Chapter 480: Waking Up
He Xiaoqin coughed, then hastily tried to think of a conversational topic. "Tonight's moon is really round."
Xiao Siyuan glanced up at the dark cloudy sky that didn't even have a single star in sight. He knew that He Xiaoqin was scared so he slowed down to ride next to He Xiaoqin.
"Xiaoqin, have you always been living on your own?"
"No, I was with my grandpa." When He Xiaoqin heard that Xiao Siyuan was only asking about lifestyle trifles and had purposefully slowed down for him so that he felt safer, his impression of Xiao Siyuan immediately improved by several leaps.
Perhaps Xiao Siyuan had really only happened to see it. After all, Xiao Siyuan was a martial arts practitioner and had extremely good eyesight. With how baggy his clothes were, it wouldn't be weird for Xiao Siyuan to happen to see inside.
After this thought occurred to He Xiaoqin, the internal barrier he had been keeping up faded a lot.
Xiao Siyuan hadn't expected for He Xiaoqin to answer this way and became curious. "Your grandpa?"
"That's right! I was picked up by Grandpa and these past years we've always been relying on each other," replied He Xiaoqin.
"How is he doing?" If he wanted He Xiaoqin to believe that he was his biological brother, he'd probably have to set about things from that grandpa.
Although Xiao Siyuan really wanted to tell He Xiaoqin about things straightforwardly, he could tell from what happened earlier that He Xiaoqin tended to be very wary of people. If he abruptly brought it up, it would probably have the opposite effect and He Xiaoqin might insist on keeping his distance from him.
"I don't know either." He Xiaoqin became a little worried when that old man was brought up. He was so old and had so many ailments as well. What if something ended up happening to him during the journey?
Would the people that Baili Yu sent over mistreat that old man? After all, the old man's temper wasn't very good.
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became and he looked towards Xiao Siyuan hesitantly.
"What is it? Feel free to say it." Xiao Siyuan was very good at reading people so he was able to sense even the slightest abnormality from He Xiaoqin.
He Xiaoqin scratched his head as he asked hesitantly, "Can you help me ask them when they'll let me go? I'm just a normal kid. I can't help out with anything even if I go with you guys. Even though I also want to repay that woman for saving my life, I don't know how to do anything…"
"You're worried about your grandpa, right?" He Xiaoqin had just said earlier that he didn't know how his grandpa was doing. Xiao Siyuan could see the clear worry in He Xiaoqin's eyes, so it was easy for him to link these hints to tell what he was thinking.
He Xiaoqin smiled embarrassedly. "Actually, I'm not that worried about him. But he is my grandpa after all."
"It's fine. I'll help you ask Baili gongzi. He probably wouldn't make things hard for you," said Xiao Siyuan with a smile as he turned around to find Baili Yu.
He Xiaoqin hastily called out to stop him. "It's not him."
"Hm?"
"It's the guy with the surname Su. It's that guy that won't let me leave," said He Xiaoqin in a small voice.
Surname Su?
Su Yi?
Xiao Siyuan nodded in understanding. "Alright, then I'll go ask City Lord Su."
He Xiaoqin was surprised to see him reply without hesitation, then he felt very grateful. "Thank you."
"No need to be so polite with me." Xiao Siyuan turned around and patted his shoulder. "Feel free to ask me for help anytime. I'll definitely help you."
After saying that, he drove the horse towards the chrysanthemum glass jade palanquin.
He Xiaoqin watched him leave, then recalled what he said. For some reason, a warm feeling filled his heart and his lips lifted despite his attempt to hold down the grin. If only he had an older brother that was like this.
"You're awake?" On a faraway island, Bai Feiyun helped up the confused woman that had just opened her eyes. He leaned her against his chest as he picked up a bowl of medicinal soup and stirred it. Then he spooned a bit of it and blew on it before moving the spoon towards the pale lips.
"I, where am I?" Tang Doudou was currently mummified with bandages as she leaned on Bai Feiyun's chest. She wanted to reach up to rub her aching temples, but she found that she couldn't move at all.
"Who are you?"
Why was she here?
She clearly remembered falling down the cliff. It had been so high. She felt like she had already died.
How did she survive?
Then what about her child?
Where was her child?
"M-my stomach…"
"Don't worry. The child's fine. You're fine too. Everything will be fine from now on…" said the person behind her gently. "Alright, drink the medicine."
Tang Doudou was much more alert by now and she finally realized who the person was. "Bai Feiyun? Why is it you? Why are you here?"
Tang Doudou felt like her head was filled with questions. She couldn't figure out what exactly had happened.
Bai Feiyun didn't answer. "Be good, drink the medicine first."
Tang Doudou knew that her current state was definitely not good. If she didn't take medicine there was no way she'd be able to recover, so she didn't do anything stupid and obediently drank the medicine before looking around.
All she could see was azure ocean. Tiers of waves were swept up by the wind and there were even some seagulls flying over the surface of the water. She almost felt like she had been brought to Hainan Province.
Then she became even more confused. What exactly was this place?
Her neck had probably been injured too and was being held in place by something Bai Feiyun made because when she tried to turn her neck, Bai Feiyun stopped her.
"You fell from the cliff so all your bones have been broken. It hadn't been easy to save you and the child's life. If you want to safely recover, then behave and don't move around."
As Bai Feiyun spoke, he put down the bowl and got up to settle Tang Doudou down on the bamboo bed. "Rest. I'll come back later to check on you."
"You're leaving?" Tang Doudou was a little anxious. It had been alright while she was unconscious, but now that she was awake, she had tons of questions. There was no way she'd be able to just fall asleep again.
"How long have I been unconscious?" Tang Doudou sighed in relief when she saw Bai Feiyun sit back down. She couldn't help but feel puzzled. If she was that badly injured, why didn't she feel any pain?
Was the child really fine despite such a heavy fall?
Bai Feiyun replied lightly, "One day."
"A day?"
"I used a drug. That's why you don't feel any pain."
Fudge! Bai Feiyun was really even more amazing than Hua Tuo! He had actually been able to make such an effective drug! (Hua Tuo is a famous doctor that lived near the end of the Han Dynasty)
"If I fell down the cliff, how did you save me?" With how high Ten Kilometers Cliff was, even if he got down by a road, it should still take a very long time.
"I just happened to be gathering medicine at the bottom of the cliff. When I saw that someone had fallen down, I went over to take a look. I hadn't expected for it to be you." Bai Feiyun's tone didn't contain the slightest ripple. It was like he was narrating a completely normal thing.
But, how could such a coincidence ever happen?
Or was it really that she had that great of a life force?
"Where is this place?"
"It's where I live. It's very safe here, so you can just focus on recovering from your injuries. Don't worry about too much. It's best if you don't worry about anything and just focus on resting. Otherwise, I won't be able to guarantee that you and your child would be able to survive."
Tang Doudou sighed. As of now, what could she do besides this?
She had originally wanted to have Bai Feiyun help get news about Baili Yu, but the moment she recalled what Nangong Yan said, her heart would start aching, so she closed her eyes and stopped thinking about it. It was probably due to her health because not long after she closed her eyes, she fell deep asleep.
Bai Feiyun only got up after she fell asleep. As he looked at her, a trace of fondness appeared on his face, but he didn't say anything and just picked up the medicinal bowl to leave this place.
For the following days, sometimes Tang Doudou would wake up every day and sometimes she would only wake up once after several days.
However, as time elapsed, she could feel the baby in her belly move and he would occasionally kick angrily as if he was complaining about her lying down all the time and making him uncomfortable.
She couldn't feel any pain, but she could tell that the baby was kicking very forcefully. She could feel her stomach bulging.
"Can I get up to walk around?"
Bai Feiyun, who was dressed in a moon white garment stiffened for a moment, then he placed the bowl of medicine he was holding on the table. He looked towards her gently and said, "You can't for the time being."
"The child seems to be uncomfortable with me lying down all the time like this." If she could just sit up for a while, that'd also be good!
When Bai Feiyun heard this, his expression changed slightly and he walked to the bed to ask in concern, "Did he kick you?"
As he spoke, he placed his hand on her wrist. After carefully examining her pulse, he revealed a rare smile. "It's fine. The child's very healthy. I'll help you make a chair soon and push you around so you can take a look at this place."When Tang Doudou saw him smile, the worries in her heart relaxed. She smiled as well. "Thank you, Xiao… Bai."
No matter what, if it weren't for Bai Feiyun this time, her life and the baby's life would've been gone.
Life-saving grace mattered more than the Heavens. The past grievances meant nothing in the face of this grace.
When Bai Feiyun heard her call him Xiao Bai, he looked towards her in surprise for a moment before asking with a teasing expression, "You don't hold a grudge against me anymore?"
Tang Doudou felt a little embarrassed, but fortunately her face was covered with bandages. Since Bai Feiyun wouldn't be able to see her flush anyways, she thickened her skin and said, "That was your fault…"
"Yes, it was my fault." Bai Feiyun was rather magnanimous about it.
Tang Doudou smiled. "You don't suspect me of being someone else anymore?"
"I've met with the city lord," said Bai Feiyun. "What I thought earlier was also due to what City Lord said."
"All that old brat knows to do is talk drivel." Why hadn't that guy killed Nangong Yan directly back in Ten Kilometers Cliff? He even wasted so much words with her. If it weren't for that, she wouldn't have fallen down, no?
It wasn't that Tang Doudou was ruthless but that no one would be able to be kind towards someone that had repeatedly tried to kill her.
If she had known earlier, she would've killed Nangong Yan already.
However, not even a thousand in gold could buy that kind of foresight!
Bai Feiyun was silent for a while. "The city lord treats you very well."
This was true though.
"I wonder if he was looking for me. I feel like he had come this time to find me for something, but he wouldn't tell me what it was about." Tang Doudou sighed. Su Yi and Baili Yu had been working on something secretively, so she had no idea what they were doing.
Bai Feiyun said, "Once you get better, I'll send you back to Cloud City. At that time, you can just ask him directly."
"You're sending me back?" Tang Doudou reacted like she had heard something unbelievable. "You…"
"You didn't think I'd send you back? Would you stay by my side contentedly?" Bai Feiyun's voice suddenly lowered and his gentle eyes turned towards her. The trace of intense emotions in those eyes were lit up by the light reflected from the ocean.
When their gazes met, Tang Doudou's heart started pounding and she shifted her gaze away. "I wonder how long it'd take for me to get better."Those intense emotions came quickly but also left quickly. In the blink of an eye, Bai Feiyun had gone back to normal. He turned around to pick up the bowl of medicine, then he lifted Tang Doudou up. "If you take the medicine obediently, you'll get better really quickly."
As Tang Doudou leaned against his warm and firm chest, taking in his faint fresh smell, she recalled his passionate gaze earlier and her ears felt hot. She silently drank the medicine.
However, this time after Bai Feiyun finished feeding her the medicine, he didn't put her down and just hugged her while quietly looking towards the sea. Tang Doudou could hear his strong heartbeat. It was completely different from Baili Yu's heartbeat which would make her feel at ease. When she heard his heartbeat, she felt intense unease.
