[TCFO] Arc 3 – Chapter 152
The Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (46)
Zhou Min had placed Shangguan Qi on a rock inside this cave draped with a giant tiger skin, resembling a stone bed. After starting a fire, Zhou Min looked around this place somewhat unexpectedly, finding it strange. The cave's walls were filled with sword marks, resembling a particular combat style, yet not quite. A round wooden table and chairs made from tree trunks were two metres before the stone bed. However, the stone bed and chairs were piled with dry straw.
Zhou Min didn't pay attention when they first entered due to the black-robed people closely following behind. But after lighting the fire, Zhou Min couldn't help but feel amazed; it seemed like people had once lived here.
Moreover, it looked like it might have been a recluse of high standing, as the straw was quite old.
Regardless, Zhou Min quickly tidied up this strange cave. It was undeniable that falling off the cliff with the child of destiny had its benefits, as they'd discovered some good things quite by chance.
Although Zhou Min couldn't fully comprehend the combat patterns on the stone wall, she felt that they were significantly related to Shangguan Qi's improved martial arts after his previous life.
After moving the still unconscious Shangguan Qi onto the stone bed, Zhou Min, already exhausted, couldn't help but sit on the ground, falling asleep next to the stone bed. It wasn't that she didn't want to climb onto the stone bed, but it seemed only to accommodate one person, and she feared she might hurt Shangguan Qi's wounds if she tried to squeeze on.
The firewood in the cave burned with loud crackles. When Shangguan Qi slowly opened his eyes due to the pain, he hadn't had a chance to wonder where he was before he noticed a soft and delicate feeling in his hand.
Looking over, he saw Zhou Min's serene and pure face as she slept soundly, with a strand of hair falling on her cheek, tickling him softly...
Recalling the scene before he passed out and the sight of her carrying him on a moonlit night, Shangguan Qi's heart could no longer distinguish rationally. Moreover, his heart seemed to soften involuntarily as he watched Zhou Min.
So, there are people in this world who can easily disrupt someone's rationality and calmness. So, during the moment between life and death, the person I wanted to see the most was you... Zhou Min, when did you quietly enter my heart... Our time together has grown a seed into an unshakeable giant tree...
Zhou Min, since you're the one who provoked me... you can start, but I will decide when it ends...
Zhou Min felt a burning gaze on her and couldn't help but open her eyes.
Seeing Shangguan Qi looking at her with an unusual tenderness and something else in his eyes, she felt a little strange. Just as she was about to figure out what it was...
"Zhou Min."
Hearing Shangguan Qi's indifferent and slightly weary voice, Zhou Min instantly dismissed the strange feeling in her mind.
"Shangguan Qi, how are you feeling? Are you in pain? Should I apply more medicine..."
"Mm, it doesn't hurt. I'm used to it... I'm sorry; I've been causing you trouble since we fell here."
Zhou Min heard Shangguan Qi's apology, denial of pain, and admission of being used to it. She felt a mix of emotions: moved, bitterness, and heartache. She knew how much pride and self-esteem he had. If he could, Shangguan Qi would rather die standing than live on his knees.
When a person's self-esteem and insecurity peak, they begin to value pride over their own life, becoming cold and rational. It's their last line of self-defence.
But such a man had admitted his helplessness to her.
She knew how deep the wounds were, how painful the bone-deep knife marks were. But he said it didn't hurt; he was used to it...
His tolerance for pain and reluctance to bow down made Zhou Min see a young wolf licking its mental wounds alone, being ostracised and despised by his mother. No one is born accustomed to pain and wounds, nor is anyone born with low self-esteem.
It was precisely because of this that Zhou Min felt even more heartbroken. She sensed his wanderings from a young age, his fear and loneliness in a foreign land, his suffering from age one, and the rejection and fear he received instead of a family's embrace.
Unconsciously, a tear fell from Zhou Min's eye due to his apology and self-mocking self-deprecation. Like a faucet, her tears flowed uncontrollably. She looked at the man before her, unable to utter a word of comfort. She couldn't simply console him with sweet words because they seemed powerless!
"Zhou Min... you're always crying. Ever since we fell into the forest, your eyes have always held a sadness that I don't understand... Why?"
Shangguan Qi saw Zhou Min's tears and realised for the first time that the most potent weapon wasn't the number one on the weapon list, the Falling Pear Blossom, but the tears of the woman in front of him. They made him feel torn, confused, and helpless.
He had seen the pride, anger, charm, shyness, sorrow, ruthlessness, and now, for him, the dishevelled state of the girl who was always strong despite her helplessness. All of these were contradictory.
But now, Zhou Min was filled with the nobility of a princess, even in her most vulnerable moments. If one aspect made him willing to fall completely, it was now, with her care, tenderness, love, and reluctance, that began to soothe his scarred heart.