Qin Cheng had never thought about what Wu Hai said.
If he did things for his own good, if he could be more rational, if he could quickly stop thinking about Su Jingmo….
But there was no if.
He couldn’t forget about Su Jingmo. He couldn’t stop loving him.
Su Jingmo was like the air, he had already soaked into his body and mind. Qin Cheng thought that he would die in the tomb, but he was lucky enough to survive and escape. Now that he was finally out of the tomb, the first thing Qin Cheng wanted to do was to see Su Jingmo.
This was the first time that Qin Cheng missed someone like this. Even if his injury wasn’t healed yet, Qin Cheng couldn’t control himself at the thought of Su Jingmo squinting his eyes at him.
‘ I want to see him. I want to see him. I want to hug him! ’
It was a kind of sweetness hidden inside his heart. A deep longing. Su Jingmo’s words, every single one of his expressions, were like bits and pieces of a memory evoked by wisps of floating fog in the morning light. As long as he remembered it, it would be like his heart was filled with honey and sour pomelo. Sweet, but slightly sour, making him addicted to it.
He couldn’t wait. He wanted to say these feelings out loud. But in reality, he couldn’t talk about this ‘passion’.
‘ I can’t wait. I can’t forget .’ Qin Cheng thought. ‘ I’m deeply in love with him. ’
He left Pingyao. The moment Qin Cheng arrived in Xi’an, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to go to Ninghua Village right away. However, when he saw his own dirty clothes, Qin Cheng turned around and went back to the dormitory.
After bathing, making sure to avoid scrubbing the wound, he changed into his spare glasses and put on clean clothes. At about five or six o’clock in the evening, Qin Cheng ate something quick and took a taxi to Ninghua Village.
The country road, which hadn’t been renovated, was a bit bumpy, and Qin Cheng’s unstitched wounds felt faintly painful because of it. Because he wasn’t talking with the driver, Qin Cheng looked at the fiery red sunset outside the car’s window. Below the sunset was the mountain where tomb nº1 was located.
His heart gave a disorderly thump….
When he arrived at his destination, Qin Cheng paid the taxi. But when the driver looked at the quiet village, he couldn’t help shivering: “Young man, what are you doing in this uninhabited place, ah?” The murder cases in Ninghua Village were covered tightly. Except for the people that learned about it through the internet, most people didn’t know about it. Especially this middle-aged driver who didn’t surf through the internet and doesn’t care what happens on the internet. He was the type to only care about how to earn money and make a living.
Qin Cheng smiled and didn’t reply.
When the driver noticed that Qin Cheng didn’t intend to reply, he no longer spoke. He simply started the car and left Ninghua Village.
As the sound of the car got further and further away, the deserted village felt even quieter. It was seven o’clock already, and the sun had almost set, leaving an afterglow on the floating clouds. A shallow layer of light was shining against the hills ahead, making it look more lively. With a soft breeze blowing the atmosphere felt completely different.
Qin Cheng walked forward step by step. After climbing the mountain for a while, he finally arrived at the entrance of the tomb.
For some reason, as he looked at the tunnel in front of him, Qin Cheng didn’t dare take another step forward. His fingers were trembling slightly, as if he didn’t know where to put them. Qin Cheng licked his lips and clenched his fists, forcing himself to calm down. But it didn’t seem to work.
At this, he couldn’t help laughing at himself. Of course, there wasn’t a need to feel so nervous, but when Qin Cheng thought of the man inside, when he thought that he would see him soon, Qin Cheng actually felt a little timid.
People tend to get awkward when they’re away from home for a while and then go back. But Qin Cheng hadn’t known that he would feel this way when he came to see the person he loved.
Shaking his head, Qin Cheng took a deep breath before lifting his feet and stepping inside.
Before nightfall, there weren’t many ghosts haunting the tomb. Moreover, Qin Cheng was still carrying Su Jingmo’s jade pendant with him, so those wandering ghosts wouldn’t try to get close to him.
As he walked through the tunnel, and stepped into the tomb, Qin Cheng’s footsteps rang out in the quiet of the tomb.
With the help of a flashlight, Qin Cheng stared at the gates of the Underground Palace not far away. His heart beat faster and faster, and at some point his steps accelerated too. Until finally, he reached the gates of the Underground Palace. As he looked at the ‘Mo’ character above the white marble gates, Qin Cheng’s heart trembled.
As his fingers touched the marble gate gently, it took Qin Cheng a long time before he could say: “Jingmo…. I’m back….”
As he spoke, Qin Cheng didn’t notice that his voice trembled slightly, as if the tremor came from the bottom of his heart. A fluctuation that couldn’t be suppressed no matter what, making his strong feelings spill all over his words, and spread into Su Jingmo’s heart.
Su Jingmo, who was sitting at the stone table reading a book, looked at the book in his hands feeling a little bit dazed.
Su Jingmo was able to sense anyone who set foot into his Mausoleum. Not to mention that Qin Cheng still had his jade pendant with him, but he had also sensed Qin Cheng’s qi the moment he stepped onto the mountain. Su Jingmo also knew that Qin Cheng had paused for a while at the entrance of the tunnel before he stepped into the tomb, and he could also sense Qin Cheng walking faster and faster as he got closer to the gates of the Underground Palace. Originally, Su Jingmo thought that this man was a bit funny, but when he felt Qin Cheng gently touching the gate of his Underground Palace, Su Jingmo couldn’t keep up his smile. That careful touch seemed to be caressing his own back with an unspeakable ambiguity. However, it was clear that Qin Cheng hadn’t touched him at all.
When Su Jingmo heard Qin Cheng’s words, his calm heart was stirred up by that trembling voice.
Just like the pond of water in the garden of his former Prince’s Residence. When the Spring breeze suddenly rose causing small waves to form on the surface of the water.
It was clear that this man had walked a long distance before saying one sentence, but this sole sentence allowed Su Jingmo to see through his heart and into his thoughts.
From the moment Su Jingmo sensed Qin Cheng’s qi, he hadn’t turned a single page in the book in his hands….
When he realized this, Su Jingmo’s eyes darkened. Feeling a bit annoyed, he stood up and threw the book onto the stone table. Then, Su Jingmo waved his hand, allowing the gates of the Underground Palace to open.
As the gates moved slowly, Qin Cheng took two steps back. When the gates fully opened, Qin Cheng finally stepped inside the coffin chamber.
As he scanned the coffin chamber carefully, Qin Cheng’s eyes finally landed on the left side of the coffin chamber, on the stone table, because Su Jingmo was standing there.
Just like how Qin Cheng remembered him, he was dressed in beautiful Imperial clothes, with a piece of jade hairpin tying up his long black hair. The corners of his mouth were raised, showing a faint smile, while his peach blossom eyes were full of laughter. His posture was straight, with a hand hidden behind his back, expressing Imperial authority. But…. somehow, Qin Cheng felt a little alienated.
Su Jingmo was smiling at him, but Qin Cheng didn’t move forward. Just like an Emperor receiving a Minister, while his smile seemed gentle on the surface, in reality, it wasn’t open at all.
Qin Cheng’s expectant gaze dimmed a little.
After blinking, Qin Cheng sighed inside his heart. Su Jingmo always looked at him like this, and Qin Cheng hadn’t expected for it to change during this period of time.
“It seems….” Su Jingmo smiled and looked at Qin Cheng’s body: “That you came back intact?”
Seeing that Su Jingmo had asked him something, Qin Cheng didn’t intend to take another step closer. As Qin Cheng raised his gaze to meet Su Jingmo for a moment, he smiled back at him: “Yes, I’m very well.”
This made Su Jingmo’s curved eyebrows twitch slightly. Qin Cheng’s body emanated a strong smell of medicine, so how could he not have been hurt? Su Jingmo was a ghost, so he was extremely sensitive to the blood of the living. Qin Cheng’s face was pale, and there was the smell of blood on his body, so how can there be no injuries on him?
He was obviously lying.
Of course, Su Jingmo had asked at random, so he didn’t care what Qin Cheng decided to say in return. Or rather, he shouldn’t care.
However, at that moment…. Su Jingmo felt as if his heart had been struck by something, making him feel uncomfortable.
Feeling how his heart felt uncomfortable like this, Su Jingmo broke the mask of his gentle smile and gave a rare sneer: “Your face looks pale, your feet are unsteady, and it doesn’t look like you’re in a good condition. Qin Cheng, you really can’t lie.”
When he heard Su Jingmo’s words, Qin Cheng’s heart felt even worse. As he frowned, he looked straight at Su Jingmo and said: “If you already know that I’m hurt, then why ask? Was it a polite concern? What I say or do is my own business. Even if I was truly injured, you wouldn’t care, am I right?”
Qin Cheng regretted saying that as soon as he said it. If Su Jingmo really didn’t care about him, then Qu Zhiwen wouldn’t have gone to help him. Even if it was to keep Qin Cheng from dying before he could help Su Jingmo find out what happened to the Xu Dynasty, he at least cared about Qin Cheng’s life.
Because of this, Qin Cheng also said what he had because he was full of longing and love, because he was hurt by Su Jingmo’s indifference. It’s clear that Su Jingmo has no reason or obligation to be responsible for Qin Cheng’s yearning….
Without knowing what to say next, and because of Qin Cheng’s silence after the outburst, Su Jingmo averted his gaze.
Su Jingmo had hurt many people’s hearts when he was still alive, and he didn’t care much about it. He was indifferent about them. But Qin Cheng was different. When Su Jingmo realized that his words had hurt the man in front of him, his own heart didn’t feel right….
Unlike Qin Cheng, Su Jingmo knew what would happen to him. He was more rational and restrained than Qin Cheng was. He knew that some things couldn’t be done, and it would be better to cut them off before it’s too late. Su Jingmo had always done a good job with this, and he never let his emotions override his reason.
However, at that moment, as if infected by Qin Cheng’s spreading sorrow, Su Jingmo began to feel a little flustered, something he had never felt before. This feeling was mixed with a deadly grief and despair, which was resounding through his heart, because he could see the direction the path ahead of them would take….
One is a human, the other a ghost…. What kind of future could they have…..?
Su Jingmo closed his eyes, as if sighing, and uttered a sentence: “It’s not that Zhen doesn’t care….”
He said six short words, but it was just like the wind passing through the mountain stream– slightly turbulent, but no less shocking…..
MC and ML have finally reunited!!!
And they always manage to be so angsty lmao
The fact that Su Jingmo has to be the “rational one” and distance himself from Qin Cheng bc a relationship between them won’t work just confirms that he wants it, but won’t act on it 👀👀✨
Qin Cheng, you don’t know it yet, but you already have the emperor’s heart in your hand ✧⁺⸜(●˙▾˙●)⸝⁺✧
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❀(*´▽`*) ❀