Ziye promptly responded and immediately sent someone to look.
Not every wilderness can easily yield a cave, but this particular wilderness was likely a frequent hunting spot, laden with traps and caves dug by hunters to rest during their hunts.
Ziye swiftly located a cave with his men. He heaved a sigh of relief, "Young Master, we found it. Two miles ahead there’s a cave."
Zhou Gu nodded, holding Su Rong tightly as he briskly moved forward.
Not long after, Zhou Gu realized the grip Su Rong had on his neck had loosened. He imediately called out, "Su Rong?"
Su Rong murmured an affirming response in a daze.
"Are you getting sleepy? Don’t sleep." Zhou Gu relaxed hearing her agreement. He was actually scared; he didn’t understand medicine, there were no doctors present. He didn’t know her condition and feared if she fainted, he wouldn’t know what to do.
Su Rong murmured another sleepy agreement.
To keep her awake, Zhou Gu conversed with her, "Where all are you hurt? Tell me."
Su Rong, her eyes closed and head resting on his chest, answered, "My back, arm, shoulder, and there should be injuries on my chest...many places.."
Zhou Gu’s breath hitched.
Even though she was woozy from her injuries and blood loss, she seemed to understand what he was thinking, and continued, "No mortal wounds, don’t worry, I’ve already taken medicine. You just need to bandage me up using military methods."
She believed Zhou Gu would know how to administer such bandages; it was a fundamental skill every soldier was required to have, a skill all members of the Duke Residence would undoubtedly possess.
Zhou Gu felt slightly relieved, he managed to croak out, "Alright." Then, he added, "Don’t sleep, I’ll keep you company and chat."
Su Rong murmured another agreement.
Zhou Gu asked, "Where are your secret guards? Why isn’t there even one?"
Su Rong answered him, "I brought nearly three hundred secret guards, but Nangong Yu had more than three times our number. They were busy fending off Nangong Yu and his men to protect me, and I was forced to escape by myself by jumping off a cliff. I didn’t expect Nangong Yu to even search down the side of the cliff, and continue to chase after me."
She didn’t know if her three hundred guards had all perished or how they were faring now, but chances were the outcome wasn’t good.
Zhou Gu replied, "Ziye and I tracked them to a forest and found your secret guards. One of them, Fu Zhou, was still barely alive. I fed him two Soul Returning Pills and had him sent to the Medical Hall. He was the one who told me you escaped in the direction of the cliff. I estimated you’d travel in this direction, so we took a shortcut to find you."
"Lucky you’re clever." Su Rong praised him. Her survival was due to Zhou Gu cleverly predicting her escape route ahead of time, an act that was near impossible to predict. Yet, he did. Otherwise, she would have surely died today.
She held onto his neck tighter, "Before I saw you, I thought to myself, even if I were to die, I’d drag Nangong Yu down with me."
At that time, she didn’t have the luxury to ponder what would happen after her death? Would he be sad, or her parents, siblings, aunts, uncle and even Crown Prince and Nanchu King?
Anyway, if she was going to be killed, death would be death. Once she was dead and her life gone, everything else would be meaningless.
Zhou Gu held her tighter. He was extraordinarily relieved that in all those years in the Eastern Palace, he hadn’t slacked off. The Grand Tutor had taught him tirelessly, he had studied everything he should have. Although his grandfather didn’t let him join the military, he had nonetheless poured over many military books. Prior to coming to Nanping, he had studied the topography of the entire Nanping thoroughly. At that time, he had been desperately looking for her while trying to keep a clear head to calmly analyze her potential escape routes. He had managed to find her, just before Nangong Yu could kill her.
Beyond relief, he was also scared.
He thought, what if he hadn’t arrived in time to save her? He feared his life would forever be clouded in darkness.
He softly said, "I killed Nangong Yu, gave him two strikes and he died instantly. By now, he must be dead as a doornail. I’ve avenged you."
Su Rong curled her lips and said, "Mm-hmm, I knew you could kill him."
The two were talking while making their way to the cave Ziye had found for them. By the time they arrived, the dark guards had already tidied up the cave and spread thick, dry straw. They had also lit a fire in the cave, the heat from which warmed the ground and the stone walls. The entire cave, although not vast, was spacious, filled with bursts of warmth from the flaming firewood pile.
Zhou Gu gently laid Su Rong on the dry straw, and as he watched her, he felt somewhat at a loss, "I’m going to dress your wounds."
Su Rong nodded.
Zhou Gu grit his teeth. His hands trembled as he attempted to remove Su Rong’s outer garment, but after a while, he still couldn’t manage to unfasten it. He knew he should dress her wounds as soon as possible, but a thought kept nagging at him: she was engaged to Ye Guixue. If he dressed her wounds, he would inevitably see her body, especially since she’d told him that she had more than one wound.
Su Rong opened her eyes. Although her head felt cloudy, her mind was sharp. She laughed at the sight of Zhou Gu’s hesitation and called out to him, "Zhou Gu."
"Mm-hmm," Zhou Gu didn’t dare to look at Su Rong.
Su Rong spoke softly, "I think there’s something I haven’t told you."
"What is it?" Zhou Gu asked, his mind racing. He tried to steady his trembling hands, but with no success. There was a moment when he wished he could get rid of his hands.
Su Rong looked at him and said, "I called off my engagement with Ye Guixue before he left Beijing."
Zhou Gu’s movement abruptly paused, and he hastily lifted his head to look at Su Rong.
Su Rong met his gaze and reiterated word by word, "I called it off with him."
Zhou Gu’s heartbeat momentarily halted, then rapidly resumed. For a moment, he opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. After what felt like ages, he finally managed to utter in a barely audible whisper, "Really?"
"Really."
Upon hearing her confirmation, the feeling that rose in Zhou Gu’s heart was not jubilation or surprise, but a bitter sweetness. He couldn’t express it in words, but it felt as if something was bubbling up inside him. He pursed his lips and stared at her, asking, "Is it because of me? Because I begged you to let me go to Nanchu, so you, you called off your engagement with him?"
"Are you hoping my answer is yes or no?" Su Rong didn’t directly answer.
Zhou Gu stared at her, silent for a moment before finally lowering his head. He didn’t say a word, instead, he started to unfasten her clothes. This time, to his own amazement, his hands were no longer shaking.
Su Rong looked at him and chuckled lightly, "Zhou Gu, you should have more confidence in yourself. Who else in the world could make me leave Ye Guixue?"
Zhou Gu suddenly paused and said, "Stop talking."
"Then I’ll go to sleep. I’m so tired and sleepy," Su Rong closed her eyes.
"Don’t you dare sleep."
Su Rong asked helplessly, "What do you want then?"
Zhou Gu seemed to be suppressing his emotions, his entire body wound up tight. However, his voice was surprisingly soft, "I’m not a doctor. Wait until I finish dressing your wounds, and you’re sure you’re okay, then you can sleep."
When he didn’t hear Su Rong’s response, he cautiously looked up at her.
Su Rong nodded, "Okay. But are you sure you can dress my wounds while I’m awake?"
It wouldn’t have taken him that long to take her clothes off otherwise.
Zhou Gu didn’t reply. He pursed his lips and paused for a moment before swiftly removing her outer garment. Then, layer by layer, he stripped away her clothes. Finally, faced with the layer of undergarment that was stuck to her bloody flesh, he clenched his fingers and broke the silence, "You need to write me another marriage proposal. A marriage proposal from the Princess of Nanchu and her husband. After all, you destroyed my original proposition. I’ve been wanting you to compensate me for that."
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