"Brother, you can't do this!" Zhao Zhi's voice was choked with sobs. Without thinking, she pulled out a silver needle from her sleeve, her fingertips trembling slightly.
Zhao Zhi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, her tearful eyes were clear. The silver needles in her hands seemed to come alive, precisely piercing several major acupoints on Cui Shenghe's chest.
With her first needle, she gently inserted it into Cui Shenghe's Xinshu acupoint, a crucial point for protecting the heart meridian. As the needle went deeper, she seemed to feel a warm current flowing from her palm, slowly coursing through the needle into Cui Shenghe's body, warming his almost stagnant blood.
With the second needle, she pierced the Qihai acupoint, attempting to awaken the dormant power within him. Upon receiving the needle, Cui Shenghe's body trembled slightly, as if something within him had been gently touched and was beginning to slowly awaken.
The third needle, the fourth needle… Zhao Zhi's technique became increasingly skilled, each needle precise and accurate. Her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, but she had no time to care, only wanting to pull Cui Shenghe back from the brink of death as quickly as possible.
After a few needles, Cui Shenghe's chest rose and fell slightly, and his breathing gradually became steady, but his eyes remained tightly closed.
She knew that Cui Shenghe was determined to die.
Zhao Zhi clutched her numb hands and collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.
"Brother, you still have Zhizhi. Have you given up on even Zhizhi?"
"Brother—Brother—"
Perhaps Zhao Zhi was crying too hard, because after an unknown amount of time, Cui Shenghe's eyelids finally trembled slightly and he slowly opened his eyes.
He looked at Zhao Zhi, forced a smile, and said weakly, "Zhizhi, don't cry."
"Brother, you've finally woken up!" Zhao Zhi hugged Cui Shenghe tightly, as if she wanted to merge him into her own bones and blood.
"Cough cough, Zhizhi, if you keep hugging me, I'm afraid I'll really die." Cui Shenghe joked weakly with Zhao Zhi, who let go of him embarrassedly.
She gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then looked at him with tender eyes, choking back tears as she said, "Brother, just now, you, you really didn't want to wake up."
Cui Shenghe slowly sat up, not daring to look her in the eye, but still stubbornly said, "I didn't."
"You forgot I know medicine! You can't fool me!" Zhao Zhi suddenly broke down.
"Alright. It won't happen again. Don't cry." Cui Shenghe reached out and gently wiped away the warm tears from Zhao Zhi's eyes, then gently placed the jade seal in Zhao Zhi's hand.
"Zhizhi, this jade seal is the foundation of my Yun Dynasty. I now entrust it to you, hoping that you will govern the country with benevolence and protect the people." He looked intently at Zhao Zhi, and seeing that the other party was hesitating, he waited patiently without urging him.
Zhao Zhi accepted the imperial seal with both hands, feeling a heavy responsibility weighing on her heart.
She looked up at Cui Shenghe, remembering how he had resolved to die the moment she agreed to become empress, and choked with fear, saying, "Brother, this...this burden is too heavy, I'm afraid I can't bear it."
Cui Shenghe smiled slightly, a smile that held both relief and encouragement. "Zhizhi, you are stronger than anyone else. I believe in you, just as you have always believed in me." He paused, then continued, "Moreover, I have already written the abdication edict, and it's with Qin Han. There's a list of personnel appointments in the Imperial Study, and also, and the imperial consort I've chosen for you..."
"Brother!" Zhao Zhi quickly interrupted him. To her, Cui Shenghe sounded like he was making his final arrangements.
"Let's leave here quickly. You can explain those things to me properly when we get back."
"Okay." Cui Shenghe sighed softly.
The two supported each other as they walked step by step toward the cave's exit.
As they passed by Cui Jiao's remains, Cui Shenghe stopped. He slowly knelt down, carefully reaching out his hand to gently touch the cold bones as a final tribute and farewell.
However, just as his hand was about to touch the remains, a bizarre scene unfolded. The skeleton suddenly burst into flames, and the raging fire instantly engulfed the clothes that had been covering it.
Zhao Zhi gasped and quickly pulled Cui Shenghe back. Sparks flew everywhere, as if they would be swallowed up together. But Cui Shenghe showed no panic; instead, his eyes held a sense of relief and liberation.
"Zhizhi, don't panic. Perhaps this is Mother telling us that she has let go of the past and hopes that we can too." Although he said this, his heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, and he was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe.
Right there, Zhao Zhi was horrified to discover that the cave had begun to shake slightly.
"Brother, watch out!"
With a deafening roar, a huge crack began to appear in the ground beneath their feet, like a gaping maw swallowing everything in its path.
Cui Shenghe was in a daze, staring blankly at Cui Jiao's burning skeleton.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhi didn't hesitate to take off her outer garment and quickly tie the two of them together. Given the current situation, they certainly couldn't escape. She could only hope that there was an underground stream beneath the caves of Chaoyu Mountain, a place teeming with water and mountains.
Almost at the same instant she tied the knot, the two of them fell into the crevice, surrounded by endless darkness.
The sound of rocks crumbling echoed in Zhao Zhi's ears, and faintly, she seemed to hear Shen Hanshan's heart-wrenching scream, "Zhao Zhi—"
"I must have been hallucinating before I died," Zhao Zhi thought bitterly.
"Farewell, Shen Hanshan, take good care of our child," she murmured to herself. Then, she bumped into something and passed out.
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