172 – Epilogue Volume 3, the Bright Red of that Day (I)

The consciousness gathered a little.

— she heard some sounds.

The swaying of candlelight and the sound of gentle breathing are humming in the ears.

The world seems to be empty, with only her in it.

Bursts of pain and heaviness assaulted the head. It feels like she’s suffering from a heatstroke.

A strong sense of dizziness shrouded her.

After overcoming the feeling of weakness and opening the eyes, a strange and luxurious ceiling entered the eyes. The sensation coming from the back and the head is really soft, giving off the impression that you will submerge in the things underneath.

Everything is unfamiliar.

“… the decorations are really luxurious.”

While staring blankly at the ceiling, Xihe voiced her inner thought involuntarily. Since her consciousness is still fuzzy, she isn’t aware that her voice is hoarse.

“Yes, I think so too! Really, it’s just flashy. Money should be used wisely. Decorative swords are akin to putting fine timber to petty use, a waste of money.”

A voice sounded beside the bed.

A red voice.

However, this red is different from the frightening red of Jialan’s eyes. It gives off a warm feeling.

A fire that tries to destroy everything and a fire that protects everything in winter. The former is dazzling, while the latter is warm and radiant. This is probably the most appropriate analogy to describe the difference between the two.

The “red” beside the bed is the latter.

Xihe slowly turned her head on the soft pillow, and the girl sitting by the bed immediately caught her eyes.

An immaculate, delicate face entered her eyes.

The girl’s eyes look like flickering scarlet flames. Dressed in a red dress, she is the spitting image of a red flower swaying gently. There is a fragrance of jasmine wafting out from her.

As expected, she grew up into a great beauty… Xihe felt a range of emotions as she recalled the little girl from 10 years ago.

It has been 10 years. Before this, they had only met once. Far from being familiar with one another, the two can only be regarded as “acquaintances”.

However, the little girl from Xihe’s memory, who saved her, still overlapped with the girl in front of her in an instant.

Red as always, there are still some traces of the past on that pretty face.

When they met again on the battlefield not long ago, Xihe still easily recognized the girl as the little girl from that time.

Well, Qi Qiqi left such a deep impression that even time could not erase it.

“… ‘putting fine timber to petty use’, this is the first time I heard this expression.”

Xihe showed a helpless smile.

“How disagreeable. I just couldn’t think of a suitable description momentarily, okay? Qilin calls this ‘brain fart’. It’s normal for people to experience this occasionally. How do I put it… It’s like when you forget how to write a character!”

As she complained, Qi Qiqi’s face flushed, as if she’s unconvinced only on the surface, but in fact feels embarrassed.

“Xue Qilin has a… glib tongue.”

“She’s particularly mischievous as well!”

Hearing Qi Qiqi’s indignant appraisal of the lass, who is god knows where, Xihe’s face showed curiosity.

“Mischievous?”

“Exactly. She always causes me trouble, like a child. Did you know that she…”

Qi Qiqi looks likes she’s complaining about the naughty and disobedient behavior of her family’s child, which prompted Xihe to giggle. Qi Qiqi, who didn’t notice it, continued to enumerate Xue Qilin’s faults.

“– right, where is she?”

Suddenly, the scene before she lost consciousness — Xue Qilin, who propped her bruised body up, is moving laboriously towards her — appeared in her mind, and Xihe couldn’t help but interrupt Qi Qiqi and ask about Xue Qilin’s whereabouts.

“Hmm? Are you asking about Qilin?”

“Yes.”

Qi Qiqi wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms unhappily.

“She’s alive and kicking! Her injuries were much lighter than yours. She hasn’t even laid two days in bed, when her injuries have nearly recovered. She’s rather energetic now.”

As if she recalled something, Qi Qiqi added quickly: “Right! In fact, she is very worried about you. She was here just a moment ago, but then was called away. So, don’t think she hasn’t come to visit you!”

“Well, don’t worry, I didn’t think that.”

Her gaze fell on Qi Qiqi’s still somewhat pale lips, and Xihe asked the other party about her condition.

“Rather, how’s are you?”

Although her tone is calm and flat, but she still expressed her hard to conceal concern.

“Well, I’m fine, the wound has healed.”

Qi Qiqi stroked her left chest, where she was injured.

“Although I don’t know what miraculous skill Qilin used to make it heal and become as good as ever… but the feeling — the feeling of being pierced through is still there…”

Qi Qiqi gazed into empty space.

Probably because the swaying candlelight that illuminated the other party’s face flickered, Xihe failed to see Qi Qiqi’s expression clearly.

“I still vaguely remember the pain at that time. This lingering residual feeling seems to rebuke me and remind me of my stupidity, naiveness, and powerlessness.”

Xihe moved her gaze away and looked at the ceiling again.

“However, that is what saved me.”

Xihe’s comforting made Qi Qiqi stunned.

Then, Qi Qiqi smiled and revealed a deep dimple. Xihe found that Qi Qiqi’s right cheek dimple happens to form a pair with Xue Qilin’s left cheek dimple.

“Well, I was thinking, I must have no regrets.”

After a short pause, Qi Qiqi said “but”, yet then hesitated.

“Yeah?”

“If Qilin had been there at the time, then things might have gone differently. She would definitely have supported my idea to bring you back to Merak Temple… However, there are no ifs. In the end, I didn’t bring you back to Merak Temple.”

“No, it’s already enough, you saving me at the time is already enough.”

Xihe, who’s abdomen is hurting, tried to prop her upper body up.

Probably because she hasn’t fully recovered from her injuries, Xihe’s arms couldn’t muster much force. She couldn’t even accomplish the simple action of sitting up.

Seeing the struggling expression on Xihe’s face, Qi Qiqi frowned and pressed her against the bed.

“Wait, you mustn’t! Don’t force yourself. You’re badly hurt — your tails have been torn off. According to Qilin, you have to rest and recuperate for at least one or two months.”

“‘Rest and recuperate’ doesn’t mean that I can’t sit up, right?”

Xihe looked helplessly at Qi Qiqi. As a result, Qi Qiqi’s eyes shifted.

“This…”

“My body is stiff. At least let me sit up.”

“What do I do with you… how come there are two people around me who don’t listen to my advice? Let me help you.”

Although she complained, but Qi Qiqi still supported Xihe and put a pillow behind her back.

Xihe adjust herself slightly and leaned back comfortably.

At this time, Qi Qiqi poured a glass of water for Xihe.

“Drink some water. Your voice is hoarse, you haven’t had a drop of water in a few days.”

“Sorry to bother you.”

Xihe took the large bowl filled with water. She had never seen such a large bowl. After a closer look, she found that the words “Property of the Temple Master” are engraved on it, and surprise flashed across her face.

The moment when the lips touched the water, Xihe lost control of her mouth, and drank all the water in one breath. She had intended to remain reserved and drink the water slowly, but her throat was much dryer than she had expected. She could not resist her body’s thirst for water.

Seeing that the bowl was emptied in an instant, Qi Qiqi took a kettle and filled it for Xihe again.

In the end, Xihe drank three large bowls of water before she was satisfied, and returned the bowl to Qi Qiqi.

“Please excuse my unsightly behavior.”

Xihe apologized. Qi Qiqi used a handkerchief, which she got from who knows where, to wipe the residual water from the bowl, and then put the bowl back in her sleeve.

“I really want you to lie down. But since you are so obstinate, there’s not much I can do.”

Speaking till here, Qi Qiqi suddenly put on a worried expression.

“Are you really okay? Can you sit properly?”

When she heard Qi Qiqi’s questions, Xihe sighed helplessly.

“It’s more comfortable than lying.”

In fact, sitting is better for the body than lying. Just sitting up has dissipated the heavy feeling of Xihe’s body to some degree.

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