Lin Qingzhu's hand gave a violent tremble.
She nearly spilled the jade bowl she was holding.
"Water..."
The faint voice came from the bed again.
Lin Qingzhu sprang up, hurriedly set the jade bowl aside, and rushed to the bedside.
In a flurry, she rummaged through her Storage Ring for a Warm Jade Cup and poured some water from the Spirit Spring into it.
After a moment's thought, she decided the water was too cold and hurriedly warmed it a little with her spiritual energy.
Only then did she carefully cradle Zhou Xuan's head and lift it.
She brought the Warm Jade Cup to his pale, cracked lips.
Water trickled through the gap between them.
Zhou Xuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he greedily swallowed several mouthfuls.
He drank too quickly and broke into a violent coughing fit.
Lin Qingzhu hurriedly pulled the cup away and rubbed his chest to ease his breathing.
Her eyes were terribly red, and tears pattered down onto the quilt.
Zhou Xuan coughed for quite a while before finally recovering.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was still blurry, and it took him some time to make out the person before him.
Lin Qingzhu's usually sharp, capable face was now haggard beyond recognition, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes badly swollen.
Zhou Xuan managed a wan smile.
"What are you crying for..."
His voice was terribly hoarse.
"I'm not dead, am I?"
Lin Qingzhu set the cup on the Jade Table, turned away, and scrubbed haphazardly at her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Do you have any idea how scared I was?"
Her voice trembled, thick with a nasal quaver.
"When you fell out of that rift, there wasn't a trace of life in you. I couldn't even feel any sign