rogue

As the sun set and the bamboo hut began to slant, a faint smell of blood and medicine filled the air.

Xiao Chengyan lay quietly on the bamboo couch, his left shoulder wrapped in gauze, through which a patch of crimson could be faintly seen.

His face was still pale, but his breathing seemed a little more steady than before. His eyes were tightly closed, and his thick eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyes, revealing a rare vulnerability rather than his usual cold and stern demeanor.

Gu Jinghong carried the medicine bowl and quietly walked to the bedside to sit down.

She gazed at his sleeping profile, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Then she scooped up a spoonful of the medicine and tried to feed it to him, but his lips were tightly pursed, and the medicine dripped down the corners of his lips, making it impossible to feed him.

She sighed helplessly and put down her spoon.

Could it be... that we're going to have to use that method again?

Gu Jinghong sighed softly, then picked up the medicine bowl, put a mouthful of bitter medicine in her mouth, then leaned down, gently pinched his chin with one hand to force him to open his mouth slightly, and held his head in place with the other hand.

Just as her lips were about to touch his cold lips—

Xiao Chengyan's thick eyelashes trembled violently a few times, and then his deep, cold eyes, which were now filled with the hazy light of someone just waking up, suddenly opened.

Their eyes met!

Gu Jinghong froze instantly, forgetting to swallow or pass the medicine in her mouth, the bitterness spreading numbly on her tongue.

She could even clearly see the initial bewilderment in his eyes recede rapidly like a tide, replaced by astonishment, disbelief, and a complex light that suddenly shone forth, like a blazing fire thrown into a still, icy pool.

His gaze, with a chilling penetrating power, slowly moved down from her eyes, which were so close to his, to her soft lips stained with brown medicine. He could clearly feel her fingers pinching his chin and the hand holding his head in place... his intentions were obvious.

Time stretched out infinitely, each breath filled with silent, turbulent waves.

Xiao Chengyan did not move, nor did he push her away.

He just stared at her quietly, his pale face expressionless, but deep in his eyes, which were still bloodshot and weak from just waking up, it seemed as if glaciers were silently cracking and lava was churning in the undercurrents.

Gu Jinghong's heart pounded wildly in her chest, and a strong sense of shame rushed to her head, but she suppressed it. Her almost collapsing reason was also brought back!

She slowly straightened up.

"Glug—" She swallowed the medicine in her mouth without making a sound.

The extreme bitterness made her throat bob and her brows furrow, but apart from the undeniable blush on her face, she had tried her best to regain her usual calm and composure.

She gently placed the medicine bowl on the low table, met Xiao Chengyan's deep gaze, took a deep breath to suppress the bitterness in her throat, and deliberately kept her voice steady: "Your Highness is awake? Perfect timing. Xuanru's medicine is at the right temperature."

Everything proceeded smoothly, as if the attempt to "pass on the medicine" had never happened.

Xiao Chengyan quietly watched her feigned composure and attempt to gloss over the situation. He slightly moved his still somewhat weak fingers, and his gaze slowly shifted to the bowl of medicinal soup that exuded a strong aura of death. His Adam's apple bobbed very slightly.

"How many times were you fed in this way?"

boom--!

Gu Jinghong felt his composed facade shatter instantly by those words, and an even more intense wave of heat rushed straight to his ears!

She abruptly looked up, her usually calm and composed eyes now gleaming like tempered glass, flashing with a mixture of shame and indignation. Her voice suddenly rose: "Xiao Chengyan, what nonsense are you spouting! Only that time in the miasma was out of necessity! This was the first attempt, and you woke up before it even succeeded!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could bite off her own tongue—this explanation sounded like a cover-up!

Seeing Gu Jinghong's angry and anxious expression, Xiao Chengyan managed a weak smile: "...It was indeed my fault...I shouldn't have woken up."

But he really wanted to see her, didn't he?

Then, he took a very slow breath: "...Give it to me."

Gu Jinghong was stunned for a moment. He... was going to take his medicine? So decisively?

She quickly handed the medicine bowl to him. Xiao Chengyan struggled to sit up. Seeing this, Gu Jinghong reached out and grabbed a few cushions to place behind Xiao Chengyan so that he could sit more comfortably.

He finally moved his still somewhat weak arm and reached out to take the medicine bowl himself.

His gaze fell on the thick, brown medicine in the bowl, his brows furrowed even more, and after pausing for a good two or three seconds, he suddenly tilted his head back and gulped down the bowl of infuriatingly bitter medicine in one go!

Xiao Chengyan suppressed the churning bitterness and choking cough, slammed the empty bowl down, veins throbbing on his forehead, and even a little bit of tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

He closed his eyes and breathed for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grasped Gu Jinghong's hand, which was casually resting on his bed, and squeezed it tightly.

“Ah Hong…” His voice was low and hoarse, weak from recovering from serious injuries.

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, as if desperately suppressing a torrent of emotions. When he spoke again, his voice carried a chilling depth: "My life... was snatched back from the clutches of Yama, the King of Hell..."

His gaze fell on their clasped hands, his thumb unconsciously tracing the back of her hand with a gentle caress, a tenderness and confirmation he himself was unaware of. He then slowly moved his gaze back to Jinghong's eyes, "While I was unconscious... I was oblivious... Only when I woke up did I realize... that you were doing this for me..."

"Gu Jinghong...from this day forward..."

He paused, his gaze intense.

Gu Jinghong had a gut feeling that he was about to say something reckless, so almost instinctively she pulled her hand away from Xiao Chengyan's tight grip and quickly interrupted, "Your Highness is too kind! This, this is Jinghong's duty!"

She stood up abruptly, her movements so fast they created a gust of wind. "You've taken your medicine. I'll go call Xuanru!"

Before the words were even finished, the person had already turned to run away.

However, just as her fingertips were about to touch the cold door frame—

"Well--!"

A suppressed, painful groan came from behind, accompanied by a slight tremor as the body slumped back onto the bed.

Gu Jinghong's steps suddenly froze!

She suddenly turned around.

Xiao Chengyan's face was ashen, his forehead instantly covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and the hand that had been holding hers fell limply onto the brocade quilt, his fingertips twitching slightly.

He was curled up on his side, his chest heaving violently, each breath aggravating his wounds and bringing unbearable pain.

Her thick, long eyelashes trembled painfully, her lips were so pale they were almost transparent, and she looked like a jade tree that had been broken by a storm, so fragile that she seemed about to shatter at any moment.

“Ah Hong…” He struggled to open his eyes, his deep eyes now filled with tears and unbearable pain, his vision blurred as he locked onto her.

He struggled, using the last of his strength, and reached out again, extremely slowly and stubbornly, in the direction she had fled. His hand trembled, damp with cold sweat, and barely managed to catch the corner of her sleeve that was hanging down at her side.

The fingertips were icy cold, yet the strength was like that of a drowning person grasping at the only piece of driftwood.

Gu Jinghong froze on the spot, as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head and then froze instantly.

Reason screamed wildly—he's faking it! Xiao Chengyan, you scoundrel! Trying to pull the same trick again!

But when those beautiful eyes swept over the cold sweat on his forehead, his pale lips, his uncontrollable trembling, and the deep vulnerability and dependence in his eyes, the dam she had just built in her heart collapsed unexpectedly.

“…Xiao Chengyan!” She tried to make her voice sound stern. “Let go! What… what kind of behavior is this!” She reached out, trying to pry open his cold fingers, but her movements were subconsciously gentle, afraid of aggravating his wounds.

However, those seemingly weak fingers were surprisingly stubborn. Not only did they not loosen their grip, but the moment she drew near, they seemed to have finally found their target, suddenly grabbing her wrist!

"Hiss—" Gu Jinghong gasped, forced to lean down and get closer to that pale yet still breathtakingly handsome face, close enough to see the tiny water droplets clinging to his long eyelashes and feel his hot, disordered breath on her neck.

"Don't...go..." he murmured again, his consciousness seemingly beginning to fade, resisting the pain and the heavy darkness, "Cold...Ah Hong...so cold..."

Before he could finish speaking, as if he had exhausted all his strength, or as if he was instinctively drawing warmth and a sense of security, he suddenly tightened his grip on her wrist and leaned his body towards her at the same time!

Caught off guard, Gu Jinghong stumbled and fell onto the edge of the bed.

The next second, a scorching and heavy force pressed down on them—

Xiao Chengyan's arms wrapped tightly around her waist! His burning forehead pressed heavily against her cool neck, his burning cheeks pressed against her delicate skin, and his hot breath sprayed onto her sensitive collarbone.

He nestled into her arms like a young animal seeking shelter, greedily absorbing the warmth emanating from her body, a blend of herbs and a refreshing scent.

"!!!" Gu Jinghong was trembling violently, instantly petrified!

For a moment, her mind went blank...

After a long while, Gu Jinghong seemed to realize what was happening and struggled fiercely, pushing against his firm chest.

"Xiao Chengyan! You...you're being insolent! Let go!"

However, she dared not use her full strength, for fear of touching her wound; while his arms around her waist, though weak, revealed an unyielding stubbornness that held her firmly "trapped" between himself and the bed.

Memories of their previous kisses flooded back like a tidal wave—the coldness and shock on his lips on New Year's Eve, the tender and lingering plunder under the fireworks, and the abrupt stop before he took the jade token… Now, all of these overlapped with the restraint on her waist and arms and the burning breath on her neck, igniting a fire within her.

"You...you're clearly taking advantage of someone in distress! You shameless scoundrel!"