Одинокий город закрыт

Глава 107

"Don't care? Compared to the throne, would you still not care?" Xiao Bai sneered.

“Qianqian,” the fox didn’t answer Xiaobai, but reached out and pulled me halfway around so that I was facing him. His gaze was fixed on me, and he said seriously, “Qianqian, do you want your brother to be so reckless?”

I forced a smile and shook my head slightly, but my head gradually sank. In the fox's heart, the throne and I held two completely different places; there was no conflict between them. If he were to relinquish the throne and the empire, then he wouldn't be the fox, and he wouldn't be the person in my heart.

I could no longer hear their conversation, and I drifted back into a deep sleep.

When I woke up again, it seemed to be the next day. The moment I opened my eyes, I was met with a pair of peach blossom eyes staring at me, somewhat lost in thought. I turned my head slightly, and even through the car curtain, I could feel the sunlight outside. It was another beautiful sunny day. I longed to go hiking, to climb high, to experience the feeling of being above all the mountains, to make myself understand the insignificance of humankind. That way, if I were to never wake up again, I could do so with a smile. But given my current physical condition, that would certainly not be allowed.

"Awake?" The fox's voice was slightly hoarse. He had been rushing along the way, and his usually smooth chin was now showing some stubble.

I nodded, struggled to get up from his embrace, and reached out to lift a corner of the carriage curtain, letting in the warm winter sunlight. I then lifted the curtain completely, savoring every inch of light that streamed in.

“If I had insisted on not letting you make this trip to Tianqing back then, perhaps things wouldn’t be like this now.” The fox’s voice came softly from behind me. I turned around in surprise. He didn’t look at me, but seemed to be looking out of the carriage as well, with a hint of hope on his face. “Or maybe it would have been much earlier.”

I felt a mix of emotions. Could such a proud person really utter such words of regret? Unable to speak, I could only sit back down beside him. My left hand had just touched the back of his hand when the carriage suddenly stopped. The fox's hand gripped mine. I looked up at him, and he wrapped his other arm around my waist, then lifted me from the carriage.

"Xi Lan!" When I saw the white figure rushing towards me from not far away, I sighed softly in my heart. Why? Hadn't he already forgotten me? Wasn't he only left with hatred for me? Why was he rushing over so urgently? To trouble him again, to save me again, I wonder what price he will have to pay this time? And the person who held my hand so tightly, we will have to part again.

The horse beneath her let out a clear neigh and stopped running. Xi Lan leaped off the horse and hurried to our side. Her clear black eyes had been fixed on me the whole time. At this moment, the anxiety and worry in her eyes were clear and unmistakable. It was as if she had never seen anyone else at all, as if there had never been any mockery or resentment in her eyes.

I could only nod at him, then force a smile, but tears unexpectedly streamed down my cheeks, one after another. I couldn't tell if these tears were from being moved by the man in white before me, or from the impending separation.

"Please save Qianqian." The fox suddenly gripped my hand tightly, as if trying to crush it. Before I could even cry out in pain, it abruptly released my grip, its fingers intertwined with mine. It looked at Xilan, its voice carrying a hint of pleading.

My tears flowed more and more, blurring my vision, but my heart ached terribly. My fingers clung tightly to the fox, as if afraid that the warmth from its fingertips would be lost in the next second, severing the delicate threads of affection that bound us together.

"That's my business." Xi Lan's eyes held a cold chill when she looked at the fox. Although she had her usual smile on her face, her voice was disdainful.

The intertwined fingers tightened simultaneously, then five fingers slowly released, inch by inch, finger by finger. Despite the unbreakable bond, they resolutely let go, severing their ties with a gesture that seemed capable of crushing one's heart. Through tear-filled eyes, I looked at the person beside me, but he seemed oblivious, his peach blossom eyes fixed on Xi Lan. His lips seemed to try to curve into a familiar smile, but instead, it appeared stiff and unnatural. His voice, tinged with unease, said, "Time is running out. Please save Qian Qian as soon as possible."

I don't want to, I don't want to! A sudden wave of reluctance washed over me, and a nameless panic gripped me. I was terrified of being separated from the fox at this moment. I turned and tried to throw myself into the arms of the person next to me, wanting to stay and not leave him. But he suddenly reached out and pushed me forward. From the moment I left until now, he hadn't looked at me or even blinked.

Before I could break down in tears, Xi Lan spun me onto his horse, ignoring everyone else, and galloped off into the distance, holding me tightly in his arms. I desperately looked behind me; the figure receded further and further, quickly becoming a black dot until it disappeared completely. I burst into tears. I remembered the last time at the foot of Tianshan Mountain, it was Xi Lan who came to pick me up. Back then, the fox lazily and casually confronted Xi Lan for a few seconds, then pinched my palm hard before turning and drifting away with the night wind. This time, however, he personally pushed me towards Xi Lan, standing there watching us leave, and he didn't turn around until I could no longer see him.

"Promise me one thing." I sat down in front of him, facing him directly. The figure in the distance had become a black dot, then disappeared, never to be seen again, but that figure was already imprinted in my heart. I looked up at the person in front of me, stretched out my index finger, and traced those words in the air, stroke by stroke.

"Why don't you speak?" Although they were in the city, guards had already cleared the way, so the horse beneath them galloped without slowing down.

I smiled at him, pointed to my mouth, and then shook my head.

His eyes suddenly darkened, his lips pressed tightly together, and he looked ahead again, while his horse moved even faster.

I reached out and gently tugged at his shirt. He turned to look at me, and I used my index finger to write a few words in the air: Don't save me, don't hate me, forget me completely, and never remember me again.

I wrote slowly, stroke by stroke, as if I had used up all my strength, yet I never hesitated. I am useless, I am afraid of death, and I am reluctant to leave this place, reluctant to leave those few people I cherish... But at this moment, looking in that distant direction, I can no longer see familiar figures, and suddenly I have a strong feeling: between me and the fox, there is probably more than just a distance of thousands of miles; if we want to be together, it is too difficult; and if I owe the person in front of me another life, I will never be able to turn around and leave so easily again.

The horse beneath me let out a long neigh, its front hooves off the ground, and it came to an abrupt stop. Caught off guard, I lurched into his arms, my chest tightened, and I began to cough violently.

"Do you have the right to say that?" His eyes were full of anger, but his expression was somewhat disheveled, and his voice was unusually manic.

Xi Lan, it took me a while to stop coughing. I tried to force a smile at him. Xi Lan, although he has forgotten all the moments we spent together, although he hates me, although the gentle smile is no longer in his eyes and on his face, he is still Xi Lan. Deep in my heart, he is still the Xi Lan I know!

I tried to reach out and write again, but as I slightly raised my hand, a metallic sweetness welled up in my mouth. I tried to hold it in, but warm, viscous liquid still slid down my lips. My head slumped, my vision went black, and before I lost consciousness again, I seemed to hear someone calling me from afar, "Qianqian, Qianqian..." The calls were distant and faint, like a hallucination.

When I awoke again, I was chilled to the bone by an icy cold. Opening my eyes, I saw a familiar white figure before me, and the surroundings were also very familiar. It was the Heavenly Sacred Pool within the flower walls of Zhilan Palace. The last time I was poisoned by the Love Poison, Xi Lan had carried me here, and we had jumped into the water together while he worked hard to detoxify me. At that time, my body seemed to react to the Heavenly Sacred Pool, so Xi Lan used a method that harmed himself to transfer his protective soul to me. He was injured then, but I was completely unaware. And now, I was still in this Heavenly Sacred Pool. I stood in the pool, leaning against the edge, the water reaching my chest. My hands were on the edge of the pool, and he only held my hands down to prevent me from sliding to the bottom, but he didn't go into the water.

Through my skin, it was ice on the outside and fire inside; the torment was agonizing. Within seconds, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, as if someone was scraping my heart. I couldn't help but groan in pain and looked pleadingly at the person by the pool. His eyes were full of confusion, chaos, and struggle as he stared intently at me. For a moment, his face went blank, then a strange sense of shock and pain crossed his mind. That shock and pain seemed like an instinctive reaction, and when he realized it and suppressed it, the confusion in his eyes deepened.

The pain in my chest intensified. I was already unable to speak, and now even a groan was a luxury. He gripped my hands tightly, but my body grew weaker and weaker, and I slid heavily towards the bottom of the pool, as if all my strength had vanished. I tried to lift my eyes to look at him, desperately trying to shake my head but to no avail. I could only look at him with tears in my eyes, silently pleading: Xi Lan, let go, release me, just let me disappear like this.

In the instant before I fainted from the pain, I saw him grab my hand and jump into the pool without hesitation, holding me tightly. His mouth was half-open, as if he wanted to shout something, but no sound came out. My consciousness gradually blurred, and I could no longer hear, see, or feel anything. The images in my memory shattered into countless small fragments like a broken mirror. There was no pain, and no tears.

I was in a coma for a very, very long time. I wasn't actually conscious, and I didn't experience any hallucinations like I usually do, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings. The person watching over me was Zisu. She was wearing a light green brocade cotton-padded jacket, the kind of clothing worn during the coldest part of the year. I never imagined that when I woke up, it would be the dead of winter. Even more unexpectedly, I was able to wake up, and that I would still be here.

I tried to move my hands; although I didn't have much strength, I could stretch them freely. I then tried to speak, but found that I could only make "ee-ee-ya-ya" sounds and still couldn't speak.

"The princess is awake?" Zisu was standing by the bed, slightly lost in thought. Hearing the voice, she quickly looked up at me. Her expression was calm, but there was joy in her eyes. She then turned and walked towards the door.

A moment later, Xi Lan entered like a gust of wind. I looked around again; the person was familiar, but the place was unfamiliar. The room was small, simply and cleanly furnished. This was neither Zhi Lan Palace nor Xi Lan Palace, and it didn't even feel like the Tianqing Imperial Palace.

He stopped a short distance from the bed, paused briefly as if to gather his thoughts, and then slowly walked to the bedside. He sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out and lifted a corner of the quilt, placing his right hand on my right wrist as if taking my pulse. His eyes, from the moment he entered until now, had never left me, but he deliberately avoided my gaze, unwilling to meet my eyes.

I sighed inwardly, my gaze following his movements down to his hand pressed against my wrist. To my surprise, I saw that his right little finger was completely empty! Where was his soul protector? I was startled and struggled to pull my left hand out from under the covers. Sure enough, I saw that thin gold thread was wrapped around my left little finger—the soul protector.

"Xi Lan!" I called out, but no sound came out. I gripped Xi Lan's hand tightly with my left hand, and braced myself against the bed with my right. I struggled to sit up, and the quilt slid down. I felt a sudden chill, and when I looked down, I saw that I was only wearing a light red bodice, which barely covered my private parts.

I slumped back onto the bed, pulling the blanket back with one hand, pointing at myself with the other, then at Xi Lan who was still sitting calmly on the edge of the bed. I opened my mouth but couldn't say anything, and my face suddenly burned.

"Now your life is mine, and you are mine too." He suddenly looked at me and smiled, his smile gentle, his eyes clear, and his voice melodious.

She looks exactly like Xi Lan before she lost her memory!

My mouth gaped open, my mind blank for a moment before I finally reacted. "If you're willing, the simplest way is actually through union," Ruochen's words suddenly rang in my ears. I don't know where the strength came from, but I abruptly sat up, staring intently at the tightly bound soul-protecting ring on my left little finger. I turned to look at the white figure on the edge of the bed, my heart pounding with anxiety. What did Xilan mean by that? Before losing consciousness in the Heavenly Saint Pool, I saw Xilan enter the water and embrace me. And now, the soul-protecting ring on my hand—could it be that Xilan used the "simplest method" to transfer it to me?

Clouds Drunk and Moon Slumbering (Revised Edition) Volume Four: A Hidden Melancholy and Resentment Arise in a Dreamlike Realm (Eight Trigrams)

Chapter word count: 7249 Update time: 08-12-24 12:59

Illusionary Bagua

My right hand trembled as I touched my chest. I couldn't accept this outcome at all. I took several deep breaths, shook my head vigorously, and dared not look into the eyes or face of the person on the edge of the bed. I lowered my head, took his hand, and with trembling fingers, wrote "We" in his palm, stroke by stroke.

The strokes were a big question mark, slow and hesitant. My heart leaped into my throat, my breath caught in my throat, and a glimmer of hope filled my eyes. The instant my fingers withdrew from his palm, his hand suddenly gripped mine tightly, twisting it forcefully. His other hand rested on my shoulder, and before I could cry out, he pulled me into his embrace. His left hand moved to my waist, while his right hand pulled the blanket over me, wrapping it tightly around my body. I looked up at him in alarm; a flicker of fire danced in his clear eyes. Before I could understand what was happening, he lowered his face and sealed my lips with his.

I struggled in vain. Xi Lan's kiss was domineering yet tender, angry yet lingering. My heart ached, but even more so, I felt ashamed. When he finally released me, I almost instinctively reached out and flung my hand at the person in front of me.