Chapter 257 – Couldn't accomplish the task of leaving you by yourself

The setting sun on top of the hill spilled the last bit of twilight, afterwards the hill was plunged into an endless darkness.

Chu Qing-Yan sat in the carriage and through the window looked at that burning and flouris.h.i.+ng bonfire slowly, somewhat absentmindedly.

Don't know how Big Block of Ice is right now. Did he eat dinner on time? Obviously it was merely a separation for several hours, but it seemed as if they have been apart for days.

It seemed that those words she heard someone say before was correct. In a person's life, there were two things that was the most torturous, one was waiting, the other was parting.

Really don't know if she could wait until that day.

The carriage curtain was lifted up and Xi Ning carrying a bowl of piping hot soup walked in. "Master, tonight you didn't eat much, drink a bowl of soup to warm your body. Otherwise, it may be hard to bear such a cold night."

Listening to Xi Ning's words, she gave a light sigh. Because she remembered that as long as they spend the night outside, she simply didn't have to worry about the problem of enduring a cold night, because that person would alway help her resolve it. That person would hug her to his chest in the middle of the night, giving her his body's warmth.

But this time, that person is already no longer by her side.

Chu Qing-Yan accepted that bowl of soup and drank it all in one breath.

In order to conserve her physical strength, she must take good care of herself.

Maybe because she drank it too fast, she choked on it from inattentiveness.

Xi Ning promptly stepped forward and patted her lightly on the back while grumbling. "Master, you are already this old yet you can still choke even when drinking soup. In the future, don't be distracted when you drink soup."

Chu Qing-Yan's face turned slightly red. Didn't expect that she had reached this age and was still being lectured by a little girl, simply shameful.

However, she had no choice but to say that all the way here Xi Ning had matured a lot. Even though her temper was still as optimistic as before, and occasionally she would derail, but she was becoming more and more dependable when handling matters.

After a while, Xi Ning took the bowl back. On the carriage she was preparing to make the bed and taking care of other matters.

"Master, it's really strange. Tonight, Honorable Fire Spirit seems intent on keeping watch all night. Now he is sitting by the bonfire, motionless. This servant is afraid that tomorrow morning when I get up, I would see him frozen stiff sitting there." As if she wanted to lighten her master's mood, Xi Ning used a poking fun tone to deliberately say this for her to hear.

Hearing this, Chu Qing-Yan revealed a smile. "You be careful not to let him hear this, otherwise at that time I also won't be able to save you."

Xi Ning stuck out her tongue at Chu Qing-Yan, then earnestly arranged the carriage and lit up the hand warming stove.

After laughing, Chu Qing-Yan couldn't help but look toward the bonfire with curiosity. In fact it was just like Xi Ning said, Fire Spirit was motionlessly watching over that bonfire. He looked somewhat sorrowful. Her heart moved faintly, lifting up her clothes that was moving to and fro, she jumped down from the carriage. Afterwards, she walked slowly toward that bonfire.

Fire Spirit whose eyes were closed lightly, heard the sound of footsteps. His hand touched the sword shaft, then he turned his eyes to loudly say in a cold tone. "Who's over there?"

"It's me." Chu Qing-Yan walked from behind him and sat down by the side of the bonfire.

"Little Consort?" Fire Spirit, seeing it was her, took back his hand from his sword. He asked with a puzzled expression. "Now it's bitterly cold, yet you are not asleep, is there a reason you came out?"

Chu Qing-Yan's gaze turned from that sword shaft toward him and smiled. "Maybe because it's the first time I'm away from His Highness so I'm somewhat not used to it."

"Slowly, you'll get used to it." Fire Spirit added a piece of wood into the bonfire, his expression was bland.

"Fire Spirit, you honestly tell me, is His Highness in a lot of danger walking along this road?" Sensing Fire Spirit's preoccupied thoughts, Chu Qing-Yan asked, getting right to the point.

Fire Spirit's hand trembled and he lowered his eyelids. "Little Consort, don't think too much. Heaven will help someone as worthy as master. This misfortune will definitely turn into a blessing."

"But even you don't believe it, how can you convince me?" Chu Qing-Yan hit the nail on the head about the indecisiveness in his heart.

"Little Consort, what do you mean?" Fire Spirit immediately raised his head, his tone was somewhat harsh.

"Fire Spirit, you should stop deceiving me." Chu Qing-Yan closed her eyes, she had a somewhat suffering expression on her face.

Fire Spirit was slightly startled. "Little Consort what are you saying? Why can't this subordinate make sense of what he is hearing?"

"Unable to make sense of what you are hearing? Then I'll say item by item my a.n.a.lysis for you to hear." Chu Qing-Yan stood up, her gaze like a torch as she looked toward him. "You originally wanted to hurry on the road for the entire night, but you were afraid I would be suspicious, so you chose to spend the night in this desolate forest. But you ordered that everyone could only spend the night in the carriage and can't set up the tents. You clearly know the tents would be much warmer than the carriage. And you told all the guards to increase their vigilance, you also planned to stay up yourself guarding the whole night. Having the appearance of being prepared to fight at anytime. Why would you do it like this?"

Fire Spirit moved his mouth but couldn't say a word in reply.

"I'll answer for you." Chu Qing-Yan took a deep breath, before slowly spitting out that stuffy air stuck in her chest. "The reason why you did this is so that once an a.s.sa.s.sin attacks, we can move and escape at anytime or meet the enemy head-on at anytime."

Fire Spirit lowered his head and said in a whisper. "What you said is correct, all around us exist too many factors that are unstable, this subordinate must protect your safety."

"No, it's because His Highness was afraid that after he runs into misfortune, the people would afterwards turn their spearheads toward me, to retaliate against me. Therefore His Highness gave orders for you to quickly send me far away from this trouble spot. It's very dangerous by his side, he was afraid of implicating me."

"In fact, he had already foreseen he won't go to Fu Li mountain range alive."

"Fire Spirit, you know that time is pressing. If we remain another moment, His Highness's situation would be even more dangerous."

Chu Qing-Yan said up to here and couldn't continue to speak.

Big Block of Ice deceived her.

"Little Consort, you don't need to say more!" Fire Spirit turned around, his fist firmly smashed toward the old tree at his back, leaving a hole in the tree trunk. The back of his hand was dyed in red.

"Fire Spirit——" Chu Qing-Yan bit her lips.

And at this time, Fire Spirit was already holding his head while squatting down with an expression full of pain.

"Little Consort, I know you are feeling very sad. This subordinate's heart also feels very sad. His Highness handed over the majority of the troops to this subordinate, telling this subordinate that no matter what, I must protect your safety. But there aren't that many people left by his side."

"From when this subordinate was small, I have followed by His Highness's side, never leaving his side by one step. Now I can only watch helplessly as he is completely trapped, unable to fight with him side by side. Little Consort, do you know the depth of pain in this subordinate's heart?"

"But the only thing this subordinate can do, is to use all my strength to complete master's order and I can not disobey."

"Master has already prepared for the worst, and you are the person he wanted to protect the most. Even if this subordinate was to die, I will complete master's order. Therefore Little Consort, you should stop letting His Highness worry about you and pretend you don't know anything. Then arrive safe and sound in Fu Li mountain range!"

Fire Spirit's grief filled tone was like a curse circling around her ears again and again.

Already prepared for the worst?

A majority of the troops were by her side?

Pretend not to know anything?

But she couldn't do it!

She couldn't stand on the side and do nothing while clearly knowing he was in difficulty. She couldn't leave by herself.

"Fire Spirit, let us go back. We can't leave His Highness by himself to face those enemies." Chu Qing-Yan walked to stand in front of him and said this resolutely.

"Little Consort——" Fire Spirit lifted his head with a stunned expression.

"I know you also want to go back in your heart. Then let us follow the decision of our hearts!" Chu Qing-Yan's hands clenched into fists, and she said this firmly once again.

But she had just finished speaking when she felt pain at her neck and her entire person sunk into a deep darkness.