CH 7

Chu Mingyun lets go of Su Shiyu. Raising a hand, he pulls the arrow out and casts it aside. His face turns pale but other than his eyebrows knitting themselves tightly together, he didn’t budge. Chu Mingyun glances at the spreading bloodstain on his shoulder. “Still manageable. The arrow isn’t poisoned.” He seals his acupoint to stop the bleeding, then lets out a long sigh and speaks faintly: “It seems like words like these cannot simply be said. I’ve just said that I could take it even with flesh and blood; couldn’t have guessed that at this moment, I truly did have to shield you with my flesh and blood.”

“However, since there is a mechanism, at the very least it proves this is the right path.” Chu Mingyun, in dead silence, glances at his side where arrows had pierced into the ground. He suddenly realizes that he had been speaking for half a day, yet Su Shiyu had not even answered him once, and so, he glances over curiously.

Su Shiyu withdraws his sight from the mechanism, once again stepping onto the sunken stone platform. He raises a hand, wanting to touch the oil lamp. Chu Mingyun grabs his hand and pulls him back with a few hints of fury: “Are you still going to touch it?”

Su Shiyu gives him a complicated look before lightly prying his hand away. After a moment of thought, he pulls Chu Mingyun in front of him. Su Shiyu carefully avoids the wound on Chu Mingyun’s shoulder, using his own body to protect him entirely. His palm falls on Chu Mingyun’s uninjured shoulder, then gently says, “Relax.”

For a moment, Chu Mingyun could not tell whether Su Shiyu’s‘relax’ meant that he would shield Chu Mingyun from the arrows, or that he had an inkling as to where they’re heading.

On the other side, no one stops Su Shiyu from grabbing the bronze oil lamp again. Using a little strength, Su Shiyu slowly turns the oil lamp and with a dull clicking, the mechanism on both sides of the wall flips upwards. With another click, the road ahead reveals another narrow path.

Su Shiyu takes a step back and asks Chu Mingyun, “How is the wound on your shoulder?”

Chu Mingyun coldly snickers. “Still alive.”

Su Shiyu presses no further. He turns around to look ahead. “According to Your Excellency Chu, where should we go?”

Chu Mingyun walks forward to pluck an arrow out of the ground, inspecting its arrowhead. “Don’t know.”

Su Shiyu sighs and helplessly says, “Your Excellency Chu……”

Chu Mingyun abruptly casts the arrow out, and as it flies through the air with force, it pierces deep into the wall at a junction. “We will know after asking,” he tells Su Shiyu, then look at the chilly junction, “Come out.”

There is a rustling at the junction and suddenly, a black shadow appears. The incoming person rushes at them with the speed of light, leaving a trail like a ghostly image. Chu Mingyun remains in his position. When the enemy reaches him, Chu Mingyun raises his hand and parries  the attack with one swift move, grabbing the attacker’s neck and locking him in a death grip against the wall.

Su Shiyu had originally been standing there watching, until he sees Chu Mingyun’s retaliation.Su Shiyu’s irises contract; he cants his head to the side to close his eyes, as if he is holding something back, before opening his eyes again. His gaze returns to that faint little smile he usually carries.

The person who came is obviously one of the patrolling guards from earlier, for his face still carries a green tint from being poisoned. Choked by Chu Mingyun, his breathing is labored and a few shades of pink are now on his face. From the looks of it, it does look quite frightening. The guard’s martial skills are only above average; he seemed to not have been heavily poisoned and was seeking an escape. Taking advantage of the chaos in those flying arrows, he had followed them from behind and even thought that he wouldn’t be found out.

“Know the way?” Chu Mingyun asks.

The guard glares at him with a reddened face.

“Tch.” Chu Mingyun tightens his grip harder and coldly laughs. “Couldn’t have guessed this is a man who doesn’t value his life, so in this case I will make myself at home.”

“Your Excellency Chu.” Su Shiyu squeezes his arm.

“Hm?” Chu Mingyun turns his head to the side to give Su Shiyu a glance.

“There is no need for brute force when one’s goal can be achieved through talking.”

Chu Mingyun casually smiles and releases the guard, letting him fall to the ground. “Then you have a go.”

The guard coughs bitterly as he holds his neck, glaring at the white-robed man in front of him with both suspicion and fear. Yet all he hears is Su Shiyu gently saying, “If you did not value your life, then you wouldn’t have held on and escaped here. Since you want to leave alive, why don’t we make a deal? If you can lead us out then we will spare your life. How about it?”

Theguard glares at Su Shiyu’s gentle eyes. He didn’t forget that this is the person who released the poison, and so hoarsely asks him, “Why should I trust you?”

Su Shiyu withdraws his expression to ponder over it for a while, then takes out an azure-coloured ceramic bottle from his sleeves and hands it over to him, smiling. “You lead the way, and since you don’t trust us, let us trust you instead.” He puts the bottle into the guard’s hand, his fingers warm. “Take this.”

The guard holds the medicinal bottle in his hand and ponders over it for a long time before gritting his teeth. “Deal.”

Chu Mingyun expressionlessly crosses his arms  as he watches Su Shiyu turn around. “Let us go,” says Su Shiyu, reaching out to help him.

Chu Mingyun raises a brow and teases. “You want to help me out?” He looks at Su Shiyu. “Then why don’t you just carry me?”

Su Shiyu glowers at him, then reaches out over his shoulder, bending his body as if he really wants to carry him. Chu Mingyun immediately presses his hand down, the previously brimming temper in him all gone at once, finding it funny as he says, “All right. I was just pulling your leg. How would I be so fragile?”

“Are you really all right?” Su Shiyu inspects his expression meticulously, yet isn’t able to tell anything from it.

Chu Mingyun waves his hand casually and approaches the guard, who watches their conversation with a conflicting expression. Su Shiyu takes up the rear, and after confirming that Chu Mingyun can walk perfectly fine, he relaxes.

The guard leads them back the way they had come from. Chi Mingyun inquires about the purpose of that narrow road revealed by the mechanism, but the guard concentrates only on leading them forward, refusing to open his mouth.

After a few turns, the patrolling guard brings them to a stone room. There is no other way out of the room. Chu Mingyun raises his brows and asks, “Another mechanism?”

The guard gives him a look before hastily turning away. “Yes.” He retreats behind Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu, searching the stone wall for half a day until he finds a copper ring. The guard lifts his eyes, and just as he meets Su Shiyu’s smiling gaze, he’s stunned. Suppressing his panic as he lowers his head, he uses all his strength to turn the copper ring before turning around and running in the direction they came from.

Even if that man could be trusted, but with that blue-robed man’s martial arts and fickle temper, he is just an ant to him, so how could he guarantee his own safety? As the copper ring behind him rings loudly, he sprints quicker, not daring to look back.

The door of the stone room suddenly closes.

Chu Mingyun’s palm lashes the second the door shuts. The force from his move hits the thick stone door squarely, but despite the door vibrating fiercely, it is still intact when the dust settles.

“Tch.” Chu Mingyun angrily lowers his hand and turns around to look at Su Shiyu, then recalls that this man doesn’t have any expressions other than the smile he always carries. He sits down against the wall, smiling mockingly and says, “Couldn’t have thought that His Excellency Su would make a wrong judgement, and that person has instead managed to have his life spared.”

Su Shiyu raises his head to survey the roof. After hearing those words, he doesn’t even turn his head as he answers, “Being locked up here, we will starve to death in three days. As for him, the poison will kill him after a period of three cups of tea.”

“Didn’t you give him the antidote?” Chu Mingyun asks.

“Why would I carry the antidote on me?” Su Shiyu curiously looks at him as the smile on his lips deepens. “I simply gave him the poison I have left to prove that I will not attack again. It’s a pity he thought too highly of himself and forfeit his only chance to live.”

“This is your so-called trust?” Chu Mingyun asks, raising a brow..

“I never said that was the antidote.” Su Shiyu lightly laughs and says unperturbed, “But I truly am not skilled in trusting others; instead, I find what I see and hear myself more trustworthy.”

Chu Mingyun sits in the shadow of the candlelight, squinting as he coldly studies the silhouette of the person close to him. “As expected of the kind, gentle, and modest Su Shiyu, who is praised by the people of the mortal world.”

“You are flattering me.” His response is plain, and he turns his gaze back to the smooth walls of stone.

The attack just now pulled on his injury, and biting pain surges up his shoulder. Chu Mingyun lets out a frustrated breath, raising his hand to seal the acupoint on his shoulder again, forcibly stopping the bleeding before he gives a half-smile. “If we really die in this place, presumably we wouldn’t even be found after decades have passed. Having someone with a face like Your Excellency Su’s for company wouldn’t be too bad. Perhaps they might even bury both of us together once they found our bones.”

“I’ll pass.” Su Shiyu walks close to a stone wall. Reaching out a hand, he knocks on the wall and feels around it. “With Your Excellency Chu’s conduct, it will surely be crowded before you are buried. My humble person doesn’t wish to get involved, otherwise one would not be granted peace even after arriving in the Yellow Spring (the Afterlife).” His actions pause momentarily and he suddenly smiles. “Truly, this stone room is a disguise; even the walls are hollow. There are more paths behind it. After you’ve rested enough, get up. We should be leaving.”

“Wait a little longer. I can’t move.” Chu Mingyun’s voice is a little hoarse.

Su Shiyu halts. He turns around kneeling by Chu Mingyun’s side to see his face has gone ash white, making his originally outstanding eyebrows even more conspicuous.

Chu Mingyun watches as Su Shiyu undoes his own outer robes and couldn’t help teasing: “Is Your Excellency Su trying to take advantage of me now?”

Su Shiyu doesn’t look at him. He tears a piece of cloth off the sleeve of his inner robe, preparing to wrap Chu Mingyun’s wound, but after a moment of thought he explains, “The incense I usually use are all Nerve-Soothing Incense. They would have a bit of use in easing the pain.” 

“Your Excellency Su, you’re a cut-sleeve now.” Chu Mingyun gives a slow laugh. “Now that you’ve given me clothes that you’ve worn close to your own body, it’s considered that we have skin contact. Presently, my innocence has perished. Is Your Excellency Su going to take responsibility for it?”

Su Shiyu couldn’t help looking at what expression Chu Mingyun uses to say such things as “My innocence”, then lowers his head to glare at the spreading red spot on Chu Mingyun’s robe, dyed by blood. “If Your Excellency Chu utters more nonsense, I fear that the time for me to take responsibility for you will never arrive.”

Only now does Su Shiyu see clearly where the arrow had pierced. It is even deeper than he first thought, practically into the bone. It’s unknown from where Chu Mingyun found the strength to joke. Su Shiyu ponders over it for a while before speaking softly: “There was no need for you to take that arrow for me.”

Chu Mingyun leans against the icy-cold walls on his back and allows Su Shiyu to wrap him up as he pleases. When Su Shiyu leans in close, Chu Mingyun could smell the faint scent of his incense, dissimilar from the usual Nerve-Soothing Incense. There is a mild warmth to the scent, and once inhaled, the pain did indeed fade. He looks at Su Shiyu’s lowered gaze, at the shadows of his eyelashes that fall upon his cheeks, and curls up his lips to say gently, “Didn’t I confess my feelings to you just recently? How the entire capital knows that I am yearning for you, yet you are so quick to forget?”

There is some faint amusement on Su Shiyu’s face. “There are only the two of us here now; there is no need to pretend. You and I shared the same court for many years, and for so long we had nothing to talk about outside of court, while in court we have many conflicting opinions. I know very well a few times I stood in your way, and if you could still fall deeply in love with me after that, unless…..” He tries to pry open Chu Mingyun’s lapels, his eyebrows furrowing. “The blood sticking to your clothes has dried up; it might hurt a little.”

“Unless what?” Chu Mingyun insists, feeling a little interested.

“Unless you really are sick.”

Chu Mingyun lightly coos, pitching his voice low, “Lovesickness.”

Su Shiyu stares at him, pleasure surfacing in his eyes. “Grit your teeth.”

“Hm?”

“Zsst!” The sound of cotton being torn open. A sheet of crimson red spreads over Chu Mingyun’s bare shoulder.

Dead silence in the room until Su Shiyu finishes wrapping him up and readjusts his clothes. Only then Chu Mingyun slowly cups his shoulder and speaks in a hoarse voice: “……Couldn’t you have been gentler? ……Was there a need to be so vengeful?”

Su Shiyu’s mood seems to have brightened a lot. He raises his hand to wipe the sweat off his temples, gently speaking with a smile in his eyes, “What did you say just now? I couldn’t hear it clearly.”

Author’s Notes:

Retaliation from a kind, gentle and humble gentleman =o=