[BL] Eternal Spring

第十九章

As the night deepened in the forest, the ruler-subject pair sat in silence. Jiang Zhilan awkwardly tended to the fire, his gaze occasionally flitting over to Liu Qingyuan's figure. The tangled sticks scratched his soft hands and the pile was growing alarmingly smaller. He...hadn't picked up the best firewood.

Liu Qingyuan stared at the sliver of moonlight that he could see from the hole. The slight bend in the tunnel blocked some of the wind, but with winter approaching, the chill was still noticeable. The cave's temperature steadily decreased. After that hug, Liu Qingyuan wasn't feeling as feverish but suddenly he wished for it back. The cold...buried into his bones and refused to let go. Liu Qingyuan broke from his trance, turning his head to gaze at the pitifully small fire and the even smaller pile of twigs. The image invoked a cloud of despair in his chest.

"I can go get more firewood," He said, his voice a little hoarse. Only the wind was a bit cold; it wasn't like it was snowing. Jiang Zhilan's head snapped up.

"N-no need." You're injured... Liu Qingyuan shot him a sharp look.

"Do you want to freeze?"

"..." Hearing no reply, Liu Qingyuan pushed himself to his feet, pausing for a moment to let his head stop spinning from the sudden movement. He felt a hand on his arm and looked down to the strange look on the king's face.

"I can go." Liu Qingyuan pulled his arm awkwardly away and turned his head anywhere but at him. The king's lips were pink from worrying them between his teeth. He mentally smacked himself for noticing. What were you thinking?!

"Can you defend yourself?" Liu Qingyuan changed the topic. The king felt like he was mocking him so he let out in an indignant huff.

"Of course I can! What kind of ruler wouldn't know how to defend themselves?" Liu Qingyuan scoffed internally. Gongzhuan ah, Gongzhuan, looks like you need to step it up. Even the king studies diligently and doesn't slack off. His face twisted at the memory of Gongzhuan's king. It didn't matter anyways, he was only loyal to his master. Only his master...

"Do you even know what to look for?" Jiang Zhilan scowled at his words.

"I won't make the same mistake twice." He glanced at the pile of pitifully thin twigs. Jiang Zhilan had pulled his tattered clothing tighter around him and prepared to head into the chill. Liu Qingyuan pulled him back. "What?"

Be careful. He wanted to say, but the words tangled in his throat. He let the king go and turned his head away. "Nothing." Jiang Zhilan stared at him suspiciously for a few seconds.

"Well, you can try to sleep or something." And he was gone.

Liu Qingyuan stood in the dimly lit cave, staring at the small fire. After a few moments, he walked over, crouching beside it to feed a few frail twigs into it. Liu Qingyuan sat down, staring into the dancing flame, its small form flickering tantalizingly like a dancer clad in red. He eventually laid down to stave off the dizziness. A cold draft whistled into the cave and Liu Qingyuan found himself wishing the king would hurry up.

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Liu Qingyuan had slept himself into a daze but he became alert the moment another presence entered the cave. He kept his eyes closed, tracking Jiang Zhilan's position by the sounds of rustling cloth and the clack of wood against wood. Jiang Zhilan glanced over, seeing Liu Qingyuan's still form lying with his eyes closed. He quietly pushed a big piece of wood into the flame, poking it occasionally as heat flared in the cave.

With the combined heat of the fire and his fever-muddled head, Liu Qingyuan was involuntarily pulled into sleep.

Jiang Zhilan sat there for a while, occasionally looking at Liu Qingyuan's sleeping face. He looked so serious even when he was sleeping. Eventually, his gaze shifted lower, to the edge of coarse bandage that peeked out the neck of his loose robes. That mark he'd seen...