Phoenix Cries Return to Court

Lin Xihe felt her face flush. She suppressed her wildly beating heart and kept trying to calm herself down.

Now that things have come to this, there's no time to worry about anything else. If we delay any longer, Shen Jueyan's life might really be in danger.

Thinking of this, she made up her mind, quickly stepped forward, carefully untied his belt, took off his soaked clothes, and with some effort, draped the outer robe over a rough wooden stick she had found, moved it to the stove, and slowly dried the clothes.

Then, she returned to his side and carefully examined the wound on his arm.

The gruesome wound was about an inch long and was still bleeding profusely. The surrounding skin was also red and swollen. Lin Xi felt a pang of guilt. She tore a strip of cloth from her clothes, dried it over the fire, and carefully wrapped it around the wound.

The unconscious man seemed to feel the pulling of his wound; his brows furrowed involuntarily, his thin lips pressed together, and he let out a muffled groan.

After treating the wound, Lin Xi wanted to check the man for any other injuries, but her heart sank when she touched his body. She subconsciously touched the man's forehead again and found it was even hotter than before.

Upon closer inspection, the man's face gradually turned from pale to an unnatural flush, and his breathing became rapid.

Lin Xi was frantic, her eyes scanning the cave back and forth, hoping to find a way to cool things down. But at this moment, there was nothing else around except for the fire, sticks, and rubble.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: she remembered a method for lowering body temperature that an old nanny in the palace had mentioned long ago.

The moment this thought crossed Lin Xihe's face, her cheeks flushed again, and her heart began to race.

I don't know if it will work, but it's the only option we have right now.

She steeled herself, took a deep breath, slowly removed her clothes, and lay down, carefully pressing herself against the man's burning hot body.

The moment their skin touched, a scorching heat enveloped her, while the slight coolness of her body caused the unconscious man to instinctively move closer to her, letting out a satisfied groan.

Lin Xihe's body stiffened, her cheeks burned, and her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest. But she still suppressed her shyness, gently hugged his waist, and pressed her cheek against his chest. The man's steady and powerful heartbeat could be heard.

She prayed silently in her heart, hoping that this method would work and that he would get better soon.

Shen Jueyan felt as if his consciousness was floating in a state of chaos, his whole body was burning unbearably, and his left arm was in excruciating pain.

He wanted to open his eyes and speak, but his eyelids felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and his throat felt as if it had been burned, dry and painful.

"Am I going to die?" he murmured to himself, feeling increasingly as if his soul was about to leave his body.

Just as he was about to completely lose consciousness, he vaguely felt something cool and soft attach to his body, like a clear spring, instantly dispelling some of the heat in his body.

The next second, I heard a choked whisper in my ear.

"Kazuya, you must live on."

"He Er, hold on a little longer, someone will come to rescue us soon."

"He Er, you can't die. The Dongzhu case hasn't been investigated yet, and the court needs you. If you die, wouldn't that be letting that person benefit?"

The repeated calls of "He Er" echoed in his ears, and Shen Jueyan's heart jolted, his chaotic consciousness instantly clearing a bit.

In this world, there is only one person who calls him "He Er".

His thoughts were drawn back to the past, when he was still being raised in the palace of the late Empress Dowager.

That day, the teacher was examining his knowledge in the classroom. Coincidentally, he had inadvertently offended the late Empress Dowager the day before, and she was ignoring him. He was depressed and confused. When he put pen to paper, he seemed to have lost his mind and inexplicably wrote his own name as "Shen Yanhe".

Later, when she read his article, she even laughed out loud because of his name, which was quite rare for her. "Since you like the character 'He' so much, then from now on, I will call you He Er."

He was a little confused and looked up at her.

"What? You still want to be the boss?" She laughed again, her eyes crinkling, looking quite beautiful. "With me here, you can only be number two."

From then on, when they were alone, she would call him "He Er".

This nickname became a secret between the two of them.

He thought that the person who used to call him "He Er" had left forever, but now, the name was so familiar and clear in his ears.

She's back? It must be her!

Shen Jueyan felt a lump in her throat, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

He wanted to open his eyes, to see her clearly, to hold her tight, and to ask her where she had gone.

But he was so tired, so very tired. All his strength seemed to have been drained away. The coolness clung to him, and he felt the heat in his body slowly fading. He couldn't hold on any longer. His eyelids drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep...

Lin Xihe gently raised her hand to wipe away the tear stains on his cheeks and whispered, "He Er, sleep well. I'm with you. You must pull through."

That night, she barely slept a wink, occasionally touching his forehead to check if his wound was still bleeding. The flames in the stove continued to flicker, and the clothes being baked gradually dried.

The man's body temperature gradually decreased, and her anxious heart slowly calmed down. As the sky began to lighten, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep.

The sunlight slowly climbed the mountain, a gentle breeze blew by, bringing the fragrance of grass and trees, and birds began to chirp and sing.

Shen Jueyan slowly opened his eyes, and his consciousness gradually cleared. He tried to move his body, and a dull pain came from his shoulder, which made him frown.

Just then, he felt a slight movement beside him. He instinctively turned his head, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Lin Xihe was fast asleep with her eyes closed, clearly exhausted.

Her eyebrows were like crescent moons, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, her lips were like cinnabar, her skin was fair, and her cheeks had a faint blush, making one unable to help but feel affection for her.

Shen Jueyan's heart skipped a beat, as if it had been gently bumped by something, causing a ripple.

But the next second, his gaze inadvertently swept over her jade-like body under her loose clothes. She was dressed very little and was pressed tightly against him. He froze, his ears turned bright red, and he coughed unexpectedly.

Lin Xihe woke up instantly upon hearing the sound. She looked at the person in front of her and subconsciously asked, "You're awake? How are you feeling?"

Upon hearing this, the man's face turned even redder.

Looking at the somewhat disheveled man before her, Lin Xihe suddenly recalled the previous night. She grabbed the outer robe beside her and wrapped it tightly around herself, awkwardly explaining, "Last night you had a persistent high fever, and obviously there was no better way, so I..."

As she spoke, her face grew even hotter, and her heart pounded like thunder. Then she heard a man's deep, husky voice in her ear.

"Thanks"

For a moment, the surroundings seemed to freeze, and the atmosphere became subtle.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the cave, growing louder as they approached.

Lin Xihe's heart sank suddenly, and a strong sense of unease welled up inside her.

Could it be that they've caught up?