Feng Yexuan had two broken cold arrows stuck in his shoulder.
Seeing the blood gushing from his shoulder, staining a large portion of his clothes behind him, Chu Qianli's heart ached sharply once again.
She clutched her chest, in so much pain she could barely breathe.
"I seem to... always be unable to bear seeing you injured."
Chu Qianli's voice was a little hoarse.
But she still endured the pain, quickened her steps, and pulled his sleeve, leading him towards the river.
"Quick, this wound needs to be treated, or it will become inflamed."
Feng Yexuan actually didn't care much about such a minor injury, but having the arrowheads in his body was not a long-term solution; they had to be dealt with.
"Don't give me that medicine," he said hoarsely as he sat down. "After you're done, we'll go straight up the mountain."
Chu Qianli knelt behind him, her fingers, about to tend to his arrow wounds, stiffened slightly.
So he knew everything, that she had given him medicine the night before.
This man was meticulous to a fault; it was so difficult to play any little tricks on him.
"I'm not blaming you, there's no need to feel bad, but right now, I can't afford to fall asleep, understand?"
His voice softened a little. Although still hoarse, Chu Qianli could tell it was more gentle.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just hoped you could rest a little longer. You... you have too many injuries."
Chu Qianli cut open his clothes with scissors.
The injuries, large and small, crisscrossed his body, a mix of new wounds and old ones.
A weaker person would have long since perished.
These scars truly... made her heart ache.
A sharp pain in her chest made her fingers tremble inadvertently.
Feng Yexuan grunted softly, his brows furrowed, but he said nothing.
"I'm sorry, my... my hand shook!"
Damn it! As a physician, this was an absolute taboo.
"I'll be careful, I'm sorry..."
"It's nothing."
At that moment, looking at his bloody back, an indescribable emotion inexplicably grew in Chu Qianli's heart.
This man, though he always spoke to her coldly and rarely showed a good expression,
He... doted on her.
Yet she, damn it all, had forgotten everything about him...
Chu Qianli closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and calmed herself.
For now, she wouldn't think about irrelevant people.
This was not the time for memories to torment her.
"Fourth Imperial Brother, I need to use disinfectant on you and cut open the wound to remove the arrowheads. I suggest..."
"No need." His coldness and stubbornness were as usual.
Chu Qianli had no choice but to steel herself and take out the surgical knife.
After sprinkling disinfectant on the wound, she forcefully cut it open.
The man's body tensed, every muscle coiled and bulging.
It must have hurt terribly.
But she could do nothing about it.
It took half an hour to remove the two arrowheads and then stitch and bandage his wounds.
Feng Yexuan's clothes were already soaked, all from the cold sweat induced by enduring the pain.
Chu Qianli breathed a sigh of relief, retrieved the last set of clean clothes, and said, "Fourth Imperial Brother, let me help you change."
She secretly resolved to buy more clothes and keep them in her Qiankun Chain for his future needs.
Although, she didn't know why, she always thought about the future...
After a simple cleanup of the blood and dirt, and changing into clean clothes, Feng Yexuan stood up. When he looked back at her, he was like a person who had never been injured.
Still tall and upright, standing before her like a towering tree that could always shield her from the wind and rain.
Chu Qianli's heart ached again.
After all this was over, she had to find a way to break the soul-capturing spell.
Otherwise, she would either die from a headache or a broken heart.
The pain was truly unbearable.
"Fourth Imperial Brother, did I like you a lot before?"
As they walked to the river, she casually asked while studying how to cross it.
Did she like him a lot?
Feng Yexuan couldn't answer the question.
She had tried to divorce him several times, and eventually succeeded.
How much did she like him? Even he didn't know.
Perhaps, not that much...
Thinking about it, he still felt a pang of loss.
"Who knows." He snorted coldly, walked quickly to the riverbank, and paid her no more attention.
Chu Qianli pouted her lips, unsure what she had said wrong to anger him again.
Even though he said nothing, his cold, unyielding back clearly revealed his displeasure.
What an unpredictable man.
"Don't worry, I am always responsible. If I truly wronged you in the past... after my soul-capturing spell is cured, I will definitely... definitely take responsibility for you!"
Feng Yexuan's thin lips moved, wanting to speak, but ultimately saying nothing.
He looked towards the distant horizon.
In the past, who wronged whom was already unclear.
Perhaps after her soul-capturing spell was broken, she would remember everything she owed him, remember the hatred, and then distance herself from him again.
Who knew?
"Let's go."
"Wait a moment!"
Chu Qianli's tone suddenly became cheerful.
Her mood had clearly improved in an instant.
She quickly walked behind Feng Yexuan and said urgently, "Fourth Imperial Brother, my... Senior Brother has sent me the parachute! We can take a hot air balloon and go straight up!"
...
"Qinglong is dead?"
Upon receiving the carrier pigeon's message, Long Xinghe's expression was more grim than ever.
That tactic had never failed!
Qinglong was also the first elite she had cultivated since coming to this era!
Her hard work!
It was destroyed just like that!
"Chu Qianli! You say you are not A'Li, can I believe that?"
She clutched the note in her hand, and it quickly turned to dust!
"Princess, they must have already set off for Langya Peak. What do we do now?"
"I don't know what exactly she has in her hands that makes her so confident she can invite Wei Xian. We don't need to worry about this for now, let's see what Wei Xian does."
Although, Long Xinghe knew very well that Chu Qianli would not go to Langya Peak without some certainty.
What was that certainty?
"Princess," a maid's voice came from outside. "Princess, An Shanggong is here."
An Shanggong again!
These past two days, whenever she heard that An Shanggong was coming, Long Xinghe was particularly reluctant to receive her.
It must be about Wuya again.
As expected, when Long Xinghe arrived at the side hall to meet An Shanggong.
An Shanggong did not want to waste each other's time and directly stated her purpose.
"Princess, I have advised His Majesty, and His Majesty truly misses the逍遥王爷 (Xiaoyao Wangye -逍遥 Prince). However, His Majesty has already come to a decision."
"Come to a decision?" This was somewhat unexpected for Long Xinghe.
She quickly asked, "What did His Majesty say? Has she decided to give up on Wuya?"