Forced love, an inescapable fate

When Jiang Ci finally lost consciousness, what he saw was Mu Qingli holding his hand tightly and calling his name anxiously.

"Jiang Ci."

But as Mu Qingli ran out of his last bit of strength, the two were washed off the cliff by the current.

His body seemed to be broken apart by the huge impact, but fortunately there was water below and he did not suffer any other external injuries. Jiang Ci had completely fainted. Fortunately, Mu Qingli was a good swimmer and she used all her strength to drag the unconscious Jiang Ci to the shore.

She did not hesitate. Seeing Jiang Ci who had already passed out, she quickly gave him chest compressions and artificial respiration. At this moment, she had no extra time to think.

After her efforts, Jiang Ci finally breathed normally, but he was still unconscious.

After taking a look around, Mu Qingli carried Jiang Ci on her back with great effort and walked slowly forward. At this moment, Mu Qingli was calm, unlike her.

The place where they were now was still a forest that blocked out the sun, but not far away, she saw a cave.

She put Jiang Ci down and threw stones into the cave several times. When she heard no movement, she carried him back into the cave.

The cave was relatively dry and not deep. After putting the man down, she looked for leaves and branches nearby and tried to make fire by rubbing them together.

Because they were too close to the river, the branches they picked up were basically wet, and she couldn't walk too far, so it took her some effort to find those branches.

I finally found something to make a fire, but there is a gap between ideal and reality. I originally thought that making a fire should not be difficult, but when I actually tried it, I realized how difficult it is.

She was worried about Jiang Ci's health, and was also worried that she would encounter wolves again when it got dark like last night. Overwhelmed by worry and fear, her body gradually lost strength. But she couldn't give up at this time. After trying many times, until blisters appeared on the palms of her hands, she finally lit the fire.

She collapsed on the ground with exhaustion, but as she watched the flames gradually grow stronger, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But she didn't have any extra time to rest at this time. She wanted to find something to eat before dark, but when she saw Jiang Ci who was still unconscious, she hesitated again. What if she went out and wild beasts came into the cave?

She knelt beside Jiang Ci and touched his forehead with her hand. Her temperature was normal and he didn't have a fever, but why hadn't he woken up yet? She wondered if he had hypoglycemia because he hadn't eaten, but she couldn't go out to find food right now. Glancing at Jiang Ci's still wet clothes, Mu Qingli thought she should dry his clothes first before thinking about other problems.

In fact, Jiang Ci had already woken up when she was trying to light the fire, and the pain in his chest had subsided a lot.

The sudden chest pain he had felt before was caused by poison, but this type of poison came and went quickly, and he had gotten used to it over the years.

He half-closed his eyes and watched Mu Qingli busy in the cave until she reached out to take off his clothes. Only then did he have to open his eyes because his ears turned red.

Seeing the person wake up, Mu Qingli exclaimed in surprise, but there were tears in her eyes. She was really scared by the unconscious Jiang Ci.

I just heard her speaking with sobs.

"You scared me to death. I thought you... Brother, how do you feel now? Are you still feeling unwell?"

Jiang Ci shook his head, his face still very pale.

"I'm fine, sister, you don't have to worry. Where are we now? Before I passed out, I remember we seemed to have fallen off a cliff."

Mu Qingli helped him sit up and then gave him a brief explanation of their current location.

"We're lucky. You fell directly from the cliff into the river. I brought you ashore and found this cave nearby. I won't go into details. Take off your clothes first and I'll dry them for you. You can't wear wet clothes in your current state."

As she spoke, she was about to reach out to take off Jiang Ci's coat, but quickly retracted her hand. During the time they had been together, she could actually feel that Jiang Ci didn't really like having too much physical contact with her. Although he had tried his best to hide it, Mu Qingli could still feel it. Besides, she was also aware of the level of conservatism between men and women in this era she lived in.

So when he realized that what he was doing was inappropriate, Mu Qingli withdrew his outstretched hand.

"Brother, I'll help you sit by the fire. You can take off your clothes and dry them. I'll go out and see if I can find something to eat and some branches. We might have to stay here tonight. We'll continue our journey when you feel better."

Jiang Ci nodded obediently and let Mu Qingli help him sit next to the fire that had just been lit.

He saw Mu Qingli's hands, which were red, swollen and covered with blisters. Words of concern were on the tip of his tongue, but in the end he said nothing.

Mu Qingli just walked to the entrance of the cave, but she was a little worried about Jiang Ci, so she turned back and found a branch as thick as her wrist among the branches she had just looked for, and handed it to Jiang Ci.

"Brother, take this for self-defense. Although we've made a fire, wild animals shouldn't get in. But just in case, I'm nearby and won't be far away. If anything unexpected happens, remember to shout for me."

"Okay, I understand, sister. You should be careful too."

After Mu Qingli left, Bai Yu, who had been waiting nearby, flashed in from outside.

He knelt directly in front of Jiang Ci, lowered his head, and spoke with a self-blaming tone.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry. The incident happened suddenly, and I failed to protect you properly, putting you in danger. I deserve to die. Please punish me, Your Highness."

At this time, Jiang Ci was no longer as obedient as before.

He didn't expect that the poison in his body would break out at this time, but he fell off the cliff on purpose. He just wanted to test whether Mu Qingli would let go of his hand at the last moment, but he was very satisfied with the result of the test.

So at this time he was in a pretty good mood.

"Now that you realize you were wrong, you should use your brain more carefully next time you do something. How's your exploration of the road ahead going? How many days will it take to get out?"

Jiang Ci's reaction was beyond Bai Yu's expectations. He didn't expect Jiang Ci to let him go just like that, so he was a little stunned for a moment.

But it was only for a moment.

"Your Highness, according to our prediction, under normal circumstances, we will be able to leave in three days at most. However, with the speed of the master and the princess, I'm afraid it will take a little longer."

After listening to Bai Yu's words, Jiang Ci fell into deep thought.

It was a long time before Bai Yu heard his voice.

"Take a few people and go out first. Find a quiet place near the city. Mu Qingli and I will stay there temporarily after we get out. As for Fengzong, keep the news about Mu Qingli and me suppressed for the time being."

"Isn't this move too risky, Your Highness? What if something unexpected happens..."

Bai Yu was interrupted by Jiang Ci before he could finish his words.

"No accidents, just do as I tell you."