The intense pain instantly brought Qin Chu back to his senses. Using the strength gained from the pain, he stood up and looked at Lin Xiang.
His action was so decisive and ruthless that even Lin Xiang was stunned for a moment before frowning and walking over. But before he could get close, Qin Chu clutched his shoulder and flung the blood-stained dagger in his hand with one hand.
The dagger, spraying droplets of blood, struck Lin Xiang's throat with incredible speed.
In a short time, the room, which had been filled with a seductive atmosphere, was now filled with the pungent smell of blood. The captive boy severed one of his own tails, while his master, who had been in a superior position, lost his life to an inconspicuous dagger.
The servants waiting outside watched this scene in shock. After a long while, they opened their mouths as if to scream, but were struck on the back of the neck by two teacups that Qin Chu casually threw, and fell into a coma.
Qin Chu pursed her lips and stood up straight; the agonizing heat that had been nagging at her body had mostly dissipated.
He looked at the man whose throat had been pierced; the man's pale white clothes were stained with a large, horrifying crimson. He instinctively clutched his throat, clearly surprised by Qin Chu's desperate counterattack.
But the surprise lasted only a moment before a smile returned to the man's handsome face, now splattered with blood. Seemingly finding the situation amusing, his smile deepened slightly than usual.
He staggered a couple of times, grabbed a chair for support, but still couldn't withstand the exhaustion of his life and collapsed to the ground.
His disheveled situation seemed to have no effect on him. He looked at Qin Chu and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something. But with a knife stuck in his throat, no sound came out.
Qin Chu's clothes were soaked with blood, his white inner garment blooming with large patches of blood, making his red wedding robes appear even more flamboyant. He stepped forward, looking down at the person lying on the ground, and said indifferently, "This is to repay what you gave me in my previous life."
As he spoke, he bent down and pulled out the dagger, and blood gushed out again.
The man in the white robe lay in a pool of blood, smiled at him, and said in a somewhat unclear voice, "What a pity."
I don't know if it's a pity he missed his wedding night, or something else.
Qin Chu flicked the dagger twice and was about to turn back when he saw the person in the pool of blood open their mouth again.
His alluring peach blossom eyes darted around, looking at the eldest prince who stood dumbfounded to the side. Suddenly, he revealed an extremely wicked smile and said to Qin Chu, "I hope you never know... what kind of thing you're protecting."
-
The cold night wind, mixed with the strong smell of blood, made it impossible to feel sleepy at all when it hit my face.
The surrounding trees cast dappled shadows, and from time to time, strange animal cries could be heard, sounding all the more loud and clear in the quiet, desolate night.
After traveling for a long time through the dark jungle, the eldest prince felt the hand binding his waist loosen slightly, and he was put on the ground.
The stench of blood that had been lingering in his nostrils suddenly faded, and the eldest prince staggered before regaining his footing. He didn't stagger because his legs were weak, but because the person supporting him was clearly exhausted.
The eldest prince looked up at Qin Chu. It was too dark to see him clearly, but the man's pale face was strikingly obvious. The eldest prince then looked down at his own palm, which was covered with a layer of semi-dried, sticky bloodstains.
Since leaving the Prime Minister's residence, the eldest prince had not uttered a word. He stood silently to the side, watching Qin Chu gather some dry firewood and then start a small, warm fire.
Sitting face to face with Qin Chu across the fire, illuminated by the firelight, he saw that the wound on the back of Qin Chu's neck was still bleeding profusely, as if it would drain all the blood from his body.
No one knew what the consequences would be after the boy's birthmark was dug out; no one had ever dared to do it before.
After staring at Qin Chu's wound for a while, the eldest prince couldn't help but open his mouth: "You..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Qin Chu pull out the dagger again and heat it over the fire. The fire's heat was limited, and the thin blade of the dagger didn't turn completely red-hot even after burning for a while.
The eldest prince didn't know what Qin Chu was going to do, but seeing this, he turned around and went to find some dry grass.
A moment later, he watched as Qin Chu held a red-hot dagger and burned it onto the wound on the back of his neck.
The sizzling sound of blood evaporating and flesh being burned filled the air, but Qin Chu's pale face showed no sign of pain; he only frowned slightly.
The eldest prince pursed his lips, then lowered his head and looked down.
So much happened that night, so many things he couldn't understand, that he wasn't ready to process it all yet.
The bleeding from the wound stopped. When the eldest prince saw Qin Chu stand up and walk away, he subconsciously moved to follow him, wanting to ask, "Where are you going with your injury?"
But then he realized that it was actually his exposure of the birthmark on his hand that had implicated Qin Chu. Qin Chu had already done more than enough by bringing him out of the Prime Minister's residence, so it was only right for him to leave.
Huddled up in front of the fire, the eldest prince buried his head in his knees.
This posture could bring him some of the little warmth he needed.
He kept thinking about what had happened that day.
Qin Chu was arrested by the soldiers in his place.
Therefore, he was captured by Prime Minister Lin and forcibly detained.
When Lin Xiang asked Qin Chu to choose, Qin Chu chose to stay and let him leave.
Because of him... Qin Chu dug out his birthmark.
The eldest prince would never forget the feeling of blood splattering on his face, nor could he imagine Qin Chu's feelings when he chose to do so.
Even though he was in such pain and had lost too much blood to take care of himself, when this person fled the Lin Xiang mansion, he still took him with him, holding him with one hand as they walked through the woods.
Why did he do that?
The eldest prince couldn't understand it, but he knew he seemed to have misunderstood something. He subconsciously became wary of Qin Chu, but he didn't expect that Qin Chu really didn't want to kill him.
He then thought of the dagger in Qin Chu's hand.
He had kept that dagger hidden for a long time, intending to use it to guard against Qin Chu. Several times, he had considered using the dagger to slit Qin Chu's throat and escape.
He always thought he was hiding it very well, but he never expected that Qin Chu knew about it.
He knew everything, yet he said nothing, offered no explanation, and simply let him remain on guard.
Looking up at the leaping flames, the warm flames enveloped the prince's face and body with an unprecedented heat. This warmth was insignificant in the biting winter, but the prince felt uncomfortably burned and uncomfortable.
But then he thought, it's okay, these are enough.
He wanted to cherish this warmth, so that even if Qin Chu left now, he could live a warm life while holding onto this tiny flame.
The flames crackled and popped, and staring at them for too long made one's eyes blurry, but the child stared intently, as if he could see Qin Chu's departing figure again in the firelight.
Suddenly, some noise came from the surroundings, and the eldest prince immediately looked over alertly.
He hadn't harbored any unrealistic hopes, but when he looked up, he was suddenly struck by the sight of the person who had just left returning. For a moment, the Crown Prince felt as if he were dreaming; perhaps Qin Chu had forgotten something.
Without realizing it, he no longer felt that Qin Chu was there to kill him the moment he saw him.
He came back to get his things, and then it was really time for him to leave. The eldest prince clenched his fingers.
But to his surprise, Qin Chu wasn't there to take anything; he was there to deliver something.
The man remained as cold and indifferent as before, seemingly because of his injury, and didn't want to say a word. The eldest prince watched as he threw an injured rabbit at him, then tossed him a dagger.
Then the man sat down on the ground next to the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
After a long while, a very faint voice finally came over: "Make yourself something to eat, I'm going to take a nap."
His heart suddenly pounded violently, as if it had rushed to his throat. The eldest prince looked up, instinctively wanting to ask, "Aren't you leaving?"
But when he realized that Qin Chu had already rested, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
The atmosphere seemed to lighten a bit. The eldest prince looked at the person sleeping against the tree for a while, then picked up the rabbit and dagger from the ground and walked away.
He was afraid of making a noise that would wake Qin Chu.
Although the rabbit that Qin Chu caught was not very big, the eldest prince was too young and not strong enough, so it took him a while to finish processing it and then roast it over the fire on a branch.
The flames licked the oil, quickly emitting an enticing aroma.
But the eldest prince, who hadn't eaten all day, wasn't paying attention to the rabbit. He sat by the fire and couldn't help but turn to look at the sleeping people.
His breathing was heavy; he looked really tired.
After all, he had suffered such serious injuries and traveled such a long distance.
Thinking this, the eldest prince couldn't help but crane his neck to look at the wound on Qin Chu's neck, but he couldn't see anything from the angle from which he was sitting.
He withdrew his gaze and silently turned the pieces of meat on the branch. When the rabbit was roasted, he didn't finish it all, leaving the two plump hind legs behind.
He stuck his hind legs up with branches, intending to warm them over the fire, but he was afraid of drying them out too much.
After thinking for a while, he took the branch and walked towards Qin Chu, intending to stick it next to Qin Chu so that he could pick it up and eat it without moving when he woke up.
It's okay if it gets cold.
He doesn't need to sleep at night; he just brings the meat back to warm it up whenever it gets cold.
Thinking this, the eldest prince tiptoed over. As soon as he squatted down, he saw the person who was fast asleep suddenly open his eyes.
A pair of sharp, black eyes looked at him, their intensity amplified by the firelight. In the same instant, his wrist, which was gripping the branch, was seized with tremendous force, nearly causing him to drop the rabbit meat.
The eldest prince was startled when he met Qin Chu's cold and stern gaze.
"Here, have this." The eldest prince moved the branch in his hand.
Qin Chu stared at him for two seconds before slowly letting go and taking the food from his hand.
Watching Qin Chu eat quietly, the eldest prince paused, slowly stood up, and returned to his seat, which was separated from Qin Chu by a fire.
He knew Qin Chu was on guard against him, which was why he suddenly woke up and looked at him like that. Although he was asleep due to exhaustion, he had never completely let his guard down.
The eldest prince was very familiar with this feeling. He was wary of any living thing around him and would often suddenly open his eyes in the dark to look at everything that approached him.
Qin Chu was right to be wary of him, because he had indeed been trying to take the opportunity to kill Qin Chu.
But... is this what it feels like to be guarded against?
The eldest prince used tree branches to bury the bones in the soil.
He glanced at Qin Chu every now and then, noticing a strange mix of happiness and unease after seeing him finish his food. Had he felt the same way now when Qin Chu had saved him but he was always wary of him?
My chest feels sore and uncomfortable.
But this is for the best. After burying the bones, the eldest prince poked the fire with a stick.
Now he and Qin Chu are at a great distance, which is the safest distance for both of them. Neither of them needs to be on guard against the other, and Qin Chu doesn't need to be suddenly awakened from his rest.
The flames gradually weakened, and a chill swept over them again. The eldest prince moved forward and curled up closer to his body.
The last crackling sound came from the fire, and just as the eldest prince was wondering how to spend the night, he suddenly heard a muffled voice: "Come here."
The eldest prince raised his head and subconsciously looked around at his surroundings. After confirming that there was no one else, he looked at Qin Chu suspiciously.
Qin Chu cleared his throat, his voice clearer this time, and said, "Come here."
The eldest prince looked up and glanced at it, then slowly walked over: "What are you doing?"
As he asked this question, an impossible thought flashed through his mind, but the impossible quickly became possible. He saw Qin Chu raise his uninjured arm towards him and say, "Come here, go to sleep."
For a moment, the eldest prince stood there, unsure how to react.
His heart leaped with joy, yet another part of him hesitated, confused. Would Qin Chu be willing to huddle together with him for warmth? It certainly seemed like the best option.
But isn't Qin Chu wary of him? How can he sleep well with him like this?