Liu Xianche did not forget his courtesy, and said solemnly, “Greeting Your Highness.”

Liang Shu took a glance into the room, hooked his fingers calmly, and Liu Xian’an immediately slipped to his side. Liu Xianche showed displeasure, and was about to reprimand his little brother for running about in such a disrespectful manner, when Liang Shu stepped forward and said: “First Young Master Liu, no need to be so polite. The journey is hard, did your travel go smoothly?”

“Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern. I took Chang’er Mountain all the way to Garrison City. The official road is spacious. It was not difficult and I did not encounter any trouble.” Liu Xianche looked around. “Is Commander Ku You here?”

Liang Shu shook his head: “He is in Garrison City.”

Liu Xianche said: “Then I also need to leave for Garrison City as soon as possible. According to the symptoms described in the letter, Commander Ku’s gold blindness is already very serious, and one more day’s delay could mean more trouble.”

While speaking, he cast his gaze behind Liang Shu. Liu Xian’an saw what his brother meant and immediately waved his hands to refuse: “I can’t go with you, I have to stay here and pretend to be Da-ge, so as to make the Baifu Sect appear as soon as possible.”

Liu Xianche had just arrived here, so he didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he had a natural trust for Liang Shu, the majestic commander of the country. He would not allow his little brother to mess around, so he didn’t say any more. A-Ning volunteered to take the First Young Master to a room to rest. The group dispersed, and Liang Shu heaved a sigh of relief, carrying his own Sleeping Immortal back to the room. Before entering the door, Liu Xian’an had already raised his hand in front of him with five fingers spread wide: “Look!”

Liang Shu grabbed his wrist and looked at the high, swollen red marks on his palm. He was alarmed and distressed, and his head ached as he held that hand and blew on it. “Why did he beat you as soon as you met?”

“Because I prescribed the wrong prescription in Xiaozhao Village, so I deserved it,” Liu Xian’an said. “It hurts.” That he deserved the beating didn’t delay the pain. Just a small touch hurt. Liang Shu took out wound medicine from the cabinet, sat down by the table, and had this person sit in his lap as he applied the medicine. Liu Xian’an sucked in a cold breath of air at first to relax, but after a while, he suddenly brought up the past. “The prince said before that whoever beats me, you will beat him.”

Liang Shu paused, feeling deeply that he was still too young, and had spoken too early. Of course he could beat him back, but after beating him back, whether he could enter the gates of Baihe Mountain Village again in the future was the big question. He carefully wrapped the bandage for him, so as not to rub the ointment elsewhere, then embraced him tightly: “How about this, I’ll tell your elder brother that from now on, you will return to Xiao Wang Palace, and even if he wants to teach you a lesson, he should come to this lord in person, and no one else can intervene.”

Liu Xian’an felt that this was very unreasonable, because originally only his father and elder brother could beat him, but now there was one more, so he flatly refused. Liang Shu pressed him down with a smile: “Don’t move, I’ll take off the mask for you first. Take it easy.”

Liu Xian’an dodged: “Why are you taking it off now? I also want Da-ge to see how Xiao Wang Palace uses disguises. He must be interested.”

“A-Ning also has a disguise, so why must your elder brother look at you?” Liang Shu ordered, “Raise your head.”

It was fine before, but now that he had met First Young Master Liu, was it okay to be intimate with such a face? Even if His Royal Highness Xiao Wang could watch the collapse of Mount Tai without a change of expression, he was very frightened now, so he forcibly removed the disguise. Holding a cool cheek in his palm, he bowed his head to take a kiss, but Liu Xian’an had already stood up.

“Your Highness.” Liu Xianche stood at the door. “Is it convenient for me to come in?”

He was holding a jar of ointment in his hand, clearly here to apply medicine for his younger brother. Liu Xian’an hid his hand behind his back. Liu Xianche caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, and his brow furrowed slightly. What are you hiding?

However, Liu Xian’an felt that it was normal for him to hide, because His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s bandaging technique was as rough as the wind in the Northwest military camp, not refined at all, worse than the fire-burning boy in Baihe Mountain Village. Da-ge definitely wouldn’t like it, so he must hide it.

Liang Shu let Liu Xianche in. He sent someone to make tea and asked: “When does First Young Master Liu plan to leave for Garrison City?”

Liu Xianche replied: “Tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning?” Liang Shu said, “Tomorrow morning is New Year’s Eve, shouldn’t First Young Master Liu stay and have a reunion dinner with Xiao An?”

Liu Xianche shook his head: “A meal can be eaten at any time, but treating patients is important.” What’s more, it was the commander of the Southwest garrison who was ill this time, a person who held an important position and shouldered heavy responsibilities. He continued: “Along the way, I also heard of a lot of disasters perpetrated by the Baifu Sect. They are a group of complete lunatics.” To what extent did the madness go? It was said among the believers that there was an order from the Holy Maiden, saying that Ku You was the commander of the evil gods, and every part of his body, from eyes to ears to hands, should be burned in flames. Whoever could manage it would be given a reward of ten thousand taels.

At such a time, if Ku You happened to go blind, wouldn’t this open the door to those evil people making up stories? Liu Xian’an had diagnosed Ku You and knew that his gold blindness was very serious, and he should really be seen and treated as soon as possible, so he didn’t plan to keep him. But because he needed to continue to stay here and pretend to be Da-ge, so as to lure the target into the net, he said: “Da-ge can easily become an ordinary merchant. I have learned a new set of techniques for making human skin masks, and I am very proficient.”

The lazy brother who could lie down but never sit now looked like an entirely different person, who knew one thing and then another, talked a lot, and was very lively. Liu Xianche was very gratified on account of this change, and at the same time, his gratification was mixed with confusion about the past twenty years, along with a hint of guilt stemming from negligence.

He had always been a serious and reticent person, but now he had a lot to say to his younger brother, so he folded his hands and said politely: “Your Highness, if there is nothing else, I have some family matters to speak with Xiao An about.”

Liang Shu patted Liu Xian’an on the back: “I’ll be right in the courtyard.”

The implication was, if your elder brother wants to beat you again, don’t be foolish, remember to call me.

Liu Xianche saw this, and didn’t expect that the relationship between his little brother and His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was already so close. However, there were so many things that he hadn’t expected at the moment that this one was not at the top of the list, so there was no need to ask about it first. After sitting down, he took a look at Liu Xian’an’s hand and, sure enough, frowned in dissatisfaction. He unwound the bandage three times, five times, and another two, then replaced it with a lighter and more flexible bandage: “Does it still hurt?”

Liu Xian’an said: “A little bit.”

“Father doesn’t know that you have medical skills?”

“He doesn’t.” Liu Xian’an lay on the table and stretched out his hand. “I specifically didn’t tell him, because he wouldn’t believe me if I did.”

He was just stating the facts, but Liu Xianche heard this and sighed: “It’s because we were too strict and didn’t take enough time for you.”

Liu Xian’an answered quite openly, ah, it’s okay, my dao is different.

Liu Xianche tied the bandage tightly: “What is your dao?”

Liu Xian’an replied, respecting the Heavenly Dao by doing nothing.

“What about mine?”

“Tiring humanitarianism.”

The daos of heaven and humanity were far removed from one another. Second Young Master Liu was very open-minded in this regard. After all, everyone’s ideological realm was very different, so there was no need to insist on compatibility. Liu Xianche heard his babbling, and a familiar headache came back again, but he felt at ease for no reason at all. His little brother was still there, and had not been lost on this long journey.

He said: “Since you have medical skills, you can apply medicine yourself in the future and not bother the prince anymore.”

Liu Xian’an gave a perfunctory “Hm.”

“I see that the prince treats you well, and doesn’t seem to be as unkind as the rumors say.” Liu Xianche asked further, “You have been with him for many days. Have you suffered any grievances?”

“None,” Liu Xian’an said. “There are no grievances at all. The prince took care of my food and clothing during the journey, and even gave me a lot of things. There are cloaks, quilts, teapots and bowls, and the cushion that Da-ge is sitting on right now. They are all from the prince.”

Liu Xianche was extremely baffled. He had been given some strange things, but because they truly sounded worthless, he didn’t remind his little brother not to accept gifts at will, and only spoke to him of medical skills.

This method of getting along was very new to both brothers. After all, when they were in Baihe Mountain Village, one was stubborn and lazy when they saw each other, and one avoided the other, so they didn’t have tender memories. But when reuniting after a long absence, all the concerns about family affection were aroused, and they spoke together. It wasn’t until A-Ning called the two of them to eat that they realized it was time to light the lamps.

The dinner table was also very lively. As the New Year approached, the most indispensable things in any household were good tea and food. This night could somewhat be counted as New Year’s Eve. The hot and sour fish soup was bubbling on the stove. Liu Xian’an was still bandaged, making it difficult to eat, so A-Ning picked out fish bones for him and Liu Xianche carefully picked out the ribs with a small silver knife, but neither of the two moved as quickly as His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. This end was still busy, but on the other end, a small mountain had already piled up in the bowl of Second Young Master Liu.

“I don’t want to eat it.”

“Eat, even if you don’t like it, just take a bite.”

“……”

Liu Xian’an reluctantly took a bite of duck. Liu Xianche glanced the first time without paying attention, but when he glanced again, he found that half of the bitten duck leg had been transferred to His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s bowl at some point. He was very astonished at first, but seeing that the expressions of the two were very comfortable, he thought to himself, could it be that I was delusional just now?

However, in the following moments, Liu Xian’an did not pause. He wanted to eat this, but didn’t want to eat that. A-Ning was busy, and His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was also busy.

This meal caused First Young Master Liu to have a bit of indigestion, and he walked in the courtyard for a long time after eating. A-Ning leaned on the window and watched him for a while, then turned around and asked anxiously: “Young Master, you can’t stay with the prince tonight, can you?”

In fact, Liu Xian’an actually thought it was fine. It was fine because his elder brother would find out sooner or later, and he didn’t care either way. A-Ning’s face wrinkled up when he heard this. No, this is really not good. Young Master, let’s be more well-behaved tonight, otherwise it may not be as simple as getting beaten.

However, Second Young Master Liu was not allowed to run around, because before going to sleep, First Young Master Liu came to knock on the door with a pillow in his arms, as if he wanted to have a long talk with his brother all night. Liu Xian’an yawned continuously, sitting cross-legged under the quilt. He was extremely drowsy and wanted to sleep. Liu Xianche reclined to the side, but didn’t put out the lights, and only said: “Was the duck leg tasty tonight?”

Liu Xian’an said: “It wasn’t tasty, it was dry and woody.”

Liu Xianche clenched his fists and tried not to let his expression change, saying calmly: “Since it wasn’t tasty, why give it to the prince?”

“I didn’t give it to him.” Liu Xian’an fell back on the bed and pulled the quilt over his head, replying in a daze: “The prince took it himself.”

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Chapter Eighty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Four