The summer in Yongdu was unbearably hot and dry, with even the air feeling scorching.
Not long after the Beginning of Summer, Wen Qingci’s coughing became increasingly frequent.
Along with this, he grew noticeably thinner.
His body was fundamentally weak and couldn’t withstand the torment of the extreme heat.
Having long grown accustomed to this, Wen Qingci himself wasn’t particularly concerned.
It was Xie Bufeng who was more anxious than him.
Court affairs had already fallen into a regular pattern, and seeing the temperature gradually rising, Xie Bufeng simply handed matters over to Xie Guanzhi, who was now the Imperial Younger Brother, and instead went with Wen Qingci to Songxiu Manor.
As emperor, he didn’t bring attendants with him.
Only Song Junran accompanied the two of them, traveling by boat back to Songxiu Manor in an extremely low-key manner.
The Valley of Divine Physicians was like spring all year round, always a good place to escape the summer heat.
In addition, the valley had abundant medicines and numerous medical books, making it more suitable for recuperation and for researching methods to detoxify “Tianci” poison.
Normally, it would take only a day to reach the valley after entering the mountains.
But this time, Song Junran led Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng through the forest for a full day and a half.
Only after ensuring that Xie Bufeng couldn’t remember the route did he circle back to the correct direction and return to the valley.
However, Xie Bufeng didn’t tell Song Junran that, having led troops through sand dunes before, he had unintentionally memorized the path into the valley despite not trying to…
The tinkling sound of mountain springs, accompanied by silvery moonlight, came through the bamboo forest to their ears.
With each step deeper into the valley, the temperature dropped a little more.
After passing through the bamboo forest and seeing the fence and bamboo houses,
The summer heat had completely disappeared.
Walking to the courtyard, Wen Qingci couldn’t help but slow his pace and look up at the tall mulberry tree.
“What is it, Qingci?”
Wen Qingci smiled and shook his head gently: “It’s been over a year… I just never thought that after leaving the valley last time, it would be so long before I returned.”
Song Junran jumping down from the tree, saying he would go with him to Yongting Prefecture, seemed like only yesterday.
The night was deep now, and everything around was so quiet that only the sound of mountain springs remained.
Wen Qingci’s voice naturally softened.
Looking back now, the events of the past year were indeed somewhat unexpected.
The nights in the valley were somewhat cool.
The wind from the mountain ravine carried a chill, disheveling the long hair at Wen Qingci’s temples.
Xie Bufeng slowly reached out, tucking his hair behind his ear.
Finally, he gently embraced Wen Qingci, closed his eyes, and kissed the top of his head, saying: “This year has been like a dream to me.”
Even though he was already with Wen Qingci, even though he had already declared it to Yi Mountain and to heaven and earth,
Xie Bufeng still often woke up startled from dreams, searching for Wen Qingci’s figure, making sure the past year wasn’t just a beautiful dream.
Wen Qingci couldn’t help but raise his hand and gently pat Xie Bufeng’s arm.
“-Ahem!” Song Junran, walking ahead, cleared his throat and said sternly, “It’s getting late, save whatever you have to say for tomorrow.”
After a pause, he added through gritted teeth: “Your Majesty, mind your status.”
Xie Bufeng sticking to Wen Qingci’s side all day was truly somewhat irritating in Song Junran’s view.
Wen Qingci’s earlobes reddened slightly at his senior brother’s words.
He cleared his throat and said softly to Xie Bufeng: “Let’s go, it’s getting late, we should rest first.”
“All right.” Xie Bufeng kissed Wen Qingci’s earlobe before finally releasing him.
Judging by the moon’s position, it was already past the Hour of the Rat (midnight).
By the moonlight, Xie Bufeng finally cast his gaze into this small courtyard where Wen Qingci had lived.
It was about the same size as the small courtyard in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
In the yard, there was only one bamboo hut and a huge mulberry tree.
Xie Bufeng obediently followed behind Wen Qingci, walking toward the room.
Having walked in the mountains all day, Wen Qingci’s voice was slightly hoarse from fatigue, like a thin veil sliding past Xie Bufeng’s ear: “This mountain spring didn’t originally flow through my small courtyard. My master specially had someone come to change its course, making it flow around the back of my yard.”
Xie Bufeng’s gaze followed Wen Qingci’s toward the back of the house.
Behind the small bamboo hut was a small stream like a silver ribbon.
He had never seen such a clear stream before, where even every pebble at the bottom was visible.
And behind the mountain spring was another bamboo forest.
Xie Bufeng vaguely saw something glowing among the bamboo.
“Qingci, what’s that?” he asked.
“Oh, that,” Wen Qingci stopped and glanced at the bamboo forest, saying, “There are many hot springs in the valley, and that is one of them.”
As he spoke, his tone carried a hint of nostalgia.
The houses in the valley were concentrated in flat areas, and while there were many mountain springs around, only this one was close to the houses.
Affected by that childhood incident, when Wen Qingci first entered the valley, his requirements for water were extremely strict.
He didn’t trust well water drawn from dark well openings, only mountain springs.
So the old valley master specially cleared out this place for Wen Qingci to live.
After a moment of silence, he said softly: “…This was specially chosen for me by my master.”
“In a few days, let’s go see him.”
“Good.” Wen Qingci smiled and nodded, finally pushing open the door gently.
A hint of bamboo fragrance wafted out from the room.
“Unlike Yongdu, the valley is like spring all year round, so there’s no need to worry about staying warm. Most of the rooms here have walls made of bamboo.”
By the moonlight, Wen Qingci introduced Xie Bufeng to the place where he had lived for more than a decade.
“Smell that, the room still carries a bamboo fragrance.” The familiar scent made Wen Qingci feel especially at ease, and his tone became particularly relaxed.
As they spoke, the two had already entered the room.
Before they could bend down to light the oil lamp in the room, Xie Bufeng, following behind Wen Qingci, suddenly stepped forward impatiently and embraced him tightly from behind.
Then he buried his face in the crook of Wen Qingci’s neck, took a deep breath, and said hoarsely: “It is indeed fragrant.”
Wen Qingci: “…”
He wasn’t referring to the bamboo fragrance in the room, but to the bitter scent on Wen Qingci’s body.
“Your Majesty, please get up.” Wen Qingci somewhat awkwardly tried to peel Xie Bufeng off him.
But Xie Bufeng wouldn’t let go: “Don’t call me ‘Your Majesty,’ it’s too formal.”
“Then what should I…”
Before Wen Qingci could finish speaking, Xie Bufeng pulled him down onto the bamboo couch.
“Husband or Bufeng, you choose,” he whispered in Wen Qingci’s ear.
Knowing that Wen Qingci and Song Junran were bringing someone back, people from the valley had come early to clean away the dust and open the windows for ventilation.
Even now, the window of the room remained open.
The moonlight from the valley shone through the window into Xie Bufeng’s eyes.
Making his amber eyes appear exceptionally light.
The next moment, Wen Qingci suddenly lowered his gaze and smiled gently.
After a pause, he carefully whispered in Xie Bufeng’s ear, calling him by the name that Xie Bufeng had thought he would never use.
Xie Bufeng’s eyes instantly darkened.
Most of the furniture in the bamboo house was also made of bamboo.
Wen Qingci had only intended to tease Xie Bufeng a little, not realizing he had accidentally stirred up trouble.
He had always been a light sleeper and slept quietly.
It wasn’t until that night that Wen Qingci belatedly realized how easily the bamboo couch could make noise.
Wen Qingci’s hands tightly gripped the fabric on Xie Bufeng’s shoulders, nearly biting through his own lip.
…
Concerned about his health, Xie Bufeng dared not be too rough.
But in the end, Wen Qingci still slept until noon the next day.
He didn’t even notice when Xie Bufeng carried him to the hot spring behind the small courtyard.
When he woke up, besides meals, there was half a watermelon on the table.
-Xie Bufeng had sunk it in the small stream behind the house early that morning.
Now it was perfectly crisp and sweet.
As the sweet, cool juice spread in his mouth, Wen Qingci couldn’t help but think: Xie Bufeng seemed to have adapted to life in the valley faster than he had imagined.
——————————
Perhaps because he could hear the evil thoughts in people’s hearts from a young age, Xie Bufeng, with his profound understanding of human nature, could get along well with most people if he wanted to.
…Usually, Xie Bufeng despised hypocrisy the most.
But after returning to the valley with Wen Qingci, he changed.
Xie Bufeng, who had been proud and unruly in his youth, disdaining to please anyone, for the first time had the idea of building good relationships with others, and put this idea into practice.
At first, people were still somewhat afraid of him, only daring to glance from afar or cautiously greet him.
But after just a few days, Xie Bufeng gradually integrated into the valley.
According to Song Junran-he was blatantly buying people’s hearts.
Xie Bufeng had ordered specialties from Yongdu to be sent to Songxiu Manor.
Then he asked the medicine servants to bring those things back to the valley.
As emperor, what Xie Bufeng sent were naturally rare treasures.
Besides the silk and brocade tributes from various regions,
There were also fruits from the northern territories and western regions.
In just a few days, the children in the Valley of Divine Physicians had completely forgotten their initial nervousness and fear of him.
Some of the younger and bolder ones even dared to ask Xie Bufeng to go herb gathering with them.
“Your Majesty should go with them,” seeing those figures peeping in and out at the door, Wen Qingci, sitting at the desk, slowly put down his brush and took out a chart, “I happen to need someone to find a certain herb. Didn’t Your Majesty express interest in herb gathering a few days ago?”
He opened the chart and showed the illustration inside: “This herb is called Frost Divine Mushroom, one of the ingredients for ‘Tianbi.'”
Xie Bufeng slowly frowned and took the chart.
These illustrations were all drawn by Wen Qingci himself, so he handled them with extra care.
Xie Bufeng wasn’t really interested in herb gathering; he just wanted to find various excuses to stay by Wen Qingci’s side.
But upon hearing that the Frost Divine Mushroom was related to Tianbi, Xie Bufeng flipped through the chart and finally nodded in agreement.
However, just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and corrected: “Qingci, don’t call me ‘Your Majesty.'”
“…Ahem,” Wen Qingci cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, then said softly, “All right, Bufeng.”
Like a feather falling into a stream.
Wen Qingci didn’t like the name “Bufeng.”
After all, the idiom “born at the wrong time” (bu feng shi) didn’t have a good connotation.
But Xie Bufeng himself didn’t mind.
Hearing Wen Qingci call his name, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Xie Bufeng’s lips.
“Let’s go find the Frost Divine Mushroom,” he turned and said to the young medicine servant.
“All right!”
Only after their figures had disappeared from sight did Song Junran, who had come with the medicine servants, lean against the doorframe with his arms crossed, giving Wen Qingci a meaningful smile: “Frost Divine Mushroom? If I remember correctly, the valley doesn’t lack those, does it?”
“Tell me,” Song Junran straightened up and walked toward Wen Qingci, “why did you send Xie Bufeng away? What are you planning to do?”
Wen Qingci knew he couldn’t hide it from his senior brother.
He sighed lightly and said: “I want to try to heal my left hand.”
Before going to Lianhe, that small snake had always been coiled around Wen Qingci’s arm, occasionally biting him.
This sensation was not pleasant, but it was indeed the only method currently available to heal his left hand.
During the last surgery, it was thanks to Song Junran’s assistance that they were able to complete it successfully.
As a doctor, Wen Qingci naturally couldn’t give up on his left hand.
…When Wen Qingci left the Valley of Divine Physicians, he hadn’t brought the small snake with him.
Therefore, his treatment had been suspended for more than a year.
Thinking of this, Wen Qingci couldn’t help feeling anxious.
“Tsk tsk, I understand,” Song Junran exposed Wen Qingci’s little secret, looking into his junior brother’s eyes, “You’re afraid Xie Bufeng will worry if he’s around, so you had to send him away.”
Though reluctant to admit it, this was indeed the case.
Wen Qingci somewhat awkwardly shifted his gaze: “Where did Senior Brother put that snake? I’ll go find it myself.”
“No need.” As he spoke, Song Junran suddenly walked around the desk and stood opposite Wen Qingci.
He sighed softly, then suddenly said: “Qingci, Senior Brother is very happy.”
Song Junran’s voice echoed in the small bamboo house.
Wen Qingci couldn’t help but look up at him.
…Happy.
What did Senior Brother mean?
Mountain springs flowed down from above, hitting rocks with a tinkling sound.
Song Junran sniffled, looking out the window while saying softly: “If Father were still here, knowing you finally have someone you care about, he would be happy too.”
His junior brother of the past was like a beautiful kite without a string.
He flew higher and higher, diving into dark clouds and storms, unaware of what “danger” meant.
And now, this concern and care had finally become a tether.
Gently pulling Wen Qingci back from the storm.
Song Junran’s voice was rarely so calm and serious.
After speaking, the blue-robed Valley Master suddenly smiled.
He patted his junior brother’s shoulder as he used to in childhood, saying with a half-smile: “Looking at it this way, you and Xie Bufeng being together is actually quite good.”
“Come on, I’ll take you to find that snake.”
…
The medicines in the Valley of Divine Physicians were not only gathered from the wild but also partly cultivated.
Wen Qingci hadn’t expected that his senior brother would keep the snake in the forest where he grew medicinal herbs.
Song Junran carried a medicine box into the forest and lit the incense inside.
In just a few minutes, the fragrance was dispersed by the wind, permeating throughout the forest.
Then, the small white snake, attracted by the scent, slithered out from the forest.
“Take it up,” Song Junran extinguished the incense and said to Wen Qingci.
“All right.”
Wen Qingci paused, slowly rolled up his sleeve, and lowered his hand.
The small white snake seemed to still recognize Wen Qingci. After reaching the vicinity of the incense, it first flicked its tongue for a few seconds, then very naturally coiled around Wen Qingci’s finger.
Then, it bit down hard on his wrist.
“Ah…”
After not being bitten by this small snake for over a year, despite being mentally prepared, when those two sharp fangs pierced his flesh, Wen Qingci couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
His fingers also began to tremble slightly.
Gritting his teeth, he sat down on a nearby stone bench.
“This snake has grown considerably over the past year,” Song Junran came over and took a look, his brows tightly knitted, “Its teeth are much sharper than before.”
“It seems so,” Wen Qingci lowered his gaze to look at his arm, “It didn’t bleed this easily before.”
His fingers were still trembling.
The pain from the snake bite lasted for a very long time.
Like a form of torture.
Dark red blood seeped from the wound.
Like a long red line, tightly wrapping around Wen Qingci’s arm.
At first glance, it was truly horrifying.
Even Song Junran, who had initially proposed this treatment, couldn’t help but frown: “…Perhaps we should stop for today. In a few days, I’ll find you a smaller snake; this one’s fangs are just too sharp.”
“There’s no need for such trouble.” Wen Qingci had also studied the medical books left by the old Valley Master.
He knew the snake itself wasn’t rare at all, just a non-venomous small snake caught from the countryside.
But the medicinal herbs used to feed it to this state were priceless.
After speaking, Wen Qingci gently raised his right hand and stroked the small snake’s head.
Recalling the one-hour limit he had set before, Song Junran couldn’t help but add: “From now on, let’s keep the daily treatment time within half an hour.”
He then took out an hourglass from under the stone table and placed it on the table.
Hearing his words, Wen Qingci hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
Xie Bufeng was in the valley and constantly by his side; if the treatment lasted too long, he would certainly discover it.
The small white snake had been brought back to the valley by Song Junran early on.
“Treatment” had become its instinct.
Before long, the small snake released its bite and crawled up along Wen Qingci’s arm, biting down on the most tender part of his inner arm.
Wen Qingci’s face instantly turned extremely pale, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Fresh red blood dripped from his fingertips, falling to the ground drop by drop, quickly forming a small puddle.
Sitting on the stone bench, Wen Qingci had tightly closed his eyes at some point.
The wind in the valley was quite strong today, and Wen Qingci heard only rustling sounds in his ears.
The hourglass sand fell grain by grain.
Sitting beside him, Song Junran kept his fists tightly clenched.
During treatment, time seemed to pass especially slowly.
The small snake on his arm released its bite and continued to move upward.
Leaving two deep wounds on Wen Qingci’s hand.
When the pain came, Wen Qingci bit his lip tightly.
He instinctively opened his eyes to look at the wound on his arm.
Then he hesitantly spoke: “Senior Brother, how should I treat the wounds on my arm, so that I can-” hide them from Xie Bufeng?
“So that you can hide them from me?”
The familiar voice traveled through the bamboo forest and wind, reaching Wen Qingci’s ears.
Sitting on the stone bench, Wen Qingci instinctively wanted to lower his sleeve to hide the scars and white snake on his wrist.
But before he could raise his right hand, Xie Bufeng, holding the Frost Divine Mushroom, had already walked slowly to his side.
His slightly curly black hair was simply tied back in a ponytail.
His sleeves were slightly rolled up, revealing honey-colored skin.
Xie Bufeng had withdrawn his smile, his tone particularly cold, looking extremely dangerous.
“No, that’s not it.”
Wen Qingci was about to struggle to explain further.
But Song Junran, sitting across from him, spoke first: “How is it not? Isn’t that exactly what you were about to ask me?”
Why was his Senior Brother suddenly siding with Xie Bufeng and undermining him?
Xie Bufeng’s gaze was fixed on Wen Qingci’s hand.
Song Junran explained at the right moment: “This is to treat his left hand.”
Xie Bufeng saw that because he had appeared so suddenly, Wen Qingci hadn’t had time to hide his arm.
The silvery white snake was coiled around his wrist, and Wen Qingci’s skin had become as pale as the snake itself.
Only the cinnabar mark on his forehead retained any hint of color.
Wen Qingci’s fingers were even trembling slightly from the pain.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?”
After an unknown period of silence, Xie Bufeng finally carefully lifted Wen Qingci’s hand.
The white snake still hadn’t released its bite.
Wen Qingci’s left arm was already covered in bloody marks.
Several puncture wounds were particularly eye-catching.
Coming from a military background, Xie Bufeng had thought he was long desensitized to injuries and blood.
The shape of these scars was too uniform; he had already guessed most of it.
But at this moment, his heart ached along with Wen Qingci’s arm.
So this was how the scars on Wen Qingci’s arm were formed.
They were created by this small snake, bite by bite.
“…It’s not too bad,” Wen Qingci said softly, somewhat guiltily.
Xie Bufeng didn’t speak, but knelt on one knee in front of Wen Qingci, gently holding his arm.
The last grain of sand fell in the hourglass.
“Time’s up.” Song Junran immediately stood up, removed the white snake as it released its bite from Wen Qingci’s wrist, and returned it to the forest.
Xie Bufeng slowly rose, took cotton from the open medicine box nearby, and carefully wiped the blood from Wen Qingci’s arm, then sprinkled medicine on it and bandaged it properly.
His movements were extremely careful; Wen Qingci’s wounds didn’t even hurt at all.
When he was in the northern territories, Xie Bufeng had always treated his own injuries.
…He hadn’t told Wen Qingci that whenever he was injured, he would think of the times when Wen Qingci had made him read medical books in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
And he would remember the bitter fragrance on his body.
“There, it’s done,” Xie Bufeng carefully lowered Wen Qingci’s sleeve and looked up at him, saying, “Don’t hide things from me anymore. From now on… let me accompany you, all right?”
He kept his head lowered, so Wen Qingci couldn’t see Xie Bufeng’s expression, only hearing a slight nasal quality in his voice.
After speaking, Xie Bufeng reverently placed a gentle kiss on Wen Qingci’s pale fingertips.
Then, through the gauze, he carefully kissed Wen Qingci’s wound.
Wen Qingci’s fingers trembled slightly: “All right.”
After speaking, he finally reached out his right hand as if waking from a dream, wanting to help Xie Bufeng up.
But at that moment, Xie Bufeng buried his face in Wen Qingci’s palm, gently nuzzling against it.
Only the two of them knew.
At that moment, Xie Bufeng secretly hid a tear in Wen Qingci’s palm.
##
