Ruler
Although Duan Xu managed to slip out through the door from Fang Xianye’s place, he still had to climb over the wall to return to the Duan residence. As Duan Xu silently descended from the wall into the courtyard, unexpectedly, he locked eyes with Duan Jingyuan.
“So late, why aren’t you asleep yet?” Duan Xu asked curiously, their eyes meeting for a moment.
Duan Jingyuan, holding a lamp, ran over, equally surprised. “I remembered I forgot to add a herb to my chrysanthemum wine… Wait, why are you dressed like this so late? Where have you been?”
As she approached, she noticed the bloodstains on Duan Xu’s clothes, her face turning pale instantly. Trembling, she asked, “Third brother… Did you… Did you kill someone?”
Duan Xu couldn’t help but laugh. Calmly, he walked towards his courtyard, casually patting Duan Jingyuan’s head as he passed by. “No, that’s my blood.”
Duan Jingyuan quickly followed Duan Xu, asking, “Are you injured then? What exactly did you do?”
Duan Xu shook his head, placing a finger on his lips. “Secret.”
Duan Jingyuan, frustrated, puffed up her cheeks. Walking into his residence, she continued, “You better not try to fool me this time. If you don’t tell me, I’ll go tell father…”
Before she could finish, she noticed Duan Xu’s pace slowing down. He seemed to sway for a moment before unexpectedly collapsing to the ground with a muffled thud, motionless. Duan Jingyuan stared in shock, whispering, “Brother, don’t try to scare me. Stop pretending and get up!”
Duan Xu lay still on the courtyard’s stone slabs, his eyes tightly shut. In the lamplight, his face appeared pale, like a piece of fragile white jade.
Panicked, Duan Jingyuan hurriedly put down the lantern and lifted Duan Xu, calling out, “Brother, wake up!”
Only when she truly embraced Duan Xu did she feel the alarming heat emanating from his body – he had a high fever. Duan Jingyuan anxiously covered his forehead, raising her voice, “Brother! Brother!”
Seemingly disturbed by Duan Jingyuan’s voice, Duan Xu furrowed his brows and uttered a low murmur – “He… He Simu,” then ceased responding to Duan Jingyuan’s calls.
Duan Jingyuan, frantic, stood up intending to call for help. However, seeing her brother dressed in his night clothes, she hesitated, not wanting to disturb their parents. As she glanced hesitantly towards the courtyard door, she suddenly felt a chilling presence. Turning back, she was astonished to see a familiar figure.
A tall, beautiful woman stood beside Duan Xu, dressed in layers of red and white, with silver tassels swaying on her forehead. In the chilly north wind and flickering lamp light, the eerie aura around her was colder than the wind itself.
Duan Jingyuan struggled to regain her voice, stuttering, “He… He Xia… Miss He.”
The ghostly aura around He Simu quickly dissipated. Her eyes returned to their normal state, black and white, as she nodded slightly in response to Duan Jingyuan’s greeting. She looked at Duan Xu for a moment, sighed softly, and raised her hand. Duan Xu’s body floated up into the air, and she took his arm, supporting him on her shoulder.
Duan Xu’s forehead rested against He Simu’s neck as he drowsily reached out to embrace her neck, whispering softly with closed eyes, “He Simu…”
He Simu glanced at him and then turned towards his room, the door opening automatically. Duan Jingyuan followed closely behind, witnessing He Simu laying Duan Xu on the bed. With a flick of her finger, his clothes automatically peeled off, revealing the crisscrossing wounds on his shoulders and chest.
Duan Jingyuan exclaimed, “He… Miss He, what are you… doing?”
“Changing his clothes. I can’t let him wear these night clothes,” He Simu replied calmly, then turned to instruct Duan Jingyuan, “Go call the doctor.”
Duan Jingyuan gritted her teeth and turned to pick up her lamp to find the doctor. While thinking that He Simu was a ghost, she couldn’t leave her brother alone with her. At the same time, she pondered over her brother calling out her name even in his dreams. She was torn, perhaps even if He Simu were to devour her brother, he wouldn’t mind. Lost in these thoughts, when she returned with the doctor, He Simu had vanished from the room. Duan Xu had changed into clean clothes, lying on the bed covered with a thick quilt, a wet cloth placed on his forehead, peacefully sleeping.
The doctor approached, taking Duan Xu’s wrist to check his pulse. Duan Xu furrowed his brows, murmuring softly, “Simu…”
Duan Jingyuan was stunned, leaning against the door frame, unable to express her feelings.
The doctor couldn’t determine the exact problem with Duan Xu’s body, so he prescribed medication for the fever. Duan Jingyuan called for the maidservant to prepare the medicine, intending to feed it to Duan Xu. However, Duan Xu tightly shut his lips, instinctively turning his head away whenever he smelled the medicine, refusing to drink it.
Duan Jingyuan became anxious, breaking into a sweat, but suddenly sensed the familiar chilling presence. Pausing in feeding the medicine, she said to her maidservant, “You may leave. I’ll handle this myself.”
The maidservant obeyed and withdrew.
In her peripheral vision, Duan Jingyuan noticed a red cloth. He Simu stood beside her with her hands behind her back, her gaze falling on Duan Xu lying on the bed.
“What happened to him?” He Simu asked.
“I don’t know… The doctor couldn’t tell either, just that… my brother’s body is very weak,” Duan Jingyuan replied softly.
He Simu raised her hand and tossed a pill into the bowl of medicine in Duan Jingyuan’s hand, then carried the bowl and sat down beside Duan Xu.
Duan Jingyuan, feeling anxious, tried to stop her, “What did you throw in there?”
“It’s a medicinal herb from the Celestial Sect. It won’t harm him,” He Simu replied calmly.
“Why… why did you come to see my brother?” Duan Jingyuan asked sceptically.
He Simu lifted her eyes to look at Duan Jingyuan and said calmly, “He asked someone to convey his wish to see me once. I’m here, so consider it fulfilled.”
After saying this, she scooped up a spoonful of medicine and held it to Duan Xu’s lips, saying, “Open up, drink the medicine.”
Duan Xu furrowed his brow and turned his head away. He was already delirious from the fever and instinctively abhorred the bitter taste of the medicine. No matter who spoke to him, he refused to open his mouth.
He Simu whispered softly, “Still hate the bitterness so much? Do you have any sweets?”
Duan Jingyuan immediately stood up, “I’ll go buy some!”
“Forget it,” He Simu said, lifting the bowl and taking a sip, then supporting Duan Xu’s back. She kissed his lips to open his teeth, and finally, Duan Xu’s throat moved—swallowing the medicine.
When she withdrew from his lips, Duan Xu reached out to embrace her neck. His face showed pain, whether from the illness or something else, he closed his eyes tightly and murmured, “Simu… so bitter… mm…”
Before he could finish, He Simu lowered her head to feed him the second dose, silencing him. His arm flailed aimlessly around her shoulder, his slender fingers finally gripping her hair at the back of her head, lifting it with effort.
The sound gradually changed as the medicine flowed down, mingling with the sound of lips and tongues entwining. Whenever he started calling her name again after saying it twice, she silenced him again, intermittently getting him to finish the bowl of medicine.
After placing the empty bowl aside, He Simu tried to lay Duan Xu back on the bed, but he refused to let go. Burying his head in her neck, his cheek pressed against hers, he muttered, “So bitter… I don’t want… I don’t want to drink… Simu…”
She quieted for a moment, then finally raised her hand to pat his back gently, whispering, “It’s over, you’ve finished it, Duan Fox.”
He caressed He Simu’s cold skin, perhaps due to his delirium, he clung to her warmth, holding her tighter and tighter, as if he had spent all his remaining strength on this.
“So hot, Simu, I feel so uncomfortable…” he tightly furrowed his brows, as if the pain was unbearable, softly saying, “Hug me.”
He Simu’s hand, patting his back, stopped. She remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly, slowly moving over to embrace his back, burying her head in his shoulder. Her embrace was somewhat terrifying, tightly enveloping him as if she couldn’t let go, like an embrace that was ingrained in her bones.
As if the person in her arms was someone she couldn’t afford to lose.
Duan Jingyuan was stunned for a moment, then lowered her eyes and silently left Duan Xu’s room, closing the door behind her.
When Duan Xu woke up, the room was filled with daylight. The tormenting fever of the night had faded away, and he looked around the room, his gaze sweeping over the window before settling on Duan Jingyuan, who was crouching by the bedside. He furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment. Last night, he remembered being camped outside the city, so did Jingyuan take care of him all night?
Duan Jingyuan moved her head up from Duan Xu’s arm and saw that he was awake, her eyes filled with joy. If her brother didn’t wake up, she would have really gone to tell their parents. She reached out to touch her brother’s forehead, relieved, then asked angrily, “You scared me to death, brother, what’s going on?”
Duan Xu sat up, supporting himself, and smiled. “The doctor said it’s a strange illness. I don’t know what’s going on either. You worked hard taking care of me last night.”
Duan Jingyuan hesitated, observing Duan Xu’s expression. “Do you not remember what happened last night?”
Duan Xu looked surprised. “What happened?”
Duan Jingyuan hesitated for a moment before gritting her teeth and saying, “Miss He came. She changed your clothes, fed you the medicine, and… you even wanted her to hug you!”
Duan Xu’s hand, rubbing his forehead, froze in mid-air. He remained stunned for a long time before saying, “She… came? Did I call her name?”
Duan Jingyuan vigorously nodded. “You called her name quite enthusiastically.”
“He Simu.” Almost immediately, he called out her name again. Duan Jingyuan looked at Duan Xu strangely, then glanced around the room, suddenly realizing, “So, as long as you call her name, she will appear? Yesterday she also mentioned she came to see you at someone’s behest.”
There was no sign of He Simu in the room. It seemed like it was just a coincidence.
Duan Xu furrowed his brow, sighed with a smile, and said, “So that’s it, just a coincidence.”
The morning light filled the room, Duan Xu wearing a white shirt, his complexion pale. He spoke somewhat sadly, but his round, sparkling eyes held a smile, seemingly carefree and bright. This was the Duan Jingyuan’s most familiar brother, but she remembered the Duan Xu from last night, embracing He Simu.
She felt a twinge in her heart, pondering for a moment before biting her lip and asking, “Brother, do you also act coquettishly? Are you actually… someone who likes to act cute?”
She had never seen Duan Xu act coquettishly. In her memory, her brother was cheerful, lively, and carefree, but never affectionate with their parents, even somewhat polite and distant. It seemed like he had never needed affection or care from anyone in his life.
So she didn’t think her brother would act coquettishly or cling onto a girl, saying softly that he felt uncomfortable and asking her to hug him.
But maybe he was someone who liked to act cute? She always felt like she didn’t really understand him.
Duan Xu was stunned for a moment, finding the question somewhat amusing. He was about to answer “no,” but then stopped, unsure of what he was thinking.
He remained silent for a moment, his eyes and brows curved. “I’m used to deliberately showing weakness to soften someone’s heart. Perhaps I’ve been pretending for too long, and the fake has become real.”
Thinking of how smart she was, if she hadn’t seen his true desire in his disguised weakness, how could she have always yielded?
“Brother, why do you like Miss He so much?” Duan Jingyuan really couldn’t understand. Miss He was beautiful, but there were plenty of beautiful girls in the Southern Capital. Miss He seemed capable, but what use was a capable ghost to a person?
Duan Xu thought seriously for a moment, his hand absentmindedly tapping on his bent knee, and said, “The first time I was moved, she was wearing a light pink robe with a chiffon skirt, holding a small windmill in her hand, walking towards me in the bright sunlight, spinning in circles. Haha, thinking back now, she looked a bit silly at the time.”
“But I, at that moment, felt that the world was truly beautiful. She was the reason the world became beautiful. She’s a very, very good girl, and I hope she loves me.”
Thinking about it this way, since he was seven years old until now, he had never hoped for anyone else’s love. His wishes in life were always about destruction, rebuilding, saving, and giving.
She was his only wish for “getting.”
He wasn’t sure what kind of person he was. He had firm desires, but he had acted for too long, sometimes unable to distinguish between onstage and offstage.
Regardless of what kind of person he was, a genius, a madman, an oddity, or a maverick, he hoped to receive her love. Then he would use all his vitality and passion, his madness and love, to make her restless and unforgettable for hundreds of years to come.
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