Mo Sigui extinguished his pipe and gently placed it on the table. Moving like the wind, he was by the window in the blink of an eye, silent as a shadow.
His long, slender fingers parted the gauze curtains. He stood there, quietly gazing at her face.
After a long while, he slowly sat down. His fingers traced the contours of Lou Mingyue’s face, his heart a jumble of emotions, but devoid of any lustful thoughts.
“Mo Sigui,” Lou Mingyue suddenly said softly.
His fingers froze for a moment before slowly withdrawing. His voice was hoarse. “Mm, you’re awake.”
Though expected, he couldn’t help but feel joy.
“I’m cold,” Lou Mingyue said, opening her eyes to look at him.
Their eyes met briefly before Lou Mingyue closed hers again. Mo Sigui, once so dashing and handsome, now looked so haggard. No matter how much she tried to avoid it, she had to face the reality that Mo Sigui’s current state was largely her fault.
The room fell silent.
Lou Mingyue felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace as Mo Sigui held her close.
In that instant, her tears flowed uncontrollably, as if trying to purge all her pain.
Mo Sigui felt the hot tears sliding down his neck but remained silent.
However, the hatred was too deep to be washed away by a few tears. When the tears were spent, only a dry, stinging sensation remained.
A Ran. Lou Mingyue wanted to call him by his old name, but even in her current fragile state, she maintained control. If she could only bring Mo Sigui harm, it was better to minimize it as much as possible.
“Say whatever you want to say,” Mo Sigui said, sensing her suddenly held breath as if holding back words. “No matter what you say or do, things can’t get worse than they are now. I can’t let go of my feelings. If you’re willing, why not leave some tenderness between us? It wouldn’t be in vain for us to have met in this life.”
With those words, he saw through her thoughts.
Lou Mingyue was stunned for a moment. Her rigid body slowly relaxed as she sighed, “A Ran.”
Mo Sigui closed his eyes briefly, forcing back tears. After a moment, he responded, “Ning Yu.”
“Qiu Ning Yu…” Lou Mingyue felt as if her former self was a beautiful dream, now a distant memory of which she could barely grasp fragments.
They held each other for a long time. When they separated, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward, as it had been so long since they were this close.
Mo Sigui helped her sit up and poured the medicine he had prepared earlier into a bowl. He brought it to her, saying, “If you want revenge, I’ll accompany you.”
Lou Mingyue’s fingertips had barely touched the bowl when she quickly withdrew them. “No!” she said firmly.
“Your personality isn’t as cheerful as before, but you’re still so stubborn,” Mo Sigui said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He scooped up a spoonful of medicine and brought it to her lips. “This is the first time I’ve ever waited on someone like this. Hurry up and open your mouth.”
“Mo Sigui!” Lou Mingyue felt a hint of panic. “What about your medical skills? How can you waste the talent Heaven gave you? If you do this, I’ll be condemned to the eighteenth level of hell even after death!”
If you truly care about someone, rather than selfishly wanting to possess them, you wouldn’t want to see them painfully sever something that occupies their entire life just to accompany you to hell.
“Who said I’m giving up?” Mo Sigui coaxed her gently. “I can seek revenge while studying medicine. It’s fine. Some scholars have their beauties add incense while they study, why can’t I do this?”
“It’s not the same!” Lou Mingyue said sharply. “Do you think revenge is child’s play?”
Back then, when Yelü Huangwu guarded the tomb alone, many top assassins couldn’t take her life. Now that she’s back in the center of Liao’s power! Killing Yelü Huangwu isn’t just opposing one person, but facing thousands of experts. With just the two of them, even if they spent five or ten years planning, success might not be guaranteed. How many decades does one have in life? How could she bear to waste Mo Sigui’s best years?
“I appreciate your sentiment, but any more pressure and I might collapse,” Lou Mingyue pleaded, showing weakness before him for the first time. “Mo Sigui, focus on studying medicine and saving lives. I’m just one of the many you could save. You said you could save me anytime, why have you suddenly changed your mind?”
Because every time he saw her covered in wounds, he couldn’t remain calm.
“Promise me,” Lou Mingyue stared at him intently. “Promise me.”
Lou Mingyue understood Mo Sigui better than anyone. For him, life existed for the sake of medicine. The fact that he could say he’d give up his calling to accompany her in revenge was enough for her.
Mo Sigui remained silent.
“Either I die, or you go back,” Lou Mingyue said.
One person on this path of no return was enough. If the price of revenge was Mo Sigui’s life, she would rather die with regrets.
Their gazes locked in a standoff for a while before Mo Sigui finally gave in.
When he heard Lou Mingyue’s words, his heart was in extreme conflict. Perhaps Lou Mingyue’s death would bring her release and freedom, but could he kill her himself? No! Not only could he not do it, but he would also exhaust all efforts to save her every time.
Lou Mingyue sighed in relief and drank the bowl of medicine. “If possible, please take care of Xiaowu for me. I can never repay what I owe her.”
“You don’t owe anyone anything,” Mo Sigui objected to her inexplicable sense of responsibility. “Currently, there’s no one in this world you need to be responsible for. Everyone ultimately has to live for themselves. Revenge is already a painful thing, can’t you think of something happier?”
“Happy things… are all in the past,” Lou Mingyue’s brows furrowed. “The happier it was then, the more painful it is to remember now.”
“Then let me add some new ones,” Mo Sigui said, worried she would refuse again. “An Jiu said, since we’re walking two completely separate paths, why torture each other? But I can’t let go or give up. Since that’s the case, even if there’s a deep chasm between us, I can at least tell you a joke from this side of the cliff.”
Even being able to lessen the other’s pain a bit was good.
“Zhu Pianpian said, everyone wears a layer of base skin, always longing for what they can’t have, but not cherishing what’s readily available,” Mo Sigui didn’t care about the reliability of the speaker, only trying to persuade her. “Perhaps if we interact a bit, we won’t feel as bad as we do now.”
Mo Sigui looked at her expectantly.
Outside, thunder rolled, and the rain fell harder.
Bianjing still maintained its gentle breeze and light rain.
In a cave behind a fake mountain, Dajiu shook its ears, and curled up into a ball, like a frightened cat.
“Stupid beast!”
Dajiu’s nose twitched, and it quickly crawled out, tumbling towards the person standing in the misty rain.
Seeing its behavior, An Jiu frowned. “You’re the king of beasts, a fierce tiger! Yet you’re scared to the point of weak legs. Even rabbits would laugh at you if they knew!”
Dajiu ignored her scolding, rubbing against her leg like a cat. Tiny water droplets formed on its fur from the light rain.
An Jiu moved her umbrella slightly to cover it.
The person and tiger returned to the medicine room.
Sheng Changyong had already been dug out of the earth. When the Konghe Army shot arrows from the sky, he was accidentally grazed on the waist. Although he lost a fair amount of blood, fortunately, it was only a flesh wound and didn’t hit any vital areas.
“Someone’s coming,” An Jiu said.
Everyone tensed. Sui Yunzhu peeked through the door crack and saw a figure in plain clothes racing towards them like lightning. It wasn’t until they were within ten yards that Sui Yunzhu recognized the person. “It’s Miss Zhu.”
Before she finished speaking, Zhu Pianpian had already kicked open the door and rushed in.
Sui Yunzhu couldn’t dodge in time and her head was struck by the door with a thud.
Li Qingzhi heard the sound and felt a chill, unconsciously rubbing his forehead.
Zhu Pianpian scanned the room. “Where’s Changyong?”
“He’s resting. He suffered a minor injury,” Ling Ziyue said.
Zhu Pianpian’s eyebrows shot up, and she strode towards the inner room.
“Pianpian.” Sheng Changyong had bled all night, and even a small wound was enough to make him look unwell.
“What happened? Let me see how serious the injury is. Those incompetent fools outside are all alive and well, and you’re the only one who got hurt! Can’t even protect one person. What kind of Konghe Army and generals are they? Blind!” Zhu Pianpian raged.
Outside, everyone except An Jiu wore shocked expressions. Usually, Zhu Pianpian was too good at disguising herself, always appearing delicate and weak, referring to herself as “this humble servant.” Her slightly plump figure could even give people the illusion of a willow swaying in the wind. Who would have thought that when agitated, her words would hit like bricks, leaving people stunned?
Sheng Changyong, somewhat familiar with this side of her, remained relatively calm. “It’s nothing serious, just a slight injury to my waist.”
“Waist!” Zhu Pianpian covered her mouth, eyes wide.
Outside, Sui Yunzhu, Li Qingzhi, An Jiu, and Ling Ziyue instantly understood her implication.