Chapter 465: The Flower of Destiny, Its Meaning Extraordinary

Yu Wen Tianqing replied instinctively, "You could come to my Xijin and be..."

Ji Qingwu’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she ran to him.

Yu Wen Tianqing’s gray-blue eyes widened. A smile touched his lips as he reached out his left hand to catch her.

But Ji Qingwu, like a pale green cloud, drifted right past him toward the person behind him.

Yu Wen Tianqing turned around, only to see Ji Qingwu leap into a man’s embrace.

The man spread his arms and caught her, but whether it was because she rushed at him too quickly or for some other reason, his left foot was unsteady, and he had to take a step back to find his footing.

A short distance away, Mo Ju stomped its hooves and snorted, a clear sign it had been ridden hard on the journey back.

Ji Qingwu rose onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, refusing to let go. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of agarwood mixed with the smell of earth.

Her eyes glistening with unshed tears, Ji Qingwu said, "It hasn’t even been three days."

Zhao Mingyan let out a low chuckle. "I can barely breathe, Ah Wu."

Ji Qingwu loosened her arms slightly, but she remained clinging to him. She lifted her gaze to study him closely.

Zhao Mingyan’s normally immaculate black hair was slightly disheveled. His Xuan Armor had lost its sheen, covered in a layer of dust. Upon closer inspection, she could see scratches, and even his trousers were spattered with mud.

Her gaze shifted to the large hand at her waist, and she noticed that it was covered in numerous cuts, as if he’d been scraped by something with a serrated edge.

Ji Qingwu’s brow furrowed, her distress written plainly on her face.

’Didn’t I use the national fortune? How could he still be hurt?’

She pulled away from his embrace and looked him over from head to toe, searching for any other injuries.

As Ji Qingwu’s gaze fell on his left foot, she keenly noticed something was wrong. She crouched down and gently squeezed his ankle.

Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

The rims of her eyes were red as she asked, her head bowed.

"Does it hurt?"

Zhao Mingyan didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow, his gaze fixed entirely on her. His thin lips parted. "It’s just an external injury. It doesn’t hurt."

Yu Wen Tianqing glanced at the scratches on the Xuan Armor, then looked thoughtfully at the black horse not far away. Seeing its wet hooves, he let out a derisive snort.

Hearing this, Ji Qingwu whipped her head around and glared fiercely at him. Yu Wen Tianqing just shook his head with a hint of resignation.

’When it comes to the Emperor of Beili, the girl becomes so unreasonable she’s like a different person.’

Zhao Mingyan took hold of Ji Qingwu’s wrist, not wanting her attention to be diverted to another man.

Ji Qingwu’s gaze returned to him. Her brief touch just now had told her that his left ankle was already badly swollen, to twice its normal size.

Her mind flooded with images of the dangers he must have faced, and a wave of fear washed over her.

’And to think I saved up so much national fortune for him. This damn system... I’ll have to find time to have a serious talk with it.’

So, Ji Qingwu demanded, her cheeks puffed in anger, "How did this happen? Who hurt you?!"

Li Yuzong had intended to step forward and check on the Emperor’s injuries, but seeing Ji Qingwu berating His Majesty with such a fierce expression, he clutched his chest, not daring to breathe, and quickly retreated.

Seeing the fire in her eyes, Zhao Mingyan rubbed his nose and said, "It’s nothing serious."

Ji Qingwu suddenly pressed down hard. Zhao Mingyan barely stifled a pained grunt, his right hand clenching into a fist.

Behind them, Yu Wen Tianqing had already guessed the cause of the injury. That Emperor Beili was still able to stand was a feat beyond any ordinary person.

Ji Qingwu said resentfully, "It seems it doesn’t hurt enough, otherwise Your Majesty wouldn’t be so reckless."

As she spoke, she moved to pull his trouser leg out from his boot to inspect the wound.

Zhao Mingyan tightened his arm, lifting her back to her feet. "Ah Wu," he said in a deep voice, "the injury is nothing."

Ji Qingwu stared into his eyes and asked, "Was it Yu Wen Tiancheng?"

Zhao Mingyan tucked a stray strand of hair from her temple behind her ear. "How could it be? He’s not capable of hurting me."

Ji Qingwu asked in surprise, "Then how on earth did it happen?"

’If it wasn’t Yu Wen Tiancheng, it’s not like Emperor Wu Su could have just sprained it while walking, or fallen off his horse, right?’

Zhao Mingyan gently tapped the tip of her nose and snapped his fingers.

Mo Ju trotted lightly over the sand and stones, coming to a halt beside him with its head held high.

The saddlebags on the horse were full. Zhao Mingyan reached into the left one and pulled out a seven-petaled lotus flower, as red as blood.

Ji Qingwu’s eyes widened, and she let out a gasp of amazement.

"This is the Heavenly Mountain Red Lotus."

Its petals were as thin as a cicada’s wings, covered in hexagonal ice crystals, and at its center, it enveloped a small, cinnabar-colored ice core.

Ji Qingwu had seen it in medical texts before. It was said that the Heavenly Mountain Red Lotus could neutralize a hundred poisons, but she had never seen one in person.

But the medical texts also recorded that a venomous Icescale Serpent always coiled within three feet of every Heavenly Mountain Red Lotus. It was a completely transparent snake that was its symbiotic companion.

The red lotus would wilt the moment it left the frozen soil; it had to be excavated along with the attached membrane of the serpent’s shed skin.

So, the cuts on Zhao Mingyan’s hands were from the surrounding fang-like shards of rock.

And his ankle injury...

Ji Qingwu frowned. Just as she was about to speak, his cool, steady voice reached her ears.

"This red lotus is born of both ice and fire; it exists where life and death meet."

Zhao Mingyan held the flower in his right palm, his gaze shifting from the red lotus to Ji Qingwu’s face.

"It is forged with an edge that can sunder all things, yet it possesses the most compassionate heart. It is a perfect match for you."

Ji Qingwu stared blankly at the flower.

’So he went through all this just for me. He faced such great danger simply because he thought it was a good match for me.’

Her heart clenched, swelling with a painful ache.

Zhao Mingyan held the red lotus before her, his eyes smiling. "This is the flower that blooms within my fate."

Ji Qingwu’s eyelashes fluttered. She had once heard her elder sister say that before Emperor Wu Su ascended the throne, Master Liao Ran had read his destiny. He’d said that he was fated to be an Emperor but would struggle to have children. She had never heard of this "flower of fate" before.

’A flower that grows within his very fate... it must hold an extraordinary meaning.’

Ji Qingwu then recalled the glowing Red Lotus Bracelet he had given her, and a bold guess began to form in her mind.

Zhao Mingyan held the red lotus out to her. Ji Qingwu brushed her fingertips over the ice crystals clinging to its petals. She didn’t feel any cold. Instead, a peculiar sensation, a warm current, flowed through her.

Ji Qingwu cupped the red lotus in her hands, her eyes sparkling just as brightly as its petals.

Behind them, Yu Wen Tianqing watched their intimate display and narrowed his eyes.

Even though he had guessed that Emperor Beili had been injured while gathering the Heavenly Mountain Red Lotus, he hadn’t expected him to actually succeed.

Yu Wen Tianqing shouted, "Miss Ji, don’t let him fool you!"

Ji Qingwu turned to see that Yu Wen Tianqing had removed his mask. His face, gaunt and angular, was split in a wild grin.

She said, annoyed, "What are you caterwauling about?"

Yu Wen Tianqing’s laughter was quickly cut short as his wild cackling devolved into a fit of nonstop coughing.