The journey in search of him was anything but convenient.

Chu Hanjin couldn’t take the main roads, so he had no choice but to follow a small, densely vegetated path. The road was muddy, and the grass damp, soaking his clothes through.

When he reached a stream, Chu Hanjin stopped to scoop up a handful of water to drink, and sprinkled some inside the fruit QQ, sensing a disturbance in the mountains.

The formation was in operation again.

If he wasn’t wrong, they knew Yue Lin was injured and couldn’t have gone far, so they locked down the survey area inside the mountain. Using a thorough search method, anyone within the Fog Ridge would be exposed. Both Yue Lin and he would be found.

It would take two or three days to set up the formation.

Time was running out for him.

Chu Hanjin’s return journey to find people wasn’t like his hurried departure; he walked slowly, unable to call out Yue Lin’s name aloud. After some thought, he plucked a leaf and wiped the mud spots off it.

Chu Hanjin placed the leaf to his lips and blew gently; a bird’s song suddenly arose at the end of the forest, melodious and indistinguishable from the mountain’s natural sounds.

Yet, the bird’s song had a melody to it—it was the tune “Miscellaneous Flowers on Trees,” the only song Yue Lin had played for him using a leaf.

Chu Hanjin bowed his head, praying that he would understand the signal.

Thus, Chu Hanjin walked through the vast forest, a woven net bag containing Chu Zhaoyang, occasionally placing leaves to his lips to gently play, listening for a response from the other end.

From early morning to noon, then from noon to a sky full of stars, he walked slowly, fearful of missing Yue Lin’s hiding spot. The night’s chill settled on him as he followed the riverbank to a desolate thicket, the low trees casting confusing shadows. Chu Hanjin took out a leaf, blew into it gently, and met silence; thinking no one was there, he was about to leave when a quiet gust of wind came from behind him.

Chu Hanjin focused and listened; it was the long tune blown by Yue Lin. He turned around and climbed up the chaotic stones, finding a damp and dark cave.

Dark, deep, the cold air seeping out.

Chu Hanjin called out, “Yue Lin.”

His hand touched the damp cave wall, cold water trickling down his fingertips, he stepped forward into the pitch-dark cave. Rats scurried underfoot, flies buzzed, the air filled with a musty smell.

Ahead, a white light glowed, and a figure sat, hearing the noise and scrambling to rise, quickly gathering his outer robe, “Ah Chu.”

It really was Yue Lin.

His long hair disheveled, and although the light was dim, his face seemed not too well, his cheeks gaunt with a cold white glow. His clothes usually hung loose, revealing his collarbones, but now they were tightly drawn, his sword set aside, “You came?”

Chu Hanjin approached, “How are you?”

Yue Lin, “I’m alright.” Though he said so, his voice carried a faint smell of blood.

His eyes, as focused as usual, sparkled with a smile, “I knew with your cleverness, you’d find me. When I heard that tune just now, I was surprised and happy. It’s our secret.”

Chu Hanjin didn’t know how he could still smile, sat down, and took the fruit QQ from the pouch, handing it to him.

Yue Lin’s gesture of extending his arm was a bit stiff as he took the QQ, tilting his head to look, “The shell is peeling again?”

“Mm.”

“It should be taking shape soon,” he flipped the QQ over, seeing a pair of tender little white feet, couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Little monster.”

Chu Hanjin, “…”

The surface of the QQ looked dehydrated, instantly wrinkling up.

Yue Lin’s expression was sentimental, “He understands, seems like a smart kid.”

After speaking, the dim light flickered, he inadvertently raised his eyes; Chu Hanjin’s gaze was fixed on him.

“What’s wrong?” Yue Lin asked.

Chu Hanjin said, “Let me see your wound.”

Yue Lin, “I’m fine, I just bandaged it.”

Chu Hanjin insisted, “Let me see.”

“Sigh…”

Yue Lin was about to refuse. Unexpectedly, the normally proper Chu Hanjin actually reached out to tug at his collar, his fingers seemingly ready to peel off his clothes.

“Alright, alright, don’t rush, I’ll show you,” Yue Lin had to say.

His outer garment came loose, revealing a solid, full-shouldered figure typical of a martial artist, muscles tightly covering the erect skeleton.

The so-called good bandaging was just his undershirt torn into white strips wrapping around his chest, the blood already seeping through, dyeing the white into deep red.

Chu Hanjin’s tone was light, “You didn’t bandage it well.”

He unwound the gauze, Yue Lin resisted momentarily but then fell silent, his back leaning gently against the cold stone.

His wound was horrific; a sword had pierced straight through his chest, the skin flayed open, the wound surface turning pale, the sharp edge of the sword cut deep, blood continuously seeping out.

Too grotesque.

Chu Hanjin held the gauze, momentarily at a loss on how to begin.

After a while, he sighed softly, put down the blood-soaked gauze, tore his lower hem into strips, and without medicinal herbs, he could only clean the wound and let his body heal naturally.

He wrapped the gauze layer by layer.

Yue Lin’s gaze followed his wrists inch by inch, lapping up to Chu Hanjin’s eyes, “If you still remember the past, you’d know the wounds I suffered before are nothing compared to now, you don’t need to worry.”

Chu Hanjin, “Different matters.”

Perhaps he deserved those past injuries, but now, he shouldn’t have received this sword wound.

In the cool water of the night, both their minds involuntarily recalled the scene from the night before last. Yue Lin’s tone also carried a chill, “Actually, you didn’t have to risk speaking up for me then; I have ways to protect myself, even if severely injured I could have escaped. But now, with your ties with the Six Sects soured, your reputation ruined, won’t you be in trouble?”

Chu Hanjin tucked the small strip of cloth, glanced at Yue Lin, “Then why did you have to go into the Fog Ridge?”

Yue Lin, “Well, I—”

Before he could finish, Chu Hanjin cut him off, abruptly saying, “Same for me.”

“…”

What is the same? Same what? Yue Lin was still unclear.

But it felt like ripples had formed in his heart, slanting his eyes, unwilling to miss any of Chu Hanjin’s expressions.

Yet Chu Hanjin picked up the bloodied strips, as if nothing had happened, saying, “I’ll go out and clean these up, and look for some medicine for you. Rest well tonight, we’ll set off tomorrow.”

He placed the QQ in Yue Lin’s hands, “Take care of the child.”

“…”

Yue Lin bent his arm, securing the little QQ firmly.

Chu Hanjin left the cave.

He went to the stream to wash the bloodied strips, rinsing the stains and wringing them dry, then thinking of Yue Lin, who must be hungry by now.

Not just Yue Lin, he himself was famished.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Hanjin headed towards the lush, deep parts of the forest. Summer didn’t have as many fruits as spring, and it took him a while before he could pick some raspberries from a dead tree, but he didn’t gather much before he heard lanterns and voices in the distance.

Chu Hanjin hid behind a giant tree.

After the cultivators passed, he re-emerged.

Walking to the riverside, Chu Hanjin rolled a leaf into a tube, collected some clean water, and returned to the cave, his steps halting when he heard noises.

The fruit QQ wasn’t as lazy as usual, coiled in his arms but now sticking out two little feet, running around, trying to kick a rolling stone.

Chu Zhaoyang’s head covered by the fruit shell, unseen, followed Yue Lin’s directions.

“Left, left, left.”

“Go forward, straight one and a half steps, good!”

“Run faster, to the right, stretch your foot, just one more step…”

The little QQ charged too fast, accidentally hitting a stone wall, instantly crashing down, rolling around, the crack in its shell widening a bit more.

Chu Hanjin, “…”

“Get up yourself, don’t lie down—”

Yue Lin said as he instinctively looked toward the cave entrance, unexpectedly meeting Chu Hanjin’s gaze.

Yue Lin quickly picked up the child, “I was playing with him.”

“…”

Chu Hanjin sighed, took the dusty QQ from his hands, and silently patted off the dirt.

The little rascal seemed happy, now curling inside the shell, its feet twitching, a tiny hand reaching out, desperately burrowing into Chu Hanjin’s chest, grabbing at his clothes.

Chu Hanjin straightened the tousled hair, holding his hand, “Don’t move around.”

The child indeed stopped fidgeting.

Chu Hanjin held the QQ in one hand, handing over the banana leaf rolled with clean water and raspberries to Yue Lin, saying, “Eat, you must be hungry too.”

Having just played with the child loosened his muscles, Yue Lin’s weak air gone, but his complexion was still pale, his voice still soft, asking, “Are you hungry?”

Chu Hanjin only then remembered, he hadn’t eaten either.

But looking at the few wild fruits, not knowing what he thought, his tone suddenly became stern, “You eat.”

Yue Lin, “Eat together?”

Chu Hanjin shook his head, “I won’t eat.”

He simply switched perspectives for a moment; if the roles were reversed and he was injured, wouldn’t Yue Lin give him all the food?

Clearing his thoughts, Chu Hanjin said, “Don’t think too much, just eat quickly.”

Yue Lin’s eyes clouded with shadows, he tilted his head, seemingly puzzled.

But he just took the banana leaf, drank some water, and said, “We’ll split the food, and besides, I’m not that hungry.”

Pushing and pulling, it instead resembled a scene where lovers sacrifice for each other.

Chu Hanjin thought of this, a warmth spreading behind his ears, he cleaned the little white feet of the QQ with a wet cloth, then picked up the washed herbs, focusing on gathering medicine.

He crushed sanqi, purple pearl grass, and small thistle—these were all hemostatic herbs, not very effective, but fortunate to find in the deep mountains.

Chu Hanjin wrapped the herbs in gauze, the shadow falling on his ears, Yue Lin said, “Look up.”

Chu Hanjin raised his eyes, Yue Lin held the wild fruits, one pressed to his lips, “Open your mouth.”

“…”

Chu Hanjin hadn’t recovered yet when he felt his jaw pinched, a plump raspberry stuffed between his lips, lightly squeezed, the sweet and sour juice flowing into his taste buds.

Sweet.

The warmth of fingertips lingered on his jaw.

Yue Lin half-kneeled, his robe open, his collarbones lean and sexy, right now before his eyelids.

Yue Lin’s complexion was somewhat pale, his voice husky, his fingers again picking up a fruit, bringing it to Chu Hanjin’s lips.

“If we eat, we eat together. If you don’t eat, I won’t either.”