Chapter 14
Sheng Ningyu choked on a mouthful of water, coughing violently, and felt even more grief and indignation.
Okay!
It turns out I screwed over myself!
But why doesn't she remember giving this to Chu Chang'an?
Be careful.
Someone patted her on the back to help her catch her breath, and then a snow-white handkerchief was handed to Sheng Ningyu.
Just as she was about to take it, the handkerchief was taken back. Sheng Ningyu looked up in confusion and met a pair of dark eyes.
The color of those pupils was so deep, like ink, that any light or brilliance in the world would be swallowed up and assimilated.
"You can't move your right hand much, let me do it."
Just as Sheng Ningyu was about to say it was alright, the other person raised their hand and gently pressed it to the corner of her lips.
This handkerchief wasn't made of fine silk or brocade to display status, nor was it some ethereal, high-grade robe; it was just ordinary linen. When it touched the skin, it felt somewhat rough, far less soft and comfortable than the former two.
However, the other person's body temperature was transmitted to her skin through the ordinary cotton cloth, which made Sheng Ningyu feel a little reluctant to leave.
It is a person, a living, breathing person.
She hadn't been this close to anyone in a long time.
When Yuan Shuhe applied the medicine to her earlier, there was some inevitable contact during his movements, but his body temperature was too high, and Sheng Ningyu always suspected that he might have some kind of cold or fever.
That doesn't resemble Xie Qianjing at all.
It was warm and cool, like jade that had been warmed by someone; it was neither so hot that you wanted to run away, nor so cold that you felt like shrinking back.
Even touching her wouldn't cause her the slightest discomfort.
Sheng Ningyu was only in a daze for a few seconds before Xie Qianjing had already wiped the water stains from her lips and brushed her shoulder to remove the weeds that had accidentally rolled up on her sleeves when she sat down on the ground.
His movements were natural without being overly cautious, as if he were used to doing these things.
Just moments ago she was thinking of staying away from him, but now, Sheng Ningyu felt so comfortable that she didn't want to move.
"It's just a few weeds, it won't cause any trouble." Sheng Ningyu propped her head up with one hand, glanced at Xie Qianjing out of the corner of her eye, and said lazily, "We can clean up in two hours when everyone gets up."
Xie Qianjing paused for a moment, then withdrew his hand as instructed.
The people from Yunwang Palace had already closed their eyes to rest and recuperate their spiritual energy. Before closing their eyes, Yuan Shu carefully put away his notes and left some pills and food for Sheng Ningyu and the others, agreeing to rest for two hours before continuing their journey.
Sheng Ningyu played with the pill bottle for a while, then threw it all into Xie Qianjing's arms, replacing it with the blindfold bead in her palm.
As she stared at the blindfold bead spinning in her palm, she reminded him, "This is a pill from the Yuan family's young master, priceless and hard to come by. I don't really need it right now, so please try it and see how it works."
They say it's "worth its weight in gold," yet they toss it around carelessly, showing no appreciation whatsoever.
Xie Qianjing picked up the medicine bottle from his bosom. The porcelain vessel still carried a cool, thin temperature in his hand.
The fingertips unconsciously caressed the bottle, then stopped for a moment.
Xie Qianjing lowered his eyelashes and spoke out of the blue, on a completely unrelated topic: "Your wound reopened before."
Sheng Ningyu turned to look at him, then turned back to look at the campfire in front of her, and couldn't help but laugh, propping her chin on her hand: "What's the big deal? Didn't Young Master Yuan take care of it for me? Besides, bumps and bruises are inevitable when you're traveling."
The firelight was bright, carrying waves of heat, and swayed with the wind.
Sheng Ningyu remembered being burned by fire, so she was somewhat afraid of fire and shrank back slightly.
Xie Qianjing glanced at her: "When I bandaged you earlier, I saw that your wound was very deep. If that sword move had been used again, the bones in your right hand would have been completely broken."
Sheng Ningyu blinked: "So?"
Xie Qianjing picked up a branch and poked at the campfire, moving the flames further away: "You refused to eat my flesh and blood, otherwise you would have been cured long ago."
Sheng Ningyu chuckled and raised one eyebrow at Xie Qianjing: "Say what you will, I'm not going to eat your flesh and blood."
Xie Qianjing seemed to smile slightly, but then again, he didn't.
After a moment of silence, Xie Qianjing, gazing at the increasingly blazing flames, suddenly spoke.
Why did you draw your sword?
These words came abruptly, almost simultaneously with a gust of wind, blowing the flames toward the two of them. Sheng Ningyu reflexively leaned back, her right hand already touching her waist, but there was no sword.
However, someone was faster than her.
Xie Qianjing didn't turn his head, but as if by reflex, he raised his hand, almost turning most of his body to block her way. His voice was very soft, as if he were coaxing a child of unknown age: "It's okay, don't worry."
Her voice wasn't exactly gentle; it was even somewhat cold, yet it was an unconscious act of protection.
The flames were dazzling, illuminating the contours of his profile, making the sword scar between his brows even more prominent.
Sheng Ningyu was taken aback, looked up, and said in a somewhat inexplicable voice, "I'm not a child, Xie Qianjing, I'm not afraid of fire."
Xie Qianjing seemed to only then realize what was happening.
Their eyes met in the firelight.
The flames blazed fiercely, and a profound silence followed.
Xie Qianjing straightened his cuffs, his posture still upright as a bamboo, and his voice returned to its usual gentle tone: "I apologize for my rudeness earlier."
The two shifted positions one after the other, but Xie Qianjing ended up getting closer to the fire.
Sheng Ningyu looked past him at the firelight for a while, then suddenly smiled, tilted her head and asked, "Xie Qianjing, didn't you say before that my right hand is a natural swordsman's hand? Why are you asking me now why I drew my sword?"
Xie Qianjing looked at her quietly for a while, then looked at the firelight: "Because I don't want you to lose your hand."
He has recovered considerably, and controlling mere puppet barriers is no problem at all.
The puppet barrier from before was not created by this place, but rather he released it.
Xie Qianjing liked the way Sheng Ningyu held her sword.
Full of vigor and high spirits, they were unrestrained and flamboyant.
But he didn't like her saving other people.
Especially the Chu family.
"Who wants to lose their hand? I don't want to lose my hand either."
Sheng Ningyu didn't look at Xie Qianjing, but stared at the campfire in front of her, leaning back against the tree trunk, her tone lazy and casual, "So before I drew my sword, I hesitated, after all, meddling in these things is time-consuming and laborious for me."
"But then I realized it."
She laughed, flames burning in her eyes.
Xie Qianjing remained silent, leaving only the crackling sound of the campfire.
Amidst the roar of flames, a voice came from behind, somewhat muffled: "I think if my sword technique can save someone, then losing my hand will be worthwhile."
Xie Qianjing: "Even if he might be a bad person?"
Sheng Ningyu: "If there's a 'maybe,' then they're not truly evil."
Yes, that's me. I'm willing to save anyone.
But I won't save you, Xie Qianjing.
[How pitiful Xie Qianjing! I love everyone in the world, I will save everyone in the world, but I will not save you!]
Mocking, malicious, contemptuous.
All the most unpleasant words in the world were spoken in a voice that sounded exactly like Sheng Ningyu's.
Xie Qianjing smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
He didn't care, because he had already experienced the cold-heartedness and indifference of this Bright Moon Sword Master.
However, there are occasional moments when my mind wanders, and I always have some absurd, inexplicable, and vague thoughts in my mind.
But his inner demons always understood him faster than he did.
For example, right now.
Xie Qianjing suddenly looked up and met a pair of bright and dazzling eyes that were smiling.
The campfire still burned rather quietly, but the wind stirred my heart and the clouds stirred my emotions.
There is no sound in the fire, yet the sound is outside; there is no moon in the sky, yet the moon is right before your eyes.
Just like a hundred years ago.
Bold and unrestrained, it shines brightly without restraint. All is silent, its light shining alone upon his heart full of ice and snow.
Sheng Ningyu didn't know what was wrong with Xie Qianjing, and after she finished speaking, she remained silent.
Could it be that my guess was wrong? Sheng Ningyu's smile faded, and her brows furrowed slightly.
She belatedly realized that Xie Qianjing might be feeling apprehensive because of her closeness to Yunwang Palace, a feeling that Sheng Ningyu had experienced before.
She was worried that her friend would find someone else and not care about her anymore.
She worried that her master and fellow disciples would prefer the new disciple and thus forget about her.
However, Sheng Ningyu's worries were often only momentary.
After all, she was such a skilled swordsman, and she was also considerate, gentle, kind, lovely, good-tempered, respectful of her teachers, and friendly to her relatives and friends. Sheng Ningyu believed that no one in the world could dislike her.
If so, it only shows that the person has poor taste and no discernment.
For example, the one who sealed her in a coffin.
What a tasteless person.
But Sheng Ningyu also knew that there were very few people in the world as capable and perfect as her, and Xie Qianjing was definitely different from her.
Even though he would occasionally reveal a frosty coldness, as if his previous gentleness was all a disguise, Sheng Ningyu still believed in her heart that Xie Qianjing should be a very considerate and gentle person, even so gentle that he was a little too easy to bully.
She was not an ungrateful person. Although Xie Qianjing had many mysteries surrounding him and might even have some grudges against her, Xie Qianjing's repeated assistance was genuine.
So, for trivial matters, Sheng Ningyu was willing to say a few nice words to cheer him up.
However, the tricks that used to work so well in the past did not seem to work on Xie Qianjing.
The flickering firelight made Sheng Ningyu's eyes ache. She raised her hand to rub her eyes, and just as she was thinking of changing the subject, she heard Xie Qianjing chuckle.
"If that time really comes." He paused, as if remembering something, and then chuckled softly, his voice gentle and light, like a wild enchantress emerging from a bamboo forest.
A note from the author:
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My best friend: I feel like your male protagonist is the kind of person who would ask a question like, "If I, your master/senior brother/junior sister/junior brother/friend/ex-fiancé Xiao Chu/the crane of Jian Ge/the fish in the pond all fell into the river at the same time, who would you save?"
Me: But, aren't the fish in the pond a bit too much?!
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