“Ku You” was unconscious and looked like he would be lying down for a while. Liu Xian’an carefully examined his face, but could not find any trace of a disguise. He opened his eyelids and looked at his eyes, which were also a light gold like splashes of ink. Astonished, he rubbed his thumbs behind the other’s ears again but still couldn’t find it.

Gao Lin stood beside the bed with his hands folded, trying to come up with some kind of hypothesis. Since this person’s facial features resembled Ku You’s and his eyes looked like Ku You’s, was there a possibility that he was actually Ku You? 

Liu Xian’an also asked: “How did the prince conclude that he is a fake?”

Liang Shu shook off his gloves: “He deliberately pretended to be confused, as if his brain was muddled by torture. And I don’t know where he learned his Northwest accent when he opened his mouth, because it is far different from Ku You’s.”

Cheng Suyue burst out laughing, pfft, and Gao Lin sighed with emotion. He didn’t expect that such an honest man would have such ideas. In the early years, when Ku You was just an ordinary minor commander in the northwest, he was often sent by his superiors to surrounding villages to buy local products with soldiers and carts, then sell them uniformly to traders—there was no other way. The national treasury was tight, and the local army could only find its own way. Over time, Ku You had developed two major skills. One was bargaining, and the other was the Northwest dialect. Not only could he understand it, but he could also speak it fluently.

Liu Xian’an said: “So Commander Ku never used his actual voice from the moment he was kidnapped?”

“It’s not necessarily that he never used it at all. At least in the beginning, he still said a few words to the fake Gao Lin. But at that time, the other party was eager to lead him out of the camp. He knew that talking too much would lead to mistakes, and he needed to hold it in until the end, so the conversation between them likely didn’t exceed five sentences, just over a hundred words. If Ku You decided to do it later on, he would still be able to hide his accent.”

“There are some traces of the disguise here. The bonding points are thinner and more invisible than a cow hair.” Liu Xian’an was holding a crystal-polished lens inlaid with gold in his hand. It was originally a toy given to him by Liang Shu when he was bored. Now, he just used it to enlarge the counterfeit goods and examine them.

Liu Nanyuan also stepped forward, and her eyes were dazzled by what she saw. Then she found the wiring and stood up, saying in disbelief: “A human skin mask can be made so lifelike, and there is even a way to change the color of the pupils. Even our Baihe Mountain Village cannot do these two things.”

“It cannot be done because Baihe Mountain Village does not follow evil ways,” Liu Xian’an said. “If one implants Gu insects into their eyes, let alone golden eyes, even rainbow-colored eyes are possible. But the skill of this disguise is very good. After he wakes up, you can ask him carefully.”

“But I don’t think he’ll wake up for a while.” Liu Nanyuan tested the other party’s pulse. “He was probably afraid of being discovered by us, so he took drugs that would disrupt his pulse in advance, trying to create the illusion of being tortured. This person can be regarded as losing his life’s savings, and he paid with his own body.”

That was why Liang Shu kneed him so hard in the kidneys that he lost his breath and fell unconscious. Liu Xian’an told his sister: “Then you should wake him up as soon as possible.”

Liu Nanyuan asked in confusion: “Why don’t you treat him?”

“Because he is not difficult to treat.” Since he was not difficult to treat, it was not necessary for Second Young Master Liu to personally go into battle. 

Before Liu Nanyuan could open her mouth, Liang Shu had already said: “Then Third Young Lady Liu can do it. I will take Xiao An back to rest first. He has been feeling tired and low of energy recently.”

Everyone at the scene fell silent, mainly because they truly had nothing to say about this blatant favoritism. Liu Nanyuan looked at her lazy Er-ge and felt worry in her heart that was very similar to that of her parents. He was already immobile enough, but now he had someone to support him. In the future, would he not have to eat on his own, but lie down and be fed by a maid?

But in fact, it was not as dramatic as his sister thought. At least, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would never let others feed the Sleeping Immortal.

After the two left, Gao Lin said: “Third Young Lady Liu, there’s no need to be so surprised. To be honest, we’re all used to it.”

Liu Nanyuan glanced at Cheng Suyue.

Cheng-guniang also nodded and said truthfully: “It’s not like there isn’t something more dramatic than this. Once, Second Young Master Liu just climbed an extra section of the mountain himself and coughed twice from exhaustion. The prince’s attitude at that time made it sound like he was going to split the mountain in two, and some people believed him.”

Liu Nanyuan: “……”

So Da-ge had been witnessing the extravagant treatment of Er-ge as if he was a concubine, which was thousands of li away from the Liu family’s rule of being diligent, thrifty, and putting others before oneself. How on earth had he resisted taking out the red sandalwood ruler?

Impressive, impressive.

Liu Xian’an said as he walked: “I walked a lot today.”

“Where did you go?” Liang Shu was puzzled. “Weren’t you waiting for me to come back to the room?”

“I waited but couldn’t sit still, so I kept walking back and forth in the courtyard.” Liu Xian’an patted his knees. “I didn’t feel it before, but now it’s starting to hurt.”

Liang Shu thought about the scene of him wandering around the courtyard like a spinning top, and thought it was quite cute. He smiled and said: “Then I’ll carry you.”

This was what Liu Xian’an was waiting for. He put one arm around Liang Shu’s neck and said: “I once saw a windwheel cart in my dreams. People can sit in it and move forward without relying on cattle or horses.”

“If it doesn’t use animals, then what does it rely on? Just the wind?”

“It also might be something else.” Liu Xian’an didn’t bother to explain. “Anyway, it went very fast.”

So Liang Shu carried him and also went very fast. Liu Xian’an was shaken up and laughed, patting him on the shoulder as he said: “The prince hasn’t said anything about what happened when you went into the dense forest today for the exchange. Did it go well?”

“It went well. Everything happened as planned, and all the gold, silver, and jewelry have been dumped into the lake. The other party sent a young woman. Judging from her figure, she should be the one who pretended to be a village girl and wanted to marry Gao Lin at the old woman’s birthday party that day. She also had a bit of a Nanyang accent when she spoke, and should be from the same place as the imposter lying in bed at this moment.”

“And the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe?”

“Following the woman.” Liang Shu said, “The miasma will not hinder them. Hopefully, good news can be sent back soon.”

The two of them walked all the way to their residence. When the soldiers along the way saw this intimate scene, they quickly looked to both sides and at each other. Liu Xian’an didn’t think it was a big deal, because immortals were all very dissolute. Liang Shu opened the door sideways and leaned his face toward him: “You can still be a little more dissolute.”

Liu Xian’an pinched his face and jumped to the ground: “Where are the two Gu worms? Take them out and let me look.”

Liang Shu smiled and handed over the porcelain bottle: “They weren’t moving at the time, and I don’t know if they are alive or dead. Be careful.”

Liu Xian’an shook the bottle twice, and a click click sound came from the collision of hard shells. The things inside were still alive. He took out a large silver plate and a transparent ice crystal cover, poured out the Gu insects, and fastened them in. Ping, ping, ping, the hard black insects collided with the ice crystal again and again, leaving powdery black traces one after another.

Liang Shu was disgusted: “What kind of insect is this?”

“Soul-numbing Gu,” Liu Xian’an said. “Even if the powder only touches the skin, it will quickly penetrate into the blood and flow to the heart. Within a month, symptoms will range from half-body paralysis, loss of self-awareness, and death. If one is pricked by this sharp thorn, it will be even more difficult to treat. However, although this Gu is very poisonous, it is delicate and difficult to maintain, and has extremely high environmental requirements. Only the Baifu Sect, who live in the forest miasma, have the conditions to let them grow strong.”

“No wonder he took these things out right away. If they could bite me, they could make a profit with very little investment.” Liang Shu asked, “Can you find a way to maintain them?”

“I can try feeding them some poisonous mushrooms, but it may take hundreds of soldiers to find food for them.” Liu Xian’an sealed the ice crystal cover. “But let’s talk about it first. I have only read about them in books, and I have no experience. If I feed them to death, they’ll just die.”

You absolutely must not seek compensation from me.

. . . . . . .

The woman in red flew like a wild sparrow into a ring of green trees on the mountainside.

The people of the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe followed closely behind. They were dressed in yellow and emerald green clothes, and practically blended into the mountains. They bypassed the guards unnoticed, and a young man said upon looking at the large undulating tile-roofed farmhouses that suddenly appeared in front of them: “If I were to start a cult, I would at least have a black and red hall tens of zhang high, and more than a dozen raging fires burning with drag chains, with ghosts and wolves howling everywhere.”

The woman slapped his face: “I’ve told you so many times not to listen to the ghost stories about Second Young Master Liu flying through the clouds and mist. If you really have nothing to do, you can learn more from First Young Master Liu.”

The young man stuck out his tongue: “Then what should we do now?”

“You just stay here and don’t move. I’ll go find Commander Ku first.” Another man stood up. “This place is really big though, so it will probably take some time.”

The young man looked out through the trees and said: “Although it is big, there are not many people.”

“The evil cult relies on the weakness of people’s hearts to win over believers, so force is the least important.” The woman said, “They don’t need too many people, but those ones are more difficult to deal with than thousands of troops.”

The man’s back quickly disappeared.

Feng Xiaojin looked at the silver-haired man in front of him and said: “A-Le seems to truly be in love with you, but you can’t marry her or even pretend to make her happy.”

“She fell in love with me just because she hasn’t met many normal men,” Ku You said. “Young Master Feng should understand better than I do how she has spent these ten years. Actually, I also have a question to ask. Since Young Master Feng cares so much about his brother and sister, why did he allow Mu Zhe to train them into a pair of murderous tools ignorant of good or evil?”

“Because this world is inherently upside down. There is no need to bother distinguishing between good and evil. And also because I had no choice.” Feng Xiaojin said, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“In the Dayan military camp, no matter how big or small the matter is, everyone can decide what they want or don’t want. I really don’t understand what ‘no choice’ means,” Ku You said. “But if Young Master Feng is willing to say—”

“I’m not willing to say it, and there is no need for you to hear it.,” Feng Xiaojin interrupted him. “I only have one condition. If you promise me, I will agree to cooperate.”

Ku You asked: “What is it?”

“Marry A-Le so that she can have a husband,” Feng Xiaojin said word by word. “This is my only condition.”

. . . . . . .

The first thing Liu Nanyuan did was to fix the misplaced ribs and the shattered wrist bones of this unfortunate fellow. The injuries were really serious, ah, and she couldn’t help but turn around and ask: “Sister Cheng, wasn’t the prince afraid he might have the wrong person? Even if the way he spoke was different, if Commander Ku had a cough, or took certain drugs, his voice could have been temporarily changed.”

“Even if there was only a slight abnormality, the prince would not hesitate, because if he hesitated for a moment, the danger would increase dozens or hundreds of times,” Cheng Suyue said. “Although his injuries are serious, he can still be saved, right?”

Liu Nanyuan nodded: “En, it will just be a little troublesome to move, but it’s not life-threatening.”

“Then isn’t this right?” Cheng Suyue said, “Even if the prince’s judgment was wrong and he really was Ku You, it’s nothing more than a few broken bones. There is A-Yuan in the military camp, as well as First Young Master Liu and Second Young Master Liu. Is there any reason to fear that he won’t be healed? So to be on the safe side, it’s better to be economical first.”

Liu Nanyuan: “……Can this kind of thing be economical?”

Cheng Suyue nodded. If we can save time and money, we must save time and money. We’ve been following the prince for so long and have already become accustomed to it.

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Chapter One Hundred Eleven << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Thirteen