It's dawn
Tiaotiao reclined on the couch, his gaze lingering as he followed Su Baiwei's slender fingers as she fastened his belt. Sunlight filtered through the window paper, casting a soft glow between her downcast brows.
Su Baiwei tied the last knot and looked up, her eyes meeting his smiling ones. The corners of her lips curved up, and she gently pinched the tip of his nose. "You're staring at me like that, but your belt's tied crookedly?"
"It looks good." Tiao Tiao held her wrist and gently tickled her palm with his fingertips. "Even the laces look good. I really hope to wake up every day and see you like this."
Su Baiwei snuggled closer to him, her long black hair cascading across their intertwined lapels. "I used to think that once I got what I wanted, I'd have no regrets. But now I realize that the more I have, the greedier I become."
Tiao Tiao played with a strand of her hair, with his usual playful smile on his face: "Do you regret it?" He asked casually, but there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes.
Su Baiwei was silent for a moment, and the ends of her hair brushed his shoulders as she shook her head: "If I could do it again a thousand times, I would still take this path."
"Do you hate him?" Tiao Tiao's voice lowered.
She rested her cheek against his shoulder. "I've hated you, I've resented you, but in the end... I still love you." Suddenly she sat up and fixed her eyes on him. "What about you? Do you ever regret choosing this thorny path?"
Tiao Tiao laughed out loud, with a carefree look on her face: "I, Tiao Tiao, always act according to my heart." His fingertips brushed across the corner of her eyes, "But you, if you really want to escape, how can a mere Soul-Chasing Gu trap Doctor Su? It's just..." Before he finished speaking, she had already covered her lips lightly.
"I'm just willing to do this." Su Baiwei's eyes sparkled with tears, but she smiled stubbornly. "No matter how hard or difficult the road is, since I chose it, I will finish it even if I have to kneel down."
Tiaotiao suddenly folded his arms, pulling him tightly into his embrace. The movement strained the injured area, causing his breathing to hitch. Su Baiwei noticed his feigned composure and gently stroked the indentation on his right arm with her fingertips. She frowned and said angrily, "Still trying to be brave? It's clearly in terrible pain."
Tiao Tiao chuckled softly, a gentle arc spreading across the corners of her pale lips: "I'm afraid you'll feel bad."
"But do you know," Su Baiwei looked into his eyes, "that your forbearance makes me even more distressed?" She turned her face away and said in a muffled voice, "If you do this again next time, I will hide my injuries from you, even if it hurts to death."
Tiao Tiao chuckled softly and gently hooked her chin with his fingertips. "Okay, I won't do it next time." He looked into her red eyes and softened his voice. "I promise."
He rested his chin against the top of her head and whispered, "In three days, I'll take you to Jiangnan to see the misty rain, and Lingnan to taste lychees. I'll definitely teach you what sweetness feels like."
"Are you leading me or am I leading you?" Su Baiwei's eyes flickered, and her fingertips lightly touched the bandaged wound on his ribs, with a hint of anger in her voice.
Tiao Tiao laughed softly, his chest trembling slightly. He didn't care about the tug at his wound. He just held her hand in his palm: "Of course you will take me." A mischievous yet gentle smile flickered in his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't even get on the saddle in this state. I'll have to trouble the Immortal Doctor Su to take care of me along the way."
Su Baiwei raised her face and placed a light kiss on his jaw, her breath carrying the bitter aroma of medicine: "It's a deal."
The blue shirt and the green dress overlapped, and the fragrance of medicine mixed with the warmth of sunlight lingered in the tent.
The sunlight poured in from the open window, casting a golden glow on the two people sitting opposite each other.
As the Tongxi Guiyuan Jue was activated, two streams of warm Qi rose from their Dantian, flowing slowly through their meridians, finally converging and merging at the touching palms. The energy initially trickled, then gradually surged, yet without the previous frenzied rush, it instead flowed gently like a spring tide.
Wherever the true qi passed, damaged meridians were slowly nourished, and the depleted sea of qi was revitalized. A subtle tingling sensation spread across Tiao Tiao's wounds, and new flesh silently grew. Su Baiwei's pale cheeks gradually turned a pale pink, and her furrowed brows unconsciously relaxed.
With deep breaths, the turbid qi in their bodies slowly evacuated, replaced by a sense of clarity and comfort. Stagnant points within their bodies were gradually unblocked, like a clogged river being cleared, their internal energy flowing freely. Fine beads of sweat formed on both of their foreheads, but this wasn't the perspiration of previous exhaustion, but rather the warmth of unimpeded Qi and blood, the steaming warmth of Yang Qi.
They were immersed in this mystical state, oblivious to the world around them, their intertwined energy circulating endlessly within their bodies. The room was completely silent, with only the sound of their long, steady breathing mingling in harmony.
In the early morning, the sky was still a thick, dark blue. Su Baiwei's eyelashes trembled slightly as she woke from her sleep. The moment she opened her eyes, she fell into a pair of clear, smiling eyes.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at him carefully in the dim light: "You are not asleep?"
"We agreed to watch the blue sky before dawn together," Tiao Tiao said, her fingertips brushing her sleep-stained cheek, her voice hoarse. "I was afraid of oversleeping, so I didn't dare close a wink. It's just in time that you woke up, and it was almost dawn."
Su Baiwei's heart suddenly softened, and she said angrily, "Fool."
Tiaotiao chuckled softly, his breath brushing her forehead. "Why bother using my brain in front of you?" He paused deliberately and said teasingly, "Mujin also said that you always have trouble sleeping, but last night you fell asleep as soon as you touched the pillow."
Su Baiwei's ears felt slightly hot, and she lowered her eyes: "Why can I sleep so peacefully... don't you know?"
"I know." Tiao Tiao lowered his head, rubbed her hair, and coaxed her softly, "But I want to hear it from you yourself."
Su Baiwei looked into his smiling eyes, then suddenly buried her face in his clothes, her voice muffled: "Because... with you."
Tiao Tiao smiled contentedly and hugged her tighter.
As the sky brightened a little, Su Baiwei carefully helped Tiao Tiao get up from the bed. He still didn't dare to put full force on his left leg, most of his body still leaning on her shoulder. He walked with a noticeable limp, each step slow and cautious, his brows slightly furrowed in pain.
"This Tongqi Guiyuan Jue is truly profound," Tiaotiao breathed out, a voice that carried a hint of fatigue but also a hint of relief. "My internal energy is flowing much more smoothly now, but this leg injury... I still need to slowly heal it."
He tried to quicken his pace slightly, but a dull pain immediately pierced through his injured area. He had no choice but to slow down again, smiling bitterly. "It seems that walking freely isn't that easy."
"Don't be so stubborn." Su Baiwei frowned and reached out to pick him up.
Tiaotiao laughed and held her arm: "With your body, can you hold me?"
"You are so light..." Su Baiwei stopped talking halfway. Looking at his thin outline, her nose felt sore and the rest of the words were stuck in her throat.
Tiaotiao reached out and gently pinched the tip of her nose. "I'm making you uncomfortable again. From now on, I'll eat more and become fat, so you won't be able to hold me." Seeing her eyes reddened, he gently wiped the corners of her eyes with his fingertips, his voice becoming softer. "You too, are so thin. You need to take good care of yourself from now on."
"Okay." Su Baiwei agreed, leaning forward again, taking a deep breath, and forcefully lifting him sideways. It was indeed very strenuous; her arms trembled slightly, and her steps were a little unsteady.
Tiao Tiao wrapped his arms around her neck, chuckling softly in her embrace, his breath brushing against her ear: "Qi sinks into the spring, and the mind moves with the wind..."
Su Baiwei concentrated her mind, circulated her internal energy as instructed, and lightly tapped her toes. As expected, her body suddenly became lighter and she used the force to leap onto the roof.
The morning breeze blew on their faces, bringing with it the crisp scent of dew. The two of them sat together on the green tiles.
The inky black of the sky gradually faded, and a hazy, clean blue-gray color slowly spread out, quiet and distant. Then, the blue gradually faded, blending into a soft fish-belly white, as if light was struggling to break out of its cocoon.
Suddenly, a streak of golden red ripped across the skyline. The rising sun bathed the clouds in a dazzling golden hue, before spreading into a dazzling brocade of vibrant colors. The warm light fell upon them, dispelling the morning chill and temporarily smoothing the worries between their brows.
They held hands tightly, stood shoulder to shoulder, and watched quietly as the red sun jumped out of the horizon, enveloping everything in the world in a light full of hope.
Tiao Tiao suddenly turned his head and kissed the corner of her moist eyes in the bright morning light: "Look, it's dawn."
Su Baiwei looked at his profile, which was stained with gold by the morning glow. Her eyes sparkled with tears, and she smiled with tears in her eyes: "Yes, it's dawn."
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