24 You woke up

◎Call me Xiuyuan◎

Seeing that the masked man remained expressionless and continued walking towards her step by step without stopping, no matter what she said.

With each step he took, Qi Gu felt a growing sense of despair. Finally, with nowhere left to retreat, she could only watch helplessly as the masked man gripped the knife in both hands.

"My life is over," Qi Gu said helplessly, and could only close her eyes...

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

The powerful blade wind never fell. Qi Gu opened one eye, and the person standing in front of her had changed drastically—it was Sima Hong. He stood there, staring straight at her, like a lifeless statue.

The masked man who had just been slashing at her with his knife was now lying on the ground; he must have been dealt with by Sima Hong.

"You're awake!" Qi Gu exclaimed in surprise.

She survived the despair of being killed, and in just three breaths, she went from great sorrow to great joy.

Like a fish that has been out of water for a long time, about to die of thirst at the last moment, it is suddenly put back into the water and drinks water in big gulps.

She was breathing heavily, so frightened that her legs went weak, and all her strength seemed to have been drained away, causing her to collapse to the ground.

Sima Hong stood still, looking at the person in front of him strangely. When he saw that the person was about to fall to the ground, he stepped forward and caught her.

A gust of wind blew by, and her back felt icy cold. It turned out that her back was soaked with sweat. She didn't know what to say to express everything that had happened that night, so she let Sima Hong hold her, and the two of them remained silent.

Sima Hong held Qi Gu's upper body, and his hand touched Qi Gu's face, which was warm and soft.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "You, you're still alive," he said in a low, hoarse voice.

Qi Gu regained a bit of strength and realized that her and Sima Hong's appearance was really inappropriate.

She grabbed Sima Hong's wrist to stop his hands from rubbing against her face. Although she had decided to sever all ties with Sima Hong, it didn't mean he could do whatever he wanted to her.

She looked up at Sima Hong. Why had he become so strange after waking up from his coma? He had become even more gloomy. Although he had a cold demeanor before, he was not like this now. His expression was desolate, and he had become...gloomy.

Qi Gu tossed Sima Hong's hand away, saying, "I'm lucky and have a long life, of course I'm alive."

She pushed Sima Hong away and stood up. "But you, where exactly are you hurt? Why didn't you wake up when I called you? Now you're acting like nothing happened." She circled around Sima Hong, suspecting that he had been faking it.

However, she quickly dismissed the guess, as faking unconsciousness would be meaningless to Sima Hong; he was not the kind of person to do that.

"Now that you're awake, let's hurry up and find Ah Feng and the others. Staying here could lead to any unforeseen problems."

Sima Hong watched her every move. In this dream, she was even more innocent than he remembered, with soft, chubby cheeks and a chattering manner. It was just like when he first met her.

But she had been like this for far too long. After returning to the capital and entering the palace, she became more and more silent, more and more like a princess, and her manners became more and more perfect, without any flaws.

The only constant was that she was always there behind him, like a shadow; whenever he turned around, she was there.

However, seven years after Yong'an, he could only see her in his dreams.

Sima Hong said nothing, his gaze fixed on her without hesitation. This gaze was like a dense net, and Qi Gu felt as if she were a flying insect caught in this net, unable to breathe.

"Lord Sima, why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?" Sima Hong was really strange after waking up. Could he have damaged his brain? He should hurry up the mountain and ask A-Feng and the others to find a doctor to take a look.

"Still looking? What are you looking at?" Qi Gu touched and patted her face, but there was nothing there. What was this person looking at? She felt like her skin was going to be pierced with holes.

He mumbled a lot of things, but Sima Hong just looked at him with that indescribable look, without saying a word. "Why don't you say something?"

Sima Hong remained silent, only offering a relieved smile.

Qi Gu gradually became agitated, "Lord Sima, you wouldn't be doing this on purpose, would you? I've suffered an undeserved calamity, what do you mean by not saying anything?"

Qi Gu felt a chill run down her spine. "You didn't run into something unclean, did you?" Qi Gu clasped her hands together. "Whatever you are, please get off Sima Hong right now, please."

Sima Hong didn't not want to talk to Qi Gu; he just didn't want the scene before him to disappear too quickly.

He was afraid that if he spoke, the dream would vanish like before, and the person before him would turn into a wisp of smoke and disappear before him, just as it had always been before.

Seeing that Qi Gu wasn't looking at him with resentment, the smile on his lips widened.

The woman before him was muttering to herself; he hadn't dreamt of her with such a good temper in a long time.

"If you look again, I'll gouge your eyes out!" Qi Gu, her anger rising, grabbed Sima Hong's arm. His arm was strong, and her hand could only encircle half of Qi.

Sima Hong looked down at the pair of soft hands that were holding his. The five fingers were even and fleshy, unlike the ladies in the capital who wore nail polish. Her fingers were clean, and her nails were cut to the same height as her skin.

He felt the warmth of her hand coming from his forearm. "Qi Gu, call me Xiu Yuan."

Qi Gu instantly shook off his arm and jumped away, saying, "Lord Sima, stop talking nonsense. Let's leave quickly."

Just then, a voice came from the dark woods: "My lords! We've finally found you!"

Heaven knows, when Qi Gu heard that voice, it was like hearing heavenly music. Qi Gu didn't want to stay with this strange Sima Hong anymore; she wanted to go back to her father! Her father must be terribly worried.

Qi Gu waved to A Feng: "We're here, A Feng, the guard!"

Ah Feng and Ah Xiang led a group of people out of the woods.

Upon seeing Sima Hong and Qi Gu, A Feng knelt on one knee and said, "I am late, please forgive me, my lord."

Sima Hong was somewhat dazed. How could Ah Feng and the others be in his dreams? This "dream" was different from usual.

Sima Hong hadn't spoken yet, so A-Feng raised his head slightly and looked at his master with a puzzled expression. Was the young master upset that they were late?

Qi Gu stepped forward and said mysteriously to A Feng, "A Feng, your master may have been hit by something." Qi Gu pointed to her head with her finger, "You'd better hurry and find a doctor for him."

Hearing this, A Xiang immediately said anxiously, "My lord is injured! We deserve to die. It was all because Chen Zhan was too cunning that my lord was injured. Fortunately, my lord is very resourceful. We have already captured him, but those who conspired with him have all committed suicide."

Sima Hong's eyes held a hint of hesitation; this dream was somewhat unusual.

Qi Gu turned around and saw Sima Hong. She hesitated and said, "I'm fine. Let's go back to Peng County first."

Qi Gu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since the matter was to be settled, she hoped that he would be well and that from now on, they would owe each other nothing and have no further relationship.

It seems that Sima Hong has returned to normal.

Ah Feng led over Sima Hong's mount, then looked at Qi Gu, "Miss Qi Gu, in this emergency, we didn't prepare a carriage. I wonder if you can ride a horse?"

Just as Qi Gu was about to say, "I..." she knew it; she had learned it in her past life.

Behind them, Sima Hong's voice came: "She will ride with me." Before Qi Gu could refuse, Sima Hong mounted his horse, his long arms sweeping over her as he easily pulled her to his side.

"I, I don't want to! I can ride a horse, I can walk by myself!"

The person behind her said, "Don't move. We've been delayed too long. We need to go back quickly."

The horse's hooves flew, and Qi Gu felt the person behind her pressed tightly against her back. Her body stiffened, and she held onto the reins in front of her, trying her best to keep her back from leaning into the person's arms.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the person behind her suddenly stopped her, causing her to lean back uncontrollably, her body falling against a strong and broad embrace.

"Hold on tight."

Qi Gu could only lean on the person behind her. In her previous life, she had never enjoyed such treatment when she married him. In this life, the two of them were only slightly more familiar than strangers, yet they were so intimate. Life is unpredictable.

The person behind him wore a satisfied smile on his usually stern face, but unfortunately, no one saw it.

Sima Hong didn't know why this dream was so long, but he thought that even if it was a dream, it was a dream where his wishes came true.

"Giddy up!" The group returned to Peng County.

From afar, Qi Gu could see her father standing at the entrance of the courtyard where they used to live, looking around.

Qi Gu waved her hand, "Father!"

Sima Hong's horse stopped in front of Li Shi. He dismounted, and Qi Gu tried to get down on her own, but he lifted her down from the horse without giving her a chance to refuse. His movements were natural, as if it were how it was meant to be between him and Qi Gu.

Atai, standing behind him, kept his eyes straight ahead, his face expressionless.

Ah Xiang's eyes flickered. In the past, the young master disliked close contact with people. If any of the ladies in the capital wanted to twist their ankle in front of him today, or trip and fall in front of him tomorrow, the young master would let them handle it.

Today, however, he rode with the Lady of Lacquer and even personally helped her off the horse. It seems that the young master treats this Lady of Lacquer very differently.

Qi Gu was gently placed on the ground, and she immediately threw herself into her father's arms from Sima Hong's hands, saying, "Father, I thought I would never see you again."

Sima Hong looked at his empty hand, then at Qi Gu leaning against Li Shi, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The father and daughter seemed to have been separated for many years. Qi Gu told Li Shi about what had happened in the past day and night. Li Shi, who was a man, was inconsolable and cried even more sadly than Qi Gu.

"I was so scared! My heart almost stopped beating, waaaaah..."

As the father and daughter talked, it turned into Qi Gu trying to coax her father.

Sima Hong interrupted Li Shi's uncontrollable sobbing at an inopportune moment, "Qi Gu is also tired tonight. Mr. Li, take her back to rest. I will have someone prepare some calming soup so that she can drink it and have a good sleep."

Li Shi stopped crying and pulled Qi Gu, "Yes, yes, Qi Gu, are you hurt? Should we have a doctor take a look?"

Qi Gu shook her head, "It's nothing." Then she turned to Sima Hong and said, "Lord Sima, I think you should ask a physician to examine this place thoroughly." Qi Gu nodded at him.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Li Shi didn't know what had happened between the two, but Sima Hong's voice was so gentle, quite different from his previous cold and distant demeanor.

However, he didn't think much of it; he probably just felt sorry for Qi Gu's misfortune.

He cupped his hands in thanks to Sima Hong and said, "Thank you, Master Sima. I'll take Aunt Qi back to rest now."

Just as the father and daughter were about to leave, Sima Hong suddenly called out from behind, "Qi Gu."

Qi Gu turned around, "What?"

"Qi Gu, remember to call me Xiu Yuan."

[Author's Note]

This is supposed to be a twin rebirth! [sunglasses]