warmth
No matter how much she disliked him, she was responsible for his current injury. If he were seriously injured here by Changfeng, the consequences would be endless! Before she could think further, a flash of cold light appeared in her sleeve, and a willow-leaf dart shot straight at Changfeng's wrist, intending to force him to stop his attack!
Changfeng never expected Gu Jinghong to attack "one of their own." His wrist went numb, his attack slowed down, and he was filled with shock and anger: "Miss Gu, you!"
"Good sister, well done!" Xie Yan caught her breath, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes flashed with ferocity, and with a strange laugh, she ignored her injuries and once again pounced on Changfeng like a madwoman!
The situation instantly spiraled out of control.
Changfeng had to contend with Xie Yan's frenzied counterattack while also guarding against Gu Jinghong's hidden weapons. Gu Jinghong had to prevent Changfeng from striking with deadly force, yet also prevent Xie Yan from actually injuring Changfeng. Forceful energy surged, kicking stones and sending dirt flying from the edge of the herb garden.
Xiao Chengyan frowned deeply, seeing Changfeng in grave danger under the combined attack of the two, he shouted in a low voice, "Enough!"
With lightning speed, he forcefully cut into the chaotic battle, aiming to separate Gu Jinghong and Xie Yan. At the same time, he struck out with his palm, blocking Xie Yan's vicious finger strike aimed at Changfeng's back.
The four-person brawl completely disrupted the peace at the edge of the forbidden area.
Xuan Ru was both shocked and furious, and shouted sternly, "Stop it all! This is Medicine Master Valley, not your training ground! Changfeng, Xie Yan, Gu Jinghong, Your Highness!"
She gripped the powder in her hand again, trying to find an opening to sprinkle it into the center of the battle, but the four figures moved too fast, and the strong wind made it impossible for her to make a precise move, causing her to sweat profusely.
They were already not far from the thick, swirling miasma, which reeked of a strange, sweet, and fishy smell. In the midst of the fierce dodging and collisions, someone stepped on an inconspicuous rune on the ground, or perhaps triggered an invisible energy—*buzz*!
"Oh no!" Xuan Ru's expression changed drastically, and she exclaimed in shock.
The thick fog, like a giant beast awakened from its slumber, suddenly accelerated, carrying a bone-chilling cold that could erode to the marrow and a nauseatingly sweet and fishy smell. It surged forward like a living creature, instantly engulfing the four people.
"Watch out!" Xiao Chengyan was the first to sense something was wrong, and he shouted a warning. At the same time, he grabbed Gu Jinghong with all his might based on his senses.
In the chaos, Xie Yan, trying to dodge a sword thrust from Chang Feng, lost his balance and crashed violently into Gu Jinghong; Chang Feng desperately tried to shield the prince behind him; Gu Jinghong was knocked off balance by Xie Yan's impact...
The thick fog, carrying a bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze the soul and a nauseatingly sweet, fishy smell, seeped in everywhere.
Xiao Chengyan was the first to be affected.
He felt a chilling and vicious aura instantly invade his lungs and internal organs through his mouth and nose, like thousands of ice needles piercing his meridians. His internal energy, already sluggish due to his severe injuries, was now like a frozen river, almost completely ceasing to circulate.
The thick, milky-white fog before his eyes twisted and spun violently, conjuring countless bizarre and murderous afterimages, the glint of swords, the faces of dead soldiers, and a sharp ringing in his ears that drowned out all other sounds. A strong sense of dizziness and nausea overwhelmed him like a giant wave.
He groaned, his body trembled violently, and he only managed to stay upright thanks to his strong willpower.
Gu Jinghong was also overwhelmed by the extreme cold and the eerie sweet fragrance, feeling dizzy and her internal energy stagnant. She heard Xiao Chengyan's suppressed groan beside her, and her heart tightened. In her blurred vision, she saw his tall figure sway suddenly in the thick fog, like a candle flickering in the wind.
In the chaos, Gu Jinghong felt a large hand grip her wrist tightly, the force immense, carrying an unyielding strength and a familiar warmth—it was Xiao Chengyan. She seemed to hear Xie Yan's angry curse and Changfeng's short, startled cry from not far away… but the sounds were quickly blocked, amplified, and disappeared by the rolling thick fog.
At the edge of the thick fog, Xuan Ru's face was ashen, her eyes devoid of their usual languid playfulness, replaced only by a chilling seriousness. She swiftly pulled several small porcelain bottles of different colors from her waist, poured out a few pills and swallowed them herself, then tossed another bottle to the apprentice who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion: "Quick, give these to everyone to hold under their tongues, it's 'Bone-Corroding Miasma'!"
While rapidly directing the young apprentice, she kept her eyes glued to the churning, increasingly sweet and fishy fog, her hands clenched into fists until her knuckles turned white: "Bring me my 'Heart-Clearing Powder,' and the antidote needles, quick!"
The forbidden miasma was accidentally triggered, trapping not only her esteemed guest, King Jin, but also her friend, Gu Jinghong. She had to find a way out as soon as possible! She forced herself to calm down, her mind racing through every detail and risk of entering the relatively safe path through the miasma.
In just a few breaths, the thick fog seemed to have dissipated a little, or perhaps they had fallen into a relatively calm, but still miasma-shrouded, low-lying area.
Gu Jinghong gasped for breath, the icy fog making her teeth chatter. She looked closely and saw that it was Xiao Chengyan gripping her wrist, while Xie Yan and Changfeng had completely disappeared into the vast, silent fog.
"Achoo!" The biting cold and dampness made Gu Jinghong sneeze loudly. She hugged her arms, her body trembling slightly uncontrollably. This miasma was very strange; not only was it chillingly cold, but it also seemed to be constantly draining the heat and strength from her body.
Gu Jinghong, panting, looked at Xiao Chengyan beside her, her heart sinking – his condition was clearly worse.
His old injuries had not yet healed and he was still in the treatment stage, making his body even weaker. He forced himself to fight and inhaled the miasma. At this moment, his face was frighteningly white, and his breathing was heavy and rapid like a broken bellows. With each breath, she could almost hear the tearing sound of his internal organs being torn apart. Fine beads of cold sweat were constantly sliding down his cold and hard jawline.
But he still stood straight, one hand gripping Gu Jinghong's wrist like an iron clamp, the other hand clenched into a fist and pressed against his side, trembling slightly. His hawk-like eyes warily scanned the thick, seemingly alive, slowly writhing fog around him. His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty as he suppressed his surging blood and qi.
Almost instinctively, he stretched out his long arm and forcefully pulled Gu Jinghong into his embrace.
As soon as he pulled her into his arms, Gu Jinghong clearly felt his body suddenly stiffen, a suppressed groan came from above his head, and the muscles in his arms holding her tensed up like rocks, with a stiff feeling of exhaustion.
"What are you doing?" Gu Jinghong was both shocked and angry, and instinctively struggled. The cold air and the unfamiliar scent of a grown man emanating from him made her extremely uncomfortable.
"Don't move!" Xiao Chengyan's voice was cold and hard, but it couldn't hide the slight hoarseness and panting caused by pain and cold. He tightened his grip on her arms, the strength showing an unyielding determination, but also revealing the almost limit of the power he could muster at that moment.
"This miasma is strange, and the cold poison entering the body is no small matter... Conserve your strength and don't struggle in vain. You don't want to freeze to death here, do you?"
Gu Jinghong's struggling movements suddenly stopped. He was right; the cold of this miasma was extremely eerie, as if it could freeze the blood, and struggling would only cause the heat to dissipate even faster.
Moreover… the body heat emanating from him, which she could clearly feel even through his clothes, was like an alluring magnet in this icy environment, drawing her instinctively closer. Reason told her that survival was paramount at this moment.
"It's so cold, don't try to be brave." His tone was still as cold and hard as ever, but in this biting environment, it strangely revealed a hint of helplessness.
"When you're on a rooftop, discussing wine and art under the moon, aren't you incredibly bold?" He paused deliberately, as if needing this brief respite to calm his churning blood and the biting chill. "And you even dared to hold my hand and savor my wine..."
"That was..."
"Shut up." Xiao Chengyan interrupted her, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable command, the last syllable even carrying a hint of weakness and unsteadiness, his arms tightening around her. Gu Jinghong could clearly feel the violent rise and fall of his chest and the unstable body temperature emanating from him.
"Save your energy for warming up. I have no interest in listening to your sophistry in a place like this." After saying this, he closed his eyes slightly, his thick eyelashes casting shadows on his pale face, as if he was trying his best to endure something.
He lowered his head slightly, his breath brushing against her cold hair. The breath was hot but somewhat short and unsteady. His voice was lower, with a strange, almost factual, directness. His speech was also a little slower than usual: "You're not trembling as badly. That proves... this method works."
The last word he uttered seemed to have exhausted all his strength to speak, leaving only heavy, suppressed breathing above her head.
Gu Jinghong's words of rebuttal were all shut down. She was ashamed and angry, yet unable to deny it—leaning against him, the bone-chilling cold was indeed slowly, little by little, dissipating, and her body was no longer trembling uncontrollably as before. What he said… was true.
This realization made her feel even more stifled, yet she was helpless. She could only shut her mouth, bury her face even lower, and stiffly maintain this posture, feeling the "warmth" that she was forced to accept in this extreme environment, a warmth that carried Xiao Chengyan's unique aura.
Silence descended once more, but the previous pure awkwardness and resistance seemed to be subtly mixed with a resigned compromise, and... a strange sense of dependence transmitted through body temperature, on the verge of life and death.
Xiao Chengyan stopped speaking, maintaining his guarding posture, his gaze still warily fixed on the depths of the thick fog, his jawline taut, only his chest rising and falling rhythmically, conveying the warmth of life.
Gu Jinghong looked up, staring blankly at Xiao Chengyan protecting her. The unwavering focus and protectiveness in his eyes was like an invisible barrier, isolating her from all the disturbances and prying eyes of the outside world.
In an instant, countless images flashed by like a revolving lantern—the South Wind Lock, the key, the Nine-Turn Resurrection Grass, caring for her while she was seriously injured, allowing her to go to the study, understanding her concerns… and those few times when their breaths mingled and their lips trembled…
Since entering Qianyuan Pavilion at the age of ten, she had long been accustomed to swallowing her grievances, hiding her pain, and crushing all her care and expectations into cold calculations. No one cared, and no one pitied her.
But it was him, the man she once regarded as a den of dragons and tigers, who picked up all her broken pieces, all her stubbornness, all her hidden desires, and carefully placed them in his arms, giving her the most precious reward.
The miasma forest was cold, but in Gu Jinghong's heart, it seemed as if a warm spring was quietly breaking through the frozen soil that had been frozen for years, flowing and soaking every corner that had been chilled by the world.
The warmth wasn't intense, but it carried a profound and powerful force that could shake one's soul, spreading silently.
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