This sleep was not restful at all. I kept feeling cold in my dream. I had wrapped myself tightly in the quilt, but I could still feel the coldness penetrating into my body through my limbs.
Qi Changyi vaguely felt as if someone was calling him.
"Remember, remember, remember, wake up..."
But my eyelids are so heavy that I can’t open my eyes.
He seemed to be running, with many scars on his body, big and small, all dripping with blood, but he still had to run and run. There was a fog behind him, as if something was chasing him.
Suddenly, a terrifying-looking beast rushed out from the fog, with its bloody mouth wide open and its scarlet tongue breathing hot air. It looked like it was going to eat someone, and its sharp claws were about to grab the little man's back.
Qi Changyi broke out in a cold sweat, and his whole body looked like he had been fished out of the water. His underwear was completely soaked.
The person was so frightened that he lost the ability to speak. He just frowned, clenched his fingers, and his breathing became increasingly rapid...
"Chang Yi! Wake up!"
"Ah!" Qi Changyi exclaimed and finally opened his eyes suddenly.
He was now lying in the carriage, and they were on their way again.
"What's wrong? Why are you sweating so much? Did you have a nightmare?" Zhao Litang wiped the sweat from his forehead, but more sweat came out.
Qi Changyi's lips turned pale and his body was still shaking. "I... I just had a terrible dream... It was really terrible... Brother Tang, can we really escape? Will we really be okay?"
Zhao Litang comforted him, "Yes, we will be fine, don't be afraid."
Qi Changyi put his mind at ease and lay back down, but when he touched the pillow, he became panicked again.
"Where's my lantern? Where's my lantern? Where did my lantern go? I clearly put it next to it... Brother Tang, have you seen my lantern? It's shaped like a little rabbit, with a little red lotus on its head, and the little rabbit's ears are broken..."
Qi Changyi's fingers kept groping in the carriage. Zhao Litang pulled him over and explained, "Changyi, your body is still burning hot. I'm afraid you are sick again. Don't move around. Cover yourself with the quilt and be obedient!"
“Brother Tang, I just want my lantern…” The little guy’s eyes instantly turned red, and he tried hard to keep his eyes open to hold back the tears.
"Chang Yi, listen to me and don't cry first, okay?"
The little man wiped his tears with his sleeves and then nodded.
Zhao Litang didn't know why he was so reluctant to part with the broken lantern, but the little guy was now far away from the place where he grew up, and he must be scared and panicked inside. He patiently said,
"Just now when I went out to check, I saw the guards in the city patrolling everywhere. Although they are not the imperial guards from the imperial capital, they must have a reason for suddenly searching the city. So for the sake of safety, we have to leave here as soon as possible. Do you understand?"
The little guy nodded, holding back tears.
"When I went back to look for you, you were asleep, your body was burning hot, and you had lost consciousness. I couldn't wake you up no matter what I did. The guards happened to be questioning you downstairs. I was anxious so I just carried you out the back door of the inn. So I didn't have time to see if you had anything else. I guess the lantern was left in the inn."
The little guy could mostly understand what was said and knew that what Zhao Litang did was right, but he was still very sad in his heart.
He really liked that lantern. As for why he valued it so much, it was probably a kind of emotional sustenance for his past years.
It is also a kind of reliance on the person who sent him the lantern. After all, he left like this and he might never see him again.
But now, even this little hope is gone.
Zhao Litang said, "Okay, don't think about it. If you like it, I'll buy you a few more in the future, okay?"
Qi Changyi nodded gently, and lay back obediently under the thick quilt. He curled up his small body, buried his head deeply, and let the tears flow out.
The carriage was speeding towards a larger city far away.
Zhao Litang was worried about Qi Changyi's health. He didn't know if it was because of the cold wind and heavy dew at night that caused him to catch a cold, or if it was because of some other old illness. It was not a good idea to keep having such a fever. He had to go to a big town to find a doctor to check it out.
Now I cover the little guy with everything I can, but I can still feel the little body shaking under the quilt.
After another day of galloping, the carriage finally arrived at a relatively large town.
—As soon as you step into the city, you can feel that it is much more prosperous and lively than the previous small town, but it is certainly incomparable to the imperial capital.
After settling Qi Changyi down, Zhao Litang ordered the groom to help find the best man in the city, and then he stayed by the bed.
Suddenly, there was a regular knock on the door, which made people nervous in the quiet night.
Zhao Litang walked to the door and opened it, and a dark shadow quickly flashed in.
Wu Quan was out of breath. It took him some time to catch up with Zhao Litang and the others, but fortunately they had discussed the route in advance, so he quickly caught up.
Zhao Litang frowned when he saw that he was the only one back, "Where are the others?"
Wu Quan said, "General, don't worry, everything is fine. We just got separated earlier. The others will rush to join the army without stopping. I will pick you up."
Zhao Litang quickly took him to the bedside and said, "Come and take a look first. What's going on?"
Wu Quan saw the little man lying on the bed with his eyes closed, his face as pale as paper, but his body was frighteningly hot.
"General, you must treat him quickly! I have said long ago that your Highness is very weak and I am afraid it will be difficult to recover. Now it seems that the situation may be even worse..."
As they were talking, the groom came back with Lang.
Lang is an old man with gray hair. He has difficulty walking, but he is the best Lang in this city.
The old man walked in calmly. He saw that everyone in the room was no ordinary person, but he was not interested at all. He walked straight to the bedside and took Qi Changyi's pulse.
After taking the pulse for a long time, the old man finally stroked his beard and squinted his eyes.
"Hey, this little guy is not that old, how come his body is in such a mess? It's already full of holes. It must have encountered some devastating disaster.
After the blow, his body and mind have been greatly damaged, coupled with some pain and internal injuries, he is now hanging on by his breath, I am afraid there is no way to save him!" Zhao Litang unconsciously clenched his fists after hearing this, and went straight forward to grab the old man's collar, "What did you say! What do you mean there is no way to save him! You have to cure him now!"
Wu Quan quickly pulled his general back and said, "General, he is right. No matter who you ask to watch, the result will be the same!"
How could Zhao Litang not know this
He just didn't want to believe it.
**The little man lying there was unusually quiet, with a fair face and indescribably beautiful. He was only ten years old, but he had already experienced pain that others might never experience in their entire lives, so he was so anxious to end this short yet long life, right
"Well, that's not necessarily true." The old man standing at the side suddenly said, "As far as I know, the most skilled doctor in the world is the Ghost Doctor who lives deep in the Ghost Valley. It is said that he can cure the dead, so saving the living is no problem. It's a pity that he appears and disappears like a ghost, and no one can find him."
Zhao Litang immediately looked at him, "Who else?"
"There is another person, but I'm afraid you won't be able to see him."
"Just say it."
The old man stroked his beard and said, "There is a doctor in the Imperial Hospital named Jiang Yubai. He is very young but has made great achievements in medicine. He can be said to be the second best doctor in the world. But he is an imperial doctor. Ordinary people like us will never see him."
Jiang Yubai
Zhao Litang gritted his teeth. If he didn't go back, he would never see him again. But what could he do? Was he just going to watch Qi Changyi die slowly
"Hey, why am I telling you these impossible things? It will only add to your troubles. Just do your best to make him happy in his last days."
The old man went to get his medicine box and took out a pack of acupuncture needles. "I'll give him acupuncture first to cool his body down. Otherwise, he'll go crazy if he keeps getting a fever."
Wu Quan and the groom retreated.
Zhao Litang had a lot of thoughts in his mind, and for a moment he couldn't think of how this matter could be reconciled. He stupidly reached out to open Qi Changyi's collar and helped to expose his chest to facilitate the injection.
With the collar unzipped, the chest, which should have been white and smooth, was covered with scars and ambiguous purple kiss marks. The marks were intricate and eye-catching, not to mention the neat bite mark on the small and delicate collarbone, which was like a mark, declaring who this person belonged to.
Zhao Litang and the old man saw it all.
The old man inserted the needle accurately, but he kept muttering, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, inhuman!"
Zhao Litang even had the illusion that he should send Qi Changyi back to the palace, so that at least he could get the best treatment, but now it seems that it is absolutely impossible!
Pei Zheng is an inhuman person. If we send this little guy back, who knows what kind of torture he will suffer. Maybe the life he has saved with great difficulty will be lost even faster!
After acupuncture, the heat in Qi Changyi's body finally dissipated a little and he was not so hot anymore, but he was still unconscious and had not woken up. Perhaps the running around in the past two days had aggravated his condition.
The old man prescribed some medicine, but it could only help Qi Changyi keep breathing on the road and had no real effect on his body.
Zhao Litang put away the medicine and was about to see Lao Lang out when he heard a noise coming from downstairs.
Looking down, I saw that several guards had entered the inn and were searching, and were about to go upstairs.
The old man quickly pushed Zhao Litang back into the room. Zhao Litang picked up the little man and was about to jump out of the window, but the old man grabbed him by the corner of his clothes.
"Don't jump! Are you trying to break his body apart? Besides, it's not necessarily safe outside the door! If you trust me, I will stay and help you."
Zhao Litang stared into the old man's eyes and put him back in the room.
The old man lifted a wooden board on the floor and found a small compartment underneath that could accommodate one person.
"Go in and hide quickly. Leave the rest to me."
Seeing that Zhao Litang still seemed unwilling to believe him, Lao Lang felt anxious for him.
"I am an old acquaintance of the innkeeper, and I am familiar with all the traps and secret passages here. If I wanted to harm you, I would have called people over just now. Why bother with all this? If you hesitate any longer, they will come in! Besides, you can see what's going on outside even if you are hiding down here. If there's anything wrong, just rush out right away!"
Just as the wooden board was about to be closed, the door was pushed open and several guards rushed in rudely.