Tears welled beneath her long lashes, and as she opened her eyes, she desperately wished to see Nangong Mo's exquisite face. Instead, it was Ouyang Qinglin, who had been anxiously watching over her, his voice pulling her thoughts back.
The images of her and Nangong Mo together flashed in her mind, only to vanish once more.
Gu Qianying glanced around and sat up. Ouyang Qinglin reached out to help her, but Gu Qianying avoided his touch.
"Where is this?"
Ouyang Qinglin's hand, suspended in mid-air, stiffened. He withdrew it and replied, "A hunter's home."
"Miss Gu, you're finally awake. Do you still recognize me?"
The man in tiger skins stood to the side, his voice booming. Seeing Gu Qianying awake, he was overjoyed.
Three children peeking in from outside the door also ran in.
"Pretty sister is awake!"
The children's laughter and the man's rough voice made Gu Qianying notice that besides Ouyang Qinglin, there were others in the room.
"Who... who are you?"
The tiger-skinned man took out a letter from his embrace, stepped forward, and handed it to Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying unfolded it, her delicate eyebrows gradually furrowing as she read the contents. After finishing the letter, she looked up to meet the man's gaze, her voice quite cold, "So you are Qimu De."
"It seems Old General Gu has told you about the matters between him and me. To meet Old General Gu's most beloved granddaughter, Miss Gu, in my lifetime, I, Qi Mu, am truly fortunate."
Though their exchange sounded like old friends catching up, their expressions betrayed an unusual tension.
Ouyang Qinglin glanced at Qimu De again, then sat down beside Gu Qianying, moving a little closer to her.
"I am also very fortunate to meet the 'God of War of the Western Regions' that my grandfather spoke of, Prince Qimu. It seems I have my hands full right now."
Qimu De! Prince Qimu? The Western Regions?
Ouyang Qinglin's gaze deepened.
Gu Qianying's voice was as cold as ice. She looked at the three children beside Qimu De and then at the empty medicinal bowls on the round table. She took a breath, her mood currently unfavorable, and she needed time to process some things.
"Could you please leave me alone for a while? I'm a little tired."
Gu Qianying wanted to be alone for a bit.
Ouyang Qinglin looked at her, remaining silent.
Qimu De led the three children beside him out, and he followed. As he left, he glanced at Gu Qianying, a glint flashing in his eyes.
Ouyang Qinglin knew that Gu Qianying had not yet come to terms with Nangong Mo's death. He didn't pressure her further, turned, and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Inside, Gu Qianying was alone.
She walked barefoot to the window, opened it, and a cool breeze blew in. Her hair, disheveled by the wind, was left unkempt. Her gaze drifted towards the sky outside the window.
Beneath the moonlight, stars twinkled. She seemed to see Nangong Mo smiling at her, still in his favorite white robes, pure and flawless, aloof and cold.
"Brother Mo!"
The scene before her seemed to transform into childhood memories.
A girl in blue and a boy in white.
"Little girl, when you grow up, your Brother Mo will come to marry you, alright?"
"Okay, but... I'm very picky. I want... you to dote on me, love me, and spoil me. Can you do that?"
"Yes, I can."
"You answered too quickly, it's obvious you're just humoring me. Hmph, I'm angry now, I won't marry you."
She tugged at her skirt and ran away.
The boy in white chased after her nervously. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. Can I say it again?"
The little girl in blue stopped and looked at the boy in white, her lips pouting, her cheeks puffed out.
The boy nervously scratched his ear, unsure how to answer to satisfy the girl in blue.
"I... I... can do that."
The boy in white deliberately slowed his speech when answering the question.
The girl in blue became angry again. "Hmph! You say it so hesitantly, it's obvious you don't have me in your heart. I won't marry you when I grow up, I'll marry someone else."
"No! Absolutely not! If you dare do that, I'll... I'll..."
The boy in white panicked.
The girl in blue looked up at him. "You'll do what? Kill me?"
"Mmm!"
The boy in white suddenly kissed the girl in blue.
The girl in blue was startled and quickly pushed him away.
He touched his lips and smiled happily. "I kissed you, so no one else can have you, nor will they dare to. Because you are already mine."
"Brother Mo... you... you're being a scoundrel. I... I won't talk to you anymore."
The girl in blue covered her flushed face and ran away.
Running too fast, she didn't watch her step and tripped on a stone, falling to the ground and spraining her ankle.
The boy in white quickly ran over and tenderly blew on her scraped knee.
The girl in blue, afraid of pain, cried for a long time. The boy in white soothed her for a long time, and finally, the boy in white carried the girl in blue home on his back.
Lying on the boy in white's back, the girl in blue soon fell asleep. When she woke up, she saw that the boy in white's forehead and the back of his ears were covered in sweat, and his white robe was wrinkled beyond recognition.
Under the scorching sun, she was still sleepy, but he was tired. Yet, she knew that even if he was exhausted, he wouldn't put her down.
Gu Qianying's eyes grew moist, and two lines of tears slid down, dripping onto the back of her hand.
She picked up a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
She never knew that in the deepest, softest part of her heart, someone had already taken root. This beautiful memory had vanished from her mind, causing her to forget the bits and pieces of her time with Brother Mo.
In her previous life, she later met the scumbag Nan Rongqi and embarked on a series of torturous encounters with him. This was also due to forgetting Brother Mo. If she hadn't forgotten Brother Mo, she thought, her previous life would have had a different ending.
If in this life, her Brother Mo were still alive...
But there was simply no "if" in this world.
Her Brother Mo would never appear again.
In the starry sky, the phantom only she could see vanished like a fleeting epiphyllum.
In her eyes, the look of pain turned to hatred.
The Emperor of Xia, Ouyang Ting, Ouyang Wan'er, the Eastern Sheng Kingdom, Nan Rongqi, Emperor Nangong... all of them had wanted Nangong Mo dead. They had finally gotten their wish!
Beneath her flowing sleeves, she clenched the handkerchief tightly. Closing the window, Gu Qianying turned around, her pupils brimming with hatred. She walked to the round table and sat down. Taking out self-prepared silver needles, she inserted them into the Neiguan and Jianshi acupoints on her inner forearm.
With one hand, she manipulated the needles. As the two needles vibrated, "Pfft!" she spat out a mouthful of black blood.
After removing the two needles from her inner forearm, Gu Qianying wiped the corners of her mouth with the handkerchief, then hid the handkerchief on her person. She stood up and opened the door.
"Little thing, are you alright?"
Ouyang Qinglin stood outside the door.
The moment Gu Qianying opened the door, he strode quickly towards her.
Gu Qianying remained silent, directly pulling him into the room. "Hurry and leave this place!"