Forced love, an inescapable fate

After Mu Qingli walked out of the cave, he thought about trying to catch some fish. After all, eating only wild fruits would not fill his stomach. Also, considering Jiang Ci's health, he finally decided to try a few more times to see if he could catch some fish.

She originally thought it would be the same as before, but unexpectedly this time it was surprisingly smooth. It didn't take her too much time to catch several large fish.

Afterwards, Mu Qingli found some edible mushrooms and wild fruits not far away.

Looking at the collected food, he was finally not as panicked as before. Speaking of these survival methods in the wild, they were all thanks to his best friend Lin Fang, who he had grown up with. She was an outdoor enthusiast. Extreme sports and survival in the wild were all her hobbies. Mu Qingli was dragged out with her several times. Fortunately, he learned some survival skills in the wild from Lin Fang. He didn't expect that these survival skills would really be used one day.

Before it got dark, Mu Qingli finally collected all the food and branches for making fire.

When she returned to the cave with a bag full of food, Jiang Ci was also surprised.

But he didn't show any abnormality and still stood up to help obediently.

In order to prevent wild animals from entering the cave, Mu Qingli also found a lot of branches. With the cooperation of Jiang Ci, the two of them covered the cave entrance with branches.

After finishing all this, she brought in the fish that had just been processed and roasted it on the fire.

Watching her skillful movements, Jiang Ci became more and more confused. You know, Mu Qingli had never left the Qi Palace since she came to Qi with him from Jing. How come she seemed to have a lot of experience in surviving in the wild?

The firelight illuminated the cave very brightly. Mu Qingli was carefully flipping and grilling the fish skewered on branches, while asking about Jiang Ci's health.

"Brother, do you feel better now? Grilling fish is quick and we'll be ready to eat in a moment. You can eat some fruit first. I've washed them, so they're clean."

Jiang Ci looked at her skillful movements and asked casually.

"Sister, I'm much better now. Sister, you're so skilled at grilling fish. Have you grilled fish before?"

Mu Qingli paused, not knowing how to answer Jiang Ci's question.

But the fish was already grilled, so she handed the grilled fish to Jiang Ci, ignoring his question.

"Hey, the grilled fish is ready. You must be starving. Come and eat it. It may not taste very good, but it will fill your stomach. You eat it first. Mine will be ready soon."

Jiang Ci didn't miss her action, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just took the grilled fish handed to him by Mu Qingli and said softly, "Thank you."

Perhaps they were both very hungry. They had only eaten some wild fruits the whole day, and now they only felt the delicious smell of the grilled fish in their hands.

In a short while, all the fish caught by Mu Qing were eaten up. Only after his stomach was full did Mu Qingli feel like he was alive again.

The ground in the cave was relatively clean. Mu Qingli had brought in a lot of branches from outside and spread them on the ground. After adding the collected wood to the fire, Mu Qingli asked Jiang Ci to lie down and rest while he would keep watch. But Jiang Ci said that he had been unconscious for several hours and didn't want to sleep at the moment. He asked Mu Qingli to lie down and rest while he would keep watch. Mu Qingli couldn't change his insistence, so they finally agreed that Jiang Ci would keep watch for the first half of the night and Mu Qingli would keep watch for the second half.

After confirming again that the cave entrance was indeed blocked, Mu Qingli lay down exhausted.

Looking at Jiang Ci sitting beside the fire with his back to her, looking at how thin and weak he was, Mu Qingli felt that his back looked very lonely.

The two of them had experienced life and death together, but Mu Qingli always felt that she could not see through the heart of the young man in front of her. Although he looked very well-behaved and gentle on the surface, she always felt that what Jiang Ci showed in front of everyone was just what he wanted everyone to see, and the real him, perhaps the one who pulled her out of the wolf's mouth at the last moment last night was closer to him.

As for why he hid his true self, Mu Qingli thought it was probably a way to protect himself in the dangerous and dangerous environment of the Qi Kingdom's imperial palace. If Jiang Ci was really as weak and incompetent as he appeared to be, how could he have survived until now?

Fortunately, she was not sleepy at this time, so she asked him tentatively.

"Brother, if we can really get out of here safely, why don't I send you back to Jingguo? You are still the prince of Jingguo, and that is your home. Your family is there. If you return to Jingguo, you should be able to live a better life. That way, I will feel relieved. What do you think?"

After Mu Qingli finished speaking, a sneer appeared on Jiang Ci's lips.

Family? Home?

These things were too far away for him.

From the moment he was sent to Qi State like an abandoned child, his home and family no longer existed.

Jiang Ci did not answer Mu Qingli's question. The entire cave fell into silence, with only the crackling sound of burning branches.

Jiang Ci didn't say anything, and Mu Qingli didn't ask any more questions. Just when she was about to change the subject, she heard Jiang Ci's slightly cold voice in front of her. This was the first time Jiang Ci spoke with his true emotions in front of Mu Qingli.

"Sister, who would care about an abandoned child? They sent me to Qi as a hostage, never thinking I would return alive. Even if I go back now, what good will it do? A prince who has been abandoned by Qi is more like a shame to them. My existence brings them shame. No one would want me to return."

Jiang Ci's words made Mu Qingli feel guilty. She had not thought of this. Realizing that her question just now had caused Jiang Ci pain, Mu Qingli slowly stood up.

She walked up to Jiang Ci and looked at him with his head lowered in disappointment. He was surrounded by an inexplicable sadness, and she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.

She slowly squatted down and gently stroked Jiang Ci's head with a gentle tone.

"Brother, I'm sorry. I was inconsiderate. I didn't mean any other things. I just thought you should go back to your own home. Since you don't want to go back, then we won't go back. When we get out of here, we'll find a place where no one knows us and live in seclusion. Then it will be just us. As for Jingguo and Qiguo, they have nothing to do with us. In the future, we won't have to care about others' faces, and no one will bully us. We can live a good life."

Jiang Ci raised his head, his eyes still misty, and asked with an uncertain tone.

"But sister, don't you want to go back to Jingguo?"

Mu Qingli naturally didn't want to go back. She didn't want to go back from a wolf's den to a tiger's den. All she wanted was to live a simple, free and unrestrained life.