Chapter 354: Chapter 344 Coaxing Someone
For someone who rarely falls ill, the sickness comes like a torrential storm. Fang Chuning’s body is scorching hot, his fever refuses to subside, his throat feels as if it’s flaming, and his head feels like it’s splitting apart. The pain is so intense that it sends him into a delusional state, fluctuating between cold and heat.
His personal soldiers are stationed by his bedside, tending to him as he feels unbearably uncomfortable. He drinks water frequently, thinking his whole body might burn to ashes. Strangely, in this feverish haze, he remembers Xie Jue as a child—those years before Xie turned eight, he would often catch the winter chills, falling ill almost every winter. Each bout of illness would last five or six days, leaving his eyes bloodshot and lips deathly pale, pitifully fragile.
Fang Chuning would often tease him, calling him a "delicate beauty" who was weaker than the girls in the Marquis Mansion. It seemed the entire household treated Xie Jue like a second young lady to be pampered. Whenever he ran a fever, he would groan softly and refuse to speak, always looking sickly and morose. Fang Chuning, however, was different. Though his headache and discomfort were unbearable, he found himself itching to get out into the courtyard to practice a set of spear techniques. Lying trapped in bed was even more agonizing.
But the moment he expressed his desire to head out and practice, the Deputy General reacted as if facing an enemy invasion. "Have you gone mad from the fever? If you go out to practice like this and end up dead, how am I supposed to report back to the Commander?"
"Stop your endless nagging! Just lying here is driving me insane." Fang Chuning shoved the Deputy General aside and struggled to rise from bed. The latter, however, threatened him, "If you keep being stubborn, I’ll call the Second Young Master to take care of you."
Fang Chuning’s eyes burned crimson—whether from anger or fever was unclear—and he snapped, "You’re just using Ting Feng as your Death Exemption Token, aren’t you?"
He didn’t want Xie Jue to see him in such a sorry, disheveled state.
"Exactly," the Deputy General responded with a cheeky grin.
Fang Chuning raised his hand to strike him but found he had no strength left.
Stubbornly trying to get up yet again, he suddenly heard a voice, cold and clear: "Sick and still refusing to rest properly—what kind of absurdity is this?"
Fang Chuning stiffened all over, glaring furiously at Zhou Buyan. The latter shrugged in resignation, as if to say it had nothing to do with him. He wasn’t the one who notified the Second Young Master—he was truly being wrongfully accused.
Xie Jue hadn’t been resting well due to worries weighing on his mind. Hearing the commotion coming from Fang Chuning’s quarters, he was naturally aware of everything. As he reached the entrance, he caught parts of Fang Chuning’s mutterings about wanting to practice spear techniques in the courtyard. His voice was weak and barely audible, yet somehow still insistent. To Xie Jue, it sounded as if Fang Chuning were deliberately testing the limits of his own life—countless people died each year from nothing but winter chills.
When Zhou Buyan saw the Second Young Master arrive, his face lit up with relief. At last, someone who could take charge of the situation had come.
Placing a bowl of medicine on the side table, Zhou Buyan whispered, "Second Young Master, please persuade him well. Try to get him to drink the medicine while you’re at it."
The doctor had recently prescribed fever-reducing medicine, but perhaps its effectiveness wasn’t enough to bring the fever down. As a result, the dosage had been increased. Fang Chuning, however, had taken only one sip and outright refused to drink more, complaining that it was too sour and bitter, absolutely intolerable.
As soon as Zhou Buyan left, Fang Chuning transformed into a quail—one with its beak sawed off, no less. Even the sound of his breathing became soft and subdued. He tried to adopt an air of aloof dignity, although in his current sickly condition, it wasn’t particularly convincing.
The room was permeated with the bitter scent of medicine.
Xie Jue walked over and sat down, picking up the freshly brewed bowl of medicine, which was still steaming hot. "Get up and drink your medicine," he commanded.
Fang Chuning pretended not to hear him. Xie Jue studied the flush of crimson on his face, clearly a sign that the fever was severe. Reaching out to touch him, Fang Chuning reacted sharply, raising an arm to swat his hand away with an air of outright aversion to physical contact.
"Drink the medicine!" Xie Jue softened his tone. "Once you’ve taken it, I’ll leave and won’t get in your way."
Fang Chuning raised a questioning look, "?"
That one pacifying remark caught his breath in his throat, leaving him unable to exhale or swallow back properly. Fang Chuning felt utterly miserable, heat rising to his head continually, making him appear even more disheveled.
"Anning..." Xie Jue addressed him softly, brushing his fingertips lightly against Fang Chuning’s cheek. Fang Chuning only felt his temperature climb hotter. Inwardly, he cursed himself for his lack of resolve, feeling as though he might so easily surrender after all.