Chapter 114

Fortunately, not long after, the coolness he had grown fond of returned and clung to him again.

Xiao Jingyuan gradually calmed, as if sensing she would not leave; though he still unconsciously furrowed his brows each time she left repeatedly, the earlier panic was gone.

After who knows how many such back‑and‑forth trips, Shen Shuangning was nearly numb from the cold.

Only when she lay back against him again and lightly wrapped her arms around his waist did she feel his scorching body gradually lose its burning heat.

Shen Shuangning let out a long sigh, and as the breath left her, it seemed to drain away most of her strength.

She pushed herself up with her weak body, picked up the medicine bowl that had long gone cold, then turned to look at Xiao Jingyuan's calm face, only to feel a surge of irritation.

He had saved her, true, but she had gone through a lot of trouble caring for him—she was freezing!

She jabbed his cheek hard, but he gave no response, making her even more frustrated.

She then leaned over, roughly pried open his mouth, thinking she would just pour the medicine in—let him live or die as fate decreed; she had done what she needed to.

But after thinking it over, she ultimately did not do that.

If he were to vomit the medicine again, wouldn't all her effort be wasted?

"Xiao Jingyuan, if you don't wake up, I really won't care for you anymore."

Shen Shuangning stared at the medicine bowl for a moment, then simply poured a mouthful into her own mouth; the bitterness made her face scrunch up.

Perhaps from being cold for too long, she felt a brief dizzy spell and her vision blurred a little.

She blinked hard to clear her head, then leaned in and brought her lips to his.

Better to do it quickly so she could be free of it.

Yet she did not notice Xiao Jingyuan's lashes trembling as he slowly opened his eyes.

Qingyun and the subordinates of the Jinyiwei stood guard around the tent, keeping some distance from the flap but forming a tight, wind‑proof circle, each with a solemn expression.

Not even a bird could approach to spy, let alone a person.

The three imperial physicians waiting outside were anxious, constantly glancing toward the tent interior, fearing that what they would hear was Xiao Jingyuan's death notice—after which their own heads might not be safe either!

The physician lamented, "We brought only a little medicine; if the prince refuses to drink it again, going back and forth for more will waste a lot of time. This is really… sigh! He was fine—why won't he take it now?"

The senior physician pondered a moment, then told his colleagues, "The prince's pulse is unlike that of an ordinary person."

"Speaking of that…" another physician grew grave, lowered his voice, and said, "I once felt a similar pulse on a medicine‑person who escaped from the Medicine King Valley, and it closely resembled the prince's."

At the mention of "medicine‑person," the elder physician's face turned grim, his expression showing both strong disgust and deep apprehension.

In this world, nothing is more sinister and evil than a medicine‑person.

A medicine‑person is dosed with drugs from the womb; after birth they are not fed mother's milk but given various mutually antagonistic medicines to fight poison with poison, and before age three they must soak in medicinal baths.

In short, they are not treated as humans but cultivated as medicinal ingredients!

Humans are not plants; such torment naturally kills many children—saying only one in ten survives is not an exaggeration. Those few who luckily survive, once fully cultivated, are refined by Daoists into human pills said to prolong life.

After the Medicine King Valley was destroyed, the escapees who were medicine‑persons tended to be somewhat abnormal.

Seeing the expression on Physician Wei, his colleague couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with Physician Wei? By the way, what is a medicine‑person? I've never heard of such a thing."

Physician Wei snapped back to reality, but only gave an evasive, tight‑lipped reply, waving his hand: "Impossible! The prince's status is exalted—how could he be linked to a medicine‑person? The Medicine King Valley was burned to the ground by the emperor; this place has vanished from the world—don't bring it up again!!"

The Medicine King Valley was the greatest mistake of Emperor Xuanwen's life.

One could even say that Emperor Xuanwen's current grave illness, beyond the help of medicine, is the retribution he deserves for that sin.

Since it involves court secrets, Physician Wei dared not utter another word; his deeply lined old face turned deathly pale.

The other two physicians, seeing his reaction, also fell silent.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from afar; several people rushed over, the leader being the Princess Consort of Yan.

The Yan Princess Consort looked anxious, evidently having come specially to see Xiao Jingyuan.

Seeing the physicians standing outside, she felt a momentary doubt, but worried about the prince's condition she did not linger, striding straight toward Qingyun.

"Where is the prince? Where is the prince?" the Yan Princess Consort asked hurriedly as she approached.

Qingyun glanced back, paused, and hesitated before saying, "The prince..."

Following his gaze, the Yan Princess Consort looked at the tightly closed tent and grew even more anxious: "Is he inside? Then let me go in to see him!"

Saying that, she lifted her foot to step past Qingyun and go inside.

Inside the tent, Shen Shuangning was about to give the last spoonful of medicine when she suddenly heard the Yan Princess Consort's voice outside, and her face changed.

But as she tried to rise, a hand wrapped in a thin cocoon pressed down on the back of her head, holding her firmly so she could not move at all.

"Mmm... Xiao..."

Xiao Jingyuan was not fully awake, but his instinctive possessiveness made him unwilling to let her go.

He had many dreams—some involving Shen Shuangning, others fleeting scenes that occasionally intruded on his sleep: a dark black room where someone forced medicinal soup down his throat, which he instinctively resisted, even fearing it.

It was as if an invisible hand were dragging him down into an abyss.

The final image in his dream was a cliff shrouded in thick mist; seeing Xie Yan clutch Shen Shuangning and leap off together, he no longer wished to live.

Thus he felt himself falling into a sea of clouds, which then turned into drifting snow that buried him layer upon layer.

It was bitterly cold, yet inexplicably comforting; he wanted to close his eyes and never feel heartache again.

But suddenly he heard Shen Shuangning's voice.

She said that if he did not wake up, she would no longer care for him.

How could she abandon him?

He wanted her to look after him for a lifetime.

Shen Shuangning's waist was suddenly covered by a rough hand radiating scorching heat.

The next moment, the world spun; he flipped her over in one swift move, her whole body sinking into the soft bedding as a familiar pressure instantly enveloped her.

Xiao Jingyuan's movement carried an irresistible dominance, like a slumbering beast suddenly awakening; though his eyes were still veiled in a haze of confusion, he precisely seized her lips.

The kiss was surging and fierce, charged with the urgency of something lost and then regained.

His body, which had just returned to normal temperature, had somehow become scorching again, burning her skin and making her tremble.

Shen Shuangning raised her hand to press against his solid chest, intending to push him away, but she was indeed scalded by that warmth and involuntarily curled her fingertips.

"She won't come in." Xiao Jingyuan said that, then continued lowering his head to kiss her.

Qing Yun indeed did not let the Princess Consort of Yan enter, and found an excuse to send her away.

He also said to the several waiting imperial physicians: "The Heir Apparent has already awakened; you all have worked hard for a long time, please go rest in the nearby tents."

Imperial Physician Wei was not reassured: "But, still let us first go examine the Heir Apparent....."

You old man, how can you be so single-minded?

"Eh, the Heir Apparent waking up means it's fine; it's not convenient now, you old man, go rest first."

Qing Yun put his arm around Imperial Physician Wei's shoulder, pushed him away from that tent, and gave a glance to the other Pacification Office personnel.

Shen Shuangning was soaked and cold all over, the chill tightly wrapping her limbs and bones, so cold her mind felt somewhat numb.

Yet his body's warmth was like a ball of blazing fire, spreading everywhere to envelop her, warm and cozy, so she simply stayed still, curling into his embrace to draw warmth.

"Cold." She uttered a single word, trembling.

"Cold?" Xiao Jingyuan touched her body, only then realizing she was completely soaked; as for why, he also knew very well.

Xiao Jingyuan's gaze locked onto the woman in his arms, while she lowered her eyes and did not look at him.

"Then let me help you take it off, okay?"

Shen Shuangning lifted her eyes: "You dare."

Xiao Jingyuan rubbed her cheek with his fingertip, saying: "You'll get sick."

Shen Shuangning felt as if scorched by his fiery gaze, feeling like a lamb entering a tiger's den at that moment.

Xiao Jingyuan stared at her, speaking sincerely: "Shen Shuangning, I like you, I want you; I am not lustful for women in general, only for you. Before I did not know what liking was; you gave me the answer, but I realized it too late, far too late."

Too late, you no longer like me, while I am still deeply entangled.

"But seeing you safe and sound, you still alive, I feel nothing else matters. I dare not hope for your forgiveness; if you are willing to respond to me, I am already very happy."

Xiao Jingyuan tugged at the corner of his mouth, self-mocking: "I am truly terrible, unworthy of love. Xie Lin is fine; his gaze toward you is just like how you once looked at me."

He paused, burying his face in her neck, painfully murmuring: "But I cannot be truly magnanimous; to watch you marry another and become someone else's wife, eyes wide open, is more painful than killing me......"

Hearing those words, Shen Shuangning closed her eyes, tears streaming over her face.

And Xiao Jingyuan actually cried as well.

In everyone's eyes, the eternally strong and composed, impervious to blades and spears Heir Apparent Xiao, actually had such a fragile, helpless moment.

"Ningning, don't cry, please don't cry? It's all my fault."

Xiao Jingyuan raised his head and kissed the tears streaming from her eye corners.

Following the tear trails, from the eye corners to her cheeks, then to the temples where the tears seeped in, he kissed gently, tasting her sour tears, as if doing so could gradually ease the pain in her heart.

"I said before, I will not force you again, hurt you, or make you dislike me. Although right now I truly want to hold you, to make you belong to me again...... I know I do not deserve it."

Xiao Jingyuan's voice hoarse, he said: "These clothes are soaked through; they'll make you cold. You used to fear the cold so much—let me help you take them off, okay?"