Liu Yushu was utterly terrified. Her body couldn't help but tremble slightly. Her eyes shifted downward, and to her horror, she saw that the man's palm was covered in bright red blood. The blood trickled down her slender jaw and dropped onto her clothes one by one, blooming like glaring red lotuses.
The man moved his hand from her jaw to her neck. Her neck was fair, delicate, and slender. The man could easily grip it with one hand. With a slight squeeze, she felt a sense of suffocation. Tears welled up involuntarily, washing away the glaring bloodstains on her lips. She sobbed like a kitten, "Don't... don't kill me. Take whatever you want. I won't scream."
The man remained silent.
He tightened his grip on her neck. Just when she thought she was about to be strangled to death, the man suddenly released his hand. She heard the man behind her coughing violently several times, and then a pool of blood was spat at her feet, scaring her so pale that her scalp went numb.
Liu Yushu turned around in a panic, and her eyes widened in shock.
The man had collapsed on the ground, covered in blood. His white clothes were soaked through with the glaring red blood.
There was so much blood. She was so frightened that her legs went weak. She tightly covered her wildly pounding chest with both hands and dragged her wooden - like legs forward with great difficulty, bypassing the man. Just as her cold hand touched the door, her ankle was suddenly grabbed. She let out a soft cry of "Ah". The man's face was deathly pale. He moved his pale, thin lips and said in a faint voice, "Water..." Then he fainted.
Outside the door, it was pouring heavily. In the pitch - black rainy night, there wasn't a single night - watching servant to be found.
Liu Yushu took a deep breath, walked towards the man shiveringly, and carefully squatted down. Her trembling fingers slowly reached under the man's nose, and she felt a faint breath.
The man was still alive.
In the candlelight, she finally got a clear look at the man's appearance. He was emaciated, lying on the ground like a skeleton. His clothes had been torn open in several large gashes, and blood was gushing out continuously from the wounds inside.
This man's origin was unknown. Should she save him? But if he died in the room and was discovered by Concubine He, she would surely make trouble for her again.
Liu Yushu hesitated for a few moments, then went back to the inner room to fetch all the usable cloth. She came back to the man's side, gritted her teeth, endured her fear, and pressed her hands firmly on the man's wounds.
The cloth was soaked with blood, staining her ten delicate fingers red. Gradually, the man's wounds stopped bleeding.
The man opened his eyes a tiny slit. In that narrow opening, his hazy vision gradually cleared. The woman's fair and delicate face was stained with blood, and her bright eyes were full of fear. However, her trembling little hands kept wiping a wet handkerchief on his lips. The water trickled into his mouth, and his body, which seemed to have been drained of all strength, regained some energy.
Wu Qing's fingers moved slightly. His gaze fixed on Liu Yushu's slender neck stained with blood, but finally he didn't make a move.
Liu Yushu saw Wu Qing's long, crow - feather - like eyelashes flutter slightly. Realizing that he had woken up, she immediately shrank back like a frightened sparrow. She asked in a panicked whisper, "Who are you? What do you want by breaking in?"
Wu Qing propped himself up with his arms. His firm gaze fixed on the bowl in her hand, and he tightly pursed his lips without saying a word.
Liu Yushu slowly held out the bowl of tea to him. Her arm couldn't stop trembling, and only half a bowl of tea was left after it spilled.
Wu Qing snatched it away and tilted his head to drink it all in one gulp. His blood - red eyes were filled with cold vigilance.
Since he didn't answer, she didn't continue to ask. She was afraid that if she irritated him, he might attack her.
"If you're okay now, just leave," Liu Yushu said. Seeing that his clothes were torn and the wounds on his chest were faintly visible, she got up, looking back step by step. She quickly fetched a clean set of her younger brother's clothes from the cabinet and placed them on the ground where he could easily reach them.
Wu Qing stripped off his blood - stained clothes, exposing all his wounds. The skin was split open, and the flesh was mangled. Liu Yushu couldn't bear to look and silently turned her head away.
But Wu Qing didn't even皱 his brows. He pressed on his acupoints with his fingers and gasped for breath in a disordered way.
He was seriously injured. If she hadn't stopped the bleeding for him in time and given him water to drink just now, he might have died by now.
She had saved his life.
Liu Yushu looked at the bone marks showing under his cheekbones and the veins bulging on his neck. She knew that he was gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.
After thinking for a while, worried that he might die from the pain, Liu Yushu turned around again and fetched the golden sore medicine from the cabinet and handed it to him.
Her younger brother had been bed - ridden for a long time and had to take medicine all year round. The room was like a small pharmacy.
Wu Qing stared at her face. She looked nervous. Her beautiful almond - shaped eyes glanced at him and then quickly shifted away, looking just like a panicked little rabbit in front of a wild beast.
Compared to him, wasn't she just a rabbit? He could take her life with just a flick of his finger.
He took the golden sore medicine, bit open the lid with his teeth, and smelled it under his nose. His eyes widened in surprise. The jar contained rare and excellent golden sore medicine. With this medicine, his wounds would heal quickly.
Wu Qing sprinkled the medicine on his wounds. The pain immediately went deep into his bones. He frowned tightly, a layer of sweat beads appeared on his forehead, and he felt as if he was going to bite his teeth off. He squinted his eyes in unbearable pain.
Liu Yushu, who was standing beside him, felt the pain just by looking and held her breath.
After applying the medicine to the wounds on the front, he couldn't reach the wounds on his back no matter how he stretched his arms. He hung his head in great frustration and tightly clenched the medicine jar.
Liu Yushu saw his difficulty. After thinking for a while, since she had already helped him, she might as well see it through to the end. She asked tentatively in a soft, low voice, "Shall I help you?"