Chapter 48: They left again until the fruits ripened.
As the sun was setting, in Qiao Xi's bamboo garden, Morax put Qiao Xi on the bed and took off her shoes and coat, but the girl refused to sleep no matter what.
The spring breeze is gentle, making it a good season for planting. If we wait a little longer, all the flowers will bloom, and the revitalized life will usher in the most vibrant moment of its life.
Qiao Xi cupped Morax's face in her hands, her breath still faintly tasting of peaches. She rubbed her lips against Morax's nose and said, "Should I kiss you?"
Morax shook his head, gently stroking Qiao Xi's hair in a soothing manner, and said, "You should rest first."
Qiao Xi nodded. She seemed quite obedient while drunk, curling up in her blanket like a rabbit.
After Morax saw that she had calmed down, he sat down at her desk and watched her silently.
With her back to Morax, Qiao Xi suddenly said, "Morax, you've been gone for a long time this time."
Despite knowing she was drunk, Morax responded word by word, saying, "Sorry."
Qiao Xi hummed.
Morax chuckled at the sound. He rarely saw people drunk. In the few times he had seen it, some people would unleash their worst side when drunk, while others would vent their emotions and cause distress.
As for Qiao Xi, when she's drunk, all she does is climb trees and stay there, or whimper when her demands aren't met.
It was something Morax had never seen before.
He looked through the things on Qiao Xi's desk while she was resting.
He used to think this girl loved studying, but later he discovered that all she could write when studying was "solution".
Just as he had thought before, not everything necessarily needs a "solution".
He had lived for thousands of years and never imagined that he would be with an eighteen-year-old girl on an ordinary day.
He had basically looked at everything on Qiao Xi's desk. As Morax scanned the books, he suddenly noticed a notebook he had never seen before.
He thought it was a new assignment that Liu Yun or Yi Xiao had given to Qiao Xi, so he picked it up to read.
To everyone's surprise, the first page read: "Qiao Xi's Diary - Anyone who reads this is a dog."
Morax frowned slightly, wondering when this girl started keeping a diary.
Although he knew that reading someone else's diary was wrong, Morax thought that if he weren't a very observant person, he wouldn't have noticed those few words in the diary, and would have opened the notebook and learned some of the girl's secrets.
Morax's hand lingered on the diary for a moment, then he gently tucked it back into its place and picked up another book to read.
Qiao Xi finally woke up when dusk and night intersected, when the sky was dyed dark by the last remaining rays of the setting sun and then swallowed up by the harbinger of night.
She rubbed her eyes, her head still foggy and somewhat dazed. In her memory, she and Jinlan went to see the strange old woman at the bridge and drank some delicious sparkling peach wine.
Qiao Xi had a terrible headache and an upset stomach. She knew there were no stomach medicines available for her in this world, so she had to bear the nausea herself.
She shook her head uncomfortably in bed, and soon noticed Morax beside her.
Qiao Xi was a little confused. In her memory, Morax had been gone for a long time, and she had been waiting for him for a long time, so much so that this familiar figure now felt strange to her.
Surely he's not asleep and dreaming because he's drunk?
Qiao Xi thought to herself.
So she tentatively called out, "Morax?"
Morax turned his head in response, looked at the girl who had just woken up on the bed, smiled slightly, and said, "You're awake?"
Qiao Xi nodded, then asked, "Is this a dream?"
Morax: "Probably not."
Qiao Xi paused for a moment, her mind slowly working through the thoughts, before asking, "When are you coming back?"
“When you were playing the wild boar in the tree,” Morax said, looking at her.
Spring nights are filled with the scent of grass and earth. A gentle breeze disperses the scents, scattering them to every corner. The cool temperature seems to imbue these ordinary smells with a special warmth, so that every time one experiences this warmth, one will recall the fragrance of this moment.
Qiao Xi blinked: "Huh?"
Morax tilted his head slightly and hummed in agreement.
Qiao Xi: "Why can't I remember?"
Morax: "Maybe it's because you drank too much and blacked out."
Speaking of alcohol, Qiao Xi suddenly remembered something else and asked Morax, "Where's Jinlan?"
Morax: "He went back to camp."
Qiao Xi: "He's not drunk?"
Morax: "He seems to be a better drinker than you."
Qiao Xi pursed her lips, wondering if she was really that bad at it.
Qiao Xi unconsciously thought of famous scenes from various stories she had read, and couldn't help but secretly lift a corner of the quilt to look inside. Seeing that her clothes and everything else were still there, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Morax frowned: "What are you thinking about now?"
Qiao Xi: "I'm afraid I might do something inappropriate to you when I'm drunk."
Seeing that Morax was still frowning slightly, she couldn't help but ask, "It can't really be true, can it?"
Morax said, "No, you just kept whispering in my ear that you wanted to kiss me."
Qiao Xi had once heard a saying: Getting drunk isn't scary, what's scary is having someone help you review what happened.
Thinking of this, Qiao Xi frowned and pondered, "Does Jin Lan know all about it?"
Morax nodded, recalling the scene.
Qiao Xi sighed; she felt like Jin Lan was going to laugh at her.
What Qiao Xi didn't know was that Jin Lan not only didn't laugh at her, but was also very excited about it for a long time. She went back and passionately wrote several short articles to express her excitement.
Seeing that Qiao Xi was alright, Morax stood up and said, "You should rest now, I'm going back."
Hearing him say he was going back, Qiao Xi couldn't help but feel nervous. She asked, "Where are you going?"
Morax: "Go back to where I live."
For some reason, Qiao Xi felt that Morax had become much colder towards her since his return. For example, his eyes no longer held the gentleness they used to have, but instead held a lot of inexplicable indifference.
Qiao Xi thought it might just be her imagination because she had drunk too much, but considering that Morax had arrived so late and had refused her kiss in her memory, she felt that Morax had a lot on his mind.
But can she ask these questions?
Even though the two of them are already together and have had some intimate contact, why is she still afraid of asking about things she shouldn't?
Morax left, and the night fell silent.
Qiao Xi stared at the ceiling, her mind a jumble. What exactly was this "cause and effect" that Grandma Qiao had mentioned?
Qiao Xi couldn't help but have the thought that she, who was terrible at studying, might have been given some kind of savior role.
That's just ridiculous.
Qiao Xi rubbed her head and buried it in the blanket, but she still couldn't fall asleep. The next day, she was woken up by Yi Xiao.
Qiao Xi looked at Yi Xiao and asked, "Where's Morax?"
Yi Xiao said, "The Emperor returned briefly last night, but left again this morning."
These words struck Qiao Xi like a thunderbolt, and the first thought that popped into her mind was: Morax didn't tell her when he left.
Didn't they agree on this?
Seeing that Qiao Xi was somewhat absent-minded, Yi Xiao tapped her head and said, "Before the Emperor left, he said that you were still resting and he would not disturb you. He also said that Liu Yun and I would teach you more about your cultivation in the future. In addition, this is a letter that the Emperor left for you."
Qiao Xi took the letter. She understood that Morax was busy, but the feeling of him being there for her when he was there, and then leaving her back to her masters, was really not good.
Qiao Xi opened the letter, which read: "The contract is in my heart, never forgotten, do not worry."
As Qiao Xi looked at the contents, she felt a bittersweet feeling in her heart.
She closed the letter and asked Yixiao, "Master, how long did Morax's longest war last?"
Yi Xiao thought for a moment and said, "It's only ten years."
ten years……
Qiao Xi didn't say anything more.
The intimacy we once shared felt like a dream, and even his brief reappearance later seemed like an illusion.
The scent of locust blossoms lingered in his chest, but he ultimately didn't accompany her to pick those blossoms.
From that day on, Qiao Xi felt as if she had returned to the days when Morax was not around.
The flowers on Tianheng Mountain are in full bloom, but he hasn't returned.
The flowers on Tianheng Mountain have faded, and he has not returned.
Even as the melons and fruits ripened, there was still no news from Morax.
Qiao Xi learned from two masters.
In my spare time, I would go down the mountain with Jinlan to help out.
She sometimes couldn't tell whether the days were long or short.
That day, after Qiao Xi finished helping the farmers harvest watermelons, the farmers gave her one, and Qiao Xi took the watermelon to find Jin Lan.
They sat on the ridge of the field. Jinlan smashed a watermelon open with her fist and gave a piece to Qiaoxi. Qiaoxi paused, her hand holding the sword pausing. She couldn't help but say, "Why didn't you use the sword to cut it?"
Jinlan paused, then said, "I'm used to it..."
Qiao Xi said nothing more. She put away her sword, picked up the watermelon that Jin Lan had given her, looked at the clouds in the sky, and started eating it.
Jinlan said, "Your appearance is almost finalized, isn't it?"
Qiao Xi nodded: "Yes, Master said I'm practicing very well."
Jinlan took a bite of watermelon, glanced at Qiao Xi, and hesitated before speaking.
Qiao Xi said, "Just tell me directly."
Jinlan: "I feel like you've become a different person since the Emperor left."
Qiao Xi asked, "What has changed?"
Jinlan: "You don't seem to hate studying as much as you used to."
Qiao Xi munched on a watermelon: "Really? Maybe it's because he's not here."
Jinlan wanted to comfort Qiaoxi, and after thinking for a long time, she finally said, "Actually, the Emperor often leaves. Before you came, I had only seen the Emperor once, which was the year I first joined the Thousand Rock Army. During the time you came, the Emperor stayed the longest."
Jinlan took a bite of watermelon and continued, "The Emperor's lifespan is different from ours, and his perception of time may also be different, but I don't think the Emperor will keep you waiting here for him forever."
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Author's note: The ending is happy; the male and female leads will be together forever.
I was quite busy today, so it's getting late.
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