Chapter 111 – Black-Bellied Regent VS Loyal Shadow Guard (15)
However, from the man’s perspective, the person in his arms had already closed his eyes and let his arms fall limply. The prospect of losing his beloved nearly drove Wen Renhong to madness. With bloodshot eyes, he shouted, “You won’t die, Xiao Jin, you won’t.”
Even though he was on the brink of losing his sanity, he still had to stay calm, holding Mu Jin as he raced to the nearest inn. He couldn’t afford to lose the person in his arms.
He gently laid Mu Jin on the bed, and soon a doctor arrived. The county magistrate, seeing Wen Renhong’s urgency, had called for the best doctors in the area.
After carefully examining Mu Jin’s condition, the doctors concluded that the arrow had hit a critical area. They doubted their skills could save him.
Wen Renhong’s face contorted with rage, his hand tightening around the doctor’s throat as he yelled, “I want him to live! If he dies, everyone in this room will die with him!”
Though King Zhong had always been swift and decisive in his actions since arriving here, he was usually affable as long as no one made mistakes. No one had seen this frightening side of him before.
Everyone in the room trembled in fear, aware that Mu Jin’s injuries were severe and uncertain if they could save him. To protect their lives, they quickly concocted emergency remedies, desperately trying to preserve Mu Jin’s life.
Meanwhile, Mu Jin, now unconscious, found himself in the sea of consciousness. Feeling disoriented, he looked at the black cat before him, utterly at a loss.
Though his confession had been dramatic and cheesy, he thought his lover would be deeply moved. He had hoped for a sweet ending with his man, but 003’s sudden maneuver had thrown everything into disarray.
Now it seemed like his body was in a comatose state, enough to scare his partner half to death.
003 saw Mu Jin’s annoyed expression and apologized, “I’m sorry, Xiao Jin, but your injuries were severe. If I hadn’t started repairs immediately, things could have gotten worse.”
Due to his unique constitution and the system’s support, Mu Jin would recover quickly, but 003 still felt guilty. With the system’s insulation, Mu Jin felt no pain during the repairs. He understood that his condition was critical, and 003’s actions were unavoidable, so he didn’t blame him. He then asked 003 about the earlier incident that had puzzled him.
Generally, the system had a protection mechanism, so if anyone tried to ambush or harm him, 003 would sense the danger and prevent it. It was strange that the system hadn’t detected the threat earlier.
The black cat hung his head in regret, saying, “Xiao Jin, I’m sorry. I didn’t sense any hostile intent. I had the system spread out as usual, but I didn’t detect anyone’s presence.”
“The assassin seemed to appear out of nowhere, just like when you were tracking Mo Yan and suddenly lost signal.”
Seeing 003’s dejected expression, Mu Jin stroked his furry head to comfort him. The black cat had been with him through many worlds, always working hard to assist him. He knew that, and he wanted to console his partner.
Hearing 003’s explanation, Mu Jin frowned in thought. He’d spent many worlds with his lover and occasionally felt a sense of disharmony, as if some force was trying to hinder him from gathering luck and helping his partner. However, these incidents had rarely surfaced so blatantly.
Given this event, he felt his suspicions were valid. Perhaps the reason 003 had difficulty tracking his partner was due to this disruptive force.
Yet, the opposing force didn’t seem all-powerful, resorting to subtle methods in the shadows. After Mu Jin was injured, 003 used the system to inspect the area near the treetops and noticed traces of some controlling force on the deceased assassin.
However, that person had it coming. He was originally sent by Wen Renda to assassinate Wen Renhong. His failed attempt might lead to further complications.
While Mu Jin was busy discussing the situation with 003 and allowing the system to heal his body, he didn’t realize Wen Renhong outside was on the verge of breaking down.
An entire day and night had passed, and Mu Jin still hadn’t regained consciousness. Wen Renhong remained by his side, sleepless, tending to his wounds, giving him water, and wiping away sweat.
No matter what he did, the person lying on the bed still hadn’t opened his eyes. Even though his face remained flawless, he looked entirely devoid of life.
Someone brought a bowl of medicine, and Wen Renhong picked up a spoon to try feeding it to Mu Jin, but the liquid dripped from the young man’s lips without any sign of swallowing, bringing tears to the man’s eyes.
“Xiao Jin.” Wen Renhong took a deep breath, feeling as if his heart was being ripped apart. He grabbed a soft pillow and raised Mu Jin’s head a bit higher, then took the medicine into his own mouth and transferred it slowly to the young man.
He knew Mu Jin was always dutiful and that being a shadow guard meant being willing to sacrifice for his master in moments of crisis, but he never thought it would happen to Mu Jin.
He remembered seeing Mu Jin hurl a hidden weapon just before passing out, striking down the person hidden in the tree canopy. The accompanying guards and Hidden Pavilion members took care of the assassin, confirming that Mu Jin’s weapon had killed him instantly. Wen Renhong ordered the Hidden Pavilion members to search the area, instructing them to kill any spies or assassins on sight.
But none of it mattered. No matter how many times those people died, a thousand or ten thousand times, it wouldn’t change anything. His little guy wouldn’t recover instantly; he was still critically injured, and Wen Renhong couldn’t accept that reality.
Before Mu Jin, Wen Renhong had other shadow guards, some of whom unfortunately died on missions. He had never felt anything wrong with that because his own path was just as perilous, and a single misstep could lead to ruin.
But now he realized that Mu Jin was different. Even if he got injured or had to live a life where death was always a possibility, he had never worried much about it. He’d do whatever it took to get what he wanted, even if it meant risking his own life.
Yet, seeing Mu Jin injured made him realize that some things were more important than his own life. He could lose everything, even his own life, but he couldn’t lose this person in front of him.
The pain was unbearable. Staring at Mu Jin’s pale face, he didn’t care anymore if his eyes were blank, if they lacked feelings for him. As long as he was alive, as long as he could open his eyes, even if he never loved him, that was enough. Just knowing he was alive and doing well would be sufficient.
Now he deeply regretted everything. He had always been secretly glad that Mu Jin was his shadow guard, that he belonged to him. But now he wished he wasn’t, wished he didn’t love him, so he wouldn’t have risked his life for him.
It should have been him lying in this bed, not Xiao Jin. Why, why did he have to suffer on his behalf?
After carefully feeding Mu Jin the medicine, Wen Renhong gently wiped his lips with a cloth and lowered his head to kiss him softly.
With his forehead resting against Mu Jin’s, Wen Renhong whispered, “Xiao Jin, wake up, please. I’ll do anything you ask, just wake up.”
“You said you wanted to be a farmer? Fine, I won’t be a prince anymore; we’ll farm together. We’ll work from sunrise to sunset. Or we can become wanderers; you know my martial arts are excellent. We can roam the world together, free and unrestrained.”
“Please, wake up, Xiao Jin…”
His nose felt a sharp pain, tears welling up in his eyes, almost impossible to hold back. He’d endured countless humiliations and oppressions without crying, never accepting his fate, relying on sheer determination to get where he was.
But at this moment, as he saw the vibrant life in his shadow guard slipping away, he finally understood the true meaning of despair. The feeling of having his entire world collapse was enough to make him want to break down.
Why did it take until now to realize how important Mu Jin was to him?
They’d only been together for less than a year. He tried to calculate it but wasn’t sure if it was even that long. Feelings couldn’t be measured by time. He wondered if, from the first moment he saw Mu Jin, he subconsciously knew he was different.
This person had only been with him for a year, and he’d just tasted the sweetness of love. How could he just leave like that, so irresponsibly?
“Wen Ren Da!” he growled, his fists clenched, biting down so hard his gums started to bleed.
Mu Jin was hurt because of someone else, and even if his subordinates didn’t investigate, Wen Renhong knew who was behind it.