The quilt was bathed in light, and the winter sun was warm but not glaring, falling on the large expanse of the soft bed. Such a morning was very suitable for lovers to lie in bed together. Because everyone was busy until midnight the previous night, now no one dared to disturb His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. Even A-Ning next door was still sleeping in, and the entire back courtyard of the government office was quiet.

The floral scent between the bed curtains was fragrant, the atmosphere beautiful. The lovely forty-eight thousand year old Sleeping Immortal suddenly felt a bit parched. Liang Shu got up and poured him a cup of thirst-quenching sour plum and tangerine peel tea. Second Young Master Liu frowned after drinking so much. He barely drank half a cup, but the sourness didn’t wake him up, so he yawned and got back under the covers.

Liang Shu drank the remaining half cup of tea, then lifted the quilt and got back into bed, embracing him from behind……he still refused to stop, and caressed his calloused hands all the way up the other’s waistline. The sleeping clothes were soft, and fell apart after a few strokes. He thought they were a hindrance, so he simply peeled them off bit by bit.

So Second Young Master Liu, who was lying leisurely in the clouds of the Three Thousand Worlds, had to get up and bid farewell to the sages. I still have something to do, so I’ll go out first. After speaking, he covered up and fled as if being chased by dogs, in a rare hurry! The white crane submerged into the clouds with the immortal in fluttering robes, and the cool mist and rain fell onto his face one after another, wetting his skin. Liu Xian’an opened his eyes and stretched out his hand to block it, but Liang Shu held his wrist with a smile and pressed it back onto the pillow, leaning their foreheads together: “What, you won’t keep sleeping?”

Having spoken, he didn’t intend to wait for an answer, but lowered his head and bit those lips that still carried a trace of green plum flavor. Liu Xian’an didn’t have the slightest room to resist. The difference in strength between them was truly great, so he just vaguely thought that the hot spring in his dreams was not as good as this.

Because A-Ning had not brought him books after a long time, Second Young Master Liu’s understanding of this sort of thing was still very superficial, at most a sentence like “the soul was in the clouds”……at this moment, he was indeed to entangled that he didn’t know which cloud he had flown to. Unable to bear it anymore, he put his arms around the other’s neck and called softly, “Your Highness,” but instead of pleading for mercy, he unexpectedly poured oil on the fire.

Liang Shu grasped his waist and gritted his teeth, saying, you’re going to kill me.

Liu Xian’an was very puzzled, who is killing whom now? I am clearly the one being killed.

Liang Shu took his hand, and Liu Xian’an’s fingers seemed to be scorched by fire. The prince raised his eyes to look at the person next to him and asked: “You can’t?”

Second Young Master Liu was about to answer that he really couldn’t, but Liang Shu had already enveloped his hand and said: “I’ll teach you.”

He directly taught an enchanting lesson.

In the afternoon, the sounds of voices and footsteps finally came from the corridor, as well as A-Ning’s footsteps, which were getting closer and closer. He seemed to lie at the door to check for movement, and when he heard noise in the room, he hurriedly stood up straight, but only Liang Shu came out.

“Your Highness.” A-Ning glanced into the room. “My young master……”

“Let him sleep a little longer.” Liang Shu closed the door behind his back. “After an hour, go in and serve him.”

In an hour, it would be dark. A-Ning sighed sadly, the prince was really spoiling the young master! He went to the kitchen to work for a while, calculated that it was almost time, and just as he entered the door with water for washing, Liu Xian’an was already sitting up, moving his sore shoulders.

A few brocade handkerchiefs were thrown on the ground. A-Ning unknowingly leaned over to pick them up, and Liu Xian’an said urgently: “Don’t touch them!”

A-Ning was taken aback: “Why?”

Wrapped in the quilt, Liu Xian’an murmured lightly: “Don’t touch them with your hands, get a broom and sweep them out.”

A-Ning: “…….”

He felt that he should perform his duties as a servant, and said tactfully: “Y-y-young Master, you and the prince……how good this is.”

Liu Xian’an replied, in fact, I won’t miss these things much, otherwise you can go talk to the prince.

A-Ning was dumbfounded: “Ah?”

Liu Xian’an put on his shoes and got out of bed, taking the opportunity to change the subject: “How is the city currently?”

“The whole city is abuzz.” A-Ning put on his clothes for him and opened a window to let air in. “Everyone is talking about the blacksmith’s shop.”

It was more and more mysterious. Originally, even the government officials’ faces told of deep secrets, so didn’t this firmly show that something was wrong with the matter?

“Most of what is said relates to Song-xiansheng,” A-Ning said. “They say that his spirit is forging iron.”

An entire night of clink, clink, clang, clang had made the people in the city dizzy, and when people were not fully awake, they didn’t have time to think and analyze, and could only follow the crowd in a daze. There was a haunting, who wouldn’t be afraid? There were not many people on the streets during the day, and in the evening, there was not even a wild dog, only the northerly wind blowing and rustling the leaves.

Liang Shu said: “I had initially wanted to take you to have a good meal, but now I can’t even find an open restaurant.”

“I’m not hungry.” Liu Xian’an stretched, standing at the end of the empty street. “I used to dream about scenes like this a lot.”

“An empty city?”

“En, an empty city.”

The wind blew and the fallen leaves rustled, and there was only one person in this world, walking alone on a long road that seemed never-ending. Sometimes it rained and sometimes it snowed, but because the people on both sides of the street would not open their doors for that person, he could only continue to move forward against the wind and rain until his shoulders were covered in frost and snow.

“Did you get tired from walking?”

“I just sat on the steps to rest.”

“Why didn’t those white-bearded old men accompany you?”

“Because they all had their own things to do.”

Discussing the dao, retreating into seclusion, drinking and composing poems with friends, dancing with swords by a waterfall. In short, everyone had their own business, and nobody wanted to come walk in an empty city.

Liu Xian’an said: “But every time I got tired from walking, A-Ning always called me back to reality, so this was not a nightmare. It was just a little boring.”

This lonely dream distressed Liang Shu. He held the other’s hand and promised: “I’ll accompany you from now on.”

They were originally heart-pounding words of love, but His Royal Highness Xiao Wang added domineeringly at the end, let’s see who dares not open the door for you.

Liu Xian’an: “…….”

He smiled and clasped the other party’s fingers, saying, okay.

Due to Liang Shu joining him, it seemed that hundreds of dream cities would become lively together, whether they were truly lively or forced to be lively. Anyway, Liu Xian’an liked this sort of change very much, and also looked forward to changing from a lonely traveler to part of the bustling world of mortals.

However, the same deserted Raven City would not be as lively as His Royal Highness Xiao Wang wished any time soon. Almost every house was locked. The two of them couldn’t find a place to eat, so they could only return to the government office and make bowls of rice noodles. After eating, they walked in the courtyard for a while.

The watchman was trembling with fear. Starting from the south of the city, he announced that everything was dry, be careful of fire…..fire……

His voice shook, and he froze in place, watching the flames in the blacksmith’s shop that were about to soar up to the sky again. There was a layer of cold sweat on his back. Why had he come again?

The clink, clink, clank, clank sound of striking iron could be heard again, and the people of the city lamented in their hearts, the one who should come still came. They pulled their quilts up to cover their heads, not daring to make a sound, and only hoped that the government would come forward to solve it quickly. No matter how bad it was, it would be fine if they found a wizard who could exorcize demons. What was with not letting people sleep every night?

Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an remained in the blacksmith’s shop. Song Changsheng said: “This is the first time I have admired the prince’s sword so closely.”

“In Song-xiansheng’s eyes, how does this sword look?”

“It is a peerless sword,” Song Changsheng praised. “Three hundred years in the past and three hundred years in the future, it might be difficult to find such a good, hard piece of black iron. It can be seen that the craftsman put a lot of effort into making the sword, and even I cannot find any faults. It is a pity that there is no name for such a sword.”

“The sword was given to me by Emperor Brother. He didn’t say what the name of the sword was, so I didn’t ask.” Liang Shu smiled. “But as long as it’s long enough and sharp enough to attack and kill the enemy, it doesn’t matter what it is called.” 

Liu Xian’an also took the sword curiously, and it was so heavy that it took him two hands to lift it. Liang Shu held his arms and took him away from the fire, taking the sword back as he said with a frown: “If you want to go back and play, I will let you play slowly. Messing around here, be careful not to get caught in the fire.”

This made the powerful sword that protected the border sound like a toy that could be played with casually. Song Changsheng was a person who had been married, and with just a word and a glance, he could tell the unusual relationship between these two. Half astonished and half envious, he thought of his dead wife. His eyes became hot again, and he hurriedly turned to hide them: “Your Highness, this sword is too heavy. If Second Young Master Liu wants one, I will forge a shorter, lighter one for him.”

“No need.” Before Liu Xian’an could speak, Liang Shu refused on his behalf, saying, “But I do want to ask you for a sword.”

Song Changsheng asked: “What sword does the prince want?”

“A Pojun sword.”

“All right.” Song Changsheng was very straightforward. He nodded in agreement and said: “It is only that I initially wanted to die, so I threw all the swords into the furnace and melted them into a puddle of molten iron. If the prince wants one, I will have to start from scratch, and it will take at least half a month.”

“I’m not in a hurry, take your time.” Liang Shu said, “If you can’t finish it in Raven City, just go to the Northwest Military Camp to continue. You should also take a look at the weapons workshop built in the desert. When all the bellows are pulled at once, it can light up the entire sky. It is not sophisticated, but it is spectacular.”

The number one swordsmith of the Central Plains was not wooed away by the Baifu Sect, but was firmly tied to the Northwest Garrison by Liang Shu. Song Changsheng had no opinion on this either. He considered himself a person who had already died once, and all the rest of his life had been gathered back. He also admired His Royal Highness Xiao Wang and was naturally willing to follow him with all his heart, working together to eradicate the cult and protect the stability of his homeland.

The three of them stayed at the blacksmith’s shop for most of the night. After returning to the manor, A-Ning brought hot water for washing. Liang Shu watched Liu Xian’an wash his face for a moment, and couldn’t help but ask: “Why haven’t you asked me why I want that Pojun sword?”

Liu Xian’an raised his head, rinsed his mouth, and replied: “It is to give to Young Head Escort Chang.”

Liang Shu was taken aback: “You can also calculate this?”

Liu Xian’an wiped his face with a handkerchief and replied in a muffled voice: “It is recorded in the books that a Pojun sword is two foot three in length and two cun in width. It is shorter and wider than ordinary swords, and Chang Xiaoqiu’s sword is just that long and wide.”

Liang Shu: “…….”

It can be calculated that you are very capable.

A-Ning waited for his young master to wash up, and when he picked up the wooden basin to change the water, his eyes were still turning wildly. Liang Shu didn’t understand, and waited until the door was closed to ask: “You master and servant, what kind of charade are you playing?”

“It’s nothing.” Liu Xian’an waved his hand perfunctorily.

Liang Shu refused to give up: “Speak!”

“Ai, it’s really nothing.” Liu Xian’an sat on a small stool to soak his feet. The water was too hot, and his whole body was steaming, his face flushed red.

“Will you say it or not?” Liang Shu crouched down in front of him, reaching out to hold one thin ankle.

Liu Xian’an: “…….”

After a long silence, he exhaled briskly. Your Highness, don’t throw dirty handkerchiefs everywhere.

Liang Shu reacted: “Pfft.”

He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the other’s knee: “What are you saying?”

I didn’t say anything, and I didn’t want to say anything. Liu Xian’an wanted to cover his mouth, but considering that he had just touched his feet with his hands, it wouldn’t be good. So he struggled to move back, warning that if this kind of thing happened too much, it would result in kidney deficiency.

Liang Shu said: “I’m not that weak, you give me a try.”

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Chapter Eighty-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Ninety-One