Tan Hua - Chapter 71

Jun Qiyu dug through the snow, climbing out from the ice and snow while holding Song Liqing.

 

He took a few breaths, looking around.

 

This was a cave, specifically a space resembling a karst cave. The exit was very small, so no matter how fierce the wind was outside, all the cold wind and snow were kept at bay, as if entering another quiet world.

 

Though it wasn’t warm enough to feel like spring, the temperature was much warmer than outside; at least the environment was vastly different from the harshness outside.

 

The surroundings were smooth white stone walls, undoubtedly formed over many years. When Jun Qiyu touched a column, it made a crisp sound, and he was surprised to discover that it wasn’t a stone wall but a jade wall! This meant the entire cave was made of a massive piece of jade.

 

Jun Qiyu carried Song Liqing deeper inside, their shadows cast on the polished jade wall.

 

Before them appeared a jade platform resembling a bed, as smooth as congealed fat. Jun Qiyu had seen countless treasures, but he had never encountered such a large piece of warm jade.

 

“This is the Cold Jade Platform…”

 

Jun Qiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Finding this place meant that the rumors had a grain of truth.

 

Jun Qiyu placed Song Liqing on the Cold Jade Platform.

 

Song Liqing’s face was serene and peaceful, resembling how he looked when he usually slept.

 

Jun Qiyu lingered here for a long time. He had to descend the mountain but was worried about Song Liqing. He feared there might be other dangers here and was concerned that the legend might be false, and by the time he returned, Song Liqing would have turned to bones.

 

Jun Qiyu sat beside the Cold Jade Platform, talking to Song Liqing.

 

“Liqing, I’m going to leave you here. You need to be obedient and wait for me to come back, okay?”

 

“Liqing, will you be scared being all alone here? I’m worried about you.”

 

“I will definitely come back to fetch you.”

 

“Do you remember this? It was a wedding gift from Father. It’s said to be a southern custom, the red bean dice represents endless love. Xiaodi said that our marriage contract has been burned, leaving only this piece of jade. I’ve carried it with me all along.”

 

“Liqing, I must be the worst husband in the world; you won’t find anyone more useless than me.”

 

“I’m placing the jade in your hand, you absolutely must not forget me, alright?”

 

Jun Qiyu grasped Song Liqing’s hand, making him hold the jade.

 

Jun Qiyu leaned down and gently kissed Song Liqing’s forehead.

 

“Liqing, I’m sorry.”

 

After struggling for a whole day, Jun Qiyu finally chewed a piece of jerky, swallowing it down with some snowmelt to regain some strength, before deciding to descend the mountain.

 

—

 

Seven days later, in the eastern desert of the Loulan Kingdom, Pei Xingxu stood in front of the bookshelf, flipping through ancient texts, searching for any information about blood cistanche.

 

However, only two instances had ever been recorded, so the documentation was scarce.

 

Pei Xingxu sat down despondently on the ground, leaning against the bookshelf.

 

The royal family of Loulan had been cursed with blood deficiency syndrome for generations; regardless of gender, they rarely lived long. Except for one ancestor who consumed blood cistanche and lived to a natural death, the others generally lived only four to five decades, or faced early death.

 

His father passed away at forty-five, which was already considered long-lived; he could have lived longer, but he had used the world’s only blood cistanche pills to save Pei Xingxu, who had already suffered from blood deficiency syndrome.

 

Because he was the only hope for the continuation of the Loulan royal lineage.

 

However, those pills had been entirely consumed to save Song Liqing.

 

Thinking of Song Liqing made Pei Xingxu anxious.

 

He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed violently a few times, revealing bloodstains when he pulled it away.

 

Pei Xingxu squeezed the handkerchief tightly.

 

“Father, I feel guilty towards you, guilty towards my ancestors, guilty towards the people of Loulan… Once I die, Loulan will be in dire straits, the country will fall apart, and Jing Kingdom will not sit idly by, surely it will absorb us. Soon, Loulan will no longer exist! The foundation built over hundreds of years might be destroyed by my hands… cough, cough—”

 

“But… I have no regrets! If I had to choose again, I would still do the same.”

 

Pei Xingxu thought of that seemingly cold and unapproachable person, who was actually gentle and kind; he could never let go.

 

The love in his heart was matched by an equal amount of unresolved feelings.

 

When Jun Qiyu came to Loulan to search for Song Liqing, Pei Xingxu didn’t forcibly stop them from meeting.

 

When Jun Qiyu abducted Song Liqing, he chose to withdraw his troops.

 

He had no choice but to let go.

 

Because his blood deficiency syndrome had relapsed, he knew he could not escape the fate that had been passed down for generations. If anyone in the world could save Song Liqing, it could only be Jun Qiyu.

 

The door to the library was pushed open, and a servant rushed in in a panic.

 

“Your Highness, he… he insisted on barging in.”

 

Pei Xingxu looked closely at the visitor, his gaze sharpening.

 

It was Jun Qiyu.

 

But Jun Qiyu’s brocade robe and cloak were already tattered. His face was weathered, and he had grown a stubbly beard at his temples; the arrogant and overbearing demeanor that once characterized him had disappeared, and he looked like a beaten, undignified beggar.

 

What surprised Pei Xingxu the most was that his eyes were covered with cloth strips, and he held a stick as a substitute for a cane.

 

Pei Xingxu looked behind Jun Qiyu.

 

He had come alone.

 

All by himself.

 

Pei Xingxu’s heart suddenly sank. He struggled to ask a question he already knew the answer to.

 

“How could it be just you… Where’s Liqing?”

 

Jun Qiyu’s lips moved, but he didn’t answer.

 

Pei Xingxu stood up and lunged at Jun Qiyu, seizing his collar and yanking hard.

 

“I ask you! Where is Liqing?! Where is he?!”

 

Jun Qiyu was pulled and staggered but did not resist.

 

“Speak! Jun Qiyu!” Pei Xingxu shouted angrily. “You took him away, but you come back alone… You come back alone! How dare you show your face here?! The one who should die in the desert is you!”

 

After Pei Xingxu’s voice grew hoarse, he took a step back to cough, suddenly covering his mouth with a handkerchief and spitting out a small mouthful of blood.

 

Ignoring the blood on his lips, he glared at Jun Qiyu with hatred, then swung his fist fiercely.

 

This was the first time Pei Xingxu had been so furious that he took the initiative to hit someone.

 

Jun Qiyu was unprepared for the attack, and he fell backward. Pei Xingxu didn’t stop; he rushed forward and landed several punches, causing Jun Qiyu’s cheeks to bruise and his mouth to bleed.

 

“Hit! Hit hard!”

 

Jun Qiyu finally spoke.

 

The veins on his forehead bulged, but he was not angry with Pei Xingxu; he was angry with himself.

 

Jun Qiyu’s throat bobbed.

 

“He… he lost his breath and heartbeat in my arms…”

 

That feeling of despair was something Jun Qiyu didn’t dare to think about; just recalling it made his chest feel as if it were suffocating.

 

“I really want to kill you with one sword! Jun Qiyu!” Pei Xingxu cursed without regard for his own discomfort. “Why is there a person like you in this world? Liqing never enjoyed a single day of what a prince consort should have while being with you! He suffers from blood deficiency syndrome all because of you! Can’t you see he’s gravely ill? He suffered because of you until the end! Aren’t you strong? Aren’t you overbearing? Go and bring him back from the hands of Yama!”

 

In these days, Jun Qiyu had descended from the divine mountain, his eyes injured by ice shards, wandering alone through the desert in a daze, without anyone speaking to him.

 

He was in pain, enduring, as if he were a walking corpse.

 

As Pei Xingxu swung his fists at him, the pain jolted Jun Qiyu awake, making him feel alive.

 

The extreme, suppressed pain finally found an outlet.

 

“Jun Qiyu, I told you at the time that searching for blood cistanche is not something one person can do! Now you dare to come back alone?! Where did you leave him?! I want to find him!”

 

“He’s at the Cold Jade Platform on the top of the divine mountain, hanging by a thread with medicine. If I can find blood cistanche, perhaps… perhaps he can live.”

 

Pei Xingxu was taken aback for a moment; the phrase “a thread of hope” at least gave him a glimmer of light.

 

He had heard of the legends of the divine mountain, but their authenticity was unverifiable.

 

“You… just left him there alone? You believe in such illusory things?!”

 

“What can I do?” Jun Qiyu’s lips trembled. “Tell me, what can I do?”

 

Pei Xingxu clenched his fists until they creaked, but he could only weakly release them.

 

Jun Qiyu stood up from the ground, picking up the stick.

 

“I will return to Jing Kingdom and order all the Northwest Army to search for blood cistanche. If that doesn’t work, I’ll send more people!”

 

Jun Qiyu turned and walked away step by step.

 

Pei Xingxu stared blankly at his retreating figure, tears mingling with blood, filling his mouth with a salty, metallic taste.

 

—

 

The Crown Prince of Jing Kingdom returned to the capital from the Northwest.

 

He did not bring back the princess he had searched for so long, and no one knew what had happened in the Northwest; they only knew that the Crown Prince of Jing Kingdom came back injured, nearly losing his sight.

 

For a Crown Prince, eyes were extremely important, so the entire imperial hospital surrounded Jun Qiyu, treating him for half a month.

 

Before Jun Qiyu’s eyes had fully healed, he stubbornly insisted on returning to the Northwest. The Xuan Emperor could not persuade him and simply let him be.

 

Jun Qiyu left during the Lantern Festival.

 

Lanterns decorated the capital, celebrating the start of the new year.

 

In Jun Qiyu’s carriage was an additional passenger, Xiao Di, Song Liqing’s former personal maid.

 

Xiao Di was young and had never left the capital, feeling anxious the whole way.

 

“Your Highness, why not wait until the Lantern Festival is over before going to the Western Regions?”

 

Jun Qiyu’s vision was impaired; the lanterns on the streets appeared as blurred shadows. He lowered the carriage curtain.

 

“I can’t bear to look at these red festive things; they always remind me of him.”

 

His tone was calm, but the sentiment ran deep.

 

“Why bring me along?” Xiao Di said nervously. “I’ve never left home to go so far.”

 

“He’s used to your service and considers you a confidante. If he returns one day, I hope you’ll be by his side.” Jun Qiyu paused and then spoke softly, “Did Liqing ever tell you anything in private? Can you share it with me?”

 

A bitter taste surged in Jun Qiyu’s heart.

 

With the person gone, he was only now starting to learn about Song Liqing.

 

Xiao Di, naive, replied, “He talked about a lot of things. What does Your Highness want to hear?”

 

“I want to hear… about me.” Jun Qiyu licked his chapped lips. “Did he ever say I had a bad temper? That I was impulsive and easily angered, or that I was uneducated? Did he ever say he hated me or scolded me?”

 

“No.”

 

Xiao Di denied it.

 

“The Young Master never said a single bad word about you.”

 

Jun Qiyu broke down in tears.