The boy, his white clothes now stained with blood, slowly turned around amidst Song Ting's panic and called out Song Ting's name.
Song felt a tightness in his throat and tasted a strong metallic taste of blood.
He opened his mouth, but for a long time he couldn't make a sound. He managed to squeeze out two words with difficulty: "I'm here."
Chu Huaixu seemed to smile, but the wind was too strong and Song Ting couldn't hear him clearly, so she couldn't be sure whether he actually smiled or not.
"I'm here, please come back, please, young master, please come back."
He cautiously approached step by step, and Chu Huaixu turned his head, his gaze lingering on his face for a long time.
At first, he was indifferent and expressionless, but gradually, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Song Ting." He called Song Ting's name again, the curve of his lips suddenly widening until it revealed a strange and terrifying smile.
He said, "Song Ting, come to hell with me..."
As soon as the words fell, the figure spread its arms behind it and plunged into the abyss before Song Ting's eyes.
"No—don't—" Song Ting cried out in fury, lunging forward but grabbing at nothing.
Overwhelmed by fear, Song Ting awoke from his reverie. He opened his eyes abruptly and was met with a pair of calm, watery eyes.
It's exactly the same as in my dream.
Song Ting stared blankly, vaguely thinking it was another dream.
But dreams are good too.
He raised his hand and touched the person's eyebrows, then touched their eyes, nose, and mouth...
The man simply smiled and looked at him, neither dodging nor avoiding, letting him touch him.
This made Song Ting even more convinced that it was a dream, and that only in a dream would this person be so generous as to bestow upon him a little tenderness.
Knowing he was in a dream, Song Ting boldly let his true emotions run wild, pitifully seeking affection from the person before him:
"Young master."
"The puppy is in so much pain..."
The person sitting on the edge of the bed had a strange expression, which made Song Ting instinctively afraid. He was afraid that Chu Huaixu would look at him with disgust, just like in the previous dream.
He carefully took hold of the other's arm and said again, "Mingyu, I missed you so much..."
The man stared at him silently for a long time, and Song Ting felt increasingly uneasy.
Just when Song Ting thought she wouldn't get a response, Chu Huaixu slowly leaned down, almost touching Song Ting's forehead.
The faint, cool fragrance was exactly the same as the one in Song Ting's dream. Song Ting closed her eyes, wanting to kiss the person in front of her.
The latter sensed his intention and leaned back to avoid the kiss as Song Ting leaned in.
Song Ting blinked blankly: "Why won't you let me kiss you? Doesn't Young Master like puppies anymore?"
The man in red chuckled and leaned closer to him again, his long fingers resting on Song Ting's chin, gently caressing his soft flesh as if he were teasing a dog.
"Is the master still half asleep?"
The word "My Lord" struck Song Ting like a thunderbolt, instantly pulling him back from his dream.
He stood frozen, thinking, "It's not a puppy, it's an adult. My dream is over..."
The person before me is the one from my dream, but he is no longer in the dream.
Song Ting closed her eyes and belatedly recalled everything that happened before she lost consciousness.
"What time is it?" I asked, only to find my voice was terribly hoarse.
"The master has been asleep for a night and a day. The blessing ceremony will begin in two hours," Chu Huaixu said.
The sound of rustling footsteps could already be heard in the temple, indicating that the monks had clearly been busy for some time.
He was required to attend the blessing ceremony. Song Ting tried to sit up, but quickly fell back down.
His back was covered in whip marks. When he fell, his bloodied back slammed directly onto the bed, causing him to see stars and hear a ringing in his ears.
Only after the buzzing sound disappeared did his vision return, and he looked at Chu Huaixu with pursed lips.
The latter sat beside him, looking at him as well, her face unreadable.
"Has Your Excellency considered how this prayer ceremony will end if you don't return? How many heads do you have for the Emperor and Empress Dowager to chop off?"
"Young master, are you concerned about me?" Perhaps the tenderness and affection from his dream still lingered in his body, and he overstepped his bounds for the first time.
Chu Huaixu's expression indeed turned very unpleasant. He glanced at Song Ting with a half-smile:
"Sir, you're overpraising yourself. I'm just afraid you'll die like this, since your life is mine."
The person in red before her eyes overlapped with the figure in blood-stained clothes from her dream, and Song Ting stared at him intently.
An inappropriate thought crossed my mind: this person is good-looking no matter what.
He mustered his courage, grabbed Chu Huaixu's hand that was resting on his lap, gently kissed his palm, and mumbled, "Mmm."
Chu Huaixu's expression turned strange again, as if he wanted to laugh but couldn't, and wanted to get angry but couldn't, forming a strange expression.
Even so, it's still beautiful.
If time allowed, he truly wouldn't want to break the current tranquility; he wanted to watch Chu Huaixu, to watch him forever.
"Please trouble you, young master, to call out to Qi Zhou for me."
Chu Huaixu asked blankly, "What are you doing?"
"I have something to ask him," Song said.
Chu Huaixu lowered his eyes and sized him up. After a moment, he crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "Sir, you want to ask about the masked man you brought back, right?"
Song opened his mouth, but didn't know how to start speaking.
He knew nothing about what had happened after he fell into a coma, and he was unaware of how much Huai Xu knew about the Ghost-Faced Doctor, so he dared not speak rashly.
"Tch." Chu Huaixu scoffed and slowly got up.
After reaching the door, he gently pushed it open, leaned lazily against the doorframe, and glanced outside. "He's awake. Come in."
Waiting outside the door were not only Qi Zhou, but also Xiao Wu, who only knew that Song Ting was taking Qi Zhou out on business and had instructed him to stay at the temple to protect Huai Yue.
Such things were commonplace for them. As secret guards, they simply did whatever orders they received without asking any questions.
This is taboo.
Moreover, he was certain that this mission would not be dangerous. With the blessing ceremony imminent and Young Master Huaiyue here, his master would never allow himself to be in danger.
After all, his master didn't seem to feel very comfortable entrusting Young Master Huaiyue to anyone.
Who would have thought that the two of them, who had left the temple in good health, would return to find the adult unconscious, suffering from a persistent high fever, and with not a single inch of his body unscathed.
But they couldn't make this public, so they didn't even dare to call a doctor.
“My lord…” Xiao Wu’s eyes were red as he knelt beside Song Ting’s bed.
Chu Huaixu was stung by this scene of deep affection between master and servant, and sneered, "You two talk, I'm leaving."
Song Ting's gaze remained fixed on him until his figure disappeared behind the door, at which point she reluctantly turned her gaze away.
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