Chapter 26 [26]

【26】/First release

The moment the shout ended, Lu Zhiwan was grabbed by the waist with great force.

The next moment, the whole person was pressed into a familiar embrace, and his vision was tightly covered. He could not see anything, but could hear bursts of terrible loud noises in his ears.

She was like a dodder clinging to a stone, her mind blank. She ran wherever the stone took her, and rolled wherever the stone rolled.

After finally waiting for the dizzying roller coaster-like experience to end, Lu Zhiwan tried to stretch her facial features that had been squeezed and deformed by the man's chest muscles, and her dizzy brain began to think again.

So where did they end up?

She was in so much pain, all over her body. Even though the man's body had protected most of her, her exposed back was almost broken by the bumps he had taken while escaping.

"Your Majesty..." She endured the pain and pushed the man's arm that was tightly gripping her.

"Don't move yet."

A low voice sounded above my head, with a hint of hoarseness.

When Lu Zhiwan heard his strange voice, he didn't dare to move. He just lowered his voice and asked, "Your Majesty, are you okay?"

"No problem."

As soon as he finished speaking, he held the back of Lu Zhiwan's head with one hand and supported her waist with the other: "We are now stuck in a crack in the mountain. There is a rock hanging above your head. Move slowly when you climb out, and don't bump into it."

Hearing this, Lu Zhiwan's heart sank and his expression became solemn: "Okay, I'll be careful."

Without the candles, it was dark all around and the rain was still falling. But the man's strong hands were like the most reliable guiding light. He patiently guided Lu Zhiwan to slowly stand up and crawl out of the narrow gap in the collapsed rocks.

Although lightning struck the sky one after another, its momentum was far less fierce than before. With the light of the lightning, Lu Zhiwan realized how dangerous she and Xiao Jingting had been just now.

The mountain in the Moon-Watching Platform area almost collapsed completely, and the pile of rocks to which they fled in panic also collapsed horribly.

There was a huge rock pressing on the crack where she and Xiao Jingting rolled down. Fortunately, the rock was of a strange shape and was stuck in the crack. Otherwise, if it really fell, she and Xiao Jingting would be buried in it.

"Your Majesty, judging by the situation, the earthquake seems to be over."

Lu Zhiwan lay outside the crack and called out softly, "How are you? Can you come out?"

"I'll try."

Compared with Lu Zhiwan's petite figure, it was much more difficult for the tall Xiao Jingting to get out.

Seeing that he was having trouble using his strength, Lu Zhiwan reached out his hand into the crack and said, "Try to pull me."

The outstretched hand lingered in the cool air for a long time before being grasped by another hand.

Although both of their hands were cold, the moment they held each other, Lu Zhiwan felt an unprecedented sense of security.

"Your Majesty, hold on tight."

She had little strength and could only use her hands and feet. She pushed against the stones on both sides for leverage and grunted as she exerted her strength.

After a long while, Xiao Jingting finally came out of the crack.

"Very good."

Lu Zhiwan collapsed to the ground exhausted, gasping for breath. She tilted her face up, and the cold rain hit her face directly, quickly soaking her face.

She didn't know if it was because she was too embarrassed at the moment, or because the fear of the disaster and the relief of surviving it came over her belatedly, but she suddenly felt a lump in her nose and wanted to cry.

Before she could cry, the tall, dark figure beside her turned to her. His deep voice seemed to hesitate for a moment amid the noisy rain: "Are you... okay?"

Lu Zhiwan was able to control her emotions, but this sudden concern made her tense nerves suddenly break. Warmth surged into her eyes, her throat felt sore, and she let out a low sob.

"Not good, not good at all."

"I want to go home and leave this place that's against me at every turn."

"Why, why do I have to encounter these awful things one after another? I didn't do anything evil in my previous life. Why is it so..."

Hot tears mixed with rain kept sliding down her cheeks. While crying, she was thankful that the surroundings were dark enough to hide her embarrassment and vulnerability.

The man next to him sat in silence.

After an unknown amount of time, he raised his hand and pulled her up from the ground.

In her stunned eyes, Xiao Jingting held her face and said, "Don't cry."

His cool fingertips gently wiped away the tears from her eyes, and then wiped away the rain from her face bit by bit.

She was so careful, as if she was wiping a precious and fragile treasure - although Lu Zhiwan felt that she now looked more like a disheveled lunatic, who didn't even need to wear makeup and could directly go to a horror movie to play a water ghost.

"This time I'm the one who implicates you."

After a pause, Xiao Jingting said, "If you don't want to come out next time, then don't come out, how about that?"

In the vast night, Lu Zhiwan couldn't see his expression clearly, but she could feel the heat of his gaze, as if it were real and he was looking at her very seriously.

For no apparent reason, my heart skipped a beat.

"Is he trying to coax me? He's suddenly so gentle, it's hard to get used to him."

"Calm down, Lu Zhiwan, calm down."

Trying her best to suppress the sadness in her heart, Lu Zhiwan took a deep breath, her soft voice still tinged with tears, "I don't mean to blame Your Majesty. No one could have predicted such a disaster would happen."

Who could have imagined that a meteor shower would turn into a doomsday scene with violent storms, landslides and earthquakes?

Fortunately, at the beginning, Xiao Jingting was mean to the director of the Imperial Observatory, and she felt that he was quite pitiful. Now it seems that the guy is just a swindler and a charlatan!

As she was filled with anger, another gust of cold wind blew. Lu Zhiwan's dress had already been soaked through, and now the biting cold made her shudder. She shrank her neck sharply and shivered. "Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

Xiao Jingting pursed his lips and said nothing. He supported himself with his arms and stood up, pulling Lu Zhiwan up with him.

Lu Zhiwan stood obediently beside him, and when he saw that he seemed to be looking around, he couldn't help but frown.

"It's pitch black everywhere, how can he see? Could it be that he has night vision?"

"But it's been so long, and there's no sign of anyone around... I'm afraid all those palace servants have perished..."

Thinking of the palace maids who were crushed to death by huge rocks in front of him while they were fleeing, Lu Zhiwan felt heavy in his heart and his mood became depressed.

Before the natural disasters brought by nature, human beings are as small as ants, so fragile and vulnerable.

"Don't think about that."

Suddenly, her forehead was tapped lightly. Before Lu Zhiwan could come to her senses, she was embraced by the man and said, "Go south."

Lu Zhiwan was stunned. No way? In this situation, how could he still tell east from west?

No, how could he know what she was thinking just now.

She had a lot of questions in her mind but didn't have time to ask them before Xiao Jingting led her forward.

The mountain wind was howling and the rain was falling coldly. They didn't know how long they had been walking before the lightning and thunder disappeared. In the darkness and wind and rain, the only sounds they could hear were the muddy and heavy footsteps of the two of them, and the strange animal calls that came from the mountains and forests from time to time.

"Your Majesty..." Lu Zhiwan swallowed weakly, unconsciously leaning against the man, his face full of vigilance: "Are there any wild animals on this mountain?"

She was too close to him, and Xiao Jingting could clearly feel his elbow touching an unusually soft spot.

A dark color flashed across his eyes. He calmly moved his hand away and said in a hoarse voice, "There are no ferocious beasts in Dongshan. There are only a few wild boars at most. They won't come out in such heavy rain."

Lu Zhiwan finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."

Seeing that her body was still pressed against him, Xiao Jingting's throat rolled. Just as he was about to speak, she grabbed his arm again: "Your Majesty, are we going down the mountain?"

"It's pitch black, the ground is collapsing, and the way down the mountain is probably blocked."

She held him very close, the soft mass pressed against his elbow. Xiao Jingting gave up struggling and tried to ignore the touch: "Let's find a place to hide from the rain first."

"Do you know where we can get out of the rain?"

"Just follow me."

"……good."

Lu Zhiwan responded obediently. For some reason, if another man said such words, she would have doubted him and said, "Can you do it? Stop pretending to be so arrogant." But when these words came from Xiao Jingting's mouth, she inexplicably trusted him.

Is this the emperor's natural leadership?

Fortunately, Xiao Jingting did not let her down. After walking about a hundred steps, they really came to a cave.

Although the entrance of the cave was wet and swollen due to rain, fortunately it was deep and large enough to accommodate two people to shelter from the rain.

"Your Majesty, you are so amazing!"

These words came from the heart. In such a dark night with cold wind and rain, he actually managed to find a place to take shelter. In Lu Zhiwan's eyes, he was like a god.

Xiao Jingting didn't say much. He took her in and sat her down, then he groped for something around his waist.

When Lu Zhiwan heard the noise, he thought he was taking off his clothes. "It's really uncomfortable to wear wet clothes. Anyway, it's pitch black and no one can see each other. Why don't I take them off too?"

Before she could take action, she heard a strange "click" and "click" sound beside her, as if something was knocking and rubbing.

She was just wondering when she saw a spark of fire in the darkness.

Although it was only a brief moment, it was enough to surprise Lu Zhiwan: "Is there a fire?"

"It seems that this flint can still be used." Xiao Jingting said calmly and continued to strike the flint.

After trying a few times, the light from the flint became noticeably brighter, allowing Lu Zhiwan to briefly see the situation in the cave.

This is a man-made cave, polished smooth on all sides. The cave is empty, with only some broken firewood, two palm-sized rags and an old porcelain bowl with a chipped mouth piled in the corner.

"This should be a resting place for the people living at the foot of the mountain who come to chop firewood and collect herbs."

As Xiao Jingting was speaking, he saw the person next to him crawling towards the corner, and soon crawled back with his arms full of broken firewood.

The light of the flint had gone out, and her face was blurred in the night, but her dark eyes were blazing. "Your Majesty, look! There is always a way out. Fire can be used, and now we still have firewood!"

Xiao Jingting was startled for a moment, then lowered his brows and said, "Let it go."

Lu Zhiwan quickly put down the firewood and urged Xiao Jingting to continue striking the flint while crawling back to the corner to continue searching for combustible materials. She would not let go of even a leaf or a twig.

When the small fire lit up, she smiled brightly under the warm flames, her black pupils sparkling as she looked at the man beside her: "Great, it's really lit!"

She used to not understand the significance of primitive people’s discovery of fire as described in history textbooks, but now she truly realized that the brightness and warmth of fire can indeed give people infinite hope.

Looking at the bright smile on her dirty little face, Xiao Jingting sneered inwardly, what a little fool.

The corners of his thin lips couldn't help but curl up.

**

Although there was a small fire, the firewood was too little to last the whole night.

Lu Zhiwan didn't waste any time and started taking off his clothes.

Xiao Jingting frowned: "What are you doing?"

Lu Zhiwan paused as she untied her clothes, her face slightly tilted upwards, her eyes innocent as she said, "Let's dry the wet clothes. Your Majesty, please take them off quickly too. While there's still fire, any more drying will be a plus."

As she took off her clothes, she muttered, "Luckily, it's summer now. We can still bear a little rain. If it were winter, we would have frozen to death."

The bean green outer shirt was quickly taken off, leaving her wearing only a light apricot-colored waistcoat. Her slender neck and thin shoulders were completely exposed in the slightly moist air after the rain. In the flickering firelight, her delicate snow-white skin was as delicate as fat and as white as jade.

After taking off her outer garment, she pulled out her hairpin, and her long, wet hair fell like a waterfall, covering most of her snow-white back and softening her graceful profile, adding a bit of tenderness.

She looked more like a water demon that could captivate men than when they first met.

Maybe it was because he was too close to the fire, or for some other reason, but Xiao Jingting suddenly felt a dryness in his throat.

It turns out that a woman's body is so soft and beautiful.

Like a light pure white butterfly, it makes people want to get close and touch it.

"Your Majesty, why haven't you taken off your clothes yet? Isn't it uncomfortable to wear wet clothes?" Lu Zhiwan spread his coat on a long branch to dry it. He looked up and saw the man still wearing the loose wet clothes and not moving. He muttered in his heart, is he embarrassed?

"Don't be so obsessed with being an idol. I'm only wearing a small tank top, and we're all familiar friends who've slept in the same bed so many times. Why are you being so reserved?"

Xiao Jingting listened to her unrestrained inner voice and pressed down the corners of his mouth.

Was she so carefree because she was too familiar with him and didn't care, or... she didn't regard him as a man.

A normal man who might have those kinds of intentions towards her.

"His Majesty?"

Five slender fingers waved in front of him. Lu Zhiwan leaned towards him, a puzzled look on his face: "What's wrong with you? You look absent-minded."

"Did you get hit by a stone and become stupid?"

"nothing."

Xiao Jingting pushed aside her waving hand, his eyes inadvertently sweeping across her snow-white flesh that seemed about to burst out from her leaning posture. He paused for a moment, then turned his head away, his tone a little heavier: "Sit down and talk."

Lu Zhiwan: “……?” Puzzled.

"If you don't want to take it off, then don't. I'm not the one who's uncomfortable in wet clothes anyway."

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to complain in his heart, Xiao Jingting raised his hand, untied his heavy black robe and took it off.

Lu Zhiwan raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, you took it off."

But her sneer didn't last long. Her eyes were drawn to the blood-red patch on the man's right arm. She exclaimed in surprise, "Your hand is injured?"

Xiao Jingting tilted his head and glanced at it calmly: "It's just a flesh wound, nothing serious."

Lu Zhiwan couldn't sit still any longer: "Let me take a look."

He had been protecting her since the landslide began, and perhaps this injury was caused by protecting her.

It was dark outside, and nothing could be seen clearly. Furthermore, he was wearing a dark outer robe, so the bleeding was not obvious. Now that he had taken off the outer robe, revealing a ivory-white undergarment, his blood-stained left arm was particularly conspicuous.

"It's so deep?" Lu Zhiwan leaned closer to him, looking at the hideous wound that was about half a palm long, frowning: "The skin and flesh have turned white from being soaked by the rain..."

The gaping wound was bloody and horrifying. Her scalp went numb when she saw it and she dared not look at it for long.

"It must have been scraped by a sharp rock when it rolled down the mountain."

Xiao Jingting said calmly, seeing that she looked like she wanted to see but didn't dare to, he put his other uninjured hand against her forehead and pushed her back: "If you are afraid, don't look."

"My concubine..." Lu Zhiwan bit her lip: "I'm not afraid."

Obviously lacking confidence.

Xiao Jingting didn't say anything. He felt a little cold. He spread his hands to warm his outer robe and sat closer to the small fire.

Seeing him concentrating on baking clothes, Lu Zhiwan bit her lip and couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, aren't you going to treat your wound?"

Xiao Jingting glanced at her calmly: "There is nothing, how to deal with it?"

“…That’s true.”

Lu Zhiwan responded sullenly, but seeing his wound exposed nakedly in the air, his heart was still hanging in his throat.

Fortunately, her coat was made of thin gauze, and after being baked for a while, the sleeves were mostly dry.

So Lu Zhiwan stopped roasting anything else and focused on roasting one sleeve. When it was dry and warm, she tore off the sleeve and came to Xiao Jingting's side: "Your Majesty, please take off your underwear as well."

How could she say such shameless words so frankly?

Xiao Jingting's heart skipped a beat: "...What are you going to do?"

"Bandage the wound." Lu Zhiwan said seriously, "Although we don't have any medicine right now, we should at least bandage the wound to prevent it from getting infected."

Xiao Jingting: “…”

"His Majesty?"

Lu Zhiwan tilted her head and said, "If it's inconvenient for you, I can help you take it off."

Seeing that she really reached out her hand, Xiao Jingting's eyes flashed, and he raised his hand to block it: "I'll do it myself."

"……All right."

"This bastard is so innocent that he can't even be touched?"

"Wow, I didn't expect him to be so well-built... His pecs are so big... Ugh, they feel bigger than mine..."

Lu Zhiwan looked at the man's strong chest muscles under his half-open underwear, then lowered his head and looked at himself.

How should I put it, I feel a little inferior.

Xiao Jingting felt a dull pain in his forehead as he listened to her words. He couldn't help but said, "Don't you want to bandage it? Why are you still standing there?"

The cold tone interrupted Lu Zhiwan's wild thoughts. She came back to her senses and complained in her heart, "Why is he so fierce?" But her hands moved decisively. She quickly wrapped the wound tightly several times and tied a beautiful bow at the end.

"Okay." She admired her bandaging results with satisfaction.

The man in front of him didn't say anything for a long time.

Lu Zhiwan was puzzled. When he looked up, he saw that in the dim firelight, the handsome face with clear outlines was flushed. His narrow black eyes were half open and half closed, revealing a bit of confusion, which was completely different from his usual calm state.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

"Could something as simple as bandaging a wound make him so shy? That's not the case."

Although she was secretly complaining, Lu Zhiwan soon realized that something was wrong with him. She bravely reached out and touched the man's forehead. The scorching heat almost made her scream.

"Your Majesty, you have a high fever." Lu Zhiwan hurried forward to support Xiao Jingting.

She never thought that the man, who had just been sitting upright, would fall towards her like a falling jade mountain as soon as she touched him.

Lu Zhiwan was almost suffocated by him. She finally managed to sit up a little, and the tall body fell into her arms.

Lu Zhiwan: “…” Fraud?

She lowered her head to look into her arms, only to see the man's face becoming increasingly red. Under the warm light of the fire, the corners of his eyes were a little crimson, making him look like he was drunk, yet adding a touch of morbid elegance to his appearance.

"I have a headache." His voice was hoarse, his brows were furrowed, and he looked very uncomfortable.

How can it not hurt if it’s burned like this?

Lu Zhiwan touched his face again, it was so hot that you could boil an egg in it.

She couldn't tell whether he had a high fever caused by a cold or an inflammation caused by a wound infection. In short, the situation was very bad.

I looked up outside the cave. It was still pitch black, but the rain was a little lighter.

"Be patient, just a little longer and the day will come..."

Xiao Jingting was probably a little confused due to the fever. He lay in her arms, his eyelashes trembling, and his cracked lips moved weakly: "Cold..."

Lu Zhiwan could clearly feel his strong body trembling in her arms, his body and face were very hot, but what could she do in this situation?

Patting his back helplessly, she softly consoled him, "The rain has eased a bit now. The guards at the foot of the mountain should have already gone up to search for people. Your Majesty, please hold on for a while. When we return to the palace, take a hot bath and make a pot of hot ginger soup. You won't be cold then."

She was drawing pictures with a guilty conscience, but seeing that he was still wearing the damp underwear, she hesitated for a moment, then simply took it off for him, hung it up and set it aside to roast.

"This fire probably won't last much longer..."

Seeing the firewood gradually burning out, Lu Zhiwan felt more and more desperate. Looking at the man in her arms with his upper body naked and his eyes closed, she sighed, bent down, and opened her arms to hug him.

Through the thin layer of clothing, she could clearly feel the other person's warmth.

"Xiao Jingting." This was the first time Lu Zhiwan called his name. With her chin resting on his shoulder, she murmured, "If you feel uncomfortable, just take a nap. It will be better after a good sleep."

"You can sleep peacefully, I will be here to watch over you..."

Like two small fish trapped in the same swamp, relying on each other for survival, she tilted her head and pressed her cheek against the back of his neck, transmitting her own warmth while also feeling his body temperature and breath: "You didn't abandon me before, and I'm not a heartless person. I won't abandon you now..."

She was not good at taking care of people, and this was her first time taking care of a man.

Somehow, the scene of Xiao Jingting comforting Xiao Caiyun after she gave birth suddenly emerged in my mind.

Lu Zhiwan pursed her lips, looking at his frail appearance nestled in her arms, and suddenly felt that he was like some kind of giant cat—

They may look fierce and ferocious, but they actually want to be approached by others, right? Just like Dahua and Erhua, who are as docile as kittens in front of him.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhiwan raised his hand and patted the man's back awkwardly.

Gradually, the brows of the person in his arms relaxed and his breathing became steady. Lu Zhiwan was surprised. It actually worked?

But as soon as her hand stopped, the man seemed dissatisfied and turned over and put his arms around her waist.

Lu Zhiwan's body stiffened. She could feel the man's tall nose pressing against her waist and abdomen, very tightly.

The hot breath gushes out, it is itchy and numb.

This feeling is so strange.

Of course, this posture is also strange and embarrassing.

Normally, in such dangerous situations, girls would be more like little birds than men. Why did she have to be a delicate and weak woman taking care of a 5'85" strong man?

"Alas, I must have done a lot of evil in my previous life, so I met you in this life."

Lu Zhiwan shook his head, then looked at the head buried in his arms, his watery eyes narrowed slightly——

The next moment, she pulled out Xiao Jingting's hairpin, let his black hair fall loose, smiled evilly, and reached out to rub his head.

"You are so difficult to please normally, and now you are in my hands."

I don’t know how long he masturbated, but after satisfying his urge, Lu Zhiwan felt refreshed and stopped tormenting him.

Just when I wanted to see how well my clothes were toasted and whether I could wear them while sleeping, I raised my eyes and saw flashes of light at the edge of my vision.

Her long feathery eyelashes trembled slightly, and she looked outside the cave.

I don't know when the rain outside stopped. In the vast, spotless night sky, clusters of bright stars dragged long arcs of light, falling from the sky to the earth like raindrops, fluttering, sparkling, gorgeous, dazzling, blooming and passing away, all in the blink of an eye.

There really is a meteor shower!

A sudden sense of surprise blossomed in Lu Zhiwan's heart. He even forgot to make a wish and hurriedly pushed the man in his arms: "Your Majesty, don't fall asleep yet. Look, there really is a shooting star!"

Xiao Jingting was really woken up by her.

Like a tiger that just woke up, he slowly raised his head and looked at her with narrow eyes that were filled with deep sleepiness and a little confusion.

Lu Zhiwan looked at him, who looked completely different from usual, and blinked: "There's a shooting star!"

Xiao Jingting: "..."

He only followed her gaze once, then hooked his arm around her waist and buried his face in her arms again, his voice hoarse: "I saw it, stop arguing."

Lu Zhiwan: “……?”

Is this a mistake? He was the one who had come to Dongshan to watch the meteor shower with such fanfare in the beginning! They almost lost their lives because of this meteor shower, and now that it's really falling, he doesn't want to watch it?

I rolled my eyes in my heart and hit his head twice.

A moody man!

"Forget it, since you're sick, just go to sleep..."

In the dimly lit cave, Lu Zhiwan lowered her head, resting her chin on the man's shoulder, and murmured softly, "At worst, I can just take a few more looks for you."