Before dawn had fully broken, the Third Prince carried Mu Xueshi back to the warm-water pool and carefully cleaned away the remaining traces of fluid from his body. He then applied medicinal powder to the tender area to reduce swelling and pain before gently placing him back onto the stone bed and covering him with the blanket.
Just as the Third Prince was about to withdraw his hand from the bedding, Mu Xueshi suddenly grabbed it.
With a heavy nasal tone, Mu Xueshi asked, “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere. I’m just getting up early to walk around outside for a bit. Go back to sleep for a while longer. By the time you wake up, I’ll probably already be back.”
“Mmm…” Mu Xueshi wore an unusually obedient expression.
The Third Prince looked at Mu Xueshi for several moments more. After the passion of the previous night, his face appeared even softer and more beautiful. His delicate brows were lightly furrowed with traces of exhaustion. A few strands of light from outside filtered into the cave and shone across his cheeks, making him resemble a lazy cat basking in the sun on a lush green meadow.
Just looking at him unconsciously improved one’s mood for the entire day.
The Third Prince straightened his clothes and performed a simple wash before walking outside. There he saw Li Qian seated on a large rock in the distance, reading a book. A few strands of hair hung beside his ears, though he seemed completely unaware of them, still staring intently at the text as though pondering something deeply.
Naturally, Li Qian did not notice another person emerging from the cave, while the Third Prince simply walked past him directly toward the outside.
Su Ruhan, meanwhile, was outside practicing martial arts. The Third Prince watched him for a moment before Su Ruhan slowly came to a stop and walked over.
“You were poisoned?” the Third Prince asked.
Sweat rolled from Su Ruhan’s forehead down along his neck, making it obvious he had been practicing for quite some time. He nodded and replied, “It’s nothing serious. The poison isn’t very deep. As long as I continue circulating my internal energy, I can slowly purge it from my body bit by bit.”
“Was it Shangchuan Hong?” the Third Prince asked.
“Yes. At the time, when I escaped with Mu Xueshi, Shangchuan Hong used this method to weaken my martial power. The effects were obvious back then, but now my body is mostly recovered. Li Qian prepared some medicine for me, and with internal cultivation to aid the process, the poison should be completely removed soon.”
The Third Prince asked nothing further. He turned a corner and headed toward the eastern side of the mountain. There was an open area there where his horse had been tied.
Yet after only a few steps, the Third Prince sensed something unusual in the air around him. The breeze carried a heavy stench of blood.
His gaze slowly swept across the surroundings before settling on two figures beneath the mountain in the distance.
Those two were Liehuo and Hanbing, who apparently had not slept the entire night.
At that moment, their hands were clasped together in an intricate position, as though they were cultivating some sort of technique. Corpses from the pursuing soldiers littered the ground around them, and every body was horribly mutilated. Most notably, their abdomens had all been torn open, leaving huge cavities that were completely hollow inside.
The Third Prince showed no trace of surprise. Calmly, he walked over to the nearby grassland and untied his horse.
As he passed by Su Ruhan once more, he instructed, “Do not let Xueshi wander around the mountain.”
“Mmm. Before you return, I won’t let him leave this cave.”
“That’s good…”
Before the Third Prince could finish speaking, a sudden scream burst out from inside the cave.
The voice was far too familiar—it was Mu Xueshi, who had already cried out half the night yesterday, yet somehow still sounded so energetic now. The Third Prince immediately assumed he had been frightened by something and hurried back into the cave to see what had happened.
As a result, Mu Xueshi was gone from the bed.
The blood in the Third Prince’s chest surged instantly. Forcing himself to stay calm, he walked outside and asked Li Qian, “Did you see Xueshi leave?”
Li Qian shook his head, set down the scroll in his hands, and stood up as well.
The three of them walked out of the cave together, only to stop after a few steps. The other two could tell from the Third Prince’s expression alone that he was furious.
The person who had screamed earlier was currently struggling with all his might to climb onto the Third Prince’s horse. Because he had overexerted himself the previous night, Mu Xueshi’s legs were weak and unsteady. He grimaced and struggled for quite a while but still couldn’t get his foot into the stirrup.
“Who allowed you to run out here?”
Hearing the voice behind him, Mu Xueshi quickly turned around and was met with the Third Prince’s dark expression.
“My legs are attached to my own body. Why would I need anyone’s permission to come out?” After saying that, Mu Xueshi made a face at him.
The Third Prince looked ready to explode after hearing the first half of that sentence, but when he saw the expression that followed, he forcibly restrained himself.
“Help me up,” Mu Xueshi said, winking at the Third Prince with the same cheeky grin.
“I’m going to handle important matters. Stay here obediently. I’ll be back before long,” the Third Prince said coldly.
As though he hadn’t heard a word, Mu Xueshi circled around to the other side of the horse and muttered, “Let me try from this side…”
“I’ll say this one last time. You are not coming with me.”
The moment the Third Prince spoke those words, the air around them seemed to drop several degrees.
The playful expression on Mu Xueshi’s face slowly disappeared, replaced by complete seriousness.
“I’m definitely going with you.”
“That is not for you to decide. Su Ruhan, take Xueshi back into the cave.”
After saying that, the Third Prince led the horse away from Mu Xueshi without even glancing at him again.
Su Ruhan stepped forward and said softly, “Come back with me, Xueshi.”
Mu Xueshi didn’t move. Instead, with a rebellious expression, he shouted toward the Third Prince’s retreating back, “Am I only useful for joking around with you? Whenever something happens on your side, you never tell me anything. The only time I get to stay beside you is when everything’s already over!”
Hearing those words, the Third Prince felt a sharp ache in his chest. He didn’t turn around, but even from Mu Xueshi’s voice, he could tell he had hurt him deeply.
“Do you look down on me? Because I’m just a commoner, I’m not worthy of discussing state affairs with you? You think I don’t understand anything and can’t help you shoulder any burdens, so there’s no point telling me anything—is that what you think?”
Even Su Ruhan’s expression darkened slightly as he urged, “Xueshi, return to the cave first.”
“You do look down on me!” Mu Xueshi shouted again.
“In my eyes, your safety is far more important than whether I look down on you or not,” the Third Prince replied quietly before finally mounting his horse.
Seeing that no matter what he said or did, the Third Prince still refused to take him along, Mu Xueshi became emotional and blurted out, “If you don’t take me with you today, then from now on I’ll never speak another word to you again!”
After saying that, he dropped onto the grass with a thump and angrily ripped at the innocent blades of grass beneath him, his face full of stubborn resentment.
A moment later, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Panic crept into Mu Xueshi’s heart. What if the Third Prince had already left? If that happened, wouldn’t he really have to keep his word?
Mu Xueshi hurriedly turned around and caught sight of a figure flashing toward him. Before he could react, he was already being lifted onto the horse by the Third Prince.
“Haha…” Mu Xueshi immediately looked smug and said to him, “See? I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve. Sooner or later, you’ll always give in.”
The Third Prince lowered his gaze toward him and said calmly, “Do you believe that right now, I could still throw you off this horse?”
Mu Xueshi instantly shut his mouth and tightened his grip on the Third Prince’s hand.
After traveling for some distance, Mu Xueshi began yawning nonstop. He hadn’t slept at all the previous night, and this morning he had spent all his energy watching the Third Prince’s every movement. By now, he was completely exhausted.
The Third Prince glanced down at him.
When Mu Xueshi noticed the look, he assumed the Third Prince doubted his stamina, so he immediately blinked several times and widened his eyes like bronze bells.
The Third Prince felt a little distressed for him and softened his tone as he asked, “If you’re this sleepy, how were you so energetic earlier?”
“The moment I heard you weren’t taking me with you, I stopped feeling sleepy.”
“Did someone tell you in advance? Or did my movements wake you up earlier?”
Mu Xueshi shook his head and yawned again. “I figured it out myself. You’ve had troubles these past few days, so I knew you’d definitely have to deal with them. Since last night, I’ve been watching you the whole time.”
Hearing this, the Third Prince didn’t know whether to feel comforted or troubled. Sometimes he wished Mu Xueshi were more understanding, able to comprehend his thoughts. Other times he wished Mu Xueshi understood nothing at all, so that a few simple lies could easily fool him.
A tingling sensation suddenly spread across his abdomen, pulling the Third Prince back to his senses. Looking down, he saw Mu Xueshi’s hand gently rubbing back and forth over the wound on his stomach.
“What are you doing?” The Third Prince lightly patted Mu Xueshi’s head.
Mu Xueshi smiled awkwardly. “Nothing. I just wanted to test whether you’d react if I touched this spot.”
“And your purpose?”
“If you frowned, then it would prove you lied to me yesterday.”
“And the result?”
“So what you said really was true.” Mu Xueshi rubbed his hands together excitedly. “When I go back, I want to learn it too.”
“Mm. Then go to sleep for now. We still have quite a distance left to travel,” the Third Prince coaxed gently.
Mu Xueshi nodded and rested his head against the hollow of the Third Prince’s shoulder, leaning his body back as much as possible so he wouldn’t press against the wound.
But after closing his eyes for only a short while, Mu Xueshi suddenly opened them again and stared suspiciously at the Third Prince.
“You won’t secretly send me back while I’m asleep, right?”
“I won’t,” the Third Prince answered quietly.
Only then did Mu Xueshi relax. He leaned against him once more, and this time quickly fell asleep.
With one arm, the Third Prince gently pulled Mu Xueshi completely into his embrace. While he slept, the Third Prince also subtly concealed and disguised his face a little—he had no desire for anyone else to see that face again.
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