As if trying to prove something, Qin Huaiqiu rolled up his sleeves, stepped on a vine to test its stability, and then started climbing up after ensuring it was safe.
Sikong Ting, afraid that something might happen to him, followed closely behind.
Qin Huaiqiu climbed extremely fast. In a short while, he had scrambled up to the middle of the mountain. Sikong Ting was slightly startled and quickly reminded him, "Be careful! Climb slowly!"
"Don't worry." Qin Huaiqiu was in high spirits. Holding onto the vine with his hands, a little mischievous thought suddenly popped into his mind. He turned his head to look at Sikong Ting below and shouted, "Your Majesty."
"Hmm?"
Qin Huaiqiu rubbed his foot against the rock wall.
The gravel on the rock wall crumbled into tiny pieces and fell rustling down, directly hitting Sikong Ting's face.
"Cough... Spit! Concubine De!" Sikong Ting spat out the sand in his mouth and cursed.
"Hahaha!" Qin Huaiqiu laughed gleefully. You, Sikong Ting, finally have your comeuppance. After having his fun for a while, he stopped teasing and continued climbing up on his own.
Sikong Ting wiped the sand off his face and scolded with a laugh, "Stop for me. Don't let me catch you..."
Suddenly, he froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glint of metal in the jungle. The long - term sense of crisis from being in a high position made Sikong Ting immediately realize what it was. He roared, "Watch out!"
Qin Huaiqiu thought he was just joking with him and said, "What's there to be careful of? I'm almost at the top..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the vine he was holding onto was suddenly yanked by Sikong Ting! His body swayed and he almost fell. Fortunately, he was quick - witted and grabbed another vine to steady himself. Scared out of his wits and breaking out in a cold sweat, he cursed, "Damn you..."
"Ding -!" An arrow accurately pierced into the rock wall beside Qin Huaiqiu's face, only about an inch away from his nose.
"!" Qin Huaiqiu was startled. His blood seemed to freeze for a moment. He suddenly felt the danger and didn't even bother to talk. He turned his head and climbed up frantically.
The moment Sikong Ting noticed the flying arrow, he started to act. He climbed up the vine at full speed. In the jungle behind them, after the first arrow was shot, there came the sound of "swish, swish, swish" as more arrows were launched.
Sikong Ting didn't have time to look back. He gritted his teeth and leaped upwards, covering Qin Huaiqiu's body firmly with his own. Then he wrapped one arm around Qin Huaiqiu's waist and carried him up the cliff quickly.
The arrows came faster than Sikong Ting had expected. When they were still an arm's length away from the top of the cliff, the sound of the arrows cutting through the air reached Sikong Ting's ears.
He gritted his teeth, exerted sudden force with his feet, and leaped upwards with Qin Huaiqiu in his arms!
Before Qin Huaiqiu could react, he felt his body being lifted by Sikong Ting, and then they both fell onto the ground. He was protected under Sikong Ting's body. As they landed, Sikong Ting propped one hand beside Qin Huaiqiu's head and let out a muffled groan.
"You..." Qin Huaiqiu smelled a trace of blood. He lowered his head and saw that an arrow had pierced through Sikong Ting's abdomen and was deeply embedded in the soil. Scarlet and boiling blood flowed out along the arrow shaft and dripped onto the ground.
"Your Majesty!" Qin Huaiqiu's eyes were bloodshot. Who dared to shoot at the emperor during the spring hunt? This was treason! It was a crime!
"... I'm fine. Run quickly!" Sikong Ting propped himself up, regardless of the arrow stuck in his abdomen, and wrapped his arm around Qin Huaiqiu and ran forward.
"They outnumber us." Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth. He knew that they needed to find a safe place as soon as possible. After all, they were outnumbered and had no chance of winning.
"Follow me." Sikong Ting felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He covered his wound and heard the rustling sound behind him, knowing that someone was chasing them. He gritted his teeth and led Qin Huaiqiu into the woods.
The two supported each other and ran forward. Worried about Sikong Ting's injury, Qin Huaiqiu didn't care about anything else. He put one of Sikong Ting's arms on his shoulder, supported his waist with one hand, and rushed forward with all his might.
"Turn left up ahead. There's a narrow crevice." Sikong Ting said. His voice was a bit weak. Maybe due to excessive blood loss, he was almost out of strength.
Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth and ran towards the left. Sure enough, he saw a very narrow crevice that could only allow one person to pass through at a time. He made Sikong Ting lean against a tree, took out a short knife from his waist, looked down at the arrow in Sikong Ting's abdomen with a nervous look in his eyes, and said, "I'm going to cut it off."
Sikong Ting nodded weakly.
Qin Huaiqiu pursed his lips, placed his hand on Sikong Ting's abdomen, pressed the wound with his palm, and held the arrow with three fingers. Then he quickly cut off the arrow tail with the short knife.
"Ugh!" Sikong Ting let out a muffled groan and broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead.
Qin Huaiqiu threw the arrow tail into a hidden place and stuffed Sikong Ting into the crevice. "Go quickly!"
Sikong Ting grabbed his hand and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Qin Huaiqiu said, "I'm going to block this entrance with branches and lead them away. Otherwise, you'll be exposed!"
Sikong Ting gritted his teeth and said, "Are you kidding me! How are you going to lead them away? Come with me!"
Qin Huaiqiu slapped his hand away and cursed, "Sikong Ting! You're the king of a country! Your life is like the sky of Dacheng. If something happens to you, what will happen to the country? What will happen to the people? Have you ever thought about that!"
Sikong Ting paused. His lips parted slightly, and he was stunned, unable to say a word.
"Go quickly!" Qin Huaiqiu pushed him hard.
Sikong Ting endured the sharp pain and grabbed his hand again, refusing to let go.
Qin Huaiqiu got angry. He drew out his short knife and stabbed it into the rock wall in front of Sikong Ting. Gritting his teeth, he cursed, "Sikong Ting! You're the king, and I'm your subject. It's only natural for a subject to die for the king. Or do you want me to bear the name of a sinful concubine who brings disaster to the country?!"
Sikong Ting held his hand tightly, his eyes full of grief. He stared intently at Qin Huaiqiu and could hardly find his voice. His lips moved, and he said vaguely, "... To the east from here, the jungle is dense. It'll be hard for them to find you. Inside the rock wall directly below this cliff is the leopard's den. It's ten feet above the water below the cliff. After you lead them away, you can run down the cliff from another place and then follow the river to find me."
He paused for a moment, almost on the verge of crying, "I'll wait for you there."
Qin Huaiqiu glanced at him, his eyes firm. "Okay." Then he pulled his hand out and ran into the jungle.
Sikong Ting looked at him deeply, as if cutting off something fiercely. He turned his head and didn't dare to look at Qin Huaiqiu anymore. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to harden his heart. A warm liquid flowed down his cheek into the corner of his mouth. It was bitter and astringent.
He had never expected things to develop to this point. He was like a soulless puppet, crawling out bit by bit along the rock crevice.
The rock crevice wasn't long. He squeezed out of the crevice. Due to the injury in his abdomen, he collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. He couldn't hear any sound behind him, so he couldn't tell whether Qin Huaiqiu had led them away or had been captured and forced to reveal his whereabouts. He didn't dare to think about it.
He wanted to go back and look for Qin Huaiqiu, but he knew that Qin Huaiqiu was right - he was the emperor, the king of Dacheng. His life was closely linked to the fate of Dacheng. One wrong move could have far - reaching consequences. He couldn't ignore his own life for Qin Huaiqiu's sake and abandon the people of Dacheng.
Just a moment ago, Qin Huaiqiu had proposed the most correct solution at present. But even though he knew this method was correct and the only one, Sikong Ting's heart still felt as if it had been ruthlessly dug out and then cut by a sharp blade bit by bit on the tip of his heart. Although he knew that Qin Huaiqiu knew martial arts, he was just one person and a woman at that. How could he possibly deal with so many enemies?
Sikong Ting wanted to convince himself to believe in him, but his heart kept sinking, as if it was about to fall into an endless abyss. He slowly stood up, took a few steps back, and leaned against the rock wall. The tears in his eyes never stopped. His throat was blocked, and he had difficulty breathing. He could only move forward instinctively in the direction he remembered.
After passing through the dense jungle, he found the leopard's den along a rough and hidden path.
Fortunately, it was empty. He found a clean place to sit down and stared blankly at the rock wall, his mind in a mess.
Where was he?
Had he been captured?
Was he still safe?
Sikong Ting was now like a lifeless shell. He stared at his own hands. He had once used these hands to stroke Qin Huaiqiu's head and rub against his cheek. He had once felt his warmth so closely, but now these hands were empty, as if they had never grasped anything or left any trace.
Qin Huaiqiu had said that he was the king of Dacheng. He had to let him live.
He had to live. He had promised to wait for him here.
Sikong Ting mechanically reached out his hand and tore open his blood - soaked clothes.
He seemed not to feel the pain at all. He mercilessly tore off his gilded clothes along with the flesh and blood and threw them aside. Looking at the broken arrow stuck in his abdomen, he gritted his teeth and grabbed the arrow shaft with his hand and yanked it out!
Blood spurted out almost instantly.
He let out a muffled groan, took out the medicinal powder from his bosom, sprinkled it on the wound, and then tightly wrapped it with the torn clothes. After doing all this, he seemed not to know what to do next.
He leaned against the rock wall and stared blankly at the darkness in the cave.
This scene seemed familiar.
When had he seen it?
Oh, he thought. That night, when he lifted the curtain of Qin Huaiqiu's carriage and saw the empty interior.
At that time, he had also sat there stubbornly, just like now, sitting in the darkness, staring with blood - shot eyes, waiting for that person to come back.
How long had it been? It seemed that since he had met Qin Huaiqiu, this person had been constantly moving away from him, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Sikong Ting had never felt like this before. He had once scoffed at the divination of the imperial astrologer. It wasn't until his heart was filled unconsciously that he would be overjoyed because of that person's smile and frown, and would be angry because of that person's departure.
He was like a child who had been locked in the dark for too long. Someone had opened the door, and the light had seeped in, making him afraid and alienated. He hated that person and the light. But in the end, he hoped that person would come closer, even closer.
But now, that beam of light had disappeared, and that person had closed the door again. Everything seemed to fall into darkness once more.
Excessive blood loss had almost made him lose the ability to move. Fear and confusion made his whole body tremble. He couldn't help but curl up his body, and his blood - shot pupils trembled in his eye sockets. He didn't dare to imagine that the door would never open again, and he didn't dare to imagine that that person would never come back.
He let out a whimper and finally couldn't help but hug his head and sob softly.
Time slipped away quietly between his fingers. In the endless silence, his fear never dissipated.
He regretted it. He thought frantically that he should have stood by Qin Huaiqiu's side at that time. To hell with the country and the people!
Where was his Concubine De? Where was he!
Sikong Ting covered his face and was on the verge of roaring in collapse, but his movement suddenly froze.
In the terrifying silence, there came the sound of branches being broken one by one.
Sikong Ting raised his head from his palms, and his dull eyes stared fixedly at the entrance of the cave.
The sound got closer and closer, step by step, as if stepping on Sikong Ting's almost broken sanity.
Sikong Ting could hardly breathe. He reached out his hand and covered his mouth tightly, gasping for breath. Crazy joy and extreme pain tore and intertwined in his chest, almost tearing his heart and intestines into pieces.
A hand appeared on the rock wall at the entrance of the cave, followed by his ankle, calf, torso...
Qin Huaiqiu poked out his whole body, looked at Sikong Ting sitting there stupidly against the wall in the cave, and chuckled, "I'm back."