The charred head rolled on the ground, landing right in front of Xie Jing.
A pair of black boots appeared in her sight. Following the boots upward, she found herself looking at Xie Jing's face.
He seemed to be severely injured, his breathing heavy, his complexion paler than usual. In the quiet room, something dripped onto the floor, "drip, drip, drip..."
It was Xie Jing's bleeding hands.
He seemed unable to support himself, his body swaying precariously, the stray hairs on his forehead already drenched with sweat. The sword in his hand was propped against the ground, also supporting his shaky frame.
Qin Jiujiu's eyes suddenly turned red. He was looking at her face. Qin Jiujiu heard her own heartbeat, her heart pounding violently.
The headless charred corpse still stood in the room, right before them. She didn't know what her fear stemmed from, her body trembling slightly.
The wooden automaton suddenly lunged at Xie Jing again. He didn't look back. Qin Jiujiu's lips trembled, her voice shaky, "You... behind you..."
Her words were broken. Xie Jing still didn't turn his head, his gaze fixed only on her face. Seeing the wooden automaton raising its fist to smash into his back, Qin Jiujiu became anxious and wanted to pull Xie Jing.
"You quick..." Before she could finish, the wooden automaton fell to the ground with a thud.
A sword had been plunged straight into its chest.
Standing at the doorway was none other than Xie Yun.
As expected, the male lead should appear here!
"Brother Xie!" Qin Jiujiu's worried heart suddenly settled. The frown on her brow inexplicably relaxed. Xie Jing had been watching her closely and naturally saw it. The moment she called out "Brother Xie," a flicker of light clearly flashed in her eyes.
Xie Jing's expression immediately darkened. He stared intently at Qin Jiujiu, displeased.
"Xiao Jing, Jiujiu, are you alright?"
He strode in quickly. Xie Jing, however, suddenly stood up. The sword in his hand swept past Qin Jiujiu and directly attacked the charred corpse.
This time, the charred corpse fell straight to the ground, motionless, as if thoroughly dead.
But Qin Jiujiu always felt something was strange. Would she really die so easily?
Xie Yun, seeing the situation in the room, shifted his gaze to Xie Jing.
"Xiao Jing, are you alright?"
Xie Yun had already reached between them. At this moment, his expression towards Xie Jing clearly showed concern. Xie Jing was injured, and it was not a minor injury!
Xie Jing, however, tucked his hands into his sleeves, avoiding Xie Yun's gaze, his face showing no trace of his earlier weakness.
"It's nothing," a faint sentence, tinged with a distant, unapproachable coldness.
Qin Jiujiu looked at Xie Jing's hand. He seemed to sense her gaze and looked at her as well. Their eyes met. She saw the displeasure on his face.
"Second Young Master Xie, do you need me to apply medicine?" Her intention was to remind him to apply medicine, but unexpectedly, this sentence led her into a trap.
"Miss Qin, you want to apply medicine for me?" Before Qin Jiujiu could react, Xie Yun interjected, "Then I'll trouble you, Jiujiu..."
What was that smile from Xie Yun just now? She felt a sense of familiarity... But was this the smile a male lead should have?
"I'll go out and check the situation first..." As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out. Suddenly remembering Bai Qianluo, his gaze fell on her, "Has Qianluo not woken up yet?"
Bai Qianluo, the only one among them who knew a bit of medicine, was currently unconscious, so naturally, no one could take her pulse.
"Sister Bai drank a bowl of ginger soup and has been sleeping like this since then..."
"The ginger soup contained a sedative. She should be fine after a nap..."
Xie Yun had smelled the sedative in the ginger soup, which was why he hadn't drunk it. However, he was a bit curious as to why Qin Jiujiu hadn't.
"Jiujiu, you didn't drink that ginger soup?"
Qin Jiujiu nodded. "I've always felt that old couple was suspicious..." She recounted the events to Xie Yun. Xie Jing suddenly coughed beside them.
Their concerned gazes then fell on him.
Xie Yun: "I'll go out and check. Xiao Jing will be in your care, Jiujiu!"
Qin Jiujiu: ?!
Just as she was about to say she didn't know medicine, Xie Jing's gaze swept over her, and she suddenly fell silent.
Qin Jiujiu: I feel an overt threat!
Xie Yun left the room, and a silence fell within. Awkwardness instantly welled up in Qin Jiujiu's heart.
"Your... hand, is it alright?" She suddenly remembered his injured hand. After all, Xie Jing had saved her life and rescued her multiple times. She couldn't be ungrateful.
So, Qin Jiujiu proactively asked, "Shall I apply medicine for you?"
Xie Jing did not agree, but he did not refuse.
Without his permission, Qin Jiujiu could only wait by the side. Suddenly, a hand appeared in her sight. The bloodstains between his fingers had dried, and it was no longer dripping.
She carefully looked up at him. For some reason, Xie Jing at this moment resembled an injured puppy. Her heart softened, and her tone inevitably became gentle.
"How about... I apply medicine for Second Young Master Xie?"
"Mm..." This low hum seemed to be squeezed from his nose. Qin Jiujiu felt like laughing but suppressed it with all her might. She moved a bit to the side, leaving space in front of Xie Jing.
She patted the spot lightly, signaling Xie Jing to sit down.
Xie Jing's gaze swept over her before he motionlessly sat down, appearing somewhat reluctant.
But Qin Jiujiu didn't care whether he was willing or not. She took off the Qiankun bag from her waist. The character 'Jing' on it appeared clearly before her eyes. She had a guess. Although she felt the possibility was slim, she couldn't think of any other reason.
She meticulously rubbed the characters on it and suddenly asked a nonsensical question, "Second Young Master Xie, do you know what the meaning of this character 'Jing' is?"
Xie Jing's breathing deepened with her words. His chest felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe. He slightly turned his head away, no longer looking at her face.
Qin Jiujiu waited for a long time without a reply. She looked up and saw that the person before her seemed to be ignoring her question. She continued, "Seeing this character makes me think of your name, Second Young Master Xie!"
Suddenly, he turned his head towards her, their eyes meeting. The answer to this question appeared in Qin Jiujiu's mind.
The wind from outside blew in, and the temperature around them dropped a few degrees.
Qin Jiujiu took out the medicine from the Qiankun bag. This was specially prepared for her by Master Qin. It contained all sorts of high-quality medicines. She took out a bottle of external wound medicine and a pill.
She first handed the pill to Xie Jing. "This was specially sought after by my father. They say this medicine is very precious. One pill has excellent efficacy. I have three in total, and I'm giving you one now..." She chattered on, gently touching his heart, gradually stirring up ripples.
Xie Jing watched her mouth move, but he didn't find it noisy.
Her words stopped abruptly, and she suddenly took his hand. She lowered her head and gently blew on his hand.
The itch on his hand gradually spread to his heart. His injured hand reached back and grasped hers. The medicine was held by both of them.
Qin Jiujiu's eyes widened, meeting his gaze directly.