Chapter Twenty-Three
The capital of Dongliang Kingdom is Su Zang.
Marquis Haitang ordered his soldiers to take his token and the letter of surrender from the Eastern Liang Kingdom to the outskirts of Suzang to inform the Iron Pagoda generals that the Eastern Liang Kingdom had surrendered!
Then, he glanced at the Empress Dowager, hesitated for a moment, and led a few soldiers to chase after Mo Yinghuo.
Three days inside the formation, but less than an hour outside. Inside the white jade coffin, Zhao Shu gently turned his head, looking at the face beneath him, which, in the dim light, had lost some of its former imposing stature, gaining five more points of refinement and five more points of tranquility. He took a deep breath, his elbow slightly bent, and his jet-black hair slowly brought his head closer to Mo Yinghuo's face. Mo Yinghuo's soft breath gently fell on the tip of his nose, rippling around it and spreading throughout his body.
Zhao Shu suddenly stopped, swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down forcefully, and saliva gurgled softly down his throat.
As if hearing a "thud," or feeling Zhao Shu's unbearable heat, or as if being startled awake by a nightmare as usual, Mo Ying opened her eyes with a tremor. Her pale, glassy pupils were darkened by those deep, terrified eyes. Their eyes met again, but much closer than before.
Mo Yinghuo's mind went blank. Those dreams suddenly flooded back, a fierce red tide catching him off guard. In an instant, he pushed Zhao Shu upwards with both hands.
With a loud "thud," Zhao Shu's back slammed heavily against the coffin lid. Mo Yinghuo's push was quite forceful; Zhao Shu's brows furrowed, and his lips turned slightly blue. The impact echoed softly inside the coffin, further disturbing the person inside.
The heavy impact calmed Mo Yinghuo down. She pressed her hands against Zhao Shu's strong, muscular chest, a smile playing on her lips, and said coldly, "What, Young Master Zhao, are you plotting something against this general?"
"Don't move." Zhao Shu breathed heavily, then pried open Mo Yinghuo's hands that were gripping his chest and pressed them forcefully against the sides of Mo Yinghuo's head.
"Let go of my hand first! Don't try to bully me in this cramped and dark coffin. If you're so tough, go outside and fight."
Mo Yinghuo's hands were held tightly by him, making her completely unable to move. The composure she had finally regained was inexplicably suppressed by the discomfort and irritation that came from the constant physical contact. She stared at Zhao Shu, who seemed increasingly anxious and impatient, and said with a cold and annoyed tone.
"I told you, don't move, feet... feet, don't kick." Zhao Shu's ears flushed crimson, which traveled down his neck to his chest. His whole body was trembling and panting uncontrollably. He bit his lower lip tightly, and the scabbed wound broke open again, blood staining his lips. His pale, glassy eyes were also bloodshot.
Three parts tenderness, seven parts wildness.
Mo Yinghuo's pent-up anger subtly dissipated somewhat amidst the intense and wild passion. However, her body didn't stop moving; her hands continued to struggle desperately, and her long legs kicked wildly at Zhao Shu's lower body.
Zhao Shu seemed to have been thoroughly enraged by Mo Yinghuo's reckless kicking. He suddenly exerted force with both legs, pressing down firmly on Mo Yinghuo's two restless legs. Except for his upper body, his entire body was now pressed down on Mo Yinghuo, his head slightly lowered, his dark hair loosened from their struggle, wrapping around his neck and ears, almost covering half of his face.
"General, if you move again, I... I might really do something!" Zhao Shu said, his voice trembling.
Upon hearing this, Mo Yinghuo's breath hitched, and his limbs shot upwards as if filled with blood, burning hot. After reaching the top, it was as if snow and frost were falling in June; his hands and legs instantly stopped moving, and his whole body suddenly became icy cold and lost its color.
What does this person take me for?!
Zhao Shu sensed Mo Yinghuo's humiliation and resentment, and immediately panicked, hurriedly explaining, "General, that's not what I meant. I just... didn't want you to move around. No... no other meaning. Just bear with it a little longer, we'll be there soon."
Mo Yinghuo was consumed by the nameless anger that had rekindled within her and the shame of Zhao Shu's tightly pressed arms, so she couldn't listen to his explanation. She suddenly exerted force with her legs, rubbing them back and forth against Zhao Shu's legs several times.
Suppressing his heavy breathing, Zhao Shu spoke in a trembling voice, almost tearful, pleading, "General, I beg you, please stop moving around, stop rubbing your legs, okay?"
Mo Yinghuo's body suddenly froze, and he stopped struggling, becoming quiet and obedient. Over the past few days, Zhao Shu had always given him an unfathomable, composed, and reserved air. Normally, the man on top of him was always outwardly aloof and serious, rarely smiling, only becoming more talkative when discussing the Stone Spirit Kingdom, occasionally displaying a polite, but rarely smiling smile. But now, with a tone tinged with sobs, pleading, and even helplessness, all his anger and shame melted away.
She suddenly realized something more important: they had entered Stonehenge to investigate the Stone Spirit Kingdom, not to get entangled in a brute fight.
Mo Yinghuo slightly raised her eyes, looking at the person above her who was still trembling for some reason, his eyes lowered, his lips tightly pressed together, as if he had suffered a great injustice. "What, making it seem like I'm the one bullying him," she sighed helplessly in her heart. Helpless, she simply leaned back and remained motionless, sighed again, and asked, "Zhao Shu, what exactly do you want?" What had just happened was hard not to have wild thoughts.
A moment of silence.
"You don't have a crush on me, do you?"
"No."
"Is there something you're having trouble telling me about?"
"No."
"Could it be that your mother and my father arranged a marriage between us when we were children? No way, it's alright, Zhao Shu, if that's true, you don't need to..."
"General, no."
"..."
"I'm just very sensitive and can't have too much contact with other people, the general knows that."
"Are all the people of Nightfall Star like this?"
"Um."
"I hope I didn't hurt you just now."
"No."
"Just now..."
"I just wanted to help you with your Qi, but I didn't expect you to wake up suddenly."
"Crossing Qi?"
"Yes, Qi is the most basic energy and physiological function that forms human life activities. It is the original substance that produces and constitutes all things in the universe. The Nightfall Star people and you, General, are actually of the same lineage. A long, long time ago, we were not native to our respective planets. Countless years ago, on a certain planet, which the Nightfall Star people called Yuanxing, they detected a dying star nearby, a celestial body like the Sun, that was about to explode and collapse. So they sent the people of Yuanxing in batches to various star systems to find planets suitable for survival. Perhaps during the space travel, an accident occurred, and some knowledge was lost. When they arrived at their respective planets, the environment and gravity were different, and gradually, differences arose."
"You mean, we all come from the same place, um... the same planet."
"Yes, actually it's not just us, there are other people living in other star systems. The Nightfall Star people have found two star systems, one is the one here, and the other is a star system about 1.5 million light-years away."
"I never imagined we had such a connection, that we were even from the same clan. In fact, we were both originally from Yuanxing. So what's this about the Qi crossing?"
"Yes, the Yuanxing people have a book called 'Yuanqi Studies.' The Yelan Xing people have lost a lot of knowledge during their tens of thousands of years of travel in the universe. However, they have preserved a part of this book. Simply put, it means that we can go for a long time without eating and maintain our strength by circulating the basic energy of heaven and earth. General, we have been in this coffin for almost three days. Haven't you noticed that you don't feel hungry at all?"
Mo Yinghuo suddenly realized, "So, it's Zhao Shu."
“When I arrived, I discovered that you did not retain the knowledge of Qi, so I transferred Qi to the general three times in the past two days.”
"three times?"
“Well, the general slept soundly the first two times and didn’t notice anything, but…” Zhao Shu paused, as if recalling the scene of their bodies entangled just now, and quickly steadied his breathing, “but I didn’t expect the general to suddenly wake up just now.”
"..."
"It was Zhao Shu's oversight. He should have told the general earlier when he woke up."
Mo Yinghuo lay there stunned, like a beautiful stone statue, a string of questions flashing through her mind. "What? He's already transferred Qi to me twice in these three days and two nights! And I didn't even notice! He was so close just now, could the Qi transfer have been lips to lips? Impossible! Impossible! Even if I agreed, Zhao Shu is the kind of person who would break someone's limbs if they were even touched, I would definitely be a hundred times unwilling! Yes, yes, I need to calm down!"
The person beneath him was lost in thought, drifting aimlessly, completely unaware of Zhao Shu's presence. After a moment, he whispered, "General, we've arrived." With that, he carefully released Mo Yinghuo's left hand with his right, and with a forceful push, the coffin lid flipped to the side. The sudden brightness stung Mo Yinghuo's eyes; she quickly squinted and raised her left wrist to shield herself from the light.
The cinnabar mole on Mo Yinghuo's eyebrow was pierced by the sunlight, turning it a deep crimson.
Zhao Shu was unusually cautious. As soon as the coffin lid was pushed open, he gently released his other hand that was holding Mo Yinghuo, and slowly placed his hand on the jade wall next to her cheek. He then cautiously lifted his right leg, which was pressing down on Mo Yinghuo's lower body, and knelt down between her legs. Afterward, his left leg, which was pressing down on Mo Yinghuo, also trembled and slowly lifted up. Then, with one hand supporting himself on the top of the white jade coffin, he slowly and gently half-knelt and half-stood up.
Mo Yinghuo's pupils constricted, utterly astonished. He smiled bitterly, speechless. Such a simple action as getting up had taken Zhao Shu almost the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Was he some delicate porcelain doll that could break at the slightest touch? Seeing his awkward limbs, his pitiful, bloodshot eyes, and his trembling, fearful expression, Mo Yinghuo dared not, and could not bear to, utter another word to urge him. She simply turned her face away, not wanting to disturb this unusually sensitive man, and let him slowly rise.
"Since we are of the same lineage, and our ancestors were both Yuanxing, I have what he has, and he has what I have. Why am I so sensitive? Could it be that he really has a crush on me?" Mo Yinghuo looked at himself through the bright coffin wall, feeling puzzled and depressed.
...
Finally, Zhao Shu, as if he had used up all his strength, climbed out of the coffin. In contrast, Mo Yinghuo sat up abruptly, straightened his clothes and cuffs, tightened his arm guards, tugged at his silver armor, and strode out of the coffin.
Mo Yinghuo looked into the distance and discovered that Zhao Shu's black armor was nowhere to be seen; he was only dressed in a black and brown robe. As she walked over, she thought, "I was wearing silver armor just now. Although it's light armor, I can't guarantee I didn't hurt him during the fight." Approaching, Mo Yinghuo suddenly stopped, her heart skipping a beat. She saw Zhao Shu with his eyes lowered, breathing heavily, his whole body trembling with sweat, as if his strong body would collapse at any moment.
"Zhao Shu, are you... alright?" Mo Yinghuo asked hurriedly, reaching out to support him, but then seemed to remember something and quickly withdrew her hand, looking at Zhao Shu with a puzzled expression.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com