Chapter 46: Now that you've said that, did you like her a little at first...
The blood that had seeped out of her body had long since dried up and clung to the wound on her shoulder.
If medical treatment is required, it would be extremely painful to tear off this piece of clothing covered with blood scabs.
It was not life-threatening, it was just a silent pain that kept throbbing in her body.
Over and over again, reminding her what mistake she had made.
How much profit had the Tianji Pavilion surrendered in exchange for recruiting so many experts from the Northern Frontier? The Northern Frontier had long been eyeing the situation covetously. Now that she had the Tianji Pavilion's assistance, the land she was in might one day reignite the flames of war.
What should I do? What should I do? She bit her nails subconsciously, hoping she could find a solution.
Seven years ago, she was merciful, and seven years later, she hesitated. She felt that she had made a mistake again. Her eyes were sore and she raised her hand to rub them.
When the people from the Northern Dynasty arrived, they all knew that this girl was the best doctor in the world. Therefore, as long as she kept silent, no one dared to say a word about her injuries.
The carriage rocked slightly, the thick brocade blanket covering every inch of the wooden floor beneath her, even reaching the sides. Everywhere she touched, it felt soft and dense, cradling her body and clothing, like she was trapped in a warm cocoon.
In the corner beside the carriage stood an intricately carved copper incense burner, a custom common among the people of the Central Plains. Some incense burned within, its lingering aroma far less potent than the stench of blood on her body.
The luxurious and extravagant flooring is quite a courtesy. I don’t know whether it is for her or for the person opposite.
She and Shen Juansheng sat opposite each other. This was the second time. This carriage was much larger than the one they had seen when they left the Cao Gang, enough to keep a considerable distance between them.
Unlike before, Shen Juansheng simply sat across from her, watching her closely but uttering no words. The golden thread dangling from his body trembled slightly with the vibrations of the carriage.
There was only the scent of incense in the carriage, which weighed heavily on the two people's breathing.
In the trance of the incense, for a moment, she even felt that she was still in the medicine house, alone and in silence with the boy from the past.
The medicine house faces a shallow stream deep in the Medicine King Valley.
These subtle aromas overlap with the bitter scent of herbs in my memory.
She seemed to be able to see the medicine shelf by the window again, with layers of bamboo sieves filled with various roots, stems, leaves and fruits drying in the sun. The summer sun shone through the thin curtains, casting mottled shadows on the bricks.
The old copper stove in the corner, which was used to boil medicinal soup all year round, had its walls blackened by the charcoal fire. At this moment, it was quietly emitting misty white air, immersing the entire hut in a slightly bitter and peaceful atmosphere.
Occasionally, one or two clear bird calls could be heard outside the window, or the rustling sound of wind blowing through the medicine garden. Whether there was someone in the medicine hut or not, it was completely silent.
Yes, the young man in the medicine house seven years ago was really too quiet. Normally, if she didn't speak, he would definitely not dare to speak first.
I would just keep turning it over and over in my mind, and would not say it out loud even if it was rolled up in my head.
"Drink it while it's hot," she said, handing him a porcelain cup filled with brown medicinal soup. The porcelain cup was plain white, reflecting the faint light of the charcoal fire dancing under the copper stove. The rim of the bowl was a little hot from the steam from the medicine.
"It cures anxiety and nightmares." She suddenly remembered that he had no sense of pain, so she put the medicine cup back and added, "Be careful of the burns."
"Miss Qing," the young man took the medicine cup, but did not pick it up immediately.
His fingertips nervously stroked the edge of the cup. He raised his eyes to look at her cautiously, then lowered his head again. "Can you not drink this medicine?"
"I think," he said carefully, as if afraid that this rejection would anger her, and explained nervously, "I'm very good at dreaming."
Qing Guiyu looked at him in confusion again. Worrying and thinking can lead to dreams. Isn't that natural?
Yes! This medicine is meant to treat his problem.
She raised her head, thinking left and right. She was good at dreaming, but she didn't know how.
As the saying goes, if you think about something during the day, you will dream about it at night. If you think about something all day long, it should be possible to control what you dream about at night.
But how can a patient rest well if he has many dreams and restless sleep? She shook her head and tapped the edge of the couch with her fingers sternly.
"No, I have so many nightmares and panic attacks that I can't rest." She turned her head and said casually, "In this situation, sometimes I talk in my sleep."
The young man's body shook violently, and the medicine in the porcelain cup in his hand spilled out.
Qing Guiyu was unable to react in time and cried out "Ouch!", subconsciously reaching out to support the shaky porcelain cup.
In the hot mist of the medicinal soup, his face quickly turned red, spreading all the way to the tips of his ears and neck.
"What did I...say?"
He was embarrassed, and his voice was so soft that it was almost swallowed by the steam rising from the edge of the medicine cup.
The blush burned through his face, even the corners of his eyes were stained with a panicked rouge. The brown liquid flowed down his pale fingers, dripping onto the mat, leaving a small, deep mark.
Qing Guiyu's doubts and the doctor's confidence were instantly swept away by the sudden and huge embarrassment.
"No, no, no, no," she quickly shook her head and explained, "I can't hear it! I didn't hear it clearly."
She didn't dare to persuade him anymore. She took the porcelain cup back by force, pulled out a white handkerchief from her sleeve, and wiped the medicine stains on his hands and the stains on the mat with it.
He had lived in the medicine house for so long without even revealing his name. The secret he was harboring must have been heavy and obscure, and she wasn't the curious type, so why would she force him to do anything?
It was as if he had been bullied, and Qing Guiyu felt guilty again.
She lowered her head, too embarrassed to look into the boy's eyes. She simply wiped the handkerchief, which quickly became soaked with the warm medicinal liquid.
The boy froze in place, letting her wipe him. The embarrassed blush on his face didn't fade, but instead seeped deeper into his skin, causing his neck to tense.
He suddenly lowered his head, avoiding her gaze, as if it would burn him.
His untied black hair fell obediently from his ears. He just stared at the edge of the couch with his eyes lowered. Qing Guiyu, looking from above, could only see the boy's eyelashes trembling as if he was frightened.
"It's true," Qing Guiyu pulled her hair in despair and insisted, "It was just a few blurry words, I couldn't hear them clearly."
This wasn't a complete lie. She sometimes came to see him at night, and she really didn't hear the content clearly, but she remembered that the broken syllables were mixed with an indescribable and heavy thing.
The boy's tense shoulders seemed to relax slightly for a moment, but that relaxation was fleeting, replaced by deeper fear.
It is not directed at others, but more at the self in his dream that he cannot control.
Finally, he made up his mind and slowly raised his head.
Those eyes, usually covered with a film of ice, always had a vague sense of alienation, but now they were clearly flashing with panic.
Qing Guiyu's stubbornness as a doctor had long been thrown out of her mind.
This young man frightened her more than any of the symptoms of "anxiety and dreaminess." This wasn't the patient's disobedient stubbornness, but the struggle of a secret buried deep in his heart, so deep that it would bleed at the slightest touch.
"Oh, really, I can't hear clearly." She sighed softly, and her voice became slower, with an unnoticed caution.
"Who are you calling? Or, what do you want?" She raised her head, frowning as she tried to recall, trying to catch the vague outline of the voice. "It sounds very sad."
After hearing her say this, the young man seemed to calm down a little, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Just that?" he asked.
Qing Guiyu nodded.
"Yeah." He said, biting his lip and was silent for a moment.
"That's okay, I won't ask for anything."
He was really afraid of certain dreams.
Qing Guiyu frowned.
What kind of experience, what kind of treatment, can make a person so scared that he would rather endure the torture of worries and be disturbed by nightmares than let those things hidden deep in the dream and perhaps about to be leaked have the slightest possibility of seeing the light of day.
The bitter smell rising from the medicine house in my memory, the embarrassed and flushed face of the young man, and the bottomless panic in his eyes were suddenly blown away by the cool breeze that poured in from the carriage window.
To feel such a cold wind in late spring, I'm afraid they have walked a long way.
Qing Guiyu subconsciously flinched, the warmth of the medicine still lingering on her fingertips, but before her eyes was the swaying, dim scene inside the carriage. Beneath her was a soft brocade blanket, not the thin mat in the medicine room.
The carriage was shaking, as if urging her to think of a way, she said to herself again.
She couldn't really do what the northern barbarians wanted. If that day ever came, she could almost imagine the chill of the icy blade against her neck - she would probably be forced to sacrifice her life.
In Qing Guiyu's previous life, even in the most critical moments, she instinctively tried her best to survive.
But now, she was saddened to discover that she had thought so calmly and clearly about how to die.
Unreconciled.
Reluctant.
Don't want to die.
Qing Guiyu thrust her fingers into her hair and grabbed it fiercely. It was a little painful, and she suddenly wondered if the young man who was about to face death back then had also felt the same way.
Because of this determination, he was able to be so vicious and cunning that he did not hesitate to use thousands of lives as pawns to set up this heinous scam.
She suddenly raised her eyes, staring at the young man in black clothes opposite her, and took a deep breath. Since she was not afraid of death, why couldn't she lie to him in return?
Finding an opportunity to deceive him is better than dying.
She pondered it carefully in her mind.
There is nothing more serious in the world except death.
"Mr. Shen,"
Regardless of whether her acupuncture later on had disturbed his emotions or not.
Although the girl in the medicine house had her head filled with pharmacology and pathology, but——
Qing Guiyu leaned towards him slightly, hesitated for a moment,
"Since you keep saying that you are my slave,"
She did not sit back, but maintained the approaching posture, her eyes bright, her fingertips tapping lightly on the bamboo flute, as if she was lost in thought.
"Did you...like me a little at first?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com