ADWMCES Chapter83

Chu Fengqing was sleeping in a daze. The extreme discomfort in his body prevented him from entering deep sleep, but he was also unable to wake up. He seemed to be in a gray area and could sense some changes in the outside world.

Someone pried open his lips and passed him a pill. The pill tasted very bitter, but he had some impression that it was a pill he had made himself, and it seemed to be used to reduce fever.

After waiting for a long time for the bitter taste in his mouth to dissipate, he seemed to hear someone whispering something in his ear. But when he wanted to hear it clearly, the sound became vague. After a while, even a clay man would get angry, so he simply stopped listening.

But now, that once elusive, weightless body was firmly held in his arms, and the strength of that grip made him feel the undeniable reality of still being alive in this world. He buried himself deeper unconsciously. The whisper in his ear never stopped. The voice was very familiar. A blurry face appeared in his mind.

The instant this face came into view, his eyelashes, dark and fine like crow feathers, grew damp.

It was so uncomfortable; he hadn’t expected it to be so uncomfortable.

There is always that one person, if you encounter him in a moment of weakness, every facade of strength will shatter at once, and in that instant, the surge of pent-up sorrow will nearly engulf you. You can show your strength and independence to everything and everyone, but he will always show you the softest side.

Chu Fengqing pursed his lips and gently uttered the name “Ji Yujin…”

The moment he called out the name, Chu Fengqing felt as if his throat was stuffed with cotton. His longing took root and slowly moved into the deepest part of his heart.

Ji Yujin was slightly stunned when he heard his voice, then he leaned over and kissed his eyelashes. The hostility in his eyes gradually dissipated and was replaced by a gentleness that was enough to drown people.

“En, I’m here.”

Chu Fengqing didn’t know whether he heard it or not, but his weak breathing gradually calmed down and became even.

Ji Yujin touched his frowning brows with his fingertips, adjusted his posture to be more comfortable, and pulled the quilt up.

The scorching breath fell against his neck, deepening the severity in Ji Yujin’s expression. Chu Fengqing’s body was alarmingly hot, and it left him both pained and furious. Was this what he meant by the five days he had asked for? Did he care nothing for his own life or death?

……

Ji Yujin didn’t sleep all night. He fed Chu Fengqing medicine and changed the water in four or five basins. Only then did Chu Fengqing’s temperature drop slightly.

The pink morning glow spread across the horizon, adding a touch of color to this lifeless place. As the sun rose, the long night finally came to an end.

The earth-shaking cries were heard again from the east of the city. He wonders how many people did not survive last night.

After Ji Yujin let the porridge cool down, he picked up the still drowsy Chu Fengqing and called his name softly.

He was afraid that he would not be able to bear it even more if he didn’t eat something.

Chu Fengqing frowned. It was rare for him to sleep so soundly these past few days. After being woken up, he was still a little confused about the current situation. He had a very long dream with many monsters and demons in it. But there was a young man in red who stayed by his side and helped him drive away these evil spirits.

“Qing’er.”

Chu Fengqing opened his eyes and stared at Ji Yujin for a long time. Gradually, his eyes widened. “You…”

“Exhale…”

His hoarse voice couldn’t stand his excitement at all, and before he could finish his words, he started coughing violently.

Ji Yujin stroked his back with his hand to help him breathe smoothly and answered the question he hadn’t asked yet, “I can’t wait any longer. A day without seeing you feels like a long time, like it’s been several years since I last saw you.”

Chu Fengqing: “……”

His adam apple bobbed as the ache in his throat became impossible to ignore. He pulled away from Ji Yujin’s grasp and retreated beneath the covers. “Stay away from me a bit, this disease is contagious.”

He frowned, his face solemn as if lost in thought about what to do. After a brief silence, he said, “You shouldn’t have come in.”

After thinking for a long time, he still couldn’t figure out what to do. The veins on Chu Fengqing’s forehead jumped. He stared at Ji Yujin and angrily said, “Ji Yujin, are you still crazy? Do you think this is just playing house?”

He had to take a break after every word he said. It wasn’t known if it was because he was very angry or something, but his face turned even paler. “This is a plague, an untreatable illness. Others go out of their way to avoid it, yet you, you’re so good, you came here deliberately.”

Chu Fengqing hid far away from him and said sternly, “Get out immediately.”

He feared he might already be unable to leave the mansion, but at the very least, it was far better not to stay in the same room.

Ji Yujin couldn’t stand him being like this, nor could he stand him avoiding him, so he simply held his hand and moved closer, his fox-like eyes slightly raised, with a gleam of light in them and no fear at all.

He pecked him lightly on the lips, his lips slightly hooked as he said, “I can’t leave anymore. I kissed you as soon as I got here yesterday and even slept with you in my arms all night. It’s too late for you to hide now.”

Chu Fengqing covered his lips with his hands, his chest heaving up and down, “You… are simply unreasonable!”

Ji Yujin brought some warm water and placed it next to his lips. “Are you thirsty? Drink some water first.”

He said slowly, “Drink first and then curse.”

Chu Fengqing: “……”

After Ji Yujin helped him take a sip of water, Chu Qingfeng’s throat eased slightly. He gazed at Ji Yujin in silence, his mind turning over what he should do next.

Ji Yujin raised his eyebrows slightly. “What’s wrong? You can’t find any words to curse me? Well, it’s embarrassing for a gentleman like you to curse others.”

As he spoke, he helped Chu Fengqing wash up and then covered him with the fox fur cloak. At some point, charcoal was lit in the room, and the room, which was always damp and cold, gradually became warm.

“How about eating something and thinking about it while you eat?”

As he spoke, he handed the porridge of just the right temperature to Chu Fengqing and said in a rude manner, “I’m not in a hurry. You can think about it slowly.”

Chu Fengqing: “……”

Chu Fengqing couldn’t help but curl up the corners of his lips into a slight smile. The two looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.

Ji Yujin’s rogue behavior left Chu Fengqing helpless. He took the porridge handed to him by Ji Yujin and subconsciously wanted to stay away from him, but before he could turn his back, he was pushed back.

Ji Yujin raised his fox-like eyes and said lightly, “Chu Fengqing, if you hide from me again, I will kiss you again. You hide once, and I will kiss you once.”

As he spoke, he pecked Chu Fengqing on the lips, “After this, I will assume that you are hiding from me because you want me to kiss you.”

Chu Fengqing’s ears flushed red, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the fever or Ji Yujin’s provocation. His brows furrowed, and his cold voice, roughened by the fever, carried a hoarse edge. After a long time, he only said four words: “Unreasonable.”

Ji Yujin smiled, he knew that Chu Fengqing had compromised.

He has never feared death, having spent his life walking the edge of a blade. He has witnessed countless life-and-death moments and more than once had a foot already across the threshold of the King of Hell.

The only one that can scare him now is Chu Fengqing.

……

In short, because of Ji Yujin’s persistence, Chu Fengqing tried every means to drive him out but failed, and instead let him take advantage of him.

After dinner, Ji Yujin went to boil medicine for Chu Fengqing. The whole mansion was filled with the smell of medicine. There was a smell of herbs everywhere he went. The original faint medicinal fragrance on Chu Fengqing’s body also became heavier.

Ji Yujin sniffed his cuffs. He also reek of medicine, a bitter smell that he didn’t like. He stared at the medicine boiling in the clay furnace, his gaze seething with violence, as though the gentleness he had shown moments ago was nothing but a disguise. He couldn’t hold back as soon as he left Chu Fengqing’s sight.

He regretted coming here. What did the lives of the people in this city have to do with him? If he hadn’t come…

If he hadn’t come…

It’s all his fault.

A trace of blood flowed out of the corner of Ji Yujin’s lips. He wiped it with his thumb and looked at the blood on his fingertips coldly without any emotion. The metallic tang of blood in his mouth only fueled his violence further.

While Ji Yujin was away, Chu Fengqing stood up and walked to the desk, put his hands over the charcoal stove to warm them, and soon his cold hands warmed up. He gathered all the prescriptions. Throughout his medical career, he had faced countless complex and challenging illnesses, yet few were as formidable as this one.

He has clearly prescribed the right medicine, so why is it not working?

He rubbed his temples. His mental state was getting worse and worse. He felt drowsy everyday, and there was not much time for his brain to think clearly.

He had to hurry up.

He had been busy for the whole morning, and when he heard footsteps outside the room, he paused slightly and found that the footsteps were coming towards his room. He put down the brush in his hand, walked towards the bed, and pretended to hold a biography in his hand.

The temperature dropped a little today. He didn’t know if he was blinded by greed this morning or something else, but he promised Ji Yujin that he would not get out of bed to avoid catching a cold again. However, he was really worried about the epidemic.

Ji Yujin walked into the room with the medicine in his hand. He cast a brief glance at the person leaning against the bedside, absorbed in a biography. His eyes flickered momentarily. Setting the medicine on the table, he let it dry. “Yo, you are so obedient today.”

Chu Fengqing coughed lightly and looked sideways, not daring to meet Ji Yujin’s gaze.

Ji Yujin deliberately glanced at the desk and immediately received an anxious look from the person beside him, “Hmm? On the desk…”

Before he finished speaking, Chu Fengqing said, “I forgot to put them away yes-yesterday.”

Before Chu Fengqing finished speaking, his face began to heat up. He lowered his eyes slightly to hide his guilty conscience.

Ji Yujin smiled helplessly but didn’t point it out in the end.

Chu Fengqing was slightly relieved to see that he didn’t pursue the matter further.

When drinking the medicine, Ji Yujin tasted it first. The medicine tasted sour and bitter, and it was hard to swallow. He just took a sip of it and frowned tightly. “Can I add some sugar to this medicine?”

Chu Fengqing shook his head and chuckled, “How can you add sugar to medicine?”

Having grown up drinking medicine straight from jars, he had long since gotten used to it. Even the most bitter and hard-to-swallow remedies now tasted merely ordinary to him. Chu Fengqing had a blank expression after drinking it, but Ji Yujin’s face was full of disgust.

Chu Fengqing: “Why do you taste the bitterness first, when I’m the one drinking it?”

Ji Yujin took a candy and put it in his mouth, then pecked his lips again, tasting the bitter taste left on his lips, and couldn’t help but frown, “I feel bitter just by seeing you drinking.”

The sugar slowly melted in his mouth. Chu Fengqing narrowed his eyes and looked up at the green banana trees outside. The lifeless room seemed to come alive because of Ji Yujin’s presence.

The day passed so uneventfully. Before going to bed, Chu Fengqing checked Ji Yujin’s pulse. Fortunately, he had not been infected with the disease yet. He felt relieved a little and closed his eyes.

On the second day, Chu Fengqing felt even worse, it took him a long time to get up.

After getting up, Ji Yujin handed him a letter. After Chu Fengqing saw the letter, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes, “Imperial Physician Li said that this prescription is more effective than the last one.”

Imperial Physician Li also stuffed the prescription he wrote into it. Chu Fengqing looked at the two prescriptions, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind.

“I actually forgot about these two medicines.”

He was about to get out of bed, but before his feet touched the ground, Ji Yujin stopped him. “Good physician, no matter what, you have to eat first, right?”

Chu Fengqing blinked, did not refute him, but lay back down.

Ji Yujin then smiled and fed him porridge like he did yesterday.

Chu Fengqing drank a few sips and suddenly clenched the quilt with his hands. The blue veins on the back of his hands bulged. He looked up at Ji Yujin and smiled, “I’m so thirsty, I want a cup of hot water. Can you go and pour me a cup?”

Ji Yujin stared at him and nodded. “Alright, wait for me.”

The water in the room was from yesterday and had not been replaced yet. Ji Yujin took the teapot and went out.

As soon as he left, Chu Fengqing started coughing. He took a handkerchief to muffle his cough. When his coughing subsided, the handkerchief was already stained with blood.

Chu Fengqing pressed his lips together, wiped the blood from them, and tucked away the handkerchief. A flicker of worry passed through his eyes. He couldn’t even tell whether his physical condition was caused by the epidemic or his original illness anymore.

Outside the room, Ji Yujin leaned against the wall and tightened his grip on the teapot. The next moment, the handle of the teapot broke. He lowered his eyes to look at his cut hand, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.