Cold Night (1)
The weather is gradually warming up, but the lingering chill of early spring still carries a hint of coolness.
Sunlight streamed through the windows of Xie Yan's bamboo house, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Gu Jinghong sat by the couch, a damp handkerchief in her hand still warm, carefully wiping away the fine beads of cold sweat that had seeped from Xie Yan's forehead.
These past few days, she has kept herself firmly pinned between this bamboo hut and her temporary residence, like a puppet with a pre-programmed routine, silently fulfilling Xuanru's instructions: feeding medicine, wiping sweat, and channeling internal energy to nourish Xie Yan's heart meridians, which were damaged by the removal of the Cold Marrow.
The skin beneath her fingertips was still icy cold, but Xie Yan's breathing was no longer as weak and disordered as it had been at first, and the rise and fall of her chest had become much more regular.
This outcome slightly eased Gu Jinghong's sense of guilt.
After Xie Yan fell asleep peacefully, Gu Jinghong subconsciously looked out the window.
The sun was shining brightly, and the new green shoots in the herb garden were full of vitality. But she knew that as soon as she stepped out of that door, she might bump into... that person.
She deliberately avoided all possible paths and times when he might appear, and the stripping of Xie Yan's Cold Marrow Essence gave her a convenient excuse to be busy.
A short while later, the door creaked open.
Xuan Ru walked in with her hands behind her back and a sullen expression.
"How is it?" Xuan Ru leaned over to the bed, grabbed Xie Yan's wrist to take his pulse, her movements practiced and familiar.
"Your pulse has stabilized a bit, and the chill has subsided considerably," Gu Jinghong replied softly, her eyes lowered as she continued to wring out the water from her handkerchief.
"Hmph, he's lucky to be alive." Xuan Ru snorted, released Xie Yan's wrist, but her gaze fell on Gu Jinghong with a probing look.
She abruptly changed the subject, her tone clearly angry and complaining, "Your side is all set and peaceful. But do you know that troublemaker next door is practically tearing my Medicine Master Valley apart!"
Gu Jinghong paused almost imperceptibly in her wiping motion, her fingertips tightening slightly. She didn't reply, but simply listened quietly. She knew who Xuan Ru was referring to.
"That Xiao Chengyan!" Xuan Ru put her hands on her hips, her voice rising several decibels involuntarily, filled with accusation, "His room is like an icebox now! The doors and windows are tightly shut, not even a bird dares to land within ten steps!"
"The poor little apprentice went to deliver the medicine. His legs were trembling when he went in, and his face was as white as paper when he came out. The medicine bowl was exactly the same when he went in and came out untouched!"
"You can't ask any questions at all, all you get is a 'Get out!' That voice is so cold, tsk tsk, I could feel the chill running down my spine even from a distance! Who has ever seen a patient treat a doctor like that?!"
Gu Jinghong's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she didn't say anything.
Xuan Ru became increasingly angry as she spoke, "That's not all! He wasn't recuperating; he was practically risking his life! The military reports and confidential letters piled up on his desk were almost burying him! He wrote with such ruthlessness, his vermilion annotations were almost piercing through the paper, and ink splattered everywhere!"
"His aura was so imposing, anyone who didn't know better would think he was reviewing the Book of Life and Death! He's still recovering from serious injuries and he's already expending so much energy and effort. Does he really think he's made of iron? Judging from his complexion, he's not much better off than Xie Yan, who just crawled back from the brink of death!"
Xuanru kept complaining, describing Xiao Chengyan's suffocatingly low mood and almost self-destructive behavior.
As Gu Jinghong listened, she subconsciously wiped away non-existent sweat from Xie Yan's forehead.
"...What's most infuriating is that after the apprentice left, I secretly peeked at him, and he...he actually stared at that bowl of cold medicine for a long time! That look in his eyes, tsk, was both fierce and deep, as if he had a grudge against that bowl of medicine, or as if...he was waiting for something."
What are we waiting for?
These three words pierced Gu Jinghong's heart.
She subconsciously squeezed the handkerchief in her hand, her jawline taut.
"Aru, tell me, how long will it take for Xie Yan to recover?" Gu Jinghong finally spoke, but her voice was extremely dry and hoarse.
Xuanru thought for a moment and said, "Xie Yan's physique is better than I thought. It will take quite a while for him to fully recover, but if he can move independently, it will be quick, in just three to five days."
Then he stopped next to Gu Jinghong, bent down to look at Gu Jinghong's face: "What's wrong? If you have something to say, then go ahead. I don't have any medicine boys around here in Medicine Master Valley, but I have as many as you need. Taking care of Xie Yan is no problem at all."
Gu Jinghong nodded.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Xuanru and said, "If the prince doesn't like bitter medicine, why not make it into pills..."
Xuan Ru said, "Making it into pills... the effects of the medicine are released slowly, which is not impossible, but the pills are still bitter, and even more bitter."
Gu Jinghong looked at Xuan Ru, raising an eyebrow: "If you coat it with sugar on the outside..."
Xuan Ru's lips curled into a wide smile as she leaned closer to Gu Jinghong: "You still care about the Prince, don't you?"
Gu Jinghong: "Aru, I'm trying to solve your problem..."
Xuanru: "...Do you think I believe that?"
...
In Xiao Chengyan's forbidden room, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and even the sunlight seemed to be blocked by the invisible low pressure, so that not a trace of warmth could penetrate.
Gu Jinghong had been missing for several days, turning this small space into an icy prison. Each time the young apprentice approached with a tray, he felt the chill seeping from the crack in the door was even stronger than before.
On this day, the boy delivering the medicine trembled as usual, wanting only to put down the medicine bowl and run away immediately.
"stop."
A deep, cold voice rang out from the front, startling the child so much that he stumbled and nearly spilled the medicine.
He turned around stiffly, his head bowed, not daring to look at the person behind the desk.
Xiao Chengyan's gaze did not leave the military report on the table as he spoke, his voice devoid of emotion: "Gu Jinghong... is your Valley Master's friend. What has she been doing these past few days?"
The young apprentice's heart skipped a beat. He was quite surprised and even flattered that the cold-faced prince had suddenly asked a question in "human language".
He quickly recalled the details and respectfully replied, "Your Highness, are you referring to the lady with the small red dot on the end of her eyebrow? ... She has been taking care of another seriously injured young master these past few days."
"The other one?" Xiao Chengyan finally put down his pen, leaving a slightly hesitant ink mark on the paper, before resuming his smooth and flowing style of reviewing, only the handwriting seemed even sharper. "Is it that... man who is as pale as a ghost under the moon?"
The young apprentice secretly glanced at Xiao Chengyan's pale, thin, and bloodless face, thinking to himself: "When it comes to this sickly and pale appearance, Your Highness... is no less so."
He replied with extreme caution, “Your Highness, that’s right. A few days ago, the Valley Master personally removed the strange poison from him, but he is still unconscious and in grave danger.”
Xiao Chengyan finally raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a blade tempered with ice, and lightly swept over the medicine boy's face: "Is there no one else in the vast Medicine Master Valley? Why must a young lady be sent to take care of a man?"
The harshness and inhumanity in his words struck him as odd. After all, he too was a patient dependent on this valley for treatment.
Without thinking, the young apprentice blurted out, "It's not that there's no one in the valley, it's...it's that young lady who insisted on taking care of her herself!"
"Click—"
A slight cracking sound rang out, and a crack appeared in the pen in Xiao Chengyan's hand.
The young apprentice was startled by the sound. Looking at Xiao Chengyan's face, which had suddenly become as cold as a deep pool and whose eyes were filled with a storm, he felt a chill run from his feet to the top of his head. Knowing that something was wrong, he whispered as softly as a mosquito's buzz: "...If Your Highness has no other instructions...this...this humble servant will take his leave?"
Before he could finish speaking, and before Xiao Chengyan could react, he had already fled like a frightened bird, scrambling and crawling away.
The door slammed shut, and the room fell silent once more, except for the heavy mingling of ink and medicine, and the almost tangible, suffocating anger.
Xiao Chengyan was furious—what a scoundrel Gu Jinghong! His relationship with Xie Yan was indeed deep and extraordinary! Both were injured and bedridden, yet he was neglected, not even stepping foot in Xie Yan's house; Xie Yan, on the other hand, was constantly by his side, personally attending to his every need with utmost care!
He abruptly threw the broken pen in his hand onto the table, stood up abruptly, and pushed open the tightly closed door.
The blinding sunlight suddenly flooded in, causing him to squint uncomfortably.
He stood by the door, wearing a large, plain brocade cloak. His figure was still upright, but he could not hide the weakness of his still-healing serious injuries.
The cool sunlight fell on his face, making his skin appear even more like cold jade, his lips bloodless, only his deep eyes burning with suppressed anger and coldness, like a dangerous trapped beast.
He instinctively took two steps towards Xie Yanzhu's hut. The cold air filled his lungs, bringing a slight stinging sensation.
But his steps suddenly stopped.
A deeper sense of humiliation and sharp pain gripped him.
—It was clearly her! She was the one who lied first, she was the one who chose someone else first! Why... did you have to make him go looking for her first?
He immediately turned around and returned to the long desk, took a deep breath to suppress the churning blood in his throat, and began to review the mountain of military documents.
Xiao Chengyan's group lasted for several hours, and before they knew it, it was already the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).
The moonlight outside the window was obscured by a thin layer of clouds, leaving only a hazy, cold glow. The fragrance of grass and trees in the valley during the day became particularly strong under the night dew, yet it carried a chilling stillness.
He pulled his thin cloak tighter around himself and looked up at the moonlight outside the window.
The moonlight was cool and clear, and his mind seemed to calm down a bit.
Maybe... he should go for a walk?
The chill of the night was even more intense than during the day, mixed with an overwhelming, pungent smell of herbs. Inhaling it did not bring a sense of freshness, but rather added a feeling of heaviness.
As he walked, as if by some strange twist of fate, he stopped in the shadows of Xie Yan's bamboo hut.
Inside the bamboo hut, Gu Jinghong, exhausted from days of working, became delirious after completing a round of internal energy transfer and fell into a brief sleep beside Xie Yan's bed.
Her head was very close to Xie Yan's arm, and a strand of her hair even fell onto Xie Yan's blanket.
From the window, the scene appears extremely intimate, like two people cuddling.
Xiao Chengyan's anger, which he had forcibly suppressed, suddenly surged up again!
What is this?!
Taking care of someone without ever taking off their clothes?!
What makes Xiao Chengyan so special?!
"Bang--!"
The bamboo door was kicked open with tremendous force, then slammed shut and bolted shut from behind!
Before Gu Jinghong could even turn around completely to see who it was, a scent of blood, medicine, and burning anger swept over him like a whirlwind.
Immediately afterwards, a large hand gripped her wrist tightly from behind, cold and forceful, almost crushing her bones!
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