

"Fang Duobing!" Di Feisheng roared, and the knife suddenly became sharp, forcing back the besiegers and wanting to rush to where the young man was.

At this moment of distraction, a man in black suddenly sprinkled a handful of white powder. Di Feisheng hurriedly held his breath and retreated, but he still inhaled a little, and his movements suddenly froze.

Li Lianhua could see everything clearly from inside the cave, and he was terribly anxious. The poison in the green tea took advantage of the situation and attacked him crazily. He trembled violently, unable to hold on any longer, and collapsed to the ground, his consciousness gradually fading.

In the dim light, he heard Di Feisheng's roar getting closer and closer, the whistling of the sword, accompanied by several screams. It was obvious that all the men in black had been killed by Di Feisheng's sword.

"Li Lianhua!" The sound of Di Fei rushed into the cave. When he saw Li Lianhua lying bloodless on the ground, there was a rare panic in his voice.

Li Lianhua wanted to respond, but he didn't even have the strength to raise his eyes. He only felt a pair of trembling hands gently lifting him up, passing him warm internal energy.

"The poison of the green tea..." Di Feisheng immediately realized the crux of the matter and said in a serious tone, "Why did it happen at this moment?"

Li Lianhua leaned weakly against his embrace, feeling his inner strength surge into her like a warm current, temporarily relieving the biting cold. But he knew it was only a temporary solution; once the green tea poison took effect, it could not be suppressed without special means.

Di Feisheng obviously understood this. He quickly sealed several of Li Lianhua's acupoints to slow the spread of the poison, and then gently laid her flat.

"Hold on," Di Feisheng's voice was low and firm, "I'll detoxify you right away."

Li Lianhua felt Di Feisheng's hands unbuttoning his shirt, their warm palms pressing against his cold chest. A stream of pure internal energy slowly flowed through specific meridians, fiercely combating the green tea's poison.

They had performed this detoxification method many times before, but today was different. Di Feisheng's internal energy surged more violently than ever before, with an undeniable urgency, as if he was willing to exhaust his own cultivation to dispel the toxins within his body.

"No need...to waste money like that..." Li Lianhua uttered a few words with difficulty.

Di Feisheng ignored him, and instead intensified the flow of his internal energy. Li Lianhua could feel the palm of his hand against her chest getting slightly warm, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Time passed slowly, and Li Lianhua's consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes blurred. Every time she opened her eyes, she could see Di Feisheng's focused and anxious expression, and those usually calm eyes were filled with obvious worry.

Finally, when Di Feisheng had almost exhausted his internal energy, the poison from the green tea was temporarily suppressed. Li Lianhua's face gradually regained some color, and her body was no longer freezing cold.

Di Feisheng let out a long sigh, almost exhausted, but he still forced himself to tidy up Li Lianhua's clothes and held her carefully in his arms.

"Before the poison takes effect next time, you must tell me." Di Feisheng's voice was hoarse due to excessive consumption of internal energy. "Don't force it anymore."

Li Lianhua nodded weakly, and suddenly remembered the situation outside the cave: "Fang Duobing..."

"It's nothing, just fainted." Di Feisheng comforted him, "I've checked, there are no serious injuries."

Li Lianhua finally felt relieved and closed his eyes tiredly. Di Feisheng's embrace was warm and comforting, and he couldn't help but relax.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly felt a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Rest," Di Feisheng's voice was as soft as a whisper, "I'll keep you company."

Di Feisheng hadn't slept a wink that night. He remained alert, one hand gently pressing on Li Lianhua's wrist to monitor her pulse, the other gripping the hilt of his knife, his gaze fixed on the cave entrance.

Moonlight streamed into the cave through the cracks in the rocks, illuminating the two people embracing each other. Half asleep and half awake, Li Lianhua seemed to be back in that lotus pond under the moonlight, hearing that long-forgotten oath.

This time, he whispered the second half of the sentence he hadn't finished in his dream: "Because this world would be so boring without you."

He didn't see the very shallow but extremely gentle curve that appeared on the corner of Di Feisheng's lips when he heard these words.

The Lotus Tower was filled with the fragrance of medicine.

Di Feisheng lay on the couch, his face pale and his breathing weak. He had been unconscious for three days, ever since he exhausted his internal energy trying to suppress the green tea poison in Li Lianhua's body.

The first person to wake up in the cave that day was Fang Duobing. After he woke up Li Lianhua, he found that Di Feisheng had lost consciousness for a long time. The two of them hurriedly carried him back to Lianhua Tower.

Li Lianhua sat beside the bed, the silver needles in his hand steadily and accurately piercing several of Di Feisheng's acupuncture points. His movements were gentle and delicate, and each insertion of the needle was accompanied by indescribable caution.

"It's already the third day," Fang Duobing came in with a bowl of medicine, his brows furrowed. "If this devil doesn't wake up, I'm afraid..."

"He'll wake up," Li Lianhua interrupted him, her tone calm but firm. He took the medicine bowl, carefully lifted Di Feisheng up, and fed the medicine spoonful by spoonful into his mouth.

Fang Duobing watched this scene and couldn't help but mutter, "You're too nice to him. When he regains his memory, he might become your enemy again."

Li Lianhua's hand paused slightly, spilling a little of the medicine. He silently wiped the stain from Di Feisheng's lips without responding.

For the past three days, the same worry had been lingering in his mind. Every time he cleaned Di Feisheng's body, fed him medicine, or practiced internal energy to heal his wounds, he was haunted by the cold and ruthless leader of the Golden Yuan Alliance. Di Feisheng would panic when he was injured, exhaust her internal energy for him, and even clumsily express her concern. But if he regained his memory, would all this vanish?

In the dead of night, Li Lianhua sat alone by the bed. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a shadow on the peaceful, sleeping face of the flute player. He couldn't help but reach out and gently brush away a strand of black hair from her forehead.

"If you wake up, will you turn back into the Di Feisheng of the past?" Li Lianhua whispered to herself, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the other's sharp brow bones.

At this moment, Di Feisheng's eyelashes trembled slightly. Li Lianhua quickly withdrew her hand, her heartbeat accelerating involuntarily.

Di Feisheng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze confused at first, then gradually focused on Li Lianhua's face. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and weak: "Water..."

Li Lianhua hurriedly fetched some warm water and carefully fed him some. The two were so close that Li Lianhua could clearly see her own reflection in Di Feisheng's eyes.

"You've been in a coma for three days." Li Lianhua said softly, trying to hide her inner turmoil.

Di Feisheng nodded slightly, his eyes sweeping across Li Lianhua's slightly tired face: "Have you been guarding me all this time?"

Li Lianhua didn't answer, but turned around and got the warm porridge: "Eat something first."

Di Feisheng held his wrist tightly, and although the force was weak, it did not allow him to break free: "Fang Duobing is right, you are too good to me."

Li Lianhua was stunned. It turned out that Di Feisheng had already regained consciousness, but just couldn't wake up.

"If I regain my memory," Di Feisheng looked him straight in the eye, "what will you do?"

Their eyes met, and the air was filled with an indescribable tension. Li Lianhua looked into those deep eyes and suddenly chuckled, "Then wait until you truly regain your memory."

He broke free from Di Feisheng's hand and continued feeding her porridge as if the previous conversation had never happened. But his slightly trembling fingertips revealed his inner restlessness.

Di Feisheng didn't ask any more questions and quietly accepted the feeding. However, his eyes never left Li Lianhua's face, as if he was examining something, as if he was confirming something.

On the morning of the fourth day, Di Feisheng was able to sit up and practice breathing exercises on his own. Li Lianhua was boiling medicine outside the door when she heard the sound of internal energy circulating inside the house, and she felt a little relieved.

Fang Duobing came over and lowered his voice: "I think he has almost recovered. Shouldn't you..."

Before he could finish his words, the door suddenly opened. Di Feisheng stood at the doorway. Although his face was still pale, his eyes had regained their former sharpness. He glanced at Fang Duobing and finally landed on Li Lianhua.

"Thank you." Di Feisheng said, his tone calm but serious.

Li Lianhua looked up at him and smiled slightly: "No need to thank me, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be like this."

The two looked at each other for a moment, an inexplicable tacit understanding flowing in the air. Fang Duobing looked at this one, then looked at that one, and suddenly felt that he was redundant.

That night, Li Lianhua took Di Feisheng's pulse as usual. When his fingertips touched the pulse at his wrist, Di Feisheng suddenly grabbed his wrist with his backhand.

"Whether I recover my memory or not," Di Feisheng's voice was particularly clear in the night, "one thing will not change."

Li Lianhua raised her eyes: "What's the matter?"

"You are very important to me." Di Feisheng's eyes were blazing, as if they could penetrate all disguises. "So important that I'm willing to pay any price."

Li Lianhua's heart skipped a beat and she tried to pull her hand back, but it was held even tighter.