Chu Lian had already passed out by this time. Even though she had her fox fur cloak wrapped around her, she had been affected by the cold because she had been lying on the outside.
He Changdi carried her in his arms like she was a rare and precious treasure. He hugged her tightly, as if afraid that she would disappear from his embrace if he loosened his hold even a little.
Chu Lian was all covered in blood and fluids from the horse’s belly and she didn’t smell very pleasant right now. However, He Changdi was able to ignore the nauseating odour completely.
He looked down at Chu Lian’s bloodstained face and kissed her forehead gently.
Xiao Hongyu was so shocked by the sight that he stared in astonishment.
He recalled how Brother He had been so obsessed with cleanliness back in the northern border camp. When he looked at how Brother He was carrying someone covered in blood and dirt, Xiao Hongyu felt like his image of him had been completely shattered.
He Sanlang brought Chu Lian into the warm pen on one of the snowboats. Although Xiao Hongyu was usually more careless with his actions, he was considerate when it came to certain things. He let He Sanlang have the warm pen all to himself and went over to squeeze into Li Xing’s warm pen after leaving some orders for his men.
He Changdi carefully set down the woman in his arms on a fleece blanket.
It was much warmer inside the pen compared to the cold night outside. He personally took off Chu Lian’s bloodstained fox fur cloak and threw it off to one side. Next, he grabbed a damp cloth from somewhere and wiped away the dirt on Chu Lian’s face.
His dark eyes were locked onto the unconscious Chu Lian and his normally cool expression had softened into a gentle gaze.
Once he was done cleaning her face, the doctors in their team had rushed over.
He Changdi called them in with his low and magnetic voice. The doctor entered the warm pen with a wooden box full of medicines.
By then, He Changdi had already covered up the whole of Chu Lian’s body with a blanket, with only her slender white wrist revealed for the doctor to take her pulse.
He Sanlang’s face was still carved into its usual strict expression without any change in emotion. However, the hands hidden under his sleeves were tightly curled up and he was still staring at Chu Lian’s ashen face with tension.
“How is it?”
The middle-aged barbarian doctor took his hands off Chu Lian’s wrist and spoke in a respectful tone, “Captain, please don’t worry. Honoured Lady has a healthy body and she hasn’t suffered the cold for too long. She only slipped into unconsciousness because of the low temperatures earlier. Once her body warms up again, she’ll be fine after resting for a few days. Do keep her warm over the next few days.”
It was only after hearing the doctor’s diagnosis that He Sanlang finally let go of his worries.
“Go and take a look at the mother and children who were with Honoured Lady!”
The doctor quickly left.
There was some hot water boiling over the brazier in the pen, so He Sanlang dipped a damp handkerchief into the water and wiped Chu Lian’s hands. When he saw that her hands were reddened from the cold, he wrapped another cloth dipped in hot water around her hands to warm them up.
Chu Lian was still trapped in an unconscious daze, her mind heavy and fuzzy.
As it had gotten colder and colder, she had struggled to stay conscious. However, in the end, she hadn’t been able to resist the cold and she had fainted.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the surroundings had suddenly become warmer. There was also a strangely familiar and pleasant scent in the air. Following that, her body seemed to have been submerged into a furnace. The red hot embers of the furnace seemed to be radiating heat, easing her discomfort. Her hands were suddenly wrapped up in something warm, making her so comfortable she wanted to sigh in relief.
Chu Lian’s furrowed brows slowly eased apart. He Changdi was sitting right next to her at this moment.
His eyes were still fixed on her with murky and unreadable depths, his thin lips pressed into a line.
He had assumed that he was only slightly attracted to this wicked woman. It wasn’t until this time that he had discovered that he had completely fallen into Chu Lian’s ‘trap’. Willingly, at that.
He would never forget the anxiety and despair he had felt while searching for her earlier.
He Sanlang stared at the ‘shameless’ wicked woman who had stolen a spot in his heart for a long time. Although she had the exact same face as that person, his feelings towards her had already changed.
While deep in sleep, Chu Lian felt a hint of cold touch her body. There were still limits to how warm the pen on the snowboat could be, compared to a tent, especially since it was the middle of the night.
After her body had finally adjusted to the temperatures in the pen, Chu Lian regained her sensitivity to the cold.
Her relaxed brow started to wrinkle again and she mumbled under her breath, “Cold…”
He Sanlang had long drifted away, immersed in his thoughts. He was called back to earth by Chu Lian’s murmur. He looked around him and realised that there weren’t any spare blankets he could use. After blanking out for a second, he recalled the doctor’s instructions to keep Chu Lian warm. He suddenly loosened the ties around his neck and took off both his cloak and his outer layer of clothing before lying next to Chu Lian, reaching out and pulling her into his embrace.
He wrapped his cloak and outer shirt around them.
The chain of actions came naturally to He Changdi. The two of them had slept like this back in the cave as well, so this was familiar to him.
Although Chu Lian’s body was small and slim, she had curves in the right places. Furthermore, she had specially trained herself to prepare for the trip to the north, so even the little padding on her waist had gone away.
Curled up in He Sanlang’s arms, she was like a little soft doll.
He Changdi didn’t want to let her suffer the slightest bit of cold, so he hugged her tightly to his body.
