[BL] Eternal Spring

第十八章

"Qi...a...an!...Qingyuan!" something touched his face. Liu Qingyuan forced open his eyes a crack, seeing a sliver of the blue sky. He vaguely registered wet hair blocking the rest of his vision.

Warm air blew onto his face and he subconsciously turned his head away. The figure shot up at the movement, eyes darting to Liu Qingyuan's face. "Q-Qingyuan!" Jiang Zhilan's face went red. "You're awake!" Liu Qingyuan felt like his body was encased in ice. He lay there, slowly letting the feeling come back to his limbs and bringing with it, all the aches and pains. The poison punched him in the chest and Liu Qingyuan coughed, tasting copper in his mouth.

"Are you...are you okay?' Liu Qingyuan pushed himself up on shaky arms, a thin stream of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. His arm gave way and he collapsed, the king reaching out to steady him. "Maybe you should lie down-" He made to push him down but Liu Qingyuan grabbed his arm in an iron grip.

"Must...keep moving." A ragged breath escaped from his lips. The king's brow crashed down.

"Are you in any state to move?" He scolded. But Jiang Zhilan also took note of the lines of pain on his face, worry unconsciously leaking into his eyes.

"The assassins will come back soon enough. They don't seem the type to abandon their task until they collect a dead body."

"...how are you so certain?"

Liu Qingyuan didn't reply, instead, using Jiang Zhilan as a support to push his unsteady body up. The king had no choice but to help him. Liu Qingyuan staggered, his vision suddenly spinning and he bent over to spit out a mouthful of blood.

"You-!" Jiang Zhilan wanted to pull him down and make him sit but Liu Qingyuan kept an iron grip on him, fingers crumpling his drenched phoenix robes. He leaned so much on him, they were practically embracing. Heat eventually rose in Jiang Zhilan's face. "You..."

"Stay here," Liu Qingyuan tugged him closer. "For a moment." He clung onto him as his vision slowly cleared. Jiang Zhilan stood stiffly, feeling every rise and fall of Liu Qingyuan's chest and wanting to hide but having no place to do so. He tentatively patted Liu Qingyuan's back a few times.

Liu Qingyuan suddenly raised his head, fighting the pain that shot through his shoulder. He didn't mistake the soft sound of moving reeds. However there was no wind right now, which meant it was either an animal or their pursuers had caught up already.

Liu Qingyuan withdrew suddenly, staggered a step and pulled the king with him. "We have to go!" They half-ran, half-stumbled, their soaked clothing pulling at their exhausted forms. They ran for a bit but Liu Qingyuan still heard the rustling sounds. At the speed they were travelling they'd be caught soon.

Jiang Zhilan observed the relatively unfamiliar northern portion of the hunting grounds. However, he'd been coming annually since he was a child. Even if he'd never been in this area himself, he'd seen enough maps. "Upriver, there should be an outpost." Jiang Zhilan stumbled, nearly throwing both of them to the ground. Liu Qingyuan gritted his teeth, trying to take more of his own weight onto his own feet but his legs shook weakly. He abruptly pushed the king away.

"Hide!"

"What?" Liu Qingyuan touched his waist, but his sword wasn't there! He cursed, vision swaying as he spun around, trying to find a weapon of sorts. Hands grabbed him from behind.

"Don't stay! We've got to leave!" Liu Qingyuan tugged at the hands clutching at him.

"Run!"

"No!" The king looked around widely. To their left was the raging river, to the right, the stoney wall narrowed and the grass disappeared, eventually opening up a little. "Let's go over there,-"