When fully awake, Li Shuang’s rationality naturally wouldn’t allow Jin’an to sleep together with her. She laid blankets on the floor and slept there herself, leaving the bed for Jin’an.
Yet when she woke in the morning, she found herself on the bed with Jin’an, held in his embrace like a treasured possession, his hold full of protectiveness.
Li Shuang shifted slightly, and he immediately held her tighter.
Li Shuang resigned herself to his embrace, looking outside at the sky. The morning glow had already painted the heavens red, yet Jin’an hadn’t transformed back into a child. It seemed Wu Yin’s words yesterday were true.
When he was near her, the closer they were, the more he could sense her qi, and the more it affected his transformation timing.
This… to help Jin’an return to normal, surely they wouldn’t have to…
“You’re awake,” a deep, husky voice sounded in her ear. He held her from behind, his breath falling gently on her ear, warm and slightly damp, causing Li Shuang to flush at the intimacy of their position.
She immediately broke free from Jin’an’s embrace, sitting up and rubbing her ear, as if trying to erase the warmth of his breath.
She didn’t ask how they ended up sleeping together, nor did she dwell on last night’s events. Li Shuang knew that the more she questioned or discussed it, the more awkward it would become – though of course, Jin’an wouldn’t feel such emotions. The only one who would feel awkward was her…
“Ahem.” She cleared her throat. “I need to leave briefly to give instructions to the troops below the mountain.”
After speaking these words, she reached the doorway and glanced back inadvertently to see Jin’an had already transformed into a child, his clothes hanging loosely like a blanket.
The child’s gaze remained fixed on her. Li Shuang paused in her steps: “I’ll be back within half an hour at most. Don’t just wait around – find something to do.”
“Alright.”
Only then did Li Shuang feel at ease leaving.
She had borrowed paper and brush from Wu Yin and was halfway through writing the partial withdrawal plans for the troops below when someone from Wu Ling Sect brought up a visitor from below.
“General.”
The arrival caught Li Shuang completely off guard: “Qin Lan?” She looked at the travel-worn Qin Lan with surprise. “Why aren’t you at Long Wind Camp? The Western Rong…”
Qin Lan gazed at Li Shuang silently for a moment before lowering his eyes, skipping any pleasantries to state directly: “Indeed, it concerns the Western Rong.”
Li Shuang’s expression immediately grew serious. Qin Lan continued, “The Western Rong king died suddenly last month. The crown prince hasn’t ascended the throne; instead, the king’s brother, the Duke of Shu Gan, has claimed the throne. The Western Rong has changed hands.”
Li Shuang was startled. She knew the situation at the Western Rong court.
The Western Rong queen was fierce in temperament, not allowing any other women to bear children for the king. However, she had only borne two sons – the elder was simple-minded and incapable of great achievement, while the younger was too young to shoulder responsibility. The king’s brothers had eyed the throne for many years. The court had long been entangled in power struggles.
Now with the Western Rong king’s sudden death and his young son not ascending the throne, the king’s third brother, the Duke of Shu Gan, had become the new emperor. What had truly transpired was likely known only to those directly involved.
“How does the new Western Rong emperor regard our Great Jin?”
“Duke Shu Gan Dai Qin is now the new king. Compared to the former king’s warlike nature, he seems…”
A crisp “crack” interrupted their conversation. Li Shuang and Qin Lan turned to see little Jin’an standing in the doorway, the cup he had been carrying was now shattered on the ground.
His expression was somewhat dazed, and unusually, his gaze wasn’t focused on Li Shuang but fixed blankly on a point in space, as if lost in thought. After a long moment, his eyes regained focus, but they settled on Qin Lan.
He didn’t speak, his expression strange. Li Shuang frowned in concern: “Jin’an?” She called his name, seemingly bringing him back to his senses. “Why did you come?”
“You said to do what I wanted to do…” His manner was more listless than usual. But he didn’t need to finish – Li Shuang understood his meaning.
She had told him to do what he wanted, and what he wanted most was to stay by her side, so he had brought tea.
Li Shuang felt both helpless and secretly touched by his dependence.
Qin Lan raised an eyebrow upon seeing Jin’an: “General, this child…”
“It’s a long story.” Unable to explain Jin’an’s situation to Qin Lan at the moment, Li Shuang brushed past it. “Let’s discuss why you sought me out. Has the new Western Rong king made any moves?”
“The new king Dai Qin has sent envoys to the capital, expressing Western Rong’s willingness to sign a ten-year peace treaty. However, the envoys insist on meeting with you, General.”
“Must see me?” Li Shuang was puzzled. Since the envoys had already reached the capital, couldn’t they settle the peace treaty with Si Ma Yang? Why did they need to see her?
While Li Shuang focused on this point, Jin’an unusually interrupted to ask Qin Lan: “Say again, what is the new Western Rong king’s name?”
Qin Lan found the child stranger than when he’d seen him in the Northern Frontier, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly how. He answered the question: “The former Duke of Shu Gan, Dai Qin, the former king’s third brother.”
Jin’an fell silent, staring blankly ahead.
Li Shuang noticed his strange behavior. She crouched down, gently gripping his shoulders to make him focus on her: “What’s wrong? Do you know Duke Shu Gan Dai Qin?”
It took Jin’an a long time before his gaze returned to Li Shuang’s face: “No, I don’t know him.”
With Qin Lan still present, Li Shuang didn’t ask further questions. Just then, Wu Yin appeared in the doorway: “Ah, here you are.” He beckoned to Jin’an. “Come, let me examine you.”
Jin’an walked away with Wu Yin in a daze, leaving Li Shuang frowning and Qin Lan standing in the room.
“General,” Qin Lan called to her. “I know you came here to save that mysterious person. He’s not here, yet why is Jin’an present?”
Li Shuang shook her head, pulling back from her thoughts and speculating: “Never mind that. When will the Western Rong envoys enter the capital?”
“I escorted the Western Rong envoys to the capital, then received imperial orders to fetch you back. His Majesty places great importance on the peace treaty. General… you may need to depart immediately.”
Li Shuang looked back at the paper on the table. She had planned to stay longer at Wu Ling Sect, to give Jin’an more time to stabilize emotionally, and more hope of returning to normal. But now it seemed she had even less time than before.
“We can’t leave today,” Li Shuang said. “Tomorrow… the day after. Have the main army return first, and I’ll ride hard to catch up with them the day after tomorrow.”
Qin Lan was silent for a long while: “General, what are you waiting for… the mysterious person?”
Li Shuang knew that in these two days, Jin’an couldn’t suddenly return to normal, recover his memories, or become an ordinary person again. But she knew that once she returned to the capital, she would have to stand before Jin’an and make things clear – that henceforth, the palace walls would be like barriers erected by sorcerers: he couldn’t enter, she couldn’t leave. He would have to either leave or guard her from beyond those walls.
She couldn’t imagine how to say such words to Jin’an, nor could she imagine his expression when she did.
It would probably be like that time when she told him to wait, and he just kept waiting.
Only this time, once she entered the palace, Jin’an would likely never see her again.
“Yes…” Li Shuang said. “Let’s wait two days, just these two days.”
She hoped these two days would be longer than any time before.