I manage to eat some of the fish but without any seasonings, it was hard to stomach. I'm spoiled... Unfortunately, I have to sleep in the same tent as Guozhi. Guozhi lays on the thin mat and lifts his arm up in invitation.
I frown at him as I say "Do you seriously think I'd just crawl over into your arms?" I give him a look of disdain as he chuckles and lowers his arm. "It gets cold at night. I'm only trying to offer you warmth, bunny." I roll my eyes at him and wrap my arms around my knees as thunder slowly rumbles in the distance.
True to his words, a few hours later and the temperature had dropped a lot. I wrap the thin blanket around me to stay warm as my eyes start tearing up for the first time. I'm hungry, I'm cold, and I just want to go home!
I sniffle and quickly rub my eyes as I bury my head under the blanket. Guozhi's dark eyes slowly open and watch the stubborn woman huddled on the ground. She was crying... he narrows his dark eyes as he realizes he doesn't like it.
It actually bothers him to see her upset... He reaches out and grabs her foot, causing her to squeak in fear. He pulls her to him and easily wraps her with his blankets. She was cold... how did she get so cold so quickly?
He pulls her close and tucks her against his chest as he tries to go back to sleep. His bunny was truly helpless... Nova bits her lip in anger but she's no match for his strength. She sighs in defeat and tries to rest her weary eyes. She's at least grateful he hasn't forced himself on her... The warmth from his body soon soothes her into a light, restless sleep.
The next morning, I wake up to the sound of loud thunder. I sit up with a start and instantly cringe at the massive headache. I slowly push the blanket off as I hear the men outside getting everything packed and ready to go.
I stand up and frown at my achy body. Was I getting sick? I push the thought away as I step outside. It was still super early so the sun was just starting to come out but because of the incoming storm, everything was super dark and grey.
Guozhi walks over and wraps a long coat around my shoulders before quickly picking me up and putting me on the horse. Not this again... I hold on for dear life as he easily hops on behind me. "We need to leave quickly to try and stay ahead of the storm. I'll get you something to eat once we reach the next town." He says turning the horse around.
His men leave the tent I was in as we quickly take off. My head seems to pound with every gallop so I grit my teeth and hold on for dear life as I pray that we get to the next town quickly.
A few hours later, a large black Demon Wolf and a smaller Demon Wolf suddenly show up at the abandoned campsite as the first drops of rain begin to fall. "Grandfather! It really is Liling! Her smell is all over the tent!" MingMing says with excitement.
Zhen walks over and confirms the scent as his hope begins to soar. "We aren't too far behind, judging from the tracks, she seems to be with a large group of men..." MingMing frowns as she says "Does she know them?" Zhen shakes his head and says "Impossible, I think she's run into trouble. Let's hurry!" MingMing nods her head and quickly follows her Grandfather as the two follow the tracks left behind.
I doze off a few times but when the rain begins to fall, I'm instantly awake. It's like ice!! I try to wrap the coat around me but soon it doesn't help. The skies had opened up and began to pour buckets of water down on us!
The only warmth I feel is coming from Guozhi but it isn't enough to fight against the chilling rain. After a while longer, I almost don't even feel the cold rain anymore. I'm completely frozen! When I look up, I see lanterns from a town upfront.
My relief can be felt as everyone heads straight for the town. Once inside, they head straight to the largest Inn. Many of the other surrounding Inns started shutting their doors in fear when they see Guozhi and his men but it doesn't seem to phase them.
Guozhi's men quickly go into the large Inn as Guozhi hops off the horse. He quickly grabs me and carries me into the Inn but this time I don't protest. I just want out of this rain! I'm completely soaked! I don't know what Guozhi's men are saying to the Inn owner but Guozhi walks straight passed them and up the stairs.
He walks into a room and walks me straight to the back of the room with the large wooden bathtub. He quickly disappears as two young girls come back with buckets full of hot water with looks of fear on their faces.
They glance at me from time to time as Guozhi paces back and forth in the room. My teeth continue to chatter as I wait for the tub to fill. It already felt better but I couldn't wait to get out of these heavy, wet clothes. Once the tub was filled, he turns to the two women and says "Leave."
They quickly bow and leave, not wanting to stay another second. Guozhi comes over and quickly pulls off my coat before trying to take my dress off. My frozen hands grab his as I say "I can do it." Through chattering teeth. His dark eyes turn cold before he nods and walks out.
I strip out of the soaked dress as quickly as possible before slowly stepping into the hot bathwater. I hiss at the temperature of the water... it felt like it was burning me! I push past the pain and sit down into the hot water. Rose petals float around on the top of the water as I dip my cold, wet hair into the water.
I slowly start to feel myself relaxing... but when I finally stop shivering, a large wave of exhaustion hits me.