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Once his hand hovered over her mouth and he felt her breathing becoming slower and shallow, his fingers grew shaky. He couldn’t handle observing her worsening state, so he withdrew his hand. Clutching at his chest, his mind raced with countless thoughts. He tried and tried, desperately searching in his mind for a solution that could cure her…
But nothing came to mind. None of his support food will be of any help to her and he could only watch her condition keep getting worse by the day until she…
‘No, I can’t let that happen,’ he shook away the fear that slowly creeped in, ‘Qianqiu can’t go away in vain like this…’
Even if it meant he had to do that.
With a sigh, his gaze fell to his chest. His hand gripped at it, knowing it was where one half of the Crimson Soul Flower should be. Deep within him. He felt it radiate brightly and the warmth that came from it. Right, this was the only way.
“At least this time, it’s in a blooming state like how Qianqiu wants it to be,” he told to himself with a smile, wanting to sound positive even if she couldn’t hear it.
Well, his time with her had been fun and a happy one while it lasted. It was all he wanted and hoped for since long ago…
Pushing up his lips to look the same way that she had always seen of him, he… no, Kongming reached for her hand and clasped it around his. Smiling widely, he spoke to her, “I know it’s not much, considering this flower comes from me, but…”
He trailed off, the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. As if trying to find courage and the strength to go on, he moved his other hand till it was where he needed it to be.
Using it to cup her cheek, his fingers held firmly onto her skin despite the growing coldness that persisted. It made him flinch, but he didn’t pull away. No matter the heaviness in his chest and the dread that had him shaken, he still wanted to give her as much warmth as he could…
But it did so little to help her. She still felt cold to the touch. In the end, what Qianqiu needed the most was his half of the Crimson Soul Flower. Nothing he did will work except for that. As he looked at her one last time in this form, Kongming kept on smiling. For her.
“But I hope it helps you enough to do what you vow to do. I’ll be cheering you on from afar, Qianqiu…”
Qianqiu slammed the door of the small shed wide open. Not sparing a single glance on the door she might have broken under her force, she entered the place with hurried steps. Sharply and quickly, she scanned the room.
Every farming tool was in its place, the shelf was stocked full of that magical dragon poop, and that scent of earth and ginseng leaves still lingered. Almost as if nothing had changed. Seeing this, she nearly let go of the breath that was stuck in her throat until she caught sight of something;
In the middle of this small shed was a table and on that wooden surface was a single bowl with a matching spoon. Slowly, she approached it. With one fist on the table, she moved her right hand to reach for the ceramic spoon. Grabbing it, Qianqiu forced her hand to stay steady as she took a scoop from the bowl.
Lifting the ceramic spoon to her mouth, she drank and then swallowed. For a while, she stood in silence while staring at the spoon in her hand. But the more she looked at it, the more she felt her hand shake.
“It’s gotten cold and sticky,” she murmured in a daze, her head raised to face the ceiling as if it could give her answers. And yet, it gave her nothing.
It didn't taste the way she remembered it to be...
‘Qianqiu, you should drink this before it gets cold!’
She could still hear that cheerful voice, that voice which always annoyed her. And even though the owner of that voice wasn’t around, it was still ringing loudly in her head. So annoyingly loud and vibrant, just like him.
“That idiot,” Qianqiu muttered under her breath, her fingers twisting and turning till shards were all that remained before it fell out of her grasp and into the cold ground. No matter how much she tried to shake it away, that annoying smiling face was stuck in her head.
Exhaling sharply, she continued, “he always does things as he pleases. Always spending his money on chef skill points and expanding that plot of land instead of listening to my advice, always going off to farm and fish when I’m not around, and always filling his inventory with junk…”
That Yue Kongming, why did he always make things complicated for her?
“Don’t think you can get away with this,” she snarled, feeling the sting in her eyes while lifting her hand, “COMMAND…”
Because he can’t, not now and not ever.