Chu Qianli’s temper was never particularly good.
Feng Yexuan was aware of this.
It was already quite rare for him to have patiently explained things to her just now.
But a knot of frustration was lodged in his chest, unable to be dispelled.
Looking at the woman standing before him, on the verge of an outburst, his gaze deepened, and his thin lips moved slightly.
In the end, he said nothing at all.
“You may leave.”
Chu Qianli had always been someone who responded to gentleness, not harshness.
When he stopped being willful, stopped acting high and mighty, and stopped deliberately putting on a sour face for her, her heart inexplicably softened.
She hadn't come to argue with him.
Earlier, she had thought he was at the bottom of the cliff, and she had been willing to risk her life to find him.
She had no intention of arguing with him.
“I didn’t… mean it like that.”
Chu Qianli sighed softly, truly feeling as though she owed him from a past life.
She finally knelt down before him. “Alright, let’s not argue, okay? Let me take your pulse first, alright?”
Feng Yexuan looked at her.
For some reason, upon seeing him again, she felt a lingering trace of melancholy in the Xuan Prince’s eyes.
He had something weighing on his mind, but it seemed he had no intention of sharing it.
This time, Feng Yexuan did not refuse Chu Qianli. He allowed her to take his hand, her long fingers resting on his pulse.
As she took his pulse, Chu Qianli’s brow slowly furrowed.
“Your Highness, just now… did that person in black transfer energy to heal you?”
It seemed they were an ally, not an enemy, but why had they taken him away in such a manner?
Moreover, Feng Yexuan’s martial arts were already so formidable. Just how powerful must the person who could transfer energy to heal him be?
“Do you… know him?” she asked tentatively.
Feng Yexuan merely looked at her, remaining silent.
As expected, he wasn't going to tell her.
If there wasn't that melancholic dimness in his eyes, Chu Qianli would not have pressed further.
But he truly seemed to be in a poor state at the moment.
She had never seen the Xuan Prince like this before. He seemed to have lost some of his spirited vigor, replaced by a somberness.
It was as if something significant was troubling his heart…
“Who is he?” Chu Qianli couldn't help but ask.
This time, Feng Yexuan still only looked at her, still saying not a single word.
If he was unwilling to speak, she would not bother to ask. Speaking would only lead to lies.
He never lied, so he could only respond with silence.
“Never mind, at least he tended to your body,” Chu Qianli said, relieved that he seemed to be out of danger, and extended her hand to him.
“Get up. The ground is cold, and your injuries are not yet healed. Let’s go back first.”
Feng Yexuan stood up.
Jifeng rubbed against his side.
His master was silent, exuding an aura of dejection. Jifeng seemed to sense his master’s mood and was also feeling somewhat down.
Chu Qianli still couldn’t understand who that person in black was.
Why had Feng Yexuan changed so much after meeting him?
Heavy-hearted, filled with unresolved feelings, and dispirited… what kind of words could have been spoken to the usually spirited Xuan Prince to make him seem like a completely different person?
Feng Yexuan leaped onto his horse, his gaze lowered as he looked at Chu Qianli standing beside him.
Before he could speak, or rather, before she could expect him to speak first, Chu Qianli walked over herself, took his hand, and stepped onto the horse with him.
Not long after the two of them and the horse left the cliff’s edge, Jingri caught up, with Leng Ji and a large contingent not far behind.
“Go back.”
Feng Yexuan said faintly, then urged Jifeng in another direction.
Jingri and Leng Ji exchanged glances, a sense of shock and confusion simultaneously dawning in their hearts.
Why did the Prince… appear so heavy-hearted?
Who exactly was that person in black?