CH 49

Chapter 49: Way out

There was an eerie silence in the cave.

The flames in the fire torch in Yun Ke’s hands had gradually died down, leaving only tiny sparks in the wormwood.

His eyes shone abnormally in the darkness.

He never thought that he would encounter such a dilemma in this life.

He covered the fire torch in his hands and put it away again. He sat down quietly against the stone wall. After the toss just now, the wound on his lower back seemed to have opened again. He could feel his warm blood flowing from the wound on his lower back and soaking through his shirt.

Yun Ke knew that he had been seriously injured. Although he had been the emperor in his previous life, he was also someone who had been on the battlefield and had suffered lots of injuries, both big and small. He understood his own situation. He had sealed his acupuncture point just now, but his blood was still gurgling out which meant this was a serious injury.

He could feel Gu Yu Qi’s breathing beside him. He did not dare to move and she dared not move either.

Unexpectedly, there was also a time when she would be afraid. Yun Ke thought of Gu Yu Qi’s predicament just now. He could not help but smile in his eyes. Now that there was no light in the cave, Gu Yu Qi naturally could not see Yun Ke’s appearance.

He thought that this woman would always be fearless.

Gu Yu Qi also felt that the silence in this cave was terrifying. There was a pile of dead bones not far from here. She never thought that once she was reborn, she would fall into the Hu Guo Temple cave together with Yun Ke. This was simply a big joke to her, or maybe she herself was a big joke.

As a woman who had crossed over, she had been muddle-headed in her first life and had fallen in love with a man she did not understand at all, just like a moth drawn to a flame. She had thought she was different and with her amazing talent, she would definitely be like all the heroines in the time travel novels, getting the love of this man for a lifetime. Yet, the result? A novel was just a novel and reality was the cruel truth. She had ended her time travel journey in the most tragic way. She had wanted to make him remember herself in the most extreme way. However, she was already dead, so what was the use of remembering?

She had clearly wanted to die, but the heavens had given her another chance to live again. Fine, she decided to cherish those who truly loved her, protect her mother and Yan Zhi, and live this life in peace. She clearly cherished this opportunity to be reborn and tried to make herself stronger, but what now? She just had to meet this man who had hurt her to the bone and had even fallen with him into this dark cave. It was unknown whether Yan Zhi was alive or dead outside. Even assuming the best scenario where she had only passed out, when she woke up, how could she know that Gu Yu Qi and Yun Ke would have fallen into a secret passage together?

When her mother learned of her disappearance, she would probably go crazy.

In this life, she had protected her mother everywhere and only then did her mother get rid of the knots she had in the previous life and live healthily. If she disappeared now, perhaps her mother would fall into mourning again and be unable to extricate herself. Then her body…

Gu Yu Qi could not help but let out a long sigh.

How many days could she and Yun Ke endure? Three or four days? By the time someone found them, they might have also turned into a pile of bones like that skeleton just now.

Why must the heavens play such a joke on her? Giving her a chance to be reborn when she wanted to die, then waiting until she was alive and well and ready to continue living well to take her life away. This joke was too big and she could not afford to play.

A faint smell of blood came to her nose, pulling Gu Yu Qi away from her thoughts.

“You’re bleeding again?” Gu Yu Qi turned her head sideways and looked at Yun Ke. Although she could not see right now, she knew that Yun Ke was next to her.

Yun Ke did not make a sound.

He was trying hard to endure. The loss of blood made his hands and feet a little cold. He did not like this feeling very much.

“Surely you’re not…” Not hearing Yun Ke’s voice, Gu Yu Qi could not help but feel nervous. She reached out to touch him.

This time, her hand touched Yun Ke’s face. The place where her fingertips touched, although soft, was icy cold.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gu Yu Qi was startled. Could it be that Yun Ke was dead? No, he was still very strong when he pulled her away from the pile of bones just now.

“Nothing,” Yun Ke suppressed the discomfort and spoke in a muffled voice.

“Nothing?” Gu Yu Qi knew Yun Ke too well. Her brows furrowed and her hands felt down his cheeks to his chest. “It would be stranger if it was nothing, where exactly are you hurt? Take out the fire torch and let me see.”

Although she was reluctant to be in contact with Yun Ke in her heart, she had no choice now.

In her previous life, she had no choice but to end her own life, and now… In fact, her mind was a mess. She felt that she could completely strangle Yun Ke now and avenge herself in her previous life, but then? There was nothing after that. She would just sit here alone and die…

She felt her wrist suddenly being held and she was dragged forcefully into Yun Ke’s arms.

She wanted to struggle but she heard Yun Ke’s low voice above her head, “Don’t move. Let me hold you for a while, I’m very cold.”

For the first time in his voice, there was a weakness that Gu Yu Qi had never felt before. This made Gu Yu Qi feel chaotic and unexpectedly, she stopped struggling. He had not referred to himself as this prince or this emperor towards her, both familiar terms. Instead, he had used the word “I” which threw Gu Yu Qi’s mind into a mess.

If only he could have spoken to her like this in her previous life when she still loved him with all her heart. Even if it was only once, she would have been satisfied.

Yet now, her heart was already like a quiet dried up ancient well without water, so where did the waves come from?

Being hugged by Yun Ke, Gu Yu Qi could not help but make a self-deprecating smile at the corner of her mouth.

She and Yun Ke would never be right. She had been wrong in her last life and her heart had given up in this life.

‘Let me see your wound.” Gu Yu Qi spoke slowly after a while. “We may not die here. Don’t bleed to death first!”

This woman! Yun Ke sighed silently in his heart. In this kind of situation, she kept mentioning death. Was she not dampening the spirits and bringing ill fortune? He really had been possessed by a ghost. In his previous life, she had been in his mind constantly after she died. In this life, he had been injured in order to protect her.

However, he still let go of Gu Yu Qi. Gu Yu Qi sat up straight immediately. His arms were empty and Yun Ke felt as if his heart also emptied.

He took out the fire torch, opened the lid, blew on the fire, then handed the fire torch to Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi placed the fire torch on the ground carefully, “Where are you hurt?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“Behind.” Yun Ke turned slightly. The movement affected the wound and his eyebrows wrinkled. It was very painful.

At a glance, Gu Yu Qi saw a large blood stain on Yun Ke’s waist. His white robe was soaked with blood and dyed crimson. Gu Yu Qi hurriedly pulled away the torn clothes there and a horrific wound appeared before her.

He must have been scratched. His entire back was covered in bruises of varying degrees and cuts of varying depths. The most serious was the torn wound on his lower back. Flesh and blood had turned inside out and was grimly exposed. Blood was also flowing continuously.

This… Gu Yu Qi felt that she really had not studied enough… If only she had studied medicine.

This wound… It was too deep. With the basic first aid training she had learned as a travelling backpacker, she was afraid she could not handle this. Gu Yu Qi reluctantly lifted her skirt and tore a large piece from her snow white inner skirt. Then she tore it into strips.

In any case, the bleeding must at least be stopped first. No wonder Yun Ke’s hands were so icy. Anyone who bled such a large pool of blood would not be feeling well.

Yun Ke allowed Gu Yu Qi to bound his wound with cloth.

As she held the cloth and went to wrap it around his waist, he could smell the fragrance of her hair arranged in a cloud bun. It was not heavy, instead it was light, but the faint wisp penetrated deeply into his lungs.

“You’re already 14,” Yun Ke said suddenly.

Gu Yu Qi’s hand trembled and she raised her eyes slightly, “What do you want?” She looked at Yun Ke warily.

The corners of Yun Ke’s lips twitched slightly and he smiled faintly. “Nothing,” he said slowly.

According to his previous life, she would become his concubine in one more year. It was just that in this life, she would not longer kneel in front of his father the emperor and request to resign from the title of Princess Consort Ding and ask to marry him.

Mu Rong Ling Yan had already passed away. According to the Virtuous Concubine’s wishes, he would need to ask for two side concubines soon. He did not know what the consequences would be if he disobeyed the Virtuous Concubine’s wishes in this life and married Gu Yu Qi as his second main concubine.

There was pain in his waist and he frowned slightly. He returned from his thoughts and looking down, saw that Gu Yu Qi had tightly wrapped the wound on his waist.

“If you don’t move around, the blood will probably stop slowly.” Gu Yu Qi said, looking at the tightly tied cloth.

“We have to get out of here quickly,” Gu Yu Qi looked around. “Your injury is deep and I don’t know how to heal. I can only temporarily suppress the blood flow for you. If you can’t get out in time, your situation may not be hopeful.”

“If I die, isn’t that what you want?” Yun Ke said with a cold smile.

If she said she did not want him to die, it would be a bit too contrived. Yun Ke was not a fool. He could see the resistance, alienation, and fear in Gu Yu Qi’s eyes when she looked at him.

When they were falling just now, he had also inadvertently caught a glimpse of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes.

In that moment lit up by the sparks from the stone, his heart froze.

She wanted him to die… But just now, she had bandaged his wound. He really could not understand Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi looked at Yun Ke with a deep expression, but did not speak.

She really did not want to be entangled with him. If he died, all her troubles would end with the main trouble solved. For her, it would undoubtedly be the best.

Yet, without Yun Ke just now, she was afraid that when she fell, she would have fallen directly to her death. Although Yun Ke had not said anything just now, Gu Yu Qi also understood that when they rolled down the slope just now, if he had not blocked her, she would be the one who was hurt and bleeding.

Although Gu Yu Qi did not understand why Yun Ke had done this, since he had done it, then she could not be so ruthless.

After she glared at Yun Ke, she looked away. Suddenly, she stared without moving at the fire torch.

“What are you looking at?” Seeing Gu Yu Qi staring blankly at the fire torch, Yun Ke could not help but ask.

“Look.” Gu Yu Qi pointed at the firelight and said to Yun Ke, her voice full of surprise.

Yun Ke frowned. It was just fire, what was there to look at… This fire torch would not last long… No, he looked again and found a clue.

The flames were leaning slightly in one direction.

***

“There’s wind!” Gu Yu Qi raised her eyes in surprise and looked at Yun Ke, “I thought it was strange. This stone cave had been sealed for so long but there’s actually still air and vents here. Look at the direction of the flame… It should be over there.” Gu Yu Qi pointed her finger excitedly and also turned her head. However, her face darkened instantly… In that direction, there was a pile of bones scattered on the ground. It was the pile that she had punched. The bad memory from just then came back.

Yun Ke leaned against the wall and stood up, “I’ll go over and look.” He walked over. Gu Yu Qi could see that he was enduring the pain and was trying his best to walk calmly.

Forget it, a wounded person was working so hard, what was she doing pretending to be squeamish over here? It was just a pile of bones, would it jump up and bite her?

Gu Yu Qi also stood up and limped over.

Yun Ke held the fire torch and carefully looked at the stone wall bit by bit. The flames were more intense in one direction.

“Up there.” Yun Ke pointed to the top of the cave. He leapt up and his body flew. Then he stepped on the protrusion on the stone wall and climbed to the top of the stone cave with a few jumps.

“Found it,” Yun Ke’s voice came from the top of the cave with a hint of excitement.

However, after a while, he dropped down again and his face turned pale, “The hole is too small,” he said with a frown. He looked at Gu Yu Qi’s stature, “I can’t go, but you can try.”

“Me?” Gu Yu Qi looked at herself, then looked at the height of the stone wall again. She shook her head a little embarrassedly, “I’m afraid I won’t make it up there.” Her martial arts skills were quite good now, but the Liang family was a family of military generals after all. The focus of the family’s martial arts skills were on swordsmanship and horsemanship. The Jianghu martial arts were not much involved with high-level martial arts like Qinggong. At most, Gu Yu Qi could only be as light as a swallow right now, how could she fly over eaves and walk on walls like Yun Ke?

“I’ll take you up,” Yun Ke said. Before Gu Yu Qi could refuse, he had already grabbed Gu Yu Qi’s arm and dragged her as he leapt up off the ground.

Just like before, he stepped neatly on the protruding stones on the stone wall, taking Gu Yu Qi to the top of the cave. He resisted the sharp pain in his lower back. Gritting his teeth, he said to Gu Yu Qi, “Try it, the hole is here.”

After this movement, he could clearly feel that his lower back was bleeding again.

Gu Yu Qi noticed that Yun Ke’s hand was shaking slightly. This was not the time to dilly dally and she knew the priority of the situation. She gritted her teeth then she clung to the protrusions at the top of the stone wall with her hands. Indeed, there was a dark hole. The hole was not big but it seemed she would be able to climb through.

“Take this.” Yun Ke handed Gu Yu Qi the fire torch that had almost burnt out. Then he could not hold his weight any longer and fell back to the ground immediately.

Gu Yu Qi gritted her teeth and crawled forward with the fire torch.

This hole was really small. It was dark and long. Gu Yu Qi avoided the protruding stones as she crawled. Nevertheless, even like this, she was still scraped in a lot of places. She was really afraid that something strange would suddenly come out of the hole and was apprehensive the whole time. She was also afraid that the hole would suddenly shrink and hold onto her so that she could neither move forward nor backward, that would be miserable. As Gu Yu Qi crawled, she made fun of herself. In her last life, she could even do absurd things such as ***. What was so scary about crawling through a hole in this life…

Gu Yu Qi did not know how long she had crawled for, but it felt like a century. Just as the fire torch in her hand was about to burn out, she suddenly saw that there seemed to be a light shining in front of her. The wind was getting stronger and it blew the hair on her cheek, making her feel itchy.

It was almost over! Gu Yu Qi was overjoyed and climbed forward faster. Finally, after as much time as it took to burn a stick of incense, Gu Yu Qi arrived at the entrance of the hole. She pushed aside the weeds blocking the entrance to the stone cave and fell outside. Fortunately, she fell on soft grass.

Gu Yu Qi could not care less about her embarrassment. She got up and looked around. She should still be within the scope of the mountain temple. It was just that it was desolate here and there were no people or paths. It was dusk now and the setting sun has plated a layer of natural gold all around, and it looked bright.

Gu Yu Qi simply distinguished the direction then picking up her skirt, she ran.

Fortunately, she had visited Hu Guo Temple several times in her previous life and was relatively familiar with the mountain topography here. Moreover, in order to gain attention at Huguo Temple and to pose, she had also specially studied the map of Hu Guo Temple to know where the crowds were and where there would be fewer people.

Gu Yu Qi was going in a good direction and soon, she turned onto a mountain path. She looked up and saw a grass pavilion.

It turned out to be here… Gu Yu Qi was surprised. The cave actually took her to the front of the mountain.

In the pavilion, there were several youths resting. Gu Yu Qi did not care about what she looked like right now and ran over immediately.

She was in an embarrassing state and when she appeared unkempt, she startled the several youths in the pavilion.

“Excuse me…” As soon as Gu Yu Qi opened her mouth, she saw a familiar figure, “Si Yang? You’re here!” Surprised and happy, she limped over.

“Eldest Sister?!” Gu Si Yang was originally sitting in the pavilion. Hearing Gu Yu Qi’s voice, he stood up hastily and quickly walked up to Gu Yu Qi. He said hurriedly, “Where did you go? Mother was going crazy trying to find you. I’ve been trying to find you too. I was just taking a break here because I was tired from searching! What happened to you? Were you injured? What happened to Yan Zhi? How could she have fainted at the back of the mountain?”

“Is Yan Zhi alright?” Gu Yu Qi did not care if anyone else was present. She quickly grabbed Gu Si Yang’s arm and asked.

“Yan Zhi woke up. She just hit her head. She said while crying that you were gone. Mother kept asking where you went, she kept shaking her head.” Gu Si Yang looked over Gu Yu Qi and said worriedly, “Eldest Sister, you haven’t encountered bad people, right…”

“It’s fine, I just stumbled and fell into a hole and took a long time to climb out. My foot is sprained.” Gu Yu Qi glanced at the companions beside Gu Si Yang and spoke with reservations.

“Thank you for accompanying me to find my Eldest Sister. Now that my Eldest Sister has been found, I’ll take Eldest Sister back first. I’ll thank you all some other day.” Gu Si Yang turned around and cupped his hands towards his friends. After speaking, he took off his robe and covered Gu Yu Qi, then helped her hastily towards the quiet courtyard.

There were outsiders just now so Gu Yu Qi could not say that Yun Ke was with her. If they found out, who knew what kind of rude remarks would come out, especially since Gu Yu Qi appeared with her hair dishevelled and untidy. If she said she fell into the hole herself, then it was fine to speak of, but if she and Yun Ke fell into the hole together, then they were alone as a man and woman…

After Yun Ke sent Gu Yu Qi away, the cave was dead silent and dark inside. He held his lower back and gritting his teeth, he sat down against the stone wall.

This wound seemed to have been torn even bigger. Yun Ke laughed at himself. It turned out that being left alone in the dark was such a lonely and terrifying thing.

He did not know if she had gotten out smoothly, or if she would bring someone to find him right away. With his current situation, it was likely that he could not last three days.

If she deliberately delayed for two or three days after she escaped, then by the time his own people found him, he might already be a corpse.

Did he regret it? Perhaps he should have dragged Gu Yu Qi to accompany him and die here together. Maybe they would have been reborn again. Haha, it was just a thought. This kind of mysterious and incomprehensible thing, even if it happened once, how could it happen again?

His body felt cold due to massive blood loss. Yun Ke’s lips also became very dry. He licked his lips, wanting to moisturise them a little.

How long had she been out? Or was she still not out? Would she not come back if she still had not gotten out? Or did she fall into another trap?

Yun Ke forcefully opened his eyes and looked at the top of the cave. Although he could not see anything, he hoped to see Gu Yu Qi again, but he did not want to see her here.

Contradictory! Yun Ke did not know that he could be so sentimental. What had he been like in his previous life? It had seemed that apart from taking that position, nothing else could attract his attention.

Everything he did was to become the emperor, to rule the world, to become the lord of this world.

Zhang Wan Yi was the only one who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him as his empress, because she was open-minded, had a sense of propriety, was well-mannered, and had the demeanour of being the mother of the country. Only such a perfect woman was qualified to become his empress. However, after Gu Yu Qi died, he never made anyone his empress.

That position remained vacant until he died.

On the rare occasion he did not bring his secret guards out, this just had to happen… This was really the will of the heavens. Could it be that the heavens wanted to cast his life away here?

He was not afraid of death, but he felt that dying like this would be a bit too wasted.

If he died, would Gu Yu Qi feel relieved?

Yun Ke sighed silently. He did not know what he should do with Gu Yu Qi, but he knew one thing. He would hold fast onto this woman! If he could survive.