Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.
Lin Wanwan's world was plunged into a dizzying chaos. She was held tightly and unconditionally in Xiao Che's arms. His body, which usually carried a hint of coldness and aloofness, was now as hard as a red-hot iron, as hard as a piece of refined steel.
Her face was forced to be buried in his chest, and only two voices could be heard in her ears.
One was the sound of the wind rushing past overhead, sharp and deadly, making her eardrums ache.
The other sound was the intense, thunderous heartbeat emanating from his chest, like the beating of a war drum.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Each sound was so heavy, so powerful, as if it were about to break free of the shackles in her chest and crash into the depths of her soul. She had never imagined that this emperor, who seemed indifferent and aloof to everything, would have a moment when his heartbeat was so out of control.
Before she could even process his shocking revelation, her body slammed heavily to the ground along with him.
The hard ground slammed into her, but the expected excruciating pain did not come. She was firmly shielded beneath Xiao Che, becoming the softest cushion.
Immediately afterward, before she could react, a dull, earth-shaking impact suddenly rang out behind her!
"Bang--!"
The sound was not like the collision of flesh and blood, but more like the crashing of two high-speed boulders!
Lin Wanwan felt the entire earth tremble violently under the terrifying impact, and the body that was tightly holding her shuddered violently as if it had been hit head-on by a battering ram!
The tremor was so intense that Lin Wanwan could clearly feel an overwhelming and terrifying force passing through his back and into her body.
She could imagine that the full force of that mad horse, the immense power that could crush a person into mincemeat, was completely and without the slightest leakage, endured by Xiao Che with his own flesh and blood!
"Hmm..."
A muffled groan, seemingly squeezed from the deepest part of her throat, rang out above her head.
That voice contained unimaginable, immense pain.
Lin Wanwan's heart clenched suddenly, the pain almost making it hard for her to breathe.
Then, warm liquid with a strong rusty smell dripped, drop by drop, into the crook of her neck.
The liquid was thick and scalding hot, slowly sliding down her delicate skin, bringing a thrilling sensation.
It's blood.
It was his blood.
The immense impact finally dissipated, and the mad horse, having completed its "mission," let out a mournful neigh. Its massive body crashed down not far from them, its hooves twitching, and it fell silent.
The surrounding chaos seemed to have reached its peak, with screams, shouts, and the sound of weapons being drawn all blending together, but for Lin Wanwan at this moment, all of this seemed to be distant background noise.
In her world, there was only the man holding her.
The impact had ended, but Xiao Che showed no sign of letting go of her. His arms, which were wrapped around her, not only did not loosen, but instead tightened their grip like iron hoops, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
He buried his head deep in her neck, his hot breath spraying onto her skin, carrying a barely perceptible, yet intense, panting breath, as if he had just survived a catastrophe.
"Are you hurt?"
A hoarse, trembling voice, even with a hint of broken sobs, echoed repeatedly in her ears, carrying an almost neurotic obsession.
Tell me, are you alright?
His voice no longer held the majesty of an emperor, nor its usual coolness; only a primal, pure fear and lingering dread remained. He was like a child who had almost lost a beloved treasure, using all his strength to confirm, again and again, that he had regained it.
Lin Wan-wan felt a sharp pain from his embrace, and her heart trembled from the emotion in his voice. Her body was unharmed, but her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand. A mix of emotions—bitterness, emotion, shock, and an indescribable heartache—were swirling together, almost overwhelming her.
She struggled to lift her head from his embrace, wanting to see how he was doing.
"I...I'm fine..." Her voice trembled as well, "You...you let me go, let me see you..."
Xiao Che seemed not to hear her words, stubbornly holding her in his arms as if only in this way could he confirm that she was real and safe.
Lin Wanwan finally couldn't bear it any longer. With all her might, she struggled to lift her head from his steely embrace.
The moment she saw what he looked like, her mind went completely blank.
Before him, Xiao Che's face was deathly pale, and his lips, which usually had a hint of color, were now completely bloodless. A streak of bright red blood was slowly flowing from the corner of his mouth, winding down his sharply defined jawline, and finally dripping onto his dark robe, spreading into a dark stain.
His breathing was erratic, his forehead was covered with fine cold sweat, and his deep, dark eyes, which were as dark as night, had lost their usual sharpness and were covered with a layer of moisture brought on by the pain.
He was badly injured.
Yet, despite his disheveled and weakened appearance, when he saw her unharmed in his arms, her beautiful eyes filled with worry for him, a faint, yet incredibly satisfied smile slowly bloomed on his pale face.
That smile was as pure as a child's.
It was as if the person who had just withstood a tremendous impact and was now enduring immense pain was not him at all.
Lin Wanwan's brain completely shut down the moment she saw his smile.
All reason, all calculation, all palace intrigue collapsed at this moment, shattering into dust.
She just stared blankly at him, at the blood at the corner of his mouth, at his pale face, at his eyes that looked especially vulnerable because of the pain, at his damned, weak smile.
An inexplicable and uncontrollable anger and heartache erupted from the depths of her heart like a volcano!
"You..." Her lips trembled, and the words slipped out uncontrollably, "You're bleeding..."
"Are you crazy?!"
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