Dandere General and his Lord

28. Complex Feelings

Mo Qiao Sheng furrowed his eyebrows as he stretched out a finger and pressed against his pressure points, slowing down the bleeding.

Cheng Qianye tore off a strip of her clothing, bandaging his wounds.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s bloody fingers gently seized her wrist, taking the strips of cloth from her hand before wrapping up his wounds efficiently.

“Master, this place is not far from the battlefield and it isn’t safe here. You cannot stay here for too long. You should follow the river and swim upwards or take shelter in the mountains for some time.”

“Okay.” Cheng Qianye nodded.

Mo Qiao Sheng took out a dagger and stuffed it into her hands. The exterior of the blade she held was much more practical compared to the overly gorgeous one he had with him.

“The enemy’s ambush has broken our army’s formation for a while. But I believe that General Yu will be able to get there very quickly and take control of the situation and launch a counterattack. Master, you only need to keep yourself safe and wait for General Yu’s help.”

Cheng Qianye reacted, “You, aren’t you coming with me?”

Even though she had gradually managed to adapt to these times after these days;

However, fundamentally, she was still a woman who had grown up in modern times. When she was faced with the threat of death out alone in this desolate wilderness, she felt instinctively afraid. She subconsciously wished she could rely on this man infront of her whom she trusted so much.

Mo Qiao Sheng showed an awkward expression and averted his gaze.

Cheng Qianye suddenly became aware of the fact that although Mo Qiao Sheng appeared to be talking to her calmly and methodically, in fact, half of his body was dyed in blood. He was sitting on the ground and the arm supporting his body to stay upright was trembling faintly.

He was too weak to even stand.

Cheng Qianye crouched beside him. “Come on, I’ll carry you on my back.”

Mo Qiao Sheng looked at her. His lips moved indistinctly before he shut his mouth, not saying a word.

“Don’t fuss around, hurry up and climb up.” Cheng Qianye inclined her head to the side as she reasoned.

Those long, bloodstained fingers clung onto her shoulders.

“Try to support me, that’s it.” A hoarse male voice sounded behind her.

Cheng Qianye felt her shoulder sink. With this support, the man behind her clenched his teeth stood on one leg. After another push, he managed to stand up on both legs, slowly standing firm.

“Can you walk?” Cheng Qianye asked anxiously. She knew in her heart that she wouldn’t be able to walk far with Mo Qiao Sheng on her back with her strength.

“As long as I’m not dead, I can walk.”

As long as My Lord needs me, I can walk. I have to be able to walk.

Cheng Qianye took his arm and placed it over her shoulder. She placed her hand around his waist, trying to let Mo Qiao Sheng lean against her as much as possible.

“Walk. We’ll go together. You can’t die.”

Both people managed to walk away from the riverbank with great effort and staggered along into the mountain forest.

The sky gradually darkened and the moon rose above the trees.

In the silent spring mountain, the shadows of the trees danced gaily.

Cheng Qianye felt Mo Qiao Sheng’s body that was leaning against her gradually become heavier. His pace kept getting slower and slower before finally, he stopped.

“Qiao Sheng.” Cheng Qianye called out softly, her voice filled with worry.

Mo Qiao Sheng lowered his head, most of his features shadowed beneath his forehead.

The moonlight shone down, illuminating the smooth and straight bridge of his nose which was covered by a sheen of cold sweat. His thin lips parted slightly, and he panted heavily, his breaths foggy from the chilly air.

Cheng Qianye found a relatively hidden spot and let Mo Qiao Sheng, who was in a stupor, lie down on the ground.

Despite it being spring, the mountains at night carried a bone-chilling nip in the air.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s clothes had gotten drenched and icy cold long ago since he had been running in the river.

However, Cheng Qianye did not dare to start a fire. She pondered over it for a moment and stripped off all of Mo Qiao Sheng’s damp clothing before wringing out the water from them and hanging them to dry on a branch.

She looked at Mo Qiao Sheng who was still unconscious before turning her back to him and taking off all of her clothes, only leaving the outer robe that was still slightly wet to cover her body.

She spread the dry inner clothes on top of Mo Qiao Sheng’s naked body.

When the warm fabric touched Mo Qiao Sheng’s chilly skin, his body quivered and he regained consciousness. He felt a soft arm touching his shoulder, pulling him into a warm embrace.

The Lord was leaning against the mountain wall as he let a slave like himself lie down on his legs. He was gently stroking his hair as he gazed vigilantly into the depths of the night.

Those eyes that seemed to be filled with stars looked bright and moving in the dim light of night.

“Go to sleep. I’ll be on guard.” The Master’s voice sounded above his head.

I can’t sleep. Mo Qiao Sheng reminded himself. It’s too dangerous here. I must rouse my spirits and protect My Lord.

However, there was a warm breath on his skin and he could smell a faint fragrance near his nose.

The most reassuring voice in this world repeated near his ear, “Sleep. Set your mind at ease and sleep.”

I can’t sleep, he murmured under his breath, his eyes drifting shut.

During this night ridden with danger, Mo Qiao Sheng sunk into a peaceful sleep.

~

When Cheng Qianye woke up, it was already dawn.

She sat up to find herself sitting in a pile of grass and twigs, unable to figure out where she was for a moment.

Her body was covered with a white inner tunic which slipped onto the soft pile of grass beneath her once she got up.

Cheng Qianye discovered that she was concealed very well beneath the cover of a barrier constructed from the grass and twigs.

If she had been on the outside, she wouldn’t have been able to see that anyone had been asleep inside.

When did I fall asleep? Where is Qiao Sheng?

Cheng Qianye looked around, still unable to catch sight of Mo Qiao Sheng’s figure.

She found that her hands contained a bundle of leaves which were wrapped around a rhizome like fruit.

That fruit was roughly the size of two fists, its outermost layer covered in a bit of yellowish mud and roots. She cut it open and found that it had white flesh which she found to be crisp and slightly sweet with a lot of water once she tasted it.

Cheng Qianye was starving and used her pocket knife to cut up the tuber into several pieces, nibbling on the fruit as she waited for Mo Qiao Sheng.

Where did Qiao Sheng go? He was hurt so seriously but he still got up so early and did so many unnecessary things.

This place is such a desolate wildland, if not for him, I’m afraid I would starve to death or get stranded here.

Unable to distinguish anything, Cheng Qianye, who could not distinguish one grain from another, did not have the technical skills needed to survive in the wild.

Not long later, the plants and grass were separated and Mo Qiao Sheng’s figure appeared. 

He was dressed in his black clothes which were half dry and holding a broad leaf which had been folded to form a container of sorts, the hollow inside filled with fresh water.

His face broke into a smile once he saw that Cheng Qianye was awake. He knelt down on one knee in front of her and offered the water to her with both hands.

Cheng Qianye took the water and gulped down several mouthfuls of water before sighing in comfort.

“Qiao Sheng, did you eat?” She asked, raising the white fruit in her hand.

Yes, I ate. I’m not hungry. I cannot lie to Master.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s brain was still spinning among the three options when Cheng Qianye gripped his finger and put the fruit into his hand.

He tried to retrieve his hand, but she held on tightly.

“Why are you so hot?”

Cheng Qianye squeezed Mo Qiao Sheng’s hand, not allowing him to avoid her. She reached out her other hand and touched his forehead.

The skin of his forehead was scalding hot, scaring her.

“Fever? You’re burning up so badly!”

Cheng Qianye looked at Mo Qiao Sheng’s face that was flushed red and stood up, her mood feeling complex.

She knew that she liked this man a lot, but in her subconsciousness, she had always unintentionally placed herself aloft, feeling that she was the party who did most of the “giving.”

At that moment, she was suddenly aware that all those things she thought she had given him were merely things she had done based on her high position, an easy and trivial matter.

And towards her, Mo Qiao Sheng was always doing his utmost, giving up everything and even placing her in a position that was more important to him than his life. Despite the fact that he didn’t even love her.

She pulled Mo Qiao Sheng over to her original position on top of the soft pile of grass and pushed down on his shoulder, forcing him to lie down and rest.

“Master.” Mo Qiao Sheng struggled for a moment.

“Lie down. If you get up, I’ll get angry.”

Cheng Qianye drenched a handkerchief with the remaining water before placing it on his scalding forehead and gently covered his body as well.

Afterwards, she sat down cross-legged beside him and used her knife to peel off the skin from the remaining fruit before cutting the white flesh into small pieces. Little by little, she fed it all to Mo Qiao Sheng.

“Eat it quickly.” She said.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s eyes flitted back and forth, before settling on the cliff wall.

Cheng Qianye reached out her hand, softly stroking his blazing forehead. Mo Qiao Sheng’s eyes closed tightly, his eyelashes trembling. The skin around his eyes and the tip of his nose was faintly flushed.

He has such a contradictory character. He is obviously such a strong man, but he’s always crying in front of me. 

These heart-pounding moments always happened so suddenly, catching her by surprise.

But Cheng Qianye did not intend to ignore the feelings in her heart.

I really like him. He’s so adorable, he always makes my heart pound.

Cheng Qianye looked at Mo Qiao Sheng who was gasping faintly, unable to suppress those cute yet pitiful teardrops from escaping through his tightly closed eyelashes and trailing down from the tip of his reddish nose, one by one.

Cheng Qianye bit her lip. I really want to kiss him. I want to declare my feelings loud and clear, tell him that I’ve fallen for him.

But soon, Cheng Qianye’s heart seemed to sink back to its original state, making her want to sigh.

Even if he is loyal to me, he still doesn’t like me.

When Xiao Xiu was infatuated with Cheng Qianyu, there was always a pink glow which arose from the depths of his soul encompassing him whenever he saw his sweetheart’s face. This colour was the representation of his passion.

Looking at the sapphire blue lustre that surrounded Mo Qiao Sheng, for the first time, Cheng Qianye felt a sense of loss.