Clouds and Moon Shadow

In her dream, she entered a garden that seemed to stretch to the horizon. Looking up, she saw blue skies and white clouds; looking down, she saw blooming flowers, fluttering butterflies, and a delicate fragrance wafting through the air—it was like a fairyland.

She walked among the flowers, looking around, feeling a sense of comfort and lightness she had never experienced before. A subtle fragrance wafted into her nose, and Gu Qingyue squinted her eyes slightly.

She opened her arms, feeling a peace she had never known before.

She stepped into the depths of the flower bushes.

Suddenly, a warm breeze blew by, and Gu Qingyue felt her body getting warmer and warmer. Her lips became dry, and she wanted to drink water. She longed to find a lake or a stream.

······

She shifted her body uneasily.

He mumbled aloud, "Water, water, water------"

Mu Yun Chu quickly got up and fed Gu Qing Yue her water pouch.

Looking at the girl's flushed cheeks due to the high fever, her dry lips, and, only upon closer inspection, her deliberately thickened eyebrows,

He started to get a little anxious.

I've already taken fever-reducing medication, but my temperature hasn't gone down for a long time. What should I do?

He knew that assassins from Nanzhao were still searching for them outside, but the girl before him...

I remember when she used alcohol to wipe Zhao Yushan's body to bring down his fever...

No!

Mu Yun Chu removed the wet handkerchief from her forehead, re-wetted it, and then stuck it back on her forehead.

The wait was long, like Gu Qingyue's yearning in her dreams, repeated again and again, never to be satisfied.

It wasn't until almost dawn that Gu Qingyue's high fever subsided.

Mu Yun Chu, who had been sitting all night, was also exhausted. He gathered firewood from not far from the cave entrance and brought it in, observing it again and again, and testing it with his hands.

Until Gu Qingyue let out a soft moan and opened her eyes.

Mu Yun Chu, who had just sat down cross-legged, felt her heart tremble again.

That sound was clearly from a woman!

Completely different from his usual clear, boyish voice, it was crisp yet with a hint of softness, making one feel an irresistible tenderness.

Gu Qingyue, who had just opened her eyes, subconsciously reached out and touched her left shoulder. She could feel that the wound was tightly bandaged and wrapped around her body.

Startled, a sudden thought struck her. She turned her head and met Mu Yun Chu's indifferent and expressionless face.

She herself blushed instantly, her face turned red, her neck turned red, and even her toes turned red.

She didn't see that Mu Yun Chu was leaning stiffly against the stone wall, not daring to move. He didn't know what to say. He was also a little afraid.

He said he knew she was a woman? He saw her naked?

Thinking of this, a suspicious blush appeared on the tips of his ears.

The two remained silent, the atmosphere a little awkward, and somewhat ambiguous.

After a brief pause, Gu Qingyue broke the silence first.

She is from the modern era. It's nothing for a doctor to bandage a patient's wounds, examine the patient's skin, or even see the patient completely naked. Why should she be afraid?

She immediately adjusted her mindset.

"Thank you for my injury," Gu Qingyue said.

"N-nothing, I'm the one who should thank you. You, you did this for me—" Mu Yun Chu stammered.

After saying that, he closed his eyes in frustration.

Seeing the man's somewhat embarrassed expression, Gu Qingyue suddenly laughed.

"Mu Yun Chu, I still want to thank you. You saved me when I fell from there."

"I------"

After admiring his fascinating expressions, Gu Qingyue changed the subject.

"Alright, let's stop with the thanks. Have those people caught up with us yet?" Gu Qingyue asked, rubbing her aching shoulder.

"Ouch------," Gu Qingyue's attempt to get up aggravated her wound, causing her to fall uncontrollably to the ground again.

As a result, she fell into a warm embrace.

Mu Yun Chu didn't know how she got there. Holding the woman in her arms, her body became even stiffer.

"Cough cough--------" Gu Qingyue didn't struggle; she was still injured.

"You know all this, right? If, I mean, it's really impossible, I will leave the camp and won't make things difficult for you. I know it's a serious crime for a woman to enter the military camp, but I have no bad intentions and I'm not a spy. I swear, you have to believe me." Gu Qingyue thought for a moment and decided to be frank. She didn't want to cause any more misunderstandings.

Seeing Mu Yun Chu's stiff expression, Gu Qing Yue continued, "I will never implicate you."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yun Chu finally came to her senses and paused for a moment. "It's not that I'm the one who's dragged you down, it's that I've dragged you down and caused you to get hurt. You—don't have any worries, just continue as usual. The soldiers of Lizhou need you too."

Ultimately, aside from the unease and helplessness she felt when first encountering women, Mu Yun Chu was rational and calm at other times.

Although he was only eighteen years old, five years of experience in the military had transformed him from the resentful, angry, and irrational boy he once was.

He has been tempered by reality and has grown into a resolute, independent, rational, and strong man. In his past life, he has never acted on impulse.

Gu Qingyue lowered her head and remained silent for a moment. Since Mu Yun Chu was not going to pursue the matter, she would not be coy. After all, she had no idea what she wanted to do and needed this opportunity.

"Okay, thank you, Mu Yun Chu," Gu Qing Yue said with a smile.

Even after the pain subsided, she was still the same girl with a smile, her eyes crinkling, and her dimples appearing softly.

Leaning against the man's warm chest, Gu Qingyue's excruciating pain gradually subsided.

Only then did she have a chance to look at her clothes. She was dressed neatly, and apart from the bloodstains on her left shoulder and chest, everything looked normal.

"Should we leave now? It's past midnight, and those people will be here soon," Gu Qingyue suggested, considering the current situation.

"Okay, let's go now," Mu Yun Chu said, helping Gu Qing Yue to her feet.

After the high fever, Gu Qingyue felt weak and sore, which made her very upset.

He stood there for a while, watching Mu Yun Chu pack his own belongings and her backpack.

Gu Qingyue secretly placed her hand on her injured shoulder and channeled a trace of healing energy into it.

She was injured and poisoned, and her mental strength was very limited. She only used a little bit of the medicine before letting go. Feeling a little better, she picked herself up and walked out of the cave with Mu Yun Chu.

After walking south along the mountain forest for about half an hour, Mu Yun Chu and Gu Qing Yue were resting by a stream when they heard rustling footsteps coming from the opposite mountain forest.

In the blink of an eye, Mu Nan appeared by the stream with seven or eight men in black, where they saw Mu Yun Chu and Gu Qing Yue sitting by a large rock.

"Master! We've finally found you!" Mu Nan's urgent shout was almost tinged with a sob.

"master".

"master".

······

Several people rushed towards the stream.

"Qingyue, you're injured." Mu Nan, who had just arrived beside the two, was shocked to see the bloodstains on Gu Qingyue's body and naturally supported Gu Qingyue's shoulder.

After saying that, he took the opportunity to check her wound.

"It's nothing," Gu Qingyue said hastily, pulling her body back.

"Come over here," Mu Yun Chu said immediately upon seeing this.

"Master, where did you go last night?" Upon hearing this, Mu Nan saw that Gu Qingyue seemed to be in good spirits, so he immediately put down his hand and shifted his attention.

Mu Yun Chu breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw Mu Nan release Gu Qing Yue.

The two, one sitting and one standing, recounted what had happened the previous night.

Gu Qingyue understood as well.

It turned out that after Mu Nan came down yesterday, he went to investigate the hiding place of the Nanzhao people. Coincidentally, he found a Nanzhao sentry post not far away in the direction he chose. When he returned to inform Mu Yun Chu, he found that the rope had been cut and was lying on the ground. Mu Yun Chu and Gu Qing Yue had also disappeared, leaving only a pile of arrows.

Clearly, something happened to them.

Therefore, he had no choice but to hide alone near the Nanzhao people, waiting for an opportunity. He happened to encounter a small team of secret guards who were searching for traces of the Nanzhao people nearby. Together, they eliminated the sentry posts in the mountains.

Next came the search for the person, which covered the entire mountainside.