RIIDMDR chapter 133

 

Nan Xu slept especially long this time. When he woke up, it was past noon. Opening his eyes, he saw Tingchuan sitting by the bed. He was dazed for a moment, thinking he was still dreaming.

“How do you feel?” Tingchuan asked.

Nan Xu stared at Tingchuan’s face for a long time. He had lost a lot of weight, and his eyes revealed his fatigue, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

His gaze lingered blankly on one spot. Slightly worried, Tingchuan reached out to touch Nan Xu’s damp, sweaty hair. “Why did you sleep for so long?”

The warmth from his palm spread through Nan Xu’s body. Only then did he realize that this wasn’t a dream. A surge of joy hit him, and he suddenly sat up and threw his arms around Tingchuan’s neck. He was speechless for a long while.

Though he hadn’t lacked food or comfort while Tingchuan was gone, the constant worry about Jing Yuan never left his heart. All he could do was prepare meals and talk with Jing Yuan a little. But Jing Yuan’s condition worsened day by day before his eyes. He feared Jing Yuan wouldn’t last much longer and dreaded facing the grief alone.

So much fear and anxiety were buried inside him. Each time he learned that Jing Yuan was still unconscious, he felt lost and helpless. After accepting his identity without memories, he longed even more for Tingchuan’s return. He feared that the memories he hadn’t yet regained might cause him to miss something important. As long as Tingchuan was there, even if he said nothing, it made him feel at peace.

After a brief moment of surprise, Tingchuan’s hand rested gently on his back, as though soothing a child awakened from a nightmare.

After a while, with red eyes, Nan Xu let go of Tingchuan, though his hand still clutched the other’s sleeve.

“You’re sweating. Get up and change your clothes,” Tingchuan said.

Nan Xu hummed softly but didn’t move. Tingchuan could only get clean clothes for him. When he turned around, he noticed that Nan Xu was still tugging on his sleeve. Without saying anything, Tingchuan simply lifted Nan Xu into his arms and carried him to the wardrobe.

Caught off guard, Nan Xu felt embarrassed by being lifted. However, Tingchuan’s calm expression made him feel like he was overreacting.

“You slept for so long. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Tingchuan asked as he picked out clothes from the cabinet.

Resting his chin on Tingchuan’s shoulder, Nan Xu shook his head. “No, I’m just a bit hungry.”

“Jing Yuan had the fish demon bring some food earlier. You should eat something first.” Tingchuan picked out clothes and helped Nan Xu get dressed.

Nan Xu let Tingchuan help him change. Hearing this, he asked in surprise, “Why did he send food today?”

They had lived on the island for over a month, and Jing Yuan had never sent food before. Every day, Nan Xu shared his own meals with Jing Yuan. So today’s change puzzled him.

“It’s a farewell meal,” Tingchuan said casually. “We’re leaving the island today. He said his body still needs rest, so he won’t eat with us. He also sent a few packs of tea and said you would like them.”

Nan Xu wondered if he had slept too long and missed something. Otherwise, why would they be leaving without his knowledge?

“But Jing Yuan’s illness isn’t cured yet. Are we leaving already?” Nan Xu asked.

Tingchuan nodded. “I found a healing elixir for him. Once he recovers, I’ll bring you back to the island.”

Nan Xu felt as though a pie had fallen from the sky. Overjoyed, he said, “That’s great! Where did you find the elixir? How long until he’s better? I’ll go see him now!”

His words tumbled out one after another in excitement. Without waiting for Tingchuan to answer, he jumped off the bed—not even bothering to put on his shoes—and ran toward the door.

Just as Tingchuan reached out to stop him, Nan Xu nearly collided head-on with someone at the doorway. Fortunately, the other person dodged quickly; otherwise, they would have crashed.

Dan Yin, who was holding a large tray, exclaimed in relief, “Good thing I reacted fast! Otherwise, this fine food would’ve gone to waste!”

“What are you doing here?” Nan Xu asked, bracing himself against the doorframe.

Dan Yin gave him a once-over. “Walked in, of course. I’m a ginseng, not a bird with wings! Owner, you finally woke up. I haven’t seen you in months, and you’ve become such a sleeper. Don’t tell me you’re pregnant? Maybe a nine-tailed fox cub—or wait, what kind of demon are you again?”

Still so nonsensical. Nan Xu’s face darkened. A man like him, pregnant? As if that were even possible!

Because of that interruption, Nan Xu didn’t get to see Jing Yuan. Instead, he sat down at the table with Tingchuan and Dan Yin to eat.

Jing Yuan had sent quite a lavish meal—several large trays full of food, barely fitting on the table. Nan Xu had never seen so many varieties of seafood in either world. With their own dipping sauces, the three of them enjoyed a hearty meal.

Afterward, Nan Xu tried again to visit Jing Yuan. Just as he entered the courtyard, however, the Bai couple told him that Jing Yuan had taken medicine and gone to sleep. When Nan Xu peeked inside, Jing Yuan was indeed sleeping soundly, so he left him be.

On the way back to his own courtyard, Nan Xu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He had been in Jing Yuan’s room several times before; it was always clean and tidy, yet it also had personal items and décor. Yet today, even the teapot and cups were gone, not to mention any daily necessities. It was as if Jing Yuan would never use them again.

Nan Xu felt uneasy. Combined with the strange lunch earlier, the more he thought about it, the more serious his expression became. It felt like he was about to figure it out, but he just couldn’t grasp the missing piece.

For some reason, even though he had just woken up, he became drowsy again. His head spun, his ears rang, and his vision blurred. Various discomforts hit him all at once. He stopped and leaned against a wall as he looked ahead and saw the alleyway twisting and distorting. His legs gave out, and before he could react, blood surged up his throat. Then, everything went black.

——

The room was in chaos. Nan Xu lay unconscious on the bed. After checking his pulse, the Bai couple could only conclude that his energy was severely depleted. They couldn’t determine the cause of the bleeding and coma.

Tingchuan’s face darkened as he tightly held Nan Xu’s hand. Only the warmth in Nan Xu’s body reassured him slightly.

“Maybe the owner was too worried about Senior Jing Yuan before. Now that you’ve returned, Senior Tingchuan, his nerves have relaxed too suddenly—that’s why he’s in such a deep sleep,” suggested Zhixing’s father softly.

Dan Yin said, “He’s been sleeping for two whole days already. Even if he was tired, that’s enough by now! And he still keeps coughing up blood…”

The Bai couple fell silent. It truly wasn’t normal, but they couldn’t diagnose further because their spiritual power had been fully drained a month ago when they treated Jing Yuan.

Tingchuan’s hand trembled as he held Nan Xu’s. His sleeve was stained with blood from Nan Xu’s lips, but he didn’t care. He had already tried feeding Nan Xu every pill Zhixing had given him that might have had some effect, but Nan Xu couldn’t swallow anything, not even water.

While Dan Yin and the Bai couple discussed the situation, Tingchuan fell into thought. In hindsight, the signs had been there all along. Ever since leaving Zhuyu Mountain, Nan Xu had been listless and increasingly lethargic. Tingchuan had noticed this, but he thought it was due to fatigue from traveling or the frailty of a human body. With Jing Yuan’s illness, they hadn’t had time to consider anything else.

He’d planned to take the return journey slowly to let Nan Xu rest and recover. However, when Nan Xu didn’t return by midday, Tingchuan followed his tracks and found him lying on the ground, covered in blood.

In that instant, the world spun. It felt like an old nightmare replaying in reality. He carried Nan Xu all the way to the Bai couple’s home. All composure of a great demon was gone; he was terrified he’d been one step too late.

“The human body is fragile, unlike us demons,” the Bai couple mused. “It’s normal that we can’t see the cause. But I recall from old texts that humans need to replenish certain things, like how demons need spiritual energy to survive: Things like ginseng, astragalus, and eucommia. We still have some of those herbs on the island. I’ll make a tonic—it might restore some vitality.”

Upon hearing this, Tingchuan’s eyes flicked to Dan Yin.

Feeling his stare, Dan Yin’s hair almost stood on end. He took two steps back. “What are you thinking?”

Tingchuan said, “Ginseng?”

——

Nan Xu’s consciousness drifted in chaos, surrounded by darkness. His body felt as if it were expanding endlessly, as if something were constantly pouring into him. The pain made his veins bulge and his body convulse uncontrollably. No matter how he positioned himself, he couldn’t escape the agony.

It hurt—so much. It felt like he would explode at any moment. The torment pushed his mind toward the brink.

Just when he thought he couldn’t endure any more, the things pouring into him began to withdraw. The unbearable pain faded slightly and his body finally relaxed, but it didn’t stop. Something was still being drained away—his spirit, his flesh, his life—flowing out endlessly. It was as if he were being sliced by countless blades, torn apart, his bones crushed, as he watched himself become an empty shell, dismembered piece by piece.

The agony seemed to repeat endlessly—a vicious cycle meant to grind away his sanity, to devour him completely in the dark.

Nan Xu wanted to cry. He murmured that it hurt, but his hollow body couldn’t shed a single tear and his lips trembled too much to form a full word.

He clung to the last thread of reason. He didn’t know if he would die; he only knew that his body was being refined by endless pain, forcing him to adapt to it.

——

On the bed, Nan Xu looked as if he were trapped in a nightmare. The tears in his eyes had long dried. For days and nights, he had muttered, “It hurts,” his pale lips stained with blood again and again. No one knew what he was enduring in his coma, but despair hung heavy in the room. Dan Yin and the Bai couple couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

Zhixing’s mother brought a bowl of freshly brewed medicine. Tingchuan dipped a spoon in the bowl and wet Nan Xu’s lips, trying to feed him.

But the dark liquid was rejected again. Tingchuan’s reddened eyes were filled with helplessness and pain.

“I’m taking him back to Zhuyu Mountain,” he said.

Dan Yin hesitated. “He’s in this condition—how could he withstand the journey?”

Tingchuan shook his head.

Back when they were on Zhuyu Mountain, Nan Xu had only complained of a headache once. But after they left, his health gradually declined. Tingchuan recalled how, when they descended from the main peak, Nan Xu nearly fell from the serow’s back. Only then did Tingchuan finally realize that Nan Xu was not like them at all.

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