CH 150

February 26, 2023Merchie

Is it because of your guilty conscience?

Do you want to atone for what you’ve done?

Since when did Pei Zheng have a conscience? Since when did he ever need to atone for anything?

As for why he had done all of those things, he didn’t need to explain that to anyone.

At this moment, a soldier came over to report military affairs, so Zhao Litang had no choice but to leave temporarily.

It was only until the sky began to pale slightly that the lanterns in the tent finally went out.

The curtain was lifted, and Shen Huan walked out wearing a tired expression, her cuffs covered in blood. The sight made one’s heart jolt.

Under Zhao Litang’s orders, Wu Quan had also spent the night standing guard outside the tent. After he saw Shen Huan come out, he hurried forward and asked, “Master Shen, how is His Highness? Is the procedure going well?”

Shen Huan’s eyes flitted to the nearby Pei Zheng before she answered Wu Quan. It seemed like she had something she needed to say to Pei Zheng.

“You could say that. His condition is stable at the moment. We can’t transfuse too much blood all at once, we can only continue slowly, but there’s finally a bit of hope. Don’t worry too much.”

Wu Quan nodded and hurriedly ordered someone to lead Shen Huan away to rest. She had busied herself for an entire night, and her mind had been extremely tense; now that she had relaxed, she felt completely exhausted.

Qi Yirou had had a small amount of blood withdrawn. Although it wouldn’t pose any danger, she still had to take good care of her body. She was also escorted out of the tent, while a few servants had been specially arranged to tend to her.

The group of people outside the tent gradually dispersed.

Cheng Feng stood beside the curtain. He turned and asked, “Master, would you like to go inside?”

Of course Pei Zheng wanted to go in and take a look; his frantic thoughts had long since flown inside. But he stood where he was and didn’t move.

Cheng Feng thought Pei Zheng wasn’t planning on going in, so he slowly retracted the hand holding the curtain and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the curtain was lifted from the inside, and a face popped out.

“If you’re going to come in, just come in. Why the hell are you loitering at someone else’s doorstep?”

Jiang Yubai glanced at Cheng Feng, then at Pei Zheng.

This master and servant were carved from the same wood; even if they were dying to say something, they just couldn’t voice it properly.

“We aren’t.”

Cheng Feng said; it seemed as though he really was going to walk away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jiang Yubai grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back, “You can leave. You, get in there.”

Jiang Yubai dragged Cheng Feng with one hand as he looked at Pei Zheng, jerking his chin toward the inside of the tent.

Cheng Feng said, “Master is unwilling-”

“Unwilling, my ass. If you don’t know what’s going on, shut your mouth.”

Jiang Yubai rolled his eyes disdainfully at Cheng Feng. It was a shame that he had been by Pei Zheng’s side for so long, yet he still didn’t know that his master was incapable of expressing himself properly.

But Jiang Yubai could see it all clearly. Pei Zheng would express his dislike and loathing unabashedly. But as for those lingering emotions like love and longing, he had always hidden them well.

Who knew where this silly problem of his came from.

Jiang Yubai conscientiously stepped aside. He had already helped Pei Zheng clean out the irrelevant people; it was quite considerate of him, really.

Pei Zheng glanced at the dim tent. Before he could take a step, he was suddenly shoved him from behind. Then, the thick curtain dropped down, separating the cold, windy, chaotic world from the warmth and quietude inside.

Jiang Yubai’s voice sounded before the curtain fell.

“If he forgot, just make him remember that, whether it was good or bad, it was all you.”

The words ‘it was all you’ made Pei Zheng freeze in his tracks.

It was all him. Why had the small man only forgotten the memories that were related to him?

Whether he was Qi Changyi or Shen Shijiu, Pei Zheng was the only one who remembered it all, while the small man had only recalled Qi Changyi’s memories but had forgotten Shen Shijiu’s.

It was like fate was playing a sick joke on Pei Zheng. The memories of being pampered, loved, and protected by him had all been forgotten. Instead, the memories of being hurt and used had all been taken out and turned into a sharp blade, plunging straight into Pei Zheng’s heart.

But Shen Huan had said that right now, the small man’s mind was full of his past memories. It was likely because he had been thinking about too much at once, which was why his memories would inevitably be a bit jumbled, which led him to lose part of his current memories, but it wouldn’t be long before he recovered them.

Pei Zheng slowly walked to the side of the bed. The small man lying upon it had his eyes closed. His face was deathly pale; it seemed that he was asleep. His collar was a bit loose; now that the red lotus tattoo was exposed to the air, it seemed to glow a bit redder.

Pei Zheng sat on the side of the bed, before he reached out and reclasped the small man’s collar, accidently brushing the soft, delicate skin beneath. His fingers trembled slightly.

Pei Zheng gently touched that red lotus with his fingers. The slender petals were stretched beneath his robe, lively and spirited, as though they could flutter in the wind.

“When you’re asleep, you’re so obedient. When you wake up, will you not let me touch you, and make me leave again?”

Pei Zheng smiled self-deprecatingly, “You’re the only one who dares to order me around like this. You’re the only one… who made me feel what it’s like to be too scared to face someone.”

The small man on the bed seemed to be lost in a dream. His brow suddenly creased tightly, and he grabbed the quilt with both hands.

“Mother, Mother, please don’t… don’t abandon Yi-er… don’t leave…. Yi-er will be good, don’t leave Yi-er, please? Mother…”

The corners of the small man’s eyes became wet, and his voice became louder as he continued to mutter.

Pei Zheng knew that he had recalled some terrible memories of the past. He lifted the small man’s fingers out of the quilt, and clasped them in his palm, stroking the back of his hand with his fingertips.

“I won’t leave, I won’t leave you, Yi-er. Don’t be afraid.”

The small man gripped Pei Zheng’s hand, but his tears began to pour out even more furiously.

“Pei-gege…”

His voice was extremely soft, but Pei Zheng heard it clearly.

Was he dreaming about him? What was happening in that dream?

“Pei-gege, Pei-gege, Pei-gege…”

The small man didn’t say anything else; he merely continued to call for him, his voice full of aggrievement and sorrow. Every time he called out, a bean-sized tear would roll down his face. Pei Zheng’s heart tugged painfully at his sobs.

Pei Zheng wiped his tears with his fingers, and gently stroked his hair.

“I’m here, I’m right here. Be good, don’t cry.”

But it was as though the small man was made of water; the moment he started crying, he just couldn’t stop. Pei Zheng’s cuffs were soaked before he finally showed signs of calming down.

Pei Zheng leaned down. He stretched his arm beneath the little prince’s back, before he lifted it slightly, hoisting the small man into his arms. His entire body was pressed into Pei Zheng’s chest.

Only when he was enveloped in a tight embrace did he feel comforted. The small man’s sobs slowly ceased, and his tears stopped flowing.

“I’ll be good… Pei-gege, I’ll be good, please be a little nicer to me…”

Pei Zheng suddenly froze, before he whispered in his ear, “I’ll be nice to you, I’ll be really nice to you. Even if you aren’t good, that’s okay. I’ll always be nice to you, okay?”

The small man seemed to have already lost consciousness; he didn’t respond.

Pei Zheng hugged the soft, warm little ball in his arms. He was reluctant to let go. But after hugging him for a while, he felt that his empty heart had filled up a bit, so he slowly let go of the small man.

At this moment, the curtain was pulled open. It was Jiang Yubai.

“All right, let him rest. Lord Pei, you need to rest too. The wind must have been blowing all night yesterday. No matter how healthy your body is, you shouldn’t treat it so carelessly. Especially you, that wouldn’t be too good for your body.”

Apart from Shen Huan, Jiang Yubai understood Pei Zheng’s condition the best. His body was also riddled with holes. After suffering so many injuries, it was uncertain whether it would affect his lifespan or not.

“I’m fine.”

Pei Zheng had already rearranged his features back into a frigid expression.

“Sure, you’re fine. I’m not fine though. I’m begging you to take a rest, all right?”

Before Pei Zheng could leave to go rest, Cheng Feng came over, wearing a dark expression.

The two left the tent to discuss a few matters. Before Pei Zheng let the curtain down, he took one last glance at the inside of the tent, before he left.

Once he left, he was gone for a long while. When he finally came back, it was already the afternoon.

But there were quite a few people surrounding the outside of the tent. Zhao Litang and Yue Nu were among them.

“Lord Pei.”

A soldier spotted Pei Zheng, and everyone greeted him.

Upon hearing the commotion, Zhao Litang also looked over.

Pei Zheng hadn’t even walked over, when Zhao Litang immediately threw a punch at him. He nimbly shifted aside, while Cheng Feng reached out and grabbed Zhao Litang’s fist.

Zhao Litang retracted his hand, “Now you know how to dodge? I heard you went into the tent this morning?”

“Yes.”

“Them, what the hell were you doing, staying in there for so long?”

Pei Zheng didn’t understand what he meant, “What can I do in there?”

Zhao Litang yelled, enraged, “This isn’t the first time you’ve been selfish and inconsiderate, who knows what kind of beastly things you would do! Let me tell you, right now, Changyi’s condition has worsened again, who knows what the hell you did to him! Last night, he was clearly showing signs of recovery, how come the moment after you went in there, he was reduced to this state-“

With a bang, Zhao Litang was hit by a flying fist, and fell to the ground.

This punch was full of strength; it was much more powerful than the punch Zhao Litang had thrown before.

Pei Zheng’s fist was covered in Zhao Litang’s blood. His eyes were red, and his hair was flying in the wind. he had recovered his ruthless, cold-blooded, tyrannical appearance.

“What. Did you say?”

Yue Nu stood in front of Zhao Litang, wiping the blood away with his cuff.

Zhao Litang also sneered. He brushed Yue Nu off and stood up himself, staring right into Pei Zheng’s eyes.

At this moment, the curtain was lifted. Jiang Yubai came out, wearing a grave expression.

“I’m going to tell you all something. You must come to a decision quickly.”

“The sudden deterioration of his condition is due to a problem we didn’t notice during the previous blood transfusion. That is, the contaminated blood will assimilate the fresh blood. Because of this, no matter how much blood is transfused, it will be useless. It will only worsen his condition. There’s only one kind of medicinal herb that can cure it, and it grows in an oasis in the desert. So, we must enter the desert and search for this herb.”

Cheng Feng said, “But who knows how much time a round trip through the desert will take, will there still be enough time to treat him?”

Jiang Yubai said, “That’s why we must bring His Highness and the princess into the desert as well. Me and Master Shen will also be there to control his condition for the time being. Once we find the herb, we must immediately begin treatment.”

“No!” Zhao Litang immediately argued, “You don’t know how dangerous the desert is. If we can’t get out of there, he’ll die anyway, and if all of you die in there too, there won’t even be bones left.”

“Let’s go.”

A somewhat gloomy voice sounded, in a tone that left no room for objections, “We must leave immediately.”

Notes

If one of them were to die, who would it be?