57 The only reason you can deceive yourself
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps the sand on the shore absorbed a large amount of moisture from Liu Hanruo's body, allowing the cold air to slowly dissipate along with the moisture, and she finally showed signs of waking up.
Liu Hanruo's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't help but cough a few times and tried to move her fingers, only to find that they were already frozen stiff. She tried to stand up, but her legs seemed to be out of control, remaining stiff and motionless.
With unwavering determination, Liu Hanruo persevered. Using her sense of touch and sight, she realized she was lying on the sand. Suddenly, she remembered an ancient method. With sheer willpower, she slowly buried her hands in the sand. Soon, her frozen hands began to warm up. She then repeated the process, burying her legs in the sand. Fifteen minutes later, she regained feeling in her feet and finally stood up.
The first thing that caught her eye was the enormous icy pool in front of her, which, as always, emitted a chilling aura. Liu Hanruo then began to slowly recall everything that had happened before. She remembered that she and the Prince of Xiaoyao had struggled in the icy pool. Later, she fainted due to exhaustion. In the moment she lost consciousness, she clearly saw the worry in the Prince of Xiaoyao's eyes.
Liu Hanruo believes that since she fainted at the time, it must have been Xiaoyao Wang who did everything in his power to drag her here. So where is Xiaoyao Wang now?
Liu Hanruo turned around and looked to her side. As she wished, she saw the Carefree King lying there quietly. A faint chill emanated from his body, and his entire body seemed to be covered with a layer of white frost. His face was also bluish-purple. Liu Hanruo's heart tightened, and she hurriedly took his pulse, but all she felt was bone-chilling coldness. She could not feel his pulse at all, which made Liu Hanruo very anxious.
Liu Hanruo was extremely anxious, looking around anxiously. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand. Helpless, she had no choice but to use what was available and try to dig a large hole in the sand with her bare hands. Before long, her hands were worn raw, and blood mixed with sand. But Liu Hanruo still gritted her teeth and continued to dig with her strong willpower.
Persistence pays off. After digging for a full hour, Liu Hanruo finally dug a large pit with her bare hands. Ignoring the pain in her index finger, she half-dragged and half-carried the Prince of Leisure into the pit. Then, she spent another quarter of an hour covering the pit with sand, leaving only his face exposed.
After dealing with everything, Liu Hanruo was completely exhausted. She reached into her robes to take out a pill to stave off her hunger, but suddenly remembered that all the pills she had carried with her in the icy pool had been cut open and were gone. Helpless, Liu Hanruo could only forcefully suppress the hunger in her stomach and then focus on observing the Prince of Xiaoyao's facial reactions.
As time passed, the layer of white frost covering the carefree king slowly melted into tiny water droplets, which dripped down his cheeks and were absorbed by the sand. An hour later, the carefree king's face gradually dried, and his complexion returned to normal.
Seeing this, Liu Hanruo breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted Xiaoyao Wang's face, trying to wake him up. However, no matter how she called, Xiaoyao Wang did not respond. Liu Hanruo felt strange and used her hands to dig through the sand again, pulling Xiaoyao Wang out. She placed her fingers on Xiaoyao Wang's pulse, and as the pulse beat, she became more and more alarmed.
It turned out that, judging from the Prince of Xiaoyao's pulse, he had suffered from palpitations due to overexertion of his internal energy. The chilling air from the icy pool had taken advantage of this opening to directly attack his heart, worsening his condition. Lying in the sand could only expel the surface chill, having no effect on preventing its invasion. Liu Hanruo acted decisively, pressing several acupoints near his heart meridian. She then took out her silver needles and quickly inserted them in a circular motion, hoping to temporarily stabilize his condition and prevent it from deteriorating further.
Liu Hanruo did her best to save him, inserting needles with extreme precision and speed. After round after round of emergency treatment, the Prince of Xiaoyao's pulse finally calmed down slightly, and his condition temporarily stabilized. Liu Hanruo breathed a sigh of relief, and tears seemed to well up in her hazy eyes. Just then, her stomach kept rumbling, as if protesting her master's inhumanity. She looked down at the Prince of Xiaoyao's calm profile, and as if she had made up her mind, she turned and left.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it was already evening. The sun slowly withdrew its dazzling light, turning into a golden disc. The cloudless sky was blue, like a clear lake. Gradually, the color deepened, as if the lake water was getting deeper, reflecting the cold pool not far away.
Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the surface of the cold pool seemed to be painted with a golden hue, appearing exceptionally beautiful. After a while, the sun, its round face flushed red, sprayed its crimson glow onto the earth and sky—this was the beautiful sunset. The sun displayed its beauty, its afterglow shining on the face of the carefree king, making it appear exceptionally soft and handsome. Then, the setting sun danced joyfully, slowly disappearing below the horizon.
After a long while, when the Carefree King slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the afterglow of the setting sun. He gently raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light. At this moment, his mind was preoccupied with Liu Hanruo's safety. Following his memory, he turned his head slightly, hoping to see the figure he longed for, but all he saw was sand and a cold pool. The Carefree King was startled and slightly agitated, muttering to himself:
"I clearly remember keeping her by my side, how could she be gone? Could something have happened to her?"
The thought of Liu Hanruo's accident made Xiaoyao Wang forget everything else. He struggled to get up, only to find that his lower body was completely buried in the sand. He tried his best to break free from the sand, but he always failed. Helpless, he had to dig with both hands and his feet at the same time. Finally, he broke out of the sand and stood up unsteadily. Before he could stand up, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
When Liu Hanruo returned with the various fruits she had picked, she saw the carefree king coughing up blood. Worry immediately appeared in her eyes, but she hesitated and took a step back as if in a fit of pique.
Looking at the bloodstains on the sand, Liu Hanruo sighed helplessly and silently told herself:
Well, he was just a man in black I'd only met a few times, not that heartless man. How could I just sit idly by?
Having figured this out, Liu Hanruo instantly appeared beside the Carefree King, supporting him with one hand, and softly complained:
"Knowing your own physical condition, why push yourself so hard? Even if you wanted to die, this isn't the way to do it."
Upon seeing Liu Hanruo, the Carefree King smiled, gazing at her with deep affection, and uttered a very soft voice:
"Ruo'er, as long as you're alright, that's all that matters! I don't care what happens to me, I'd have no regrets even if I died."
After speaking, the Prince of Xiaoyao couldn't help but cough a few times. Although the Prince of Xiaoyao spoke very softly, Liu Hanruo was, after all, a martial artist, and her hearing was excellent. After hearing it, her eyes changed slightly, and a fleeting emotion flashed in her eyes before she resumed her indifferent expression, lifted the Prince of Xiaoyao's hand, and began to take his pulse.
Noticing the change in the pulse, Liu Hanruo calmly continued applying the acupuncture. After a moment, she removed the silver needles, handed the fruit she had just picked to the Prince of Xiaoyao, and said indifferently:
"These are the only fruits we can find on this deserted island. Eat them or not is up to you."
The carefree prince accepted the fruit with a pale face. Although he smiled faintly, there was a hint of sadness on his face. But it was precisely because of this that the carefree prince seemed to have a kind of sickly beauty, making people feel sorry for him and want to personally smooth away his sadness.
The thought had barely formed in her mind when Liu Hanruo's hand instinctively touched the trace of sorrow between her brows. By the time she realized it, it was too late; she could only cough awkwardly. At that moment, she saw the Carefree Prince gently grasp Liu Hanruo's hands and say affectionately:
"Ruo'er, actually I am..."
Before the carefree king could finish speaking, Liu Hanruo waved her hand to interrupt him:
"Um... let me tell you a simple story."
Long ago, there was a girl who lived a very weak life, constantly being bullied. Even after getting married, she couldn't escape the cruel tricks of fate and lived a very humble life. On the verge of death, she finally realized that someone who doesn't even know how to cherish themselves has no right to expect others to cherish them.
From then on, she changed. She stopped letting others bully her, and her life gradually improved. In an accident, she unintentionally saved a man in black. What she didn't know was that this man in black was actually her husband. After this unexpected encounter, he gradually developed feelings for her.
For her sake, he humbled himself, lowered his status, and willingly served her; and when he learned that she was poisoned, he risked his life to save her, and even though he was left with heart palpitations, he never complained.
From then on, her tightly closed heart gradually opened, and he found his place. She thought that they would rely on each other from then on and enjoy the blooming and fading of flowers together.
But to her surprise, everything changed on his birthday. She excitedly brought him a gift, only to find him in bed with another woman. She felt cheated and furious, and stormed out.
Not long after, she encountered the men in black being besieged. Unable to bear seeing them die, she stood by them through thick and thin, fighting alongside them to repel the enemy. Eventually, the two were stranded on a deserted island. The men in black, whose pre-existing heart palpitations worsened because of her, caused her great distress. While worried, she was conflicted, constantly telling herself that she was only helping the men in black, nothing more, not the heartless man she had helped!
When the man in black tried to reveal his identity to her, do you know what she said?
Liu Hanruo looked at the Carefree King with a meaningful glance.
The carefree king was no fool, so how could he not understand? He lowered his head, thinking about how to explain.
But this simple gesture took on a different meaning in Liu Hanruo's eyes. She said calmly:
"At the time, she said: 'Please don't tell me who you are. I don't want to know, and I have no interest in knowing. Please don't shatter this only reason I can use to deceive myself!'"
---Aside---
Today was my first day back, so I was quite busy and only wrote 3000 words. I'll update more tomorrow, so please bear with me.
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