"Are you sure our luck will hold out in a place like that?" Mei Lin asked. She would have preferred to face the soldiers blocking the mountain rather than risk venturing into the unknown dangers based on a mere legend. Despite her thoughts, she continued to laboriously half-carry, half-drag Murong Jing He toward the stone forest.
People are strange like that—sometimes they go along with something completely against their own will without feeling forced. The reason behind it might simply be trust. Mei Lin found it unbelievable that she was trusting Murong Jing He, that scoundrel, yet she couldn’t deny that his capabilities were impressive enough to make her cautious.
"So far, our luck hasn’t been too bad," Murong Jing He said, his chin resting on her shoulder, giving him a perfect view of the small mole on her brow. If he could move, he might have kissed it already. Even as it was, the distraction was enough to slightly ease the intense pain from his damaged meridians. "Lower your head a bit."
"Huh?" Mei Lin paused to rest against an oak tree, pondering his comment about their luck, and without thinking, she obediently lowered her head a little.
Murong Jing He tilted his head back slightly but still couldn’t reach, so he said, "Lower it more."
By this time, Mei Lin had regained her senses, straightening her neck as she asked suspiciously, "Why?" There were only two of them here; what could possibly require them to be so close? Besides, they weren’t that far apart to begin with.
"Of course, it’s something important. When I tell you to lower your head, just do it. Why all the fuss?" Murong Jing He said irritably, maintaining his high and mighty demeanor despite being completely reliant on her.
After several days together, they had come to understand each other's temperaments a little better. Mei Lin wasn’t angry; seeing how insistent he was, she assumed it must be something important, likely related to their discussion of finding a way out through the stone forest. So, she didn’t ask further and lowered her head again, leaning her ear toward his mouth.
Murong Jing He’s eyes immediately twinkled with mischief as he brushed his lips over the curve of her ear and gently kissed the small red mole he had long coveted.
When his warm breath touched her lashes and she waited in vain for him to speak, Mei Lin finally realized what was going on—his obsession with her mole had flared up again.
She couldn’t deny that being treated with such tender affection made her heart flutter, but past experiences had taught her that such actions meant nothing to this man. So, she steadied herself and calmly resumed their difficult journey.
"It’s laughable that a grand prince like you would be infatuated with a tiny mole," Mei Lin remarked, keeping her eyes forward and deliberately curving her lips into a mocking smile. She was trying to conceal her conflicting emotions while provoking him into revealing why he was so obsessed. She knew that asking directly wouldn’t yield any answers.
To her surprise, Murong Jing He didn’t react with anger. Instead, he continued to stare at the mole on her brow as if he hadn’t heard her.
Frustrated, Mei Lin gave up on probing further and focused entirely on getting through the journey. As they walked, she picked various wild fruits and herbs. Soon, sweat began to bead on her forehead, the droplets glistening as they slid over the small red mole, making it appear even more delicate and charming.
Murong Jing He’s fingers twitched, and he sighed regretfully, saying in a leisurely tone, "I love beauty, fine wine, and all things lovely. When did it become your place to judge, ignorant woman?"
Mei Lin, who had just stuffed some medicinal herb into her mouth, nearly choked. After swallowing with difficulty, she licked her tingling teeth, wondering which was more tolerable: being called a "wretched servant" or an "ignorant woman."
Neither seemed particularly flattering. Just as she reached this conclusion, Murong Jing He noticed her stuffing various herbs, some known, some unknown, into her mouth as they walked. He couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you eating all those random raw herbs? Many of them have conflicting medicinal properties; you’re practically inviting disaster."
Her lips were starting to go numb. Mei Lin pursed them and replied calmly, "To cure a sickness or to strengthen my body if there’s no illness." She pulled a sprig of blue-flowered herb from her pocket and held it to his mouth. "Want some?"
"Isn’t it poisonous?" Murong Jing He asked skeptically, turning his face away dismissively and finally stopping his intense gaze at her brow.
Mei Lin chuckled but suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. The scenery around her began to blur, and she quickly grabbed a nearby tree trunk, lowering her head to catch her breath.
"What’s wrong?" Murong Jing He asked, sensing something amiss.
Mei Lin shook her head, feeling nausea welling up in her chest. She carefully propped him against the tree trunk and then knelt down, struggling to suppress the waves of discomfort.
Seeing her growing paleness and the cold sweat on her forehead, Murong Jing He quickly realized what was happening.
"You're poisoned? Foolish woman," he said, more amused than concerned. He had expected something like this from her reckless consumption of random herbs.
Mei Lin managed to catch her breath and, hearing his remark, snapped back, "If I’m poisoned, it’s bad news for you too." Though she knew he wasn’t wrong, and her actions had been reckless, she didn’t have much time left. While the toxins in her body wouldn’t kill her immediately, they were gradually sapping her strength. Every day she survived would cause irreversible damage, and she had no confidence in finding an antidote before her vitality was completely drained.
"If you’re determined to be foolish, I can only accept it," Murong Jing He muttered, noticing her complexion had slightly improved. He felt a bit relieved but didn’t soften his tone.
As Mei Lin’s vision cleared, she steadied herself, wiped the cold sweat from her brow, and pulled the man up from his half-sitting position against the tree to continue their journey. Once the numbness in her mouth completely subsided, she resumed tasting various herbs and plants as they walked.
Murong Jing He found her behavior utterly hopeless and couldn’t resist taunting, "Are you so eager to die?"
"Of course not," Mei Lin replied firmly, though her actions didn’t change. This time, however, she didn’t only taste the herbs herself; she occasionally shoved some of the most bitter or strange-tasting ones into Murong Jing He’s mouth.
"If I die from poisoning and you starve to death here, or get torn apart by wild beasts, wouldn’t it be better if we both died from poison together?" she said.
Murong Jing He wanted to refuse, but her relentless persistence eventually wore him down, and he grudgingly swallowed the herbs, simmering with frustration. Fortunately, by the time they reached their destination, neither of them had ingested anything toxic.
"Let’s hope your luck holds," Mei Lin murmured as she gazed at the starkly blackened stone formations just a few feet ahead.
Murong Jing He’s expression darkened, and he didn’t respond.
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