His touch drew her contempt as a thought echoed blatantly in her mind, she wasn’t the one in his heart!
Startled by this sudden thought, Xuanji wondered how she knew the person in his heart wasn’t her.
“Is this all you know how to do? Bully me like this?” Xuanji asked.
Entranced by the softness of her figure, Long Fei Li had not been thinking straight. Upon hearing her voice, he came to his senses and looked at her.
Her eyes were tinged red, brimming with tears….. What was he doing, he thought to himself. She was still injured. She must detest him even more now than she already did.
Slowly, his grip on her loosened.
The moment she was free, she grabbed at her torn clothes and retreated to the head of the bed. She was trembling, her eyes full of apprehension as she stared at him warily.
“Xiao Qi,” he whispered, inching closer cautiously.
“From the looks of it, you must have many women who admire you already, so leave me alone!” Xuanji shouted.
Long Fei Li was taken aback, but suddenly a faint sense of joy rose in his heart as he thought, was that a hint of jealousy in her voice? Though she lost her memory, was she jealous of his concubines back in the palace as he was jealous of Lin Sheng?
“I don’t like them. I…” Gritting his teeth, he whispered faintly, “I only like you.”
Spoken with caution, there was a hint of flattery from the tone of his voice.
Xuanji had not expected to hear such words and was momentarily speechless. She could only stare at him as he tilted his head to the side, appearing as if he had said something that should not have been said.
As she was caught off guard, Long Fei Li motioned towards her, placing his arms around her.
“Don’t touch me! I know the person in your heart isn’t me. I know so you don’t have to lie to me,” Xuanji angrily yelled.
As she realized what she had just said, Xuanji was taken aback by her abrupt outburst, wondering what she was even talking about.
Pressing her head against his chest, Long Fei Li said in a hoarse voice, “Xiao Qi, if I didn’t have you in my heart, I wouldn’t have chased you all the way here. You may not know but the moment I saw you fall off that cliff, I….”
Covering her ears, Xuanji said, “I don’t want to hear it. It doesn’t matter whether you like me or not because I don’t like you. I just want to find Lin Sheng.”
Long Fei Li clenched his jaw tightly as the anger that had been kept at bay abruptly surged once more. He thought, if he were to find out who Lin Sheng was, he would have him killed immediately! In any case, he had countless people secretly killed before. He had never been a man of honor, for him to sit steadily on the throne till now, his hands had long been drowned in blood.
“Who is Lin Sheng?” Long Fei Li asked, his voice audibly tight.
Frowning, Xuanji replied, “Didn’t I already tell you that I don’t remember? He’s probably my husband. I have to find him. As long as I find him, I will remember.”
That was how it usually unfolded in those dramas on TV, she wanted to say but for some unknown reason, she felt those words were inappropriate for him to hear. In the next instant, her head began to ache again and she couldn’t help but jab at his arm with her fist.
She wants to go look for him? When Long Fei Li heard this, he immediately became furious but seeing her face scrunch up in pain, he instantly pulled her out of his arms and asked, “The injury is still painful?”
Doctor Gong had only applied a few herbs to her injury. Thinking of this, Long Fei Li’s heart felt heavy and dull. She was his woman, worthy of only the most precious of things in the world yet he could only rely on these things to heal her injury.
“Xiao Qi, be good and bear with it. I don’t feel reassured leaving you here alone at night so I will head out at once tomorrow morning,” Long Fei Li said as he placed a soft kiss on her lips and gently caressed her back.
When his father was still alive, he would often question him on his studies and Long Fei Li had always been able to answer promptly. Over the years, his mind and speech had only grown sharper but when it comes to comforting her, he only knew of these few words which he kept repeating back and forth.
Though the pain was hard to bear, Xuanji had a sudden idea when she heard he was heading out tomorrow. Once he was gone, she would have the opportunity to run away. She didn’t know why but she didn’t want to stay with him. Something within her told her she must leave and she shouldn’t let him find out no matter what.
“You’re really heading out tomorrow?” she lightly asked as she pulled away from him to sit up.
Hearing the gentle tone of her voice, Long Fei Li was delighted and replied, “I’ll head out early tomorrow morning and will return to pick you up. We’ll return home and I’ll have someone with excellent medical skills come treat you. You will recover in no time. Whatever you desire, I will give you.”
The arrogance of this man! Xuanji thought disapprovingly as she muttered, “As if you’re really the emperor.”
The corner of Long Fei Li’s lips involuntarily raised as he found joy in listening to the lively and carefree tone of her voice, making him think she ought to be more lively and happy in the future.
Long Fei Li whispered, “Xiao Qi, I won’t let anyone hurt you in the future. Whoever dares to disrespect you or not treat you well, I will have them killed.”
Xuanji thought for a moment and coldly said, “Then you should kill youself first. I think you must not have treated me very well. I must’ve hated you before.”
His breathing stilled. Gazing at her, he said in a solemn voice, “Yes you’re right, I didn’t treat you well enough before. Even when you acted the way you did on the cliff, I had only thought you were lashing out because of your temper.”
She was the only person in the world that would treat him this way, Long Fei Li thought.
He had once thought of killing her because of Ruyi, yet in order to save Ruyi she had been willing to die with Murong Lin.
If he had not jumped after her, she would not have been able to bear the impact of such a fall from such a height. He had employed his internal force against the rocks to slow their descent.
Thinking of what could’ve happened, a trace of fear arose. He placed his arms around her, beneath her arms as to avoid the injury on her shoulder and held her tightly, whispering in a faint voice, “I’m sorry.”
His lips were right by her ear, his words clearly spoken. Xuanji couldn’t help the bitterness that arose within her, listening to his apology. This feeling made her uncomfortable and she wanted it to stop. She motioned to pull away from him when a sudden knock on the door issued.
Long Fei Li pulled the blanket up to cover Xuanji, whose clothes were torn, before he carefully went to answer the door.
At the door was Song Ni, the daughter of the Village Chief.
Cheeks tinged red, Song Ni said, “Young Master Long, my father sent me to bring over some food for you and your wife.”
“Thank you for your troubles, Miss,” Long Fei Li said.
Entering the room, Song Ni was startled by the sight of Xuanji whose tears had not completely dried. She came over to the bed and tried to make conversation with Xuanji but she would continue to glance at Long Fei Li from the corner of her eyes. Though Xuanji had lost her memory, she was not foolish and couldn’t help but silently laugh at what she was seeing.