Xiang Zhile’s inner garment slipped, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin.
Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck, her satin-like black hair brushing past her fingertips. Her heart couldn’t help but flutter, and her half-closed fox eyes faintly revealed a touch of charm.
“Wangye, Qieshen…”
Yan Junnuo punished her with a gentle bite on her lips, carefully adjusted her inner garment, and chuckled softly, “No need to be so eager to pledge your loyalty to me. What I want is your willingness. When your heart belongs to me completely, I will touch you then.”
He was truly afraid—what if, in a moment of passion, she called out another man’s name…
The weight on her body lifted. Xiang Zhile watched with disappointment as Yan Junnuo draped his robe over himself and left the side chamber. She wanted to chase after him, to explain, but given that he had restrained himself even at this point, it was clear the timing was not yet right.
To avoid being sent back to her bedchamber by Yan Junnuo, she could only close her eyes and feign sleep.
Perhaps it was the lingering scent of him around her, or perhaps it was the knowledge that he would return. As soon as her eyes closed, she fell into a deep slumber.
In her dream, she returned once again to that heart-wrenching night.
Dark clouds obscured the moon.
The sound of chaotic hoofbeats surrounded them as Yan Junnuo, relying on his own strength, rescued her from the enemy’s camp.
Pursuers followed closely behind.
Dawn broke, and then the sun set once more.
It was only after they charged into a disorienting forest that the exhausted Yu Cong beneath them snorted and slowed its pace.
The two of them tumbled off the horse together.
A light drizzle began to fall from the gloomy sky.
Ignoring the pain wracking her body, Xiang Zhile stumbled and crawled to Yan Junnuo’s side.
She cradled his barely breathing form in her arms, frantically wiping away the black blood continuously seeping from the corners of his lips.
A wound on his right shoulder socket oozed dark blood, and his back was already mangled beyond recognition.
“Jun Nuo… Jun Nuo, I’m sorry. I didn’t know my father and brother had deceived me again, truly…” If she hadn’t stubbornly waited for her father and brother to rescue her, they would never have ended up in such a wretched state.
If she had held any lingering hope for Xiang Fu, it was utterly shattered the moment she saw Xiang Yun’s gloating sneer behind the enemy camp.
Tortured by his stomach ailment and the thirty merciless military strikes he had endured not long ago, Yan Junnuo was emaciated, his cheeks hollowed, bearing no resemblance to his former handsome and dignified self.
Beneath his cold, hard armor, it seemed as though only a skeleton remained.
His battle helmet was long gone, his disheveled hair framing his face as he struggled to breathe.
He spoke in broken phrases, “Yu Cong stopped here… which means we’ve reached the boundaries of our camp. Foolish woman… from now on, I won’t be able to protect you. Don’t… ever trust those… beasts again…”
Xiang Zhile stubbornly shook her head, her trembling hands still pressing against the wound on his right shoulder. Tears fell like broken pearls, one after another, landing on Yan Junnuo’s face.
“Jun Nuo… I can’t do this alone. They will bully me… I’ll be scared…”
Yan Junnuo wanted to raise his hand to wipe away her tears but ultimately did nothing.
Summon the last of his strength, he weakly scolded her, “Why are you crying? Where did the courage you had when you tried to assassinate me go?”
After his low exclamation, a wave of dizziness washed over him. He leaned weakly against her chest and spoke in fragmented, soft tones, “This prince… has never been one to suffer losses… My Wangfei cannot be a cowardly woman either. You… you must avenge me, do you hear?”
Xiang Zhile could only weep, shaking her head repeatedly as if believing that as long as she didn’t agree, Yan Junnuo would indulge her as he always had and wouldn’t leave.
Yet this time, he still departed.
With his final breath, the deeply affectionate words “silly woman” conveyed all his attachments in this world.
Feeling the person in her arms cease breathing and gradually grow cold, Xiang Zhile seemed completely unaware, continuing to make promises.
“I promise you, as long as you recover this time, I… I’ll stay obediently by your side always, and we’ll have many, many children… alright?”
“Jun Nuo, open your eyes and look at me…”
“If you don’t open them, I’ll get angry. When I get angry, I’ll run away, run where you can never find me…”
“Jun Nuo…”
Call after call went unanswered.
Her silent tears gradually turned into heart-wrenching sobs.
Even heaven seemed unable to bear the sight, transforming the drizzling rain into a torrential downpour that drowned out her weeping echoing through the forest.
By the time Chu Shan found them with his men, a full day and night had passed.
Yan Junnuo’s rigid body lay with its head pillowed on her thigh, his face so serene he seemed merely asleep.
But Xiang Zhile’s face was half destroyed, crisscrossed with bloody wounds, some with flesh still gaping open.
The dagger in her hand still dripped blood, her entire being seemed stripped of its soul, her eyes hollow as she kept murmuring to herself.
“In the years before, Lele couldn’t walk with you. But through all the coming years, Lele will spend them with you…”