Tan Hua - Chapter 66

“Jun Qiyu.”

 

Song Liqing’s voice was already hoarse, nearly drowned out by the wind. Jun Qiyu leaned in closer, looking at his gaunt, sharply defined face.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Leave.”

 

“What?”

 

Song Liqing softened.

 

It wasn’t for Jun Qiyu’s sake, but for the sake of his identity as the Crown Prince of Jing. He was the future of the Jing Kingdom, the future emperor of its people. If the Jing Kingdom were left without an heir, chaos would ensue, with wars breaking out everywhere, leaving the people in misery.

 

“Go, leave me behind,” Song Liqing repeated.

 

Jun Qiyu’s eyes darkened. “You…”

 

“I don’t pity you,” Song Liqing clarified. “I only pity the people of this world.”

 

Jun Qiyu understood what he meant.

 

“Without you, I won’t be able to become a wise ruler. Liqing, come back to Jing with me, alive,” Jun Qiyu said, his words full of emotion.

 

Song Liqing’s eyes were dry. He stared blankly ahead, saying, “I can’t help you anymore. My eyesight is gone, and I have no will to live. There’s no way we’ll find the cistanche. What’s the point of saying any of this?”

 

“Don’t say such despairing things! I’ve already… already left you behind once. I will never do that again!”

 

Jun Qiyu’s eyes reddened with urgency. He bent down in front of Song Liqing.

 

“Let’s go! I’ll get you out of here.”

 

Song Liqing, weak and frail, lay on Jun Qiyu’s back. Jun Qiyu’s back was broad and strong, not the frame of a young boy, but one capable of carrying burdens.

 

Song Liqing was now skin and bones. In the past, Jun Qiyu wouldn’t have felt the weight of carrying him at all, but now he was starving. His feet sank into the soft, collapsing sand, and he stumbled. After steadying himself, he took a slow second step.

 

Half asleep and half awake, Song Liqing’s mind was clouded. He only felt the cold wind. Only the side of him pressed against Jun Qiyu’s body was warm, while the rest of him was being invaded inch by inch by the endless cold.

 

“Jun Qiyu, how many days have we been in the desert? Have you kept count?” Song Liqing asked, his voice close to Jun Qiyu’s ear, using the conversation to stay awake.

 

“Nine days.”

 

“Oh, only nine days…” Song Liqing said wearily. “Why does it feel like a lifetime? So long.”

 

Jun Qiyu responded, “The days ahead will be even longer. We’ll have so many more nines to go through. A lifetime is a very long time, and you should be happy. Don’t be afraid, your eye condition can be treated. And if not, I’ll be your eyes from now on. Wherever you go, I’ll carry you just like this. How does that sound?”

 

Talking like this seemed to give them both a little more strength to support each other.

 

“No.”

 

Song Liqing whispered these two words, and Jun Qiyu felt something cold on his neck.

 

It was two tears from Song Liqing.

 

They were the crystallization of all his past sorrows and the regrets that Jun Qiyu would never be able to amend.

 

Jun Qiyu’s voice was hoarse. “Liqing… can you call me Qiyu? Like you used to…”

 

Song Liqing didn’t answer.

 

“Liqing.”

 

Jun Qiyu stopped walking.

 

“Liqing!”

 

He held Song Liqing close. Song Liqing’s eyes had already closed, his breath faint, and his pulse growing weaker.

 

Jun Qiyu hurriedly removed the water pouch from his waist, bringing it to Song Liqing’s lips, but the pouch was empty—there wasn’t even a drop of horse blood left.

 

Jun Qiyu’s eyes turned red. In this desperate situation, he had no other options left.

 

“Liqing, if we don’t make it out of this desert, I’ll die before you. I’ll go to the afterlife first.”

 

After saying that, Jun Qiyu calmly lifted his wrist and made a cut with his knife.

 

Thick blood dripped onto Song Liqing’s lips. His only response was an instinctive swallowing. Jun Qiyu felt dizzy, but after a while, Song Liqing’s breathing and pulse steadied.

 

Jun Qiyu tore a strip of cloth from his clothes, wrapping his wounded wrist, then resolutely hoisted Song Liqing back onto his back and continued forward.

 

The sun hung low on the horizon, casting their lone shadows across the sand dunes.

 

Jun Qiyu saw several suns before him, their halos making him even more dizzy. His ears rang from the wind, and every step forward became agonizingly difficult.

 

“Liqing…”

 

That name was the only thing sustaining his will.

 

Jun Qiyu couldn’t move his legs anymore. His knees buckled, and he fell into the sand.

 

With the last of his strength, he cradled Song Liqing in his arms, and then the world turned dark.

 

**The Sun Set into the Ground, and Night Enveloped Them.**

 

…

 

“Liqing!”

 

When Jun Qiyu next heard a voice, his whole body trembled, and he suddenly lurched forward, but he found that he couldn’t move.

 

His hands and feet were bound tightly, his whole body tied up.

 

In front of him was a group of camels forming a circle. It was the band of desert robbers Jun Qiyu had encountered. The camels stood on the outer perimeter, shielding them from the wind and sand. In the middle, a bonfire crackled, and the robbers were roasting meat and drinking around it.

 

Jun Qiyu’s eyes quickly scanned for Song Liqing, who was also tied up, lying silently nearby.

 

“Liqing!”

 

Jun Qiyu called out urgently, drawing the attention of the robbers.

 

They exchanged a few words in the Western Region language, and the young leader stood up, walking toward Jun Qiyu.

 

Jun Qiyu looked at the blue-eyed youth, delicate in appearance. He seemed familiar, but Jun Qiyu couldn’t remember where they’d met before. Blue eyes were a symbol of nobility among the Westerners, so how could he be a bandit? Jun Qiyu couldn’t figure it out.

 

The bandit leader tapped Jun Qiyu’s face with the knife he used for cutting meat, letting out a laugh, as if Jun Qiyu were meat on his plate.

 

Jun Qiyu had never suffered such humiliation in his life. He glared at the leader, his gaze sharp as a blade.

 

The leader laughed loudly, then kicked Jun Qiyu in the chest, knocking him over. Unsatisfied, he stomped on Jun Qiyu’s head, boasting in his native language.

 

Jun Qiyu, having lived in the northwest for a long time and dealt frequently with foreigners, had always harbored the pride of the Crown Prince of Jing. He had never bothered to learn the obscure and difficult Western Region language, but he had picked up bits and pieces through exposure.

 

He understood what the bandit leader was saying.

 

“Beast from the Central Plains!”

 

The other bandits joined in with mocking laughter, and one rough-looking man even spat on Jun Qiyu.

 

The people of the Western Region mostly hated the Jing Kingdom because it was too powerful. Jun Qiyu had led the northwest army in countless campaigns, conquering numerous small nations and tribes, annexing their territories.

 

After some celebration, the bandits ignored Jun Qiyu.

 

The leader walked over to Song Liqing, perhaps because he was unconscious and didn’t make for much fun, so he ordered his men to give him camel’s milk. Song Liqing slowly opened his eyes.

 

Jun Qiyu let out a sigh of relief.

 

He had regained some strength, and the hunger in his stomach had lessened somewhat. Clearly, the bandits had given him some food to keep him alive.

 

The leader lifted Song Liqing’s chin with a small knife.

 

“This is the Crown Princess of Jing? She really is quite beautiful.”

 

Jun Qiyu’s brows furrowed slightly. How did they know about Song Liqing?

 

The bandits began to jeer, “How can a man be the Crown Prince’s consort? Is he a man or a woman?”

 

“He doesn’t have a chest, so he must be a man.”

 

Jun Qiyu was seething with rage. These savages were making filthy remarks about Song Liqing!

 

Compared to the rough-looking Westerners, Central Plains people looked unfamiliar to them, and Song Liqing’s delicate features blurred the line between genders in their eyes.

 

The bandit leader suddenly laughed and asked, “You’re so curious. Why don’t we strip him and find out?”

 

Jun Qiyu only half-understood the words, but when the bandits eagerly surrounded Song Liqing and crudely ripped off his outer robe, he knew exactly what they were about to do.

 

“Stop!”

 

Jun Qiyu could no longer bear it and shouted in the Western Region language.

 

It was the first time he had spoken the barbarian tongue, and the sense of shame no longer mattered.

 

The bandit leader looked at him. “So, the Crown Prince of Jing can speak our language, huh?”

 

Jun Qiyu grew even more alert.

 

He had no friends in the Western Region, only enemies. Since this person recognized him, they were undoubtedly his foe.

 

The leader’s smile was full of cunning.

 

“Brothers, what do you think the Crown Prince of Jing will do if we strip his consort in front of him?”

 

The bandits howled and laughed as they groped Song Liqing.

 

Song Liqing, unaware of what was happening, only felt numerous hands tearing at him. His eyes were filled with fear.

 

“Liqing!”

 

Jun Qiyu’s eyes nearly burst with fury.

 

Song Liqing’s thin inner garment was torn to shreds, his shoulders exposed. He had no strength left, curling into a ball, his face streaked with tears.

 

“Stop! Stop!”

 

Jun Qiyu roared several times, and only then did the bandit leader gesture for his men to cease.

 

“The mighty Crown Prince of Jing—have you ever imagined becoming a prisoner? Your blade has slaughtered our people, stolen our women, and seized our land. One day, you’d face retribution… and now, your man will cleanse our humiliation.”

 

Jun Qiyu didn’t fully understand, but from the hatred in the leader’s eyes, he could tell they sought revenge through this humiliation.

 

“Stop!” Jun Qiyu struggled to speak in their language. “Don’t touch him… I’ll compensate you. What do you want? Gold? Silver?… Even land. I can return it to you.”

 

The bandits exchanged glances, clearly tempted.

 

“Don’t believe him!” the leader shouted. “This man is the devil, and these are his lies!”

 

“I swear, as long as you don’t harm him, I’ll give you anything in return!” Jun Qiyu shouted.

 

“Anything…”

 

The leader thought for a moment, then revealed a playful smile.

 

“Anything?”

 

“Anything,” Jun Qiyu said firmly.

 

The leader stood in front of Jun Qiyu, pinching his chin in thought.

 

“Then kneel,” the leader said.

 

“What?!”

 

Jun Qiyu’s expression changed.

 

The leader sneered arrogantly, “You understand. Kneel, and bow to us.”

 

Jun Qiyu’s pupils constricted. He was the Crown Prince of Jing, second only to one! His knees had only ever bowed to his parents; no one in the world could make him kneel!

 

And yet before him were the very barbarians he had once despised, now a band of roving outlaws!

 

**Author’s note:**

*What goes around, comes around…*