In the dilapidated Mountain God Temple, the decaying beams creaked under the erosion of the night wind, sounding as though they might collapse at any moment. Moonlight struggled to pierce through the shattered window lattices, casting mottled shadows across the cobweb-covered floor like a broken chessboard. Gu Jinghong kept vigil beside Shen Mingyue; his knees had long since gone numb from kneeling, but he was entirely unaware.
His gaze remained locked on her face, pale as paper, still smeared with the blood and dust from the Southern Frontier Altar. Her breathing was faint and rapid, each gasp feeling like a jagged tear through his heart. Fine beads of sweat continually seeped from her forehead, sliding down her pallid cheeks to soak into the coarse hay beneath her.
Gu Jinghong reached out a trembling hand, his fingertips gently brushing her feverish brow with a tenderness as if touching a fragile treasure. His heart was filled with worry and heartache, as if countless silver needles were pricking him. Shen Mingyue’s consciousness sank into darkness, as if falling into a bottomless black hole.
Chapter 68