Chapter 76 - I have to leave

If she leaves this time, she won't appear again.

His intuition has never been wrong. Just like the time when he left with Wu Yixing to see Yu Chen, he found her in front of the inn. Then, he had a strange urge to visit Wu Yixing and he found her under the tree. On his 10th birthday, he had the similar urging to go to that area where she was already there.

Li Jun doesn't know about the timekeeper inside him or his tangled fate with Kyuri. In his every lifetime, he will have the same urge to see her. As long as the timekeeper is inside him, he will be driven to find her again and again.

The timekeeper didn't think the host would fall in love with the traveler and those same feelings will become the greatest obstacle in his mission in the original timeline. Both Kang Si An and Li Jun loved this traveler in the original timeline. This time, he will do anything to prevent the same outcome. Li Jun's heart is already affected by the traveler. If these two don't make more memories and the feelings don't become intense again, Kang Si An will not be affected by the traveler easily since the traveler has already changed the future.

He has no intention of being tortured by Li Jun's or Kang Si An's feelings again.

"I have to leave." She whispers to him.

The pain in her eyes nearly moves the timekeeper's heart. He doesn't want to use his minutes to speak to her. He can only watch and hear using Li Jun's eyes and ears. He is even more determined to prevent Li Jun from meeting the traveler again in this lifetime. He has already made an arrangement.

Li Jun looks into her eyes. His heart feels heavy to see the tears forming in her eyes. He doesn't want to force her. But, something in his mind is whispering to him that he can't afford to let her go at any cost.

"I will give you everything. I won't touch Wu Qiuyue. I won't bring any woman. You will be the only one. I am not giving you a choice, woman."

She blinks out her tears. She repeats the words. "I have to leave."

He grips her shoulders hard in anger. She doesn't wince in pain. His fingers instantly loosen. She won't be able to leave. If she leaves again, he will look for her everywhere.

"Master, Madame drank a poison." A servant cries outside the door. Because Li Jun has warned people not to come inside, the servant didn't dare. "She's in a critical state."

Li Jun didn't expect that Wu Qiuyue would go to that extent.

"Go and see her," The woman in his arms says to him softly. "She's a woman who is raising your only son."

He has to go for that promise that he made to his dead wife. To Li Hua, Wu Qiuyue is a mother. If something happens to her, his son will suffer.

"Mo Wei." He tells her sternly, "I will come back soon. Don't move from this spot. The conversation is not over."

She smiles at him brightly and shows him her wrists. "I will wait for you."

He furrows his brows. He doesn't want to leave. He has little choice. He walks away from her with an uneasy feeling. He halts at the door and turns around. She's sitting quietly on the floor. He hears her sigh sadly once. A complicated feeling rise in his heart.

Reluctantly, Li Jun walks out of the room. He closes the door behind him. He tells the soldiers to keep watch. The woman can't leave the vicinity. After giving some other commands, he takes long strides toward Wu Qiuyue's courtyard.

5 minutes later, a soldier comes inside.

"Miss Kwon." The soldier glances at the girl dressed in male clothes.

Stunned, Kwon Kyuri looks at the soldier. "How do you know my name?"

"Master Li made arrangement for your escape," The soldier tells her with a poker face. "Please come with me. We will help you leave the country."

She smiles brilliantly with a tinge of sadness in her eyes. "Ah! I should have expected. After Li Jun tried to find me, he must have contacted the timekeepers."

"We don't have time." The timekeeper soldier has never helped a traveler escape before. He looks at the door uneasily. "If General Li comes back, it will be difficult."

"Sure. Sure." She stands up on her feet. "Can you untie my hands first?"

***

"How is she?" Li Jun asks the physician. Wu Qiuyue's figure is lying on the bed, unconscious.

"If I was a little late, she would have died," The physician answers him with a grave tone. "She took a strong poison. Where did she get hold of it?"

He sighs. He would also like to know the answer. He turns to her maid. "Where is Hua'er?"

"He's asleep." The maid answers nervously.

Li Jun doesn't miss it. "Do you know how she got the poison?"

The maid's lips quiver. Under his deathly glare, her knees become weak. She drops on her knees and shudders. "Master, please forgive me. It was Madam who sent me to buy poison. I didn't know that she will do this."

He takes a long glance at Wu Qiuyue. This woman would rather kill herself than let him bring in Mo Wei.