The water poured in kept trickling out, drop by drop, until almost none remained — yet Xing Zizhou still showed no movement whatsoever.

Xiao Yingtao lifted her gaze to Feng Jiu’er, who sat opposite her tending to Xing Zizhou’s wound, drew a deep breath, and picked up the water pouch once more.

The second attempt also failed.

Time passed moment by moment, and Xiao Yingtao grew so anxious that tears burned at the corners of her eyes.

“Ji— Jiu’er, he can’t swallow it. What do we do?”

“If it were you who were injured, he would certainly find a way to get the medicine into you.” Feng Jiu’er did not look up, her hands moving swiftly and precisely.

In truth, she had already noticed Xing Zizhou’s swallowing movements earlier.

Getting him to swallow a whole pill while he was unconscious was not easy. But at the very least, the water would slowly dissolve the pill — as long as he swallowed even a little water, a little of the medicine would go in with it. The effect would not be ideal, but it was better than nothing.

Of course, if Xiao Yingtao had a better method, all the more preferable — and for a certain someone, that would be a welcome development as well.

“I…” Xiao Yingtao looked down at Xing Zizhou and fluttered her long lashes for a moment.

In the end, without needing Feng Jiu’er to prompt her, she bowed her head and pressed her lips to Xing Zizhou’s.

Using her inner energy, Xiao Yingtao guided the pill in his mouth further down his throat.

Watching his throat move in a swallow, Xiao Yingtao sat back with a look of quiet satisfaction and poured a mouthful of water into her own mouth.

Leaning forward again, she once more pressed her lips to Xing Zizhou’s.

Watching his throat carefully, she transferred water to him in small increments, over and over, until he had swallowed every last drop.

While Xiao Yingtao used this unconventional method to administer medicine and water to Xing Zizhou, Feng Jiu’er clearly caught sight of his fingers moving.

“Keep going. Give him a little more water.”

Xiao Yingtao looked at Feng Jiu’er and let out a deep breath of relief.

“Jiu’er, he swallowed it, didn’t he? He’ll get better, won’t he?”

“He did swallow it.” Feng Jiu’er replied gently. “Give him more water. The more he drinks, the faster he’ll recover.”

“All right.” Xiao Yingtao nodded, took up the water pouch again, and filled her mouth.

With the experience of the first two attempts behind her, Xiao Yingtao was no longer as clumsy when giving Xing Zizhou water this time.

She only wanted him to get well quickly — to be like before, full of ideas, always finding ways to surprise everyone. That was all that mattered. Nothing else was important.

When Qiao Mu came in, Xiao Yingtao was still leaning over, in the midst of giving Xing Zizhou water.

She glanced at Feng Jiu’er, and seeing that Jiu’er said nothing, quietly set the basin of warm water down to one side.

Since Feng Jiu’er gave no signal to stop, Xiao Yingtao continued, mouthful by mouthful, feeding Xing Zizhou water.

She kept on until something felt off, and only then did she stop.

Xiao Yingtao looked at Xing Zizhou, who had opened his eyes at some point without her noticing, and blinked.

“You… woke up?”

Xing Zizhou shook his head and closed his eyes again.

“No.”

Xiao Yingtao raised her sleeve and wiped the corners of her eyes, then looked at Xing Zizhou again, carefully.

Seeing his lips barely parted, she was momentarily stunned — then it dawned on her.

“Xing Zizhou, how dare you take advantage of me?”

The moment Xiao Yingtao swung her fist downward, her small hand was caught by Xing Zizhou.

But he had only just woken, and his breath was very weak, barely enough to sustain him.

The small hand he had caught still landed — on his right shoulder.

“Cough…”

Xing Zizhou coughed once, faint and frail. Xiao Yingtao was immediately alarmed.

“What’s wrong? I didn’t mean to use that much force. Xing Zizhou, are you all right?” She held his large hand in both of hers and asked anxiously.

Before Xing Zizhou could respond, Xiao Yingtao looked up at Feng Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er, what’s his condition? Does he get better once he wakes? What’s happening with him right now?”

“With you here, how could he possibly let himself come to harm?” Feng Jiu’er had already finished treating Xing Zizhou’s wound and was now wrapping a fresh bandage.

She could not say whether this man had been jolted awake by the pain of the medicinal powder she had applied, or by the power of Xiao Yingtao’s affection. Either way, the fact remained: he had woken ahead of schedule for no apparent reason.

“Xiao Yingtao, don’t be afraid. I’m fine now.” Xing Zizhou looked at Xiao Yingtao and curved his lips the faintest bit.

Looking at his pale face and sensing his weak and feeble breath, how could Xiao Yingtao possibly believe he was fine?

She drew a slow breath, extended her small hand, and pressed it to his forehead.

“Still so hot! Jiu’er, he’s still burning. What should I do?”

“Lay a cool cloth on his forehead. Change it when it warms up. Keep going until the fever breaks.” Feng Jiu’er replied.

“All right.” Xiao Yingtao hurriedly pulled her hands back and turned — and spotted the basin sitting on the ground. “Thank you, Qiao Mu.”

The words had barely left her mouth before she plunged her hand into the basin to pull out the cloth.

“Gratitude from a wife — I’ll accept that.” Qiao Mu stretched out her long legs and settled herself nearby.

“Qiao Mu, stop talking nonsense.” Xiao Yingtao gave Qiao Mu a look, wrung out the cloth, and turned.

“Qiao Mu.” Xing Zizhou called softly.

“Hm?” Qiao Mu answered warmly.

“When Xiao Yingtao and I are married, I’ll definitely have you over for a drink.” Xing Zizhou reached out his right hand and rested it gently around Xiao Yingtao’s waist.

“What are you doing?” Xiao Yingtao frowned and shot Xing Zizhou a look.

She, too, was a martial practitioner — how could she not be aware of his condition? Yet there he was, completely unbothered about his own body, while she was the one wringing her hands with worry on his behalf.

“Nothing. I just want to look at you.” Xing Zizhou curved his lips ever so slightly and replied in a soft, gentle tone.

“Don’t look! Get some rest! You’re still burning.” Xiao Yingtao gave Xing Zizhou a glance and flipped over the cloth she had just set down, pressing it back in place.

“It’s all right. I’ll be better soon. Don’t worry.” Xing Zizhou’s soft voice came again.

“Stop pushing yourself! Close your eyes and get some proper rest!” Feng Jiu’er pulled out her needle case and gave a cold snort.

“Now that you have a wife, if you won’t think more of yourself, at least think of her.”

“Your left hand is severely injured. Without proper treatment, you kept lifting heavy things.”

“The wound tore open repeatedly. You lost a great deal of blood and didn’t even have it cleaned. No wonder it became infected and caused a high fever. You truly have no idea how to care for yourself.”

“Not the slightest bit of self-regard! Do you even know how many tears Xiao Yingtao has shed for you just now?”

“Jiu’er.” Xiao Yingtao picked up the cloth and turned. “I… did nothing of the sort.”

The one who said she had done nothing of the sort still had damp corners at her eyes, and her voice was hoarse.

“Undo his robe. I need to administer needles to bring his temperature down.” Feng Jiu’er spread her open needle case to one side and glanced at Xiao Yingtao.

Xiao Yingtao looked back, met Feng Jiu’er’s gaze, and nodded.

Pressing the cloth against Xing Zizhou’s forehead, she averted her eyes from his face and let her gaze settle on his chest instead.

Reaching out, Xiao Yingtao gently began untying the fastening of Xing Zizhou’s robe.

When she lifted the front of his garment open, her fingertips accidentally grazed across his chest, and Xiao Yingtao could not suppress a quiet choked sound.

It was burning. In all her life, she had never encountered anything this hot.

Could he… truly recover from this?