When Duan Xu opened his eyes, the morning light fell into his eyes, stinging his eyes slightly. But soon the pain was swept by the pain all over his body, especially the pain in his heart, which was so small that it could be ignored. Thanks to the decline of his five senses over the years, his perception of pain is not as strong as before. The injuries that he had to grit his teeth to endure before, now he feels okay.
Some memories slowly returned to his mind. He remembered the chaotic sound of horse hooves in the dark night, the flying arrows, the enemies on the hillside, being surrounded and then breaking out. The memory finally stopped at the oncoming arrow. He raised his hand and touched the gauze on his chest, and knew that he was probably injured here.
It was really dangerous. It seemed like this group of people were coming specifically for him.
He turned around and wanted to call Chen Ying, but saw the woman sitting in the room. The morning light shone through the paper door and fell on the ground between them. She was wearing a dark red dress in the dark, looking at him indifferently through the flying dust. The aura on her looked a little different from usual.
Duan Xu thought to himself, oh no, didn’t Si Mu say that she wouldn’t come to see him during this period of time
Seeing him wake up, He Simu didn't say anything.
Duan Xu called out a little guiltily: "Si Mu?"
She was in the dark, her features blurred, and after a long silence, she spoke: "You have been besieged for three days."
"Ah, this is..."
"Three whole days. Why didn't you ask me for help?"
He Simu's voice was very calm. Duan Xu couldn't quite figure out her emotions. He just thought she might be angry. He gathered up a little strength and smiled, saying, "Victory and defeat are common in the military. This is not the first time I've been imprisoned. I'm afraid you're tired of being asked to come over every time."
He Simu did not respond. For a moment, the room was filled with silence; even the chirping of insects and birds outside the window seemed noisy.
Duan Xu began to feel uneasy. He continued, "Besides, you can only save me if you want to save me. At most, you can take Chen Ying with you. I am the commander of an army. I can't just abandon my troops and leave, right?"
As he spoke, he supported himself with his arms and tried hard to sit up from the bed. At this moment, He Simu suddenly moved. She stood up and appeared beside Duan Xu in a flash. Her red dress fluttered in the morning light. She sat on Duan Xu's waist, holding his shoulders and pushing him back to the bed.
Duan Xu was startled, and looked up at He Simu, only to find that her eyes were dark and she was filled with ghostly aura. Usually when she appeared beside him, she was always very careful to restrain her ghostly aura, but today it was completely different.
"Did I... say something wrong?" Duan Xu felt like something was wrong.
He Simu slowly leaned over, her cold long hair fell on the side of his face, and the black in her eyes faded away and became clear black and white. She smiled softly and said, "You are not wrong. Think about it carefully, you have never called me when you really needed me."
When Duan Xu was confused, she suddenly lowered her head and held his lips steady. This kiss was not gentle, she kissed fiercely, prying open his lips and hooking his tongue to entangle. He was forced to look up, breathing so chaotically that he couldn't breathe, and the saliva that he couldn't swallow in time flowed down his neck. He raised his arm and was immediately pressed down by He Simu. She pressed her body lower and harder, as if she was eager to find something on him, and as if she wanted to take his soul and kill him at this moment.
"It hurts... it hurts..." Duan Xu made a vague sound in the gap, and He Simu loosened her grip. She looked down and saw that the gauze wrapped around his chest was bleeding again.
“Ahem… Although I really want to… But I’m seriously injured now…” Duan Xu said while coughing and smiling.
When he coughed, his chest trembled slightly, as if the beating heart inside was trembling as well. He Simu looked down at the blood on the gauze, deep emotions in his eyes, and whispered after a moment: "The living are so fragile."
Fragility cannot withstand the storm, and the short-term cannot last forever.
Don't be greedy, it will only increase separation.
He Simu turned his eyes to Duan Xu and said, "When I kissed you just now, I didn't feel anything."
She was almost close to him, her eyes were very close to his. She had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, with a small mole under her eyes, but there was no emotion in her eyes, like the frozen sea. Duan Xu was stunned, and the uneasiness in his heart became stronger and stronger, so he reached out his hand to hug her back.
"Whatever feeling you want, I can give it to you right now." He still smiled easily, as if the person who survived the disaster was not him.
He Simu looked at him quietly, then when he was about to hug her, she grabbed his arm and slowly pressed it down. She shook her head and said calmly, "No need. It's not mine, after all."
no need.
Duan Xu was stunned.
She got out of bed and stood beside the bed in the bright morning light, looking down at him. Dust was flying in the sunlight, and her long hair and eyelashes were dyed golden, but there was no shadow of her in the light. She looked into Duan Xu's eyes, without any emotion, as if she was narrating a fact, and said: "Let's stop here, Duan Xu."
Duan Xu was stunned. He didn't care about the pain this time and stood up. He asked, "What did you say?"
"I said, let's stop here." He Simu repeated word for word.
She didn't give any reason or explanation, she just disappeared in a brilliant light.
"He Simu! He Simu, Simu!" Duan Xu called her name in panic, trying to get up from the bed, but fell back again.
When Chen Ying heard the sound, he opened the door and ran in, holding Duan Xu and said in surprise: "Third brother, you're awake!"
Duan Xu coughed violently. He held onto Chen Ying's hand and could not speak. He just covered his mouth and frowned, then vomited blood. A pool of blood spilled on the ground. Chen Ying was so shocked that she stroked his back and said in panic, "What's going on? Little sister didn't exchange five senses with you this time. How could you be sick..."
Duan Xu grabbed his arm, looked up at Chen Ying, and the blood on his lips was glaring: "Did you tell her about my illness?"
"No! I promise I didn't say a word. I didn't tell Little Sister!"
Duan Xu relaxed slightly, his chest rising and falling violently, trying his best to calm his breathing, and then suddenly his whole body stiffened. He slowly raised his head and looked at Chen Ying, looking at the room behind Chen Ying, his eyes slowly filled with confusion and panic.
"I...can't see..."
The threads of wind, wandering souls, and ghostly auras disappeared.
He Simu took back the world from the evil ghost's eyes that he had given him.
—Let’s stop here.
Duan Xu lowered his eyes, looked at the bed curtains stained with his own blood, smiled in disbelief, and whispered: "Impossible... She can't be... serious, right? Why?"
Why
Duan Shuai was pulled back from the gates of hell and woke up for the first time, but fainted again due to emotional excitement. He did not notice that when he saw He Simu this time, the Ghost King Lamp Jade Pendant on her waist was missing.
Shi Biao was responsible for Duan Xu's being trapped. Duan Xu had anticipated an ambush, so he changed the route and arranged for Shi Biao to lead his troops to meet him. However, Shi Biao had won a great victory in Youzhou, and Duan Xu was not around to supervise him, so he could not help but drink to celebrate. He drank without restraint, got drunk, and missed the time to meet Duan Xu, causing Duan Xu to be in danger.
Fortunately, Zhao Xing had prepared a team in advance for fear of accidents. When he realized that something was wrong, he immediately went to rescue Duan Xu's cavalry. Shi Biao blamed himself very much and asked to be whipped 100 times, and stayed in the camp to wait for his fate.
After Duan Xu woke up, he called him over and said that the battle in Youzhou was still going on. Shi Biao was the person who was most familiar with the Feather Chariot besides him and Chen Ying. Was he stupid to be in such a hurry to be punished? He should go to the front line and take charge. We can settle this account after the war subsides.
Shi Biao swore with red eyes that he would never drink again and would cut off one of his fingers if he drank again.
After sending Shi Biao to the front, Duan Xu stayed in Qizhou temporarily, watching the battle reports coming in from all directions and arranging the troops in the rear. This time Zhao Xing helped Duan Xu a lot, and also made Duan Xu look at him with new eyes. He found that Zhao Xing was quite talented in generals, calm and steady in the face of difficulties, and knew the righteousness in his heart.
The emperor's refusal to allow him to enter the Southern Capital to receive a title actually helped Duan Xu.
After Chen Ying saw Duan Xu wake up again, he never mentioned He Simu in front of him, but only asked what happened during the days he was unconscious. He then said that the little sister helped to find the antidote, but there was nothing special besides that.
Duan Xu just nodded when he heard this, and then he threw himself into the busy military affairs, looking the same as before, smiling and decisive. Chen Ying felt that something must have happened between his third brother and the little sister, but he didn't know what it was.
News came from the front that the Danzhi army suddenly launched a counterattack as fierce as a tiger, and was able to resist the feather chariot with its flesh and blood. Two of the three important towns that had been captured returned to the Danzhi. Shi Biao and Wu Shengliu were still leading their troops to fight hard.
This news came in the morning, and in the afternoon, the former national teacher He Jia Fengyi knocked on the door of the room where Duan Xu of Qizhou was recuperating.
He Jia Fengyi, with his beautiful and silent maid Zi Ji, ordered Zhao Xing's good tea and drank it leisurely, saying that the Danzhi army was summoning ghosts to possess them in order to increase manpower, disregarding the laws of nature and ethics. They, the immortal monks, would never sit idly by and would go to the Youzhou front to exorcise the ghosts.
"General Duan, don't worry. This disaster will be eliminated within ten days. It turns out that the traitor in the ghost world is too greedy and has even extended his hands to the human world."
Duan Xu was still injured. He coughed twice and said, "You were just watching from the sidelines, but he wanted to interfere in the affairs of the human world. Isn't it obvious that he wanted to provoke you to stand on Simu's side? Why would Yan Ke do such a thing that hurts others and does not benefit himself?"
He Jia Feng Yi narrowed his eyes and said mysteriously, "Who knows?"
Duan Xu was silent for a while, and asked casually, "Simu...how are you doing recently?"
He Jia Feng Yi sighed and said, "She won't let me tell you about her."
“…Is she avoiding me?”
"Haha, the ancestor wouldn't hide from anyone." He Jia Fengyi said this with a hint of pride and his eyes full of regret.
Duan Xu looked at him, his eyes flickering as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just smiled slightly.
That night, Chen Ying was ordered by Duan Xu to steal a jar of wine from Zhao Xing. Chen Ying nervously carried the wine into Duan Xu's room, and saw Duan Xu waiting for him with a sick face but high spirits. He couldn't help feeling strange and puzzled.
Chen Ying whispered, "Third brother, the doctor said you can't drink yet."
"Whatever the doctor says is the truth? That's so boring. Am I such an obedient person?" Duan Xu said as a matter of course.
"Why don't you just do it openly? Why do you want me to go? To take it secretly!"
"Shi Biao just said he wanted to quit drinking, and I'm drinking here. It would be bad if it got out."
Duan Xu explained casually that he wanted to test Chen Ying's alcohol tolerance, and then he started drinking with him. Because he was used to keeping his senses sharp, Duan Xu rarely drank on weekdays, and if he couldn't avoid it, he would secretly change it. Chen Ying also rarely drank, but he was born with a physique that could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. He drank for a long time without getting drunk, but Duan Xu soon became tipsy.
Duan Xu lay on the table, buried his head in his arms as if he had a headache, and moaned in a low voice. Chen Ying approached him worriedly, pushed his arm and asked him what was wrong, and heard his vague voice calling out - He Simu.
He seldom called her by her full name like this. In the past, whenever he called her like this, the little sister would immediately appear beside them.
Chen Ying thought that his third brother might be talking drunkenly. In the past, Little Sister had been angry because his third brother called her over in his sleep. So he immediately looked around to see where Little Sister would appear from this time.
However, there was only the dim candlelight around, and in the shadows, there were only two figures, him and Duan Xu. Until Duan Xu's voice gradually became hoarse, He Simu did not appear.
Chen Ying turned around somewhat uneasily and found that the sleeves of Duan Xu's clothes, which were placed under his eyes, were wet.
"Third brother...what's wrong with you?" he asked anxiously.
Duan Xu was silent for a long time. During this silence, he stopped calling He Simu and said nothing else. Then he smiled softly and spoke in his usual relaxed tone.
"It's over. I guess I've really been abandoned."
It seemed like he was joking, but his voice was shaking.
Chen Ying was stunned. He suddenly realized that Duan Xu was not drunk, and being drunk was just an excuse to meet the little sister.
But she didn't come.
Will she never come again