Chapter 146: You’re So Thin, It Makes My Heart Hurt

February 20, 2023Merchie

The small man’s tears continued to flow. He kept saying that his stomach hurt; he was in so much pain that his little face was completely white.

After Shen Huan found out that her little disciple had woken up, she became even more nervous.

Once he woke up, that meant that the pain that had been suppressed earlier would begin to return. She had never experienced this kind of bone-piercing pain herself, so she didn’t know if it was life-threatening or not.

After she went inside, she saw her little disciple leaning against Pei Zheng’s chest, while Pei Zheng appeared to be gently rubbing his belly.

Shen Huan had intended on leaving the room, but she instead walked over to the side of the bed.

The small man’s face was scrunched up, and his forehead was coated in cold sweat. Occasionally, his body would shudder, and he would grip Pei Zheng’s arm.

Pei Zheng looked down, his eyes pinned on the small man’s face. He secretly began to circulate his internal energy, warming him up, before he transferred some of this heat into the small man’s slightly cold body.

“Your injuries still haven’t healed, you can’t use internal energy.”

Pei Zheng’s hand didn’t move, his palm boiling hot, “It’s fine.”

“You say this now, but if no one comes to our aid, you’ll be the first to collapse.”

Shen Huan looked at Pei Zheng and said, “Lord Pei, everyone else is fair game, but we can’t let anything happen to you. This chaotic world still needs you to restore order to it.”

Pei Zheng froze.

Shen Huan continued, “In a bit, I’ll have someone bring over a bowl of hot medicinal soup, he’ll feel a little better after he drinks it. Also, didn’t you say that you had a way to find a blood source? We still have to get out of here alive, and make sure my little disciple is completely cured. It’ll be fine, everything will be fine.”

Shen Huan wasn’t saying these words for Pei Zheng, but rather for herself. At this point in time, they all needed this kind of hope and faith in order to continue holding on.

The person in Pei Zheng’s arms seemed to have stopped trembling; perhaps that terrible pain had subsided for the time being. Pei Zheng withdrew his internal energy from his palm.

The small man panted softly for a bit; the color of his pale face had improved somewhat. He slowly opened his eyes.

When he saw Shen Huan, he stared at her for a while, his gaze slightly dazed, before his eyes shifted away in indifference.

“Disciple, Disciple?”

Shen Huan asked, “Do you… still know who I am?”

Only then did the small man’s gaze flit back to Shen Huan. He shook his head weakly.

Shen Huan’s eyes widened slightly. He really didn’t remember her? Could he have lost his memory again?

But this time, it seemed a bit different.

Shen Huan pointed at Pei Zheng, whom he was leaning against, “What about him? Do you know him?”

The small man tilted his head extremely slowly. He glanced at Pei Zheng, who was in the immediate vicinity. He seemed to mull it over for a long while, before he shook his head.

Shen Huan was about to inquire further, but she was cut off by Pei Zheng.

“Are you tired?”

Pei Zheng asked in a low voice.

“So tired…”

“Then, you should sleep for a little longer, okay?”

The small man nodded.

Pei Zheng gently laid him back onto the bed and tucked the blanket over his body. He waited until the small man had fallen asleep before he and Shen Huan left the room.

“Lord Pei, I think… this time might be different from last time.”

Shen Huan said, “Last time, he lost his memories due to extreme trauma, as well as the head injuries he received after falling off the cliff. That’s what made him forget about what had happened. But this time, I have a feeling his memory loss is temporary. It seems more like he’s lost himself in a certain situation; the moment he regains his senses, maybe… maybe…”

Shen Huan hesitated.

“Maybe he’ll recover his memories of the past.”

Pei Zheng’s tone was slightly cold; he didn’t seem to be too concerned about this.

“Isn’t this exactly what Master Shen wanted? You spent all this effort, wasn’t it all to help him recover his memories?”

“Yes, I’ll admit it, that was my original intent.”

Shen Huan felt that there was no point in hiding the truth, “But I believe that, no matter who it is, once they find out about those things that happened in the past, they won’t want to have anything to do with you. Later, I stopped having those kinds of thoughts.”

But what was the point in saying all this now? Everything had already happened. It didn’t matter if they were willing or not; it was only a matter of time before the small man remembered everything.

They stayed here for two days.

During the second day, the small man wasn’t awake for very long. He didn’t say a word either.

His little face was always so pale. He laid in bed alone, completely spaced out. He looked terribly weak, and fevers were also a common occurrence. Who knew when he would suddenly fall into a coma again.

Today, the small man was rather energetic. The sun shining outside was also bright and beautiful.

Pei Zheng noticed that he was constantly staring out the window, so he walked over and pushed it open.

A ray of golden sunlight shone inside. He could see the clear, watery-blue sky, a few white clouds slowly drifting over it.

The small man’s expression seemed to have gained a bit of liveliness, and he kept his eyes pinned outside the window for a while.

Pei Zheng walked to the side of the bed, and asked softly, “Do you want to go outside and take a look?”

The small man didn’t look at him, nor did he reply. He continued to stare silently at the window.

Pei Zheng helped him sit up. He had been holed up inside for so long, perhaps he needed some fresh air.

The small man didn’t have any strength; he couldn’t even sit up, much less stand properly. When Pei Zheng supported him, all of his body weight was held up by Pei Zheng’s arm.

Pei Zheng simply grabbed the blanket and wrapped him up, turning him over to carry him on his back, allowing him to lie securely over his shoulders. Then, he walked out of the hut.

Under the sun’s glow, the small man’s eyes squinted, but his lips finally curved upward.

A circle of shadow guards surrounded the hut. Shen Huan was also standing at the side, conversing with Cheng Feng, when the two of them spotted the pair as they left the hut.

Shen Huan’s brow furrowed. She was just about to step forward when Cheng Feng stopped her.

“Master Shen, let them go.”

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Shen Huan paused in her footsteps, before she sighed softly in acquiescence.

***

This was Pei Zheng’s second time carrying the small man on his back.

The first time had been on a snowy day, at Liuyun Villa, the night Pei Zheng had been targeted and slandered by everyone.

But now, it was also a time of unhappiness. Perhaps outside this forest, everything had already collapsed into total chaos. They could hide here for the time being, avoiding those disputes, quietly walking along a serene path tucked away in the woods.

The small man on his back had also become quite thin. Beforehand, he had finally gained some weight in the Ghost Valley, but now, it had all been polished off.

Out of every part of his body, only his bottom still had a bit of flesh clinging to it.

Pei Zheng held him in place, “You have to eat more in the future. You’re so thin, it makes my heart hurt.”

The small man didn’t respond.

Pei Zheng halted in his footsteps, He tilted his eyes to glance at him, and saw that the small man had been staring at the path this whole time.

Pei Zheng also looked over, and saw that, on the empty little path, a single flower had bloomed.

It was small and pure white, swaying in the wind.

Pei Zheng set the small man down, before he hugged his waist, helping him stand.

The small man didn’t seem to notice anything else; he was immersed in his own world. He stared unblinkingly at that flower, fascinated.

“Do you like it?”

Pei Zheng asked in his ear.

The small man didn’t say anything, but he nodded lightly.

Pei Zheng supported him as they walked over.

Once they had gotten close enough, the small man squatted down and reached out. His fingertips gently brushed the delicate petals of that little flower.

The flower shook a bit under his touch, and that slender, pale hand shook as well.

The small man suddenly laughed softly and stretched his fingers out to touch the flower again.

Pei Zheng accompanied him, staying at the side, staring at the side of his face.

He was just like that lonely little flower; weak yet tenacious, beautiful yet bleak.

Just as the small man reached out to poke the flower again, Pei Zheng clasped his frigid fingertips.

“All right, it’s time to go back.”

The small man pouted in dissatisfaction. He tried to pull his fingers away and continue prodding the flower, but Pei Zheng wouldn’t let go.

“It’s cold outside, let’s go back inside and warm up, okay?” Pei Zheng brushed a hand through his hair, and noticed that he was still staring at that flower in silence.

“If you like it, once we return to the Imperial City, I’ll give you an entire garden, okay?”

The small man finally reacted a bit. He lifted his eyes and looked at Pei Zheng, but his eyes were full of aggrievement, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red. One could tell at an instant that he didn’t want to go back inside.

Pei Zheng’s heart throbbed painfully, even his fingertips felt numb.

He reached out and stroked the corners of his wide eyes, and said in a low voice, “Then… just a little longer, then we’ll go back.”

The small man nodded and continued to gaze at the flower.

As for how withdrawn the small man was acting, Pei Zheng didn’t know what to do about it. Obviously, taking him back inside to rest would be best for his health.

But the moment the small man’s eyes reddened like they did just now, Pei Zheng was instantly defeated. He could only concede; he’d go with whatever he wanted, as long as the small man could have just a bit of happiness.

They stayed where they were for a little while longer, before the wind started to become stronger and stronger.

They couldn’t stay out here any longer. Pei Zheng lifted the small man onto his back and headed back toward the hut.

The small man laid on Pei Zheng’s back and silently waved goodbye to that little flower.

He would leave it there to continue growing. Once the cold wind passed, there would be warm sunlight and a blooming spring.

But as he neared the hut, he heard the sounds of fighting coming from inside, and saw several groups of foreign guards standing outside.

Pei Zheng suddenly stopped, and calmly took a few steps back.

But it was too late; someone had already spotted the pair on the path.

A group of foreign soldiers immediately rushed toward them, as though they were ready to swallow them both alive.

These soldier were actually Hu Lan’s trusted guards. They had been searching for Pei Zheng and the others ever since Hu Lan’s death.

Cheng Feng stepped forward and blocked their path. After a killing a few of them with a slash of his sword, those soldiers were forced back slightly.

The other shadow guards all had varying levels of injury. Shen Huan was being protected by a few of them; their bodies were splashed in red.

Shen Huan spotted Pei Zheng and her little disciple, and her heart was flooded with anxiety and worry.

As she dodged the arrows and spears flying at her, she yelled in Pei Zheng’s direction.

“Lord Pei! Didn’t you say, you had a plan for this?! We’re going to die here!”

Pei Zheng put the small man down and wrapped him in his robe. Then, he covered his eyes, preventing him from witnessing the bloody scene in front of them.

Cheng Feng threw him a sword, and Pei Zheng reached out and caught it. The tip of the blade stabbed into the ground.

According to his calculations, the Celestial Dynasty’s soldiers should have already broken through the foreign border; how was there still no news of their arrival?

When the hell is Zhao Litang going to show up?!

 

Notes

Oh wowiee, soon, we can finally go back to calling him ‘little prince’ 0v0

Thanks for reading~

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