Yu Jin Chang An (With Jin's Chang'An)

Chapter 34

Li Shuang met Jin'an's gaze, and a hint of sourness mixed into the softness in her heart. She touched his head, refraining from speaking because she feared her hoarse voice might upset him further.

For a moment, silence enveloped the cell. Wu Yin stood nearby, observing for a while. Just as he was about to speak, Jin'an suddenly turned his gaze towards him. His eyes, no longer on Li Shuang, grew dark and gloomy. The flame pattern on his bare chest slowly expanded, burning and creeping towards his neck.

"Jin'an," Li Shuang gently called his name, her voice barely audible but enough for Jin'an to hear. She turned his face towards her, forcing him to look at her. "It's okay."

The chaos in Jin'an's eyes seemed to be calmed by Li Shuang's reassuring voice. After a while, he raised his hand again and touched the wooden board around Li Shuang's neck, remaining silent.

Wu Yin sighed. "It seems the chains still can't not unlocked."

At the same time, Li Shuang said, "Give me the key."

Wu Yin rubbed his brow. "I've heard that soldiers like you, who lead troops into battle, are bold... General Li, I've already told you, he is..."

Wu Yin paused, noticing that Jin'an was not reacting to him. He continued, "Even though you are now the Gu master, his situation is unclear. It's best not to take it lightly."

"I understand," Li Shuang's voice was hoarse but firm. "Give me the key, and you leave first."

Was she planning to lock herself and the Gu man in this room together?

Wu Yin raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing Jin'an's current state. However, the child only frowned at Li Shuang's neck, gently touching it repeatedly, showing no signs of harm.

It might be beneficial to let the Gu master and the Gu man be alone together. The master's presence would gradually calm his inner turmoil.

Wu Yin took out the key from his sleeve and placed it on the ground. "I'll be outside the door, not going far," he said before retreating and closing the heavy iron door.

Li Shuang listened to the sound of the iron door locking from outside before she took Jin'an's hand down and walked over to pick up the key.

While she went to pick up the key, Jin'an looked at her eagerly. His movements were restrained by the iron chains, but he raised his hand as if to help Li Shuang support her neck, even though he couldn't actually reach her.

When Li Shuang turned around with the key in hand and saw Jin'an's posture and expression, she couldn't help but chuckle softly. "My head won't fall off," she said jokingly as she walked back and naturally unlocked the two shackles on Jin'an's feet and neck. Removing the iron chains, Li Shuang finally saw the festering skin around Jin'an's neck.

Frowning at the sight, Li Shuang's expression caused Jin'an to retract his hand and cover his neck, avoiding eye contact with her as if afraid that his ugly wound would scare her.

"I'm very dangerous," Jin'an said. "You should lock me up..."

Ignoring his words, Li Shuang simply stood up, turned around, and left. Jin'an glanced at her retreating figure and opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, remained silent. Her leaving was the right thing to do. For so many days, so much time, he had barely been able to control his own body. He felt like he had turned into a ball of fire, with flames burning all over him, unleashing all the resentment and killing intent from the depths of his heart.

He wanted to break free from all the constraints and bonds, to kill everyone who approached him. He wanted to go far away. Deep in his subconscious, he could vaguely feel that there was a place far away where he could calm down, and there was a person who could gradually cool down his boiling blood.

But when he saw that person yesterday, he didn't recognize her and ended up hurting her instead.

Jin'an no longer had confidence in his self-control.

So Li Shuang should leave him, the farther the better, don't let him see, don't see him, he's so ugly and scary...

"Get me some medicine, his wound needs to be treated."

Li Shuang's voice echoed at the door, and Jin'an stared at her back in disbelief for a moment. She spoke with a hoarse voice, conversing with the outside guard about what medicine was needed.

In no time, the guard opened the door and handed in some clean water and ointment, then closed the door again.

Li Shuang took the items and returned to Jin'an, squatting down in front of him. She asked him to lift his chin so she could clean his neck wound, then slowly applied the ointment.

As a general who was accustomed to warfare and wielding swords, she sometimes found it difficult to control her strength when doing such delicate tasks. Often, when she pressed down, she ended up hurting his wound a bit more.

Jin'an remained silent, enduring the pain without complaint, because compared to the turmoil in his heart, the pain from this wound was hardly enough to draw his attention.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Jin'an asked her.

Li Shuang glanced at him indifferently. "Why should I be afraid?"

"I hurt you."

"It was just a momentary loss of control."

"What if... I still can't control myself?" Jin'an's emotions began to stir as he said this, his heartbeat quickened, and the flames on his chest started to spread again.

"Aren't you fine now?" Li Shuang patted his head gently. "Just rest for a while?"

Her calm demeanor made Jin'an's restlessness nowhere to go. After a while, he watched as Li Shuang patted her thigh, hesitatingly lay down, and rested his head on her lap.

"Just sleep for a while," Li Shuang leaned against the wall, softly saying, "You probably didn't sleep well last night, and I also need to rest."

Jin'an carefully placed his head on her lap, afraid of putting too much weight on her. But Li Shuang's hand continued to stroke his head gently, her touch so light and soft, like the gentlest spring breeze, warming his heart.

The single-minded restlessness and the sharp spikes of anxiety, both inside and out, were effortlessly smoothed out by Li Shuang. All he could smell was her scent, all he could feel was her warmth against his skin, everything about her filled him with peace.

His head lay heavily on Li Shuang's lap, and under her soothing touch, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Li Shuang continued to stroke him for a while, and after he fell asleep, she noticed that the wound on his ankle was healing at a visible speed.

Li Shuang was astonished. It dawned on her why she had never suspected that they were the same person before. Whenever Jin'an, who had turned into an adult that night, came to rescue her, he always had various injuries, but the next day, when he turned back into a child, all the wounds would disappear.

Such a terrifying healing speed, that ordinary people would never dare to imagine.

Li Shuang sighed. She couldn't help but think about the future. If Jin'an couldn't bear to be apart from her like this, then what would happen to him when she returned to the court, handed over her military power, and married the emperor? How would she arrange a place for him? And... who was Jin'an before he became a Gu man? What was his true identity?

Amidst these questions, Li Shuang leaned against the wall, gradually feeling sleepy. In fact, there was nothing to fear about the future. She had come all this way to save his life. And now, this person was lying safe and sound in her arms. In this way, no matter what the future holds, she hasn't let down her original intention.