The night wind carried a chill.
Su Ruhan rose and shut the window. Yet in the instant he turned back, his expression changed—Mu Xueshi’s condition was clearly amiss.
He hurried over.
Mu Xueshi’s hand was pressed tightly against his chest, his robes at the front twisted into a wrinkled, ruined knot.
“No… don’t think… don’t… save me…”
He moaned unconsciously, his face contorted in agony.
Su Ruhan quickly lifted him, letting him lean against his own body. He reached out to check his breathing and pulse—only to find the pulse utterly chaotic.
Suddenly, Mu Xueshi trembled violently, as though seized by madness. He clutched Su Ruhan’s arm with desperate strength.
“Save me… save me…”
Su Ruhan attempted to channel his inner force to stabilize him—but Mu Xueshi could not calm himself at all. Nor could he seal his acupoints; suppressing him like that might trap the turmoil within, driving him into true insanity.
Thus, he could only use brute strength to steady him, forcing him back onto the bed.
“Save me… tell me… tell me…”
With a sudden movement, Mu Xueshi flipped over, clawing toward Su Ruhan’s chest. His eyes were bloodshot, his expression one of unbearable torment.
Catching fragments of his plea, Su Ruhan leaned closer, his ear near Mu Xueshi’s lips.
“Tell you what? What were you saying?”
Mu Xueshi’s lips trembled. Then, with sudden ferocity, he lashed out—his nails raking across Su Ruhan’s face, leaving streaks of blood along his cheek.
“Tell me… the Third Prince… what does he want me to remember… what… what must I remember… before he’ll let me go… please… I beg you… I beg you…”
Su Ruhan froze.
He understood now what Mu Xueshi was begging for—
Yet his mind went utterly blank as to what he should do.
A sudden warmth brushed against his ear.
Startled, Su Ruhan realized—
Mu Xueshi was lightly licking his earlobe.
Though his movements were unsteady, the pleading look in his eyes made his intent unmistakable.
He was trying to seduce him.
Su Ruhan’s heart tightened.
Recalling that cold, lifeless gaze from earlier, he finally understood—this medicine could drive a person to such depths of suffering.
He restrained Mu Xueshi’s movements while struggling to steady his own disrupted breathing. Yet the more he resisted, the more Mu Xueshi pressed forward.
His collar hung slightly open, revealing pale, translucent skin beneath. Lower still, the faint curve of delicate flesh—
For a fleeting moment, Su Ruhan seemed to see beneath that desperate gaze a trace of cold mockery:
Men… all of them are the same—filthy and base.
Snapping out of it, Su Ruhan seized Mu Xueshi’s hands and locked him firmly in his arms, restraining all further movement.
Yet Mu Xueshi refused to stop.
His grip tightened around Su Ruhan’s arm until the bones creaked, his voice still muttering endlessly:
“Tell me… the Third Prince… what… what must I remember…”
Hearing those words, Su Ruhan no longer knew whose pain weighed heavier.
“Ah—!”
A hoarse, guttural cry tore from Mu Xueshi’s throat.
The medicine’s effect seemed to reach its peak.
He devolved into madness—biting, clawing, tearing at everything within reach, shouting incoherently:
“Don’t think… I hate you…!”
At times, he even seized sharp objects, attempting to stab himself.
Su Ruhan’s face changed drastically. He rushed forward to stop him—but even with his formidable strength, subduing Mu Xueshi proved difficult.
“Ugh—!”
A mouthful of blood suddenly burst from Mu Xueshi’s lips, splattering across Su Ruhan’s face and neck.
There was no time left to hesitate.
Su Ruhan sealed two of his acupoints, laid him flat upon the bed, and began channeling his inner force at full speed to stabilize his spirit.
Mu Xueshi stared blankly toward the window, murmuring:
“Tell me… or kill me…”
Focusing all his energy, Su Ruhan pressed two fingers against the point near Mu Xueshi’s heart. Streams of qi flowed steadily into his body.
At last, Mu Xueshi’s breathing began to calm.
Your Highness… forgive me… I cannot continue watching him suffer like this…
Unknowingly, dawn began to break.
Su Ruhan had struggled alongside Mu Xueshi through the entire night.
Now, with his acupoints released, Mu Xueshi lay there—hair disheveled, pupils unfocused.
Su Ruhan, exhausted, sat by the bedside, quietly watching him.
“Tell me… or kill me…”
The same words—repeated over and over through the night.
Su Ruhan’s chest felt tight, as though he could not breathe. After a long silence, he finally sighed.
“I’ll tell you… I’ll tell you everything.”
His voice was steady, his words gentle yet precise.
He recounted, in full, all that had transpired between Mu Xueshi and the Third Prince over those past days.
Gradually, Mu Xueshi began to understand the meaning behind the Third Prince’s recent words… and the reason behind his cruelty.
By the time Su Ruhan finished, dawn had fully arrived. A ray of morning light pierced through the window, stinging his eyes.
“I must go. Take care of yourself.”
He turned and walked toward the door. Just before leaving, he glanced back—seeing Mu Xueshi seemingly asleep—then quietly stepped out.
The Third Prince stood in the courtyard where Su Ruhan usually practiced swordsmanship, his long sword flashing through the air.
The ground was blanketed in white—fallen blossoms cut down by his blade.
Clad in a fitted white robe, his gaze cold and distant, his movements swift and precise, he seemed almost one with the drifting petals.
Such a man—paired with the beauty within that chamber—appeared a match forged by heaven itself.
The sword in his hand suddenly pointed toward Su Ruhan, stopping just short of his nose.
Su Ruhan stood upright like a statue, his chiseled features marked by faint exhaustion.
“There is no need to tell me anything.”
The Third Prince lowered his sword and turned toward his chambers, leaving Su Ruhan standing alone.
The room was not the chaos he had imagined.
Everything was orderly.
Yet the figure he sought was not on the bed.
Turning his gaze, the Third Prince found Mu Xueshi seated calmly at a large table.
Though his complexion remained pale, his spirit seemed restored. Holding a teacup, his slender fingers traced its rim lightly, a faint smile resting upon his lips.
There was something unreal about him—like an illusion.
The Third Prince did not dare believe he had truly remembered everything. He knew too well the despair that followed hope.
Thus, he stood silently at the doorway.
“Why does Your Highness not enter?”
Mu Xueshi cast him a glance, the mockery in his eyes unmistakable.
Hearing the address “Your Highness,” the Third Prince understood—his earlier hopes had been nothing but illusion.
Yet the mere fact that Mu Xueshi had risen from bed and now spoke with him was already a change.
He steadied his voice.
“You’re awake?”
“I never slept,” Mu Xueshi replied crisply.
Only then did the Third Prince notice—Mu Xueshi had deliberately tidied himself.
His long hair fell to his shoulders, loosely fastened with a patterned hairpin. A pale blue robe draped to his knees, beneath which soft white trousers could be seen. His bare ankles were exposed—delicate, almost bewitching.
The Third Prince suddenly recalled how Mu Xueshi once liked to rub his feet against his legs, calling it “snuggling.”
Today’s Mu Xueshi was beautiful—so much so that it felt unreal.
He walked over and sat beside him.
Mu Xueshi showed no resistance.
“Your Highness… I remember everything.”
A clear, gentle smile curved his lips.
I remember everything…
The words echoed repeatedly in the Third Prince’s mind.
He tried to remain rational—but waves of joy surged through him like a rising tide, crashing against his thoughts until he could no longer remain steady.
In the next instant, he pulled Mu Xueshi into his arms, his breath unsteady.
“What do you remember?”
Mu Xueshi smiled faintly, his voice soft and distant:
“I remember you giving me a horse, and we rode out together… I remember you defying the Emperor for my sake, clearing my name before the court… I remember that Gu Master Mo Ru deceived me, saying you were poisoned, and I waited in the grass for the Yinglan flowers to bloom… I remember we went to the lakeside to watch fireflies… and the lantern you gave me…”
“That’s enough…”
The Third Prince’s hand, stroking his hair, trembled slightly.
“It’s enough that you remember.”
“Because I never forgot.”
Those words—
Slowly extinguished the warmth in the Third Prince’s eyes.
He pushed Mu Xueshi away slightly, staring at him.
“What did you say?”
Mu Xueshi met his gaze directly, the killing intent in his eyes deepening.
“I said—I never forgot. I remember clearly how I deceived you.”
His lips curved faintly.
“Third Prince… do not think that only you know how to torment others.”
“I, Mu Xueshi… can do the same.”
“What is deception? What is torment?”
The Third Prince’s voice was calm—still as stagnant water, suffocating the very air.
Mu Xueshi closed his eyes lightly, facing the window as he spoke:
“Deception is knowing full well how I treated you these past days…”
“And torment—”
He paused, his voice turning cold.
“—is that all the tenderness and care I showed you… were only to be used, at this very moment… to take my revenge.”
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