The cold wind blew across the boundless and unchanging mountains and fields outside the house, and fine snowflakes fluttered down and scattered on the window frames.
Li Zhichen turned to look at Qi Lixiao, only to see him lying quietly on the bed board. His pair of cold peach blossom eyes stared blankly at the shabby roof, not knowing what he was thinking.
Just then, the system suddenly issued a task: [The system has detected that your husband is very hungry at this moment. Please immediately feed your husband. There will be corresponding points rewards randomly dropped during the completion of the task!]
Li Zhichen was now numb to the system's repeated use of the term "your husband". She thought that after running around for so long, even she was a little hungry, let alone Qi Lixiao who was still sick.
She tiptoed out of the house and came to the backyard of the temple.
The surroundings were extremely dilapidated. The walls were half-collapsed, and broken bricks and tiles could be seen everywhere. It looked like it was filled with silent sadness.
Li Zhichen searched for a while before she found the kitchen. Although the kitchen looked big, there were very few cooking utensils in it.
Apart from a few coarse ceramic jars full of cobwebs, there was only a simple small stove and an old large iron pot.
Li Zhichen opened her dimensional bracelet and took out some sweet potatoes and millet. She roughly estimated that if they were thrifty, the remaining food should still be enough for the two of them to eat for a few days.
Not long after, Li Zhichen returned to the room with two bowls of hot sweet potato porridge in her hands. She sat beside Qi Lixiao and raised the pillow behind his back.
"Are you hungry? Drink some porridge to warm your stomach first. There isn't much food left in my dimensional bracelet. I'll go out tomorrow morning to take a look. Maybe I'll be able to hunt something."
The fragrance of the sweet porridge filled the room. Qi Lixiao stared at the bowl in Li Zhichen's hand and was in a daze for a long time.
Hungry? How long had it been since he last heard that word?
Since Qi Lixiao was paralyzed in bed, no one had ever cared if he was hungry or not.
He was forced to eat and drink medicine by the maids and servants in the courtyard every day. No matter if he wanted to eat or not, the food was usually mixed together and stuffed into his throat.
Qi Lixiao couldn't move and had no way to resist. The greasy food would then flow into his clothes, ears and nose.
Finishing a meal was no different from going through torture. It was hot and choking. It tortured him so much that he could hardly breathe.
Gradually, Qi Lixiao began to loathe eating and even resist eating.
After a few years, he had long forgotten what hunger felt like.
When Li Zhichen saw Qi Lixiao's silence, she thought that he was disgusted by the dirty cooking utensils. She smiled and explained, "It's not dirty. I spent a lot of effort to find the bowl and spoon in the corner of the kitchen. I washed them five or six times before bringing them to you. Eat quickly. Only by eating your fill will you have the strength to recover from your illness!"
Li Zhichen's expression was gentle at this moment. Her cold eyebrows and eyes relaxed with her smile. It was as though the frost and snow of the entire winter had melted in her eyes.
As Li Zhichen spoke, she scooped up a spoonful of porridge along the edge of the bowl. After carefully blowing on it, she brought it to Qi Lixiao's lips.
"Open your mouth. Ah~"
Qi Lixiao's eyebrows twitched. He thought that Li Zhichen's actions of coaxing a child was a little funny. But after so much torment, he was indeed tired and hungry.
Thus, under Li Zhichen's innocent rabbit eyes, Qi Lixiao's hand moved on its own accord and he lowered his head to drink the spoonful of porridge.
[Congratulations, host, for completing the task. 24 hours of life points have been credited. Five points have been credited!]
Li Zhichen's eyes lit up. Five points? Didn't that mean five taels of silver, more than five thousand dollars?!
It was worth it to feed this meal!!
Li Zhichen was even more motivated. She continued to feed him spoon after spoon. Not long after, the bowl of porridge was finished.
The warm grains entered his stomach and dispersed all the cold air around Qi Lixiao. He lowered his eyes and looked at Li Zhichen. He saw that her dark and shiny eyes were glittering. It seemed that she had thought of something happy and the corner of her lips raised in a happy arc.
Qi Lixiao quickly retracted his gaze. She... really didn't mind him?
Li Zhichen was in a great mood at this moment. She quickly finished her own bowl of porridge. She looked at Qi Lixiao's messy hair and frowned slightly. Just as she was thinking about how to wipe Qi Lixiao, she heard the system issue another task: [The system has detected that your husband is unwell. Please wipe your husband's body!]
Thus, Li Zhichen blurted out, "I'll help you wipe your body."
As soon as she said this, Qi Lixiao, who was usually calm, finally had a reaction. A thin layer of red quickly spread from his neck to his ears.
He looked at Li Zhichen and there was wariness and anger in his eyes. "No need. Don't touch me."
Li Zhichen had long expected Qi Lixiao's reaction. She asked in a slow voice, "Are you sure? How long has it been since you last took a bath? Do you want to stay dirty like this forever?"
Qi Lixiao was rendered speechless. After a long time, his fingers trembled slightly and he instinctively tightened his grip on the sheets.
When Li Zhichen saw Qi Lixiao's silence, she took it as his tacit agreement.
She neatly rolled up her sleeves. Her white hand quickly undid Qi Lixiao's fur coat. Then, she grabbed Qi Lixiao's fur pants and slowly pulled them down.
The sound of the clothes rubbing against his skin was especially obvious in the silent dilapidated temple. Qi Lixiao's throat bobbed as he closed his eyes as though his heart was dead.
His lean chest was exposed to the air. Qi Lixiao was very tall. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His two legs were straight and long. However, due to being paralyzed for too long, the muscles on his body were stiff and hard. There was no sign of life at all.
Li Zhichen couldn't help but glance at Qi Lixiao's crotch. She was truly shocked by the huge object for a moment. Then, she quickly grabbed the quilt and covered the important part.
She fetched a basin of hot water and placed the handkerchief in it to soak. After testing the temperature on her own arm, she dared to touch Qi Lixiao.
The warm handkerchief carefully wiped Qi Lixiao's cheeks. Li Zhichen's strength was originally very large, but her actions at this moment were extremely gentle. It was as though she was treating a precious porcelain. She was afraid that she would hurt Qi Lixiao.
Qi Lixiao closed his eyes tightly. This long-lost sense of comfort made him feel a sense of melancholy and sorrow in his heart that he couldn't control.
After wiping Qi Lixiao's face and neck, the handkerchief was already dirty. Li Zhichen then fetched another basin of clean water. After washing the handkerchief, she started from Qi Lixiao's chest and wiped all the way down.
The place where Li Zhichen's warm fingers had brushed against Qi Lixiao's body instinctively trembled slightly. His breathing became a little heavier.
[Congratulations, host, for completing the task. 24 hours of life points have been credited. Five points have been credited!]
It was only when Li Zhichen turned Qi Lixiao over that she saw the large number of bedsores that had grown on the man's inner thighs and back.
Even Li Zhichen, who was calm, was stunned on the spot.
How could this be? A living person could actually have so many bedsores in winter!
The room was silent for a moment. Qi Lixiao suddenly spoke. His voice was hoarse and made people feel sad.
".... It's very disgusting. Don't look."
Qi Lixiao buried his face deeply in the quilt. He didn't have the courage to look at Li Zhichen's expression.
His current appearance was definitely extremely ugly. Qi Lixiao didn't want others to see him in such a sorry state, especially in front of Li Zhichen.