On that day, Gong Yu opened his eyes. He still embraced Murong Yunxi and that white little bear tightly in his arms. Murong Yunxi was soundly asleep and her warm body temperature made his heart feel a.s.sured.
His sharp, slitted eyes looked up and scanned the surroundings for possible danger. They were currently situated in the mountains in the middle of the jungle and the bounds of their surroundings were not visible. Soft soothing sunshine penetrated through the dense branches onto the jungle. Dewdrops still hung onto the petals of the flowers in the bushes reflecting the rays of sunlight.
Thanks to the thick layer of gra.s.s they lay upon, the ground beneath them was soft. However, because the dew had yet to evaporate, it was also slightly damp.
Gong Yu frowned slightly. Worried that Murong Yunxi would catch a cold, he got up gently and prepared to carry her up the old tree that towered over them to continue sleeping.
However, as he lifted up half of his body, Murong Yunxi frowned slightly and her eyelashes fluttered lightly.
Afraid that he would wake Murong Yunxi up, Gong Yu froze and dared not move again. However, gradually Murong Yunxi still opened her eyes.
The first thing she did after she woke up was to inhale deeply. When she smelled Gong Yu"s familiar scent, the corners of her lips curled up into a smile.
"Gong Yu, have we reached already?" Murong Yunxi asked cautiously. She listened attentively and waited for Gong Yu to reply.
"Well, yes! We have reached! However, I am currently still unsure of our location." With his arms around her waist, Gong Yu helped Murong Yunxi to get up and then tidied her luscious hair.
"Oh? Then where are we now?" Murong Yunxi listened attentively to movements in their surroundings. It was silent but she could faintly hear the sound of birds singing in the distance.
""We are in the jungle now. The only thing I can confirm is that we should be in the country of Mu Xia. It is Spring throughout the year in Mu Xia,. So, judging from the current temperature, we should be in the country of Mu Xia. But I cannot confirm our specific location in the country at this time." Gong Yu scanned their surroundings again and said, "Are you awake? If you are awake, then let"s eat something and prepare to set off."
Murong Yunxi nodded her head lightly expressing agreement with Gong Yu"s question.
Gong Yu turned around. Murong Ye had helped to prepare two large packages. One was clothing and the other was food. He looked around but neither package was anywhere to be found.
This caused Gong Yu to feel a little despondent. He could stand to go without food but he could not bear for Murong Yunxi to suffer alongside him.
Murong Yunxi"s sensed Gong Yu"s despondency and asked, "What happened?"
"It seems that we will not have anything to eat for the time being as we did not bring the packages along."
Murong Yunxi was stunned for a moment and then she smiled casually. "Don"t worry. I am not hungry anyway. Let"s go and walk around a bit. Perhaps we can find a way out."
Gong Yu squatted down, carried the little bear in his arms and hoisted Murong Yunxi onto his back. He wanted to find food and water for Murong Yunxi as soon as possible.
Murong Yunxi laid obediently on Gong Yu"s st.u.r.dy back. The warmth of his body made her feel unusually secure. The faint scent of gra.s.s from Gong Yu"s body was pleasant. It persisted around her nose and simply inhaling his scent into her lungs was a source of satisfaction.
Gong Yu walked quickly and steadily and Murong Yunxi hardly felt any movement as they journeyed on.
Throughout the journey, it was exceptionally quiet. There was no one else around and no animals or beasts roamed nearby. Only, occasionally, a few birds would fly past. This made Gong Yu feel something was off. What jungle had no animals roaming around in it?
Gongyu"s nerves tightened to extensively and he became unusually alert to any changes in their surroundings. His ears, too, p.r.i.c.ked up and he became acutely aware of the minutest movements in the surroundings.
It has been a long time since he was so alert and Gong Yu thought what he was feeling felt slightly alien. It seemed he had been living too comfortably over the past few years. Now that he had suddenly mobilized all of his cells, he felt at variance with his feelings. This made him particularly uneasy and fearful that the skills he possessed had degraded.
Gong Yu carried Murong Yunxi and walked for a long time before finally he saw a light in front of them. It verified that they should be able to get out if they continued to walk for some distance. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Gong Yu"s heart jumped for joy slightly.
He said to Murong Yunxi excitedly, "Xiao Xi, we will be getting out soon."
"Really? Since we have found the exit, let"s sit down and take a break. We have walked for a long time and you must be tired."
"I am not tired. Let"s hurry a little further and get out before noon. Perhaps we will be able to find something for you to eat."
Murong Yunxi felt a sense of warmth flow through her at Gong Yu"s casual remark. It turned out that Gong Yu had devoted his heart and soul to her entirely.
"Gong Yu, have I become a burden to you? My current state is akin to that of a good for nothing. If my eyes cannot be cured, I could be a burden to you for your entire life."
When Gong Yu heard this, his back stiffened. He placed Murong Yunxi down on the ground, turned around, and pressed his hands on her shoulders. "Xiao Xi, I will not allow you to say this! If the situation was reversed and it was me who lost my sight, would you give up on me? Is it still necessary for us to speak of such things with each other? No matter what happens to you, I will not give up on you."
Right after Gong Yu said this, a discordant sound was heard.
"Tsk tsk tsk... So truly touching! Such deep feelings of affection really make one feel mushy! Let me take a look at who this is?"
Right after saying this, a figure jumped down from the tree and strode over to Murong Yunxi and Gong Yu. A questionable smile hung at the corner of his lips. He sized up the two of them.
Upon seeing the person who approached them, Gong Yu was stunned for a moment. It was actually his long-time friend, Murong Che. To think that he was the first person whom he saw upon returning here again. This was very unexpected for Gong Yu.
Murong Che also appeared to be surprised. He never expected that he would see Gong Yu again.
"Third Brother?" The shock in Murong Che"s voice made his voice crack slightly.
Murong Yunxi, too, seemed to find this voice familiar. Tugging Gong Yu"s sleeves, she asked, "Gong Yu, who is it?"
Gong Yu patted the back of Murong Yunxi"s hand lightly and said with obvious gentleness, "It is Little Five, Murong Che."
After Gong Yu finished speaking to Murong Yunxi, he turned to look at Murong Che. "Little Five, it"s been a long time since we"ve met."
Murong Che finally recovered from his shock. Grabbing hold of Gong Yu, he sized him up for some time again. "Third Brother? Where are you going? These past few years, everyone has practically turned the country of Mu Xia upside down but no one managed to find you. Where did you suddenly pop up from?"
Finally, Murong Che"s eyes took in Gong Yu"s head. Frowning slightly, he asked disdainfully, "Also, what happened to your hair?"
After he said this, he took one glance as Murong Yunxi and continued to say, "Did you learn this from sister-in-law? Sister-in-law kept her hair short unconventionally. But you... Why do you also keep your hair so short? It is really ugly."
"Sister-in-law, you... What happened to your eyes?"
"Where have you two been all these years? Did you elope? Then how could you bear to come back now?"
Murong Che asked a bunch of questions incessantly and Gong Yu finally frowned hard and raised his voice sternly, "Little Five! Would you cut it out already! You are just like a Problem Baby!"
Gong Yu had lived in Murong Yunxi"s era for the past few years, so even his speaking habits had changed slightly. When Murong Che heard Gong Yu mention "Problem Baby", he was stunned for a moment and did not manage to react in the first instance.
When Gong Yu saw that, Murong Che finally quietened down, he began to ask, "Little Five, why would you be here?"
"Oh, this! Don"t bring this up. I had a big fight with my father last night and out of spite, I ran here. On my way here, I did not think much about it. I merely rode the horse and headed West. By the time I was tired, I had already reached here. At the time, it was already quite late at night, so I slept beneath a tree until now. Then, I heard the two of you confide in each other so lovingly."
Towards the end of Murong Che"s speech, Murong Che looked at Gong Yu and Murong Yunxi with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. There was a hint of suggestiveness in the smile at the corner of his lips.
Gong Yu threw him a cold look. Murong Che drew back his neck in an instant and withdrew his expressions.
"So this is the paddock of the western suburbs?" Through Murong Che"s words, Gong Yu could roughly infer the specific position here and was only seeking confirmation from Murong Che.
Murong Che nodded his head casually.
"Alright then. I get it! Lend me your horse. You will have to keep the news about our appearance confidential. Do not tell anyone." Gong Yu instructed Murong Che sternly. The strong intention of an evident warning at the end of his words caused Murong Che to.
Even after not seeing each other for many years, the cold aura of Little Three had not changed.
"Now that you have come back, would you still leave then?" Murong Che looked up at Gong Yu and he became increasingly serious with his words.
"We will still leave after Xiao Xi"s eyes are cured, so we do not want to alert anyone."
Murong Che"s turned his gaze back to Murong Yunxi again. "So sister-in-law"s eyes are...?"
"She was poisoned so she lost her sight temporarily. I intend to take her to my master to see if he has a solution." As he said this, Gong Yu paused briefly before asking, "By the way, is my master still at Peak w.a.n.gqi?"
When Murong Che heard that Gong Yu still intended to leave, he immediately blew up. "You still want to leave? Why, Third Brother?"
Gong Yu looked at Murong Che with a deep look in his eyes and said with a hint of melancholy in his voice, "Because there are things that I cannot part with."
"But isn"t sister-in-law already here as well? What else can you not bear to part with?"
"It is a long story. Just keep it a secret for us? I do not want to alert anyone."
"Even if it was big brother, second elder brother and fourth brother, do you also not want to meet them? There are also Dong Fangying, Xi Fangchi, Nan Fangjing, Bei Fangye, Xing Ye, Lan Yun. They were all waiting for you to return. Not once did they give up and they kept waiting at the Emperor Yu"s Mansion. Do you intend to make them wait like this for their entire lives?"
Murong Che"s words caused Gong Yu to tense up and he felt a pang of pain in his heart. These people were the most important people to him in the 20 years of his life. He cared about them even more than his father, big brother and second elder brother.
Murong Yunxi knew Gong Yu well. She knew that it was not because he did not care about these people. Everything was because of her and she naturally felt badly in her heart, especially since she was in her current state.
"Gong Yu, it would be good to go meet them. At least meet up with them once."
Murong Che also stared at Gong Yu with his eyes shining as if he was afraid that Gong Yu would run away in the next instant.
Murong Yunxi listened attentively and Murong Che stared fixedly. Both of them were waiting for Gong Yu"s reply.