My Beloved Enemy

10. Mood Killer

"You will die, you know that right?"

The cruel question hung in the air, boding ill. Du YuShi stared at Yu Qiao Bai with cold eyes for a while then he clicked his tongue.

"Are you having fun?"

"As much as you had last night," Yu Qiao Bai returned the cold gaze. His grudge was never-ending.

Du YuShi tsk-ed before hissing with pain and the cold gaze of the prince immediately left its place into concern.

"I was kidding, I am terribly sorry," Yu Qiao Bai said apologetically as he sat down behind Du YuShi, "I will take out the arrow and get rid of the poison, it will make you lose your senses for a while, so don't worry," he explained softly and Du YuShi couldn't help but being touched by the unexpected care he received. The prince even sent his soldiers away so that they wouldn't see him weak.

"En." Well, he was touched but not to the extent of saying something nice.

Yu Qiao Bai rolled his eyes and without giving a heads up, he pulled out the arrow, making Du YuShi grit his teeth. Then he pressed his mouth to the wound and started to suck the greenish-reddish poisoned blood.

"What are you doing?!" Du YuShi wanted to turn around to stop him, but Yu Qiao Bai didn't let him. Why was he so nice to him?

"There is no other way," the prince said and continued to suck the blood and spit it to the ground.

Du YuShi was flabbergasted as he would never expect such a caring act from the enemy prince. He sat there in a frozen state, too conscious of the cold lips on his skin and his heartbeat pounding inside his chest.

After a short while later - one hundred years for Du YuShi-, Yu Qiao Bai stopped his act and poured some medicine onto the wound before wrapping it with a piece of his inner garment.

"It is done, but don't move, give yourself time until your senses back," Yu Qiao Bai patted his shoulder lightly and stood up. However, he swayed on his feet and was about to fall, if only a firm hand didn't grab his thin arm and help him back to the log he was sitting a second ago.

"Look who's talking, it is you who shouldn't move," Du YuShi snorted but there was apparent worry in his eyes, "you didn't swallow it accidentally, right?"

Yu Qiao Bai let out a chuckle, "of course not," he said, omitting the fact that the poison could still affect without being swallowed.

"Better not," Du YuShi reached his hand and wiped a drop of blood from Yu Qiao Bai's mouth with his sleeve, making the prince gape.

"Wait! You are able to move!" the prince finally noticed, but better late than never, right?

The general smirked, "I am from Du, we are almost immune to all poison types," he said proudly and took the hapless Arbutus out of his sleeve, reaching it towards the prince, "here, eat it, it will remove the blood taste."

Yu Qiao Bai was taken aback but came around rather quickly, "I told you I don't want your extra food," he said, looking at the fruit coldly.

Du YuShi heaved a sigh and forcefully put the fruit into his cold hand, "it is not extra, it was yours from the beginning," he confessed aloofly.

Looking at him with a glint in his eyes, the prince laughed, "why was it so hard to say so?"

"Because I don't like you." Damn it! It was not what he wanted to say!

"Oh," Yu Qiao Bai sighed and stood up, "well, I won't give the fruit back," he said and walked to his carriage with tired steps.

Behind him, Du YuShi cursed himself with all the curses he could think of. He didn't know why but each time he ended up being hostile towards him. Damn it!

"General, are you okay?" Dong Feng broke the general's self-cursing session.

"Yeah, it was just a stupid arrow," Du YuShi snorted, "but next time, be more careful!"

"Yes General, we are terribly sorry," Dong Feng and Chun Hua bowed their heads and the others arrived.

Without wasting more time, the small convoy was back on the road. As the area they were passing wasn't inhabited, they couldn't find a village to rest. At dusk, they lost their hope and decided to rest near a river to Yu Qiao Bai's dismay.

Ren Jing and Fu Jian built a fire, Dong Feng and Chun Hua went to collect some fruits, Hua Suo and Wu Bo went into the river, hoping to catch some fish while Du YuShi was sitting on a rock, his eyes glued to Yu Qiao Bai who was sitting on another rock a bit far from him.

Although the prince seemed normal, watching him intensely for a while, the general could see his moves were slower than usual and now and then his face contorted with pain.

"Are you okay?" the words spilled from Du YuShi's mouth unwittingly when his heart couldn't take it anymore.

Yu Qiao Bai smiled teasingly, "for someone who doesn't like me, you ogle me way too much."

Du YuShi jumped onto his feet to leave the area, but hearing Yu Qiao Bai's wry laughter, he turned around and said "why would I ogle a ghost-like creature like you?"

It worked and the regret was instant. Yu Qiao Bai stopped laughing abruptly and hurt flashed across his face. His eyes became dull as the simile "ghost-like creature" was echoing in his mind.

"I didn-" Du YuShi attempted to apologize after seeing the hurt expression on Yu Qiao Bai's face, but the latter raised his hand, stopping him.

"I am tired of your mood swings," the sad prince uttered and went back to his carriage, leaving the regretful general by himself so that he could curse himself freely.

Even when everyone was back to the camping area, Yu Qiao Bai didn't leave his carriage. Du YuShi asked Dong Feng to ask Chun Hua to invite Yu Qiao Bai for dinner, but he didn't come out, saying he wasn't hungry. Therefore, Chun Hua took some fruits to him and returned with a sulking expression.

"Oi, why your prince don't like fire?" Ren Jing asked Chun Hua as they were all sitting around the fire.

Chun Hua kept her silence, looking at the fire with melancholy.

"Oi, tell us!" Hua Suo pressed, making Chun Hua irritated.

"He just can't, okay?" she snapped at them.

"Can't?" The statement piqued Du YuShi's attention. What did that mean? Was he traumatized by a past incident related to fire?

"Why? Also he doesn't eat anything warm, are they related?" Fu Jian couldn't help but ask and Du YuShi was grateful for it.

"It is none of your business," Chun Hua shut them up and focused her attention to the fruit she was munching. However, Dong Feng got the fruit from her hand gently and replaced it with the fish he cooked over the fire. They exchanged a smile and while the others were looking at them with awe, Du YuShi put his fish on a leaf.

When everyone was busy with random stuff, Du YuShi pulled Chun Hua aside and gave her the fish he reserved. "Take this to your annoying prince," he said, trying to sound indifferent.

"He doesn't eat hot food," Chun Hua tried to explain again, but the general was prepared for it.

"It has already cooled," he said, contended, "it won't taste so good, but he should eat something other than fruits, he looks like starving."

Chun Hua gaped at his attentiveness and could only nod.

"Don't tell me it is me who gave it," Du YuShi warned her and she went to the carriage with an extremely confused mind.