Chapter 80
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Chapter 80:
Li Chunzhou smiled and said, "Okay~"
At first glance, it seemed like a yes, but whether it truly affected her was hard to say.
Qi Leyuan fluttered his wings and flew up in the air. Just as he was about to land on his usual perch, he saw a colorful parrot nearby, tilting its head to look at him.
Qi Leyuan hesitated in the air, feeling like a thief caught in the act. He turned around, unable to believe it, and said, "Lady Chun, this bird has come back!"
Li Chunzhou glanced up and casually said, "Don’t worry, it’s a mute bird. Try talking to it, maybe you can teach it to speak."
The colorful parrot was a gift from Second Prince, yet after all these years of keeping it, it had never uttered a single word.
Qi Leyuan flew around in the air for a bit, then landed back on Li Chunzhou’s shoulder as there was nowhere else to go.
Despite Li Chunzhou’s complaints, she stood up and noticed that the parrot on the perch had a thin chain tied around its foot, explaining why it was behaving so obediently and not flying away.
Li Chunzhou untied the chain from the parrot’s foot, planning to set it free. Before letting go, she touched its magnificent feathers and murmured, "Go on, don’t come back again."
The parrot may not have understood, but it continued to stare at her with its round eyes.
Li Chunzhou raised her hand, gesturing "fly," and the parrot spread its wings, flying into the sky, saying in a clear voice, "Farewell, farewell!"
Li Chunzhou: ?
She turned to look at Qi Leyuan on her shoulder, with a puzzled look, hesitatingly asked, "Just now… did it talk?"
Qi Leyuan also looked at Li Chunzhou with his small eyes and asked, "Should we catch it and give it a scolding? I can still fly back in time."
Li Chunzhou suddenly smiled, looking at the parrot’s back, gently said, "…Forget it."
She then crouched down to play with the cat. As she lowered her head, the delicate and beautiful yet fragile, light blue veins on her neck could be seen. Li Zhexuan couldn’t take his eyes off her, feeling that burning hunger again.
He looked down at Li Chunzhou’s fragile neck, feeling his heart beating in his chest, but the heart that belonged to Him was not in His own body. The desire for completeness was tempting Him like a demon, whispering in Li Zhexuan’s ear, "Eat her, devour her, then you can blend together and never be apart…"
Li Zhexuan suddenly forcefully smashed his head against the wall next to him.
Stripped of much consciousness, his current state was very unstable, with these instinctual thoughts bubbling up like bubbles in boiling water.
Seeing the commotion on his side, Li Chunzhou waved to Li Zhexuan, then took out a handkerchief to clean up the blood-like substance flowing down his head.
"Axuan, are you feeling bad?" Li Chunzhou asked him, then without waiting for Li Zhexuan to reply, skillfully picked off the hairpin on her head and broke the scab on her wrist without changing her expression, and handed the wound to Li Zhexuan.
Li Zhexuan lowered his head and obediently licked the wound on her wrist, licking away the blood, then gently licked the exposed flesh. The wound on Li Chunzhou’s wrist began to heal as usual, just much slower compared to the first time.
Li Zhexuan and Li Chunzhou could share their life force. When he transferred his life force to Li Chunzhou, all the injuries on her body would slowly heal.
In this cycle, when Li Zhexuan first helped Li Chunzhou heal the wound, his own life force was still very strong. But now, just over ten days later, he was already in a state where he could hardly take care of himself.
Looking at the wound on Li Chunzhou’s hand that still hadn’t fully healed, Li Zhexuan seemed a bit sad, mumbling a few unclear words.
Li Chunzhou patiently watched him.
The human brain has about one hundred billion neurons, each connected to over ten thousand other neurons. This makes the human brain extremely complex. Before it merged with the child, Li Zhexuan’s head had been broken by an adult man.
When Li Chunzhou found him, she saw the terrible wound on his head and thought he wouldn’t live for many days. But miraculously, Li Zhexuan’s wound healed, just making him slightly slower than other children. Li Chunzhou guessed that the wound might have affected Li Zhexuan’s ability to speak, so he couldn’t express himself well most of the time.
That’s why, no matter how confused and slow Li Zhexuan’s words were, she never rushed or blamed him.
Li Chunzhou lowered her head, looked into Li Zhexuan’s eyes, listened carefully to him, and gently said as she patted his back, "It’s okay, A’xuan will recover soon."
Li Zhexuan looked up at Li Chunzhou’s peaceful profile. As long as he could feel Lady Chun by his side, whether they could hug, kiss, or do other intimate things, it made Li Zhexuan feel happy.
They lived in the same place, slept together, ate together, and went through ups and downs together. All these things made Li Zhexuan extremely happy – if he could understand what happiness meant.
Li Zhexuan’s face showed a smile that had been practiced a thousand times, so skilled that it felt eerie. He slowly said, "Lady Chun … I will always … only look at you…"
Li Chunzhou gazed at him and smiled gently.
***
In the evening, Li Chunzhou lit a fire in the kitchen to boil water. The bean flour could be eaten directly, but Li Chunzhou dared not drink unboiled water.
She had never personally done this kind of fire lighting before, so despite getting covered in ash, she enjoyed it, happily throwing twigs into the fire.
Qi Leyuan helped to carry firewood with his beak and gave some advice, "Lady Chun, don’t sit near the fire for too long, your back is cool. Being hot on one side and cool on the other makes you prone to catching a cold."
He looked around and stood in front of a wall, saying, "Let’s move the fire over here. This way, with you between the fire and the wall, the heat from the fire will warm your back evenly and you won’t catch a cold."
"Li Li, you know so much…" Li Chunzhou was a bit surprised.
"Of course! Surviving in the wild is easy peasy. I can even handle corpses…" Qi Leyuan stopped halfway through, realizing he shouldn’t say these things in front of the young girl, and fell silent.
Li Chunzhou walked over holding a burning branch and asked, "What should we do with that pile of fire?"
Qi Leyuan had already lay down on the ground, eyes closed, saying, "It’s okay, it will go out on its own in a while."
Li Zhexuan had grown taller compared to the afternoon, squatting near Li Chunzhou and helping with the firewood. He worked silently, his jet-black eyes reflecting the firelight, looking very cute.
Silence surrounded the campfire, the sky shrouded in deep blue and black, stars shining like twinkling beads scattered across the endless night sky. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a sense of coolness, brushing Li Chunzhou’s face lightly. The orange flames danced in the night, casting a warm glow and illuminating everything around.
In the quiet atmosphere, even the slightest sound would seem loud, so when Li Chunzhou’s stomach rumbled, she embarrassedly pressed her face against her knee.
Although there was still food in the Spring Flowers Tower, Li Chunzhou couldn’t bring herself to eat it. Her appetite had been spoiled by years of exquisite meals, so she forced herself to take a few more bites just to fill her stomach. And so, inevitably, Li Chunzhou’s stomach growled uncontrollably at night.
Qi Leyuan calmly stood up, "Wait for me a moment!"
Under Li Chunzhou’s unwavering gaze, Qi Leyuan stood up and laid an egg.
"Leaving the White Emperor amidst colorful clouds, there is nothing fresher than my son," Qi Leyuan handed the egg to Li Chunzhou, saying lightly, "Eat it, you big glutton."
The expression on Li Chunzhou’s face was quite remarkable. She silently took a bowl, cracked the egg into it, then placed it slowly on the fire to roast. As soon as she put it in, she couldn’t help but mutter softly, "Will it cook…?"
Qi Leyuan also leaned in, "I think it should be fine…"
As the two of them whispered to each other, they suddenly heard the sound of something heavy falling outside the courtyard.
Li Chunzhou immediately looked at Li Zhexuan. Li Zhexuan raised his head, his dark eyes gazing into the distance, and slowly said, "It’s… Mi Hong… Bao."
Li Chunzhou’s cautious expression relaxed suddenly. She picked up a burning branch, and eagerly ran outside.
Mi Hongbao looked much taller than he did ten days ago, probably because he had slimmed down on the battlefield. His handsome face had gained a number of scars, like he had grown up all of a sudden.
When Mi Hongbao saw Li Chunzhou, his eyes lit up just like before. Li Chunzhou realized he was still A’bao from the look on his face.
Mi Hongbao ran over wearing dark clothes and hugged Li Chunzhou tightly, making her feel like she couldn’t breathe.
Li Chunzhou’s cheek rubbed against the rough fabric on his shoulder, and she felt a mix of complicated emotions that were hard to explain.
Mi Hongbao, being the only son of the Northern Marquis, and with a princess for a mother, was wearing such rough fabric that even servants wouldn’t use it to wipe the young lord’s hands before. Now, he seemed used to it.
Holding his face, Li Chunzhou asked, "A’bao, why are you back? How are things on the front line?"
Mi Hongbao’s face darkened. "Grandfather is seriously injured, and 200,000 soldiers are wounded or dead. For some reason, the Turco-Mongol invaders had the defense plans of Daliang… The remaining troops are fighting desperately. The scouts reported that well-equipped cavalry of the invaders have sneaked into Shengjing from the rear. So, I hurried back with my men."
Li Chunzhou bit her lip. With the palace surrounded, most officials and royal relatives with true power in Daliang were trapped inside. Without inside help, the invaders wouldn’t have succeeded so easily.
But she comforted Mi Hongbao, "Don’t worry. General Gu has taken the Second Prince’s private soldiers to help."
Mi Hongbao shook his head. "It’s no use. They have already taken hostages in the palace. Prime Minister Gu is also inside. General Gu can’t risk a frontal assault. Besides, the invaders spotted me when I was coming back…"
Li Chunzhou had a bad feeling in her heart, and sure enough, Mi Hongbao continued, "They want to exchange me for someone with General Gu."
My family has always guarded the border for generations, and the deep hatred between my family and the Tujue people is not easy to resolve unless one side is completely wiped out, with no descendants left in the world, then the hatred can disappear.
As he stopped speaking, Li Chunzhou understood the hidden meaning behind his words, and she hurriedly said, "Because of this, you absolutely cannot go! A’bao, you… do you understand?"
"Eating the ruler’s salary, shouldering the ruler’s worries," Mi Hongbao said calmly, but Li Chunzhou could feel his hand holding hers was trembling slightly.
"Fool…fool!" Seeing him hesitating to respond, Li Chunzhou realized he had already made his decision. She suddenly grabbed Mi Hongbao’s collar in anger, tears in her eyes, and asked, "If you insist on going to your death, why did you come to see me?! Do you…do you want to make me suffer as well?"
By the end, her voice carried weariness and sorrow.
"A’bao, can you not go…?" Li Chunzhou absentmindedly held onto his clothes, her knuckles turning slightly white, "Let’s elope, run away, anything! Just don’t go to your death…
Seeing her almost heartbroken appearance, Mi Hongbao seemed to have lost all words for a moment. His tears fell before Li Chunzhou’s, quickly soaking his handsome face. Li Chunzhou wiped the tears from his face, but it seemed like she couldn’t wipe them all away.
Mi Hongbao’s voice was interrupted by sobs, "No, I didn’t mean to make you upset… sob Lady Chun, I don’t want to die… sob… I really don’t want to die. I can’t bear to leave you, I want to… I want to marry you, have children with you, grow old with you… but…"
But the King was not only his ruler, but also his uncle, even Mi Hongbao’s mother was trapped in the palace, he could not just watch his own family die at the hands of the enemy.
No matter how tall he grew, no matter how much he seemed to mature, Mi Hongbao was still a child at heart. He said goodbye with his mouth, but in his heart, he just hoped that his loved one would remember him.
He was only fifteen years old, truly just fifteen, yet he had to face death at such a young age.
In front of Li Chunzhou, Mi Hongbao cried as if his emotions had completely collapsed. All his disguises couldn’t hold up, he looked pitiful and desperate. He wanted to run away, but he couldn’t, so the only thing he could do was to look into Li Chunzhou’s eyes.
Mi Hongbao knew in his heart that he shouldn’t have come on this journey to see Li Chunzhou. Even if he did come, he should have made Li Chunzhou forget about him sooner. But pretty words were easy to say, going against his true feelings was just too hard… Apart from his parents, Li Chunzhou was the closest person to Mi Hongbao in the world.
No matter how brave and strong he appeared in front of others, no matter how resolutely he did what he had to do, when faced with Li Chunzhou, Mi Hongbao was left with tears. He wanted to ask, "Will you forget me? Will you always remember me? If I truly die, will you still think of me someday?"
All the words, spoken and unspoken, turned into tears that surged out for him.
Li Chunzhou fell silent for a moment, wiped the tears from his face, and gently rested her face on his shoulder, "A’bao, can you hug me for a moment?"
Mi Hongbao sniffed, and tightly embraced Li Chunzhou.
Just by hugging her, Mi Hongbao’s tears soaked Li Chunzhou’s shoulder, crying and saying he didn’t want to die, but he still didn’t change his decision to go to death.
When all the emotions of collapse reached their peak and condensed into his unwavering determination to move forward, there was something charming about him when he chose a path and walked firmly along it.
Li Zhexuan followed Li Chunzhou’s gaze to Mi Hongbao’s face.
Li Chunzhou lifted his hand and looked at it. The wound she bit was already scabbed, but the bright color of the red hair tie bound to Mi Hongbao’s wrist still caught the eye. Li Chunzhou suddenly said, "If you want to go, A’bao, go ahead. I can’t keep you, no one can keep you. I will support whatever choice you make, even if you give up halfway and come back, I will be here waiting for you."
One is to stay together, the other is to give you freedom.
In an instant, Mi Hongbao’s tears flowed down his cheeks, he quickly wiped them away, but the tears kept flowing. Finally, he covered his face with his hands and cried out in pain.
Li Chunzhou didn’t shed a tear, it seemed like her tear ducts had dried up along with her emotions through each separation, the only thing driving Li Chunzhou to continue was the obsession to restart the Dungeon.
…
Mi Hongbao wiped away all his tears before leaving the courtyard, still trying to save face, like a stubborn child.
In the late night, his figure overlapped with the one under the willow tree over ten days ago. His straight back was like a drawn sword, forever the spirited youth in Shengjing City.