Chapter 63 Loving You "No, Master!"...
Gu Shanyue took another bite. Meat patties are delicious, but they don't keep well. Dry biscuits, on the other hand, are tightly wrapped and don't spoil easily, making them the best food for the road.
“Yes, hurry up and eat,” Gu Shanyue urged him.
Qi Baitong put down the cake and was about to get up when Gu Shanyue stopped him, saying, "Where are you going?"
“…I,” Qi Baitong paused, then said in a low voice, “go to the restroom.”
"Let's take care of this nearby, don't go far," Gu Shanyue said without hesitation, letting go of him and asking again, "You don't need me to help you, do you?"
Qi Baitong shook his head, got out of the car, and walked steadily despite feeling unwell.
He took his knife with him.
Gu Shanyue finished eating two pancakes, but Qi Baitong still hadn't returned. She got off the carriage and was about to look for him when Qi Baitong came back carrying a string of fish, his trousers rolled up, clearly indicating he had just been in the water.
"You went fishing?!"
Gu Shanyue was stunned. She had already witnessed how terrifying the Needle-Threading Gu could be. The Gu worms in his body had not completely subsided. The man who hadn't uttered a sound after being whipped had been tormented into a deep sleep for two whole days, yet he woke up and went into the water to catch fish?
Qi Baitong's face was pale, and there was a faint sweat on his forehead. He smiled at her and said, "They were right around here. I saw them at a glance and just brought a few back."
Gu Shanyue listened carefully, but there was no sound of water around him. He had far more than a dozen in his hands.
Seeing Gu Shanyue remain silent, Qi Baitong quickened his pace: "We've already caught them, let's roast them. It'll be good to rest for a while; the carriage is making me dizzy."
The closer he got, the clearer Gu Shanyue could see.
His thin lips were bloodless, and his hand holding the fish was trembling slightly as he tried to persuade her.
Gu Shanyue felt a mix of emotions, her nose stinging, and she complained, "Why are you acting like an idiot?"
Qi Baitong laughed: "So be it, I'm just silly."
As long as I'm by her side, what does it matter if I'm a fool?
Gu Shanyue gathered some firewood and lit a large fire. Qi Baitong refused to return to the carriage, so he quickly prepared the fish. Gu Shanyue turned around and saw him grilling the fish.
"You're never still." Even when you're injured, you can't stay idle.
"You've lost weight, you should eat some meat." Qi Baitong smiled slightly, raised her hand to disperse the wisps of smoke drifting towards Gu Shanyue, and gestured for her to sit down.
"It's only been a few days, how could you have lost weight? You're talking nonsense." Gu Shanyue snorted, but still obediently sat down next to him.
Qi Baitong smiled but remained silent, turning the grilled fish over: "It will be ready to eat soon."
As long as he was alive, he couldn't bear to see Gu Shanyue not eating or sleeping well, and even for his sake, he couldn't eat or sleep properly.
Gu Shanyue leaned against him, raised her hand and touched his upper arm muscles. The bulges were smooth and there was nothing abnormal.
"Aren't you in pain? Lu Ya said that the Gu worms were triggered by the silver bell and must be suppressed with special medicine, otherwise they can't be calmed down."
"It's not that exaggerated. Look at me, I'm still perfectly fine."
Qi Baitong turned to Gu Shanyue and smiled, her eyes gently curving. Apart from her pale face, she seemed to be fine.
But Gu Shanyue noticed that his collar was dark in color, because it was damp with sweat.
She said, "You're clearly in pain."
Qi Baitong's eyes flickered, and she looked away.
How could it not hurt? But as long as he can still move and control his body and expression, he can pretend nothing happened.
He's too used to pain.
"The fish is ready, let's eat first." Qi Baitong handed the fish to Gu Shanyue and changed the subject.
Gu Shanyue sighed and compromised, "Let's just have this one meal."
She had decided to keep traveling from now on, and no matter what excuse Qi Baitong gave, she couldn't delay any longer.
“Okay,” Qi Baitong replied gently.
The grilled fish was steaming hot, but Gu Shanyue still ate it very quickly, wolfing it down.
Qi Baitong frowned, took the grilled fish from her hand, carefully tore off a piece of the fish belly meat and fed it to her lips.
Gu Shanyue looked at him, and he pursed his lips, his dark eyes gazing at Gu Shanyue quietly, with a stubborn and silent obstinacy.
Although she is said to be obedient, she is still very stubborn.
Gu Shanyue had no choice but to open her mouth and eat, a smile flashing across Qi Baitong's eyes.
Without giving Gu Shanyue a chance to speak, he fed him fish one by one until Gu Shanyue ate the belly of eight fish.
"Are you full?"
Qi Baitong wiped his hands clean, touched Gu Shanyue's stomach, and Gu Shanyue nodded: "I'm full."
There were eight empty fish on the grass next to him, as well as a few more fish left. Qi Baitong ate them without any hesitation. He ate very slowly, and Gu Shanyue didn't want to rush him.
After they finished eating, before Gu Shanyue could urge them to finish, Qi Baitong said that he felt nauseous as the carriage swayed and he needed to rest a while longer.
Gu Shanyue had no choice but to stare at him and wait.
“Ah Yue”.
"Um?"
"Thank you for coming to save me that day." Qi Baitong leaned against her shoulder, her voice very soft.
I've been traveling a lot lately, and although the incident at Zhuoguang Mountain only happened a few days ago, it feels like a long time has passed since then.
"No need to thank me. It's my fault for dragging you down and causing Li Yuheng to go crazy like that." Gu Shanyue frowned.
Qi Baitong keenly noticed that Gu Shanyue had changed how he addressed Li Yuheng.
She no longer called him Yu'er.
This injury seems to have been really worth it.
"He was deeply in love with you, that's why he did these things. I don't blame him." Qi Baitong's face was pale, her smile slightly bitter, but she still spoke words of forgiveness.
Gu Shanyue's face darkened: "Bullshit."
Qi Baitong was amused by her, his eyes crinkling as he looked at her with a smile. The sickly look between his brows added a touch of fragility to his cold and stern appearance.
This look is most appealing to Gu Shanyue.
Gu Shanyue looked at him for a while, then suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek: "You should do what you did when you were in the Crown Prince's residence: tell Li Yuheng to get lost whenever you see him, and don't give him another chance to hurt you."
A soft kiss landed, and Qi Baitong's heart trembled, as if the curtain of a dark world had shattered and a burst of light had appeared, revealing a sky full of colorful clouds.
“You…” he began, his voice choked with emotion.
Could it be that what he heard while he was unconscious was not something he had been thinking about during the day and dreaming about at night, but actually came from Gu Shanyue's mouth?
"What?"
Gu Shanyue's eyes were clear and bright. When she looked at him, she didn't have the aloofness that a swordsman usually exuded.
Perhaps it is true.
Qi Baitong's heart pounded harder and harder, her voice hoarse as she slowly said, "I think I heard you say, you choose me..."
"You heard that?" Gu Shanyue asked, somewhat surprised. "You were still conscious at that time?"
She did not deny it.
Qi Baitong's eyes suddenly brightened, and his voice was steady: "Yes, I heard you."
He looked at her like that, his eyes shining.
Like a puppy that is eager to the extreme, wagging its tail, yet still obediently sitting in place waiting for its owner's reward.
At that moment, Gu Shanyue had a sudden inspiration and understood what he wanted to hear.
“I said it myself, as long as it doesn’t involve Li Yuheng’s life, I’ll choose you over him,” Gu Shanyue said, a smile playing on her lips as she pinched his cheek. “So you don’t need to envy him.”
Qi Baitong's heart seemed to soar lightly on the wind, like spring flowers and summer skies; she was the coolest and most pleasant breeze.
This was still not enough; the joy, like a mountain spring gushing forth, was unstoppable and could only flow and overwhelm him.
“You don’t like Li Yuheng,” Qi Baitong gripped her shoulders, urgently confirming, “You don’t love him, you have no romantic feelings for him, and I’m not a substitute for his comfort?”
Gu Shanyue became increasingly bewildered as she listened: "?"
“I am his elder, how could I possibly have romantic feelings for him? Besides, when did I ever say you were a substitute?”
Why is everyone saying this? Gu Shanyue himself doesn't even know when he became a substitute. Where did this huge misunderstanding come from?
"I look a lot like someone, someone you mentioned, and I thought it was..." Qi Baitong was so overjoyed she didn't know what to do, and her words became incoherent, "But it's not, it turns out I was wrong..."
“You and Li Yuheng are nothing alike. You’re more like Senior Sister,” Gu Shanyue chuckled, “Why didn’t you ask me?”
One or two people were making wild guesses, and they believed them wholeheartedly, which led to such a huge joke.
"I……"
How could he dare to ask back then? Gu Shanyue's willingness to get close to him was the greatest blessing. How could he possibly break through this barrier? He wished that no one would ever know that he was secretly stealing her favor.
Qi Baitong didn't explain further. He hugged Gu Shanyue and kissed her face repeatedly, his kisses as tender as a drizzle.
"So, just as I love you, you also like me, right?"
Gu Shanyue pouted and let him kiss her.
“Of course, things I don’t like can’t stay with me,” Gu Shanyue said, then realized the ambiguity and added, “The same goes for people.”
"I was so stupid. How could I be so stupid? It's like this, if A-Yue doesn't like me, how could I get close to you? It's all because I was so stupid..."
As Qi Baitong kissed her, he rambled on and on, repeating himself incoherently. His pale face regained its color, and he looked radiant.
It's all a misunderstanding, an illusion, all his own petty-mindedness judging others by his own standards.
How could someone as free-spirited and upright as Gu Shanyue possibly settle for a substitute, as he and Li Yuheng thought? Such speculation is an insult to her.
Gu Shanyue suddenly pinched his ear: "You think you're a substitute, yet you've been following me without complaint all this time?" You even let her kiss you, touch you, and sleep with you.
"Because I love you so much, I'd do anything to stay by your side..."
Qi Baitong lifted his face in her arms, his thin lips glistening, his eyes even brighter, filled with a fervent, infatuated light.
Gu Shanyue couldn't understand his thoughts, but the object of his passion was her, which seemed... not so bad.
She curled her lips into a smile, reached down and pinched it: "Then let's hurry on our way. Let's remove the curse from you as soon as possible and then try again. Let me see how much more you can be tamed?"
Qi Baitong let out a muffled groan, his ears turning bright red, and he hugged her even tighter, his breath hot.
“No need to tame me, my rope is already in your hands,” he buried his head in the crook of her neck and nuzzled her, his voice low and husky, “Master.”
Gu Shanyue smiled and ruffled his black hair: "Good boy."
This confession completely stirred up Qi Baitong's spirits, but the better his spirits were, the more active the Gu worms became, and the weaker his body became.
The two traveled two more routes and finally arrived at the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers and Butterflies before Qi Baitong completely collapsed.
Wanhua Diegu is located deep in the mountains, making it difficult for a horse-drawn carriage to travel. Gu Shanyue abandoned the carriage and led Qi Baitong on foot into the valley.
Late autumn should be chilly, but the further you go into the mountains, the higher the temperature becomes. Outside the mountains, the vegetation is withered, but inside the mountains, green leaves and flowers are in full bloom, just like spring and summer.
“Wanhua Die Valley is located beneath a volcano, and it’s warmer than outside the mountains during autumn and winter,” Gu Shanyue explained.
Qi Baitong nodded: "I see."
Even though he tried his best to appear nonchalant, his unsteady steps and the cold sweat on his forehead could not be concealed.
He can't hold on much longer.
Gu Shanyue looked into the distance; there was still quite a distance to go. She squatted down and hoisted the Qi Baitong sack onto her shoulder.
Qi Baitong was startled when she was suddenly lifted off the ground and struggled, "A-Yue, put me down quickly, how can you do this?"
Gu Shanyue pinched his thigh and threatened, "Don't move, or you know where I'll pinch you next time."
Qi Baitong gave a weak laugh, feigning fear as she said, "No, Master."
Gu Shanyue: "???"
Qi Baitong said regretfully, "If I weren't so weak, I really would have liked to struggle a bit more."
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