Chapter 414 Find Cui Ji

Chapter 414: Going to Find Cui Ji

Cheng Ge, in fits and starts, finished the plate of pastries with Yun Xunyu feeding him.

With something in his stomach and the subtle effect of the calming incense, the drowsiness from exhaustion and his injuries washed over him again like a tide.

His eyelids grew heavy, and he muttered something indistinctly before his head lolled to the side, and he fell back asleep.

When he woke again, it was nearly dusk.

The carriage had stopped jolting; it seemed to be parked in a quiet place.

Before he was fully awake, someone gently lifted the curtain from outside.

Yun Xunyu leaned in and, seeing him awake, extended a hand. "You're awake? We've arrived."

Cheng Ge was still somewhat weak all over, but better than before.

He didn't refuse Yun Xunyu's help and, using his support, swayed slightly as he stepped down from the carriage. His legs still felt unsteady on the ground.

Before him stood a three-story pavilion with upturned eaves—a touch of elegance rare for this frontier town.

A few shopkeepers and attendants were already standing at the entrance, waiting respectfully.

Seeing Yun Xunyu and Cheng Ge alight, someone immediately came forward to lead the way.

The interior wasn't lavish, but every detail exuded refinement.

The main hall was spacious, furnished with bamboo, wood, and plain-colored fabrics—a stark contrast to the rugged border-town style outside, with a touch of Jiangnan elegance.

Cheng Ge was shown to a private room on the second floor, by a window. It was secluded and offered a broad view, overlooking the city walls' silhouette and the lamps flickering on one by one.

Yun Xunyu helped him sit down and poured him a cup of warm water.

Cheng Ge held the cup, taking small sips, his gaze wandering absently over the twilight outside.

Before long, several nimble attendants filed in with dishes.

The dishes were indeed in the capital's style, finely prepared: braised lion's head meatballs, steamed pork ribs with garlic, crab roe and tofu, and a plate of crispy roast chicken that Cheng Ge particularly enjoyed... The aroma was rich and mouthwatering.

Cheng Ge was genuinely hungry and didn't bother with formalities. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

Yun Xunyu sat across from him, calmly serving him food. He ate little, spending most of his time looking after Cheng Ge.

The two ate in silence. Though the room was well soundproofed, the faint noise from the hall below still seeped up.

At first, it was just vague background noise, and Cheng Ge paid it no mind.

Until a certain name, like a stone thrown into still water, clearly caught his attention—

"...Have you heard? General Cui Ji..."

Cheng Ge's hand, holding the chopsticks, jerked to a stop, the chicken leg he was bringing to his mouth froze mid-air.

He instinctively held his breath and strained to listen.

The conversation outside was fragmented, but enough to piece together something alarming:

"...I heard he was badly injured some days ago... I wonder how he's doing now?"

"Tsk, even Veteran General Liu Ben came personally to take charge—things must be bad..."

"No way! That's Cui Ji!"

"Hey, no matter how tough, he's still flesh and blood. You don't think he's got nine lives like a cat, do you? This time, I'm afraid..."

Cheng Ge's chopsticks tightened in his grip without him realizing, his knuckles turning slightly pale.

His chest felt like something had gripped it hard, a panic surging through him before he could even identify it.

"Why aren't you eating, dear? Don't you like it?" Yun Xunyu's voice broke through, snapping Cheng Ge out of his sudden daze.

He blinked, refocusing on the chicken leg in his hand, then looked at Yun Xunyu's eyes, which seemed to smile across from him.

"...No, it's fine." Cheng Ge forced a smile, his voice a little dry.

He lowered his head, took a big bite, and chewed mechanically, tasting nothing.

After that bite, he seemed to remember something. He left a bit of meat on the chicken leg and bent down to offer it to Dahuang, who sat at the foot of the table, staring up at him expectantly.

Dahuang happily grabbed the bone, tail wagging furiously.

Yun Xunyu watched him, then picked up a piece of snow-white fish, carefully deboned it, and placed it gently in his bowl.

The room went quiet again, only the faint voices from below drifting up.

Then Yun Xunyu set down his chopsticks, his gaze on Cheng Ge's still-pale face. "Would you come back to Nanling with me?"

Cheng Ge had just picked up the fish. At the words, his hand paused almost imperceptibly.

He put the fish in his mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed.

Outside the window, the last light sank below the horizon, and the city wall's lamps lit up one by one, like a string of hazy pearls.

He lowered his eyes, staring at the rippling tea in his cup. After a long moment, he heard his own voice, low but clear: "I... want to go find Cui Ji."

The room fell even quieter, as if the faint noise from below had faded away.

Yun Xunyu looked at Cheng Ge, his face showing no obvious emotion. His usual smile still hung at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes had deepened.

He turned to look out the window at the distant city wall lights. His profile looked cold and hard in the candlelight.

But only for a moment. Then he turned back, the carefree grin back on his face.

"Mm." He answered simply, his tone light, even indulgent. "You can go wherever you want."

Cheng Ge looked up, meeting those smiling eyes.

The unease from the news of Cui Ji now mixed with a faint, indefinable... bitterness.

He nodded absently, picked up his chopsticks, and kept eating, his mind full of images of Cui Ji covered in blood, his chest tight with dread.

...

That night, after bathing in his inn room, Cheng Ge sat by the window in clean underclothes, his half-damp black hair loose behind him.

He tilted his head back, staring at the beams. Exhaustion washed over him again, and his mind gradually grew hazy.

He closed his eyes.

A tall, blurred figure charged into the sea of flames without hesitation...

He strained to see who it was, but before his eyes there were only leaping, twisting flames and thick smoke—the figure was swallowed up in an instant...

The scene shifted abruptly.

Vivid crimson spread across the snow. Cui Ji lay there, his battle armor shattered, the snow beneath him stained dark red.

He stood nearby, shouting desperately, pushing and pulling with all his strength, but Cui Ji remained motionless, eyes shut, unresponsive...

The suffocating sensation clamped down like a cold iron band around his throat and heart, and a sharp, wrenching pain exploded from deep within his chest!

"Hahh—!" Cheng Ge bolted upright from the chair, eyes snapping open, pupils pinned, wild with fear.

The next moment, he uncontrollably turned aside and—"wah"—vomited a mouthful of nearly black clotted blood!

"Hack! Hack, hack, hack—!"

Violent coughing followed, tugging at every wound on his body, pain wracking him so badly that he trembled and shook uncontrollably. Cold sweat instantly soaked his temples and the clothes on his back.

A slightly cool hand gently patted his back, the gesture meant to soothe.

Cheng Ge coughed until his vision went dark, instinctively turning his head.

Yun Xunyu was already sitting on the edge of the bed behind him, wearing only a thin nightshirt.

His face gave nothing away, just watching Cheng Ge intently. Seeing Cheng Ge turn to look, he offered a warm, damp cloth.

Cheng Ge took it, wiping his mouth and chin haphazardly, panting hard, but his gaze couldn't help drifting to the small table nearby—

There sat a white porcelain bowl, filled about halfway with dark, murky medicine, still steaming faintly.

"Drink this, and you'll feel better..."

Cheng Ge looked at the bowl of medicine and said nothing—after all, he was long used to choking down bitter herbal sludge.

Without much hesitation, he picked up the bowl, tested the temp—perfect—then tipped his head back and chugged it in a few big gulps.

As the liquid hit his throat, an ungodly bitter, fishy taste flooded his mouth and shot straight up into his skull. It was worse than any medicine he'd ever choked down.

"Ugh—!" He couldn't stop himself from dry-heaving, brows furrowing tightly, his whole face screwing up.

"What the hell kind of medicine is this... how is it this nasty?!" he complained hoarsely, sounding all stuffed-up. "Bitter and fishy... ugh... tastes weird!"

Before he could even finish, another wave of nausea hit him.

Just then, a hand with sharp, clean knuckles reached out to him, a piece of candy wrapped in oil paper sitting in his palm.

Yun Xunyu took his time peeling open the wrapper, revealing a translucent amber candy.

Then, pinching the candy between his fingers, he casually brought it to Cheng Ge's lips.

Cheng Ge froze, staring at the candy pressed to his lips, then looking up at Yun Xunyu.

The other man's face still gave nothing away, but his eyes told Cheng Ge to open up.

Almost against his will, Cheng Ge parted his lips slightly.

Cool fingertips nudged the candy gently into his mouth.

Sweetness burst across his tongue instantly.

It bulldozed right over the nasty bitter-fishy taste, spreading all the way down his throat.

It wasn't too sweet or cloying—just enough to wipe out all the grossness.

Cheng Ge sat there with the candy in his mouth, totally dazed. The unmelted sweetness filled his mouth, and before his eyes was Yun Xunyu's face.

A night breeze stirred the curtain, and the candle flame swayed.

Cheng Ge licked the faint sweetness left at the corner of his mouth, his tongue sweeping over it, as if trying to swallow down both the warmth and the cold dread from the nightmare.

Yun Xunyu watched this small gesture and let out a low chuckle—one with an unreadable edge in the quiet night.

He didn't get up. Still perched on the edge of the bed, he scooted closer behind Cheng Ge and reached out to gather up the half-damp, tangled mess of long hair spilling down Cheng Ge's back.

His fingers met the cool, damp strands, faintly scented with soap.

"Dear, your hair's still wet—how'd you fall asleep like that?" Yun Xunyu said as he picked up the dry cloth draped nearby, gently wrapping it around the damp locks and starting to wring the water out at a leisurely pace.

Cheng Ge let him do it, still too weak to care, the aftershock of the nightmare and coughing up blood still fresh, and too lazy to move.

He mumbled, voice muffled: "Can't be bothered. Too much work."

Cold, clear moonlight streamed through the half-open window, falling across Yun Xunyu's profile and shoulders.

That face—usually three parts charm, three parts mischief, with a touch of bewitching, almost otherworldly beauty—now looked unexpectedly soft in the moonlight.

His long lashes cast faint shadows under his eyes. The focused look on his face as he wrung the hair had dropped its usual cynicism, showing a rare softness.

"If dear always finds these little things such a hassle..." Yun Xunyu's voice also softened, flowing like moonlight, "then why not keep me around? From now on, I'll dry your hair, dress you, warm your bed and your hands..."

His tone was still that familiar, teasing cadence, and the little bubble of gratitude Cheng Ge had felt from all that careful attention popped with a wet "pop."

Cheng Ge had been just about to doze off from being so pampered, but at those words, his eyes snapped open and he rolled his eyes hard in exasperation.

He knew it! This bastard couldn't go three sentences without being a flirt!

"How about I boil your bones down for soup?" Cheng Ge said without thinking, reaching back and swatting—his palm landing with a light smack on Yun Xunyu's chin.

Yun Xunyu took the hit without a flicker of irritation, not even pausing in wringing the hair.

He dipped his head slightly, going with the motion of the swat, and the smile at the corner of his mouth only deepened. His eyes caught the dancing candlelight and the moonlight from outside, gleaming bright.

"If dear likes..." he drawled slowly, his voice lowered, yet every word crystal clear as it drilled into Cheng Ge's ears, "whether it's boiling my bones for soup or walking through fire and water—it's only right."

Cheng Ge: "..."

Cheng Ge's scalp prickled, goosebumps breaking out all over. He couldn't sit still anymore.

"Scram!" he cursed under his breath, yanking his hair back out of Yun Xunyu's grip, then scrambling up from the chair and flopping onto the bed.

He threw back the covers and lay down stiff as a board, like a zombie.

He yanked the blanket up over his head, wrapping himself into a tight cocoon, leaving just a few strands of hair sticking out.

Yun Xunyu watched the whole show and let out a low laugh.

He rose slowly, walked to the table, and turned up the candle flame.

Just as Cheng Ge thought this round of "dirty-talk assault" had finally come to an end, and he could hide under the covers to calm his racing heart and burning ears—

That damned voice drifted over again, eerily soft: "If it could be so... bones shattered and devoured, flesh and blood fused together..."

He paused, then in an almost unbearably intimate tone, he uttered the final few words:

"...then it would mean being with my dear Qingqing, utterly and completely... one with you."

Cheng Ge: "..."

Under the covers, Cheng Ge froze instantly.

The next second—

"Whoosh—thwack!" A cloth shoe, its sole still dusted with a bit of dirt, cut through the dim light and flew straight at Yun Xunyu's smiling face!

Yun Xunyu seemed to have anticipated it, tilting his head slightly. The shoe grazed past his ear, hitting the wall behind him with a dull "thud" before sliding softly to the floor.