Chapter 0089 You Don’t Owe Me

Chapter 0089 You Don't Owe Me

Xiao Rong left the main tent and, just as he lifted the curtain, heard faint voices outside. The speakers noticed the movement behind them and turned around together.

Yu Shaoxie and Gao Xunzhi were whispering about something; upon seeing Xiao Rong emerge, they both displayed synchronized looks of surprise.

"Ah Rong?" / "Rong'er?"

Immediately after, they realized what Xiao Rong's unusual exit implied. Gao Xunzhi hurriedly asked, "The King—he—"

Before he could finish his question, Xiao Rong nodded slightly and said, "He’s awake. Chancellor, go in quickly before anything else happens."

With that, he walked off in a certain direction. Gao Xunzhi was momentarily stunned but didn’t ask where he was going. Instead, he quickly entered the tent to check on things, while Yu Shaoxie shook his head vigorously, torn between looking at the tent and watching Xiao Rong walk away. In the end, he followed Xiao Rong.

Inside the main tent, Gao Xunzhi finally understood why Xiao Rong had urged him to enter quickly.

Because Qu Yunmie, that stubborn mule, was struggling to get out of bed.

Every move he made required two breaths. When he was first hit by an arrow, he pulled it out himself. Although the soldiers saw him injured, they couldn’t reach him immediately. Eventually, he tore open a gap amidst the densely packed enemies who swarmed like sharks smelling blood, successfully escaping.

The Xianbei were prepared and had given their troops strict orders to disregard everything and ensure Qu Yunmie’s death. While the arrow wound above his collarbone nearly cost him his life, it wasn’t the only injury he sustained.

The Xianbei were determined to kill him, and no matter how skilled Qu Yunmie was, he couldn’t escape unscathed from thousands of vicious faces.

Although Xiao Rong had already said that Qu Yunmie would wake up, until he did, Gao Xunzhi couldn’t find peace. Seeing him open his eyes and move again, Gao Xunzhi fell silent for a moment, feeling his heart slowly descend, hovering at a height where it wouldn’t shatter completely.

Collecting himself, Gao Xunzhi pursed his lips and quickly approached Qu Yunmie, scolding, "What are you doing?! Get back to bed!"

Qu Yunmie frowned, not looking at Gao Xunzhi but towards the tent entrance. "Xiao Rong left. I need to find him."

Gao Xunzhi sighed, "In this state, how can you find him?"

Qu Yunmie replied, "Why can’t I? My legs aren’t broken."

As he tried to stand, Gao Xunzhi gritted his teeth and coldly watched Qu Yunmie wobble to his feet, then said, "If you want to anger Xiao Rong to death, go ahead."

Qu Yunmie paused, turning to look at Gao Xunzhi, who sneered, "I misspoke. You know Xiao Rong better than I do. You won’t anger him to death, but you will drive him away. Given your actions, you should understand the severity of your mistake. If you truly regret it, you should realize that Xiao Rong doesn’t need your explanation right now; he needs you to recover properly."

Qu Yunmie remained silent for a long time before slowly sitting down.

He reclined back onto the bed, and Gao Xunzhi coldly came over to cover him with a blanket. Midway through, he heard Qu Yunmie say, "I didn’t do anything wrong."

Gao Xunzhi’s hand paused, and he looked up to see Qu Yunmie with lowered eyes, speaking as stubbornly as ever, yet paler than when unconscious.

He continued, seemingly talking to himself or someone else: "I broke my promise, but I didn’t do anything wrong."

After a long silence, Gao Xunzhi acted as if he hadn’t heard anything and silently continued covering Qu Yunmie. No one spoke again. *

Xiao Rong had been there for two days but had stayed inside Qu Yunmie’s tent the entire time, unaware of where his own tent was.

He walked quickly but soon stood in confusion, unsure of where to go next.

It was Yu Shaoxie who led him back to his own military tent and pointed outside. "That’s where Jian Qiao arranged for you to stay. It has everything you need. Go back and get some rest; look at your face—it’s almost as pale as a corpse."

Xiao Rong sat on a mat, accepting the tea cup Yu Shaoxie handed him. He held the cup and slowly said, "Some people are alive, but they’re already dead."

Smack—Yu Shaoxie slapped his forehead. "Stop talking nonsense!"

"Cough, cough—"

Xiao Rong and Yu Shaoxie turned around. Yu Shaoxie didn’t say anything, but Xiao Rong was surprised. "Yu Shaocheng, what are you doing here?"

Noticing the bandages wrapped around his neck, Xiao Rong was even more surprised. "Did you also get hit by a poisoned arrow?"

In the same spot, no less.

Yu Shaocheng: "…"

Coughing lightly again, Yu Shaocheng weakly explained, "I’m injured and can’t fight for now, so I’m staying here to recover."

Yu Shaoxie added expressionlessly, "The King fought his way out of the encirclement but soon fell off his horse. He rescued the King. During the intense battle, he accidentally got slashed by the King’s Snow-Drinking Spear, hence the bandages."

Xiao Rong: "…………"

He was stunned and said, "Sorry, no one told me these past two days."

Yu Shaoxie glanced at him expressionlessly.

No one told you? Or no one dared to tell you?

For the past two days, Xiao Rong had stayed close to Qu Yunmie, his demeanor cold and frightening. At first, some tried to console him, but when they realized he wasn’t listening—or perhaps genuinely didn’t hear—they gradually fell silent, hoping Qu Yunmie would wake up soon.

Everyone was a handful.

Xiao Rong’s temperament changed drastically, as if he wanted to kill someone for fun; while Yu Shaocheng took every opportunity to move things into his tent, knowing that with everyone focused on the King, he wouldn’t have the energy to argue with him.

Sighing inwardly, Yu Shaoxie said to Yu Shaocheng, "Cheng'er, the King is awake. Go tell the generals not to worry anymore."

Yu Shaocheng didn’t respond, looking at Xiao Rong and then at Yu Shaoxie.

Yu Shaoxie: "……Haven’t you gone yet?"

Yu Shaocheng reluctantly responded.

Once he left, Yu Shaoxie looked back at Xiao Rong, his tone gentler. "Cheng'er is fine; he just wants to be pampered like when he was little. After handing the King over to General Jian, he led troops back into battle. The Xianbei were too busy chasing the King to care about the watchtower, so he retrieved the remains of Chief Ishtar. This helped stabilize the troops these past few days. If Chief Ishtar’s remains were still with the Xianbei, our situation would be much worse."

Xiao Rong listened quietly and nodded. "General Yu’s loyalty is commendable; he did not fail the King."

Yu Shaoxie silently watched him.

After much deliberation, he finally asked after a long while, "Rong'er, are you alright?"

Xiao Rong blinked lightly, seemingly not understanding where Yu Shaoxie's question came from: "Why wouldn't I be?"

The more Xiao Rong acted this way, the more uneasy Yu Shaoxie felt. He nervously licked his lower lip and said, "This was indeed The King's impulsive act, but ultimately, it was because the Xianbei were too despicable. They desecrated The King's parents' graves. The Xianbei deserve condemnation, and The King was just caught up in the moment. If you're angry, let it out. No one will blame you. We feel the same way."

Xiao Rong looked at Yu Shaoxie, his expression subtly changing. Yu Shaoxie couldn't describe what the change was, but suddenly, the calmness and composure on Xiao Rong's face vanished. It seemed as if he had returned to the time before Qu Yunmie woke up.

Xiao Rong: "But I'm different from you."

Yu Shaoxie was taken aback and said, "I know, your relationship with him is closer."

Xiao Rong shook his head, "Not that."

Yu Shaoxie blinked, "Do you mean you're more loyal to The King?"

Xiao Rong still shook his head.

Yu Shaoxie was stunned again. He couldn't help but lower his voice and cautiously ask, "Then do you mean you knew about The King's danger beforehand?"

Xiao Rong chuckled softly and said, "Stop guessing; you won't figure it out."

Yu Shaoxie pursed his lips and indeed stopped guessing. It was pointless anyway. What happened between Xiao Rong and Qu Yunmie wasn't something he could interfere with; he was just worried.

"Rong'er, I've been in the Northern Pacification Army longer than you. You might not notice The King's changes, but I've seen how you transformed him from a reckless man into who he is now. Insulting one's parents is something no one can tolerate. You can blame The King, be angry with him, but... don't give up on him. The Northern Pacification Army needs both of you. I really don't want to see you two turn against each other over a Xianbei plot."

Xiao Rong: "Don't worry, it won't happen."

Yu Shaoxie looked at him skeptically, "Really?"

Xiao Rong smiled, "Yes, really."

After another quarter of an hour, Xiao Rong left and went to his own tent to sleep. Soon after he lay down, Jian Qiao came out of The King's tent carrying a basin of dirty water. He casually dumped the water somewhere and quickly walked towards Yu Shaoxie.

On the other side, Zhang Biezhi also sneaked out.

The three stood together, and Jian Qiao anxiously asked Yu Shaoxie, "How is it?"

Zhang Biezhi also looked at him nervously.

Under their anxious and expectant gazes, Yu Shaoxie shook his head heavily, "Not good. Very angry. Stay away from them, especially when they're together. Don't get close."

Jian Qiao: "…………"

Zhang Biezhi nodded silently, "Very reasonable. Mr. Xiao has a bad temper and holds grudges. The King is in for a rough time."

Jian Qiao looked at him but couldn't refute Zhang Biezhi. He turned back to Yu Shaoxie, "But what if they start fighting? Could something happen?"

Hearing Jian Qiao's words, Yu Shaoxie laughed, "I hope they do fight. Fighting would be better. The real fear is that they won't. Imagine if The King recovers, but Rong'er still won't forgive him. What would that look like?"

Jian Qiao imagined it and his face fell.

Zhang Biezhi didn't follow along; he was puzzled by Yu Shaoxie's statement, "Forgive The King? What did The King do wrong that needs forgiveness? Your words make it sound like The King did something to betray Mr. Xiao."

His question made the others pause.

Hmm, that's true.

But for some reason, they all felt that forgiveness was appropriate, and they believed The King felt the same way.

After Qu Yunmie woke up, he drank three bowls of medicine, ate two bowls of rice, and allowed the military doctor and Agusega to treat him. They concluded that he was severely weakened but no longer in danger of death.

After writing the prescription and changing his medicine, the doctor left. Agusega stayed behind to massage Qu Yunmie's muscles using her Butou tribe techniques. He had lain there for five days, barely eating or drinking, leaving him completely drained.

As she massaged his arm, Agusega observed his face. After a while, she lowered her eyes and said calmly, "You remind me of when you were young. You knew you shouldn't fight but did it anyway, coming back injured without a word. Gao Xunzhi called you a stubborn mule, and I called you a foolish bird. Do you know why we called you that?"

Qu Yunmie remained silent.

Agusega continued, "Because you made us angry. You were so troublesome, but we had no choice. You are Qu Yue and Ishtar's child, and we must take care of you as our own. You are my and Gao Xunzhi's responsibility, but not Xiao Rong's."

She paused, noticing the arm she held tensing up.

After a moment, she continued massaging and spoke coldly, "I don't know what's going on between you and Xiao Rong, but I advise you not to persist in meaningless things as you used to. Whether right or wrong, what matters is that you hurt someone who has no obligation to you."

Qu Yunmie kept his head down. At this point, Agusega released him. He looked up and saw her looking at him with a complex expression.

"I know you feel wronged. I know you're hurting. This isn't the reunion you wanted, but it's already happened. Don't make it worse."

Qu Yunmie looked at Agusega and finally asked hoarsely, "Luo Wu, how do I look?"

Agusega paused and replied, "Terrible, like a dying man."

Even when he was unconscious, he looked better.

But hearing this, Qu Yunmie showed no reaction, only nodding vaguely, "When I recover, I'll go find him."

Perhaps if my condition improves, Xiao Rong's anger will lessen.

After waking up, Xiao Rong reviewed the recent military reports. The Xianbei retreated quickly after failing to catch up with them. Logically, they should have attacked immediately, taking advantage of our weakened state to crush the Northern Pacification Army while Qu Yunmie's fate was uncertain, leaving the army leaderless and demoralized.

But they didn't. They remained unusually quiet, sending only a few thousand troops daily for minor skirmishes and constantly dispatching scouts to gather information.

Xiao Rong understood; they were waiting.

They were waiting for confirmation of Qu Yunmie's death before launching an attack.

They were still very wary of Qu Yunmie, so they waited until he was dead before retaliating. It's unreasonable to be so timid and fearful yet still take such a desperate measure, risking being counterattacked by Qu Yunmie to lure him into a trap.

These two attitudes seem like the strategies of two different people. If the Xianbei were this ruthless, why were there no signs of activity for the past few months? The news that Qu Yunmie intended to attack the Xianbei had been circulating since last year, and everyone knew about it this year. Why didn't they act earlier, instead waiting until the troops were at their doorstep? Don't they fear that the Northern Pacification Army, without the Northern Pacification King, would not lose morale but instead become enraged and directly flatten their city of Sheng Le?

There is also something wrong with those remains. Yuan Baifu sent someone back to check and found that the graves of General Qu and Chief Ishtar under Yanmen Mountain had indeed been dug up. However, whoever dug them out was very careful and reburied the soil. Despite this, the disturbed earth left traces, indicating it happened only a few days ago. ...It wasn't the Xianbei who did it.

It's possible that the Xianbei secretly came in and took the remains. But if the Xianbei took them, why did they bother to refill the soil? They were about to use these remains, and even if discovered, the Northern Pacification Army wouldn't have time to rectify the situation. Yuan Baifu said they refilled the soil carefully, seemingly trying to keep it hidden.

But on Mid-Autumn Festival, the remains had already been delivered to the Northern Pacification Army. How could anyone not know?

So it must have been an order from the Xianbei, carried out by the Han Chinese...who dug them up. The Han Chinese didn't know what the Xianbei intended to do with them, so they hoped no one would find out.

Perhaps it doesn't even need to be the Han Chinese; it could be the people of Yanmen County, or even the Northern Pacification Army themselves.

Half a year ago, the Northern Pacification Army was a sieve, and half a year later, it still is.

Xiao Rong just couldn't understand. To the Han Chinese at this time, digging up ancestral graves is the most despicable and heinous act. Those who commit such acts deserve to suffer the worst punishments both in life and after death. Only the most vicious and cruel would dare to do such things.

Xiao Rong leaned against the central wooden pillar in the tent, deep in thought. Just as he was about to reach a conclusion, Zhang Biezhi lifted the curtain and walked in: "Mr. Xiao, it's time for dinner. Tonight we have roasted mutton again. The food here is simple, so if you're tired of it, I'll go look for some rabbit holes tomorrow."

Xiao Rong snapped back to reality and put away the military reports on the table: "No need for such trouble. I'll eat whatever everyone else eats. Having mutton is already quite good. Half a year ago, I rarely got any meat."

Zhang Biezhi scratched his head; he wasn't good at comforting people. The few methods he knew were all used to placate his sister, but honestly, his sister was much easier to comfort than Xiao Rong.

After setting down the food, Zhang Biezhi helped Xiao Rong set the table. Now that Ah Shu was in Chenliu, he had taken over these tasks.

Yu Shaoxie and Jian Qiao acted as though Xiao Rong was now a dark cloud, ready to unleash thunderbolts and divine punishment at any moment. Zhang Biezhi, however, felt that Xiao Rong was doing better now, at least compared to before. He seemed more amiable, even inviting Zhang Biezhi to sit and eat together.

Zhang Biezhi immediately sat down. As soon as he picked up his chopsticks, he saw Xiao Rong suddenly stop his movements. He held his chopsticks as if the dish had turned into his enemy, pursed his lips, and threw the chopsticks back onto the table with a clatter.

Just as Zhang Biezhi was wondering what was going on, he felt a cold breeze behind him. Turning around, he saw the heavily injured king slowly walking in.

Except for the king's tent, which had a ceiling height of nearly three meters, all other tents were quite low. After all, everyone needed to save fabric, and this was just a place to sleep, so there was no need to make it too tall.

Xiao Rong had arrived too hastily, and Jian Qiao had hastily built him a temporary tent, which wasn't made of the best materials.

Xiao Rong almost touched the top when entering and exiting, and Qu Yunmie had to tilt his head to get in.

Yet Xiao Rong stared at him with eyes devoid of warmth. Qu Yunmie hesitated after taking a step forward, then stopped, neither moving forward nor leaving. He stood just inside the curtain, the lowest part of the tent.

Zhang Biezhi watched as Qu Yunmie's head created a small bulge in the tent. He opened his mouth in astonishment, finally remembering what Yu Shaoxie had said earlier.

He quickly closed his mouth and stood up, still holding his chopsticks. He saluted Xiao Rong: "My brother-in-law needs me. I'll go see him. Mr. Xiao, please enjoy your meal."

Without waiting for a response, he turned to leave. At the entrance, he realized Qu Yunmie was blocking the way. After a moment's silence, he sidestepped and smoothly slid half his body out. Naturally, if the upper half could pass, the lower half could too.

Zhang Biezhi successfully escaped, wiping the sweat from his forehead and hurrying to report to his brother-in-law. In Xiao Rong's tent, both men were momentarily silent due to Zhang Biezhi's actions.

A scene that would usually be amusing now left them both unable to laugh.

Qu Yunmie paused, then walked towards Xiao Rong. The space was small, and in just three steps, he reached Xiao Rong. Xiao Rong noticed his stiff posture and slow gait, and his back twitched as he sat down.

Xiao Rong pursed his lips and looked away, asking coldly, "Why is the king here?"

At this moment, Qu Yunmie had changed into new clothes, covering all his wounds except for the bandages around his neck. He lowered his eyes, his voice slightly better than when he first woke up: "You knew I would come eventually."

Xiao Rong laughed softly: "I didn't know."

Qu Yunmie raised his eyes, looking at Xiao Rong's current appearance, and after a moment, said: "I know you are disappointed in me. I made a promise but almost failed to keep it. You don't believe in me, and I'm not as capable as I thought—"

Xiao Rong interrupted him: "I do believe in you."

Qu Yunmie was stunned: "What?"

Xiao Rong: "I thought I didn't believe you, but the truth is, I did."

Qu Yunmie stared at him, his throat constricted, unable to speak.

Xiao Rong smiled at him, a mocking smile, but one directed at himself.

"So it wasn't your self-righteousness, but mine. These days, I've been worried, but I didn't do anything. I didn't come to you or tell you because deep down, I believed in you. I thought you would keep your promise, protect yourself, and return safely to Chenliu."

Qu Yunmie felt as if he were drowning, though he didn't know why. When Xiao Rong said he truly believed in him, he felt submerged.

He struggled to say: "I..."

Xiao Rong quickly smiled again: "It's okay."

Qu Yunmie stared at him, dumbfounded.

Xiao Rong continued: "It's okay. I know it's not your fault. As everyone says, the Xianbei coerced you. Anyone would find it unbearable to see their parents humiliated. You did what any son would do. I don't blame you, and you don't need to feel guilty towards me. When faced with such a choice, anyone would make the same decision."

Qu Yunmie looked at him, his back straight, which caused him pain, but physical pain was better than emotional pain.

He looked at Xiao Rong, who returned his gaze. Xiao Rong's expression was calm, but Qu Yunmie's was tense, his eyes red. He stared into Xiao Rong's eyes, listening to his words as if punishing himself, determined to hear everything.

Xiao Rong glanced at his face, paused for a moment, then said: "Qu Yunmie, you don't owe me anything, so don't worry about me."

Qu Yunmie stared at him, then bent over, grabbing the table tightly. He took several rapid breaths, his fingers digging slightly into the wood.

Finally, he straightened up, pulled at his lips, and repeated: "I don't owe you?"

Xiao Rong looked at him, then lowered his eyes.