102. Fellow
"Don't think about it for now." Shang Changheng wanted to force Qing Ling back to the bed, as the injured should rest more. However, he was concerned about the burns under Qing Ling's thin shirt and did not dare to touch him easily. After hesitating for a while, he touched Qing Ling's forehead with his fingertips and said, "Be obedient and go to sleep first."
"But..." Qing Ling wanted to say something, but was met with Shang Changheng's helpless and pitying gaze.
There seemed to be some kind of emotion hidden in those eyes, but Qing Ling couldn't tell. After a brief silence, he obediently rubbed back, pressed tightly against the inside, gave up half of the bed, and patted it with his hand, "Although you don't need to rest, but if you lean on me, won't it be better?"
After saying this, I felt that this statement seemed to be a bit of an attempt to cover up something, so I immediately added: "I want to sleep with you, too."
Shang Changheng looked at him and finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Okay, I'll sleep with you."
The evil spirit was cold all over, and still exuding murderous aura. He was really injured, and couldn't even conceal his breath perfectly. Anyone who knew what was going on would have felt that there was a very dangerous creature here. Fortunately, Qing Ling had put up talismans to ward off evil spirits in the room when he entered - as long as Shang Changheng stayed here, his murderous aura would not affect innocent people.
Shang Changheng just lay on his side next to Qingling, while Qingling had his back to him - because he had an injury on one shoulder and injuries on the other side of his neck and face, he could only lie on one side.
The burn on his cheek was two fingers wide, with the scarlet flesh exposed. It must have been very painful. He was still breathing carefully when he lay down, but perhaps he was really too tired. After a while, his somewhat rapid breathing calmed down.
Fell asleep.
"Fool." Shang Changheng sighed inaudibly.
At that moment, Qingling ran towards him, which was unexpected but reasonable. Even Zhu Lezhi had anticipated this day, which was why he asked him sharp questions that night.
The young man was moved for the first time in his life, his feelings were frank and sincere. The more indifferent and heartless the person was, the more deeply engraved the love was. Qing Ling gave his true heart to his lover, but in return he only got the insignificant true love from Xie Sui - what happened next?
Qingling didn't want to walk this road anymore. He wanted to go home and begged me to accompany him back.
The tenderness in Shang Changheng's eyes turned into unspeakable sadness. In fact, the engagement between them was not so unbreakable. As long as the evil spirit disappeared or they fell into reincarnation, the engagement would be broken.
The marriage certificate is only for this life. When a person and a ghost get married, the person gets blessings and the ghost gets incense, but no ghost can resist pulling the other person in the marriage contract down to accompany himself.
If only he had remembered sooner—
Then Shang Changheng would not allow himself to treat Qingling like this, and would not watch Qingling plunge into his abyss that is unacceptable to the world. In the end, at least Qingling could be free. However, it is too late now.
The bond between them is no longer the marriage certificate, but something much more solid and unshakable. It even made Qingling, who had always been afraid of death and wanted to survive, rush into the thunderstorm to save an evil spirit, in return for the scars he suffers today.
What should I do with you?
Shang Changheng asked silently.
It seemed as if he had not yet been rescued from the divine punishment, and there seemed to be a gloating voice questioning him in the dark.
"Look at yourself, what have you done?"
"The most innocent Qingling was born because of you, and will he die because of you?"
"He is innocent. He loves you so much. How can you pay for his life?"
Shang Changheng shifted his gaze blankly and looked somewhere in the void, as if he saw a gloomy and strange road spanning a thousand years. He should have walked on that road alone to put an end to what happened that year.
That was his grudge, his old grudge, his karma - Qingling had nothing to do with any of it.
But Qingling was led up by the red string, which entangled him tighter and tighter, making him inseparable from the evil spirit of the wrongful death.
After a while, Shang Changheng finally closed his eyes tightly and let out a silent and bitter smile of collapse.
.
Qingling's body became hot not long after he slept. He had so many wounds on his body, and his broken skin was constantly oozing fluid. He felt drowsy. Shang Changheng hugged the hot Qingling and changed his clothes. He then appeared in Miaoyuan's room in the blink of an eye.
Miao Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed to regulate her breathing. The moment Shang Changheng appeared, she opened her eyes with awareness, and her first words were: "What happened to Donor Qing?"
He knew in his heart that Shang Changheng would not have come if Qingling had not something to do.
"He has a fever and needs medicine." Shang Changheng said concisely.
In fact, they had prepared some medicines for external and internal use before setting off. However, Miaoyuan had fought with the corpse on the boat last time, and the medicines they brought from Zhu Family and Wunian Temple had been almost used up. The remaining medicines were some herbs. Shang Changheng, who had been in the military for many years... did not recognize the herbs that had been ground or dried after a thousand years, and he did not know how to mix them together for Qingling to cook and take.
So I could only turn to Miaoyuan for help.
Miao Yuan didn't say much, just nodded and said, "Okay."
"--good."
Wei Qingxia was in military uniform in the military tent. She looked like a young and heroic woman, not the little girl with red eyes that Qingling had seen at the mourning hall for her adoptive father.
"It's settled. After we kill those Dongyi bastards, I'll go to Lucheng to take a look. I heard that Zuo Baichuan is buried there, right?" She seemed very tired, and her smile was forced, just leaning back in the chair.
Shang Changheng sat in the main seat, with a mountain of military affairs in front of him, most of which were carved on wood, and a few were written on paper. He put down the last stroke, stood up and walked to the front of the military tent, lifted the heavy cloth curtain, looked at the wind blowing outside, and said softly: "Well, I haven't been back for many years, wait... next spring."
Qingling was standing not far away, watching the heavy snow with Shang Changheng in his dream - it was really too heavy, with snow fluttering all over the sky. The shadows of the mountains in the distance could no longer be seen, and the vast world was dyed an ominous pure white.
But Qingling saw that beneath the paleness, there seemed to be soil stained red by blood and countless stacked bones. This was the last and longest winter of the Great Zhou.
The Dongyi people invaded day and night, stealing food and people. If they couldn't rob them, they would simply massacre the entire village. In the surrounding border areas, every household was a soldier, regardless of gender, age or status.
Even the messy hair on the forehead of Wei Qingxia, who was sitting there exhausted, was covered with lumps of blood and mud. Everyone looked disheveled and extremely exhausted.
"Chang Heng." Wei Qingxia didn't open her eyes, and her voice was not so confident. She said slowly: "In fact, many people believe in the Dongyi people's perverse logic. They want to sacrifice our people...even officials and royal family to some ancestral gods. Qing Jie is still suppressing it. It's not easy for him. I heard that many of his subordinates have begun to advocate learning from the Dongyi to conduct human sacrifices. Fortunately, Qing Jie can still hold on and refuses to give in, but I'm really afraid..."
She paused and didn't continue.
"Heh." Shang Changheng sneered, "Which ancestor would eat his own blood relatives? He didn't eat people when he was alive, but wants to eat them after he dies?"
"That's right." Wei Qingxiaye sneered, then said helplessly, "But we are so unlucky. In the past few decades... If it was when the Great Zhou was founded, how dare the Dongyi people invade? Changheng, sometimes I wonder if everything has been predetermined in the dark? We mortals, ants, grow up on the earth and live in the world. This damn world... There is today but no tomorrow. Is it time for the Great Zhou to--"
She put her hands to her face and let out a low, shaky gasp.
Shang Changheng was still looking at the vast expanse of white for a long time before he said softly, "So what? Even if there are people in the dark... or so-called gods behind the scenes, manipulating the lives of ants like us, Senior Sister, we can't stop. We can only keep going on this road."
He stretched out his hand, and a piece of snow fell from his scarred fingertips, turning into crystal drops of water in the blink of an eye.
"At the end of this road..." Shang Changheng said softly, "Master, Brother Zuo...all those who have rushed on this road and fallen on this road, they are all waiting for us there, waiting for us... to finish this road."
Shang Changheng lowered the curtain and turned around, passing Qingling who was standing beside him. Qingling saw his straight back, which looked like a pine tree holding up ice and snow and refusing to bend. He was so stubborn in guarding the gate of the Great Zhou with his flesh and blood. Qingling reached out and gently touched Shang Changheng's shoulder, wanting to brush away the snow that had been blown onto his shoulder by the wind.
In the dream, Shang Changheng tilted his head as if he sensed something, and his eyes swept across a thousand years of time and met Qingling.
"Chang Heng." Qing Ling raised the corner of his mouth to him, revealing a nostalgic and distressed smile, "This road must be very tiring, but you have to keep going... for a thousand years, and then meet more people in a place far away from home, meet... me."
"Your old friends have been through war and they are tired. Let them take a break."
"The rest of the way... I'll walk with you."
Changheng's expression changed, as if he wanted to say something to him. Qingling's vision became blurry, then gradually became clear. He saw Shang Changheng's face, which was so pale that it was almost transparent, and he was saying something to him with a frown on his face.
It seemed like a long while, but also like just a moment, Qingling heard his voice.
"Qingling, wake up, Qingling, get up and take your medicine."
Qing Ling finally came to his senses, staring blankly at Shang Changheng, who was wearing modern summer clothes. Still a little dazed, he murmured, "Changheng..."
"Yeah." Shang Changheng didn't dare to touch him. He held the medicine in one hand and placed the other hand on the uninjured side of Qingling's face. He seemed a little sad, with more complicated emotions. He said to Qingling softly, "I know. You will accompany me to finish this journey."
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