Chapter 16 Confession Blindfold her and ears, so she can stay with me forever…
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Mu Qingheng remained bent over, his long eyelashes trembling slightly as he gently pursed his burning lips.
Mu Meng sat up blankly: "Brother, what...what does this mean..."
Mu Qingheng opened his lips: "I..."
His tongue, which he never hesitated to speak, got tied. After saying "I," he fell silent, his expression somewhat like that of a child caught doing something wrong by an adult, his whole body stiff.
He blamed himself for creating unnecessary trouble. Now that things have come to this, he was unwilling to have his heart cut out for his elixir, but Mu Meng caught him stealing a kiss in the middle of the night. If he didn't explain things clearly, this path would be blocked in the future.
Mu Meng touched her lips blankly; the sensation from just now was still vivid, cool and soft.
Brother... how...
I had already asked him twice, and I just couldn't bring myself to ask him again. I felt my cheeks burning hot, and I was sure they were already incredibly red.
Unbeknownst to her, countless thoughts had already crossed Mu Qingheng's mind during that brief moment of silence.
Finally, his brows furrowed, as if he had made up his mind: "Mengmeng, actually..."
In the darkness, his voice was clear and melodious, like the clinking of jade: "...You've been with me these past few days, comforting me, afraid that I'm sad. But actually, I'm not as sad as you think."
Mu Meng looked at him with her clear, bright eyes, hugging the blanket as she listened.
Mu Qingheng looked away, and after a moment, looked directly into her eyes again: "I am not the son of the Heavenly Emperor, nor your biological brother. That's fine. Mengmeng, I've long since stopped wanting to be just your brother."
He actually had countless explanations, but in the process of thinking it over, he inexplicably chose this one.
Mu Meng was completely stunned.
What does that mean...?
Is that what she imagined?
"I don't want to be your brother" and "I don't want to be just your brother" are worlds apart. He means that besides being your brother, he also wants...
"Mengmeng, I'm sorry," Mu Qingheng said softly. "It was your brother who was rude to you and bullied you. If you are angry, just hit me or scold me."
As he spoke, he grabbed Mu Meng's wrist and slapped it across his face without any mercy. Mu Meng was startled and quickly pulled her hand back.
"I'm not angry," she said, but it wasn't that she wasn't angry either; she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Brother, how could I bear to hit you?"
Looking at the little girl who was almost curled up in a ball, Mu Qingheng couldn't help but find it a bit funny: "Mengmeng, don't bury yourself like that, don't suffocate yourself."
He pulled her out of bed: "Look at your brother."
“If you hadn’t discovered it today, I originally planned to bury this secret in my heart forever. Actually, when I learned that you and I were not biological siblings, the initial confusion in my heart faded away, and I was filled with joy. Even though I have fallen to this state, I feel it was all worth it.”
He paused, then his eyes lit up with a captivating light: "You've come to see me, do you know how happy I am?"
He spoke with utmost seriousness, and although Mu Meng listened obediently, she was still in a daze. Since the marriage proposal, she had heard many words of admiration, but all of them combined, apart from what Yue Liutian said to her, her brother's words were the most straightforward.
Was she too oblivious, or was her brother too good at hiding his feelings? She had never realized his thoughts.
Mu Meng's voice was very soft: "Brother, when...when did you do this?"
Mu Qingheng shook his head: "I don't know either."
"oh……"
A moment of silence fell over the room. After a long while, Mu Qingheng spoke again: "Mengmeng, things have come to this. I can no longer be your brother and sister as before. I know this is too shocking for you. You need time to think. I'll wait for you, but..."
His voice softened, becoming very gentle: "But you need to think about it carefully, okay?"
Her brother was one of the most important people in her life, and she had never refused his requests. Mu Meng nodded without hesitation.
Realizing that she had nodded too quickly and seemed unworthy of his seriousness, Mu Meng nodded again emphatically: "Brother, my mind is very confused right now, but I will think it over carefully."
"Okay," Mu Qingheng smiled and stood up. "It's getting late, you should go to sleep early."
“Wait a minute,” Mu Meng hurriedly reached out and grabbed a corner of Mu Qingheng’s clothes, looking up at him, “But…but before I’ve thought it through, you, you can’t sneak into my room like you did today…that.”
Mu Qingheng pursed his lips.
She seemed genuinely unaware of how sweet her voice was, how irresistibly alluring it was. Just now, he had used almost all his willpower to avoid lowering his head to kiss those lips he had kissed countless times before.
"Okay, I promise you, I definitely won't."
Mu Qingheng whispered a promise, saying that he had been a villain for so many days, it was time to act like a gentleman.
After all, they have a long future ahead of them.
He admitted it. This worthless, stony heart of his had somehow developed so many useless acts of soft-heartedness for her sake, like a monster. Now that things had come to this, it wasn't so bad...
For her, he was willing to go to great lengths to weave lies and illusions, to blind her and deaf her, so that she would stay by his side forever.
...
Ever since that stolen kiss that night, Mu Meng felt that the atmosphere between her and her brother had suddenly become subtle.
She used to bandage her brother's wounds and feed him medicine without thinking much of it, but now, these things that she had long taken for granted have become ambiguous.
That day, Mu Meng was changing the bandages on Mu Qingheng's wound. As she began to remove the gauze from his body, a blush crept onto her cheeks.
For no other reason than that, Mu Meng could feel Mu Qingheng staring at him. If it were before, it wouldn't have mattered, but now even though his gaze was gentle, it always carried a hint of heat.
But he couldn't just turn around and run away, could he? Mu Meng braced himself and pretended to be nonchalant as he went about his business.
Mu Qingheng looked at her for a while and then smiled: "Don't be nervous, come on, I can do it myself."
"How can that be?" Mu Meng refused. "How are you going to bandage it yourself? It's so inconvenient. If you move around, it will only make the wound worse."
Mu Qingheng took the gauze and medicine powder from her hands: "Back on the battlefield, there was no one who took such good care of me. I'm used to doing these things, so don't worry."
Mu Meng watched as Mu Qingheng's long, strong fingers deftly unwrapped the gauze; indeed, his movements were more skilled than her own.
Since my brother was more reliable than me, why didn't he do it himself before? Ah… Mu Meng blinked. It's because he likes me…
She couldn't think about it; just thinking about it made her face burn. Mu Meng quickly banished the chaotic thoughts from her mind, focusing solely on watching Mu Qingheng bandage her wounds. As she watched, a wave of heartache washed over her—
My brother's movements are so practiced; he must have done this countless times before. He shed blood for the Celestial Clan on the battlefield and suffered so much, only to be driven out because of his bloodline. He has lived a lonely and miserable life in this desolate place, yet he still says he's not sad...
It's because they wouldn't have to be siblings then.
Mu Meng was lost in thought when Mu Qingheng, who had already taken care of things, looked outside and said, "Mengmeng, the wind has stopped today, why don't we go for a walk?"
*
The weather was unusually fine at Arabezuka, and the thin sunlight fell down. Although it wasn't very warm, it at least made the place a little brighter.
Having not seen such bright daylight for many days, Mu Meng relaxed. She looked around and asked in a clear voice, "Brother, what does the bottom of Endless Cliff look like?"
Mu Qingheng was well-read and had a vast knowledge; there was never a question that could stump him: "The Endless Cliff has no bottom."
Mu Meng's eyes widened slightly: "No confidence?"
"Yes, it is said that Endless Cliff is a deep cliff that existed in ancient times and belongs to the territory of the Demon Clan. The earliest record is that the Demon Clan used it to punish criminals who committed heinous crimes."
Mu Meng listened intently and couldn't help but ask, "How will they be punished? Will they... throw the prisoner in there?"
Mu Qingheng said, "That's right. This is an extremely cruel punishment. The Endless Cliff has no end. Once you fall to a certain point, the sunlight will no longer reach you. After that, there will be endless darkness and void. You will fall continuously in this place until your spiritual power is exhausted and you die in despair."
He spoke in a soft, calm voice, recounting the passage from the book. Suddenly, he turned around and found that Mu Meng was half a step behind him.
"What's wrong, Mengmeng?" Mu Qingheng stepped back.
Mu Meng couldn't explain why, but after hearing her brother's story, she felt a chill run down her spine for no reason: "Brother, Endless Cliff as a form of punishment is truly cruel, I..."
She was a little embarrassed to admit that she had actually been frightened by a few ancient records: "I was a little scared when I heard them..."
Mu Qingheng chuckled and shook his head. He looked at Mu Meng's pale face and realized that she was indeed frightened.
"Don't be afraid, brother won't say anything more."
He chuckled and pinched Mu Meng's soft cheek, coaxing her in a low voice, "What are you afraid of? It's far away from us. Besides, you're not going to fall down."
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