Queen O's Timid Fugitive A - Chapter 12

12

That night,

The wind swirled on the ground before settling by the window. In the dimly lit room, a fair-skinned person lay on the bed with their eyes closed, cold sweat beading on their forehead.

“Xu Fusheng…”

“Go…”

Intermittent murmurs, perhaps triggered by the events of the day, brought back memories of the past.

The wasteland was not as desolate as people imagined. It was more like a condensed microcosm of the world, separated from human exploration by a desert of withered grass. Beyond it lay deep forests, lakes, towering mountains, and cliffs, with the edges bordering the sea.

At this moment, deep in the mountain forest, inside a well-hidden cave, a silver-haired Omega lay on a “bed” made of broad leaves. Their eyes were tightly shut, their face pale and tinged with blue, devoid of their usual refinement. Their clothes were disheveled, their cheeks and neck covered in bloody scratches, and the most gruesome wound was on their left chest—half an inch from the heart, a circular gash the width of a finger joint, the flesh torn open, looking hideous and horrifying.

Light, deliberate footsteps approached. The newcomer first meticulously erased all traces of their presence before cautiously entering the cave.

Jiang Ciqing held a steaming bowl of medicinal brew, a satchel slung over her shoulder revealing the outlines of herbs inside. Unlike her delicate and pampered self in Nanliang, she appeared much leaner now, her protruding shoulder blades stretching the coarse fabric of her clothes. Her messy black hair covered half her face, and her nails were stained with dirt that couldn’t be cleaned.

“Master…” she called softly as she approached Xu Fusheng.

Naturally, the unconscious Xu Fusheng couldn’t respond. Jiang Ciqing tugged at the corner of her lips, unsurprised, and knelt beside them.

First, she pressed the back of her hand against Xu Fusheng’s forehead. Feeling that the fever had significantly subsided, she let out a sigh of relief—the high fever caused by the infected wound had finally broken.

Next came feeding the medicine and using the scarce spring water to clean around the wound. As for the rest of the body, there was nothing more she could do. This place was teeming with magical beasts, and there was only one water source. Every trip to fetch water carried immense risk.

Finally, she applied crushed herbs to the wound. After completing all this, Jiang Ciqing relaxed slightly and turned her attention to the wild fruits nearby—her sustenance these past few days. Hunting would not only create too much noise but also require lighting a fire to cook the prey. The smoke would easily expose their location and attract the attention of the beasts here.

If not for Xu Fusheng’s high fever last night and the worsening wound, she wouldn’t have risked lighting a fire to brew medicine. She didn’t even dare to boil a little hot water, rushing back as soon as the medicine was ready.

The wild fruits were only half the size of a palm, their green skins tender, so sour even insects avoided them. Yet Jiang Ciqing took a bite without hesitation.

Wild fruits were hard to come by. Jiang Ciqing ate only two before stopping herself. She turned to look at the person lying beside her, her dark eyes inscrutable, filled with indescribable complexity.

After a long while, she sighed and took out the last bit of water to dampen a cloth, gently moistening Xu Fusheng’s dry, cracked lips.

Before their escape, Jiang Ciqing had had the chance to avoid all this and leave alone. But somehow—perhaps her mind had malfunctioned—she had inexplicably followed the other.

She tried to attribute it to concern that something might happen to this S-rank Omega, which would prevent her from advancing her own level…

Jiang Ciqing shook her head, unwilling to dwell on it further.

Absentmindedly, she unconsciously increased the pressure. The cloth dragged across Xu Fusheng’s lips, leaving a trail of moisture.

—Snap!

The unconscious person suddenly awoke. Before their eyes even opened, they abruptly sat up, grabbing Jiang Ciqing’s wrist like a vice, their grip unyielding. Then, with the alertness of a wild beast, their crimson pupils locked onto the figure before them.

Their entire body was taut, ready to spring up and counterattack at any moment.

Jiang Ciqing didn’t resist, allowing the other to grip her, even as the bones in her wrist screamed under the pressure, threatening to shatter.

Black pupils met crimson. One was tense, full of wariness; the other was calm and unreadable.

“I told you to leave…” Memories gradually returned. Xu Fusheng belatedly realized the situation and released their grip. The forgotten pain surged forth, making them frown. Their voice was hoarse, as if scraped by a blade.

“Why haven’t you left yet…”

Jiang Ciqing didn’t speak, like a block of wood that couldn’t feel pain. She didn’t even glance at the bruise forming on her wrist.

“You brewed medicine?” Xu Fusheng tasted the bitterness in their mouth.

“Mn,” the silent person finally uttered a syllable.

“I told you not to light a fire!” Xu Fusheng instinctively reprimanded, but then remembered it was for their sake and swallowed the rest of their words.

“You had a fever,” Jiang Ciqing finally managed a sentence.

The freshly scabbed wound tore open again, beads of bl00d oozing out. Xu Fusheng, who had been about to say more, immediately frowned and obediently lay back down.

“What time is it now?” Xu Fusheng spoke again.

“You’ve been unconscious for two days.”

Xu Fusheng’s expression darkened. “Two days?”

Jiang Ciqing remained silent, handing over a wild fruit. “Eat.”

Waking up meant survival. S-rank Omegas possessed astonishing recovery abilities—something Jiang Ciqing had witnessed before. Her gaze swept over the wound, finally allowing herself to relax.

Xu Fusheng, who had mustered the strength to sit up earlier, had now exhausted their last reserves. Their fingers trembled around the green-skinned fruit, unable to even grip it properly, let alone lift it.

“Feed me,” Xu Fusheng said. This wasn’t the time for pride. Having survived in the wasteland for so many years, they were hardly the bashful type.

The young Alpha, however, froze for a moment, blinking in surprise.

Xu Fusheng found it amusing. This person hadn’t hesitated at all a few days ago when tearing off their clothes—though it was to remove the bullet embedded in their wound. Their expression had been cold and solemn, like an unfeeling block of ice. Now, suddenly, they were hesitating?

The Alpha pursed her lips but did as told, picking up the fruit that had been warmed by their body heat.

“Hurry up…” the Omega urged impatiently.

Jiang Ciqing stopped overthinking it. She took a bite of the fruit, chewed a few times, then leaned over the weakened figure.

The usually aloof Omega now lay frail, like a flower stem that could snap with the slightest pinch.

The Alpha paused, then offered the sour pulp.

The sensation wasn’t as soft as imagined. The touch was rough and ticklish. After half a month on the run, who still had smooth, delicate skin? Their dry, cracked lips even carried a faint metallic taste.

The Omega tilted their chin up, accepting the mashed fruit. Their silver hair cascaded like a waterfall, resembling intricate, mysterious patterns.

The wind rippled the lake’s surface. Jiang Ciqing quickly straightened, retreating somewhat awkwardly. But the injured person couldn’t move. Where could she escape to? She could only sit obediently, clutching the half-eaten fruit.

Perhaps because Jiang Ciqing had tasted the sourness first, the fruit wasn’t hard to swallow. Xu Fusheng ate it in a few bites, their eyes signaling for more.

The Alpha pressed her lips together and silently complied. As she leaned in again with a bite of fruit, she suddenly heard the Omega tease, “Eleven, your ears are so red.”

—Boom!

A deafening clap of thunder startled the dreamer awake. Jiang Ciqing’s eyes flew open. Perhaps the blankets were too thick—her earlobes were as red as if dipped in bl00d.

Realizing it had all been a dream, her fingers, clenched around the fabric, slowly loosened. The darkness in her pupils gradually cleared.

Jiang Ciqing lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It took a long time before she finally exhaled sharply.

Once awakened in the middle of the night, sleep was hard to reclaim. She simply threw on a loose robe and headed alone to the back mountain.

“Master!” A guard emerged from the shadows, clasping his fists in salute.

Jiang Ciqing nodded slightly and continued inward.

Even in the dead of night, this place was illuminated by firelight. The faint sound of hammering could be heard. Further ahead, orderly rows of houses stood, numbering in the thousands at a glance.

This was the Jiang family’s greatest trump card. After surrendering to Nanliang, the Jiang ancestors, to preserve their family, voluntarily abandoned their ancestral home in the capital and petitioned the emperor for two hills a kilometer away, settling there with their followers.

Though they had the right to recruit ten thousand soldiers, they never openly enlisted, retaining only the original thousand guards. To the outside world, they claimed the Jiang family didn’t need so many troops, but those thousand guards had followed the Jiangs for years and couldn’t be abandoned. Thus, the guards built homes in the back mountain, married, had children, and gradually formed a small village.

A’Fu and the others were descendants of those thousand guards, trained together from childhood. Based on their differentiation and talents, they were assigned roles like guards, bladesmiths, and so on…

Though the Jiang residence was infiltrated by various factions, not even generations of Nanliang emperors had managed to plant a single spy in this back mountain. Outsiders who took even one step further would be killed without reason.

“Master!”

Bypassing the shield-like guardhouses, Jiang Ciqing arrived at the central forging room. Blistering heat rushed out to greet her. Inside the furnace’s fiery glow, a red-hot blade was being hammered.

The shirtless, muscular man set down his hammer and clasped his fists at Jiang Ciqing.

“Uncle Ling,” Jiang Ciqing greeted with a nod.

Bladesmithing heavily emphasized talent. Nowadays, the Jiang family had only a dozen or so chosen as smiths. Xu Ling was one of them, a standout disciple personally taught by Jiang Ciqing’s mother. Jiang Ciqing had also been guided by him as a child, learning to wield a hammer. Thus, she regarded him as an elder and was quite close to him.

“Master, why are you here so late?” Amid the flames, Xu Ling’s bulging muscles were particularly striking, his skin marked by numerous burns.

“Couldn’t sleep…” Jiang Ciqing replied vaguely, then changed the subject. “You’re not sleeping either, working so late.”

“Heh, A’Fu and the others chipped their blades during the fight today. I thought I’d fix them up first,” Xu Ling said with a simple grin.

“There’s time tomorrow. Didn’t I give them a few days off to rest?”

“Better to get it done early. Otherwise, they’ll just crowd my doorstep, pestering me endlessly.”

Seeing Xu Ling’s stubbornness, Jiang Ciqing didn’t press further. Smiling, she walked to the innermost forging room. Borrowing the furnace Uncle Ling had lit, she deftly picked up a hammer and a discarded piece of iron, the clanging of metal soon ringing out.

Sparks flew as the iron was beaten and stretched. The hammer rose and fell with force, as if venting frustration.