Chapter 110: I Will Take Care of the Regent
A ray of sunlight fell upon his eyelids, warm and comforting.
Wei Wanlan’s knuckles flexed slightly, then his fingers twitched violently. He quickly tightened his grip on the person beside him, furrowing his brow as he slowly opened his eyes.
Before him was the azure sky of late spring and early summer, dotted with large, cotton-like clouds.
The sky was moving, the clouds were moving.
It seemed as if the sky and clouds were slowly drifting by… Only then did he realize that it wasn’t them moving, but himself. The Teleportation Talisman had placed him and Su Jingzhi on a small boat, floating along with the current.
Houses lined both banks of the river. The small boat passed under an arched bridge covered in moss. Beyond the bridge, green mountains surrounded them. They could see terraced fields carved into the hillsides and groves of flowering trees in full late-spring bloom. A waterbird stood silently on the bow.
Wei Wanlan had no time to admire the scenery. Since he was alive, he hurried to help the Regent up.
He had no medicine, but the other man was covered in wounds.
Afraid Su Jingzhi might suddenly perish, he propped him against the bow and carefully washed his face, dipping water to wipe away the bloodstains.
Blood mixed with the clear water.
Touching the Regent’s face with his fingertips, it was the first time Wei Wanlan had touched Su Jingzhi’s facial contours so openly and carefully. His knuckles were bent, his fingers trembling.
Su Jingzhi suddenly moved.
His eyelashes, wet with water, brushed lightly against Wei Wanlan, causing Wei Wanlan’s heart, already filled with anxiety and worry, to flutter. His cheeks and the tips of his ears instantly turned red.
“Regent?”
Wei Wanlan didn’t dare stop. He wiped Su Jingzhi’s face for a while longer, but seeing no further reaction, he began to panic, fearing it was a momentary rally before death. Frightened, he frowned slightly and then clumsily lowered his head.
He kissed Su Jingzhi on the lips.
Because both the Regent and Fu Jun had separately told him that grabbing their clothes and kissing could cure all illnesses when he was poisoned.
Wei Wanlan had “treated” him many times and felt that in this desperate situation, with a life at stake, trying one more time wouldn’t hurt.
The Regent’s lips were very dry, his breathing heavy and faint. The kiss was brief. Although Wei Wanlan was “treating” him, his face was already burning, and he couldn’t bring himself to extend his tongue.
However, blushing, he had a new idea. He thought Su Jingzhi must be very thirsty right now. Based on the period dramas he had watched, Wei Wanlan felt that protagonists always needed water before waking up.
Maybe giving Su Jingzhi some water would wake him up?
So—
He scooped up a handful of water from the river bay their boat was drifting through, intending to give the Regent some water to moisten his throat.
But the water slid down the corner of Su Jingzhi’s mouth, not entering his stomach.
Wei Wanlan was a bit anxious and tried pouring water a few more times.
But Su Jingzhi was basically unconscious. The water wouldn’t go down, and several times it almost flowed down his cheek into his ear, scaring Wei Wanlan even more.
He had been pampered since childhood and wasn’t experienced in taking care of others. But recalling how the Regent had once taken care of him, feeding him medicine by slowly pushing the spoon against his lips…
And he didn’t have a spoon right now.
The only way he could think of was to use his mouth instead of a spoon, forcing the water into the Regent’s mouth. So in his desperation, Wei Wanlan drank some water himself, then held Su Jingzhi’s head and slowly transferred the river water into his mouth…
During this process, their tongues inevitably touched.
Even though the other party was motionless and not as wild as usual, and Wei Wanlan was genuinely trying to save him, he was about to cry from shame. He inexplicably felt his face heat up doing this. The grainy texture of their tongues touching was distinct, and the Regent’s breath was very recognizable, even though he was unconscious.
He worked himself up until he couldn’t breathe, his eyes pitifully sour and red.
It turned out he had become this level of a bad kid. Even if Su Jingzhi did nothing, he could take the initiative to do things to Su Jingzhi that felt like making babies.
QAQ!
Stop imagining things!
“Cough, cough cough, cough cough cough cough—”
He coughed violently, gasping for breath.
Suddenly choking on water, his eyes filled with tears. When their lips parted, the Regent’s lips regained some color, showing a rosy hue like peach blossoms.
Wei Wanlan was secretly delighted, but then realized it was stained with the rouge from his own lips. His emotions fluctuated even more, almost dying of shame from the situation. He could only cover his small face with his two claws, habitually burying his head like an ostrich.
It was at this moment that Su Jingzhi woke up. He opened his eyes, his vision blurry, his throat hoarse. His injuries destined him not to move too much.
Su Jingzhi seemed to be groping for something. He didn’t speak, his movements a bit urgent. He finally reached out and grabbed Wei Wanlan, holding him tightly, but didn’t make a sound.
—Did I cure you?
Wei Wanlan asked in his heart.
But he didn’t dare to say it out loud. Initiating a kiss to cure an illness seemed too embarrassing.
Feeding water by kissing wasn’t something to brag about either, so he decided to keep it a secret. This way, the Regent would think he woke up naturally, and there would be no need for so much explanation.
But to his surprise, the Regent asked nothing. Su Jingzhi seemed indifferent to topics concerning himself.
He seemed to grope along Wei Wanlan’s hand, hurriedly checking upwards. Feeling no blood, he relaxed slightly. The two leaned side by side in the small boat, accompanied by the sound of water as the boat drifted with the current. Wei Wanlan didn’t dare break the silence.
—Because he discovered his “treatment” was very limited.
Although the Regent woke up, he seemed completely blind.
It was nearly noon, and the sun shone directly on Su Jingzhi. An ordinary person would at least squint in direct sunlight, but the Regent didn’t. His pupils were cloudy. Wei Wanlan didn’t dare stimulate him.
Not out of fear.
But because he seemed to understand how proud this person was… The huge detour he took back then, disguising himself as Fu Jun and refusing to admit it, was probably because he didn’t want anyone to know that the dignified Regent of Great Wei was poisoned, blind, and seemingly deaf.
Wei Wanlan’s heart sank. It felt sour.
He had to find a way to comfort this person, and do it silently and gently like spring rain.
Wei Wanlan said: “We met a hunter from the forest in the deep pit. The hunter killed the wolves. I used the valuables on you to exchange for some money and bought this boat. But I don’t know how to row, so we can only drift with the current.”
This statement was actually full of holes.
If one were to scrutinize it: What valuables? How did the hunter know there were wolves here? Why not ask the hunter to send them back to Luoyang?
But despite many doubts, Su Jingzhi didn’t pursue them. Regarding his current state—blind, tasteless, and hard of hearing—he needed time to accept and gradually adapt. Not appearing before the people of the Eastern Capital was actually a good thing.
In fact, Su Jingzhi had intended to hide and die alone when his body could no longer hold on.
The only miscalculation was that he couldn’t drive Wei Wanlan away in the end…
This was the person he least wanted to see him in this state. He hadn’t expected Wei Wanlan to still be following him.
Sometimes obedient, sometimes disobedient. When ordered to protect himself, he sacrificed himself instead. He didn’t know how Wei Wanlan avoided the wolves and brought him here. Silly.
Previously, Su Jingzhi planned to wait for death when the poison reached this stage.
But now, he wanted to live, and he must live.
Because the person he worried about most in this world, the little fool Wei Wanlan, had accidentally brought him to an unknown place. It seemed they couldn’t return for now. If he died, who knew how the little fool would be tricked, deceived, abducted, or cheated.
“Are we on a boat now?” Su Jingzhi asked.
“Yes, yes yes!” the little fool said.
Su Jingzhi felt the undulating current under the boat and asked: “Which river?”
Wei Wanlan: “Don’t know…”
“In what direction of Luoyang City?”
“Don’t know either.”
“Are there any special buildings nearby?”
Nearby was all water, mountains, and houses, nothing special. So Wei Wanlan fell silent again. To relieve the awkwardness, he strategically whimpered.
—Who knew where that ghost teleportation talisman would send people!
—Asking three questions and knowing nothing, you really can’t blame him!
Wei Wanlan pushed all the blame onto the unreliable Wise Ruler Development System in his heart.
Little did he know that his performance inadvertently strengthened Su Jingzhi’s desire to live.
If the Regent previously had some despair from the gradual loss of perception due to poisoning, now that negative emotion remained but could only be shown less and less. Su Jingzhi had no time to tend to his own frustration.
As long as he could move, he had to take Wei Wanlan back to a safe place…
“There are four main rivers near Luoyang,” Su Jingzhi said. “Since we are drifting along the river, it must be one of these four. Although they are all tributaries of the Yellow River, the ones further from the Yellow River are clearer.”
Wei Wanlan lowered his eyes to look at the water: “Mm. Relatively clear.”
Su Jingzhi nodded faintly: “Then don’t be afraid. We can drift. It’s not flood season now.”
Wei Wanlan was speechless for a moment. His hand stiffened on his skirt.
Seeing Su Jingzhi so calm and composed, not mentioning a word about his physical condition, Wei Wanlan admired him greatly.
Actually, Wei Wanlan was prepared to comfort Su Jingzhi’s soul like comforting emotionally collapsed protagonists in TV dramas.
Unexpectedly, his preparations were useless!
…Instead, it felt like his emotions were taken care of by the other party.
Wei Wanlan felt even more uncomfortable.
He always wanted to do something for the other party.
He felt this calmness brought him full heartache and guilt, preferring to face a Regent King who collapsed and needed him.
He carefully hid this thought.
While talking to Su Jingzhi, he observed him. He rarely scrutinized the other party so seriously before, but now the more he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt.
“What’s wrong?” Su Jingzhi closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly.
Unable to perceive Wei Wanlan’s expression, he could only pull him over, using his rough palm to check his temperature. A dying man, while still having perception, put down some burdens of his status. He asked gently: “Are you scared, hungry, or tired?”
Large tears fell onto Su Jingzhi’s clothes, melting into the fabric.
Wei Wanlan was crying silently.
When he was truly sad, he didn’t cry aloud, but just silently shed tears, drops falling one by one.
He didn’t know Su Jingzhi could be so good to him…
His hunger and fatigue existed, but were no longer important. He had an urge to plunge into Su Jingzhi’s arms. He suppressed this sudden thought and whispered: “Let’s find a way to treat your wounds.”
—Curing the Regent King is also to return to the main storyline and do missions as soon as possible, right?
Wei Wanlan told himself in his heart.
The drifting current was blocked by a rock in the river at a certain point, and the small boat turned sideways. Then the boat seemed about to spin in the water.
Wei Wanlan couldn’t swim. Afraid the boat would capsize, he tied the cable to the rock by the river and pulled himself ashore.
He helped Su Jingzhi up. One couldn’t step far, and the other couldn’t see. So they both fell on the river bank, wetting the clothes that had just been dried by the sun.
Going ashore meant finding a household. Where there was smoke, there were people.
Su Jingzhi couldn’t see, so Wei Wanlan followed this principle and led Su Jingzhi.
The village was built along the river. Coming ashore from the water meant entering the village from the middle instead of the main entrance. It was mealtime, and many houses had smoke coming out, likely cooking.
Wei Wanlan felt slightly relieved.
The tassel pearls hanging on his head and the silver earrings on his ears were worth some silver. Paying for herbs and lodging shouldn’t be a problem.
So he supported the Regent King’s hand and walked deeper into the village, choosing a house with a high gate, assuming the family was well-off, had surplus food, and spare rooms, capable of taking them in.
Wei Wanlan and Su Jingzhi knocked on the door.
The door creaked open. A middle-aged man answered, looking like the owner. He was quite fat, with wide-set eyes and a smiling face.
“Hello, uncle…”
However, the owner’s smile vanished the moment he saw Su Jingzhi covered in dried blood, his clothes slashed from fighting. The fat man slammed the door shut with a bang!
The door frame shook outside.
Wei Wanlan was startled, and Su Jingzhi frowned beside him. Afraid the Regent King would get angry with the people and feeling unhappy himself, he comforted: “It’s okay, there’s the next house. Not everyone will shut us out.”
Su Jingzhi: “Mm.”
But unexpectedly, this situation repeated many times.
Everyone showed fear when facing Su Jingzhi, as if he were a god of plague that absolutely couldn’t be let in.
Wei Wanlan and Su Jingzhi were rejected more than ten times in a row. Seeing they would miss mealtime, even if Su Jingzhi didn’t say anything, he knew the wounds might fester without treatment. They couldn’t sleep outside at night; they were too dirty and needed to wash.
Wei Wanlan decided to go alone.
Arranging for Su Jingzhi to stand at the corner first, Wei Wanlan knocked on the door himself.
The wooden door was dilapidated, and the inside could be seen through the fence.
The house chosen this time wasn’t picky about conditions. The small courtyard wasn’t big, with pomegranate flowers blooming inside and out. An old lady with a hunched back opened the door. Her face was wrinkled like a dried apple, her hair wrapped in a cloth, the exposed parts completely white.
“Grandma!” Wei Wanlan cried as soon as he came up, big tears falling from his eyes, his doe eyes instantly turning red.
“This little woman and her brother came out to play, but encountered bandits on the way. We fell down the hillside to escape, hungry, tired, and covered in wounds. Wuwu, we’ve been rejected all the way. We will repay you. Please take us in, please take us in QAQ…”
The old lady was observing him with a kind face.
Wei Wanlan made up his mind to find lodging before dark, trying hard to persuade the old lady with cuteness:
“Grandma, this little woman can do laundry, cook, water, and turn soil. This little woman is very hardworking and smart!”
Saying this, he blinked, revealing a look of wisdom.
The old woman asked the clever Wei Wanlan leisurely: “Oh? Little woman, why is your hair done in a married woman’s bun?”
“Uh…”
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