Living Apart, Dying Together

Song Qingshu chuckled, rubbing his hands together. His fingertips tentatively moved over the highest points on Mu Wanqing's body. "But I don't know how to unblock pressure points. Should I press here, or here?"

"Don't touch me!" Mu Wanqing cried out, closing her eyes tightly, her face drained of color.

"You're going to be my wife anyway, what's the harm in me touching you?" Song Qingshu's fingers drew closer to Mu Wanqing's body.

"If you dare touch me, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself!" Mu Wanqing glared at him, her beautiful eyes wide, her pearly teeth lightly biting her red lips.

"But how can I unblock your pressure points if I don't touch you?" Song Qingshu looked genuinely innocent.

"Go find a branch over there and bring it here, then I'll teach you." Mu Wanqing was on the verge of tears.

"Alright!" Song Qingshu hopped off excitedly. A few breaths later, he returned. "Wifey, is this one okay?"

Hearing him call her "wifey," Mu Wanqing hadn't even had time to get angry before she saw Song Qingshu standing there holding a branch as thick as a thigh. She felt like she was going crazy!

"Get another one!" Mu Wanqing wished she could shoot that detestable person dead with her sleeve arrows.

"Oh, you should have said so earlier." Song Qingshu muttered as he turned away.

Mu Wanqing was so exasperated by his words that she almost broke through her pressure points. She eyed him suspiciously a few times, and seeing that he still had that foolish look on his face, she said fiercely, "Dog Egg, if I find out you're deliberately toying with me, I'll kill you."

"Wifey, what do you mean by toying with you?" Song Qingshu turned back, looking at her with a bewildered expression.

"You..." Mu Wanqing faltered, then impatiently said, "It's nothing, just go find a branch."

"Oh~" Song Qingshu rummaged around, finally finding a suitable one. "Wifey, what now?"

"My Yaoshu Acupoint was blocked. You just need to strike my Jixia Acupoint with the branch to unblock it." Mu Wanqing's ears turned red as she spoke.

"Where is this... acupoint?" Song Qingshu asked with wide, innocent eyes, looking confused. In reality, the Nine Yin Manual had a whole section on acupoint techniques, so how could he not know? He was just teasing the beauty, pretending ignorance.

Mu Wanqing hesitated for a moment before speaking, "It's on the thigh..." Her voice grew softer, and she turned her face away in embarrassment after finishing.

"Is that so~" Song Qingshu mused thoughtfully.

"That's not the right spot!" Mu Wanqing's voice trembled with tears. "It's about three inches above the knee."

Seeing Mu Wanqing's tears fall like pearls from a broken string onto the grass beside them, Song Qingshu felt a pang in his heart, and his movements slowed.

No man could bear to tease her further when she looked so heartbroken, and Song Qingshu was no exception.

He properly poked her Jixia Acupoint with the branch. Mu Wanqing, having regained control of her body, sprang up and raised her sleeve arrow, intending to shoot Song Qingshu dead.

She had already planned how to deal with this brat who made her grit her teeth in hatred. But seeing him look up at her with that innocent, dazed expression, she found herself unable to go through with it.

A mist reappeared in her beautiful eyes. Mu Wanqing crouched down, burying her head in her legs, and began to cry.

"Wifey, why are you crying?" Song Qingshu asked, provoking her.

"Get lost! Wuwu~" Mu Wanqing cried harder. At first, she was just sad about the day's grievances. Then, she thought about her unfulfilled fate with Duan Yu, and her sorrow deepened. She felt that heaven was too cruel.

Finally, her crying subsided. Mu Wanqing, her eyes red and swollen, looked up and saw that Song Qingshu hadn't left. He was leaning against a large tree nearby, fast asleep.

"Pfft!" Seeing him drooling, Mu Wanqing couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

"Wifey, you're awake~" Song Qingshu opened his eyes and grinned foolishly.

For some reason, Mu Wanqing wasn't angry this time. She was naturally reclusive, and due to her upbringing, she didn't have many friends. After learning that Duan Yu was her biological brother, she had completely broken down. With no friends to confide in, she felt incredibly lonely in the world. This Dog Egg, though he seemed foolish, genuinely seemed to care about her...

"Dog Egg, what's your name?" Mu Wanqing gently wiped the tear stains from her cheeks with the back of her hand and looked up at Song Qingshu.

"You already know I'm called Dog Egg, why are you asking my name? You're so silly." Song Qingshu grinned.

"Your name is really Dog Egg?" Now it was Mu Wanqing's turn to be surprised. What kind of parents would name their child like that?

"Yes, my mother gave it to me. It's a shame she's no longer around." Song Qingshu's heart sank as he thought of his mother in his past life.

He wanted to comfort her, but the inarticulate Mu Wanqing didn't know how. Her tsundere nature kicked in, and she fell silent.

"Right, where do you live?" After a while, Mu Wanqing realized it was getting late and they probably wouldn't be able to descend the mountain today. She was also worried about encountering Yun Zhonghe and wanted to stay with this Dog Egg, seeing him as a free bodyguard. As for him being a man, Mu Wanqing sized him up and automatically excluded him from the category of "men."

"Home? After my mother passed away, I didn't have a home anymore." Song Qingshu's nose twitched. "After that, I made my home wherever there was a cave."

Mu Wanqing looked at him with some pity. No wonder this Dog Egg was so foolish and slow; living like a wild man, his intelligence was bound to be abnormal.

"Then where have you been staying these past few days?" A cold wind began to blow. Mu Wanqing glanced at the sky, estimating that a heavy rain was coming. She just wanted to find shelter quickly, otherwise, getting wet would be troublesome.

Song Qingshu's eyes lit up. He pointed to below the cliff beside them. "I've been staying down there these past few days."

Mu Wanqing suspiciously approached the cliff edge, grabbed the tree beside her, and peered down. She saw only swirling clouds and mist, with no visible place to stand. She got angry. "You're lying to me!"

"No, no," Song Qingshu quickly waved his hands. "If you don't believe me, I can take you down there to see for yourself."

"How will you take me?" Mu Wanqing stared at him blankly.

"Hold onto me, and jump down with me." Song Qingshu grinned.

Mu Wanqing's heart filled with anger, but she quickly calmed down. She had no future with Duan Yu, and life had lost its meaning. Jumping down with him and dying together seemed like a way out. Besides, if future generations saw them die together, they might think they were lovers who died for love. Yikes~ The thought made her shudder.

Seeing Mu Wanqing's face turn from green to white, and then shiver all over, Song Qingshu muttered, "Wifey, are you coming or not?"

Mu Wanqing gave a desolate smile, thinking that if she was going to die anyway, why worry about anything else? She nodded decisively.

Song Qingshu laughed heartily and came to her side. He put his left arm around her soft waist, pulling Mu Wanqing close into his embrace.

Mu Wanqing came to her senses and was about to resist when Song Qingshu leaped with her, jumping off the cliff.