Chapter 26 Giving You the Antidote, the Young Man Silently Clenches His Fist for Encouragement, and with Li Ruan…

Meng Jun waited and waited, the figure before him remained rigid, like an ice sculpture.

He quietly extended two fingers and gently tugged at Li Ruantang’s sleeve, “Wife-master, I didn’t mean to.”

Li Ruantang’s face flushed: “……”

She only had half a shoulder of clothing hanging on, and now with the nervous young man’s pull, if not for the loosely tied belt, it would have likely fallen off completely, leaving her exposed to the elements.

Yet the “culprit” hadn’t noticed, shaking her sleeve, his voice muffled, “Wife-master, if you’re angry, why don’t you pinch me back, okay?”

Buzz——

There seemed to be a rumble in her ears, like the thunder that had raged all night. It made her heart feel dazed.

Li Ruantang, who was about to fix her collar, became even more rigid. She turned her face slightly to look at him. Jiu Jiu’s eyes were full of innocence, as if he had no idea what he was saying.

Those startled almond eyes somewhat hesitantly surveyed his chest. So her foolish little husband was planning to let her pinch him where??!

“Wife-master!” Seeing her turn her head, the young man immediately curved his brows and eyes, extending his wrist to her, “Here, Wife-master, pinch hard, Jiu Jiu isn’t afraid of pain!”

“Little fool.” Li Ruantang couldn’t help but smile, gently rubbing his wrist that had turned red from an unknown bump, “I’m not angry.”

“Besides, I couldn’t bear to.” This latter half was almost a faint whisper.

But Meng Jun had been focusing all his attention on Li Ruantang, and upon hearing these words, he was slightly stunned, taking a moment to react.

Oh, she said she couldn’t bear to!

The young man shyly lowered his head, his ear tips secretly turning red. Those beautiful phoenix eyes blinked brightly, his forehead lightly resting on Li Ruantang’s shoulder, softly and quietly saying, “I knew Wife-master was the best!”

His upturned lips were full of joy. After leaning against Li Ruantang for a while, he gradually relaxed, especially as his nose was filled with the sweet scent he loved the most.

The young man had stayed up all night.

He rubbed his eyes sleepily, very consciously leaning into Li Ruantang’s embrace, “Wife-master, I, I really can’t hold on anymore, I’ll just sleep for a bit.”

He swayed as he held up one finger, “Just, just a little while.”

“Wife-master.” The young man called out to her drowsily, struggling to stay awake.

“Hm?”

“You… remember to eat the astragalus. I packed a lot… a lot, all for Wife-master.”

Li Ruantang gently hummed in response. The mountain breeze was warmed by the sunlight, and as Meng Jun drifted between sleep and wakefulness, he felt as if a gentle wind had brushed across his forehead, light and quick, incredibly precious.

He snuggled closer into Li Ruantang’s embrace, and in his hazy state, a thought suddenly arose in his mind.

Oh right, his novel seemed to say that if two people sleep together in an embrace, they’ll have a baby.

So, does this count as sleeping together?

The young man’s head grew heavier, his thoughts racing wildly.

At one moment he thought, although they were embracing, Li Ruantang wasn’t asleep, so it didn’t really count as sleeping together. The next moment he was secretly embarrassed, thinking it wouldn’t be so bad to give her a baby after all.

Either way, Mother also hoped he could become the heir of the Su Qin Wang manor. Besides, they were all so strict with her, if he left too, not staying by her side.

Meng Jun frowned slightly, immediately becoming unhappy.

Moreover, she was so foolish, not even remembering that she had been poisoned. Just thinking about this made the young man feel sick to his stomach.

What’s more, Li Ruantang’s memory loss might also be due to this poison!

His handsome face immediately became worried and anxious, even in his dreams, unable to unravel his concerns.

Li Ruantang looked at her sleeping young husband, who at one moment blushed, and the next furrowed his brows. She thought he was having a nightmare and just as she was about to hold him tighter, she heard Jiu Jiu softly sleep-talking, “Mmm, I, I want to stay with Wife-master… for, for a lifetime!”

The hand patting Jiu Jiu’s back paused, and Li Ruantang’s face instantly turned bright red. Her Jiu Jiu was truly foolish.

How could a man express his feelings like this, and in his dreams no less.

As she thought this, her almond eyes involuntarily curved, like a crescent moon in the night, clearly beautiful. She joked, “Silly Jiu Jiu, once you’ve said it, you can’t take it back.”

The mountain breeze gently blew, as if confirming this promise.

At the Hu family.

Hu Youning was woken up by Zhou Fulang knocking on his door.

“Father?”

“Ning’er, didn’t I tell you to keep Li husband company?” Zhou Fulang was anxious, and seeing his son still dazed from sleep, he couldn’t help but scold, “Now Li husband is missing. If he doesn’t return in three days, how will we explain this to Li lady!”

“Father, you mean Jiu Jiu is missing?” Hu Youning, who had hastily rubbed his face, looked at the tightly closed door opposite in shock, “That’s impossible. When I went to check on him last night, Jiu Jiu was about to fall asleep.”

“Besides, our Hu family village only has this long mountain gully as a way in and out. Jiu Jiu saw how fast the mudslide was yesterday, there’s no reason he would run away at this time.”

“Could it be……” Hu Youning’s eyes lit up, pondering, “He went to find Li lady?!”

But in an instant, this idea was repeatedly denied by himself. It couldn’t be.

Jiu Jiu seemed to have a delicate nature. Even he, who grew up in the village, wouldn’t dare to walk at night. Let alone a young man raised in the inner chambers, unfamiliar with the roads.

“Ning’er, now is not the time to think about these things. No matter where Li husband has gone, it’s due to our negligence in taking care of him. Your mother had planned to use this to secure a way out, but now it seems that plan might have gone to waste. But we must keep our word. The urgent matter now is to search everywhere for him.”

Zhou Fulang recalled the suppressed crying he had heard outside the wall yesterday, and his heart became increasingly anxious, “Li husband can’t walk fast. You go to the back mountain to look first. Your mother and I will check the long mountain gully. Remember, don’t let this news leak out!”

Otherwise, with Fu Lanxian’s temperament, she would surely cause more trouble. He hadn’t forgotten the greed in Fu Lanxian’s eyes when she came asking for the antidote last night.

“Father, what if Jiu Jiu doesn’t want to come back?” As he was about to leave, Hu Youning paused and turned around, speaking softly, “I mean, what if someone came to pick him up?”

“You mean people from the Li family?” Zhou Fulang shook his head, “Noble families wouldn’t be so careless. Even if they were searching for someone, they would enter Hu family village properly. How could they secretly take someone away through the back window?”

“But……” Hu Youning clutched his sleeve, somewhat hesitant.

Now that Li lady’s life was uncertain, what if it was really that Wei sister Jiu Jiu had mentioned who came to help him escape? It would indeed be the best time to leave.

Although if Jiu Jiu really left like this, he would end up without a name or status. But don’t the novels always say that mutual dependence is the most precious?

If Mother and Father really caught up with Jiu Jiu, wouldn’t that expose this unspeakable mistaken marriage?

Hu Youning didn’t want the young husband to be gossiped about behind his back. He thought for a moment and said, “Father, the back mountain doesn’t lead outside the village. Why don’t I go to the long mountain gully with you? Your leg injury hasn’t fully healed yet, with me there, I can support you.”

“……Alright then.” Zhou Fulang pondered for a moment, then nodded. Actually, he also thought Li husband had most likely gone to the long mountain gully, but just in case, he had arranged for Ning’er to go to the back mountain after some consideration.

Now thinking about it, it did seem unnecessary.

He took out a half-red pill and put it in a small wooden bottle, instructing Hu Youning to keep it close, “This contains a pill that can temporarily suppress the poison in Fu Lanxian’s body. Li husband left it behind, giving our Hu family a lifeline.”

“They are all good people.”

Zhou Fulang looked towards the layers of mountains in the distance, muttering a Buddhist chant, “That’s why all the gods and mountain goddesses will bless them.”

The clouds in the mountains swirled, as if responding, gradually revealing the azure sky.

The stagnant water on the ground reflected the sunlight, scattering colorful light.

“Achoo——”

The young husband, unable to resist being talked about, sniffled and slowly opened his eyes from Li Ruantang’s embrace. Above him was a green shade, and he looked around dazedly. Not far away, the flames in the bonfire were smaller than before.

And he, who was originally leaning on her shoulder.

He didn’t know how he had slept, but his cheek was resting on something soft. The young man just secretly glanced with the corner of his eye, and his handsome face instantly turned as red as the burning dry firewood in the bonfire.

Mmm, at least Li Ruantang hadn’t woken up.

Those beautiful phoenix eyes opened wide, seriously observing her face. For some reason, Meng Jun felt that Li Ruantang, sleeping against the big tree, didn’t seem quite right.

He frowned, reaching out to gently poke her shoulder, “Wife-master?”

What… what’s going on?! Why isn’t she responding!

The young man panicked for a moment, but quickly shook his head. It couldn’t be, it must be because he didn’t use enough strength!

The extended finger was originally going to poke her cheek, but when Meng Jun realized it, he had directly pinched her lower lip.

Although it was an accident, the steady breathing from her nose still reassured the young man quite a bit.

He applied a bit more force, yet Li Ruantang didn’t even flutter an eyelash.

Meng Jun became increasingly uncertain.

He didn’t know what kind of poison she had been affected by. The previous times she was unconscious, she would at least have some reaction when he touched her.

But now she had no response at all.

The young man knelt in front of Li Ruantang, cupping her face somewhat sadly. Even her complexion now wasn’t as good as when she had just woken up after falling off the cliff.

It was evident how the poison had spread.

“Wife-master?”

“Mmm… Tang Tang?”

No matter how the young man called her, Li Ruantang didn’t have the slightest reaction. The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. His gaze slid over her lips, unexpectedly lingering for a long time.

Meng Jun remembered that in the novels, there was a method to rescue women who had been poisoned.

Although the book didn’t specify exactly what poison they had been affected by, only using euphemisms, the young man felt that Li Ruantang must have been poisoned with something similar to what was described.

Otherwise, why wouldn’t the book dare to specify?

It must be because this poison was special! Didn’t sister Wei also say that Li Ruantang had been affected by a special poison?!

The young man clenched his fingers, staring at Li Ruantang in front of him. She seemed like a flower about to wither, her limited life force ebbing away with the passing of time.

Never mind, after all, the book said that to deal with this kind of poison, one only needed to press their lips against the woman’s.

Meng Jun took a deep breath. At worst, he would have to sacrifice a bit. Didn’t Mother always say that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda?

This was also out of necessity!

Unavoidable!

For a good cause!

Yes, that’s right!

The young man silently clenched his fist for encouragement, moving a bit closer to Li Ruantang.

She remained completely unaware.

Meng Jun hesitated for a moment, recalling the illustrations in the novel several times, making sure that it was supposed to be a lip-to-lip touch. Only then did he reach out to cup Li Ruantang’s cheeks.

Even though he knew it was just for neutralizing the poison, the young man’s face still turned bright red. He slightly closed his eyes, leaving only a small slit open, and inch by inch, moved closer to Li Ruantang’s lips.

Mmm, he thought distractedly, now he could also compare whether a woman’s or a man’s lips were softer.