Chapter 21

“If I die, will you feel even a little sad……”

The white-haired, red-eyed man lay weakly on the ground, black smoke slowly rising from his body. His red eyes looked mockingly at that person: “You’ll probably be happy, after all, you can be with him now.”

He lowered his eyes: “I only hope that in the next life, I will never meet you again, never fall in love with you again. If I fall in love with you again, I will surely kill you with my own hands.”

…..

Zhang Meng suddenly opened her eyes, the sky was already dimly lit.

It was that strange dream again. Since falling off the cliff, she had been dreaming of that terrifying man for two consecutive days.

Zhang Meng coughed for a while, her head feeling somewhat painful and swollen. She touched her forehead, it was a bit hot, probably due to overexertion while her injuries hadn’t fully healed.

She sat up, rubbed her temples, and feeling the headache ease a bit, she stood up, preparing to go to the small stream to wash her face.

She had just taken two steps when a clear voice came from behind: “Where are you going?”

Zhang Meng turned around to see Xu Lu Cha, dressed in red, already awake, sitting on a rock, holding a tree branch and poking at the fire, the flames crackling.

“Young Master Xu, you’re awake. I’m going to wash my face.”

Xu Lu Cha nodded.

Zhang Meng squatted by the small stream, her hand had just reached into the water when she pulled it back from the cold. She endured the coolness of the stream water and quickly washed her face, but after washing, she didn’t feel refreshed or energized, instead, her head hurt even more.

She returned to the original spot feeling a bit dizzy. Seeing her pale complexion, Xu Lu Cha seemed to want to say something but ultimately didn’t.

Zhang Meng said to him: “I’ll go find some fruit to bring back, can you wait here?”

Xu Lu Cha grabbed her sleeve and said: “I’m not hungry.”

Hearing him say this again, Zhang Meng felt a bit helpless: “I’ll be back soon.” After a pause, she still said, “Never mind, let’s go find some together.”

She helped Xu Lu Cha up and supported him as they walked forward. Xu Lu Cha was stunned as soon as he touched her body.

Her body was very hot.

Zhang Meng didn’t notice Xu Lu Cha’s unusual reaction. She saw clusters of fiery red mountain fruits not far away and quickly grabbed Xu Lu Cha’s hand, urging him to quicken his pace.

“There are fruits over there,” Zhang Meng pointed.

She set Xu Lu Cha down, stood on tiptoe to pick the heavy mountain fruits, and tossed them to Xu Lu Cha. Xu Lu Cha caught them and put the mountain fruits aside, then caught the next one.

Soon, several mountain fruits were piled up beside Xu Lu Cha. Zhang Meng used the hem of her clothes to carry the mountain fruits to the stream and washed them clean one by one.

“Young Master Xu, here you go.”

Xu Lu Cha took the fruit, took a bite, then looked up at Zhang Meng, gesturing for her to sit down as well.

Zhang Meng sat down beside him, biting into the mountain fruit with crunching sounds: “Young Master Xu, after we get out, you should still come with me to the magistrate’s office. Although I can forgive you for finding people to deal with me, Cloud City has its own rules. Gathering people to fight and disturbing public order are indeed wrong things to do. Rather than having Magistrate Zhong order your arrest, you might as well voluntarily come with me to confess before Magistrate Zhong. This way, Magistrate Zhong will consider giving you a lighter sentence.”

Xu Lu Cha paused, turned his head to look at her, a cold emotion floating in his beautiful eyes. But seeing Zhang Meng’s sincere gaze and her pale, bluish lips due to the fever, the coldness in his eyes slowly dissipated: “I will confess, but not now. I can’t let the Xu family know where I am right now.”

Zhang Meng understood: “Don’t worry, if you don’t want us to, we absolutely won’t disclose your whereabouts.”

Xu Lu Cha gripped the mountain fruit tightly, feeling somewhat irritated. He had thought she was quite charming before, but now he found her very annoying. He turned away, not looking at her.

He didn’t know what had come over him, as if bewitched, to have thoughts of getting along well with her. They were never meant to be on the same path.

Moreover, no matter how well she treated him, she probably just saw him as an ordinary citizen or a criminal to be arrested. She would probably treat anyone else just as well as she treated him.

Xu Lu Cha felt inexplicably aggrieved, thinking of how Zhang Meng would perform magic tricks for Zi Yi, help the ugly man Zhang Hao seek justice from him, and even stand up for Xiao Chou.

What a promiscuous woman, wanting all kinds of men, just like that useless Qian Mu, so flirtatious.

Seeing that Xu Lu Cha seemed annoyed again, Zhang Meng said: “Young Master Xu, this is something you can’t escape from, you must take responsibility for your actions. The sooner you confess, the better. It’s best not to delay.”

But Xu Lu Cha didn’t answer her words, nor did he want to pay attention to her. Zhang Meng tried to persuade him a few more times, but getting no response, she could only give up.

She lowered her head and nibbled on the mountain fruit, but felt a bitter taste in her mouth, and her head was also very swollen and painful. She rubbed her temples, but it didn’t help much, the discomfort persisted. In the end, she only took a few bites of the mountain fruit before stopping. Seeing that Xu Lu Cha seemed to have eaten enough, she stood up and helped Xu Lu Cha up: “Young Master Xu, let’s go.”

……

Zhang Meng supported Xu Lu Cha for less than half an hour before feeling that she couldn’t hold on much longer. She felt her head was splitting with pain, her vision gradually becoming blurry, and her limbs starting to feel weak and powerless.

“Young Master Xu, you……” Zhang Meng looked up at Xu Lu Cha, saw him hurriedly averting his gaze, and silently sighed.

She didn’t know how much attraction her face held for Xu Lu Cha, he had been looking at her all morning. She also wanted to convince herself it was just an illusion, but every time she looked up at him, he hurriedly looked away. Even if she wanted to make excuses for him, it was difficult.

Zhang Meng set Xu Lu Cha down and pointed at the small stream: “We’ve been walking for so long, you must be thirsty too. I’ll scoop some water for you.”

After Zhang Meng left, Xu Lu Cha couldn’t help but look up again, he saw that glaring patch of blood on her back.

She had a high fever. Her scorching body temperature made him very uncomfortable. Her originally pale face had turned a frightening bluish-white color. She must be reaching her limit.

Why did she still insist on taking care of him? She was the one who needed care the most.

Even though he was annoyed at her earlier for persuading him to confess, annoyed at her for being promiscuous, now seeing her condition, he found he couldn’t be annoyed anymore.

Zhang Meng came back, handed the tree leaf filled with clear water to Xu Lu Cha. Seeing Xu Lu Cha take it, she sat down opposite him: “Let’s rest here for a while.”

Xu Lu Cha responded with a low “Mm”, and Zhang Meng smiled slightly: “There are still fruits in the bundle, eat if you’re hungry.”

Seeing Xu Lu Cha respond again, Zhang Meng buried her head on her knees, wanting to rest for a while.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell unconscious, not waking up until evening.

Xu Lu Cha sat beside her, staring at her intently, only averting his gaze with a sigh of relief when he saw her open her eyes.

…..

The evening breeze gently blew, the flames danced merrily. Xu Lu Cha sat on the rock, his slender fingers gripping a thin wooden stick, gently poking at the fire. Dressed in red, with black hair like a waterfall, jade-like skin, the small mole at the corner of his eye made him appear charming and bewitching. However, his jade-like handsome face was slightly tense.

Zhang Meng sat opposite him, her face as pale as paper. She covered her mouth and coughed a few times. When her throat felt better, she looked up at Xu Lu Cha and said apologetically: “I’m sorry I can’t go find food tonight. Are you hungry? I’ll go pick some fruits for you now.”

Xu Lu Cha’s fingers tightened slightly, his beautiful eyes glared at her with some annoyance: “I’m not hungry.”

Still so restless with such a high fever, she might as well die from illness.

He pulled out a heavy bundle from behind him and threw it to Zhang Meng. Zhang Meng caught it and found it filled with fruits: “Young Master Xu? Did you pick these?”

Although Xu Lu Cha’s red clothes had been torn in many places due to his escape from marriage, Xu Lu Cha loved cleanliness and always kept his clothes neat and tidy. Even though the clothes were somewhat tattered, it didn’t make Xu Lu Cha look disheveled, but rather gave him a strange beauty. However now, although Xu Lu Cha had carefully tidied his clothes, Zhang Meng still noticed several faint traces of mud at the hem of his clothes that remained even after washing.

His legs were not convenient, he could barely walk. Zhang Meng didn’t know how he had picked fruits from the trees, nor how he had gathered firewood to make a fire. It must have been quite difficult.

Zhang Meng looked at Xu Lu Cha and smiled: “Thank you, Young Master Xu.”

Her eyes curved, filled with sincere smiles. Xu Lu Cha’s heart seemed to be gently brushed by a feather, his somewhat tense face unconsciously softened.

He didn’t understand why he panicked when he saw her faint, didn’t understand why he took care of her all day while she was unconscious, and even less understood why he couldn’t help but steal glances at her again and again.

Perhaps her smile was somewhat enchanting.

Seeing her lowering her head to eat the mountain fruit, although still looking like a starving ghost reincarnated, not looking up at him once, he didn’t feel the shame and annoyance like before…

No, she might as well choke to death! She really didn’t look up at him once! He, a beauty as delicate as flowers and jade, was sitting right across from her, yet she had no improper thoughts about him at all, truly worse than a beast! She deserves to never be able to marry a husband in her lifetime!

…..

The next morning when they woke up, Zhang Meng felt her headache had eased considerably and her spirits were better. Although she had dreamed again of that terrifying white-haired, red-eyed man desperately crying out that he would never love her again and if he did he would kill her with his own hands, Zhang Meng quickly put it out of her mind.

Xu Lu Cha had woken up early and was limping around practicing walking. Seeing Zhang Meng awake, he placed the fruits and water he had prepared earlier in front of Zhang Meng. Zhang Meng smiled at him gratefully.

After Zhang Meng had eaten her fill and rested for a while, she supported Xu Lu Cha as they continued on their way. After walking for less than half an hour, she saw familiar surroundings, familiar roads.

She looked around several times with some excitement, making sure she wasn’t seeing things, then looked up at Xu Lu Cha excitedly: “Young Master Xu, following this road, we can get back to the city in less than half an hour.”

But unexpectedly, Xu Lu Cha didn’t seem very happy about it.

☆、