Chapter 53: The Best Medicine
Swish—
Dust flew, and a fierce wind swept by. The Immortal Nanbai suddenly swung his sword and stabbed at Wen Ning’an. Wen Ning’an immediately reacted, but before their swords could clash, they heard a “ding—” and their weapons both fell to the ground.
Two small stones rolled on the ground, and after a few clatters, they stopped beside the long swords.
Wen Ning’an and the Immortal Nanbai turned their heads and saw an old man standing by the tent door, holding Feng Qi’s jade pendant and smiling. “Oh my, what a coincidence. To have come upon such a lively scene.”
The old man glanced around and immediately understood the situation. He said seriously, “Great hero Nanbai, do not be so rash. This Annihilating Yang White Bone is not without a chance of salvation. If he really loses control, we can just suppress him then.”
“You are… Zhou Wuxin?” the Immortal Nanbai frowned. The two of them had both been heroes who had dominated the martial world in their time. Although they had not had any dealings, they had met a few times on grand occasions, so Nanbai still had a vague impression.
Before Zhou Wuxin could reply, Wen Ning’an suddenly felt a movement behind him. Before he could react and turn around, he saw Zhou Wuxin and the Immortal Nanbai staring at him with wide eyes.
“Thud—”
The Immortal Nanbai pulled Wen Ning’an behind him, away from Feng Qi. Zhou Wuxin, on the other hand, picked up Wen Ning’an’s fallen silver sword with the tip of his foot and stabbed at Feng Qi, blocking his sudden, fierce attack.
Wen Ning’an saw Feng Qi’s eyes were cloudy, and he suddenly possessed a strength of ten thousand as he stood in place with his sword, his killing intent soaring.
Zhou Wuxin frowned and said in a low voice, “This is not good.”
At this moment, Feng Qi should have completely lost his consciousness. He could no longer suppress the evil aura in his body and was completely immersed in the fight with Zhou Wuxin, his moves fierce and deadly, showing no intention of backing down.
Seeing that Zhou Wuxin was struggling a little, the Immortal Nanbai took a few steps forward, also wanting to join the battle to help him. However, Wen Ning’an was faster. Perhaps afraid that the Immortal Nanbai would harm Feng Qi, he snatched the Cold Spring Sword from him before he could.
Feng Qi’s moves were a little chaotic, but his lack of order was unexpectedly effective. Zhou Wuxin sidestepped and ducked, narrowly avoiding the blade that was coming for his waist, but then he saw a long sword come between him and Feng Qi.
Unlike Zhou Wuxin, Wen Ning’an seemed to be planning to fight Feng Qi in close combat, constantly moving forward as he parried his blows.
The Immortal Nanbai’s brows were tightly furrowed. Firstly, Wen Ning’an knew that Feng Qi did not recognize anyone at this moment, yet he was still trying to get close to him, which was extremely dangerous. Secondly, the Cold Spring Sword, which was glowing with a red light, was now trembling slightly in Wen Ning’an’s hand, and the red light was also flickering, as if it had a consciousness of its own…
“Clang—”
The Cold Spring Sword and Feng Qi’s cold sword, which was filled with inner energy, clashed. Wen Ning’an’s hand trembled slightly, as if he were struggling, unable to withstand Feng Qi’s thick inner energy. Just as Zhou Wuxin was about to divert Feng Qi’s attention for him, he heard Wen Ning’an say softly, “Huaitian…”
“Huaitian, you once said that I was your best medicine.”
Wen Ning’an’s chest had been stabbed by the Immortal Nanbai before, and now fresh blood was slowly flowing out.
Feng Qi was stunned, his chaotic mind seeming a little confused, but the strength in his hand did not diminish. Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi’s two swords were locked in a stalemate, and his feet were slowly being pushed back. The friction with the ground scraped off his skin, and Wen Ning’an endured the stinging pain, channeling his inner energy into the Cold Spring in his hand, holding on tightly so as not to be thrown back by this force.
The Immortal Nanbai couldn’t watch anymore and was about to step forward, but was stopped by Zhou Wuxin.
Zhou Wuxin shook his head, signaling for him to continue to observe for now. He had keenly noticed that Feng Qi’s movements had slowed down a lot.
“Huaitian…” Wen Ning’an’s call was as gentle as water, a mix of entanglement, bewitchment, and a hint of complaint.
Feng Qi felt a hollowness in his heart, an unbearable itch. The strength in his hand instantly decreased. Taking advantage of the moment Feng Qi was stunned, Wen Ning’an immediately knocked his sword away.
Feng Qi came back to his senses, a ruthless look flashing in his eyes. Before he could strike with his palm, Wen Ning’an stood on his tiptoes, lowered his head, and fiercely kissed his lips.
The wonderful taste and touch, a feeling so familiar that he didn’t need to consciously perceive it to anticipate its beauty, yet it was still addictive and nostalgic, as if he would never tire of it.
Feng Qi’s eyes widened. The Immortal Nanbai and Zhou Wuxin saw Wen Ning’an move his hand to the back of Feng Qi’s neck, and then Feng Qi closed his eyes and fell, leaning against Wen Ning’an’s shoulder, having lost consciousness. He had clearly fainted.
Wen Ning’an held the motionless Feng Qi, but as if drained of strength, he fell to the ground with him. The sword in his hand fell to the ground with a “clang.”
It had been three days.
After that, Qin Zhaohuang no longer took the initiative to speak to Chen Shu. The two of them leaned against a corner, resting with their eyes closed.
Qin Zhaohuang looked at the palm of his hand for a long time. The Guanghan star was bright, surrounded by auspicious clouds, and the Zhongba cold air was surrounded by stars. Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival. But staying in this cold underground place, let alone mooncakes, there was nothing to eat but snake meat.
The Mid-Autumn Festival had always been about reunion. Reunion… Qin Zhaohuang glanced at Yu Qianshou, who was dressed in all black and whose face he still didn’t know, and sighed.
The weather was getting colder. From the beginning of autumn to the Mid-Autumn Festival now, the wind was getting bleaker, and the cold was getting heavier day by day. Qin Zhaohuang couldn’t stand the cold. He took a few branches to start a fire, but then he was afraid that after these few branches were burned, there would be nothing to use in an emergency, so he hesitated for a moment.
“Use them,” Yu Qianshou said in a flat tone. “I had my snake go and send a message for help the other day. It’s already been three days. It should be about time.”
“…Send a message?” Qin Zhaohuang paused for a long time before asking, “To whom? Fengzhou or Youzhou?”
Yu Qianshou was stunned, then said, “Fengzhou, of course.”
Qin Zhaohuang said, “Aren’t you afraid of being captured by the people of Fengzhou…”
Yu Qianshou said indifferently, “The reason we are here now is because I didn’t want you to be captured by the King of Youzhou.”
Yu Qianshou thought to himself, With Qin Zhaohuang’s looks, let alone the King of Youzhou, who is fond of beauties and doesn’t care about gender, and has a debauched private life, even an ordinary person would find it hard to resist. If he were captured by the Youzhou army, wouldn’t he be violated to death?
Qin Zhaohuang turned his head away awkwardly and fiddled with the firewood in his hand without a word.
With a “hiss,” the stacked firewood first let out white smoke, then a small flame appeared. The small flame grew stronger and stronger, finally becoming a fire. Qin Zhaohuang placed his hands by the fire, and a warm heat hit his palms and cheeks. It was warm, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes in satisfaction.
Swish—
Qin Zhaohuang was stunned. He saw Yu Qianshou throw the coat he had returned to him back, covering him.
Qin Zhaohuang took off the coat. “I have my own.”
Yu Qianshou ignored him and turned to sit back in his own spot.
Qin Zhaohuang was furious. This silent gourd, let alone smiling, he had barely heard him say a few words. His whole body seemed to be covered in ice, just like before.
Tsk…
“Thud—”
Yu Qianshou looked at the coat that Qin Zhaohuang had roughly thrown on the sand beside him and frowned slightly.
Qin Zhaohuang sat at the side, his chin in his hand, and bared his teeth. “You should coax me to wear it, beg me to wear it.” Didn’t you want to ignore me?
Yu Qianshou smiled. “Stop fooling around. Put it on.”
“I won’t… achoo!” Qin Zhaohuang couldn’t help but shiver, then he coughed a few times to cover it up and said haughtily, “I just won’t wear it. What can you do to… ah!”
Qin Zhaohuang looked at the two snakes that were binding his hands and feet and growled, “Chen Shu!”
Yu Qianshou covered him with the coat.
“Chen Shu! Let me go!” Qin Zhaohuang twisted his body hard, but his limbs were entangled and he couldn’t move.
Chen Shu sat beside him, poking the firewood to keep it from going out, letting him make a fuss. But from an angle Qin Zhaohuang couldn’t see, the corners of his lips curved up into a faint arc.
Incense curled up in the tent. The calming incense was so strong that even Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but want to fall asleep and not care about anything.
At this moment, Wen Ning’an was sitting by the bed, reviewing the supply calculations on one hand, and watching over Feng Qi on the other.
It was not until dusk, when the sky was filled with red clouds, that Feng Qi slowly woke up. Seeing him open his eyes, Wen Ning’an immediately poured a cup of water and fed it to him.
Feng Qi leaned against the head of the bed for a long while before he recovered.
“Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?” Wen Ning’an’s eyes were glued to Feng Qi without blinking.
“No.” Feng Qi rubbed his swollen temples, shook his head, and as if remembering something, said, “Yixin, you were injured.”
With that, he pulled Wen Ning’an to his side and opened his collar to check the wound. Feng Qi didn’t have much strength at the moment, and the force of his pull was light. It was Wen Ning’an who took the initiative to cooperate, leaning against him.
Seeing the heartache in Feng Qi’s eyes, Wen Ning’an smiled. “It’s just a superficial wound. Compared to the injuries I’ve suffered on the battlefield before, it’s not even a tickle. Don’t worry.”
Wen Ning’an’s words were meant to comfort Feng Qi, but he felt even worse in his heart.
Feng Qi thought of the scars he had seen on Wen Ning’an’s body before. Those scars, which covered his body, had already scabbed over and faded after years of hardship, but he could still guess the severity of the original wounds from the remaining marks. It must have been very painful…
“Yixin…”
Feng Qi held Wen Ning’an and, remembering his loss of control before he had fainted, said in a muffled voice, “Are you afraid of me?”
“I’m not.”
“Really?”
Wen Ning’an smiled. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
Feng Qi pouted. “But weren’t you afraid of me before?”
And with this incident, aren’t you even more afraid…
“Don’t overthink it.” Wen Ning’an tapped Feng Qi’s forehead. “Rest well. Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the military camp will be very lively. We can just in time worship the moon to ward off evil spirits and pray for peace.”
Wen Ning’an thought to himself, When Feng Qi was well in the past, I was indeed a little wary. But now that he’s in this state, my heart is full of heartache and anxiety, worried that I’m not taking good care of him or that something unexpected will happen. How can I care about anything else?
Feng Qi smiled, held Wen Ning’an’s chin, and kissed him. As their breaths mingled, their lips and tongues touched and entangled. Wen Ning’an was almost lost, feeling only a sense of relief and cherish in his heart, a rare cooperation with Feng Qi’s somewhat forceful kiss. Feng Qi was stunned, then even more eagerly deepened the kiss, but also with a restrained gentleness.
A lingering, tender kiss. Like raindrops falling on the earth, moistening things silently, and like a sprout buried deep in the ground, unseen but growing.
“Yixin, you’ve learned to be bad. You even know how to seduce me.” Feng Qi moved his lips away and, seeing Wen Ning’an’s flushed cheeks, said with a wicked smile, “It’s hard for an emperor to resist a beauty. It’s really true.”
“Yixin, say it again. Call me like you did before…” Feng Qi’s tongue slid over Wen Ning’an’s sensitive and soft earlobe and auricle, making him shiver.
“…Huaitian!”
“That’s not it.”
Wen Ning’an felt a hot breath on his ear and neck. The man’s scent lingered at the tip of his nose, his voice low and sexy.
“Huaitian, stop fooling around! You’re still so weak.”
“General Wen.” As the two were fooling around, they heard Fu Che’s voice from outside.
Wen Ning’an pushed Feng Qi away and turned his head. “What is it?”
“The Immortal Nanbai said he wants to see you alone.”
Hearing this, Wen Ning’an subconsciously frowned.
Seeing the fleeting strange look in Wen Ning’an’s eyes, Feng Qi patted his hand. “Master has always been very strict, and his thinking is rather old-fashioned. In any case, he was my martial arts enlightenment since I was young. I can’t do anything to him.”
Wen Ning’an forced a smile.
If Zhou Wuxin hadn’t arrived by chance, Feng Qi might have been more seriously injured, or even…
With a sigh, Wen Ning’an tucked Feng Qi in. “I’m going. You rest well.”
