On a moonlit night, Feng Luodi finally opened her eyes and woke up.
She thought that Phantom would appear and explain everything but Phantom never appeared before her ever again.
She was aware that she wouldn"t be able to return to the 21st century anymore and the last scene she saw previously was her last memory. However, what she wanted to figure out at this very moment was the scene she saw on the battlefield in the deserts of the North. Why did Situ get shot by so many arrows and fall off the horse in her dream?
She was only left with Situ. Her world only contained Situ now.
As usual, the maidservant delivered tea into the room. When she saw Feng Luodi already sitting up, her first reaction wasn"t of pleasant surprise but she was frightened so much that she threw the teacup in her hand away instead. The teacup struck the floor and the sound of it shattering into small fragments broke the silence in the room.
Feng Luodi looked at that maidservant in astonishment. She remembered that this was a maidservant in Duke of Anping"s Residence. The room she was currently staying at was located in Situ"s courtyard. She had stayed here a few times, the memories of this place was still retained in her heart.
"You…what"s the matter?"
Feng Luodi was puzzled about the alarmed look on that maidservant"s face. Could it be that I have already died in this world?
When this thought surged in her mind, she raised her hand to touch her face. She was able to touch it and it was warm. She was currently in the form of a human and not a soul.
Before the terrified maidservant regained her senses, Feng Luodi heard a familiar voice. She recognised the person who walked into her room in an instant.
"What did you see?"
Covert Guard Quattor was befuddled as he looked at that dumbstruck maidservant. He followed her line of sight and saw the smiling Feng Luodi facing him. In that moment, Covert Guard Quattor"s expression was also very humorous.
His look changed from an alarmed one to one of astonishment and then finally returned to his usual calm and carefree appearance.
"Miss Feng, you"re awake."
After all, Quattor had experienced major scenes before. He waved his hand at the maidservant who was still in a daze.
That maidservant hurriedly cleared away the fragments of the teacup on the floor and bowed at Feng Luodi before she hastily left. From Feng Luodi"s angle, she could see her murmuring about something on her way out.
"Quattor, care to explain?"
When Feng Luodi saw that her clothes were worn properly, she wanted to directly lift the quilt and get down from the bed, In the end, she swayed and sat back again.
Covert Guard Quattor didn"t have the time to stay in shock, he hastily walked over and asked, "Miss Feng, are you alright?"
Feng Luodi raised her hand and glanced at it. It was Feng Luodi"s body. This pair of hands was also the same pair of hands that she often used to play the guqin in her memories. But there was no strength and she couldn"t feel them at all.
Could it be that the Heavens had decided to take away from her because she didn"t cherish them?
This absurd thought flashed across her mind but she still looked up at Covert Guard Quattor.
"My hands have no strength at all. Same goes for my body. Why is it like this?"
At this moment, Quattor had already calmed down completely. He stared at her and faintly explained, "You have already been unconscious for ten days, so it"s a given that you wouldn"t have any strength when you wake up."
Quattor then added, "Furthermore, even the imperial physicians were helpless about it. If you were to stay asleep and didn"t wake up, they have no choice but to give up on your treatment. Just now, that maidservant was frightened because of this."
In fact, there was still something Covert Guard Quattor didn"t tell her. In the ten days that she was unconscious, she would alternate between having breath and no breath. Not only did she scare those experienced imperial physicians and doctors, she also scared the people in the residence. If their general hadn"t explicitly forbidden them to speak, words of these extraordinary and supernatural experience would have long spread out.
The person General had taken a fancy to was indeed different. Covert Guard Quattor suddenly concluded in his heart.
"Then, where is Situ now?"
Feng Luodi was still the most concerned about that dream regarding Situ.
When he saw that the first thing Feng Luodi asked after waking up was regarding his general, Covert Guard Quattor strangely felt touched. Of course, he wouldn"t dare to say that out loud. If Duo heard of it, he would definitely give him a good beating.
"General has been summoned to the palace for several nights in a row."
Towards Feng Luodi, the future General"s Wife, Quattor was rather deferential and didn"t deliberately hide Situ"s whereabouts from her.
Feng Luodi nodded and was lost in thought as she sat at the edge of the bed.
Covert Guard Quattor stood at one side and looked at her before asking, "Miss Feng, do you want to eat something? You have hardly eaten anything for ten days. Your body definitely won"t be able to take it."
Feng Luodi touched her abdomen. She didn"t feel hungry, thus she shook her head.
Covert Guard Quattor didn"t question her further. He thought that it wasn"t too good for him to stay in a young lady"s room in the middle of the night. He was about to leave when he heard Feng Luodi"s feeble voice. "Quattor, you have been beside Situ for a very long time, right?"
Quattor halted his steps and turned around to look at Feng Luodi, his eyebrows slightly arched in bemus.e.m.e.nt.
"Yes. I have been following General and stayed by his side since the day he entered the barracks."
"In that case," Feng Luodi looked up and stared at Quattor earnestly. "Situ would never lose in a battle, right? I heard that he"s an invincible hero who has won every single battle he fought."
Quattor didn"t hear the fear contained in Feng Luodi"s voice that she"d meticulously suppressed and scratched his head instead.
"That is everyone"s erroneous and exaggerated compliment. When fighting wars, victory and defeat are common. At the very beginning, General had also lost some battles, but when he became experienced, he never lost again."
Quattor recalled carefully and continued, "However, General isn"t pleased about everyone saying that he has won every single war. According to Two, such words can put a lot of burden on one"s shoulders. Although General doesn"t mind those burdens, it"s still better if there"s less of it. General is also a human. He"s not a G.o.d of War."
If it was in the past, Quattor would also be like Zero and brag endlessly about Situ"s past achievements and feel proud of it. However, in the past few years, he had also considerably understood the disturbances in Chang"an City. A famous person would attract a lot of criticism. A dazzling figure like Situ would also feel tired and dissatisfied at times, but he couldn"t reveal those feelings. No one was perfect. No one would be energetic all the time, and everyone would feel exhausted at one point. If their general wanted to rest, as covert guards that protect their general, they should let him have his well-deserved rest and breathing s.p.a.ce.
Covert Guard Quattor looked at Feng Luodi who had immersed herself in contemplation after listening to his words. "Miss Feng, there is something the other covert guards and I have always wanted to tell you."
Feng Luodi raised her head and stared at him with a puzzled look.
The emotions gyring in the recesses of her eyes had yet to dissipate when Covert Guard Quattor solemnly said, "As covert guards, we have no right to demand anything from you. It"s just that we have always been unable to fathom your behaviour these past few years. What we want to know is…are you going to leave General again after all that had happened?"
They had never seen their general care about a person so much, and they had never seen him do things to such a great extent for a person before. However, there was the possibility that this person would leave their general again. Although they were covert guards, they would still like to do something for their general.
People were selfish and one would always side with the party they cared about the most.
Feng Luodi"s long silence caused Covert Guard Quattor"s expression to turn gloomy but it quickly faded again.
"Haha," Feng Luodi suddenly chuckled. She looked straight at Covert Guard Quattor and clearly enunciated her next words, "You guys don"t have to worry about this. As long as Situ doesn"t abandon me, I"ll never leave him ever again."
Situ was the man she was deeply worried about. After losing the hope of living together with her parents, she wouldn"t let go of his hands ever again.
Covert Guard Quattor was stumped for words for a moment. Before he was able to say anything, he felt a familiar aura approaching and hastily bowed to Feng Luodi with his hands held in front. "Miss Feng, if you don"t have any further instructions, I"ll be leaving first."
Right after Covert Guard Quattor went out of the door and leapt onto the rooftop, Situ appeared in the courtyard. When he saw that the door to Feng Luodi"s room was open and that the light inside was faint, he quickened his pace and walked in.
The moment he stepped into the room, he saw the woman, who made him sleepless, looking at him. There were tears as she smiled, exactly like how she was that day when she said that she was going to leave.
"You"re not allowed to cry." Situ suddenly admonished her in a low voice. He quickly walked to her side and embraced her.
"You can"t cry."
Every time she shed tears for him, it would signify that she was going to give up on him. He didn"t want to see this woman shed tears and leave him again.
"Situ." Feng Luodi voice was low and m.u.f.fled as her head was buried in Situ"s embrace. She wanted to use her strength to push Situ away but for the time being, her hands had no strength so she could only allow herself to be buried in this man"s embrace.
Just as Feng Luodi thought that she would suffocate to death, Situ finally released her. Without waiting for her to come back to her senses and before she had taken a good look at Situ, Feng Luodi felt the world spin around her and she was pulled into Situ"s arms once again. At the same time, Situ calmly sat down on her bed.
Feng Luodi instantly forgot what she"d wanted to say. There seemed to be something amiss with the man hugging her before her eyes.
"I originally planned to wed you as soon as you wake up." Situ"s voice contained a mix of emotions that Feng Luodi couldn"t make sense of.
"I even wanted to bind you to my side just like this and not allow you to go anywhere. However, recently, the situation in court have been unsatisfactory lately. I still have to leave you alone in Chang"an for a while."
There was instantly a sense of foreboding in Feng Luodi"s heart. That dream which felt extremely real and the blood that almost splattered onto her face caused her voice to become extremely hoa.r.s.e. "Situ, what happened?"
Feng Luodi tugged at Situ"s sleeve and wanted to sit up. In the end, Situ moved his hand and her whole body was stuck to his body again. Her soul had just entered this body so she immediately felt a little giddy. When she shook her head to keep herself sober-minded, she was faced with Situ"s worried eyes.
"You…are you still you?"
This was probably the most Mo Lei Tau[1] words she had heard Situ say and it was also this sentence that allowed her to understand that Situ had already clearly surmised everything. He clearly knew what she wanted to do after obtaining the last guqin but still didn"t interfere with her. It was because he understood her. Was she still allowed to accept his deep love?
"If I"m not me, then who else can I be?" Feng Luodi raised her head and smiled at Situ. The elegant smile tugged at her lips started to extend everywhere from the cheeks all the way to the recesses of her eyes like orchid flowers.
"You still haven"t replied to my question. You"re not to divert the topic." It was a tone similar to a command but Situ felt that Feng Luodi was acting coquettishly.
Only when Feng Luodi"s hands climbed onto Situ"s neck did his expression soften, but the words he spoke next were solemn, "War has broken out in the deserts of the North again. I have to leave Chang"an."
1. It is a type of humour in Hong Kong that generally means makes no sense. If you are interested to find out more: