When the wind blew passed the lovers the wind provided them with a cool breeze to cool them off from the hot summer morning sun. The lovers find themselves somewhere at the bottom of the mountain. Guo Baiyu didn't look very good. The dagger was still stuck on his upper right chest. Guo Baiyu was still coughing on Zhao Renshu's back.
Ping'an worried, "Renshu...Renshu... Stop... Stop. Let him down."
Zhao Renshu found shade under a tree. He let Guo Baiyu down from his back. He heard Guo Baiyu's breathing very shallowly.
Guo Baiyu, "Ren...Shu... Pull out the dagger, be careful not to cut yourself." His eyes became lazy. He tried very hard to open his eyes. He was worried that if he closed his eyes he would never see them again.
Zhao Renshu, "Hang in there, brother."
Zhao Renshu pulled out the small dagger, and black blood spewed out. Guo Baiyu fainted.
Ping'an, "Why is the blood so dark? Will he die?"
Zhao Renshu, "This is a poisonous dagger, which is why the blood is dark." He also looked worried. "We will have to wait and see."
Ping'an tore the robe on the wound a little bigger, then she lowered her head to suck the poison, but Zhao Renshu stopped her. Zhao Renshu held her right shoulder, then gently pushed her back.
Zhao Renshu, "What are you doing?"
Ping'an shook his head, "I can't let him die. I won't let him die." Her tears flowed from her chin, looking at Zhao Renshu. She cried and raised her voice, "I have to save him."
Zhao Renshu was very angry, "What if you die?"
Ping'an, "I don't care if I die. He must live." She held Gouo Baiyu's right hand. "He must live."
Zhao Renshu shouted angrily, "But I care if you live or die." He immediately stood up and turned his back to Ping'an. "You don't care because you must love him very much."
Ping'an was very worried about Guo Baiyu's condition. She forgot that her actions hurt Zhao Renshu's feelings. If Zhao Renshu was the injured person, she would do the same.
Zhao Renshu was still very angry, but decided to calmly said, "Do you know if anything happen to you." His back was still facing Ping'an. "I don't know if I can move on."
Ping'an stood up and hugged Zhao Renshu tightly. Zhao Renshu turned to face Ping'an. Ping'an then tiptoe and kissed him on his lips.
At that moment Zhao Renshu want time to stop. He wants to cherish this moment for eternity. He embraced her waist with his arms and kissed her back. He loves her so much, the love she gave him is like a spider web, if you fall on the spider web there is nowhere to escape. The more you struggle to break free, the more tightly it wraps around you. He wondered, if he was the injured person, would she show the same feelings?
Ping'an, "You know... If the person lying there is you, I would do the same." Tears dripped from her eyes.
Zhao Renshu pulled her back to his chest. Zhao Renshu raised her face up with both of his hands and began to kiss her lips. He tasted some salty tears. He pressed his forehead against her. He whispered, "Do you love me?"
Ping'an, "You know wholeheartedly that I do."
Zhao Renshu smiled, and then kissed her again. He entwined his tongue with her tongue. He tasted her desire, she felt his hunger. Both of them were ecstatic. Guo Baiyu's soft moan awakened their desire and brought them back to reality.
Guo Baiyu murmured, "Water."
Ping'an quickly ran back and held Guo Baiyu's hand.
Ping'an, "Baiyu can you hear me?"
Guo Baiyu kept muttering "water."
Zhao Renshu looked at Ping'an then gave her a flirtatious smiled, ""I'm going to find water, and you stay here with him. Shout if you need anything." He walked downhill.
Ping'an shouted from behind, "Renshu.....Be careful."
Zhao Renshu turned around and smiled at Ping'an then he continued to walked downhill.
It felt like a decade since Zhao Renshu left. Guo Baiyu didn't open his eyes, he kept mumbling to drink water.
Ping'an kissed Guo Baiyu on his right temple. "Hold on a bit longer. Renshu is looking for water."
Ping'an looked at Guo Baiyu's dying face, which made her very sad, as if thousands of knives had stabbed her heart at once. Ping'an helped Guo Baiyu's head rest on her left shoulder, and gently held his right hand.
Guo Baiyu whispered, "Ping'an ..." He coughed several times. "If I make it out alive, I wonder....at the end of Renshu and my agreement, will you choose me...over him." He smiled, "If I die here, I don't have to find out. This is a good thing... that it end up like this because I... I don't have to experience rejection pain."
Ping'an hugged him, "Don't talk like that." She put her face next to his right cheek.
Guo Baiyu closed his eyes. He felt her touch and he heard her words, but his eyes were too tired. He can no longer open them. He felt her tears fall on his head, and then slowly slid to the side of his right cheek and into the corner of his mouth. When her salty tears entered his mouth and slowly mixed with saliva, he tasted her love for him.
Guo Baiyu murmured, "Don't cry dear."
Ping'an sobbing loudly, "It hurts. It very hurts."
Guo Baiyu gather all the strength he had left and opened his eyes. He looked into her eyes. Guo Baiyu is very good at reading people. Some people lie through their teeth, but their eyes always hold the truth. When he looked at Ping'an, he only saw hurt, love and truth. He pressed his lips to her. "Ping'an, I really love you." He passed out inside her arms.
Ping'an called Guo Baiyu's name and shook him, but there was no response. Ping'an held Gou Baiyu's lifeless body and begged him to wake up, but she only heard him muttering "water". Ping'an lean Guo Baiyu against the small three. Without hesitation, she grabbed Guo Baiyu's jade that was tightly tied on his hair. She smashed the jade on a rock. The jade broken into three pieces. She found a small piece of the broken jade, and then made a small incision in her lower left forearm. Her blood rushed out like a red stream and dripped onto Guo Baiyu's face.
Ping'an said softly, "Open your mouth." She opened his lips with her right fingers. "Drink some water."
Guo Baiyu slowly swallowed Ping'an's blood. After Guo Baiyu was satisfied with his thirst, he slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't see the water, but what he saw was red blood pouring down like spring raindrops. He suddenly woke up and sat up quickly. He stretched out his right hand and pressed hard her wound.
Guo Baiyu shouted in frustration, "Are you made?" He pressed harder on her wound. "Why are you doing this?"
Ping'an, "I don't know. I just want to save you."
Guo Baiyu, "Never do it again." He tore a piece of cloth from his robe and wrapped the cloth around Ping'an's wound. Even though he was very weak and could hardly stand up, he took Ping'an into his arms like a true gentleman.
Ping'an cried, "Please don't be mad. I'm sorry. I really don't know what to do. I am not smart like you or talent like Renshu...I..."
Guo Baiyu whispered, "Ping'an .... Please don't wrap me around your fingers too tight." He stretched out his right hand and touched her face. "If... when the time is up and you and Renshu walk away, these memories will be impossible for me to erase." He held her tightly.
Ping'an didn't want him to think too much, so she changed the subject.
Ping'an, "Renshu has been looking for water for a long time, I am afraid he may be in trouble." She smiled at him. "Let's go find him."
Guo Baiyu is not stupid, Ping'an is a bad lair. He knew she was trying to change the subject.
Guo Baiyu, "You go ahead. I will wait for you here."
Ping'an, "No, let's go together."
Guo Baiyu smiled and said, "I can't walk. My left leg can't support my body. You go ahead."
Ping'an smiled, "I won't do such a thing." She pulled away from his embrace and turned her back to him. She was relieved that he was more conscious. She patted on both her shoulders. "Come, climb on, I will carry you on my back."
Guo Baiyu refused, "Let you carry me, I don't think this is appropriate."
Ping'an brags, "I am strong." She is full of confidence. "Remember, I used to chop wood and carry firewood. The two years that we are not together, I also received special training from Renshu."
Guo Baiyu felt embarrassed. What if someone sees them? How embarrassing will it be? At the same time, he can do nothing because his legs are very weak and he can barely stand. He leaned over and rested his body on Ping'an's back. He was surprised at how strong Ping'an was.
Ping'an teased, "Don't be embarrassed. You are not ashamed of falling in love with me with Renshu. Why should you be embarrassed about small things like me carrying you on my back?"
Guo Baiyu, "There are differences between the two."
Ping'an, "If you are tired, rest your head on my shoulder."
Guo Baiyu rested his head on her shoulder, staring at her. The more he looked at her, the more beautiful she is. In the past, he had met many upper-class women, but no one could get his attention. He asked himself why an ordinary young woman in dirty clothes sitting on the road would attract his attention and even make him fall in love.
The lovers walked down the hill the same way Zhao Renshu walked. When they reached the bottom of the hill, the road became a T-shaped road, the lovers stopped.
Ping'an, "Which way?"
Guo Baiyu, "Go to the right."
Ping'an, "Do you think Renshu came this way?"
Guo Baiyu, "He must have. Look at the greens and berries. If he walks left, that would be crazy. The surrounding it seems more like a desert."
The lovers continue to go further and further. When the lovers went deep into the forest, they heard birds singing everywhere in the forest. They also heard the sound of water flowing downstream.
Ping'an, "A river must be nearby."
Guo Baiyu spoke softly by Ping'an's right ear, "Ping'an... please tell me truthfully. Do you love me?"
Ping'an, "Yes."
Guo Baiyu, "When?"
Ping'an smiled, "A long time ago."
Guo Baiyu, "You don't need a second to think about it before you answer?"
Ping'an, "Why do I need time to think about it? If you ask me a thousand times, the answer will always be yes." She smiled and looked forward. "Some men have two or three wives. Many rich men have six or seven wives. Even the emperor himself has more than three thousand concubines. If I love two men, what's the matter with that?"
Guo Baiyu still stared at her, "Hmm." He wonder how foolish Ping'an is. "If you marry us, society will never accept it. For the rest of our lives, we will be abandoned. Can you accept it?"
Ping'an replied, "Baiyu, Can you?" She smiled, she tilted her head touched his head. "I don't care what others say. I knew long ago that people's mouths are the most dangerous weapon. They can gossip from heaven down to hell, from across the West Coast to the East Coast. I don't care. I sincerely believe that people in love have the right to be together."
After a while, Ping'an and Guo Baiyu encountered a beautiful stream with beautiful flowers everywhere. Ping'an found a fallen tree. She put Guo Baiyu down and helped him sit on the tree.
Ping'an, "I will go get some water."
Guo Baiyu held her right hand to stop her. She turned around. He pulled her closer, "Take a break. I'm not thirsty yet."
She sat next to him, leaning her head on his left shoulder, "Baiyu, you know that you are not the only person in my heart. Can you really love me?" She felt her eyes were soaked with tears, because she already knew the answer to her question. "If Renshu accepted you, can you accepted him?"
He said nothing.
Ping'an held back her tears and said, "I asked Renshu this question before. He can't answer me either, and I don't expect an answer from you." She knew the answer very well, but she just wanted to ask. Maybe she was hoping for a different answer. "I'll go get some water."
Ping'an stood up and grabbed a leaf. She folded the leaf into a small closed cone at the bottom. She walked to the river bank. She bent down, fetched some water in in the conical leaf and walked back to Guo Baiyu.
Ping'an sit next to Guo Baiyu. She let him drank the water first, and then poured some water into her hand to wash off the dry blood on her lips without mentioning a word. Guo Baiyu's handsome face appeared again after all the blood was washed away.
Guo Baiyu, "Ping'an." She looked at him. "Are you mad because I can't give you the answer?"
Ping'an scoffed, "Silly, I'm not mad." She smiled at him. "I will tell you the same thing I told Renshu. Everyone has their own purpose in life, and we will work hard to achieve it. Renshu purpose in life is to become the best hunter out there and continue to carry the legacy of Master Zhao. Your purpose in life is to be the best son for your family. My purpose in life is to live a peaceful life, knowing that someone once loved me."
Guo Baiyu, "Ping'an...I..."
Ping'an avoided eyes contact, "It is just a question, so don't think too much." She tried to think positively about their love triangle and kept her eyes on the creek. She stood up to avoid the awkward situation.
Guo Baiyu stood up and suddenly grabbed Ping'an's arm, "Ping'an, I don't feel right."
Ping'an caught Guo Baiyu before he passed out. Then she suddenly felt that something was wrong. She fainted.