Chapter 115 Subtle Change
Zhong Min remained unconscious throughout the night, alternating between fever and chills, almost without stopping. Xiao Mingzheng stayed by her side, constantly changing her wet handkerchiefs to cool her down when she was hot, and holding her in his arms to warm her with his own body heat when she was cold.
It wasn't until dawn that Zhong Min's condition gradually stabilized. Her temperature returned to normal, she no longer had a fever or chills, and she gradually fell into a peaceful sleep. Xiao Mingzheng breathed a long sigh of relief, and couldn't help but smile as he looked at Zhong Min, who had finally fallen asleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was already daylight. Zhong Min instinctively turned her head to look, but she didn't see Xiao Mingzheng. She was startled, and an inexplicable sense of nervousness suddenly spread. She sat up and looked around. But after looking around, she found that everything was quiet and there was no sign of a single person.
"Prince...Prince?" She shouted as she struggled to stand up, and suddenly felt a sense of fear and helplessness.
Although she was in a semi-conscious and semi-dizzy state last night, she always felt that Xiao Mingzheng was by her side, guarding her and accompanying her, helping her through the most difficult night. But now he was gone, could something have happened?
"Prince! Where are you?" Zhong Min didn't have time to think. She shouted and searched aimlessly. The empty mountains were eerily quiet, which made her feel more and more ominous.
"Xiao Mingzheng, Xiao Mingzheng, Mingzheng, where are you?" She searched anxiously, but her heart felt empty and uncertain: "Mingzheng, Mingzheng, don't scare me, come out quickly!"
"Ah!" Zhong Min tripped over something and fell to the ground with a thud. For a moment, she lost control of her emotions and couldn't help cursing: "You bastard Xiao Mingzheng, where have you been, you..."
"Min'er!" Before she could finish her words, she heard an anxious voice behind her. Zhong Min quickly turned her head and saw Xiao Mingzheng suddenly appeared from somewhere and ran towards her quickly.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you here? Are you hurt?" Xiao Mingzheng helped Zhong Min up and checked her everywhere, looking very worried.
"Where have you been? Why do you appear now? When I woke up, I found that you were gone. I thought you..." When Zhong Min saw Xiao Mingzheng appear in front of her safely, her heart ached and she felt extremely wronged.
"Did you think I'd leave you alone?" Xiao Mingzheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhong Min, "Don't worry, no matter what, I won't leave you alone."
Seeing Xiao Mingzheng's serious expression, Zhong Min was immediately moved. She shook her head and said truthfully, "I just thought you had an accident."
Hearing Zhong Min's words, Xiao Mingzheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly and without saying anything, he hugged Zhong Min into his arms: "Min'er is so worried about me, my heart is really happy!"
Zhong Min didn't expect Xiao Mingzheng to be so direct. Her face flushed for a moment. After a pause, she quickly broke free from Xiao Mingzheng's arms, regained her usual demeanor, and said deliberately, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just worried that if something happens to you, there won't be anyone to take me back safely."
Hearing this, Xiao Mingzheng smiled nonchalantly. Zhong Min's duplicity made him even more cheerful. However, he did not expose her. Instead, he said softly, "I just went to find some herbs and picked some fruit. Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, I didn't want to wake you up."
Zhong Min didn't say anything else, but only then did he notice that Xiao Mingzheng's eyes were red, his face was covered with stubble, and he looked very haggard. It was obvious that he hadn't rested the whole night before.
Seeing Zhong Min looking at him like that, Xiao Mingzheng immediately guessed what she was thinking. So he helped her walk towards her previous resting place while saying, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I slept for a while before dawn and I'm in good spirits now."
The two returned to the long-burned fire and sat down again. Xiao Mingzheng handed the wild fruits he had picked and washed to Zhong Min, "Eat some for now. I wanted to catch a couple of fish for you to eat, but I don't think there are any nearby."
Zhong Min nodded, took the fruit and started eating. After a few bites, she saw that Xiao Mingzheng didn't eat it himself, but just smiled and watched her eat, so she stopped and said to him, "You eat too!"
"I've already eaten." Xiao Mingzheng said, "You can eat it yourself."
Zhong Min looked at the few fruits and knew that Xiao Mingzheng was definitely not telling the truth. There was nothing edible nearby. Xiao Mingzheng was worried that she didn't dare to go far, so he must have found only these few and was afraid that she wouldn't be full, so he said that.
"Even if you've already eaten, you have to eat some more." She didn't point it out, but just forced the two largest fruits into Xiao Mingzheng's hands: "If you don't finish it, I won't eat it either."
Seeing this, Xiao Mingzheng knew that Zhong Min must have guessed something, so he said nothing more. He picked up the two fruits and began to eat them with a satisfied look on his face. For a moment, no one spoke anymore, as if they were all concentrating on eating the most delicious thing in the world, feeling warm and at ease.
After eating, Xiao Mingzheng crushed the herbs he had found and treated Zhong Min's wound again, applying the herbs. The gold medicine he had used last night was not enough, and using gold medicine alone was still not enough, so at dawn, he went to find some other herbs for Zhong Min's wound.
"I feel much better today." Zhong Min said as she watched Xiao Mingzheng tend to her wounds, "It doesn't hurt that much if I don't touch it."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingzheng couldn't help but laugh, his smile brightly lit. "It's good that it doesn't hurt that much anymore. I tore the wound open yesterday and didn't treat it in time, so it naturally hurts a lot."
He remembered Zhong Min's scream of pain after they had sex last night, and found it extremely amusing for a moment, but he was afraid that Zhong Min would be embarrassed, so he did not bring it up again.
"Alright!" After changing the dressing, Zhong Min said with emotion, "I'm so glad you're here, otherwise I'd probably have lost my arm."
"Report?" Xiao Mingzheng asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"It's just broken." Zhong Min explained with a smile: "Of course, it might not just be his arm that's damaged. His life might even be in danger."
If Xiao Mingzheng hadn't been there last night, she might have really died. In the end, she owed him a life.
Hearing this, Xiao Mingzheng just smiled slightly, not thinking it was a big deal. However, he suddenly seemed to remember that Zhong Min seemed to have called him by his name just now, both with his given name and without his surname. It was the first time he heard her call him that, and the feeling was surprisingly wonderful when he recalled it.
"What did you call me when you came to see me just now?" he asked with a smile, and he really wanted to hear her call him Ming Zheng in the future.
When Zhong Min heard this, he was stunned for a moment. Then he remembered that he seemed to have called him a bastard Xiao Mingzheng in a hurry just now. Could it be that he wanted to settle the score later?
"No, I didn't call you anything. I just called you Prince." She laughed dryly and was determined to deny it even if she was beaten to death.
"That's not it. What did you call it later?" Xiao Mingzheng's smile deepened upon seeing this, but he had no intention of letting Zhong Min get away with it.
"Later, wasn't he still the prince?" Zhong Min pretended to be confused and changed the subject, "By the way, why don't you get some sleep first? Once you've rested, we'll set off..."
"Call me Mingzheng from now on. I like you calling me that." He interrupted Zhong Min's glance and told her his thoughts with certainty.
Zhong Min couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard this, and subconsciously said, "I thought you were referring to the curse word."
"What?" Xiao Mingzheng pretended not to hear and deliberately asked, "What did you say in such a low voice?"
"No, nothing." Seeing this, Zhong Min quickly smiled and said, "From today on, we can be considered friends who have shared weal and woe. Mingzheng, I won't be polite from now on."
Her heart suddenly felt happy, and something seemed to have changed in her heart unconsciously, but she did not have time to explore it.
After hearing Zhong Min's words, Xiao Mingzheng said nothing more. He simply stared at her steadily, his eyes full of smiles. Just friends? He felt a slight sense of disappointment, but it vanished in an instant. This was fine; at least it showed she completely trusted him and wouldn't distance herself from him anymore. There was no need to rush into many things; things would naturally change over time.
After resting for a while, Xiao Mingzheng filled the water bag with water, packed up, and then said to Zhong Min: "It's getting late, we have to continue on our way." He helped Zhong Min up and pretended to carry her on his back again.
"I'll walk by myself today. The wound is not a big problem anymore." Zhong Minzhen felt that she was much better than yesterday, so she wanted to try walking by herself. Although it would be relatively slower, it was better than having Xiao Mingzheng carry her all the time. After all, Xiao Ming didn't sleep all night and didn't eat anything, so he must have almost exhausted all his physical strength.
Xiao Mingzheng thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, then you can walk on your own for a while. We can walk slower, and I'll carry you when you're tired. But you mustn't force yourself this time, otherwise if the wound opens again, it will only cause more trouble, okay?"
Seeing that Xiao Mingzheng finally agreed, Zhong Min nodded happily: "Don't worry, I know my limits. I will definitely not force myself this time, otherwise I will cause you more trouble."
The two smiled at each other, and then Xiao Mingzheng reached out and took Zhong Min's hand, leading her to walk westward. If all went well, as long as they crossed this mountain, they would be able to reach Xifeng Ridge in one day at most.
Not long after walking, both of them stopped involuntarily. Xiao Mingzheng had a serious look on his face. He protected Zhong Min behind him without saying a word, and stared gloomily at the black-clad assassins who suddenly fell from the sky in front of him.
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