Chapter 203 At the Moment of Severe Injury
Just as Ji Shu was about to say something, she felt Pei Yanzhi gently press his forehead against her back.
Even now, her medical instincts told her that she could smell the strong, pungent odor of blood.
"Pei Yanzhi?"
"Pei Yanzhi...your majesty?"
"Please say something, don't scare me!"
But there was still no sound from behind. At this moment, an immense sense of panic swept over her. She used the momentum to stop the horse and turned to look at him.
Even though the light was dim in the woods, his eyes were closed and a few drops of blood were seeping from the corner of his mouth.
She touched her back; her hands were sticky and wet with blood.
Her entire back was soaked with the blood from his chest.
A chill ran through him, and fear gripped him. After the horse stopped, Pei Yanzhi's tall body swayed precariously, even while unconscious.
Those hands were still gripping the reins tightly.
Seemingly sensing something, Pei Yanzhi forced his eyes open and saw Ji Shu struggling to help him down from the horse.
Pei Yanzhi's eyes were unfocused, and he could barely speak. He asked in a breathy voice, "Are there... any of the King of Qin's men behind me?"
When he suddenly spoke, Ji Shu's tears fell in torrents until she tried to make him get down.
Only then did he notice the broken arrow behind him, wondering when it had hit him.
His blood was everywhere on the back of the tall, magnificent horse.
Ji Shu's voice choked with sobs, her fear reaching its peak, "You're finally awake! Do you know how scared you were?"
Pei Yanzhi forced a smile in front of her and said softly, "Look at me, I'm... perfectly fine."
Just as he was speaking, another mouthful of blood gushed from the corner of his lips, and Ji Shu's heart sank even lower.
At this moment, she finally saw clearly that the arrowhead was jet black, obviously poisoned.
Qin Yi never intended for Pei Yanzhi to return to Luoyang alive.
I'm afraid they've long harbored the intention to take his life in Ganzhou.
Feeling anxious and uneasy, I suddenly remembered that he died around the age of forty in the original book, and all these years have passed.
She couldn't remember whether she was forty or thirty-nine this year.
Looking at the faint silver strands at the top of his hair ornament, she felt a tightness in her chest.
At that moment, she had only one thought: he couldn't die. She hadn't forgiven him yet, and besides...
There was Qinghe between them. How could she tell Qinghe that her father, in order to save her, was almost consumed by overwhelming panic at that moment?
Ji Shu forced herself to calm down, looked around, and saw that the mountain road was rugged. If she wanted to find a place to take shelter, she could only continue forward.
She had no choice but to keep him on the horse's back, eager to find a place to hide. At this moment, she only wanted to check his injuries as soon as possible; if the poison had entered his heart meridian, there would truly be no way to save him.
Fortunately, there is always a way out. Just as Pei Yanzhi was in a daze and closed his eyes again, Ji Shu found a cave where wild animals lived.
The cave entrance was small and was completely hidden by the trees and vines. She went inside.
Seeing only animal carcasses and knowing that no one had been there, one knew that the place was still safe.
He helped her down from the horse, and the moment they landed, Pei Yanzhi pressed her down firmly beneath him.
The protruding stones on the ground sank heavily into her shoulder blades, but she paid no attention to the pain in her shoulders and lower back.
Especially when she saw him faint again, Ji Shu was both scared and anxious. There was no medicine, no food, and not even a place to sleep in this desolate mountain.
She quickly got up and patted Pei Yanzhi's cheek. Seeing that he didn't react at all, her heart clenched.
"Pei Yanzhi? Wake up! Don't sleep!"
"Did you hear me? Don't sleep!"
"If you really dare to sleep with me, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life. I will hate you for the rest of my life and never see you again..."
His voice was trembling with tears as he finished speaking, and tears fell onto his face and lips.
"I will never forgive you in my entire life... I will never forgive you in my entire life."
Pei Yanzhi's eyelashes trembled slightly. He barely opened his eyes and saw her crying so sadly. He wanted to comfort her and wanted to speak.
But no sound came out; her mouth moved, and she could only utter a few words: "Shu...don't cry..."
Ji Shu shuddered, then wiped her face. "Okay, okay, I won't cry. Please don't sleep. Qinghe is waiting for you to come back..."
Pei Yanzhi nodded, and Ji Shu helped his tall and heavy body up. Pei Yanzhi leaned on her shoulder, his consciousness fading.
He put his arm on his shoulder and then slapped the horse's back hard, causing the horse to run away in pain.
“Help me, let’s go in together. Your arrow wounds need to be treated immediately.”
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, her anxiety intensified, and she raised her voice, "Did you hear me?"
"……Um……"
Ji Shu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly helped him into the cave. Then she opened his clothes to check his injuries.
The wounds on the front were mostly superficial, but the arrow wound on the back was the most fatal.
When I placed my hand on his wrist, his pulse was not yet critical, but the wound had turned black and stopped bleeding.
That's because the poison has already spread inside, causing the blood to stagnate.
If this continues, I'm afraid even a god couldn't save us.
My chest felt like it was blocked by a piece of cotton cloth, and I was falling straight down.
Ji Shu took off her outer garment and let him lie on her clothes. Perhaps it was the familiar scent that made Pei Yanzhi's brows relax slightly.
She took out the dagger she had used to assassinate the King of Qin, and removed all the clothes from his back, revealing a solid, raised back covered with new and old wounds of varying sizes.
There are many more than four years ago; those are remnants of the battle between him and Ding Wei.
Ji Shu gently stroked it with her fingertips, her eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions.
Perhaps he wasn't a good person to himself, but to the world he was certainly a good ruler, and to Qinghe he was an even better father.
But he will never be a good husband.
Ji Shu gave a bitter smile.
She lit some dry branches and leaves on the ground and used the fire to disinfect the dagger. Since she had no medicine for wounds, she could only prepare for the worst.
The rotten flesh was cut away raw to prevent the poison from entering the heart.
After she walked over, Pei Yanzhi still kept his eyes tightly closed. His eyes, which were usually imposing and dignified, were now tightly shut.
Ji Shu was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, and her hand holding the dagger began to tremble slightly.
She should have been happy about this glimmer of hope, but she couldn't feel any joy at all.
He slowly squatted down, looked at the dark wound, suddenly closed his eyes briefly, and then exhaled.
The sharp tip of the knife cut through the flesh, but Pei Yanzhi only frowned slightly. Ji Shu noticed this and held her breath, slowly penetrating deeper.
After an unknown amount of time, Ji Shu noticed that the cold sweat on his forehead was increasing as she felt the arrow pointing towards him.
She whispered comfortingly, "I'm removing the arrow from you. If it hurts... just cry out."
With that, she exerted a sudden burst of force, pulling the arrow out with her bare hands, and the gushing blood immediately splattered onto her chin.
With trembling hands, she scraped away all the rotting flesh around her.
This is the most excruciating pain imaginable.
Pei Yanzhi's hand, which was resting on the edge of the stone, suddenly gripped the sharp pebble tightly, enduring intense pain.
He remained completely silent throughout.
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