Chapter 75: You Promised You’d Wake Up
"It isn’t marked on the map," Rong Shuyan replied.
The military surveyor immediately frowned and looked more closely at the area in front of him.
He had helped map many of the paths around the border, yet there was nothing drawn between those two mountain slopes.
"Are you certain, Your Highness?"
"Yes."
Rong Shuyan continued looking through the eagle’s eyes. The bird was still flying high above the mountains, giving him a clear view of the narrow stretch of land hidden beneath the trees.
As the bird flew farther west, Rong Shuyan was finally able to see more of the path.
It was narrow and covered by thick trees, but there were no steep cliffs blocking the way. More importantly, the path continued between the mountains instead of ending somewhere inside the forest.
"Mark the Twin Stone Peaks first," Rong Shuyan instructed.
The military surveyor quickly dipped his brush into the ink and found the landmark on the map.
"From the Twin Stone Peaks, move three li west. There’s a narrow path between the two slopes. Follow it north until it reaches the old forest trail."
The brush quickly moved across the map as Rong Shuyan gave his instructions.
Rong Shuyan carefully followed the path through the eagle’s eyes one last time, making sure there were no cliffs or other dangers that would make it impossible for hundreds of soldiers to pass through.
It was narrow, but it was possible.
More importantly, it would save them a great deal of time.
"They can use it as a shortcut," Rong Shuyan said. "If they move quickly, they can reach the hidden path much sooner."
The moment those words left his mouth, the connection finally became too much for him.
A sharp pain suddenly tore through his head and Rong Shuyan immediately cut off his spiritual energy.
The view of the mountains disappeared, and his mind was thrown back into his own body.
He opened his eyes, but for a moment, everything in front of him was blurry.
"Your Highness!" Lin Xueyi immediately grabbed his arm.
Rong Shuyan closed his eyes and took several slow breaths, trying to fight the dizziness that washed over him.
His body felt terribly weak, but there was still one thing he needed to do before he could allow himself to rest.
With what little strength he had left, Rong Shuyan turned toward the nearest soldier.
"Send the message to the support troops," he ordered weakly. "They still have time."
The soldier quickly nodded. "Understood, Your Highness!"
Only after hearing those words did Rong Shuyan finally allow himself to relax.
However, the moment he did, his body suddenly shook and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Shuyan!"
The blood splattered across Lin Xueyi’s clothes, but she didn’t even look at the stain. She immediately cupped Rong Shuyan’s face with both hands, her heart nearly stopping when she saw how pale he had become.
"Shuyan! Shuyan! Don’t die too soon!" Lin Xueyi blurted out without even thinking.
She no longer cared about calling him Your Highness. At that moment, all she could think about was keeping him awake.
[No, no, no!]
[What if Yanyan really dies today?!]
[I... What am I supposed to do? What should I do?!]
Before Lin Xueyi could panic any further, Rong Shuyan suddenly grabbed her wrist. His grip was weak, but it was enough to make her look at him.
"I..." Rong Shuyan struggled to speak. "I’ll be fine." His voice was barely above a whisper.
The last of his strength finally left his body, and Rong Shuyan could no longer keep himself upright. He slowly leaned forward until his head rested against Lin Xueyi’s chest.
"I just need some sleep," he whispered.
Lin Xueyi immediately wrapped both arms around him.
She held him tightly against her, almost as if she were afraid that the moment she let go, he would leave her and go straight to the afterlife.
"You can sleep. You can sleep," Lin Xueyi said quickly, her voice trembling with panic. "But you have to promise me that you’ll wake up."
Rong Shuyan could barely keep his eyes open anymore. Still, he heard her.
With the last bit of consciousness he had left, he quietly answered, "I promise."
The moment those words left his lips, Rong Shuyan’s eyes finally closed. "Shuyan?"
Lin Xueyi waited for an answer, but none came.
"Shuyan!" She quickly touched the side of his neck, desperately searching for his pulse. Her fingers were trembling so badly that she couldn’t feel anything at first, which only made her panic worse.
[Where is it?!]
[Why can’t I feel anything?!]
[Don’t tell me he made a promise and immediately died afterward!]
[You can’t do that! That’s cheating!]
Lin Xueyi moved her fingers again and finally felt a faint but steady pulse beneath them.
She almost collapsed from relief. [He’s alive.]
[Thank God. He’s still alive.]
"Your Highness, we have to bring him to the medical tent immediately!" Physician Liu shouted.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down because she couldn’t stop crying. "Your Highness, pull yourself together. We can still save his life, so please help me prepare the medicine."
Lin Xueyi took a shaky breath and nodded. "Alright," she whispered. "I’ll help."
Her voice was still trembling, but she forced herself to let go of Rong Shuyan so the soldiers could carefully lift him from his wheelchair.
"Be careful with him," Lin Xueyi immediately warned. "Don’t move him too quickly."
The soldiers nodded and carried Rong Shuyan toward the medical tent as carefully as possible.
Lin Xueyi followed closely behind them. Her eyes never left Rong Shuyan, not even for a second. His face was frighteningly pale, and there was still a small trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
[He promised me.] Lin Xueyi wiped her tears again. [He promised he would wake up.]
[So stop crying. Crying isn’t going to help him.]
She tried to convince herself, but another tear still slipped down her cheek. The moment they entered the medical tent, Physician Liu immediately began giving orders.
"Put His Highness on the bed. Keep his head slightly raised."
The soldiers quickly followed his instructions.
Physician Liu sat beside Rong Shuyan and checked his pulse again. His expression became more serious the longer he examined him.
Lin Xueyi stood nearby, tightly gripping the edge of her sleeve.
"How is he?" she asked.
Physician Liu didn’t answer immediately. That silence made Lin Xueyi’s heart pound even harder.
"Physician Liu?"
"His pulse is weak," Physician Liu finally said. "His body was already exhausted from the fever, and using his spiritual energy made it worse. However, his condition hasn’t reached the point where we can’t save him."
Lin Xueyi immediately released the breath she had been holding. "What do you need me to do?"
Physician Liu looked at her before pointing toward the medicine cabinet. "Bring me the dried ginseng from the second drawer. Then take the herbs we prepared yesterday and grind them together."
Lin Xueyi immediately moved. Her hands were still shaking when she opened the drawer, but she forced herself to focus.
[Second drawer. Dried ginseng.]
[Then the herbs from yesterday.]
[Don’t make a mistake.]
Lin Xueyi gathered everything and hurried back to the table. She placed the herbs into the mortar and began grinding them.
Her hands were still trembling. The first time the pestle struck the mortar, some of the dried herbs nearly spilled over the edge.
Lin Xueyi immediately stopped. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. [Alright. Calm down.]
[Yanyan needs you right now.]
When she opened her eyes again, she tightened her grip on the pestle and continued.
This time, her movements were much steadier. Behind her, Physician Liu continued treating Rong Shuyan while giving her instructions.
"Not too fine. Stop once the pieces are small enough to boil."
Lin Xueyi nodded. "Alright."
She followed every instruction exactly as he gave it.
For the first time since Rong Shuyan had coughed up blood, her fear slowly stopped controlling her.
She was still terrified and she still wanted to cry.
But right now, she had something more important to do: she had to make sure Rong Shuyan kept his promise.
She then helped Physician Liu give the medicine to Rong Shuyan. Since he was still unconscious, they had to carefully support his body and keep him sitting upright while slowly making him swallow the medicine.
Lin Xueyi held him from behind while Physician Liu brought the medicine to his lips little by little, making sure he didn’t choke.
Physician Liu also used acupuncture, carefully placing several needles along the points of Rong Shuyan’s meridians to help his spiritual energy flow properly again.
After Physician Liu had done everything he could to save Rong Shuyan, there was nothing left for them to do except wait for him to wake up.
Physician Liu had already told Lin Xueyi to return to her tent and get some rest, but she refused to leave Rong Shuyan alone.
Instead, she stayed right beside his bed, holding his hand tightly between hers as she watched his pale face.
Rong Shuyan looked so weak and quiet that Lin Xueyi couldn’t stop the fear from creeping back into her heart.
She tightened her fingers around his hand, as if holding him tightly enough would somehow keep him from leaving her.
"Please wake up soon, Yanyan..." she whispered.