Chapter 786: I thought you were leaving (1/2)

The person tailing them all this time was none other than Tianning’s young General Mu Qingwu. Actually, Han Yunxi was waiting for him to approach her and say things outright, but all he did was follow them. Although Mu Qingwu had spoken up for them today, that very morning he had supported Gu Yuntian, too. Tianan wanted to join the alliance heading south, it was true. Han Yunxi couldn’t see through him, nor did she have the time to figure him out. She only knew his status as an enemy was unclear.

Under these circumstances, even if Mu Qingwu stood right in front of them, she wouldn’t deepen their friendship. Moreover, he wasn’t even saying a word.

“The road’s so wide that anyone can walk on it,” Han Yunxi said as she kicked open the gate.

Gu Qishao didn’t pry. As long as Mu Qingwu didn’t follow them inside, it was none of his business. He didn’t put a trifling power like Tianan Country into his notice at all. Gu Beiyue didn’t speak either, and the tension around the trio finally dissolved as they entered the courtyard. They came to a tacit agreement to head for the back courtyard, where Gu Qishao went to lie down lazily on a tree branch with his legs propped up. He plucked off two big red flowers and plopped them over his eyelids to block out the sun before settling down for a doze.

“This young gentleman’s tired to death. I’m going to take a nap, don’t wake me for lunch!”

Neither Han Yunxi nor Gu Beiyue replied, leaving only the sound of birds and insects to fill the noontime courtyard. Gu Qishao was only resting, not sleeping. He rarely slept even when night fell, to say nothing of broad daylight. When time passed with no sound, he secretly lifted one of the flowers to look around. What he saw was Han Yunxi and Gu Beiyue standing on one side, looking at him. He only pretended not to notice and slowly shut his eyes again before replacing the flowers for his rest.

But soon enough, he simply sat up and flashed the duo a bewitching smile. “What, is this young gentleman really that good looking?”

Han Yunxi bit her lip, her eyebrows creased tightly together like an old woman. After going through numerous complicated toadies and eliminating the south central region’s biggest threat, she hadn’t forgotten Gu Qishao’s sacrifice today. She would never forget for the rest of her life. Meanwhile, both people within and without Medical City were interested in tomorrow’s Apricot Woods Conference and the struggle for the position of academy head. For now, none of them were interested in Gu Qishao’s origins. But once the struggles ended and they had nothing else to do, Gu Qishao would become the subject of ridicule across the continent as well as their rival. Even Han Yunxi was curious how he’d survived all that torture to live normally, to say nothing of everyone else.

Anyone who consider the question. Did Gu Qishao have a unique constitution to pull him out of the mess? Could his body still be used for further medical research?

“Little Qi, how about I take your pulse for you?” Gu Beiyue spoke up.

Gu Qishao’s cheerful gaze immediately turned into ice. “What, you think this old fellow’s a freak? Or are you just pitying me?”

“Old Fiend…” Han Yunxi didn’t know what to say. She really wanted to joke with Gu Qishao and say, ‘You’re overthinking things, who would pity you!’ But she couldn’t smile no matter how she tried, much less voice her thoughts.

Gu Beiyue had once discovered something odd about Gu Qishao’s blood[1] and suspected something about Gu Qishao’s constitution, but he never thought it’d be something like this. Seeing the cruel look in his eyes now left Gu Beiyue unable to reply.

“Gu Beiyue, you should worry about tomorrow instead. You said to leave the rest to you, so if you can’t get things done, don’t blame this old man for starting a massacre!” Gu Qishao said icily before flying up the tree and over a wall, disappearing from sight. Neither Han Yunxi nor Gu Beiyue chased after him. Gu Qishao probably needed some peace and quiet for himself.

Now that his old scars had been ripped open, perhaps he’d act like the past and hide in a corner somewhere to lick his wounds. Han Yunxi assumed he’d vanish for a long time before showing up suddenly again--perhaps even longer than the last time he slipped away.

But she was wrong.

Soon enough, Gu Qishao returned with a huge bag of sweets. “Poison lass, this is from a century-old store on the west side of the city. Last time we left too quickly to buy anything. Eh, this time you shouldn’t miss out, it’s all your favorite flavors.”

So he went to buy me sweets.

When Head Elder Ling had exposed everything, when the records of past experiments scattered into the air, Han Yunxi hadn’t shed a single tear. But as she looked at the hug bag of sweets on the table now, they streamed down her cheeks.

“Sobsob...Old Fiend, I thought...I thought you were leaving.”

The last thing Gu Qishao wanted to see was her crying. He didn’t want to go when Long Feiye was by her side, and he wouldn’t leave if Long Feiye wasn’t around…

A trace of grief flickered past Gu Qishao’s eyes before he replaced it with a smile. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her face clean. “Aiya, you’re touched by only a big bag of sweets? Does His Highness Duke of Qin know about this? Poison lass, how about Qi gege buy off that store so it can make snacks just for you? You can throw aside Long Feiye and follow me instead?”

Han Yunxi grinned through her tears before picking up a green bean pastry and stuffing it into his mouth. “In your dreams!”

“It really is a nice fantasy!” Gu Qishao said seriously.

Han Yunxi kept being cheeky. “Don’t even think about it!”