Qin Xiao stared at those restless hands for a few seconds, as if attempting to accept reality, before looking up at Chu Jiubian again.

The room was silent.

Bai Lihong blinked his big, round eyes, stared at his uncle and then at Xiansheng, and turned around to run outside.

Right after, a sweet, childish voice sounded from the other room: “Xiao Hong, Xiansheng has woken up. Please serve a meal now.”

From the child’s perspective, it seemed that Xiansheng was sleeping soundly and his uncle had woken him up.

Xiansheng had looked a little angry and grabbed his uncle’s collar.

He feared a fight might break out!

Bai Lihong knew that some people could get a temper when they weren’t fully awake – for example, his mother. If she didn’t get enough sleep, she would be unhappy all day and wouldn’t give anyone face. Only when she ate her favorite pastries would her mood improve.

So good food should be prepared quickly for Xiansheng, and he wouldn’t be angry with Jiujiu any longer.

Even if a fight did break out, he knew that his uncle would give way to Xiansheng.

Xiansheng was frail and was always getting injured, while his uncle was highly-skilled in martial arts and wouldn’t get hurt even if Xiansheng hit him a couple of times.

Of course, it would be better if the two of them didn’t fight. Bai Lihong would try his best to get the meal served quickly.

Inside the room, the stagnant atmosphere was somewhat dispelled by the child’s voice.

Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Seeing that the other party hadn’t given much of a reaction, Chu Jiubian’s competitive spirit was aroused.

The wicked tendencies hidden within his personality stirred, and his hands resting over the other’s pectorals slowly slid down.

As soon as his fingertips touched firm abdominal muscles, he could clearly feel the man’s body tense up even more.

Chu Jiubian chuckled, only to see Qin Xiao smile as well.

Qin Xiao released his grip on Chu Jiubian’s nose, then grasped his slender wrists to stop them from continuing on their path.

Chu Jiubian could easily pull his wrists out of that gentle grip, but he didn’t move. Instead, his smile deepened, and a hint of delight appeared in his usually indifferent eyes.

“What’s wrong with touching?” he asked. “Are you shy?”

With light force, Qin Xiao pressed the young man’s arms down on his pillow.

Then he pressed one knee down between the other’s legs and leaned over him. In an instant, the gap between them was shortened to an ambiguous, yet non-offensive distance.

“What is your identity now, Young Master?” the man asked in a deep voice.

Chu Jiubian retorted: “What do you think?”

“In short, not a god.”

“You still don’t believe me?” Chu Jiubian asked, somewhat surprised.

He’d thought that once he took out the iron wok, the other party was already 80% convinced. And with those few gunshots that shocked the entire capital, he’d thought he believed him completely.

But now it looked like Qin Xiao still didn’t believe him.

Qin Xiao softly stroked the skin on the insides of his wrists with his fingertips, saying meaningfully: “Under such circumstances, how can this lord believe you?”

Chu Jiubian turned his head to look at his left wrist, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

“Believe me or don’t.” He pushed Qin Xiao away and sat up, walking out without looking back.

The young man’s tall, slender figure vanished behind the screen.

Qin Xiao gazed at the ink wash landscape painting on the screen, rubbing his fingertips together.

The sensation against his hand didn’t lie. He had clearly felt several rough scars on the inside of the young man’s left wrist.

Qin Xiao was not a scholar. He naturally knew which parts of the body could be fatally injured.

Besides the heart, throat, and other well-known organs, there were also the thighs and wrists.

He recalled what he’d seen last time –  the bloodstains on Chu Jiubian’s inner garments and the fleeting glimpse of intersecting scars.

If he was a god, why would he have so many scars?

Had he sustained those injuries before becoming a god?

What had Chu Jiubian experienced before that?

Chu Jiubian went to the outer room, a hint of solemnity in his light-hued eyes.

These injuries had been with him for so many years, new ones covering the old, that he had gotten used to them.

He even instinctively felt that this was a very normal thing, and to avoid picking at the scars, he always deliberately ignored them.

His agent had suggested surgery multiple times, but he refused each time, preferring to add a requirement that he not be forced to show skin rather than capitulating.

It wasn’t until just now, when Qin Xiao questioned his divine status due to the scars on his wrist, that he suddenly recognized them as a huge vulnerability.

No one could dictate what gods should be like, but in the eyes of the public, gods should be noble and aloof, looking down on all living beings from on high.

That was why Chu Jiubian’s identity as a “god” was previously so hard to accept in the capital.

Because people felt that a god shouldn’t descend to earth, or rather, shouldn’t appear amongst them as a tangible “person.”

Of course, immortals could have experiences before becoming gods and leave behind works such as “The Hard Road.” But after ascending, they should no longer have such lamentations and reflections, and certainly should not have scars all over their bodies.

Chu Jiubian habitually picked at the scars on his wrist a couple of times before stopping abruptly.

“System, is there any medicine that can remove scars?” he asked inwardly.

[Thirteen scar removal remedies have been located for Host. Given the large amount of scarring on Host’s body and their varied ages, it is recommended to use the third scar removal cream. It works the fastest, and will make all of the scars on Host’s body disappear within a month, as if he has been reborn. Only 13 Faith Points are required.]

Chu Jiubian didn’t even blink: “I’ll buy it.” This was a necessary investment.

The medicine was placed into the System’s inventory, and Chu Jiubian’s tense nerves relaxed.

Wasn’t Qin Xiao concerned about his scars?

Then once the scars were gone, he would show Qin Xiao smooth skin worthy of a god!

“Xiansheng.” Bai Lihong peeked into the outer room and said cutely: “It’s time to eat.”

Chu Jiubian raised his eyebrows.

He felt that the child was acting a little timid, and seemed even more well-behaved than before.

Just as he walked over, intending to ask if something had happened, the child seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and become spirited again.

Chu Jiubian: “ ? ”

Bai Lihong had initially worried that Xiansheng would be angry, and was relieved that he wasn’t.

When his mother got angry before, he didn’t dare speak much and had to behave even more obediently.

Then his mother, amused by his cautiousness, would hug and kiss him affectionately.

At the thought of this, the child’s expression turned lost.

But it only lasted a moment before he collected himself again.

His mother said he should be brave and strong. He could do it!

Seeing the child’s expression alternate between happy and sad, Chu Jiubian guessed that he was probably missing his mother again.

He bought a bag of fruit candies suitable for children from the System. Then he chose an apple-flavored one, removed the wrapper, and magically produced it before placing it in the child’s palm: “Xiansheng brought this candy from the immortal realm. Have a taste, Your Majesty.”

Bai Lihong raised his little hand to sniff the round candy in his palm, and his eyes lit up: “It smells good, ah. Sweet.”

No child disliked sweets. Not even an emperor.

The child glanced behind Chu Jiubian and said: “Jiujiu, the candy Xiansheng gave me smells so good! Can I eat it?”

Qin Xiao kept a close eye on him, and didn’t let him eat many sweets.

Chu Jiubian turned and saw that the man had come out, so he reached out and took the candy from the child’s hand.

It was a hard candy. He took out a clean handkerchief, wrapped the candy in it, then went to the table and smashed the candy with a vase.

Bai Lihong clasped his little hands to his chest, staring blankly as his Xiansheng performed this series of actions. The candy was then returned to his palm.

Unlike before, the candy was now spread across the handkerchief in many small pieces, one of which Xiansheng ate.

Xiansheng also wanted candy?

Bai Lihong blinked his clear, innocent eyes, looking curiously at him, and then at his uncle.

When Qin Xiao witnessed this scene the moment he came to the outer room, he immediately knew what Chu Jiubian was doing.

He was telling Qin Xiao that the candy wasn’t poisoned.

“You can eat the candy after finishing your meal,” Qin Xiao told Bai Lihong.

Bai Lihong readily agreed, and carefully stowed the handkerchief in his pocket.

Qin Xiao glanced at Chu Jiubian’s expression again, but could glean nothing from it, leaving him a little unsure.

Chu Jiubian really didn’t have any other thoughts on the matter. He felt that it was right for Qin Xiao to be cautious.

If someone else suddenly appeared and offered Bai Lihong food or drink, Chu Jiubian would be suspicious too.

However, he wouldn’t behave like Qin Xiao – he would just have the System scan it.

He treated all of this as a matter of course, not noticing the unnatural expression on Qin Xiao’s face.

The three of them sat down at the dining table.

Today’s meal had been prepared by Matron Zhong and her apprentices in the Imperial Kitchens. Knowing that Qin Xiao and Bai Lihong would be dining at Yaotai Residence, they’d had it delivered here.

The cooks in Yaotai Residence’s small kitchen were also using iron woks for cooking now, and although they weren’t as skilled as Matron Zhong, they could still make quite a few dishes.

Chu Jiubian had been eating at Yangxin Hall recently, so the cooks’ skills had been used more to feed Xiao Xiangzi and the others.

The three of them usually chatted during meals, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

But today, nobody spoke.

Bai Lihong just proceeded to eat his food in silence with no need for someone to wait on him. This was a kid who loved to eat.

However, his mind was entirely set on that sweet candy, and even the stir-fry in his mouth was unable to distract him.

Chu Jiubian felt that he had lost his composure in front of Qin Xiao just now.

That phrase “believe me or don’t” made it sound like he was angry out of embarrassment.

He needed to calm down right now, adopt his usual persona of having everything under control, and try to make Qin Xiao forget what had happened in the inner room as soon as possible.

Qin Xiao remained silent, but his gaze swept continuously over Chu Jiubian’s face.

He couldn’t tell what was on his mind.

After finishing half a bowl of food, Bai Lihong rinsed his mouth and asked Eunuch Hong to help clean his face and hands, then looked at Qin Xiao with beseeching eyes.

“Eat up,” Qin Xiao said.

At once, Bai Lihong beamed with joy and took the handkerchief from his bosom. He spread it out, then picked up a smaller fragment and placed it in his mouth.

The rich flavor of green apples flowed over his taste buds, and his face brightened in delight.

Such a little kid making such a face was as cute as a furry little animal.

Chu Jiubian couldn’t help but smile, and Qin Xiao was also amused.

“Is it really that tasty?” he asked.

Bai Lihong nodded repeatedly and handed the handkerchief to him, saying: “Jiujiu, have some. It’s so sweet!”

Qin Xiao actually reached out and took the biggest piece, then put it in his mouth.

Bai Lihong: “ ? ! ”

He stared at his uncle in disbelief, then at the small fragments of candy left in his hand, unable to accept reality.

That was the biggest piece!

He couldn’t bear to eat it, but Jiujiu did!

Qin Xiao swirled the candy around in his mouth with the tip of his tongue, savoring its rich sweetness. “It is indeed very sweet,” he said.

Bai Lihong gave a heavy “hmph,” then wrapped the handkerchief up and stuffed it in his pocket. His little mouth was pursed in a pout, and he muttered something indistinctly that sounded like: “Jiujiu is so greedy.”

Chu Jiubian’s expression turned strange.

Could it be that this uncle and nephew would have a falling-out over something so trivial?

But it also couldn’t be called a trivial matter.

At this point, Qin Xiao snatching the child’s candy might seem insignificant, but as he continued to snatch more and more things, the conflict would naturally escalate.

He loved this child.

Chu Jiubian could tell that Qin Xiao was genuinely concerned for him and worried about him eating too much candy and getting tooth decay.

It was also true that this child was all he had left of his sister. How could he not cherish him?

Even if the child grew up and was no longer in his camp in the future, Qin Xiao might not necessarily do anything to him.

Bai Lihong didn’t seem like an ungrateful child, and there were no treacherous servants around him. With Hong Fu’s abilities and emotional intelligence, he would never want to see the two turn against each other, and would definitely attempt to mediate in any way he could.

And even without Hong Fu stepping in, Bai Lihong depended on and admired Qin Xiao, and he probably wouldn’t consider his uncle an enemy.

So why had these two fought so fiercely in the original story?

Was it really true that power could completely distort a person?

The thought suddenly occurred to Chu Jiubian that he was bound to this world for the rest of his life. So when the young emperor grew up, would Chu Jiubian also become someone he feared?

And what about Qin Xiao? Would he also turn against him for power and profit?

If they were destined to have a falling-out in the future, shouldn’t he adjust his attitude now and return to a “cooperative” state of estrangement between them?

It seemed that they had all crossed certain lines.

“Xiansheng, are you okay?”

Chu Jiubian looked down and met the child’s worried eyes. A small hand clutched his fingers.

He smiled faintly and squeezed the child’s chubby little hand: “Good child. Xiansheng still has plenty of candy here, enough for you to eat until you’re seventy or eighty.”

“Wow!” Bai Lihong exclaimed. “Then I can keep asking Xiansheng for candy?”

“Of course you can.”

“Thank you, Xiansheng! Xiansheng is so kind to Miaomiao!”

Qin Xiao nudged the child’s shoulder and said: “Be careful not to rot your teeth.”

He’d eaten the biggest piece for fear that eating so much candy at once would give the boy the confidence to eat candy for the rest of his life.

“I know, I won’t eat it every day.” The child smiled sweetly.

Eunuch Hong, who had been observing with a smile, said when he heard this: “Rest assured, My Lord. This servant will keep a close eye on His Majesty.”

Bai Lihong quickly nodded: “Yes, Hong-gonggong will hold me accountable.”

“Then this lord can rest assured.” Qin Xiao stood up and patted Hong Fu on the shoulder.

Hong Fu and Bai Lihong left Yaotai Residence first, intending to walk a little farther so that the child could digest his food and take a nap when they returned to Yangxin Hall.

Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao didn’t go out, but instead went to the pavilion in the courtyard.

It had been raining the past few days, and the surroundings were damp. The rush pith that Chu Jiubian had ordered the servants to dry was not drying properly, so the tinderboxes he wanted to make had not been completed.

But today, all of the materials were finally ready.

Chu Jiubian had bought the method for making tinderboxes from the System and mastered it with ease.

The materials had been processed almost completely. The most important part, the “wick,” had been pre-soaked in a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and other substances. All that was left now was the simple assembly.

Xiao Jinzi took some kindling and placed it on the table, then stepped back to stand with the others and watch Chu Jiubian’s technique from a distance.

Qin Xiao sat opposite Chu Jiubian and watched the young man’s slender fingers move deftly, rolling the already unrecognizable rush into a strip and then wrapping it in oilpaper.

Then, he grasped a bamboo tube about the thickness of a thumb and slowly placed the oilpaper-wrapped rush into the tube.

Qin Xiao’s gaze moved downward, from the other’s slightly pink fingertips to the protruding bones of his wrist.

As if on purpose, Chu Jiubian didn’t allow him a glimpse of the scarred underside of his wrist.

Qin Xiao raised his eyes again to meet Chu Jiubian’s seemingly amused gaze.

“Are you looking for this?” Surprisingly, Chu Jiubian openly displayed his wrist.

Qin Xiao was taken aback, and when he looked down, he saw the messy, crisscrossing old scars.

One layered overtop the next, there were at least five or six of them.

And looking at the trajectory of the cuts, it even seemed like…..

Qin Xiao frowned slightly.

Chu Jiubian had inflicted these injuries on himself.

Chu Jiubian flipped his wrist back over and used the bamboo tube filled with rush pith to collect some fire from the charcoal brazier beside him.

Once it was lit, he put a lid on the bamboo tube.

“The path to godhood is never smooth sailing.” Chu Jiubian looked up at Qin Xiao, his expression nonchalant. “One must die before they have a chance to become a god.”

Qin Xiao gave him a deep look, but didn’t reply. Instead, he looked down at the bamboo tube in the other’s hand and asked: “What is this called?”

“A tinderbox.”

“What is it used for?”

Chu Jiubian removed the cap from the bamboo tube and raised it to his lips: “Blow on it.”

Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow and blew into the bamboo tube.

Then, he saw a fire flare up inside it.

He was startled.

Xiao Xiangzi and the others on the sidelines were so shocked that they were unable to close their mouths. If Qin Xiao hadn’t been there, they would have definitely crowded around Chu Jiubian and made a big commotion, asking how it worked.

But presently, they all stood there wide-eyed and dared not say a word.

Chu Jiubian put the lid back on and handed the tinderbox to Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao took it. He expected it to be hot due to the fire contained inside, but it wasn’t.

He opened the lid to find faint, flickering flames in the middle of the tube. He blew on them, and flames suddenly flared.

This thing could actually preserve fire!

Qin Xiao’s heart began to race. This feeling was similar to when he first saw the blocks of ice.

He tried twice more, and each time, the tinderbox lit up easily and promptly.

Compared to using a flint to start a fire, this tinderbox was clearly more convenient.

Indeed, it was another good thing.

“How long can the fire be preserved?” He looked at Chu Jiubian with a deep gaze.

If it could be preserved for a longer period of time, its uses could be vast. The palace servants standing nearby were taken aback.

Ah?

Could this tinderbox work indefinitely?

Chu Jiubian knew Qin Xiao was intelligent, so he wasn’t surprised that he would ask such a crucial question. He replied: “From the first lighting, it will last about three hours at minimum. If stored without being ignited, it will last for a month without any problems.”

Their product was made with high-quality materials, and after ignition, it could actually last five to six hours, or even longer.

It would actually be better to use sweet potato vines, but Great Ning didn’t have sweet potatoes yet.

However, the usefulness of a tinderbox was calculated from the first time it was lit by an external object.

If it wasn’t ignited, it could be stored for a month or even several months without any problems.

In other words, if a person carried two tinderboxes and ignited the other before the first one went out, they could keep the fire burning for over ten hours.

The tinderbox was so portable that you could easily carry eight to ten of them while traveling.

In situations like field warfare and burning down enemy camps, this thing could serve a purpose far exceeding its intrinsic value.

The flickering firelight reflected in Qin Xiao’s eyes.

A few breaths later, he closed the lid and turned his head to look at Xiao Xiangzi and the others. Xiao Xiangzi immediately stepped forward to take the tinderbox.

“Have you learned how to make it?” Qin Xiao asked.

“Answering My Lord, this servant has.”

“Go and have some people make more. There is no need to light them.”

The tinderbox was consumed once it was lit, so the safest and most appropriate way to preserve them was to keep them unlit.

“You may all leave,” Qin Xiao said.

“Yes.” Xiao Xiangzi immediately led the palace servants away from the main courtyard.

Once they were out of sight, the group couldn’t wait any longer and urged Xiao Xiangzi to light the tinderbox.

Upon opening the lid, the tinder was indeed extinguished.

Xiao Xiangzi blew a nervous breath, and a flame instantly appeared.

“Good heavens! It actually caught fire!”

“This tinderbox truly lives up to its reputation as a divine artifact, it’s much easier to use than flint!”

“Right, if we all carry these on us from now on, it’ll be much more convenient for us to light lamps for our Young Master when he gets up in the middle of the night.”

“That’s right, our Young Master is the best!”

Xiao Yinzi gave a thumbs up.

“Our Young Master is an immortal, of course he’s amazing.” Xiao Xiangzi raised his chin high. “Alright, let’s hurry up and send a message to tell everyone to prepare materials and make more as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

The crowd dispersed.

Inside the courtyard, only Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao remained.

There were still some leftover materials on the table, so Qin Xiao picked them up and started to create a tinderbox himself.

Chu Jiubian, having nothing else to do, joined him.

It hadn’t rained today, but the sky was a bit overcast, and an intermittent breeze made it cooler than the day before.

“News just came from Nanjiang. Their food supplies are nearly depleted,” Qin Xiao said casually. “And news from Guizhou and Guangxi arrived a couple of days ago. Their granaries are almost empty, and they’ve requested that the court provide them with emergency relief.”

Before he even received any memorials from Guizhou and Guangxi, he had already sent a letter to Wei Yi, the governor-general of Southern Zhili, wherein he instructed him to send some grain to those regions. He also instructed him to send trusted confidants to keep an eye on the situation in order to prevent the prefectural governments from exploiting the common people again and cutting off their livelihoods.

He could temporarily ignore the fiefdoms of the other princes, as they all had some grain reserves. Especially Huguang-wang, whose multitude of granaries could not possibly be empty.

Pingxi-wang was in no hurry to submit a memorial. He would likely only submit his memorial after seeing Huguang-wang submit his own, and also to test Qin Xiao’s attitude toward the different vassal kings.

Qin Xiao wasn’t entirely clear on the situation in Nanjiang, but he surmised that they shared similar thoughts to Pingxi-wang. He could set aside these three vassal kings for the time being.

However, Guizhou and Guangxi were under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court. If they didn’t take action, the common people of those two places would have no way to survive.

Chu Jiubian gave Qin Xiao a look.

The other party was urging him to find a solution to the drought.

Judging from the current situation, Qin Xiao should have also ordered Northern Zhili to send grain to those two areas in the original novel, but with so many people and refugees there, the grain from Northern Zhili was probably just a drop in the bucket.

Moreover, the journey from Northern Zhili would inevitably pass through the Huguang region, and Huguang-wang Bai Liyue, who constantly bewailed his poverty, would surely try his best to take some grain for himself, which would only make matters worse.

“If I don’t have a method, what do you plan to do next?” Chu Jiubian asked curiously.

Qin Xiao lit the tinderbox he had made and put on the lid.

Then he turned to Chu Jiubian and said leisurely: “How many days has it been since you last saw Qin Lei?”

Chu Jiubian was taken aback.

Only then did he realize that he hadn’t seen Qin Chaoyang in three to four days.

He understood at once, saying: “You sent him to Huguang.”

The Huguang region was also suffering from the disaster. Even without Huguang-wang sending people to spread the news, the common people along the way would definitely have their eyes on the grain convoy with such a large amount of grain entering the territory.

As the number of refugees increased, even with soldiers guarding the grain convoy, trouble was bound to arise.

Qin Chaoyang had gone to Huguang, and he certainly hadn’t gone alone.

Moreover, he hadn’t just gone to meet the delivery team; he must have spread other rumors before the grain arrived, or perhaps directly infiltrated the refugees and set people up as their leaders, then led them to other granaries in various regions of Hubei and Hunan to collect grain.

The granaries in Hubei and Hunan were all full.

If one granary was successfully opened, the refugees would swarm in and break through the other granaries as well.

It was a brilliant plan.

But it required someone like Qin Chaoyang to carry it out.

Qin Xiao didn’t even need to mention the details. He only mentioned that Qin Chaoyang wasn’t here, and Chu Jiubian immediately understood everything.

Qin Xiao chuckled softly as he watched the thoughtful expression on the other’s face: “It seems I also enjoy talking to intelligent people.”

Chu Jiubian raised an eyebrow: “Then congratulations. The person you like talking to stands over the entire Imperial Court.”

“…..I don’t like it anymore,” Qin Xiao said.

Chu Jiubian just smiled.

He paused for a moment before continuing: “After all this turmoil, the people of Huguang will likely have suffered considerable losses.”

Qin Xiao looked him directly in the eye and asked: “So, Young Master, can these people be saved?”

“There should be new information coming from Nanjiang soon.” Chu Jiubian’s gaze didn’t waver.

Qin Xiao’s eyes flickered slightly: “Then I will await the good news.”

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34