The lantern disappeared into the vast darkness, its faint light fading away.
It's getting foggy.
Fu Yu stood there, stunned, until the only sounds around him were the rustling of insects.
"Woof—"
The sound of dogs barking came from the distant wilderness. Fu Yuchi was bent over, and the herbs in her hand suddenly fell to the ground. Her heart clenched slightly.
Was she afraid—that thin, small girl, when she met her, she stood in the low-hanging night, frail yet with a precarious beauty.
The strings of his heart trembled for a moment.
The barking of the dogs faded into the distance, and he gave chase. Flames shot into the sky from the wheat field, and the man's pupils contracted sharply. As he followed the path into the field, he caught a glimpse of the lantern lying on the ground.
not good!
She's in danger!
The fire had only recently started, and he couldn't imagine what had happened in the wheat field not long ago, but Miao'er couldn't be harmed!
When Fu Yuchi arrived at the shore, he only saw the figure fall into the water, along with a struggling man.
His mind went blank for a moment, and he plunged into the water, hoping to grab a glimpse of her clothes.
As the surging water rushed in, he watched her struggle in the water, as if she were gesturing to him.
"Miao'er, come here!" he shouted, but all he could hear in the water was a gurgling sound. He tried his best to get closer to Sun Miao'er.
I was just an inch away from catching her!
When they reached the shore, the person in his arms was ice cold. Fu Yuchi had only thought she looked thin before, but now, holding her in his arms like this, he realized how frail she was, which was heartbreaking.
Her pale face was devoid of any color, her usually lively and clever eyes were now tightly closed, her long, thick eyelashes were wet and drooped over her eyelids, and her lips were bluish-purple. In the pale moonlight, she looked like a piece of jade glass that could shatter at the slightest touch.
Fu Yuchi felt her wrist; thankfully, he hadn't arrived too late, and there was still a pulse.
The moment he saw Sun Miao'er fall into the water, countless thoughts raced through his mind.
He had everything from birth: close parents, loving brothers, fine clothes and food, wealth and glory...
And all of this eventually disappeared from his life, leaving no trace of its existence.
His attempts to persuade them to stay were all in vain. His parents died at the hands of his closest friends, and his elder brother was killed by the very loyalty he so admired, leaving no trace of his body.
The entire Fu family perished in the fire; apart from him, no one survived.
The feeling he had just experienced was the same as it had back then, almost making him think he was about to lose it again.
It seems that everyone who accompanies him is only there for a short time.
After the Fu family perished, all his expectations were destroyed in the fire, leaving only an empty shell.
He doesn't need to remember who he is, nor does he need to remember where he settles down; that's where his home is.
Just now, he realized that he was the one who had nothing, and every person or thing he tried to hold onto would be ruthlessly taken away in the end.
They didn't even say hello.
He didn't even dare to hope for anything with that girl; he just wanted her to remember him briefly, and for him to remember her too—that was enough.
Fu Yuchi gently wiped the water droplets from her face, tidied her hair which had been disheveled by the water, and carefully placed her under the tree.
His pulse is still steady, and his life is not in danger.
After struggling several times in the water, Wu Dali finally drifted to the shore. He raised his head, preparing to come out of the water, and met a pair of deep, dark eyes.
He felt a chill run down his spine as he was stared at by that sharp gaze, thinking it was because he had been soaking in the water for too long.
"Was that fun?" Fu Yuchi's voice was no longer gentle; it now revealed a sinister chill, like an unyielding block of ice or a demon from hell.
This was not the poor, quack doctor he had met before!
Wu Dali clung desperately to the shore, shouting, "You!"
His words caught in his throat when the man in front of him suddenly squatted down. His large, thin hands, with their distinct knuckles, were surprisingly strong, directly gripping Wu Dali's throat and silencing him.
"Did you enjoy it?" He roared furiously, knowing that the man in his hands was no longer able to speak, as if answering his own question.
After saying that, an overwhelming anger surged from the bottom of his heart and could no longer be suppressed. Fu Yuchi grabbed his neck tightly and used his wrist to forcefully push Wu Dali's head into the water.
With his other hand, he grabbed his hair and pulled him out of the water after a moment, then pushed him back in and pulled him out.
This went on repeatedly. Wu Dali thrashed about, choking on water, hovering on the brink of death. Whenever he couldn't breathe, Fu Yuchi would give him a moment of relief.
However, what awaited him was torture akin to the most extreme punishment.
When Wu Dali was exhausted from the ordeal, Fu Yuchi finally released his grip. He stood up and gazed tenderly at the person lying under the tree, his expression completely different from before.
The moonlight shone on his perfectly proportioned profile, making him appear like an immortal descended to earth.
"Cough cough cough cough!" Wu Dali had no strength left to resist. From the moment Fu Yuchi made his move, he knew that his strong physique was no match for Fu Yuchi.
What a poor, quack doctor! He's clearly a ghost! A monster! An executioner!
Fu Yuchi turned around, lowered her head and laughed, a thin mist veiling her eyes, "You think this is the end?"
He countered, "Was that the belt just now? It's so dirty."
The belt was still hanging on Wu Dali's body. Fu Yuchi used a tree branch to lift it up and tied a slipknot around Wu Dali's neck with the belt.
He carried Sun Miao'er on his back, while his other hand gripped the belt. Every time he pulled, the slipknot would tighten suddenly, strangling Wu Dali's throat and making it hard for him to breathe.
He would loosen it again and then tighten it again after a while.
They dragged Wu Dali back to the medicine hut, and the strong man was already on the verge of death from the ordeal.
"It won't end." Fu Yuchi whispered a sentence in his ear.
Wu Dali fell into a deathly silence and lost consciousness.
Sun Miao'er was burning up with fever; he had noticed it on the way back, and she was even delirious from the fever.
The water was too cold; Fu Yuchi knew her body couldn't handle it.
He brewed the herbs and stayed by her side without leaving her side.
In her daze, Sun Miao'er felt her mouth was dry and she seemed to smell a familiar herbal scent, but it was so unreal.
It felt like being in a frozen wasteland, completely enveloped in cold, with no warmth to be felt.
But the sudden embrace made Sun Miao'er unable to resist gripping it tightly. On the way back, even though Fu Yuchi was carrying her on his back, her hands were still tightly clutching Fu Yuchi's clothes.
Sun Miao'er thought that this was what it felt like to really die... She had died once before, but she had never felt this bad.
Later, the cold gradually disappeared, replaced by a burning sensation throughout my body and a parched mouth.
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