Lu Heng was very grateful that his reckless cousin had allowed him to meet Qin Yining at this time. Although Qin Yining had no romantic feelings for him, being able to meet her in his prime years and leave a good impression in her heart was enough to satisfy him.

If he hadn’t met Qin Yining at this time, or if he had been older, perhaps when they met, they wouldn’t have entrusted and trusted each other as they did in this lifetime.

This was probably what Qin Yining had just mentioned about “everyone having their own fate,” wasn’t it?

Lu Heng let his thoughts wander like this. After a long while, he tiredly furrowed his brow and dozed off again.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt like he was holding a very hot furnace in his arms.

Lu Heng’s eyes flew open, his exhausted appearance unable to hide his current anxiety.

Qin Yining had developed a fever.

And it was a high fever that wouldn’t break.

After all, it wasn’t convenient for Lu Heng to personally attend to bathing Qin Yining. Being able to sleep embracing her while she was unconscious had already crossed his boundaries.

So Lu Heng went to find two trustworthy female tribespeople to help wipe down Qin Yining to reduce her fever.

Qin Yining’s originally pale face now showed an unhealthy flush from the fever. Her lips were also dried and cracked in several places.

The persistent high fever made her body, which had previously been cold as ice, burn with abnormal heat.

The tribespeople helping to wipe Qin Yining’s sweat discovered she had truly lost a lot of weight, especially the bones at her wrists, as if those bones were so sharp they might pierce through her skin at any moment.

After the tribespeople finished helping Qin Yining bathe, Lu Heng returned to the tent and fed her warm water.

Qin Yining unconsciously swallowed a few mouthfuls, but when he continued trying to feed her, Lu Heng helplessly discovered that Qin Yining refused to open her mouth, as if she was determined to seek death.

Seeing Qin Yining so weak, Lu Heng couldn’t help sighing and softly persuading: “Wake up, you must drink more hot water and eat more food. You look so different from when we first met. Look how thin you’ve become.”

Even knowing Qin Yining was unconscious and couldn’t hear his voice, Lu Heng still persistently and gently tried to persuade her.

Qin Yining alternated between cold and hot, frequently kicking off the blankets covering her.

She was now as if placed in a raging fire, large beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Lu Heng hurriedly wiped them away with his sleeve.

Looking at Qin Yining’s sweat-dampened hair, Lu Heng felt unexpectedly sad.

He had never been a sentimental person. When someone told him the Lu family was in trouble, he hadn’t been afraid to confront them head-on.

But even so, no matter how heartless Lu Heng was, the softest place in his heart had been reserved for Qin Yining. Now Qin Yining looked critically ill, yet he had no ability to save her! Lu Heng truly felt agonizing pain like knives piercing his heart.

If he had known this would happen, when entering the desert he should have first found a way to bring a doctor to travel with them. If Qin Yining’s cold had received proper treatment from the beginning, it wouldn’t have developed so dangerously now.

Of course, Qin Yining didn’t know what the people around her were thinking or doing. At this moment, she felt like she had fallen into a pitch-black abyss. There was no light before her eyes, and deep in the abyss seemed to be a pool of magma that would melt her drop by drop.

So hot, truly so hot!

Qin Yining moaned in discomfort, falling asleep again at some point. She didn’t even know when Lu Heng carried her onto the cart along with the blankets.

Over several days, due to physical weakness, Qin Yining’s conscious time became less and less. The bad premonition in her heart gradually expanded.

After sleeping unconsciously for who knows how long, when she opened her eyes again, she was lying on a wooden cart. In her ears was the howling of fierce wind. Dimly, she felt someone arranging her scarf, and a warm hand covered her forehead, then sighed and said: “Don’t be afraid, we will definitely get out of this desert. We have sufficient food, nothing to fear…”

Qin Yining knew it was Lu Heng comforting her again.

During this time, Lu Heng’s care for her had been meticulous, and she was very grateful.

“Thank you.”

Seeing Qin Yining speak, Lu Heng quickly leaned closer: “You’re awake? Have some water?”

Qin Yining said with effort: “If I can’t make it, just leave, leave me behind.”

After saying this sentence, she fell unconscious again. The last sound she heard was Lu Heng saying in her ear over and over: “Don’t be afraid, I won’t leave you behind, I won’t leave you behind…”

Qin Yining didn’t know exactly how long she had been unconscious. She even felt that perhaps she would never wake up again, and she hadn’t had time to tell Pang Xiao what she wanted to say.

But when she opened her eyes again, Qin Yining found herself in a mud-brick house with quite a high ceiling.

Was she still in the desert? How could there be such buildings in the desert?

Qin Yining couldn’t help but begin examining her surroundings.

This room was extremely large, with walls made of yellow mud and wooden structures. The furnishings in the room were also very simple, with most items being pottery and wooden carvings.

She was currently lying on a very large heated kang, covered with bedding made of fine cotton. The patterns on the cotton were also exquisite – they seemed to be some mysterious and auspicious totems, not the usual flowers, birds, or wealth patterns commonly used.

Qin Yining couldn’t help wondering where exactly she was. Had Lu Heng, to save her life, taken her out of the desert?

But the terrain of that uninhabited desert changed constantly, making it impossible to find the way back.

Moreover, the architectural style here and the totems on the utensils and furnishings didn’t quite resemble the style of Great Zhou or any Tatar nation.

Qin Yining moved her fingers and felt her strength had recovered somewhat. Her mind was no longer as confused as before, and even the burning pain in her throat and the cracking of her lips seemed much improved.

Qin Yining felt very curious and extremely fortunate about her current improvement. She had thought she would lose her life, but unexpectedly she could still survive.

Just as Qin Yining was looking around with wide eyes, the wooden door suddenly creaked.

She looked toward the sound and saw a tall man in red robes walking over.

The man appeared to be about forty years old, with slightly naturally curly hair neatly coiled into a topknot. His features were very deep-set, with high nose and deep eyes that were quite distinctive. His long robe was also made of fine cotton with those strange, complex patterns found on the bedding and utensils. As he slowly approached, his black eyes stayed fixed on Qin Yining lying on the heated kang. His gaze was very infatuated and unwavering, as if he were gazing at a priceless treasure.

“You’re awake?”

Qin Yining was very surprised – this person was speaking the language of Great Zhou, with an accent from near the south of Great Zhou, close to the border with Great Yan.

Could she have returned to Great Zhou?

Seeing Qin Yining only silently looking at him without speaking, the man smiled and said: “Are you still not completely recovered?”

Without waiting for Qin Yining’s answer, he clapped his hands three times.

Then two maids in gray-green robes with neatly arranged hair walked in.

They curtsied to the man: “Prince.”

“Mm. Go attend to the Goddess.”

“Yes, Prince.”

The two maids slowly approached Qin Yining.

Qin Yining was completely confused.

This was a Prince? Qin Yining didn’t remember Great Zhou currently having any prince of this age and appearance. Great Yan was even less likely. But in the former Northern Ji Kingdom, aside from the crown prince inheriting the throne, brothers were enfeoffed as princes, and the brothers’ children would all be enfeoffed as princes with their own territories.

Could this uncle be a former prince of Northern Ji Kingdom?

And strangest of all, he actually called her “Goddess”!

What were these people thinking? How had she become a goddess?

While Qin Yining was lost in confused thoughts, the two maids had already approached and curtsied: “Goddess, the servants will attend to your washing. The kitchen has prepared food for you – you may eat after washing.”

The question “Why do you call me Goddess?” almost slipped out. However, Qin Yining still held back without showing emotion and didn’t speak immediately.

In any case, she currently felt sticky all over and should indeed bathe first and get some food in her.

Just as Qin Yining was being helped to stand by the two women, preparing to go to the side room, the middle-aged man called Prince also stepped forward a few paces.

Qin Yining frowned and glanced back. The Prince seemed intimidated by her gaze and slowly stopped, but his eyes looking at Qin Yining remained very fervent.

Qin Yining was very displeased, because this person’s gaze was too blatant, like someone who hadn’t eaten for several meals suddenly seeing rich food. It made her feel like meat on a chopping block, as if under this person’s watch she could only be slaughtered at will.

But with the current situation unclear, Qin Yining didn’t dare speak rashly and anger the other party. She planned to observe first before considering what to do next, and also needed to find out the whereabouts of the other Minuo tribe members. So she didn’t say more and let the maids support her into the side room.

The side room was equally spacious with an extremely high ceiling. The surrounding furniture and furnishings all revealed a kind of simplicity within their roughness, combined with decorations bearing special patterns or totems, creating an exotic atmosphere.

The maids helped Qin Yining walk behind a screen and supported her up three wooden steps.

Only then did Qin Yining discover there was a wooden bathtub half-embedded in the floor above the steps, with steaming hot water inside. A wooden ladle floated on the water surface, and two towels were draped over the tub’s edge.

Qin Yining said: “You may withdraw.”

“The Goddess’s body is still very weak. Please allow the servants to attend to your bathing.”

The two maids spoke while performing deep bows.

Although Qin Yining had lived in wealth before, she wasn’t someone who could comfortably accept such grand ceremonies from others. Moreover, testing her current physical condition, while much better than before her coma, she still lacked the strength to bathe alone. Besides, she wanted to ask about the situation here, so she simply nodded.

Both maids were very pleased and quickly bowed again, carefully helping her undress and step into the bathtub.