Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Uncle, what's wrong? How did I fall asleep again?"
Qingyue pressed her pale face against her aching chest, while Shen Muhan's words were sharp and cold, his icy gaze making her unable to meet his eyes. At some point, Xia Muxin had woken up and was now propped up beside Shen Muhan, looking curiously at the few people in the tent. She furrowed her brows, feeling conflicted as she spoke.
Shen Muqing sensed that something was amiss and remained silent, pursing her lips. Qingyue's eyes were misty as she stared intently at Xia Muxin, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Perhaps deep down, despite her hatred for Xia Muxin and having wished for her death more than once, seeing the current situation made her heart ache. Guilt also crept in. The Child Gu was inherited from her parents and was hidden in the most secretive part of the mountain villa, accessible only to her. Out of curiosity, she had taken it out, not expecting to encounter Ming Lie and have it snatched away.
"Muxin, do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Shen Muhan was the most anxious of all. He tightly grasped Xia Muxin's slightly cool hand, filled with concern and worry as he asked. At the same time, he reached out to check her forehead. Even though her temperature was normal at that moment, his heart still raced.
Xia Muxin frowned at him; yesterday's events replayed in her mind, causing a slight pain in her heart. After a pause, she distanced herself a bit and said, "I'm fine; I might just be a little cold."
With that, she climbed out from under the covers and attempted to get out of bed.
Shen Muhan did not stop her but followed closely behind with a somber expression.
"You just recovered from a fever; it's not good to get caught in the rain. You shouldn't go outside."
As he reached the entrance of the tent, he remembered that the weather was bad today. Although it wasn't pouring rain at the moment, fine droplets continued to fall like hair strands. She had already caught a chill; combined with the Child Gu, she definitely shouldn't be exposed to rain. He quickly ran back into the tent to grab an oiled paper umbrella and hurried after Xia Muxin, holding it over her as they walked side by side.
Xia Muxin merely glanced at him lightly; she seemed very tired today, feeling weak all over—perhaps due to last night's chill—but she least wanted to talk. In fact, such rainy days were perfect for a leisurely stroll, suiting her mood even more.
At the same time, it suited someone else too.
Shen Muhan said nothing more, silently following her, slowing his pace. The umbrella tilted towards her side, while he was left with plenty of raindrops falling on him. As the rain accumulated, it seeped into his robe, and a cold wind blew through, chilling him to the bone.
But the coldest part was his heart.
"Uncle, do you know? I once objectively believed that as long as there are lovers, they can eventually be together. I yearn for a free marriage; in my ideal world, it is a monogamous system where we support each other until old age. Time passes, but we remain true to our original intentions. However, reality is too cruel. Your ideals and your revenge—I have overlooked them one by one, and I can’t keep up with your pace. I cannot bear being separated after marriage; you are at the border while I am in the mountains. Perhaps when our child is born, you will be on the battlefield, and when the child learns to speak, you will be standing at the city gate looking out. Or maybe at some point in time, that will be our last gathering. I am very selfish; all those notions of being gentle and knowledgeable do not apply to me. I just want to be myself and not change for anyone, but I want a complete family."
After walking for a while, the heavy rain had stopped. The soldiers had emerged from their tents and were watching the two figures—one tall and one short—speaking softly together. The man's eyes were filled with careful affection as he kept the umbrella tilted towards the woman. Even when the wind blew, she remained untouched by a single raindrop, while he stood mostly outside the shelter of the umbrella, his light-colored robe already soaked through. This scene was impossible not to move anyone.
Suddenly, Xia Muxin spoke up, causing Shen Muhan's heart to tighten. She did not lower her voice, so nearby soldiers caught snippets of their conversation. In no time, they gathered together to piece together what they had heard, and soon Xia Muxin's words spread throughout the camp.
At the same time, they felt a sense of empathy; many of them also had families. Indeed, as Xia Muxin said, throughout the year they could only spend a few short days together. They did not know when their children would learn to speak or walk; returning home felt strange and daunting—some even hesitated to call out "father."
Some might have lost their parents to illness or faced accidents involving their wives and children. Yet upon returning home, all they could do was face a pile of dirt and weep bitterly. They fought valiantly but could only see others reunited while they drowned their sorrows in drink day after day. In the end, what did they gain?
Others saw your glory with their own eyes, but who would understand or care about your downfall?
Xia Muxin's words struck a chord with everyone present; who wasn’t selfish? Who didn’t long for reunion? But this world wouldn’t bend to their wishes.
"Muxin, no matter what happens, I will never give up on you. So you must hold my hand tightly and not let go. Haven't you always wanted to know how I plan to use my power to escape this predicament? Once the weather clears up, I'll take you to see the training exercises, alright?"
Shen Muhan tilted the umbrella further towards Xia Muxin again and gazed at her intently for a long moment before speaking gently.
"Uncle, I've heard those rumors. I want to help you, but I've realized I'm too weak; all I can do is solve everyone's food problems."
"That is already enough. What I ultimately want is just you—one-of-a-kind Xia Muxin. I don’t want you to change anything for me; it's just that some things are beyond my control as well. We’ll take it one step at a time; there will always be a solution."
Xia Muxin spoke with some agitation; she herself didn’t know why she felt so fragile today. Shen Muhan quickly interrupted her words with a double entendre.
After all, he couldn’t let her know about the arranged marriage yet; otherwise, she would only overthink it more.
"The rain has stopped, Uncle. Look, a rainbow..."
*
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed. Xia Muxin had been running a fever repeatedly, and Shen Muhan was almost never far from her side. Their plans to watch him train had fallen through, and while she slept, he would sneak off to the mountains, only to return shortly after, acting mysteriously. No one knew what he was up to.
After that day, the tension between them seemed to have dissipated. Xia Muxin's mood improved as she lay drowsily in bed. Shen Muhan sat beside her, studying Military Strategy, occasionally glancing at her with a mix of concern and affection in his eyes.
"Uncle, I think it's just a case of adjusting to the environment. My cold keeps coming back. You shouldn't waste time on me; you should go train early. I really want to go back," she said.
For the past two days, Shen Muhan had shared meals and sleep with her but maintained a respectful distance, only daring to kiss her forehead occasionally. This made her wonder if her charm had faded. Several times she wanted to ask him about it but felt too shy to speak up. Besides, his constant presence was delaying important matters and would only fuel more rumors.
Upon hearing her words, Shen Muhan tucked the Military Strategy book into his robe and approached her, studying her for a moment before checking her forehead temperature. After a brief pause, he replied, "Alright. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, just have someone come find me."
Xia Muxin snuggled deeper into her blanket and mumbled an agreement. She then heard soft footsteps; when she peeked out again, Shen Muhan had already left. The tent still carried his unique scent. Xia Muxin inhaled deeply; she knew something was wrong with her body—it was definitely not just a simple cold. The blood she had coughed up that day was black, and Shen Muhan's constant vigilance couldn't be explained away by mere concerns over a common cold.
He was a divine healer himself, yet it seemed he was at a loss regarding her symptoms...
After a long moment, she smiled lightly, refusing to let her physical condition dampen her spirits. Living in the moment was good enough.
*
"Boss, are you injured? Why have you been drinking these dark medicines for the past few days? They smell really awful," came a voice.
Having exited Xia Muxin's tent, Shen Muhan arrived at Ming Yi and the others' quarters. Ming Yi and the other brothers were busy with their mission and had been coming back late every day. The task of brewing medicine naturally fell to the only one left behind—Ming Peng. At that moment, seeing Shen Muhan enter, he quickly handed over the prepared medicine and looked at him with concern before mustering the courage to ask.
Ming Peng had been gathering herbs these past few days; aside from the ten or so samples Boss had provided him with—along with instructions on which parts to use—he had spent hours preparing each day's medicine. Although Boss appeared normal on the outside, he still needed to consume these concoctions, which made Ming Peng both worried and curious.
He also did not allow him to tell anyone, fearing that the news would leak.
"It's nothing, just an old ailment acting up."
Shen Muhan glanced lightly at the bowl of medicine, then took the dark concoction and drank it all in one go. He wiped his mouth and spoke in a calm voice before turning to leave the tent.
Ming Peng watched the retreating figure, furrowing his brow for a long time. Was this old ailment related to the first fight with Ming Lie...?
Shen Muhan entered a dense forest along the way, feeling as if his insides were shattering with pain. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of black blood. He leaned against a tree to keep himself from collapsing and then sat down on the ground to begin regulating his breath.
After about half an incense stick's worth of time, the black energy between his brows flowed down his face and neck. He used his internal energy to force this black energy toward a pulse point. Then, with swift precision, he made a cut at that pulse point, blood gushing out. A small vial appeared in his palm, and he directed the blood into it until it was empty. Only then did he seal several major pulse points on his body and sprinkle medicinal powder over the cuts, instantly stopping the bleeding.
Holding the vial filled with his own blood, he found a flat area, built a fire, gathered herbs, and began concocting medicine.
A strange fragrance filled the air, reminiscent of both the blood in the vial and the plants roasting over the fire.
"Senior Brother, are you really willing to risk your life? You're using poison made from plants like Heartbreak Grass and Blood Lizard, and then using your own toxic blood to make medicine for Xia Muxin. Do you realize that you could die from this? Even if you don't die from the poison itself, you could bleed to death."
Qingyue had noticed something unusual about him for several days but never imagined he would go this far. Fortunately, she had arrived early today; if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed there were such infatuated people in this world.
And that person was not her.
Her heart ached not only for his body but also for his ignorance.
"I am a doctor; I know what I'm doing."
Shen Muhan remained focused on his task, not lifting his gaze to meet Qingyue's tear-filled eyes.
Qingyue covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her cries but felt compelled to stop him from being so foolish. Just as she was about to step forward, a gust of wind swept past her body, rendering her unable to move.
"I've said it before, I know my limits, and no one can stop me."
Shen Muhan finally raised his gaze to him, the darkness in his eyes heavy, his voice laced with a hint of hostility.
Qingyue was frozen in place, tears streaming down her face as she watched him methodically complete the process of making the medicine.
His plan to use poison against poison was aimed at forcing out the Child Gu. The Child Gu thrived on the heart's blood of a living person; once it entered a body, it clung on like a leech, refusing to leave. It was inherently cold in nature, and the poisons Shen Muhan was using were all chilling. This method of applying extreme cold could indeed alleviate Xia Muxin's pain, but ultimately her life and death were in the hands of Mother Gu, as well as the one who had planted the Mother Gu.
At the same time, Xia Muxin was not idle. She stepped out of the tent, wielding her small curved knife as she dug through the barren mud, seemingly searching for something.
Occasionally, she would unearth a piece resembling stone or Azure Brick, her lips curling into a smile as she gathered them to one side. In the end, she began to tap and knock on these items, carefully scraping something off their surfaces with her small knife before wrapping them up with a cloth. Then she returned to the tent and did not come out again.
"Wow, there really is salt! Look, look! Miss Muxin wasn't lying to us."
At that moment, several people who had followed Xia Muxin in digging for hoofprints managed to extract pure Coarse Salt using her method. They erupted into cheers; it was simply miraculous that such a desolate village could yield salt.
With this discovery, even if they had to eat leaves every day, they could maintain their energy and not fear starvation.
- End of Chapter -
Comment 0 Comment Count