Old Illness
Thinking of this, Chenying felt really panicked. He pushed Duan Xu’s arm and said, “Third Brother, did you have a fight with Miss? Are you… are you going to separate?”
This sentence seemed to hit Duan Xu.
Duan Xu slowly lifted his head from his arms, his eyes were red, and there was a shallow watery gloss in his bright eyes. Lowering his gaze, he seemed to be lost in thought.
Chenying had never seen Duan Xu cry.
He felt like his heart was about to fail, blurting out random ideas, “If I had known, I would have told Miss about your illness. If she knew you were sick, she definitely wouldn’t leave you.”
Duan Xu finally raised his eyes to look at Chenying. He tilted his head and smiled, holding the wine jug, “No, that’s not good.”
Few people knew about Duan Xu’s illness.
He first fell ill about a year and a half ago, after completing the sixth exchange of senses with He Simu. That time, He Simu exchanged taste, and in order to let her fully enjoy delicious food, he decided to also give her his sense of smell. He then invited renowned chefs from the four major culinary schools to cook for her and tasted all the famous wines of the time with her.
Shortly after He Simu left for the ghost realm, a few days later, Duan Xu suddenly felt a suffocating sensation while organizing military tactics, as if something nauseating surged up his throat. Before he could control it, he vomited uncontrollably, seeing the crimson blood staining all the papers on the table, slowly spreading.
He stared at the pool of blood in a daze, not understanding what had happened for a moment.
Chenying happened to come in and saw this scene, so frightened that he nearly cried on the spot. Duan Xu then privately called for a doctor to come and examine him. The doctor, an elderly man in his seventies, was greatly surprised when he felt Duan Xu’s pulse, even stopping stroking his beard, his expression grave. The doctor said that his pulse was strange and irregular, indicating sudden bleeding from the organs, but they couldn’t find the cause.
The old man asked, “General, did you feel any pain in your abdomen before vomiting blood?”
Duan Xu shook his head, and the old man continued to frown. However, while shaking his head, Duan Xu suddenly realized the reason—perhaps his organs had lost sensation, so he couldn’t feel pain.
The deterioration of his body was much worse than he had imagined.
In the two exchanges of senses with Simu afterwards, within five days after the exchange, he would inevitably vomit blood. Fortunately, Simu was busy at the time and was no longer by his side. The old doctor couldn’t prescribe any medicine after examining his pulse, his brow furrowed all day.
Duan Xu actually knew the cause of the illness, so he asked the doctor, “What will happen if I don’t treat this illness?”
The doctor said, “Your body will gradually weaken, and perhaps you won’t live out your natural lifespan.”
Duan Xu thought for a moment and then said it didn’t matter, that it was enough. Since then, he never visited that doctor again or paid attention to the illness. He only instructed Chenying, who was worried, never to tell He Simu about this.
Chenying couldn’t understand why Duan Xu would do this, but the experience accumulated over the years made him feel that both He Simu and Duan Xu were very intelligent people, and he should listen to their advice. So besides taking care of Duan Xu and preventing him from taking risks, he never mentioned this matter to He Simu.
At this moment, Chenying finally couldn’t hold back. He grabbed Duan Xu’s arm and shook him, saying, “Third Brother, why don’t you treat your illness? Why don’t you tell Miss? As long as you stop exchanging senses with Miss, you won’t get sick again, right?”
Duan Xu might have been a little drunk indeed, as it was rare to see someone as unshakable as him being shaken by Chenying. He still smiled on his face, with a thin layer of light in his eyes.
“I’ve known about these injuries for a long time. I am her spellbearer, and that’s the purpose of my existence by her side,” he said, holding Chenying’s hand and speaking softly. “Originally, there wasn’t much I could do for her. If I can’t even do this, what else can I do?”
Perhaps he would fade away in her memory like all her lovers, but this was something unique to him. By his side, she had experienced a living world. He wished for her happiness and hoped that she would remember him because of that happiness.
His hand was a bit cold as he patted Chenying’s warm hand, offering some comfort. Perhaps because Chenying’s expression was too sad and heavy, Duan Xu felt relieved. He spoke with a smile, “Besides, I’ve experienced the world she usually lives in; it’s too cold and lonely. I don’t want her to be like that. If she wants five senses, I can give her ten.”
Duan Xu’s words left Chenying speechless. He stared at Duan Xu for a while, feeling somewhat angry. “But now… now she doesn’t even want five! Miss doesn’t want you anymore!”
Duan Xu’s smile faded, and he said, “Yes, she doesn’t want me anymore.”
Then, as if feeling uncomfortable, he raised his hand to his temple and said softly, “I think I’m really drunk, my head hurts a bit. Chenying, I want to sleep, you should go rest too.”
Chenying left Duan Xu’s room, sober despite the smell of alcohol. After closing the door, he stood in the courtyard for a long time, the shadow of Duan Xu falling on the window as the candlelight flickered. Duan Xu had lost weight again during this time, and the contours of his bones looked even sharper. He sat in the chair, supporting his forehead with his hand, and didn’t go to rest.
It was unclear how long passed before Duan Xu suddenly blew out the candle, and his shadow melted into the indistinct darkness.
At that moment, Chenying didn’t know why, but he felt extremely sad.
After that night, Duan Xu returned to his usual confident self. With his injuries not fully healed, he went to the front lines in Youzhou. He arrived just as the finale of Feng Yi’s exorcism was taking place. After briefly organizing the camp, he went to find Feng Yi.
Sorcerers often perform their spells in a place with a high elevation facing north. Feng Yi chose the Xingyun Mountain in the middle of Youzhou for this purpose. When Duan Xu reached the mountaintop, he saw the slender and tall man standing there. Feng Yi’s shoulder-height carved wooden staff moved swiftly in his hand, drawing full arcs, while the bell on it rang rhythmically. As the sound reached its peak, a strong wind emanated from Feng Yi.
Feng Yi’s sleeves fluttered in the strong wind, making him look like a clothes rack made of dry branches. However, as the core of the formation, his power spread uncontrollably, connecting the formation below and the various cultivators, extending across the entire battlefield.
Duan Xu’s Broken Illusion Sword at his waist seemed to resonate faintly, and if he could still see spirits, he would probably witness a magnificent scene.
However, after completing this set of manoeuvres, Feng Yi seemed to lose his energy and leaned over, skilfully supported by Ziji. Red spots began to appear on Feng Yi’s body, and he muttered about the dirty ghost energy, lamenting that the situation would have been better in the Southern Capital. He complained about the ancestors’ choice to cause such a big commotion at this time, which made him run around and harm his health.
Feng Yi’s ability to talk to himself incessantly showed that he was a person who couldn’t stand loneliness. Duan Xu walked over to him. Today, he was dressed in light armour with a jade hairpin, smiling brightly as he said, “Thank you for your help.”
“It’s my duty, no need for thanks,” Feng Yi waved his hand. It was indeed strange to hear such formal words from him.
Duan Xu smiled lightly.
He didn’t care about Yan Ke’s provocation at all, but Feng Yi did evoke a hint of jealousy in him. Initially, it was because of Feng Yi’s intimate relationship with He Simu. Later, after understanding the blood relationship between He Simu and Feng Yi, the occasional jealousy arose because Feng Yi and He Simu were from the same world.
For example, these spells, barriers, mana, and exorcism were Feng Yi’s specialties, but Duan Xu was different. When it came to He Simu, they seemed to live in two separate worlds that didn’t intersect.
If they were from the same world, they wouldn’t lose contact so easily.
Duan Xu looked at Feng Yi and said, “Imperial Tutor, could you please convey a message to Simu for me? Just tell her that I have some doubts in my heart and hope to see her again.”
Feng Yi looked troubled. His complexion was already pale, and with the addition of his troubled expression, he looked even more dismal. He sighed and approached Duan Xu, whispering softly, “That prohibition is two-sided. Not only are we not allowed to mention the ancestor in front of you, but the ancestor also forbid us from mentioning you in front of her. I can deliver your message once, but she probably won’t agree.”
Duan Xu’s gaze darkened.
“Our ancestor is quite resolute. Actually, she has always been very indulgent towards you before. Maybe after the battle is over, you can go find her in Yuzhou City yourself.”
“After the battle is over…” Duan Xu repeated, then chuckled softly, letting out a long sigh. “If you want to see her, you can go find her anytime. If she wants to see me, I can appear anytime. But I can’t do it. It’s really unfair.”
Feng Yi cleared his throat twice and said, “You should have known this from the beginning.”
Duan Xu remained silent for a moment, then smiled. “I know.”
When they descended the mountain together, Duan Xu started coughing up blood again. It seemed that this severe injury had triggered his strange illness. Even without exchanging senses, he began to vomit blood without warning, and he wouldn’t feel any pain. He wasn’t sure whether not feeling pain was a good thing or a bad thing.
Sometimes he felt like he couldn’t control this body.
Chenying wiped the blood from Duan Xu’s lips with a handkerchief. Duan Xu looked up and saw Feng Yi. Feng Yi showed a pitying expression, pointing to himself and then to Duan Xu, saying, “Look, there are two sickly guys here. General Duan, don’t force yourself while you’re still injured. Do you really want to end up like me?”
Seeing Feng Yi, who mistook his condition for being caused by an arrow wound, Duan Xu smiled and said, “You’re absolutely right, sir.”
Although he had promised not to force himself upon Feng Yi’s advice, Duan Xu was evidently a person who was proactive in his mistakes and never repented. He immediately threw himself into the frontline battles. After Feng Yi completed this large-scale exorcism operation, he retired gracefully. Some cultivators from the Xingqing Palace remained here to monitor the situation. The once valiant and fearless Danzhi soldiers eventually recovered, and their combat effectiveness decreased due to the backlash of ghost energy. They were pushed back step by step by the soldiers of Daliang. The two cities they had recaptured were returned to Daliang. In addition, Daliang continued to attack and captured two more important towns.
Duan Xu mostly commanded from the camp, but he also personally led troops into battle twice. Because his reputation had spread throughout Danzhi, just seeing him made the Danzhi soldiers somewhat panic, resulting in a very effective outcome. Meanwhile, Chenying followed him, trembling with fear. While fighting enemies, he also remained prepared to carry his third brother back if he suddenly couldn’t go on.
Although his third brother could bounce back lively even after coughing up blood, and perhaps even knock him down, he still worried excessively. At such a young age, he felt he was already getting wrinkles from worry. Misfortunes never come singly. Just as the situation on the Youzhou battlefield reached a critical moment, a letter arrived from Luoxian. Chenying’s expression changed as he opened the letter and said to Duan Xu, “Third Brother, the Emperor has fainted again, hasn’t attended court for half a month, and currently… his life or death is uncertain. His Highness Su has ordered the Imperial Guards to block the palace, and His Highness Ji, under the pretext of worrying about the Emperor’s safety, has surrounded Nandu with the troops from Daizhou, Shunzhou, and Yizhou. Nandu… is in chaos.”