A raincoat wind and snow to the small garden

Chapter 13: Closeness (Part )

Chapter XIII
After another day of rest, Xiang Xiaoyuan's illness had completely healed, and even the knife wound on his neck had gradually scabbed over.

It's just that the girl was injured and didn't receive good care in time, so a thorn-like scar suddenly appeared on her fair neck, which didn't look very good.

Huaiyu glanced at him and said nothing. When the two of them arrived in Luocheng, Huaiyu went to the pharmacy and bought a cream in a white porcelain box and handed it to Xiang Xiaoyuan.

"What is this?" Xiang Xiaoyuan unscrewed the lid and smelled a faint floral fragrance.

Huaiyu walked past her and walked away.

Xiang Xiaoyuan saw that he didn't say anything, so she followed him with her bag on her back, looking at the ointment prescription. Finally, she saw the oil paper stuck with glue at the bottom of the box. The ointment was called Scar Removing and Whitening Skin Ointment.

Xiang Xiaoyuan was stunned. She subconsciously touched the blood scab on her neck. The wound was actually not deep, but the scab had fallen off recently. It felt a little prickly to the touch, and it was itchy because new flesh had grown.

Perhaps Huaiyu saw her subconsciously touching her neck, so he took time out of his busy schedule to buy her ointment.

Xiang Xiaoyuan stared at the cream blankly, stroking the smooth white porcelain box with her thumb.

She had rarely been cared for like this before. The love her parents gave her when she was young was already vague, and her only memories when she was older were of the days she spent at her aunt's house.

At that time, whether it was chicken soup or fruits, Qiao Jie'er had to eat the leftovers before Xiang Xiaoyuan could taste them. Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't cry, make a fuss, or complain, but used the excuse that "our family was poor and she wasn't her aunt's biological daughter" to comfort herself.

However, when Xiang Xiaoyuan received care from Uncle Liu; when she was given a cup of medicine, a roasted rabbit, and a box of cream by the usually taciturn Huaiyu; when she discovered that she didn't need to pay anything to drink the broth, and could receive silent care and gentle protection, and that even the coldest Huaiyu knew how to take care of people... Xiang Xiaoyuan suddenly felt a lump in her nose and tears filled her eyes.

"Is this ointment very stimulating?"

The young man's clear and low voice sounded.

Huaiyu had jumped in front of her without her knowing, and leaned over to look at her.

Xiang Xiaoyuan suddenly looked up, and blinked away a tear in fright.

Tears fell on Huaiyu's fingers. The boy calmly wiped off the wetness on his finger bones and rubbed them carefully. The smell of tears was salty and astringent, not sticky.

His eyes were cold, and he asked again: "Then why are you crying?"

Xiang Xiaoyuan realized that Huaiyu was asking her if the ointment was too spicy and stung the wound, causing her to cry in pain.

Xiang Xiaoyuan seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

What should she say? Should she say she was bribed by a small favor and was so moved that she was about to cry?
The girl thought for a moment and said, "I'm just worried that this box of ointment is too expensive. My salary won't be high, so I won't be able to pay you back in a while."

It turns out that he was just afraid of being poor. No wonder he even coveted his silver leaf hidden weapon before.

Huai Yu: "No need to return it."

Xiang Xiaoyuan hesitated: "This is not good, right?"

"Since you have joined my team, consider this a greeting gift to my subordinates."

Huaiyu spoke casually, as if he was just making up an excuse to fool Xiang Xiaoyuan.

But Xiang Xiaoyuan felt a little warm in her heart. Did this mean that Huaiyu considered her one of his own? She must repay Huaiyu and make him proud.

After the soaked flares were dried, Xiang Xiaoyuan stuffed some gunpowder from firecrackers into the flares to forcefully ignite the ammunition.

The yellow smoke spread in the air and soon attracted a black eagle with its tail flapping and claws raised.

It spread its wings as long as two arms, and with a gust of wind, it swept towards the small garden swiftly.

A huge black shadow loomed over, like the shade of an ancient tree. Xiang Xiaoyuan was stunned for a moment, his legs feeling a little weak.

Soon she was pushed away by Huai Yu and fell to the side.

The carrier eagle became even more excited when it saw Huaiyu. It immediately spread its wings, stirred up a whirlwind of yellow sand, and stood steadily on the young man's arm.

The falcon's sharp claws suddenly scratched into the boy's flesh, inadvertently leaving several streaks of bright red blood.

The blood dripped down like a red thread.

Huai Yu seemed to feel no pain. He took the carrier hawk calmly, tied a letter for help to its claws, and released the black hawk.

Xiang Xiaoyuan rolled into the mud, her newly bought dress stained with mud. Heartbroken, she brushed it off. When Xiang Xiaoyuan cleaned the sand from her sleeves and saw Huaiyu's bloody hands... she realized that Huaiyu had just blocked the hawk's fatal attack for her.

While staying in the inn at night, Xiang Xiaoyuan thought of the wound on Huaiyu's hand. Although he had bandaged it, the wound should have been on her hand.

Xiang Xiaoyuan was absent-minded and didn't even eat a few more bites of his meal.

Late at night, Xiang Xiaoyuan and the shopkeeper bought a chicken. She lit the fire herself and added firewood. She used dried day lilies and dried mushrooms to make a bowl of thick chicken soup. She put two greasy and plump chicken legs in Huaiyu's bowl.

She took two bowls of chicken soup with satisfaction and brought them to the upper room.

Even though the girl's footsteps were very light, Huai Yu, who was light-sleeping, still noticed them when she stepped onto the first step.

Over the years, whether Huai Yu appeared as the Crown Prince Xie Yunxue or carried out missions as the head of the secret guards, countless people wanted to kill him.

Huai Yu was on guard day and night, not daring to sleep deeply. In addition to being on guard against external enemies, he also didn't want to fall into a deep sleep and be caught by those evil spirits who died unjustly.

Emperor Xie Zhen had committed too much murderous sin, and his body was filled with bloody murderous energy, so ghosts and monsters did not dare to approach him and instead turned to surround Huai Yu.

Every time Huai Yu saw Xie Zhen kill someone and saw heads and corpses scattered all over the ground, he would be hunted by a lonely ghost at night.

Therefore, he was afraid to fall asleep since he was a child and often had night palpitations. In severe cases, he would even wander around the bedroom at night. He fell into the pool several times and almost drowned.

Taoist priests performed divinations for Huai Yu, saying that the Crown Prince was born with the destiny of a sage ruler, capable of warding off disasters and helping the Emperor overcome them. This was also why Xie Zhen always took Xie Yunxue with him whenever he committed murder.

Xie Zhen pushed the child forward, letting the bright red blood from the butcher's knife splatter on his cheeks.

The boy's eyes were wide open, his thin lips were tightly pursed, his face was pale, his dark eyes were dyed red with blood, the smell of blood was nauseating, he was so frightened that even his breathing was held in his throat.

After watching the massacre, Xie Yunxue could not go back to her room to rest.

The Taoists would set up an altar and immerse Xie Yunxue in a cold pool, claiming it would cleanse him of the Asura spirit. Dozens of Taoists would surround Xie Yunxue and paint the "Three Officials Sutra" and "Saving People Sutra" on his bare shoulders, using his flesh to recite the scriptures and unleash their divine power to liberate the souls of the wronged...

Xie Yunxue stood motionless, the sound of countless chanting filling his head. The dust of incense brushed against his face, and the Three Pure Ones bell, wooden fish, and other instruments hummed. He seemed like an unconscious deity, allowing those mortal eyes to draw cinnabar talismans and carve scriptures on his arm bones, shoulder blades, and waist.

The ink and brush were stained on the boy's jade-carved body, with dragons and phoenixes flying and dancing, and a faint scent of ink.

But this move is not a gift that cleanses the bones and marrow, but more like a humiliation driven by selfish motives.

Those Taoists who were oppressed by the imperial power could manipulate the future crown prince at will according to their own wishes. This was a punishment approved by the emperor, which could satisfy their ambition to bully the weak.

And Xie Yunxue was the victim.

Huai Yu hated living as the crown prince. When he stripped away the name "Xie Yunxue", it seemed that he could get away from the nightmare that was born from his bones.

Tonight, Huaiyu appeared in my dream again.

In the distance, crimson lotus fire burned, and countless chains emerged from the earth, entangled his hands and feet...

Huai Yu couldn't break free, the power he had in the dream was not invincible.

But all these evil dreams were dispelled by a bowl of fragrant chicken soup.

Huaiyu's thinking was a little slow.

Deep in his memory, he searched for the origin of that bowl of chicken soup… Was it the chicken soup that had been sent to Xiaoyuan in the mountains long ago? It was said that the chicken was her favorite hen, Chunhua. If Chunhua hadn't been killed, the hen would have laid one or two eggs a day. She would have had her mother make egg custard and share it with Xie Yunxue.

Huaiyu gradually calmed down and opened his eyes from the darkness.

He escaped from the nightmare.

Huaiyu glanced to the side and saw a short figure standing outside the door.

The boy's cheeks were pale and sweat was on his temples. He took a deep breath to calm his fluctuating emotions.

There was a gentle knock on the door outside.

Xiang Xiaoyuan called out from outside: "Huaiyu, are you asleep? I made some chicken soup and wanted to share a bowl with you."

Huaiyu looked at the bed curtains for a long time without saying a word.

But Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't give up. She continued to call him: "Huaiyu? Wake up and drink the soup before going to sleep. Thank you for taking care of me these days. I should cook something for you..."

If Huaiyu didn't say anything, Xiang Xiaoyuan would keep talking noisily.

It seems like she has been this noisy since she was a child.

After waiting for a long time, Huaiyu got up from the couch, opened the door, and looked down at the little girl standing outside.

Xiang Xiaoyuan raised the tray in his hand and smiled brightly: "Chicken soup, would you like some?"

Huai Yu's eyes were cold and distant, and he spoke hoarsely, "No need..."

Before Huaiyu could finish his words, Xiang Xiaoyuan had already bent down and nimbly slipped into the house through the gap under his arm.

Xiang Xiaoyuan was not the type to force others, but she knew that Huaiyu had only drunk a bowl of porridge today, and no matter how powerful a swordsman was, he could not ruin his body like this.

She relied on Huai Yu's protection all the way to the capital, and she also caused him to be scratched by a falcon. It was only right for her to treat him to a meal.

Huaiyu didn't refuse again. After washing up, he sat down at the table.

Xiang Xiaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief. She moved the bowl of chicken soup with two chicken legs in front of him, picked up another bowl of chicken soup, blew it cool, and took a sip.

Xiang Xiaoyuan is not as good as his mother at making soup, but by following her mother's instructions, the chicken soup he makes still has a fresh and rich taste.

Before she started eating the chicken, two chicken legs suddenly appeared in the bowl.

It was given to her by Huaiyu.

Xiang Xiaoyuan was stunned when he saw the plump and tender chicken legs.

She whispered, "Don't you want to eat?"

Huaiyu shook his head.

He picked up the bowl and drank the chicken soup politely.

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't insist. Perhaps some people just didn't like chicken legs. For example, like the Crown Prince Xie Yunxue who had been a guest at her home before.

Little did she know that Huaiyu remembered her shameless act of begging for food and assumed that she liked chicken legs, so he gave the food to her.

Xie Yunxue, actually remember Xiang Xiaoyuan.

(End of this chapter)