They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Fragility

“Why didn’t you agree to them?” Cold Lici stared directly into Yun Qingwu’s eyes, his golden eyes slightly narrowed, filled with confusion.

“For no reason. I simply despise the indiscriminate approach of trying to take a shortcut to solve a problem.”

Yun Qingwu threw out this sentence, bypassed Cold Lici, and left the main hall.

Cold Lici looked at Yun Qingwu’s retreating figure, his brow slightly furrowed in thought.

Yun Qingwu did not appear again until dinner time. Meng Ping separated a portion of the meal and looked at Cold Lici: “Xiao Ci, Huang’er can’t skip dinner. Can you help Auntie take the food to him later? He will definitely eat if you bring it.”

Cold Lici looked at the food box being handed to him, a feeling of absurdity rising within him, but he showed no sign of it. After a moment of silence, he took the food box.

Before he even reached the door, a pungent smell of alcohol assailed Cold Lici’s nose. He frowned, pushed the door open, and walked straight in. The room was not lit and was shrouded in darkness.

Yun Qingwu was sitting alone on the couch, leaning against the wall. A sliver of sunlight, about to disappear, fell onto the side of Yun Qingwu’s face through a gap in the window. The sunlight should have been warm, but at this moment, it inexplicably carried a hint of coldness.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Yun Qingwu did not look up, continuing to drink the wine in his hand.

“Anyone who didn’t know would think you were the sacrifice being pushed onto the altar.”

Cold Lici placed the food box on the small kang table. His mood was complicated, but his tone was deliberately mocking.

“I said, I won’t let you be sacrificed.” Yun Qingwu lowered his eyes, touching the rim of the wine pot.

“Is that so? Even if your citizens besiege the door, you can remain unmoved?” Cold Lici chuckled softly: “Don’t overestimate yourself.”

Yun Qingwu looked up at Cold Lici, or perhaps at something else: “It hurts too much… I don’t want to go through it a second time.”

Cold Lici’s curved lips froze. He stared blankly at Yun Qingwu, but only for an instant. He quickly looked away again.

He actually saw the word “fragility” on this person’s face? That was truly becoming absurd!

“Having already been betrayed once, yet still dedicating yourself so tirelessly upon entering the Mind Realm, the Sovereign Lord truly possesses great love.”

“I merely… wanted to keep the beautiful things around for a little longer.” Yun Qingwu gave a self-mocking laugh, taking another gulp of wine.

Cold Lici looked at the person who had replaced his life with a complex expression. The life of a Heavenly Sovereign Lord was nothing more than this. Setting aside the useless glamour, how was it any different from his own?

He did not wish to say more and turned to leave. However, the instant he turned, his hand was tightly grasped by a scorching heat.

Coldness surfaced in his golden eyes. He looked down at the hand holding his: “What are you doing?”

Yun Qingwu’s eyes looked somewhat lost. He also looked at their clasped hands. His thoughts, churned by the alcohol, were a mess. He simply felt cold.

Thinking this, he said so: “Cold.”

The coldness in Cold Lici’s eyes receded slightly. He looked away and said stiffly: “You’re cold? What good does grasping this Lord do?”

Yun Qingwu pulled his hand closer and rubbed his face against it, mumbling: “Warm.”

Cold Lici’s entire body stiffened. His heart gave a sudden thump. He felt the temperature on his wrist was alarmingly hot. He subconsciously yanked hard, wanting to get away from all these uncomfortable sensations.

But the other party was holding too tightly. The tug failed to free him and instead caused the scorching figure to tumble straight into his arms.

Cold Lici: “…”

“Cold Lici… I really envy you…” Yun Qingwu took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Cold Lici’s waist, his voice slurred and indistinct.

Envy?

Cold Lici looked down at the already closed-eyed drunkard, feeling like he had heard an amusing joke. He scoffed: “What do you envy about me?”

Did he envy him for being bullied since childhood, or for being parentless?

Yun Qingwu didn’t detect the mockery in his tone and hugged him tighter: “I envy… I envy your… courage.”

The mockery froze on his face.

“Actually, doing it over again… I… I’m a little scared,” Yun Qingwu’s voice was hoarse, his tone self-deprecating.

He murmured, “Why… why… despite such a tragic past, are you able to face… face a second time with such composure?”

Cold Lici realized that Yun Qingwu was talking about the Hanging Mirror incident.

He stared intently at Yun Qingwu, unsure what he was trying to figure out.

This person had actually been dwelling on this matter all along.

Scared…

He had never heard that word from Yun Qingwu’s mouth.

So he can be scared too?

The briefly dimmed sunlight rose again, shining on the noticeably thinner back of the person in his arms.

Cold Lici’s hand lifted slightly, hesitating for a moment, but finally rested on Yun Qingwu’s back.

…

The sun tirelessly scorched the earth. The land, unable to bear the burden, was completely torn open, forming horrifying cracked patterns.

The rice, which should have been harvested in autumn, had turned into lifeless withered grass, falling in patches onto the dry, exhausted fields. With just a little force, it would scatter in the wind.

Dried corpses of animals could be seen everywhere on the ground.

“What are we going to do…”

Someone sat blankly by the field, constantly wiping away tears.

Others already had a look of numbness in their eyes.

“The Lord of the Nation is distributing grain! Hurry up, everyone!” A person ran over, shouting loudly, his voice excited. This uplifting emotion dispersed the gloom hanging over the people present.

The person weeping wiped away their tears. The numb people’s eyes held a few more glimmers of light.

Everyone quickly cheered up and ran toward the distribution point.

At the same time, the atmosphere in the Feather Palace was somewhat grim.

“Lord of the Nation, there is no harvest now, and the grain in the granary can only be a temporary fix. I heard that you even took out your own private reserves this time. What should we do after this? What are we to do? When will this suffering end?”

Elder Xie’s face was full of worry, looking sympathetically at the increasingly thin Lord of the Nation.

Yun Qingwu forced a smile to offer comfort, also seemingly to reassure himself: “I will find a way.”

“Lord of the Nation, the investigation results for the recent missing persons cases are…” The usually unreliable Elder Zhou now wore a rare solemn expression, hesitation in his eyes.

Everyone looked at Elder Zhou.

Elder Zhou lowered his eyes, his voice heavy: “They were cannibalized.”

Yun Qingwu clenched his lower lip tightly, closing his eyes. His ears were filled with a buzzing sound.

The hall fell into a dead silence.

“If the disaster is not alleviated, such vicious incidents will only increase. Lord of the Nation, there are already voices among the people hoping to sacrifice that calamity in exchange for the protection of the Great God Bai Ze. We should comply with public opinion.”

Elder Wei brought up the old topic again.

“No.” Yun Qingwu suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes, which held no hesitation.

“Are you going to sacrifice the welfare of the citizens for your own personal feelings?” Elder Wei’s tone sharpened.

“This is a senseless sacrifice. This matter is non-negotiable.” Yun Qingwu straightened his body, his tone also becoming firmer.

The two faced off for a moment. Yun Qingwu softened his voice, murmuring: “He also put in effort to bring the rain before. It’s not right to sacrifice someone just because the problem couldn’t be completely solved.”

Why?

He had asked himself this question countless times over the past few hundred years, but no one had ever given him an answer.

“Huang’er, I am very disappointed in you.”

Elder Wei glared at Yun Qingwu for a long time, then angrily left, flicking his sleeve.

“Lord—of—the—Na—tion, you—did—n’t—do—a—ny—thing—wrong. As—long—as—we—work—to—ge—ther, we—will—get—through—this.”

Elder Dai’s tone was still gentle as he patted Yun Qingwu’s shoulder.

“Our family still has some grain reserves. We’ll put them in the granary as well,” Qu Ping said, unwilling to argue over right and wrong anymore.

“How can you do that!” Yun Qingwu suddenly stood up.

Qu Ping’s expression was calm: “Why not? They were once my citizens too. This is a collective decision by our family. I am not discussing this with you.”

Elder Qian, who had been silent all this time, quickly spun the beads at his waist: “Lord of the Nation, we can hold out for three more months at most.”

Yun Qingwu covered half his face dejectedly and said nothing more.

After the morning court dispersed, Yun Qingwu looked at the sun hanging high in the sky, a feeling of powerlessness rising within him. In the past year, he had exhausted every method, yet he still couldn’t make the sun descend even a fraction.

He took a deep breath, calming his emotions somewhat, and walked toward the kitchen. Most of the palace staff had been sent out for disaster relief during this time, so many tasks were being done personally by the core members.

For instance, his Mother must be in the kitchen preparing lunch right now.

“Mother.” Yun Qingwu stood at the door and called out.

Meng Ping, whose face was originally full of sorrow, immediately put on a smile and came to greet him.

Inside the kitchen, the rich and varied ingredients of the past were gone, leaving only a crate of potatoes.

“How about I make you an all-potato banquet today?” Meng Ping deliberately teased, sensing her son’s low mood.

Yun Qingwu’s mind was a mess, but he played along with a smile: “Great, everything Mother makes is delicious.”

“I don’t eat potatoes.”

Just as the mother and son were enjoying a pleasant moment, an abrupt voice came from outside the door. As the words finished, a figure in red entered the room.

Yun Qingwu’s eyelid twitched. He instinctively looked away.

Ever since that day he got drunk, threw a tantrum, and forcibly hugged Cold Lici all night, he had found it difficult to face him.

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but it was most likely due to sheer embarrassment.

Yet, even so, upon hearing the rude remark, he didn’t want to lose the verbal sparring: “There are no choices now. Eat it or don’t.”

“I want chicken soup.” Cold Lici ignored Yun Qingwu’s verbal provocation, walked up to Meng Ping, and handed her the three chickens he was holding.

Meng Ping’s eyes lit up at the sight of the long-missed meat: “Xiao Ci, where did you catch these?”

Hearing this, Yun Qingwu also shifted his gaze back, looking at Cold Lici with some surprise.

Cold Lici averted his gaze, his tone flat: “The mountains.”

“Xiao Ci, you are amazing! Auntie will stew chicken soup for you right away!” Meng Ping’s eyes were full of admiration. She took the chickens and immediately started to busy herself.

Cold Lici maintained his composure, giving a cool “Mhm.”

Yun Qingwu, however, noticed a faint blush rising to Cold Lici’s ears. He turned his head, his internal embarrassment temporarily suppressed, and the corner of his mouth curled up unconsciously.

With the drought raging now, whether it was poultry or wild animals, the dead were everywhere, and the living were hard to find. To catch three at once was no easy feat.

He understood this was Cold Lici’s sentiment.

“Thank you.”

As Cold Lici turned to leave, Yun Qingwu whispered.

Cold Lici’s footsteps paused for a second. He gave no reply and walked straight out of the kitchen.

Meng Ping, watching the two interact, asked the question that had been bothering her for a long time: “Huang’er, are you and Xiao Ci fighting?”

“No,” Yun Qingwu denied somewhat guiltily.

Meng Ping sliced through the chicken breast with a knife, not believing him: “Is that so? Then why have you been avoiding Xiao Ci all this time?”

As she said this, she paused and looked at Yun Qingwu: “You didn’t do anything wrong to Xiao Ci, did you? Our Nanze clan values fidelity in relationships. You can’t mess around!”

Yun Qingwu closed his eyes, rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on: “No, Mother, stop guessing wildly. There’s nothing going on between us.”

“I just… drank too much that day and made a bit of a scene,” Yun Qingwu lowered his voice slightly.

Meng Ping laughed upon hearing this. She spared a hand to stroke her son’s hair: “Aiya, that’s all? Then you shouldn’t be running away. You should properly make amends. As time goes on, a young couple has to face everything together.”

Yun Qingwu’s ears grew hot, and his heart pounded even harder. He grabbed another chicken and walked to the other side: “Mother, I’ll help you prepare this.”

A young couple…

The phrase abruptly popped into his mind.

Yun Qingwu sped up the movements of his hands.

They weren’t that kind of relationship.