At night, Liang Shu and Cheng Suyue went back to Chixia City and discussed with Shi Hanhai their future plans.

The secretarial assistant of the government office was named Lu Shou, and he was the same age as Shi Hanhai. Wearing a gray robe and sporting a small mustache, he had a loyal personality and was gentle and patient in his work. At least before the outbreak of this plague, Secretarial Assistant Lu’s performance had been quite satisfactory, and no major mistakes could be found.

But Du Jing’s appearance was much more crafty-looking. Likely because the sun was strong in the southwest and he had been practicing medicine in the country all year round, his whole body was tanned. He had an aquiline nose, a short, lean figure, and standing there, he looked like a window rod.

There were originally not many doctors in the city, and more than half of them fell to the plague. The remaining two were arranged by Lu Shou to go to the medical clinic next to the government office and take turns treating some common headaches and fevers, without having to go to Dakan Mountain. In other words, all the disciples brought by Du Jing were currently responsible for treating the plague.

. . . . . . 

This afternoon, according to the plan, Shi Hanhai personally received three “distant relatives” at the gate of the city, and welcomed them into his home with great fanfare. Because Chixia City had been sealed off for a long time, upon suddenly seeing foreigners, the people were naturally curious and went out one after another to find out who it was. Of course, the news quickly reached Du Jing’s ears.

Before the three of them could warm up their stools, a carriage had already parked outside the courtyard.

Cheng Suyue was a little worried at first, mainly because she feared that A-Ning would reveal their secrets due to his youth and inexperience. She never thought that when he heard Du Jing coming, he would immediately change from a shrewd and clever boy to a country boy with a simple and honest expression, a little bit timid as he hid behind Liu Xian’an and refused to come out.

Looking at Second Young Master Liu, the elegant immortal aura around him had also disappeared, and he became one of the crowd. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and bent his back a little as if carrying a burden – His Royal Highness had taken the time to teach him this posture personally

So Cheng-guniang gained another bit of life experience: Men can really act.

When Liu Xian’an and his party came to the front hall, Shi Hanhai had already introduced the identities of the three of them to Du Jing, saying that they were his distant relatives. They were of Youfeng origin and later had the honor to go to Baihe Mountain Village for a few days, where they learned some methods to treat plagues.

Du Jing asked: “Shi-xiong invited them? Why have they never been mentioned before?”

“First, I was not sure whether they could come, and second, I was afraid that Du-xiong would overthink it,” Shi Hanhai said, short of breath. “It’s not that I don’t trust Du-xiong’s medical skills, but with the city’s current situation, it would be good to have more doctors.”

“It is not I who is overthinking, but you, Shi-xiong.” Du Jing shook his head again and again. “To be able to study in Baihe Mountain Village, one must have excellent medical skills —”

Before he finished speaking, he saw three people cautiously coming in from the gate wearing coarse clothes. Aside from the girl, whose appearance was a little more upright, the other two men looked more like shopkeepers than doctors.

Did Baihe Mountain Village even accept such people? Du Jing was puzzled. In the end, it took him a long time to ask, and it turned out that the so-called “helping for a few days” was going to someone’s backyard to cut medicinal materials for a while.

A-Ning may have had a guilty conscience, and said with a lack of confidence: “But we have read a lot of books on treating plagues, right, Ge?”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “Right, Doctor Du can rest assured.”

“Shi-xiong personally invited you all here, how can I be worried?” Du Jing smiled and said, “When are the three of you going up the mountain?”

“We’ll go now.” Liu Xian’an stood up. “There can be no delay in treating diseases and saving lives. We also bought some heat-clearing and detoxifying medicinal materials when we came, and brought them with us.”

Du Jing had no objection to this. Of course, it may have been that he didn’t take these barefoot doctors seriously. The steward quickly arranged a carriage. The driver also looked southwestern, so the three of them didn’t talk the whole way there. A-Ning leaned against the carriage window, gazing out at the scenery, Cheng Suyue internally went through Liang Shu’s plan again, and as for Second Young Master Liu, he reclined in the corner early on, once again sleeping with no distractions and dreaming wildly. It could be seen from this that whether he was busy, idle, or in danger, sleeping in a fugue state was his top priority, and there could be no delay.

A-Ning had seen enough of the scenery, so he just propped up his cheek in thought. Was there a single thing or person in this world that could make the young master sleepless?

Probably not, ba. After all, a few years ago there were thieves in Baihe Mountain Village, and the guards were chasing them all over the place and making a lot of noise. There was chaos the next street over, and the authorities all came out to investigate, but the young master still did not wake up. When someone mentioned it the next morning, his eyes were still sleepy and clueless. It was simply incredible.

The carriage drove along the mountain road for a long time before finally arriving at Dakan Mountain. The houses were neatly built on the flat ground, and the environment was also neat and clean. Liu Xian’an covered his face with a cloth towel, jumped off the carriage, and asked Du Jing: “Why don’t I see the patients?”

“They are all inside,” Du Jing replied. “They are weak and rarely go out.”

Liu Xian’an shook his head internally. There was no wind outside at this time, and the sun was just right. It seemed that the patients were not allowed to move around, but were shut up in the dark rooms. However, he didn’t say much upon arrival, simply moving the medicinal materials into the house with A-Ning while Cheng Suyue walked around the building. By rough calculation, there were about fifty people and more than ten doctors here.

“Little brother, you all should get busy first,” Du Jing said. “If you need anything, just come to me.”

Liu Xian’an was tired from carrying medicine, and wiped his sweat with the other hand on his waist: “Okay!”

That rough voice even shocked A-Ning.

In terms of acting, Second Young Master Liu and His Royal Highness Xiao Wang had some similarities. They didn’t need to deliberately learn how to do it, but could get on stage and sing at any time when the need arose.

Du Jing’s disciples didn’t take these people seriously either, which happened to make it convenient for Liu Xian’an to accomplish things. 

There was a room on the east side with its door ajar. A seven or eight-year-old girl was sitting on the threshold, holding a piece of pancake and eating it.

Liu Xian’an recognized her at a glance, or to be more precise, he recognized the pancake, which was exactly like the batch that the young couple cooked overnight during his visit two nights ago.

Seeing the stranger approaching, the little girl was a little nervous. She stood up and went to enter the room, but Liu Xian’an quickly stopped her: “Don’t go.”

Because there was no one else around, Second Young Master Liu did not deliberately use a rough voice. His voice was as clear and gentle as spring, and the little girl stopped in her tracks, looking up at him timidly.

Liu Xian’an crouched down in front of her: “What is your name?”

“My name is Taohua, Xiao Taohua.”

“Little Peach Blossom.” Liu Xian’an smiled. “Peach blossoms are shining and radiant, and fly along innumerable paths. Who gave you that name? How can it be so nice-sounding?”

The little girl didn’t read much, and didn’t quite understand the poem, but she blushed upon being praised: “My mother gave it.”

Liu Xian’an tested her temperature with the back of his fingers, and it was hot: “Is there any discomfort?”

“Dizziness, coughing, can’t remember things, nausea, vomiting all the time, sometimes sleeping until midnight, sudden awful pain in the hands and feet.”

Liu Xian’an said: “You can explain the symptoms so clearly, such a clever little girl. Are the rest of you the same?”

Taohua nodded: “Yes, the same.”

“I’m a new doctor and a relative of Shi-daren.” Liu Xian’an asked, “Are you afraid of needles?”

“Afraid.”

“But after the needles, the disease will heal faster and you can go to the mountain to see your parents when you are cured. I heard that in addition to pancakes, they have also prepared a lot of delicious food for you at home.”

Taohua muttered in a young voice: “I’m still afraid.”

“Why don’t you close your eyes?” Liu Xian’an suggested. “Close your eyes and you won’t be afraid. The needles I use are very thin.” To prove it, he even took out an ox hair needle from his sleeve. “Look, isn’t it thin?”

Taohua took the needle in her hand. It was really thin. After hesitating for a long time, she finally nodded in agreement.

Liu Xian’an ordered A-Ning to keep watch outside, then called Cheng Suyue into the room and asked her to accompany Taohua while he turned his back on the two to prepare. As for why he had to turn his back, after opening the cloth bag, nearly a hundred thick, one-finger needles were neatly arranged. Not to mention a little girl, even a strong man would be scared away at the sight.

Cheng Suyue covered Taohua’s eyes with a fragrant handkerchief, fed her a small piece of candy, and coaxed her halfway into her arms. Perhaps this reminded her of her mother, because Taohua quickly relaxed, and when the silver needle was slowly pushed into the acupuncture point, she didn’t feel too tense.

The light in the room was dim. Liu Xian’an applied the needles very slowly, and following his movements, Taohua slowly fell asleep. Cheng Suyue laid her flat on the bed and asked in a whisper: “How is it?”

“The pulse is strange, unlike a plague,” Liu Xian’an said. “I suspect it’s Gu poison.”

Cheng Suyue was a little surprised, not at the Gu poison, but because it was determined to be Gu poison so quickly. It had only been two or three hours from going up the mountain until now.

But Second Young Master Liu’s speed was so fast. He found the acupuncture point and inserted the last silver needle. When he moved it out, he obviously felt that something was wrong, so he paused his movements, concentrated on the feeling for a moment, and then pulled hard.

Sure enough, the needle brought out a cluster of Gu worms as thin as hairs. Unexpectedly, Taohua lying on the bed suddenly awoke with full-body convulsions and screamed in pain, her shrill voice seeming particularly frightening in the quiet evening. Liu Xian’an’s heart stopped beating in shock. Cheng Suyue covered her mouth and hit her neck with the edge of her hand, causing Taohua to lose consciousness once more.

But it was still a step too late. There was a mess of footsteps outside, and Du Jing asked: “What is going on?”

Someone answered him: “It seems to have come from this room.”

Taohua was still stuck with needles like a hedgehog, and it was too late to pull them out. Cheng Suyue asked Liu Xian’an in a whisper: “Young master, can you detoxify this poison?”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “I can.”

“How sure are you?”

“Ninety percent.”

“Okay.” Cheng Suyue clenched the soft sword^[1] at her waist. If the plan really didn’t work, she would get rid of everyone outside the door first.

A gap in the door was pushed open with a squeak.

Liu Xian’an pushed Taohua sideways into the bed and pulled the blanket up to cover her.

When one leg had already crossed the threshold, a woman’s scream suddenly came from next door, followed by A-Ning’s panicked voice: “Auntie, are you okay? Why did you faint?”

Du Jing’s eyes shifted: “Go and see!”

The people at the door went to the other side, and the surroundings became quiet.

“Leave this to me,” Liu Xian’an said. “Cheng-guniang, go see A-Ning. He should have been trying to get us out of trouble just now.”

Cheng Suyue responded by getting up and listening at the door for a moment. After confirming that there was no one there, she hurried out.

In another room, A-Ning had already helped the woman onto the bed with great effort, and asked Du Jing: “What is wrong with her?”

The room was full of baffled people. You were the only one present when the person dropped unconscious, but now you’re asking us?

A-Ning explained: “I wanted to examine her, but she suddenly started to convulse and scream more and more miserably, and then she passed out. It shocked me a lot.”

Du Jing checked the woman’s pulse and found nothing abnormal. He was not without doubts, but couldn’t find any evidence that the country doctor in front of him was playing tricks. In addition, Gu worms wandered the body and it was easy for unexpected situations to occur. Otherwise, he would not have expended a lot of time to move people to the barren hills. He didn’t ask any more questions.

The crowd dispersed quickly, and Cheng Suyue stepped forward: “What’s going on?”

A-Ning was belatedly scared: “It was I who stunned this auntie, I feel bad for her.”

Cheng Suyue: “…….”

But A-Ning could find no other way. He heard Taohua’s scream and saw Du Jing leading people to rush over. In a hurry, he had no choice but to break into this room and stab a silver needle into the body of the auntie who was dozing off at the table. The pain suddenly hit her in her dreams, and she cried out in pain at the spot. Before she could open her eyes, her face was covered with a cloth towel and she passed out again.

Cheng Suyue leaned against the door frame and her shoulders shook with laughter: “I never knew that you were so capable!”

On the one hand, A-Ning felt that his behavior was unworthy, and on the other hand, he felt that he was very quick-witted. Now he was embarrassed by Cheng-guniang’s laugh and quickly changed the subject: “How is the young master over there?”

“Second Young Master Liu has found Gu worms,” Cheng Suyue said. “We should not have to stay on this mountain for more than a few days.”

After a while, Liu Xian’an also came to this room. The aunt was still unconscious, and in order not to waste this opportunity, he also pierced her head with needles. Sure enough, he pulled out a few Gu worms. This time Cheng Suyue had learned from experience, and tightly covered the auntie’s mouth when the needle was drawn out in order to suppress her screams. She probably thought that the three of them were trying to murder her and make off with her property.

Cheng Suyue was tired and sweating all over, and panted as she asked: “Do we have to go through this for every remaining patient?”

“No need.” Liu Xian’an put away the silver needle. “I already know what sort of pulse a person suffering from Gu will have. It will only take tomorrow to find out who is ill. Cheng-guniang should get ready to send news to the prince.”

Watching from the side, A-Ning felt that Liu Xian’an’s expression was exactly the same as those of the Master and the Eldest Young Master when he said this. Even the tone of voice was similar. He finally had the thought that, “Wow, it turns out that my family’s young master is really biologically related to them.”

Early the next morning, Liu Xian’an proposed to diagnose everyone’s pulses. Although Du Jing agreed for the sake of Shi Hanhai’s face, perhaps he still had doubts about the scream last night, because he sent three of his disciples to help and monitor him.

Liu Xian’an didn’t care about this. Even if it was ten or a hundred rather than three, this was not for show and he needed to check the pulses – while making a record, he could see everyone in almost half a day.

At the foot of the mountain, Liang Shu received Cheng Suyue’s letter.

Shi Hanhai asked anxiously: “What is the matter?”

Liang Shu said: “It is resolved.”

“Resolved?” Shi Hanhai couldn’t believe it. “What does the prince mean? That the plague is over and life in Chixia City will return to normal?” He felt that he had heard an impossible thing. “But Young Master Liu has only been up the mountain for less than two days.”

Yes, ah, it had only been two days. Liang Shu raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking that he should have a little more faith in him in the future. After all, although the Sleeping Immortal had no medical experience, he had ten thousand volumes of books, Three Thousand Ways, and an astonishing age of forty-eight thousand years.

On Dakan Mountain, Liu Xian’an was eating with Taohua and joked: “Why do you love pancakes so much?”

“Delicious.” Taohua also broke off a piece for him. Liu Xian’an went to take it, but noticed that Du Jing was bringing someone over. He shook his head and gestured for the little girl to eat it herself.

Taohua didn’t eat it. She stood up and tried to run, but was stopped by Du Jing. A disciple took out a bowl of medicine from a food box and told her to drink it while it was hot.

“I don’t want to drink it.” Likely because Liu Xian’an was by her side, Taohua had more courage.

Du Jing was displeased: “Hurry up, there are other patients waiting for the medicine. Don’t waste time.”

Taohua looked at Liu Xian’an beseechingly.

“Doctor Du.” Liu Xian’an stood up. “Leave the medicine here, I’ll watch her drink it later.”

“When it’s cold, the efficacy of the medicine will be greatly reduced.” Du Jing seemed to have no intention of leaving. “Doctor Shi should continue to check pulses.”

This was said sarcastically, and some people in the crowd laughed. Taohua tried to slip away again, but the person holding the medicine had no patience. He grabbed her chin and wanted to pour it in forcefully, but Taohua accidentally knocked over the medicine bowl in her struggle. The other party became even more furious and raised his hand to teach the disobedient girl a lesson.

“Stop it!” Liu Xian’an stepped forward to block him, but how could the other party listen to his words? The two disciples thought he was getting in the way and were about to pull him aside, but before their hands could reach his shoulders, their upper arms seemed to be twisted by an invisible demonic force and stretched out in a bizarre way.

Crack!

Both of them screamed and fell down. Liu Xian’an had already experienced this sort of scene. When he looked back, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, dressed in black, was really standing under a tree with a cold and displeased expression on his face.

“Others are coming to grab you, and you don’t know to escape?”

“Oh.”

Liang Shu’s expression didn’t change. No matter whether Du Jing had met him before or not, as long as he had a bit of brains, he should recognize someone with such bearing and skill. This should be a friend of the barefoot doctor before him. He turned around and tried to leave, but there was no chance. Cheng Suyue also rushed over from the other side at this time. Du Jing saw that there was no way to escape, so he gritted his teeth and gave an order: “Kill them!”

“Yes!” All the disciples drew their soft swords one after another. They all knew martial arts.

Liu Xian’an reminded: “Be careful, they’re poisoned.”

They were indeed poisoned, and all of the blades were tempered with blue light. But no matter how poisonous they were, they could not stand up to His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s incredibly high martial arts. 

In fact, Du Jing had some skill, but he still couldn’t block ten moves and was at a disadvantage. In his desperation, he actually tried to use Liu Xian’an under the tree as a meat shield, but was swept away by a wave of sword energy. His ribs were broken, and he fell at Cheng Suyue’s feet with a thud.

Du Jing struggled to his feet and managed to exchange two moves with Cheng Suyue, then stumbled to the other side to escape. Liang Shu picked up Liu Xian’an, who was standing stupidly under the tree, and tossed him into another open space: “Go look at him, don’t let him die.”

Second Young Master Liu agreed, and jogged all the way to chase after Cheng Suyue. He was thinking about whether to go back and get a medicine box first, but soon found that it was unnecessary.

Cheng Suyue was crouching in the woods and slapping Du Jing’s face hard: “Hey, hey, you wake up! My prince did not let you die! Second Young Master Liu, come and see, can he still be saved?”

Liu Xian’an opened his eyelids, tested his pulse again, and shook his head: “It’s hopeless.”

Cheng Suyue scowled miserably and said: “I didn’t pay attention for a moment, and he committed suicide. What should we do, the prince will definitely blame us.”

Liu Xian’an was taken aback: “What does this have to do with me?”

Cheng Suyue replied: “You failed to save him.”

“……”

The two people stared at each other. Liang Shu had already dealt with the remaining disciples and came over.

“Still alive?” he asked.

Cheng Suyue did not dare to speak.

Liu Xian’an had no choice but to reluctantly answer: “……He’s somewhat lifelike.”

---

[1] A soft sword is different from a hard sword, in that it is as soft as silk. It can be swung like a whip, and rather than cutting and stabbing, it can swiftly slice tendons and arteries. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twelve << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fourteen

In the open space in the forest, everyone was busy preparing breakfast, and the small pot was roiling with steam. Some good food was being prepared in it, and the aroma wafted out for two li. Liu Xian’an was still on horseback, and his stomach was already growling. There was nothing to be done. The other three thousand worlds were not concerned with food, so no matter how spiritually rich he was, he still had to come back to eat on time.

A-Ning had already prepared hot handkerchiefs soaked in medicine for the two of them to wipe their faces and hands with. Gao Lin took the reins of the horse and asked: “How is the situation in the city, my prince?”

“It’s not quite as expected.” Liang Shu glanced to the side and saw that Liu Xian’an had returned to the carriage and changed his clothes, and was standing by the pot waiting for his meal.

A-Ning finished a big chicken leg out of the pot for him: “Young Master, eat quickly. This is what Cheng-guniang caught in the forest last night. She is very capable, and her knife skills are more accurate than San-guniang’s craniotomies.”

The guards passing by were all shocked upon hearing this. In Baihe Mountain Village, could the skull be opened so casually?

“It would be great if A-Yuan was here.” Liu Xian’an held the bowl and drank the hot soup slowly. “She has always been good at making soups that invigorate the qi and nourish the stomach and spleen. There happens to be one such patient in Chixia City right now.”

“Let’s not talk about nourishing the spleen, I haven’t asked the young master yet.” A-Ning sat down beside him. “Is the plague in the city serious?”

Liu Xian’an thought for a moment and shook his head: “It shouldn’t be serious.”

A-Ning was confused. It was either serious or not serious, what did he mean by shouldn’t be serious?

“I haven’t seen the patients,” Liu Xian’an further explained. “Shi-daren has gathered all of the patients outside the city on Dakan Mountain, which we passed by yesterday.”

While the two were talking, Liang Shu and Gao Lin also came to sit by the fire. Cheng Suyue had scolded the “dog official” all the way, and now that the official was no longer a dog, she was a little uncomfortable for a while: “A little-known Miao doctor and a local secretarial assistant, where did they find the guts to do a thing like actually spreading false decrees?”

“What they’ve done is not simply spreading false decrees.” Liang Shu picked up the ladle and filled it with soup, pouring it into Liu Xian’an’s bowl. “Eat more.”

The other three people were dumbfounded at this sudden care. They froze on the spot and looked at each other, not daring to move. Only Second Young Master Liu who was given such care was very calm, and said while drinking soup: “The prince can rest assured, I will definitely do my best to discover the truth of the plague, and nothing will be kept hidden.”

Gao Lin heaved a sigh of relief. It turned out that his prince wanted something. No wonder he suddenly started to show courteousness, he had thought he was having convulsions.

But having said that, this kindness was too petty. A spoonful of soup was nothing, at least tear off a chicken leg.

He immediately went to fish for the meat, but Liu Xian’an was already full. Putting down the bowl and wiping his mouth, he asked: “What does the prince want me to do?”

Liang Shu said: “Pretend to be an ordinary doctor and enter the city.”

As he said before, the top priority was to get the plague under control. The incident in Chixia City was full of oddities, not like a natural disaster, but more like a premeditated man-made disaster. In addition, exchanging old grains for new grains allocated by the court was not something that ordinary people could do.

The Miao doctor and the secretarial assistant were pushed to the front, and it was those hiding behind them who most needed to be pulled out to see the light.

. . . . . .

During the afternoon of the same day, Gao Lin took several guards and set off for the nearest city,  Chang’an. Firstly to borrow food, and secondly for the Baihe Mountain Village medical clinic there, which was not small in scale and could bring at least a hundred disciples to come help.

As for Liu Xian’an, A-Ning, and Cheng Suyue, they would pretend to be siblings and go to Chixia City as traveling doctors to discover the truth.

A-Ning asked in a low voice: “Then what will the prince be doing?”

Liu Xian’an thought for a moment, and then replied in a whisper: “Devising battle plans in a tent.”

Both master and servant stifled their smiles together, and just as they were smiling, the main character of such “tent strategy” came over with a cloth bag in his hand. It was tied with cowhide rope, with many needles stuck in it, and there seemed to be a few strands of hair poking out. It looked a little frightening.

Liang Shu asked: “Have you changed your face before?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head.

Liang Shu sat opposite him and raised his chin slightly with the back of his finger: “Close your eyes.”

Cold ointment was smeared on his face. Liu Xian’an was a little nervous. He couldn’t see anything and felt a little insecure, so he silently opened his eyes a little, just in time to see Liang Shu pick up a translucent mask.

“What kind of material is that?” Liu Xian’an had never seen such a transparent and soft texture before.

Liang Shu placed the mask on his face carefully, the corners of his lips curling up slightly: “You have read more than ten thousand books and lived for forty-eight thousand years, but you don’t know what this is?”

Liu Xian’an said truthfully: “I’ve only read about the method of making disguising masks, but none of them had a description of what they look like.”

Liang Shu looked at his curved eyelashes brushing up and down. Mischievous thoughts rose up again and he spoke nonsense: “This is made of human skin.”

A-Ning immediately said: “Wow!”

In addition, he looked up and moved closer to it.

Although Liu Xian’an didn’t say “wow,” his level of calm was comparable to that of A-Ning. He didn’t even shake his head, but was very puzzled: “But freshly peeled human skin is not like this. After a long period of time, it will become cracked and ashy. Was the piece in the prince’s hand processed using some special method?”

Liang Shu frowned: “Have you ever peeled fresh human skin?”

“I haven’t, but I have seen my dad perform a similar operation,” Liu Xian’an recalled. “The man seemed to have been a butcher. His face was scalded by water, so my dad peeled off the skin from his back and moved it to his face. I helped hold the skin for a while.”

Helped hold the skin for a while.

Saving people was saving people, and weird was also weird. When all was said and done, holding human skin in his hands did not look like a normal childhood. His Royal Highness Xiao Wang felt that he had to re-examine the living environment of Baihe Mountain Village, but at this moment, he chose to put on an air of dignity. Brushing away his failed attempt to scare him, he said casually: “I lied to you. This is pigskin and agar, along with some other medicines. It’s the craftsmanship of an inner secret agent, and should not be recorded in outside books.”

Liu Xian’an raised his head and gave a slight “hmm,” but was not angry.

Liang Shu asked: “You’re not afraid of human skin?”

“What is there to fear about human skin? It’s something that everyone has,” Liu Xian’an said. “In terms of blood, there are many patients from all over the country who come to Baihe Mountain Village to seek medical treatment, and there are many bloodier wounds than skinning. All of the disciples are used to seeing such things. Even A-Yuan started to learn how to open the skull and scrape the bones when she was a teenager, and moved the skeleton models —”

Halfway through the speech, Liu Xian’an suddenly realized that this seemed to be another great opportunity to persuade him to split up the marriage. So he opened his eyes again and tried to decide based on His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s expression whether his sister moved the skeleton models to the front hall or beside her own bed. But unfortunately, Lian Shu didn’t seem to listen to any of this, and was still putting the finishing touches on his disguise, gently pressing the edges with the back of his finger and moving it down inch by inch. Finally, it inadvertently brushed the small mole on the jut of his throat: “All right.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t feel any discomfort. On the contrary, it felt rather cool and comfortable. A-Ning held up the bronze mirror to show him. He had an ordinary appearance. The corners of his eyes slightly drooped, and his lips were thicker. He really looked like a simple and honest person, but he was not ugly, nor did he have a stiff expression and ferocious eyebrows as recorded in the books.

“How long can this mask be worn?”

Liang Shu wiped his hands clean: “Three days, but it’s best to take it off every night and put it on again the next morning. A-Yue will also change her face, and she will help you do all this.”

Liu Xian’an liked this new face quite a lot. Wearing the mask, he stood in the wind, basked in the sun, and washed his face once, wanting to test how firm it was. But Cheng Suyue couldn’t bear it, and ran to complain to Liang Shu. Second Young Master Liu, with the back of an immortal, turned around with such a broken face. It was really terrifying, the prince’s technique was too ruthless.

“It turns out that you also have times when you are afraid,” Liang Shu said. “It should really be publicized in the Northwest Military Camp, so that those matchmakers will also know that you don’t always think about the ‘great feat’ of defeating wolves with one hand.”

“Those matchmakers themselves are scary enough.” Cheng Suyue hurriedly took two steps back and spoke again, “And now that I have met Second Young Master Liu, I am even more unwilling to marry a man in Yueya City. Why is there such a large gap between them? It is like an immortal compared to a wolf.”

All right, with Second Young Master Liu as the comparison, the rest of the men were not even qualified to be human. Liang Shu looked at her troubled and anxious face and smiled mercilessly: “Do you want to marry him?”

“Marry who, Second Young Master Liu? That’s not true.” Cheng Suyue said, “He’s so celestial-like, but I’m so worldly. If we forced ourselves together, I’m afraid we would be divorced in a few days.”

Liang Shu scolded her good-naturedly: “When you see a good-looking man, you have already taken this step into consideration. I don’t see why you don’t want to marry. Aren’t you very proactive?”

“Aiya, I’m really not.” Chengyue thought hard about how to explain this difference, but because the books she had read were limited, she could only squeeze out the sentence, “They can only be looked at from a distance, but not played with.” However, that sounded very much like a low-educated scoundrel who insists on talking too much and molests the little daughter-in-law,

a fool who still shakes his head and chants irrelevantly, “The moonlight shines bright in front of my bed.”^[1]

Seeing that this person was already flushed with anxiety, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang finally showed kindness and let her go.

. . . . . . .

Liu Xian’an gingerly took off the mask and seriously studied it in the light. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Cheng Suyue had finished her conversation with Liang Shu and was walking this way, so he raised his hand to stop her and then went over to ask for details with his mask on.

But Cheng-guniang’s blush hadn’t completely faded yet. After Liu Xian’an saw this, he asked with concern: “Do you have a fever?”

“I don’t.” Cheng Suyue quickly waved her hand. “I’m not infected with the plague, it’s the prince. Aiya, it’s not the prince who has the plague. I mean, my blushing is because of the prince, he just said that I want to marry the young master.”

Liu Xian’an was amused: “Then you just made it clear that you don’t want to marry me, so why are you blushing?”

“My prince can be annoying sometimes.” Cheng Suyue sat on a stone and helped him arrange the mask. After a while, she asked, “Second Young Master Liu, what kind of girl do you want to marry in the future, ah?”

 Liu Xian’an thought for a while and said, “Any kind is fine.”

Cheng Suyue was confused by this answer. The blacksmiths in Yueya City had to pick and choose, listing more than a dozen requirements when asking for a wife. But when it came to Second Young Master Liu, he was so casual and said that any kind was fine. “It’s okay if they aren’t good-looking?”

“Naturally. When virtue is strong, form is forgotten. Beautiful or ugly, it is all the same to me.”

“That….” Cheng Suyue lowered her voice to the lowest level and asked almost breathlessly, “If the Emperor allowed the princess back then, would you also be willing?”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “It would be fine, the emperor’s decree must not be violated.”

Although he did not care for life or death, and really didn’t want to marry the princess, he couldn’t help being lazy, ah, too lazy to resist the decree. He didn’t have anyone he liked very much right now, so it was fine to marry. After marriage, if he could continue to live his life, then he would live it. If he really couldn’t live it, then he would break up, pack his things, and go back to Baihe City and lie down. It was all fine.

Cheng Suyue had never heard of such a strange concept of marriage: “Don’t you want to find someone you really love?”

Liu Xian’an didn’t answer at this time, because it seemed that he hadn’t thought about this question. In books, when it came to the matter of love, sometimes a heartless person could not understand the distress of a passionate person, and sometimes wine was poured and love sickness turned into sadness and tears, the soul flew away, the heart broke, and then they tortured each other so much that they couldn’t bear to live. How tiring that was, too tiring and troublesome. Just thinking about it made his scalp tense.

Liang Shu, who was not far away, accepted his silence quite well, and could find a reasonable explanation.

He had spent twenty years with those old white-bearded men in the clouds. If he could find love, it would be truly preposterous.

---

[1] This is the start of a poem by ancient Chinese poet Li Bai. The beginning goes: “In front of my bed, the moonlight shines bright; could this be frost that formed in the night?” ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Eleven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirteen

The two returned to the courtyard where the hunter had thrown the pheasants earlier. The old man boiled hot water in the kitchen while Shi Hanhai went to the bedroom and sat at the table for a while. He couldn’t help but light a candle.

But before he could open a file, the “firecracker” in the courtyard raised his voice again and urged him to go to bed early. Even the chickens followed suit.

Shi Hanhai had no choice but to put out the candle and lean against the head of the bed with his clothes on, sleepless. Listening carefully to the movement outside, he heard a nearby door squeak shut and the chickens return to their nests. Then he went out into the kitchen and found a cold steamed bun in the bamboo steamer, adding chili and pickles to it to satisfy his hunger.

Liu Xian’an said: “My lord is tired, you should eat some fresh, warm, and easily digestible food, otherwise you might get a stomachache.”

Shi Hanhai had a lot of worries on his mind, and when he heard someone speak behind him, he didn’t realize that something was wrong for a moment, sighing: “People in the city are getting sick one after another, how can I —” As he spoke, he suddenly came to his senses and turned around to see a very handsome young man standing at the door. Dressed in thin white robes with the moon shining brightly upon him, he was like an immortal that had just walked out of a painting.

But Shi Hanhai was not so senseless as to believe that an immortal had really descended to earth in order to eliminate the plague. He took half a step back and asked in a heavy voice: “Who are you?”

“My surname is Liu, from Baihe Mountain Village —” Liu Xian’an couldn’t finish his sentence, because when Shi Hanhai heard the words “Baihe Mountain Village,” his eyes opened wide and his face changed color, vividly showing what it meant to be “wild with joy.” He threw the steamed bun into the pickle bowl and grabbed Liu Xian’an’s hand, his voice trembling with excitement: “Baihe Mountain Village, miracle doctor, miracle doctor, ah, consider this my invitation to you. Good, very good, now the people in my city can finally be saved.”

Liu Xian’an was gripped so hard that his finger bones were almost dislocated, and he couldn’t pull his hand back even after two or three shakes. Shi Hanhai talked endlessly: “Why is there only one miracle doctor? What about A-Qing, where did he go?” While speaking, he looked behind him and saw a dark shadow standing outside, so he reprimanded, “What are you standing there for? You invited a miracle doctor here and didn’t tell me in advance, go and tidy up the guest room!”

Liu Xian’an explained: “He is not A-Qing, and we were not invited. We just happened to pass by Chixia City.”

“Ah, it turns out to be the miracle doctor’s friend, please excuse me.” Shi Hanhai took two steps forward, wanting to welcome him in the door.

Liang Shu said coldly: “Shi-daren, please take your hand back.”

He walked out of the shadows dressed in all black, with a long sword and an austere chill all over his body, completely the opposite of Liu Xian’an’s moon fairy demeanor. Shi Hanhai’s hand froze in the air, and he was stunned for a long moment before there was a gong in his mind. Realizing the sort of person he was facing, he hurriedly knelt down to salute: “Subordinate Shi Hanhai, Governor of Chixia City, greets His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.”

Liang Shu was surprised: “You have seen this lord?”

“Yes.” Shi Hanhai said with an attitude of respect: “This subordinate passed by Caique City two years ago, and His Highness was also there at the time.

“Get up.” Liang Shu pointed to a chair. “Sit down and talk.”

Shi Hanhai said in a fluster: “How can this be done?”

“This lord asks you to sit down,” Liang Shu said. “Tell me, what is going on in Chixia City?”

“Plague, a plague for which there is no cause has been going on for a long time.” When mentioning this matter, Shi Hanhai couldn’t care less about etiquette. He said in shame: “A few months ago, a woman selling melons died suddenly in the city. At that time, some doctors said that her death was strange and that it was a disease they had never seen before, but I didn’t take it to heart.”

Immediately afterwards, the woman’s husband, son, and grandson fell ill one after another, and similar symptoms also appeared in neighbors. The government finally paid attention to it, and according to the general method of treating a plague, all the patients were transported to Dakan Mountain outside the city. Temporary houses were built, and doctors and helpers were sent there.

At the beginning, the plague was indeed brought under control, and some people began to recover. But soon, a new round of plague returned. This time, the symptoms were more and more serious, and even several doctors fell ill. Fortunately, at the critical moment, a doctor surnamed Du that Shi Hanhai met before happened to come to the city, and the situation changed for the better.

“Doctor Du?”

“His name is Du Jing,” Shi Hanhai said. “Like me, he is a foreigner from the Northwest but grew up in the Southwest, so our relationship is closer than others, and we often drink together. His family……also opened a medical clinic in Miaojiang.”

Speaking of this, Shi Hanhai was a little hesitant. The doctors in the Central Plains had always looked down on Miao doctors, denouncing them all as inferior users of witchcraft and sorcery, and some local governments would even expel them. Liu Xian’an sensed what was on his mind, and took the initiative to speak out and pacify him: “Regardless of the differences in medical practice, once one stands on the side of ‘curing the disease to save the patient,’ in terms of status, there is no difference in any way. Shi-daren does not need to worry. Please continue talking.”

“Yes. Doctor Du did help us a lot,” Shi Hanhai said. “He originally went north this time to learn the medical skills of the Central Plains, so he happened to bring many disciples with him. As soon as he heard that a plague was raging here, he immediately summoned everyone to make up for the lack of doctors in the city.”

Liu Xian’an recalled those doctors in the pharmacy just now. Some of them really didn’t look like they were from the Central Plains.

He happened to open a medical clinic, happened to bring many disciples, and happened to come just in time for the plague.

Liang Shu internally shook his head and continued to ask: “After he came, was the plague brought under control?”

“It is much better,” Shi Hanhai said. “Patients no longer immediately die as soon as they have symptoms, and decoctions are used to extend their lives. Although it cannot be completely cured, at least lives can be saved, and the speed of infection has also been reduced.”

“It sounds like their medical skills are not particularly high.” Liang Shu took out a fire pocket and lit the candle on the table. “Why didn’t you ask for help?”

“I asked, how could I not ask?” Shi Hanhai sighed deeply. “I knew that the doctors in Chixia City couldn’t cure the plague, so at the beginning, I sent A-Qing to Baihe Mountain Village to ask for help, and later wrote to the court, but –” In front of Liu Xian’an and Liang Shu, it was uncomfortable for him to go on, but whether he said it or not, the current situation of the city was right in front of them. Biahe Mountain Village had not sent any disciples, nor had the Imperial court sent any support.

Liu Xian’an frowned. This differed too greatly from the “truth” heard by everyone along the way. Moreover, it was absolutely impossible for Baihe Mountain Village to turn a blind eye to a plague. Since no disciples were sent, there was only one possibility – no request for help was received at all.

Liang Shu maintained his composure and continued to ask: “What did you say in the memorial to the emperor?”

“I gave the whole story of the disaster, the current situation in the city, how much food would be in short supply in the future, and what sorts of medicinal materials are urgently needed,” Shi Hanhai replied. “I also reported the closure of the city.”

He included everything that should be included, and also clarified the seriousness of the matter, but the Imperial court only received a bright and flowery memorial with the official seal of Chixia City.

“How many memorials like this have been sent out?” 

“Eighteen letters.” Shi Hanhai lowered his voice, “This subordinate knows that the treasury is empty, the surrounding lands are unstable, and the troops stationed everywhere are waiting for funds, so the emperor really shouldn’t be worried further. But even if some medicinal materials and food could be obtained, what about doctors? Although the Imperial court allocated a batch of grain at the beginning of the year, it was all old and damp. When it arrived, a lot of it was moldy. Many of the local farmlands were washed away by the heavy rain, and people were trapped here by the plague. They couldn’t even go to other places to make a living. This subordinate is incompetent, there was really no other way but to ask the court for help again and again.”

There was a slight sob in his voice as he spoke of this, and he raised his arm to wipe his face indiscriminately, then knelt down and said: “Asking the prince to help this subordinate and save the people in this city.”

Liang Shu nodded: “Tell me, how can this lord help you?”

Shi Hanhai was at a loss for words. He couldn’t just open his mouth and ask for money or rice. Besides, according to the rumors, even His Royal Highness Xiao Wang himself had trouble with the Imperial court all the time. But a doctor, there was a doctor! As if he had found a straw to clutch at, he hurriedly said, “Asking the prince to keep the miracle doctor here, at least three days. Three days will be enough.”

Liang Shu glanced at Liu Xian’an.

Liu Xian’an nodded: “I can give it a try.”

Before Shi Hanhai had time to celebrate, Liang Shu warned: “This city is a den of tigers and wolves. You had best think clearly and work alone. If one day you are swallowed up by someone with ulterior motives, this lord will not be able to come back and save you.”

For someone who had been rolling about in officialdom all year long, how could he fail to understand the meaning of these words? Shi Hanhai was slightly startled, and then asked cautiously: “What does my lord mean?”

“What this lord means is that someone exchanged your food, intercepted your memorials, and spread rumors outside. Most of the merchants who came and went made detours, cutting off all connections between Chixia City and the outside world. But you were unaware, and are still here begging for a doctor.” Liang Shu lifted him up from the ground. “Stand up straight!”

Shi Hanhai was stupefied, as if he was listening to heavenly scriptures. He barely caught himself with one hand on the stove to avoid falling over again.

Liang Shu asked: “Where is the official seal of Chixia City?”

Shi Hanhai’s ears were ringing, and he still hadn’t come back to his senses. He whispered after a moment: “The government office, the government office study.”

“Apart from you, who else has access to the official seal?”

“The secretarial assistant and Du Jing.” Shi Hanhai paled. “I was ill a while ago, and couldn’t get up from bed. Many things were done by the secretarial assistant, and because Du Jing wanted to control the plague, they often spent time together.”

“Only these two?”

“Only these two.” After this reminder, Shi Hanhai realized that something was wrong. “Furthermore, the memorials sent to the court and the letters sent to Baihe Mountain Village were all handed over to the secretarial assistant in the end. He is an old man who has been with me for many years, and has always been loyal and righteous. Is he actually unscrupulous enough to go so far?”

“Before the matter is settled, don’t act rashly and alert the enemy,” Liang Shu ordered. “The top priority is to cure the plague in the city first, and address the shortage of food and medicinal materials. This lord will think of a way.”

“Yes, yes.” Shi Hanhai nodded again and again. Perhaps it was due to his physical fatigue, or because the secrets behind the plague angered and terrified him, but for a moment there was an unbearable soreness in his stomach. Liu Xian’an poured him a cup of warm water, and Shi Hanhai took a few slow sips before regaining his strength: “It is an old problem, it doesn’t matter. I have medicine in my room.”

“Then my lord should take his medicine and rest early tonight,” Liu Xian’an said. “On our way here, we happened to encounter someone throwing pheasants into the back courtyard. The people are of one heart. My lord must stew and eat the meat, so that he can have the strength to continue working.”

“It’s probably Li Hu again, he is the city’s hunter,” Shi Hanhai said. “All right, I’ll ask Fourth Aunt to make soup tomorrow morning.”

He wanted to say something more, but his body was truly uncomfortable and he was sweating all over, so he didn’t persist.

. . . . . .

Liang Shu took Liu Xian’an with him out of the city.

Xuan Jiao was still slowly gnawing grass on the mountainside. It was almost dawn at this time. A pale line was faintly exposed in the east sky, and the dampness in the air became increasingly obvious. Liu Xian’an was dressed thinly and without a cloak, so he couldn’t help but sneeze a few times when enveloped in the cold air.

Liang Shu lifted him on the horse’s back, and the two of their bodies were pressed together. Liu Xian’an immediately felt much warmer, so he leaned back unconsciously. This time, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang had no objections. There should be no serious doctors in Chixia City at present, so he must take care of the Sleeping Immortal of Baihe Mountain Village.

Xuan Jiao walked briskly, traveling back along the mountain road.

Liu Xian’an didn’t speak the entire time, simply clasping his left and right hands together as usual as his thoughts went elsewhere. He didn’t come back to his senses until the person behind him spoke: “En?”

Liang Shu repeated again: “Are you sure you can bring the plague under control?”

“I must go to the mountain and see the patients in order to know,” Liu Xian’an replied. “However, judging from Shi-daren’s description, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Do you think everything he said is true?”

“Shi-daren’s physical foundation is very good, but he has been very weak and fatigued recently, and hasn’t put much good food in his stomach,” Liu Xian’an said. “Although I don’t know him well, if a head official can exhaust himself to the brink of death, what corruption can there be? So I believe he is a good man, and I do not believe he is lying.”

“Do you know anything about Miao medicine?”

“Yes, I have read a lot about it in books.”

The book collection in Baihe Mountain Village was extremely diverse, including the so-called orthodox and unorthodox, the upper class and the lower class. Traveling doctors, witch doctors, Mongolian medicine, Tibetan medicine, and even how to make corpse puppets and dig out the heart and soul. It was likely that they could fill more than ten large bookshelves reaching the sky.

Liu Xian’an said: “Baihe Mountain Village does not underestimate any school of medicine, and Miaojiang has many good medicines. If there is a problem with Du Jing, it is not a problem with all Miao doctors, but solely with him.”

“If this plague is not a natural disaster, but a well-designed man-made disaster, can you find out?”

“I can try my best. There is a ninety percent certainty.”

“Just because you read it in a book, you are ninety percent sure?”

“En, I read it twice.”

Other books didn’t receive this kind of treatment. It was mainly because Miaojiang witchcraft was so bizarre and frightening, and Second Young Master Liu read it as a leisure book to relieve boredom. So after he read it one more time, it left a particularly deep impression.

Liang Shu was speechless at this emphasis on “twice,” and asked: “So you only read the rest of the books once?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “Just about.”

“Since you are able to remember them all, why has Master Liu never mentioned this matter?”

“Because I never told my dad.”

Liu Xian’an retracted his hands into his sleeves and sighed in distress: “There was no time to explain, I was very busy when I was a child.”

Tens of thousands of books were like the sea being tossed by a strong wind, and there were huge waves in his mind, smashing Little Young Master Liu dizzy. So he spent seven or eight hours a day arranging one world after another, so as not to let the avenues collide with one another.

Sometimes he also played, but he didn’t tussle or play with crickets, and only imitated the people in the books. For example, sitting upright on the wall and gazing into the distance for a whole afternoon. Liu Fushu felt that his son might be wrong in the head, but Little Young Master Liu was actually imitating Shun, facing due south with respect and self-discipline. What did the man do? He governed by doing nothing. When night fell, Liu Xian’an patted his buttocks and jumped off the wall. He patrolled around Baihe Mountain Village and saw that everything was in order, feeling very satisfied with the results of his “inaction.”

Liu Xian’an continued: “And it seems that few people can understand what I say, nor do they want to listen.”

When he was young, Little Young Master Liu was more talkative than now. He often wore a large robe and stood barefoot in the depths of the bamboo forest, raising his head to look at his friends in another world and listening to them talk about the dao of heaven. In order to get her son out of the bamboo forest, Liu-furen bought him a lot of gaudy baubles. The other children cried with envy, but Little Young Master Liu was not willing. He taught his mother seriously before going to bed: “I’m not a child anymore.”

Liu-furen took his white and tender little feet out of the basin and dried them carefully with a towel: “How old are you this year?”

“About forty-eight thousand years old,” Little Young Master Liu answered, counting on his fingers. “Like the sun and the moon, lasting as long as the earth and sky.”

Liu-furen was so worried when she heard this nonsense that she couldn’t fall asleep for several nights, and even grew two more gray hairs.

Liang Shu couldn’t help but laugh, and could probably guess where the invisible barrier covering the other party came from. Tens of thousands of books piled up into a tall, cold white tower, sending him to a place beyond the sight of others. The empty and silent world above thousands of clouds should be very different from the loud and chaotic world of mortals.

“It is only you, one person?” he asked suddenly.

Liu Xian’an didn’t understand: “En?”

“In that world, are you alone?” Liang Shu repeated.

Liu Xian’an turned to look at him, as if extremely surprised.

Liang Shu swung his whip to urge the horse.

The surrounding wind suddenly turned cold, and Liu Xian’ans cheeks were like ice, so he retracted into the other’s arms again. He had never before thought that there would be someone who discovered his secret so quickly. After a long time, he turned around with his hair blown into a mess. “There are many ancient sages,” he expressed with the zeal of a master of the world. “Next time, I will introduce His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to them.”

Liang Shu’s eyebrows twitched. He felt that the words “ancient sages” did not sound like living people.

“No need.”

“Oh.”

In the distance, a ring of morning sun rose up.

The sea of clouds churned, and the sun’s rays dyed the entire green mountain.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Ten << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twelve

It took a long time for the lingering kiss to end. Xia Xingchi almost suffocated to the point of having no oxygen left by the time they reluctantly parted.

Not only was he excited and nervous, but in fact, Li Chengyuan was also flustered.

So much so that a normally calm and meticulous person didn’t forget to kneel down on one knee while holding roses to propose, but he forgot to take out the ring and put it on Xia Xingchi.

Fortunately, it was not too late to put it on after the kiss. He took out the ring box that he had carefully rehearsed with for a long time, facing the golden-red ocean sunrise. The ring was set with a red gemstone the size of a pigeon’s egg.

Xia Xingchi looked at it with wide eyes: “Huh? Why is it red, is it a ruby?”

The little money-grubber tilted his head in thought. It seemed he still preferred diamonds. Just their implication of “eternal and everlasting” was enough to make him like them, not to mention that they were expensive.

But this stone seemed to look different from a ruby. This bright luster was so beautiful, more so than ordinary gemstones.

While he was lowering his head to study it seriously, Li Chengyuan rubbed it helplessly a few times. “It’s a red diamond – do you like it?”

After all, he knew that this little money-grubber liked things that were expensive and flashy. If the pigeon egg was made bigger, it would affect the appearance, so if he wanted it to be more expensive, he could only come up with another idea.

When he heard this, Xia Xingchi was shocked.

Even a person who had never eaten pork had seen a pig walk. Not long ago, he had watched a movie related to red diamonds, but he had never expected to see this legendary thing before his own eyes.

“I like it!”

Of course he liked beautiful and expensive things, and this was not only expensive jewelry, but it also had a unique symbolic meaning. He nodded vigorously and was even happier when he saw that Li Chengyuan had a matching ring inlaid with red diamonds.

Li Chengyuan smiled.

Although usually indifferent, he was obviously in a good mood at the moment, and he looked pretty good with the corners of his eyes creased in a smile: “If you accept the ring, have you considered the result?”

Xia Xingchi lowered his head and fiddled with the ring on his finger. He froze for a moment after hearing this nonsense, then remembered how he had joked before about “considering” the relationship between the two.

He had originally come to listen to a confession, and just saying “I love you” could satisfy Xia Xingchi.

Unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan planned such a grand spectacle – looking around the ship that was so big and luxurious, it was like a dream.

“For the sake of your sincerity,” Xia Xingchi showed a rare blush and said in his ear, “I will take on the job of calling you husband.” After saying so, he kissed the other’s earlobe lightly.

Warm breath landed on Li Chengyuan’s ear, causing them to turn red immediately, and then he lifted Xia Xingchi up into his arms!

“Ai, ai, why are you carrying me again!……what is this hobby of yours!”

Li Chengyuan embraced him firmly, and said after hearing this: “A certain person was drunk before and said he liked being held by me. What, now you won’t admit the truth?”

Xia Xingchi lagged for a few seconds, then raised his hand in embarrassment and smacked Li Chengyuan. He had been drunk once, and if it wasn’t for the fans’ supernatural powers of taking photos and knocking sugar, he would have forgotten about it by now.

He didn’t expect that besides holding on to Li Chengyuan in the photo, he also uttered the truth after drinking?

Obviously this smack was just a light tease, but Li Chengyuan remained silent and Xia Xingchi was even more ashamed and indignant. He said through gritted teeth: “What! You still cried and called me gege when you were young, and made me carry you!”

Although, that wasn’t really crying, those were tears from extreme physical pain, and Xia Xingchi’s heart was so soft that he couldn’t let go of the little porcelain doll.

But he really did call him gege.

Xia Xingchi had been coaxing and coercing him for so many days. It was the first time that Li Chengyuan really called him gege, and there was an illusion of childish dependence, which almost made Xia Xingchi happy.

Li Chengyuan was taken aback: “You……remember?”

It seemed that he had remembered, so of course he should remember that at that time, Li Chengyuan had called him gege to make this naive little money-grubber happy.

Xia Xingchi pretended not to understand, and haughtily changed the subject: “Hmph! I have such a good memory, so of course I just casually remembered it! I’d like to see how someone can claim that status of “victim of a petty liar” for sympathy!”

This misunderstanding that spanned more than twenty years was finally resolved with Xia Xingchi’s recovered memories, and the erroneous circumstances of the two intersecting worlds became clear through narration and explanation.

He had originally thought that Li Chengyuan would be shocked or even disbelieving, but his big kitty cat just listened quietly and finally bowed his head to kiss him.

“You just believe it?” Xia Xingchi was puzzled.

Although all the evidence back then pointed to the conclusion that Xia Xingchi was a little liar, Li Chengyuan was still willing to believe that it was a misunderstanding.

He kept saying that Xia Xingchi was a little liar, but in fact, when they met many years later and Li Chengyuan saw that he was still soft-hearted and righteous, Li Chengyuan had already guessed that he hadn’t been cheated.

“I just wanted to use the fact that the flow of time in both worlds is different to prove that you are actually older than me. You are too gullible.”

Li Chengyuan smiled faintly and asked: “Where am I bigger than you?”^[1]

He almost never played around with him, so Xia Xingchi almost didn’t react when his cold humor emerged, and it took him a long time to recover from the shock. How did his family’s cat become so crooked?

“Go to hell!” Xia Xingchi snorted. “No matter how big you are, it all belongs to me!”

Saying this, he raised the priceless diamond ring on his hand and pointed at it: “See, this is your contract of sale!”

The two chatted and quarreled all the way as Li Chengyuan carried him into the magnificent lobby of the luxury cruise ship.

There was an unexpected number of guests on board, and every detail was meticulously decorated, full of the cheerful and lively atmosphere of a birthday party. When a waiter opened the door for them, Xia Xingchi happened to see the back kitchen pushing out a huge cake that had just been made.

Xia Xingchi was immediately dumbfounded, and it took him a long moment to realize that today was his birthday. Although he still remembered it clearly the night before, first he recovered his memories, and then he received a surprise confession, so he completely forgot about his birthday later.

As soon as the two entered, the guests looked over one after another and stepped forward to wish Xia Xingchi a happy birthday.

Xia Xingchi was immediately flattered. A person who had never experienced a good birthday was thrown such a well-prepared party. He almost had the illusion that he was on the wrong set, although his name was clearly written on the cake.

Among the guests were many friends that he had recently met in the entertainment industry, and there were also people that Li Chengyuan found pleasing.

After all, Xia Xingchi was a very lively person. As long as they were not irritating, he would be happy even if strangers came to celebrate his birthday. Naturally, the more guests there were, the better.

“I……” Xia Xingchi was both excited and embarrassed. “Wait, put me down first! There are too many people watching!”

It was too embarrassing to be carried by his fiance in public. Xia Xingchi hurriedly stood up by himself and was happy all the way through as he thanked them for their blessings.

Normally, when everyone met Li Chengyuan, they would inevitably want to establish a relationship or various business ventures, but he had made it clear that today he would not discuss any business. Anyone who dared to do so on Xia Xingchi’s day would be courting death. After all, they had never seen Li Chengyuan holding someone so carefully in his arms before.

Of course, it was actually impossible to disappoint Xia Xingchi. He was working happily, and no one could disturb him at all. Especially with the very down-to-earth blowing out candles in the dark and everyone singing happy birthday to him together, his joy rose exponentially.

The result of being so happy was to play wildly and happily. After eating and drinking enough, he accidentally overindulged on sweet wine and hung on Li Chengyuan’s body, refusing to get off.

He was not completely drunk, but he was extremely excited. He had been too embarrassed to be carried in public by Li Chengyuan, but now he almost stood on tiptoe to kiss Li Chengyuan’s lips in public.

Li Chengyuan was helpless. He didn’t care that he was in full view, so he just smiled and kissed him lightly: “That’s enough, I’ll take you back for a nap.”

Everyone hurriedly turned their faces to the ground, not daring to watch the big boss make out with his fiance.

. . . . . .

Although Xia Xingchi looked exhilarated after drinking too much, he actually fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. It was dark when he opened his eyes again.

He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and walked out of the room. Standing on the deck, he realized that the moon tonight was quite large and round.

He didn’t know the coordinates of where they were, but he felt that the surroundings were very warm, and the sea breeze was fresh and comfortable, not as cold as Beijing, which had already entered winter.

This was the first time Xia Xingchi had seen the magnificent sight of the bright moon on the sea. What’s more, the moon was so strangely bright for some reason, and the surface of the water shimmered under the moonlight like a layer of silver tulle.

He leaned on the side of the ship and looked at it for a while, until he forgot that he was going to find Li Chengyuan. Turning around, he remembered that a little money-grubber should take advantage of the dead of night to do his favorite part – unwrapping presents.

He had been thinking about tearing them open for a long time, but there were guests around and he was too embarrassed to sneak away to the storage room. Therefore, he had to eat, drink, and have fun first, and planned to go in the dark of night to see what birthday presents he had received.

Due to unfamiliarity, he took a long time to find the place and slip in smoothly under the guidance of a waiter.

There were all kinds of expensive items piled up in the storage room. After all, Xia Xingchi was Li Chengyuan’s lover, and his net worth was surprisingly high, so every single thing seemed quite expensive.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t find a light switch in the room even after a long time, and he didn’t want to go out and ask a waiter to turn on the light, so he simply looked at the presents in the dark, which was even better.

The light of his mobile phone illuminated things such as Patek Phillipe watches, diamond cufflinks, and expensive limited-edition wallets.

Xia Xingchi felt that only using one hand was slowing him down, so he simply stuffed the phone into his pocket and opened the gift boxes with both hands.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he took out a necklace and went to grab the next box, he suddenly felt the touch of a cold hand.

It was pitch dark, and the blind touch of such a cold hand was quite scary, but Xia Xingchi realized in less than half a second that this was his big cat’s paw. The two of them had been together for a long time, and not to mention touching hands, even if the hand rubbed his hair, he would be able to tell that it was Li Chengyuan.

When his fingertips touched the ring on Li Chengyuan’s hand, he couldn’t help but smile. He suspected that this person had deliberately stood by and waited here to scare him, so he simply turned the tables and amorously caressed Li Chengyuan’s palms and arms with both hands.

Xia Xingchi cleared his throat, pretending to be serious as he commented: “That’s right, this is the very satisfying gift I received today! It’s beautiful and valuable, so I’ll take it back to my room to enjoy it hehehe.”

Li Chengyuan was amused by him, but he also said calmly: “What are you going to use to unwrap it? Your hands or – your mouth?”

Before Xia Xingchi had time to react, he was enveloped by the scent of a familiar cologne as his big cat stepped forward and kissed his lips directly.

In the dark and windowless storeroom cabin, it was so silent that Xia Xingchi’s soft hums and the overlapping gasps of the two were quite clear. This fierce kiss seemed inexplicably more exciting due to the different atmosphere of this place.

There was no telling how long the kiss lasted, but Li Chengyuan finally took the initiative to let go of Xia Xingchi as if to let him take a breath. He had only taken two short breaths when he was suddenly lifted up!

“Just now, you said you wanted to go back to the room and unwrap presents?” Li Chengyuan asked.

Xia Xingchi was just talking bravely, but it was self-evident that the atmosphere was so ambiguous that it was almost on fire. He immediately blushed, but refused to admit defeat and said: “Right! You, you have to serve this young master well!”

Li Chengyuan smiled: “Okay.”

Xia Xingchi became even more nervous when he smiled, so he had no choice but to change the subject in an attempt to change the terrifying atmosphere: “You didn’t give me a birthday present……the ring was for proposing marriage. You can’t use one thing for two purposes, can you?”

In fact, it was fine to use such an expensive thing for dual purposes. What’s more, this signified sending the “Big Kitty Cat Adoption Certificate” to Xia Xingchi. He was just trying to deliberately find fault and nitpick. 

Unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan replied: “Your birthday present —”

Having said this, he walked onto the deck, and the bright moon could be clearly seen on one side of the deck, and a lush and beautiful island on the other side of the deck.

“Do you see that island?” Li Chengyuan asked. “I bought it for you.”

“En……ah?” After Xia Xingchi came back to his senses, he was in shock. “You, you bought an island?!”

This unbelievable TV drama plot could happen in real life? Although Li Chengyuan had smiled a lot today, he would not make such a joke. If he said that he bought it, then he really bought it.

“It is mild all year round, you can take a vacation at any time……of course, you can also “unwrap presents” every day here.”

After making a surprising statement, a certain person unexpectedly returned to the original ambiguous topic. When these words were uttered by his low and slightly gloomy voice, Xia Xingchi’s mind suddenly filled with many inexplicable prison play scenes.

……Thinking about it, it seemed quite exciting?

Of course he knew that although Li Chengyuan could be a madman, a person with a bottom line would not really imprison him. The more this was the case, the more he could confidently and boldly imagine various exciting plots.

The pure and innocent little hedgehog was trying to figure out what to do, but suddenly realized that Li Chengyuan had carried him to the bedroom and thrown him onto the big, soft, luxurious bed.

Xia Xingchi: “…….”

This time, he couldn’t speak any more obscene words. Embarrassed and nervous, but looking forward to it, he whispered: “Let’s, let’s take a bath together — just because it’s cold!”

Hearing this, the corners of Li Chengyuan’s mouth raised slightly. This excuse was too clumsy. Xia Xingchi was obviously wearing short sleeves, looking like a little hedgehog with his blushing face and wide eyes.

There was a rather large round bathtub on the ship. The two of them had just taken off their clothes to soak in it when the strength of the sea breeze increased. Even a big ship could not be as stable as flat ground under the dual effects of waves and strong winds, and the entire “ground” promptly shook up and down with a comfortable frequency and amplitude.

Steam lingered, and the bathroom mirror was covered in a thin layer of mist, so that the specific scene in the room was no longer visible. But some outlines could be vaguely seen, complementing the sound of the rising and falling of all sorts of tides.

---

[1] There is some word play going on here, as the character 大 can change the sentence to “older than” or “bigger than” according to the context. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Forty-Six << Table of Contents >> Extra 2: Turning Into A Cat

The mountain wind in the summer night was still extremely cold, and damp mist gathered. Liu Xian’an’s fingers had been clutching the saddle for a while. The wind made his joints sting as if someone was pricking them with needles of ice, so he decisively withdrew both hands and rubbed them together to stimulate circulation.

Xuan Jiao was still galloping at this moment, and when he let go, his body subsequently lost its balance. Seeing that he was about to fall, Liang Shu had no choice but to reach out his arm to catch him. Liu Xian’an’s fingers were stiff and he was determined not to let the wind blow on them again, so he took advantage of the situation and leaned back, putting all of his weight on His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. Then he wrapped his hands together and shrank his head like a lazy golden monkey.

Liang Shu was displeased: “Sit up straight.”

Liu Xian’an heard but didn’t listen, and quickly exiled himself to the illusory realm, not seeing, not hearing, not thinking, and closing his eyes by the way. Anyway, there were thousands of wonderful worlds in his mind. He could just find a corner to squat in and let others yell outside for a while.

Of course, Liang Shu would not raise his voice to wake up the young master like A-Ning did. In fact, this was the first time in his life that someone had the guts to lean into His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s arms, and he couldn’t even drive him away. Those rumors of bloody murder from the outside world seemed to have no effect on him at all – or was it true that he was so lazy that he would rather die than ride a horse?

Liang Shu remained calm, and his hands relaxed.

Sure enough, Liu Xian’an fell straight to one side again with his hands folded, his eyes closed, and his upper body motionless, as if he was an ascending immortal.

The moment he was about to touch the ground, Liang Shu pulled him back in front of him.

“Yah!”

Xuan Jiao treaded the wind all the way, and finally stopped at a fork in the mountainside. Not far away, the city wall of Chixia City was vaguely outlined in the mist.

Liang Shu dismounted his horse, and Liu Xian’an “just now” woke up and jumped to the ground. He took out two cloth towels that had been fumigated by the medicine in his pocket and could be used to cover the mouth and nose. Liang Shu took one and saw that the other party was staring at him, so he asked: “Is something the matter?”

Second Young Master Liu pursed his lips and shook his head.

But shaking one’s head did not necessarily mean nothing was wrong. It might also mean that something was the matter but he didn’t want to talk about it. Liang Shu didn’t know why he got off his horse and gave him such a knowing look, so he frowned and asked again: “What are you smiling at?”

“It’s nothing.” Liu Xian’an first slowly tidied up the cloth towel, and then tied it securely behind his head. “It’s just that this time I finally counted the prince’s heartbeat. It is calm and steady, and the old injury is not a problem. This will save Lieutenant General Gao and Cheng-guniang from worrying too much in the future.”

Liang Shu: “…….”

He forgot.

So on the way here, this person had been sitting against his chest with his eyes half-closed like an old monk entering meditation, as if he had nothing to do with the world, but he was secretly counting his heartbeat?

How preposterous!

Liu Xianan raised his head: “Prince……wu!”

He suddenly flew up without notice and spun around in the air, his mouth tightly covered so that he couldn’t make a sound. The sky spun, and then he was half-bent over a boulder.

Liang Shu firmly suppressed him, lowering his voice to order: “Hide well, someone is coming.”

Someone was coming? Liu Xian’an’s heartbeat thumped. He calmed down a little, closed his eyes to listen carefully, and sure enough, the sound of footsteps was getting closer.

Crunch, crunch.

After a while, there was another crashing sound as a man came out of the forest. He was a burly man dressed as a hunter, with a bow and a long knife on his back, a trap in his left hand, three pheasants in his right, and a sack that was constantly dripping blood tied around his waist. It looked like he had acquired a great deal.

He didn’t take much of a look around, and just quickly ran down the mountain as if he were in a hurry, disappearing into the vast night.

Liu Xian’an surmised: “Could it be that the people in the city venture into the mountains to hunt because there isn’t enough food?”

Liang Shu said: “Let’s follow him.”

Liu Xian’an nodded. He stood up and jogged two steps forward, the hem of his robes fluttering in the wind, and they almost caught on a branch.

Not bothering to speak, Liang Shu wrapped his arms around the other’s waist, slung him over his shoulder, and flew down the mountain.

“Ah!”

“Don’t shout!”

The topic of the non-beating heart was also dodged.

“Cough, cough!” Liu Xian’an’s stomach was pressed against a firm shoulder, almost crushing his internal organs. In order to give himself a little room to breathe, he had to grab the other’s clothes with both hands and exert all of his strength to lift his upper body with his chin raised, like a big, unlucky fish desperately struggling.

Liang Shu ignored his twisting, and only tightened his arms more and more until a weak warning was spoken into his ear: “I’m going to vomit.”

Only then did he finally let go.

Liu Xian’an fell to the ground and staggered, bending over while supporting himself with one hand on a tree. It took a long time for him to recover his breath. When he raised his head again, he was like a frail little soul just fished out of the water, his eyes full of tears, his cheeks pale, and his sweat-soaked hair plastered to his forehead.

In all honesty, Liang Shu really hadn’t done it on purpose this time, so he was also very surprised. But it was only surprise, and His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would certainly not reflect on it. He just lifted this person upright in a cold and noble manner and said for mercy’s sake: “We have arrived.”

They had already arrived? Liu Xian’an turned around, only to find that the city gate was not far away.

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The hunter was shrouded by thick fog, leaving only a vague, ghostly black shadow walking forward. A few black crows landed atop the city wall and raised their voices at this moment, sending their desolate cries into the wilderness. The echo pierced through the cold wind as two strings of broken lanterns blew back and forth. Everything about this city seemed extraordinarily frightening and strange.

Not knowing that he was being watched from behind, the hunter went around the city gate in a practiced manner and knock knock knocked three times before squeezing in sideways.

The door was quickly closed again.

Liang Shu took Liu Xian’an and leaped up the city wall in two or three steps, falling to the ground lightly like a shadow on the wind. This time his approach was more humane, likely because he was afraid that the other party would really vomit on him. 

And Second Young Master Liu was very good at learning through experience. He even felt that flying just now was very novel. Although his thoughts often traveled freely between heaven and earth, this was the first time that his body was so high off the ground. The scenery changed at that moment, and the breeze filled his sleeves and robes.

It was a pity that the timing was wrong and his spirit was still imprisoned in the world of mortals, with no opportunity to wander around.

As soon as they entered the city, there was a strong and persistent smell of medicine in the air. Liu Xian’an briefly took off the cloth towel to sniff it carefully, saying: “These are common herbs for detoxification and lowering heat, and to relieve coughing and difficulty breathing. It is similar to what A-Ning prepared on the road. But the situation in this town —” He turned his head and glanced around. “It is more than one point better than I had guessed.”

The streets were still tidy, and there were no hordes of rats or disorderly corpses, nor could painful moans and cries be heard. It was completely different from the several major plagues recorded in medical books. If not for the dregs of medicine and lime that could be seen everywhere, the smell of vinegar in the air, and the colorful plague warning papers hanging on both sides of the street, this was really a very normal and ordinary city.

Liu Xian’an asked: “Is that hunter gone?”

Liang Shu took his arm and walked sideways through another alley. They saw the hunter run past not far away, untie the prey from his waist, and throw it over a low wall to the left. Thump thump, the pheasants fell into the courtyard. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to run over to the other side, finally entering a large courtyard. Then he washed his face and body with a basin of cold water in the corner and went back to his room to rest.

“So this is his home.” After speaking, Liu Xian’an was a bit puzzled. “He didn’t go hunting for himself. But the courtyard just now looked dilapidated, not like it belonged to a wealthy person who could afford to hire a hunter.”

The two walked into the courtyard. A loud snoring came from a row of wing rooms on the east side, and some beans and pickles were still drying on the steps. Liang Shu pushed open the kitchen door, and the moonlight shone through a window, illuminating everything in the room. The stove was still a bit messy, but it was only the sort of mess that resulted from daily life. There was rice in the vat and oil in the urn, and although the steamed buns in the bowl were crude, they were still soft.

There was no rat infestation in this city, and no shortage of food.

“But the plague should be real.” Liu Xian’an crouched down and grabbed a pinch of dried medicine residue piled up in the corner. He put it into the small cloth bag he carried with him, planning to study it carefully after going back.

After leaving the courtyard, the two randomly selected two or three households to investigate. There were also rice and noodles in the kitchens, and in one of the households, the lights in the courtyard were still on. A young couple was busy frying pancakes in the kitchen. The sweet, cloying smell of honey drifted out, and some faint chatter could be heard. The husband was urging his wife to hurry up, otherwise it would be too late for the officers and soldiers to go up the mountain in the morning.

“The officers and soldiers going up the mountain is likely because of the plague.” After walking to a deserted spot, Liu Xian’an explained, “Bringing all the patients together in one place away from the city can not only protect the remaining uninfected people, but also facilitate the doctor’s inspection and care. At least in this respect, that Shi-daren is doing a good job.”

The watchman knocked on his clapper and walked across the street, so the two of them entered another alley. A noisy conversation could be heard across the courtyard wall.

Liang Shu took Liu Xian’an to the wall and then moved to the eaves. He pressed his head with one hand: “Duck down!”

Second Young Master Liu: “Oh.” His muscles hurt.

Liang Shu knocked on his forehead, signaling him to shut up, and silently lifted a tile.

Liu Xian’an held his breath cooperatively. Although he had no jianghu experience, he had reading experience. 

This was a large pharmaceutical workshop.

Several large vats sat in the courtyard, steeping the concoction needed for cleaning the streets the next day. The kitchen was brightly lit, and dozens of earthen pots were gurgling simultaneously with bitter decoctions. About seven or eight doctors and assistants were busy adjusting the fires, and five apprentices sat in the room, each with several large packages of medicinal materials in front of them.

“What is it?” Liang Shu asked.

“The preliminary work for making pills.” Liu Xian’an carefully differentiated the medicinal materials. “The purpose is still for lowering heat and detoxifying, but without blue bullrush and qinghong root, the efficacy will be greatly reduced. These two herbs are very common, and every doctor knows to add them. I suppose they have run out of stock and haven’t had time to replenish them. But it doesn’t matter, A-Ning already made preparations and bought a lot on the way.”

After leaving the pharmacy, the two climbed up an even taller old tower. Liu Xian’an’s body swayed as he stepped on the creaking wooden boards, and he felt that if the wind blew any stronger, this rickety place might topple over. Thus, he stretched out his hand from behind and calmly grabbed a bit of the sleeve of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

Liang Shu glanced at him from the corner of his eye: “Do you think this small piece of fabric can hold you in the air?”

Feeling that his words were reasonable and that he really couldn’t hang on, Liu Xian’an moved his fingers forward and grasped more.

Liang Shu: “?”

I meant for you to let go!

Liu Xian’an would not let go. He felt safe standing like this. 

The sages embraced the spirit through stillness, and Second Young Master Liu securely held His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

Moonlight shone upon the entire city, and the black crows on the wall had already flown away. The strange and gloomy atmosphere from before had dissipated a lot, perhaps because many doctors were still busy, which always made people feel more at ease. The long street was silent as the thick fog began to disperse. At this time, a man suddenly appeared around the corner of the street not far away, appearing to go in the direction of the pharmacy.

He walked fast at first, and jogged a bit, but slowed down again after a few steps, standing still with one hand against a wall. After standing there for a while, his body slid down limply like a thin noodle.

Liang Shu took Liu Xian’an and jumped down the old tower.

The man was completely unconscious, and looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was tall and thin, with sunken cheeks. In addition to the blue-black stubble and chapped lips, his appearance was sallow and sickly.

Liu Xian’an called out twice, and seeing that he would not wake up for a long time, he propped up the other’s head and took his wrist to check his pulse.

“Plague?” Liang Shu asked.

“No, he’s just exhausted.” Liu Xian’an withdrew his hand. “He’s not sick, and will wake up after a short rest. It is best for him to drink some boiled broth.”

He took out a few cooling pills and fed them to the man. After a while, the man coughed with his eyes closed.

“My lord, my lord!” Someone in the distance called in a rush.

Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an hid in the darkness.

“My lord, what are you doing……” An old man holding a lantern searched around and saw that the man was lying on the ground. He quickly stepped forward to help him up. “I said that you should rest early tonight, why did you go out again? See, it is fortunate that I am clever, otherwise if you slept on the street all night, wouldn’t you be burned into a piece of red coal tomorrow morning?

His nagging was loud, no different from a string of firecrackers exploding in the air. The man wanted him to keep his voice down, but he was suffering from a lack of strength and could only lean on the steps and pant heavily. Soon after, the lights in the surrounding houses turned on one after another, and many common people came out wrapped in clothes to see the lord sitting at the door. Naturally, they were very surprised. Some people hurriedly put thick clothes on him, some poured hot tea, and others invited him to go to their own homes to rest. There was a big, impenetrable crowd surrounding the stone steps.

“Okay, okay, everyone go back, ba.” The man drank two cups of hot water and finally heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m going back to the government office to sleep.”

The crowd was abuzz, all chattering in unison and telling him not to be too tired. They talked for a long while before going home.

The man held the old man’s hand and stood up laboriously, glaring at him again: “When will this voice of yours be changed?”

“What change, I won’t change it.” The old man was very stubborn. “If my lord won’t listen to what I say, then let the common people speak.”

The man sighed and shook his head, slowly walking the other way with him.

The surroundings were quiet again.

Liu Xian’an said: “Based on what the common people called him, he should be Shi Hanhai, the head official here. But this person doesn’t look like a money-obsessed official, and even seems to be quite popular.”

“The hunter’s pheasants were probably given to him just now,” Liang Shu said. “We can’t wait for answers here. Let’s go and meet that Shi-daren.”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eleven

Before dawn the next day, everyone packed up their things and prepared to leave.

Liu Xian’an dreamt all night, and now his head was muddled. Half-wrapped in a blanket, he stared ahead in a daze. A-Ning stepped forward and shook him several times, but failed to bring him to his senses.

Gao Lin passed some food to Liang Shu and took two more servings to give to A-Ning, turning around just in time for the red sun to burst out of the clouds. The light from the sky was soft like a dream, enveloping Liu Xian’an where he sat under a tree. The young master’s white clothing was dyed gold, and the surrounding fields were full of brilliance as the entire world awoke and lit up at this moment. The birds were melodious, the vegetation was verdant, and everything was full of vitality.

Gao Lin had never witnessed such a spectacle. He stopped and looked at Second Young Master Liu in front of him, whose hair was shining, and was rather stunned: “Wow.” Did he become an immortal or what?

Liang Shu glanced at him: “What, you want to marry him?”

Gao Lin immediately withdrew his gaze and shook his head firmly. “Won’t marry. I stand at the prince’s side, and if I want to marry, I can only marry the prince.”

Liang Shu ruthlessly refused: “But I don’t want to marry you.”

Unaffected, Gao Lin was full of confidence for the future: “Then who can say for sure.”

Cheng Suyue stood to the side and listened to this strange conversation, feeling as if she was going deaf.

Under the tree, A-Ning finally managed to drag Liu Xian’an away from the boundary of Immortal Ascension and then quickly stuffed him with a warm pancake and a pot of tea: “Hurry up, Young Master, everyone is waiting for us.”

Liu Xian’an made a sound of agreement and took a slow bite of pancake, chewing it twice without tasting it. He was still sleepy and his unfocused eyes wandered here and there, drifting around until they met the gaze of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

“…….”

The two looked at each other, and remembering what had happened last night, Liu Xian’an suddenly became more awake.

Liang Shu nodded slightly, fully demonstrating his noble bearing and broad mind. It seemed that he didn’t care at all about the matter of being woken up in the middle of the night by someone hitting him with their head. Just as he was making a persistent effort to further show off his charming royal demeanor, Gao Lin, who had been staring on the sidelines for a long time, couldn’t take it any longer. He took two steps forward and forcibly took his prince away, ending this one-sided posturing game early.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Liu Xian’an quickly swallowed the cake in his mouth, stood up, and got into the carriage with haste.

“Young Master, Young Master!” A-Ning lifted the curtain. “Didn’t you agree to ride a horse today? Why are you being lazy again?”

Liu Xian’an closed his eyes and pretended justly and righteously to be asleep, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, knowing nothing.

Entering the gates of infinity, touring the unbounded wilds. In short, completely shielded from outside noises.

He wouldn’t wake up.

A-Ning had a headache: “Ai, seriously.”

There was absolutely nothing to be done.

The convoy continued on.

Cheng Suyue obeyed her elder brother’s order to guard Liu Xian’an’s carriage at all times, but she didn’t fully understand her task. What did it mean to “beware the prince?” The prince was not a rogue bandit, what was there to guard against?

Gao Lin said: “This matter is a bit complicated. First do what I tell you, and I will explain it slowly when we return to the Northwest in the future.”

Cheng Suyue proposed: “But if the prince wants to talk with Second Young Master Liu, how can I stop him?”

“We’ll be in Chixia City soon, and our prince won’t have a chance to……chat for some time. You just be smart.” Lieutenant General Gao patted the girl on the shoulder. “All right, I’ll lead people to find the way.”

Cheng Suyue was bewildered. She only partly understood and wanted to ask more, but Gao Lin had already poked her horse’s buttocks with the hilt of his sword. The horse leapt forward in fright and Cheng Suyue tilted back. She grabbed the reins with haste and said irately: “Ge!”

Gao Lin laughed loudly and beckoned a few guards to go ahead together and check the road conditions.

In the carriage, Liu Xian’an also heard the sharp “Ge” from outside. He called A-Ning and whispered a few words in his ear. After a while, A-Ning got out of the carriage and handed a smoky pink porcelain jar to Cheng Suyue: “Cheng-guniang, this is for you from my young master.”

Cheng Suyue took it and smelled a light fragrance before opening the lid.

“The winter in the Northeast is so cold, this pot of flower oil can cure frostbite,” A-Ning said. “It was made by the Third Young Lady of my family, and smells better than the ones in ordinary pharmacies. By taking advantage of summer to heal old wounds, one will not easily relapse in winter.”

Actually, Cheng Suyue didn’t like to use these kinds of fragrant things. She was used to smelling the wind, sand, and moon dew in the desert, and these flowers and plants were too sweet and cloying. But even if she didn’t like the smell of flowers, it didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate kindness, so she clasped the pot in her palm and said with a smile: “Then it is my pleasure.”

If one accepts a gift from others, one must return it. Cheng Suyue rode forward on her horse, thinking about what Second Young Master Liu might need. On the other side of the mountain road, Gao Lin had already turned back with his guards. In addition, there were more than ten people behind him, driving carts filled with containers. It looked like a caravan.

“Boss.” Gao Lin reported to Liang Shu, “These are members of the Northwest Merchant Group, selling wine and silk to and from the south. They just passed Chixia City two days ago.”

The caravan leader appeared upright. Cheng Suyue threw over two pieces of silver: “What good wine is there, brother? Let us try some.”

The merchant caught them and said with a smile: “Then I will make it cheaper for the girl.” While speaking, he personally picked out two jars of fine wine. Once the business was done, the conversation started. He casually said: “You fellows are going to Chixia City?”

“Yes, to see a friend.” Liang Shu nodded.

“That’s probably not good,” the merchant kindly warned. “There seems to be a plague in Chixia City. The gates of the east, west, north, and south are locked, and the defenses are tight. I asked the city guards there, and they said they would not open for three to five months.”

Cheng Suyue was surprised: “Then how did you enter the city?”

“We didn’t enter the city.” The merchant explained, “In order to make it easier for passers-by, the local officials of Chixia City built a small road more than ten li away from the city so that the city could be circumvented. There are also a lot of officers and soldiers guarding along the way. In addition, there are three tea sheds where you can rest for supplies. Although the food is definitely not as good as the restaurants in the city, at least you will not go hungry.”

“What is sold at the tea sheds?”

“Tea and sesame seed cakes. I heard that if you get there early, you can still find braised beef.”

“Is it expensive?”

“It’s not expensive, only slightly higher than the normal market price. After all, it takes some effort to transport things in the wilderness. This is nothing, very understandable.”

After hearing this, Chegn Suyue let out a pei to herself.

Liu Xian’an knew what she was upset about. Chixia City had a famine and plague recently, and the state of the common peoples’ lives could be accurately guessed without thinking. Things were like this, and the government still had enough energy to set up stalls on the mountain road to sell cakes and meat. There was no telling whose pockets the money earned would fall into.

After the caravan finished unloading the wine, they chatted a little more before continuing south.

A-Ning had distributed the anti-plague pills to the group early in the morning. Presently, they took them one after another, then started on the road again. In the afternoon, there was indeed a fork in the road ahead. A group of officers and soldiers stood at the intersection, raising their hands to signal the group to stop.

Gao Lin dismounted his horse: “Officers, we are going to Chixia City.”

“You cannot, the city gates have been closed, entry and exit are currently prohibited.” An officer waved his hands, “Go back quickly.”

Gao Lin was taken aback: “It was fine a while ago, why did it suddenly shut down? What happened?”

The officer was impatient: “Why are you asking so many questions? In any case, you cannot enter the city now. You must turn back or go to the next city by detour. Do you understand?”

“We have urgent business in Chixia City.” Gao Lin took out some broken silver from his sleeve and stuffed it covertly into the hands of the officer. “Further asking these officers to make it convenient.”

The officer accepted the money with a smile but still did not let them go, turning his face without acknowledging the debt. Gao Lin said impatiently: “Hey, you —”

“Ge, Ge!” Cheng Suyue stepped forward and grabbed him. “Don’t embarrass these officers, let’s detour to the next city, ba. We can stay there for a few days and wait for the city to reopen.”

She had a charming appearance and a pleasant voice. When the officer saw the pretty girl, this attitude finally improved a little. “We are just following orders, there is no need to deliberately embarrass anyone. All right, you can take the path next to the city, but if you want to wait for Chixia City to open, a few days may not be enough.”

Cheng Suyue asked: “Then how long must we wait?”

The officer shook his head: “It’s hard to say. By my estimate, it will take at least three months, so you had best go back to where you came from. Don’t wait, otherwise staying at an inn will be a big expense.”

Cheng Suyue did not follow his suggestion. After thanking him, she still directed the convoy to follow the path, and the officers and soldiers did not stop her. Liu Xian’an lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, seeing that the road was very flat and wide. After traveling for a while, there was indeed a tea shed ahead, which was also run by officers and soldiers.

Gao Lin went up to inquire about prices. Tea was a copper coin for a big pot – this could not be considered swindling, but if there were still sky-high prices in this kind of place, the passers-by would suffer a loss. They would inevitably complain elsewhere, which could easily cause trouble. Small profits but quick turnover was indeed the most convenient arrangement.

There were officers and soldiers patrolling the road at all times. At the end of the mountain road, there was another deep, dense forest. As long as one passed through it, they would be completely out of the jurisdiction of Chixia City.

Cheng Suyue said: “That person surnamed Shi has no skills elsewhere, but he planned meticulously to see guests off and collect money.”

Gao Lin found a dry, open space in the forest and ordered everyone to set up camp there, planning to go to investigate the city in person after nightfall.

Liu Xian’an got out of the carriage: “Lieutenant General Gao.”

Gao Lin walked up to him: “Is something wrong, Second Young Master Liu?”

“En.” Liu Xian’an nodded. “Currently, everything about Chixia City is unknown. If the plague is truly fierce and Lieutenant General Gao breaks in like this, I fear that it will be dangerous. How about you take me with you?”

He was sincere, and his request was reasonable, but Gao Lin wanted to protect Master Liu’s son, and had some doubts about whether Liu Xian’an could cure the plague. Thus, he found an excuse and said that he would just act as a spy, going and returning quickly. There would be no trouble in such a short amount of time, so naturally there was no reason to bring the highly-skilled doctor with him.

“All right, then.” Liu Xian’an didn’t force it, but before leaving, he still dutifully warned that when there was a plague in the south fifteen years ago, anyone who came in contact with it would get sores all over their body. Even three or four layers of cloth towels would not prevent contracting it. There was also a wilderness village twenty-one years ago, where the villagers would be infected through talking with one another. In addition, there were those who passed by each other, who lived in the same courtyard, who washed their hands in a stream, and who burned incense in a temple…..all of them had the possibility of getting sick. In short, Lieutenant General Gao must be careful, I will go back to the carriage to sleep first.

“Wait!” Gao Lin crumbled a little upon hearing that. “If it is useless to use three or four layers of cloth to cover the mouth and nose, how should I be careful?”

“I don’t know,” Liu Xian’an said truthfully. “Treatment depends on the specific disease. The pills prepared by A-Ning before can only prevent the most common plagues, and cannot cure all diseases, so I suggest that it is best to bring me on this trip.”

“This……” Gao Lin was in a dilemma.

“This lord will enter the city with you.” Liang Shu’s voice came from behind.

“My prince, absolutely not.” Gao Lin hastily dissuaded, “We don’t know what it is like in the city. This subordinate can go alone, how can the prince go with —-” His words cut off abruptly as he realized, oh, it turns out that he didn’t mean to go with me.

Liang Shu looked at Liu Xian’an and repeated again: “Tonight at midnight, I will take you into the city.”

“Okay,” Liu Xian’an said. “Midnight it is.”

So Gao Lin began to worry again. It was truly hard for him not to worry. According to past practice, such nightly visits were usually carried out by him and his sister. Why did the prince suddenly become interested this time with Second Young Master Liu involved? Wasn’t this really another way of having fun? And when it came to controlling a plague, the more experienced the doctor, the safer it was. It was best to be over half a hundred years old with a white beard stretching all the way to the chest. That would be more reassuring. Someone like Liu Xian’an……he was really worried. 

But no matter how anxious he was, there was no way that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would listen to him, and Second Young Master Liu would not listen either. Afterwards, Gao Lin went to find A-Ning in an attempt to work through a proxy, asking him to come forward and persuade the young master. As a result, with the righteous face of a doctor, the young boy resoundingly stated: “The disciples who come out of Baihe Mountain Village will only rise to the challenge. What reason could there be to avoid a plague? Not only my young master, but I will also go into the city to give medical treatment. I also ask Lieutenant General Gao not to make such unreasonable demands in the future.”

With him standing on the moral high ground like this, Gao Lin left abruptly in shame.

Cheng Suyue looked at her brother with sympathy: “When has our prince ever done something he wasn’t certain about? Why are you so nervous?”

“He can have certainty on the battlefield and in the court, but can he handle a plague simply because he wants to? Besides, the prince has never dealt with this sort of disaster before.” Gao Lin urged her, “Go, you try to persuade them again.”

“I won’t persuade them. I think Second Young Master Liu is quite capable, he must be able to find a way.” Cheng Suyue refused to move. “You mind your own business and just wait to provide support tonight.”

Lieutenant General Gao had run into walls everywhere, and was physically and mentally exhausted.

How could no one but him understand?

Night fell once more.

At midnight, the dew condensed into a sheet of white fog, and the forest was quiet.

Liu Xian’an took out his red bay pony, brushed its mane, and fed it half a piece of delicious soybean radish cake.

Liang Shu asked: “Are you going to ride it?”

Liu Xian’an nodded.

He had only one horse.

His Highness Xiao Wang’s black horse also paced over at this time. It was almost twice the size of the mare, with flared nostrils and a wide body. It looked like a peerless overlord who could travel thousands of miles each day. So Liu Xian’an said apologetically: “My horse runs relatively slowly, so there may be a bit of delay on the way…..Ai!”

Liang Shu lifted the person one-handed and mounted the horse together with him. Xuan Jiao let out a long neigh into the air, and without waiting for its master to prompt it, it swept through the mountain air and galloped into the distance, its four hooves like iron, crushing the moonlight along the way.

A-Ning was dumbfounded by this set of natural and flowing bandit tactics, and stood open-mouthed for a long time. When he came back to his senses, he hurriedly chased two steps after them and shouted: “Young Master, you didn’t bring your cloak!”

Liu Xian’an naturally did not hear this. He was jolted so hard that he almost fell off the horse’s back. He didn’t even bother with the cloak, and only had time to grab the handlebars on the saddle with both hands, turning his head with some confusion.

Liang Shu caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye. In a good mood again, he lowered his stance slightly and kicked the horse’s belly with the soles of his boots, and the speed became as fast as lightning.

As Xuan Jiao passed by, the fireflies in the grass were startled and flew up altogether. They gathered and tumbled in the air, suddenly wrapped around the two of them like ribbons, and then blew with the mountain wind all over the trees and blooming flowers, glowing beautifully.

Gao Lin looked at this dreamy summer night scene in the distance, thinking that the paintings of those court painters amounted to a fart, and nudged his sister with his arm: “Yue, ah, do you think our prince will become an immortal after spending a long time around Second Young Master Liu?”

“The prince is already an immortal.” Cheng Suyue took a bite of wild fruit. “Isn’t it true that he has been saving people all these years?”

A-Ning was as pure as paper in this regard, and asked in amazement: “The prince actually understands the teachings of Buddha?”

Gao Lin choked, and said quickly and humbly: “Not much, just a little.”

As for the specific amount, it was probably just enough to send his opponent on the battlefield to reincarnate at an auspicious time.

T/N: Liu Xian’an is a Disney princess, confirmed.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Eight << Table of Contents >> Chapter Ten

The ancestral hall of the General’s Mansion had been tidied up, and there were two vacant spots beside the old general’s tablet. Yan Mingting solemnly placed the two tablets there.

The two names “Zhao Jian” and “Yu Yin” were written on the tablets respectively, and Housekeeper Qin handed them three more incense sticks. Zhao Yelan was led through the whole process by them, first offering incense and worshiping, and then kowtowing.

All the ancestors of the Yan family were displayed in the ancestral hall. It was a family of meritorious service, and any name picked out at will would be a respected person. Only his parents had not been in the light until now.

After making a name for himself, he also wanted to rehabilitate his parents’ reputations. However, the Marquis of Anqing’s rebellion was a fact, the incident was very complicated, and it was an old story. No one would care who died in the case of the Marquis of Anqing’s rebellion. Instead, everyone would know that he was born as a criminal slave.

According to the regulations of the Xuan Dynasty, criminal slaves were not allowed to serve as officials, but could only be sent to the streets of the market, where they would be picked and purchased like objects.

Because his parents had never confessed that they took part in the conspiracy even until death, he had stayed in prison for more than a month before being released.

It was only that before being released, people like him would be branded with the word “slave” on their backs. When the red-hot iron pressed against his back, he immediately fainted from the pain. When he woke up, he had been locked in a cage for people to watch, laugh at, and purchase.

He had been looked over and rejected by many buyers. He was too immature, too thin, and he didn’t look like a good hand at work. Coupled with his gloomy face and dirty body, he looked like a white-clothed ghost who would come to take their lives. No one bought him as a slave at all.

He also saw Gu Niaoniao passing by the cage, standing with a group of girls as they were led to the brothel in front.

Gu Niaoniao was the daughter of the nanny in the Marquis of Anching’s mansion. The nanny was captured and exiled, but because of her good looks, she was forced to become a prostitute.

The crime of treason implicated the entire family. Men were slaves for generations, and women were prostitutes for generations. This was the most terrifying criminal sentence in the world.

Naturally, Gu Niaoniao also noticed him. They had known each other since prison, but they hardly spoke.

Once, a prison guard slapped Gu Niaoniao, but his mother stepped forward to stop him. After his mother passed away, Gu Niaoniao had no one to protect her, so she subconsciously hid behind him without speaking to anyone, and then the two of them were beaten together. But neither of them cried, only silently gritting their teeth while being bullied.

Life was but a trifle, and crying and fussing was useless.

Zhao Yelan stayed in the cage for a few days, during which it rained all the time. He was shivering with cold and had nothing to eat or drink. The other criminal slaves had almost all been sold, and only a few people remained.

He was lying motionless on a stack of hay, with only a pair of black eyes moving to remind passers-by that he was still alive.

He was not waiting to die. Others were picking slaves, but he was also picking masters.

Suddenly, he saw a well-dressed pampered son of a wealthy family pass by, not a few years older than him.

He heard someone calling that man the third prince.

It was the third prince, ah……the unfavored and ambitious prince must hate the dog emperor very much, right?

Zhao Yelan moved his fingers, turned his head toward the sun, and raised the corners of his mouth – the opportunity had come.

Zhao Xuan didn’t pay much attention to him in the beginning, a little slave who was younger than him, but because he looked pitiful and had a strong will to survive, he brought him back to the manor as a servant. But who would have thought that from time to time, he would make surprising remarks at staff meetings. It was only then that he gradually noticed him, and gradually entrusted him with important responsibilities.

After changing his name, Zhao Xuan asked him what he wanted to do.

“I want to be a master.”

“All right, if there is a day when we succeed, I will definitely let you be an official. No one will know of your origin except me.”

Now, there was one more person who knew his origin, and had fulfilled his long-cherished wish.

— He lived a splendid life as Zhao Yelan, but his parents couldn’t even have an ancestral hall.

“Father, mother.” It was Yan Mingting’s voice.

Zhao Yelan was slightly surprised. Looking at his familiar appearance, he was both amused and moved while Yan Mingting said sincerely to the two memorial tablets: “I am Yan Mingting, and now I am also Mengting’s husband by law. We are living a very good life. If you hear these words, be sure to bless him with good health.”

Zhao Yelan turned his face away. There was a sudden warmth in his heart, which stirred up his blood and almost melted the year-round snow in his eyes into water. 

He suppressed this unknown emotion. It seemed that he had been losing control of his emotions recently, his eyes growing red from time to time, which was a little embarrassing.

“Okay, my lord’s parents’ tablets have also been moved to the ancestral hall, so I will clean it more often and you can come to offer incense at any time in the future,” Housekeeper Qin said with a smile. He didn’t know what sort of characters these parents were, but he just thought that the old general and his wife would not be lonely in the afterlife. Maybe the four of them could get together and play card games.

After everything was cleaned up, Yan Mingting was about to take him to dinner, but the other party silently lit another three sticks of incense, inserted them into the old general’s incense burner, and bowed with a salute: “……Father, I have been disrespectful in the past. I hope you will forgive me, and I will treat Fangli well in the future.” He offered incense to the old lady. “Mother, the tea you grew is really delicious.”

Yan Mingting listened to him talk to his father and mother, and his heart was so warm, ah, he was so happy. He didn’t simply eat at home, but took that person to Huichun Tower, where he ordered a lot of dishes.

“Why have you started to waste money?” Zhao Yelan teased.

“What is given to you is not wasted.” Yan Mingting happily picked a lot of dishes for him. “Try it quickly, ba, you haven’t eaten here for several months.”

Zhao Yelan ate a few mouthfuls and his appetite improved. After all, he was a native of Beijing, and eating local cuisine was the most appetizing.

“You eat too, ah, why are you watching me?”

Yan Mingting didn’t even eat, just propping up his head and looking at him with a foolish smile: “Mengting, you are very good.”

“How am I good?”

Yan Mingting placed the Chisha Sword on the table. He had been carrying it for a whole day, and the whole capital knew that he had received the Imperial sword. And after his persistent showing off, everyone naturally knew that Zhao Yelan got it for him.

But no one raised any objections. No one was more suitable than Yan Mingting as the master of the Chisa Sword. Everyone focused on congratulating him, and expressed curiosity about their relationship by the way.

But this evening, Zhao Yelan had embraced him in public, and it would likely be known to everyone soon.

Yan Mingting was happy just thinking about it.

“Just because of this sword?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Isn’t that enough?” Yan Mingting thought for a while, then said, “But it’s actually more than that. How can your goodness be explained clearly by one or two things?”

“This is clearly your love……” Beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

But Zhao Yelan stopped talking in time, and didn’t have the nerve to continue.

After eating for a while, Li Yucheng’s voice sounded from downstairs, asking the waiter which room they were in.

When Yan Mingting opened the door, Li Yucheng raised his head and immediately ran into their room, taking a few sips of tea as soon as he sat down, and saying: “I just went to your place and heard that you were here.”

“What’s the matter?” Yan Mingting asked.

“I was summoned by the Emperor this afternoon! Heavens!” This was the first time that Li Yucheng had been summoned by the Emperor for an important matter. He was excited just thinking about it, and said, “He officially handed over the silk and tea business between Jiangnan and the capital to me, and also conferred upon me some kind of official position as a civilian envoy. I have never heard of it, how should I do this, ah?”

Zhao Yelan smiled: “You can just handle business normally. The Emperor simply wants to make you an official, so as to frighten those merchants in Jiangnan. In this way, on the surface, the officials in court will control the trade between the two places and those people will not dare to mess around.”

“So it is!” Li Yucheng laughed and talked with him about future arrangements.

Zhao Yelan saw that he had a lot of ideas and a wide range of methods. He was a good fellow for doing business, only he easily floated with the wind and had no real talent to learn. It was difficult for one person to maintain such a large business.

“Go and call Yin Pinglu,” Zhao Yelan instructed Xiao Gao.

After a while, Yin Pinglu and Zuo Ran came together. They had been called to eat before they could have dinner.

Only then did Zhao Yelan ask Li Yucheng to keep talking. Yin Pinglu knew that his true intentions would be revealed, so she listened carefully and even forgot to eat.

Zhao Yelan listened to their conversation while eating, and felt a little relieved. With Yin Pinglu to manage and supervise, Li Yucheng should be more steadfast and focused. One worked on the inside while the other worked on the outside, and they matched up quite well.

It took an hour and a half to finish the meal, and they mainly conversed about business. Towards the end, Zuo Ran was drowsy and fell asleep leaning on Yin Pinglu.

Yin Pinglu smiled, patted her head, and continued to talk about business, but she was interrupted by Zhao Yelan.

“All right, now that we’re done talking, let’s go back, ba.” Zhao Yelan glanced at Yan Mingting, who was also fighting with his eyelids.

“Okay.” After Li Yucheng finished speaking, he also brought up another thing, “By the way, Fu Qian is back today.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyes: “What? Does their family really plan to send him to the General’s Mansion as the second wife?”

Yan Mingting immediately woke up: “What second wife? Whoever speaks to me about a second wife, I’ll lose my patience with them, even if it’s you.”

Li Yucheng: “Tsk, tsk, you are so brave, oh. Aren’t you afraid of sleeping in the study at night?”

Yin Pinglu smiled silently, woke Zuo Ran up, and the two of them left first.

“Don’t worry, ba, the rumors about him and Fu Qian have long been self-defeating. After he received the letter from his family in Beijing, he was so frightened that he quickly clarified that it was a rumor, and he didn’t dare to have anything to do with you.” As Li Yucheng was speaking, he suddenly noticed that Yan Mingting had been touching the sword on the table, and said in surprise, “Is this the famous Chisa Sword?!”

“Yes, ah.” Yan Mingting raised his chin.

“Can I touch it?”

“You have to ask his opinion first.” Yan Mingting gestured to Zhao Yelan.

“Why?”

Zhao Yelan also didn’t understand. Since it was already his sword, why did he ask for his permission?

“Because he asked the Emperor for it as a reward for me,” Yan Mingting said. “Do you know how difficult it is to get this sword? Do you know how hard he has worked?”

Li Yucheng: “……”

Zhao Yelan: “……”

“Won’t touch, I won’t touch! This unmarried person can’t bear such grievance!” Li Yucheng ran away angrily.

“I haven’t finished talking yet,” Yan Mingting called, then turned to look at Zhao Yelan.

Zhao Yelan pressed his forehead, but the corners of his mouth were curled up: “Let’s go, we should go back.”

There was still work to be done.

The mansion had already prepared hot water. Ever since Zhao Yelan moved into the General’s Mansion, these servants had become accustomed to his lifestyle and would boil hot water every night, waiting for their master to take a bath.

After mixing the water, Yan Mingting was about to go out, but Zhao Yelan grabbed his wrist: “Where are you going?”

“I’m going out, ah.” Due to force of habit, every time the other party took a bath in the past, he would be driven out. 

Zhao Yelan didn’t allow him to go: “Wash my back.”

“Okay, ah.” A gleam of light flashed in Yan Mingting’s eyes. Perhaps it was because he knew of the secret on his back that he invited him so generously.

Yan Mingting looked down at his fingertips. There were many calluses, and he was afraid they would scratch the other’s skin, so he washed his hands first and specially used soap.

After washing, he sniffed it. It was fragrant, like sweet-scented osmanthus.

He picked up a clean handkerchief, walked behind the screen, and was stunned at the sight before him.

Zhao Yelan stood beside the bathtub with his back facing him. His clothes were draped over the screen, and his inner layer was halfway off, exposing his smooth, firm back. His shoulder bones protruded slightly, like a butterfly about to take flight.

Hearing movement, Zhao Yelan turned his head to glance at him, and then took his shirt off casually. He knew that Yan Mingting was looking at his back and the brand mark. He could even feel a bit of distress in the other party’s fiery gaze.

Taking a deep breath, he removed his trousers. Then he raised his hand to take off the jade crown, and the black hair poured down like a waterfall, hanging softly down his back to cover the brand mark that was neither deep nor shallow.

As exquisite as he was, he also felt a little worried at this time, wishing his body could be as smooth as satin, without any wounds or scars. But when he turned around, he saw the heat in Yan Mingting’s eyes that was hotter than the hot water in the tub, to the point where it could burn someone if he wasn’t careful.

The last time they faced each other so frankly was at night. Yan Mingting hadn’t had time to take a closer look at his body, but now when he saw it for the first time, his heart beat fast. Then he watched Zhao Yelan step into the water. His hair floated on the water, but his body was glowing white under the surface.

“Then I’ll start to wash, ah.” Yan Mingting’s throat was itchy as he announced this shakily, and then he wiped his back with the handkerchief.

After a while, Zhao Yelan said: “You rubbed it into my ear.”

“Oh, oh, I’m sorry.” Yan Mingting quickly withdrew his hand, not daring to have fantastical thoughts, but heard him say: 

“You haven’t washed yet, ba, do you want to come in and wash together?”

Could this be refused?

Overjoyed, Yan Mingting quickly stripped off his clothes and entered the bathtub in two or three movements. The water level immediately rose and rushed out.

“……” Zhao Yelan turned his head to watch the water rushing out. At least a third was missing, and when he glanced back at the other party, he was smiling like a silly dog and stepping on his foot.

Zhao Yelan stepped on him back.

The two stepped on each other silently for a while before Zhao Yelan said: “Childish.”

“Yet you’re still playing with me?”

Zhao Yelan scoffed lightly and turned his head away from him. At this time, he heard the sound of water as Yan Mingting approached him, but he didn’t move.

Then the other party came over and kissed his cheek. Zhao Yelan turned his head sideways, and when the other was about to touch his lips, he moved back as if nothing had happened.

Yan Mingting watched his mouth retreat and couldn’t wait to kiss him. He grabbed the rim of the tub with one hand and imprisoned him in his other arm, very tough and domineering, not giving him a chance to escape at all.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched imperceptibly and he responded: “Come in?”

Of course Yan Mingting wanted to come in, but he was afraid of failure. It would be too embarrassing for his wife, and he would never be able to look at anyone again in this life.

Seeing that he was silent, Zhao Yelan didn’t ask any further questions, but simply put his arms around the other’s neck and kissed his lips, neck, and ears back and forth. He deliberately elevated the sound of his breathing, deep and shallow, puffing hot air until Yan Mingting’s soul departed from him.

Yan Mingting wanted to endure, but couldn’t help himself, and was so uncomfortable that he was about to explode. He picked the other party up, and the water splashed around.

Zhao Yelan said, “Go to the bed and wait for me first, I’ll put on some clothes.”

“ ? ” What clothes should be worn at this time?

Yan Mingting still did as he was told. After drying himself off, he hurried to sit on the bed, then lowered his head and muttered internally: You can do it, ah!!

After a short time, Zhao Yelan came out from behind the screen, casually wearing an undershirt. Yan Mingting’s throat rolled, and he stretched out his hand to pull him in, but was pushed back.

“I’ll do it.” Zhao Yelan sat on him, pretending to be calm, and leaned over to kiss him. After feeling that he had begun to relax, a suspicious blush appeared on his face and he whispered confidentially, “I just made some preparations.”

As Yan Mingting wondered about this, he was suddenly taken into the Peach Blossom Spring.

He looked at the owner of this hot and humid land in disbelief. The other party frowned tightly, as if he had encountered a winding and difficult road. He was a little lost, and his forehead was sweating a bit, but he still insisted on leading the way.

Yan Mingting’s heart was in a mess. He sat up and embraced the other, feeling his eyes grow a little hot: “Mengting, Mengting, why are you so good? I love you so much, what should I give you in return?”

Because he sat up suddenly, Zhao Yelan was caught off guard and walked to the end of the path. He let out a muffled grunt, and heard him repeat this again after a while. He replied uncomfortably: “Why don’t……you move, ba.”

Yan Mingting obediently moved a little, and hearing the other’s uncontrolled voice, he seemed to have found pleasure.

The lowered curtains swayed until the middle of the night.

Zhao Yelan was exhausted, and felt a little regretful. He had helped Yan Mingting solve the cause of his ailment, but felt that he was going to be ill himself. Yan Mingting seemed to realize that his problem had healed, and was eager to show off his abilities. He was as energetic as a dog and never stopped.

Zhao Yelan pushed him away, angry and annoyed: “That’s enough, go to sleep!”

Yan Mingting reluctantly got up and opened the door. Then he knocked on Housekeeper Qin’s door and looked at him hesitantly.

Housekeeper Qin looked up at his expression, then at the moon, guessing the time, and suddenly understood: “I see, hot water!”

Yan Mingting gave a thumbs up.

A drowsy Zhao Yelan was carried by him to the bath again. He felt sleepy as soon as his head touched the pillow, but he kept hearing Yan Mingting whispering in his ear.

“Mengting, are you asleep? I can’t sleep.”

“Mengting, I’m so happy, extremely happy.”

“I want to do it again right now.”

“Mengting, why are you so beautiful?”

“Mengting, Mengting, wake up and take a look at me, I’m swollen again……”

“Mengting, I am pleased with you and admire you, what about you?”

Zhao Yelan also forgot whether he answered his questions or not. He probably did. Who could refuse such an annoying whisper?

He only remembered that when he weakly opened his eyes, the other party couldn’t wait to pull him in and rock together until dawn.

The bath was wasted again.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-Three <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Five

“Li Chengyuan?” Xia Xingchi tried hard to conceal his shock, trying to act as if nothing had happened. “Are you talking to yourself?”

When he asked this question, he was afraid that this person would say something scary like “there are invisible people.”

Fortunately, Li Chengyuan quickly calmed down after being startled, and lightly replied: “No. I…..am memorizing a speech. The annual meeting is coming up.”

Xia Xingchi heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Just as long as there was no mental problem.

But after some thought, he felt that was wrong: “But where’s the manuscript? What are you memorizing from, ah – the thing in your hand just now wasn’t a cell phone, was it?”

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips. His steadied heart suddenly jumped again as he saw Xia Xingchi walk up right after speaking and try to touch his coat pocket.

Unexpectedly, just as Xia Xingchi grabbed the corner of Li Chengyuan’s clothes, the other suddenly frowned and clenched his teeth, bending over and holding his stomach.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback at this sight: “What’s the matter with you?”

This was too suspicious. Could it be such a coincidence that he was about to torture him to extract a confession when he suddenly had a stomachache?

Li Chengyuan’s health was not well-preserved, so his face was always pale and it was impossible to see if he was truly uncomfortable.

Xia Xingchi touched his hand. Even though it was an enclosed balcony, it was still chilly, and the cat’s paws were freezing cold.

It seemed that the stomach pain was getting worse. Li Chengyuan couldn’t help but let out a groan. The hand that was gripping the balcony loosened, and his whole body shook and almost fell down.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback when he saw this. He didn’t dare to doubt anymore, and quickly reached out to support him and help him back to the room.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Li Chengyuan said in a hoarse voice: “Xia Xingchi, you doubt me.”

Because of the low voice, there was a slight illusion of grievance. Xia Xingchi suddenly felt his conscience condemn him, and had no choice but to help him into bed and comfort him:

“That’s not it, I don’t doubt you. Only, it’s so coincidental……”

Xia Xingchi had already figured out the pattern. Li Chengyuan usually only showed some physical discomfort when he was faking it.

But when he was truly uncomfortable, he kept silent. Because illness would inevitably bring back bad memories, making him subconsciously suspect that he would be rejected and abandoned, so he would pretend to be fine.

Li Chengyuan didn’t wait for Xia Xingchi to say “coincidental,” and turned over to curl up with his back facing him, as if he was so unhappy that the pain intensified.

“Okay, okay, okay! I won’t say anything, all right? Where did such a big temper come from?”

Xia Xingchi could only stretch out a hand to stroke the irritable big cat’s head comfortingly, lest he anger himself to death.

Li Chengyuan lay motionless on his side of the bed. After a while, he felt the warm hand shrink back. Then he heard the sound of footsteps and boiling water, and breathed a sigh of relief —

He quickly took the ring box out of his pocket and put it under the pillow for the time being.

“Come on, drink some hot water.” Xia Xingchi didn’t dare to pour too much for him, for fear that it would make him even more uncomfortable and induce vomiting.

Li Chengyuan reclined in bed with a pale face and held the paper cup in one hand. When Xia Xingchi threw off his slippers and climbed into bed, he rubbed his hands together as if he wanted to rub his stomach.

In fact, when Xia Xingchi reached out his hand, he “accidentally” touched the coat that he hadn’t taken off and deliberately rubbed the pocket, wanting to see what was inside.

Of course, it was a step too late to think about it now. Xia Xingchi didn’t feel anything, so he sneakily rubbed and touched the other side, unwilling to give up.

Li Chengyuan’s whole body was sneakily touched all over by him until he felt like he was about to catch on fire, and he finally stopped, figuring he had just seen it wrong.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help being a little disappointed. After all, what he had vaguely seen just now was a ring box.

But Li Chengyuan didn’t seem like such a romantic person. At that time, even when he was wearing an engagement ring, it was like wearing handcuffs. He figured there would be no surprises.

“Are you feeling better? Do you want me to get your stomach medicine?”

As he said this, Xia Xingchi reached into his hospital gown and felt that his stomach pain should not be serious, as his abdomen was neither stiff nor cold.

After all, he was pretending. Li Chengyuan dodged his hand awkwardly, so as not to reveal his flaws: “No need, I’ll just drink some hot water.”

Fortunately, Xia Xingchi didn’t doubt him. When all was said and done, stomach pain was a very metaphysical thing, and it was not always possible to detect it by touch.

“It’s so cold on the balcony and there’s no heater. It’s easy for you to catch cold. If you want to memorize speeches, you can memorize them here. You don’t have to worry about waking me up.”

After thinking about it, he threatened fiercely: “You’ll be out of the hospital soon. If you have a fever or stomach problems again, be careful of being detained for a few more days!”

Li Chengyuan nodded.

When a bodyguard knocked on the door and Xia Xingchi went to get their food, he immediately got up and took the ring box from under the pillow, then hid it in his briefcase.

The series of movements were quick and soundless, completely eliminating the risk of being discovered. It was not at all like what someone with a stomach ache could do.

In fact, Li Chengyuan also knew that wearing a ring during their engagement was too flagrant. It was too impatient and urgent, very much like putting Xia Xingchi in handcuffs.

Naturally, they would wear them well at the wedding. But somehow, perhaps because big plans could be spoiled by a little impatience, the more nervous he was, the more wrong he felt.

He was such a calm and reserved person, and wasn’t even sure how to get the ring. In the end, he just took out the wedding ring that Secretary Ye sent the day before yesterday and tried it on in advance.

The wedding ring was a rather large “pigeon egg.”

Although Li Chengyuan preferred a low-key style, his little money-grubber liked these kinds of shiny things, so he deliberately chose the largest and most expensive one.

He had originally wanted to choose a bigger diamond, but during this period of time, he had been watching several top diamond sellers in the world. He changed his usual dignified and low-key young master style, turning to the high-profile style of a local tyrant, which really terrified the jewelry designers. He had to gently remind them not to make it bigger, otherwise even the ingenious design would inevitably affect the aesthetics.

. . . . . .

After passing various physical examinations, the doctors finally jointly decided that Li Chengyuan could be discharged home. 

He had originally wanted to go through the formalities and leave in a discrete manner, but for some reason, the media was alerted. As soon as he went out, he was surrounded by entertainment reporters and media.

The melee in front of the emergency room was still fresh in his memory, and Xia Xingchi had unpleasant associations with this kind of scene where everyone was holding up microphones and cameras and scrambling to be the first to talk.

Even though he knew that they were different from the group of paparazzi that Xia Yu maliciously hired, Xia Xingchi still reacted with a conditioned reflex. As soon as he saw this scene, he subconsciously grabbed Li Chengyuan’s hand.

Li Chengyuan held it back. He had heard about this incident after waking up, and the result of his furious rage was naturally the suffering of that group of paparazzi.

“I don’t want to be interviewed,” Xia Xingchi whispered.

It stood to reason that he could answer a few innocuous questions. After all, the two of them seldom put in an appearance, so this was a way to get to know them.

“Okay, then don’t answer.” Li Chengyuan squeezed his hand. “Should we leave directly or should I answer a few questions?”

He had originally wanted to slip away quickly, but thinking of the group of eagerly awaiting fans, Xia Xingchi changed his mind: “Do it, ba.”

Most of the questions were about their marriage and his physical condition, and Li Chengyuan revealed a rare patience as he answered them.

Suddenly, he heard a different question: “Mr. Li, is it true that you said you knew Teacher Xia when you were young? Because Teacher Xia and Xia Yu had exchanged lives by mistake……”

Perhaps due to everyone’s attitudes being more polite, Xia Xingchi listened with pricked ears and answered with a smile after hearing this question: “Yes, we knew each other……I also made him suffer poverty with me, and fed him steamed buns and pickled vegetables.”

Li Chengyuan smiled when he heard this.

It was the first time for Young Master Li, who had always been well-clothed and well-fed, to eat such crude and simple food. But for some reason, sitting on the ground with Xia Xingchi and eating steamed buns, they seemed to be particularly delicious.

His stomach, which had always been fragile and delicate, put up no resistance, and he even felt that the hot steamed buns made him very comfortable.

When asked “Wasn’t Teacher Xia not in the capital at that time?” Li Chengyuan replied lightly:

“Hence, this was all the greatest arrangement of destiny.”

Everyone thought that Xia Xingchi had also been in Beijing, or that Li Chengyuan had traveled to another city when he was a child. Therefore, they didn’t have any doubts, let alone think that the arrangement of destiny came from a different time and space.

After this answer, the hospital’s security team and the bodyguards jointly escorted the two of them into the car, putting an end to the crowded and lively scene.

“How much do you remember?” Li Chengyuan turned his head and asked after getting into the car.

“I still don’t remember much.” Xia Xingchi shook his head, then said with a giggle, “But you looked so cute eating steamed buns hahaha.”

The little porcelain doll was already beautiful, and he looked like a noble and elegant little prince huddled in the corner gnawing on steamed buns and pickles as if they were delicacies from the mountains and seas.

Li Chengyuan rubbed Xia Xingchi’s head helplessly: “What sort of messy things are you thinking about?”

. . . . . . .

The house was still as clean and tidy as before, and Aunt Li was preparing a sumptuous meal for the two who had finally returned.

The news of Li Chengyuan’s discharge from the hospital had not only alerted the media, but people from all walks of life in the business world had also mobilized, and the storage room was so full in the morning that there was no more room for gifts.

Everyone knew that Mr. Li was reticent, and that he hated people visiting the most. What’s more, this time was different from the past. Not only would it disturb his rest, but more importantly, it would affect their two-person world. Only fools would rush to their deaths.

Therefore, the only way to please him was to give gifts, and it just so happened that they had a lot of new excuses:

Li Chengyuan was discharged from the hospital, the wedding was approaching, and Xia Xingchi’s birthday was coming up.

Xia Xingchi had just finished changing his shoes when he received a call from Xia Pingjian: “Xingchi, do you like the gifts from Dad?”

The words were filled with excessive affection. Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but frown at the greasy, hypocritical voice, and moved the phone away from his face.

Not so long ago, this old bastard would beat people according to his mood.

Relying on the original owner’s weakness and timidity, he slapped and beat him wantonly at every turn. The current speed of his face-change could actually make the Beijing Opera feel ashamed.

“What gifts?” Xia Xingchi said languidly and perfunctorily. “There are a lot of things here, and I haven’t had time to count them. Who knows which ones are from you.”

“No, no, no, those things are not enough for your birthday present – I bought you a sports car!”

Xia Xingchi was taken aback and thought, isn’t this the gift that should have been bought for Xia Yu in the original plot?

If he remembered correctly, it should be something that Xia Pingjian generously gave away when the vicious protagonist finally triumphed over Li Chengyuan in the finale, received a huge inheritance, and got married.

He never expected that the gift recipient would now be changed.

“I don’t want it,” Xia Xingchi said immediately. “I’ll ask the driver to send it back, and you can give it to whoever you like.”

Although the little money-grubber loved money, not to mention that this gift somehow had a disgusting “second-hand” feel, the most important thing was that he didn’t take money from others, and didn’t intend to shoot himself in the foot.

The small gift he gave last time was simply a gift, but this one was too expensive, and it was against his principles to take advantage of this.

Xia Pingjian’s pig brain was not suitable for business at all. The Xia family, which looked beautiful on the surface, was actually a decaying building on the verge of collapse.

So from the very beginning, Xia Xingchi was forced into marriage for a purpose and a mandated mission – the prohibitively huge flow of capital was not a lot of money to Li Chengyuan, and it could easily solve the Xia family’s predicament.

When Li Chengyuan emphasized that the true young master of the Xia family must be married to him, Xia Pinjian felt a little regretful that Xia Yu had no chance, but after some thought, he felt that it didn’t matter —

In any case, Xia Xingchi was a good-for-nothing who could be manipulated. Even though he was usually abused, beaten, and scolded, he was still well-behaved.

Who would have thought that since the day of the engagement, he would become like a different person, totally out of control?

Xia Xingchi smiled and said: “Since you were ashamed and refused to recognize this son before, just continue not to recognize him forever and stick together with your precious Xia Yu.”

After speaking, he directly hung up the phone.

Xia Pingjian was now so indifferent to Xia Yu that he drew a clear line between them. In the original book, he drew a clear line with the innocent original owner in this way, letting the original owner be persecuted to death without anyone collecting his body.

To deal with this snobbish, vicious villain of a father who even used his son as a commodity for appraisal, Xia Xingchi didn’t even need to do anything to him.

He could just continue to maintain that he was not recognized as a son, and wait for the Xia family, which had long been ruined, to go bankrupt.

. . . . . .

However, Xia Pingjian’s words also reminded Xia Xingchi of something. After looking at the calendar, he realized that his birthday was in three days.

He had never celebrated his birthday before. For a poor little money-grubber, an extra plate of braised pork for dinner was a celebration.

Now that he was finally getting rich, it was time to upgrade his celebration style.

Li Chengyuan was processing documents in the study while Xia Xingchi lay on the living room sofa, happily thinking about how to reward himself.

But after thinking about it, his terribly inexperienced mind was a complete vacuum, and squeezed out the idea of replacing a small plate of braised pork with a large pot, so as to realize the freedom of eating meat.

On a late night a few years ago, an exhausted Xia Xingchi, who had finished his last job, passed by a closed dessert shop. Looking at the window full of beautiful cakes, he suddenly remembered that today was his birthday.

Originally, he had thought about buying himself a small cake to celebrate, but when he saw the price above, he immediately gave up —

He optimistically comforted himself that at least the shop was closed. Otherwise, if he couldn’t afford it, he would definitely be a little sad and disappointed.

Xia Xingchi shook his head, thinking that he was rich and debt-free this year, so he could finally buy himself a birthday cake.

If he thought about it carefully, it wasn’t worth it. As a small semi-professional pastry chef, since there were ovens and various cooking utensils in the villa, it seemed cheaper to buy the ingredients himself?

If he could, he should. Xia Xingchi rolled up his sleeves that day and began to study how to make birthday cakes. He checked which ingredients were missing, then busily started purchasing and preparing.

Aunt Li was astonished upon seeing this. Young Master Xia was a treasure in Mr. Li’s hands. Why bother to make a simple cake for himself on such an important day as his birthday?

Shouldn’t he find the most luxurious and expensive hotel and buy the most beautiful and high-end birthday cake?

What shocked her even more was that Li Chengyuan had clearly seen Xia Xingchi’s plan, but had no intention of stopping it at all, as if he wanted to let him happily prepare for the celebration on his own.

“Sir,” Aunt Li couldn’t help but ask when serving tea in the study, “Aren’t you going to prepare a birthday party for Young Master Xia?”

Li Chengyuan didn’t stop signing documents, and just glanced at her blankly without answering.

Aunt Li said: “Then, at least the star of the birthday shouldn’t make the cake himself…..”

It was apparent that Xia Xingchi, who had been wandering with no one to rely on all these years, had not received much care from others. He didn’t even realize that there was something wrong with celebrating his birthday through his own efforts.

Li Chengyuan finally put down his pen: “You don’t need to worry about him, let him do it himself.”

After hearing this, Aunt Li was even more worried.

Although this may mean that the husband was secretly preparing some surprises, it may also be literal.

After all, he was an indifferent person who couldn’t even be bothered to celebrate his own birthday. Could he really care about the birthdays of the people around him?

. . . . . .

After preparing the fried dishes for his birthday the next day, Xia Xingchi sat on the sofa with Summer in his arms and watched TV.

During this period of time, the big white dumpling had grown closer to him. Even compared to how it clung to its indifferent master, it obviously preferred to crouch beside Xia Xingchi and beg for rubs and caresses.

Xia Xingchi’s eyes were fixed on the TV screen, but he was holding a red string in his hands, his fingers skillfully flying up and down to weave a beautiful collar.

“Do you know what day tomorrow is?” Xia Xingchi asked Summer.

It tilted its head to look at him with bright amber eyes wide open, and after a moment, it let out a “Meow!” and rubbed its fluffy head against his wrist as if it vaguely understood.

“That’s right!” Xia Xingchi said, “Tomorrow is my birthday!”

As he spoke, the collar in his hands was finished. So he hugged the big white dumpling and tied the red collar around its neck to add a little festive atmosphere.

Just as it was fastened, the housekeeper, Uncle Ding, came up with the medicine.

Seeing this, Xia Xingchi released summer and habitually took the medicine, heading to the study to deliver it to Li Chengyuan.

After all, a certain person was so old, yet still couldn’t change his childlike habit of not liking to drink bitter medicine, so Xia Xingchi had to personally watch him drink it.

When he entered the room, it was a rare time when Li Chengyuan was not looking at his computer to process documents, but was staring at a box sitting in a drawer that was usually locked.

Xia Xingchi only saw the red string bracelet before, and this was his first time seeing the box, so he curiously stretched out his head to see what it was.

Li Chengyuan said: “Come here.”

Xia Xingchi blinked. He directly held the medicine bowl in one hand, sat on Li Chengyuan’s lap, and rubbed his head to make him drink the medicine.

The two of them weren’t so lovey-dovey from day one, and no one could have imagined that the perpetually calm and indifferent big tycoon was like a young man in love in this respect, and that his ears were always hot and red when he was easily teased.

He raised a hand and touched Xia Xingchi’s head, trying to kiss him, but was ruthlessly blocked by the medicine bowl stuffed to his lips.

Xia Xingchi tilted his head and kissed him: “Drink the medicine first – wait a minute, why is the potted flower on the table wilting again? Did you water it with medicine again?”

Li Chengyuan didn’t speak, and his eyes shifted, clearly admitting to the crime.

Xia Xingchi then smacked him hard on the thigh and said with a smile: “Dalang, it’s time to take the medicine.”^[1]

After that, he forced him to drink down a big bowl of bitter Chinese medicine.

He kissed Li Chengyuan’s cheek like he would do to reward Summer: “Good job!”

Then he tilted his head curiously to see what was in the box.

The bracelet was still inside. Xia Xingchi touched it, then picked up a yellowed and faded ticket.

The ticket was a familiar pattern and style – exactly the same as the one used by Xia Xingchi more than ten years ago.

And the place of origin was that distant, nearly forgotten hometown.

Seeing this object with his own eyes was far more astonishing than hearing about its description. Xia Xingchi looked at it continuously for a long time in shock, and finally said:

“T-there is really such a ticket? You still kept it after so many years.”

Li Chengyuan was still holding him: “The lucky ticket that my little liar gave me……of course I want to treasure it.”

When he found out that he had been “deceived,” he was indeed angry and wanted to tear it up, but he was reluctant to destroy any of the things that little Xia Xingchi had left him.

The two were being affectionate when they suddenly saw Summer poking through the crack in the study door, looking curiously at the two humans who had started to stick together before spring.

Li Chengyuan saw the red string collar around its neck at a glance, and immediately became dissatisfied, saying lightly: “You only made one? And gave it to the cat?”

Although a certain person seemed calm and indifferent, vinegar almost overflowed in the study.

Xia Xinchi looked at the sour big cat in disbelief, and asked in surprise: “You even drink vinegar over a kitten? How old are you?”

Having his true thoughts exposed so blatantly, Li Chengyuan immediately felt a little awkward, but continued: “Make one for me too.”

Xia Xingchi: “…….?”

Shocking, a certain boss stole a collar from a cat at home!

This person had probably never been childish in his life, so when he grew up, he occasionally acted like a child.

Xia Xingchi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but when the promise came to his lips, he swallowed it back and said seriously: “No way. Who are you that I should give one to you, ah?”

Speaking of this matter aggravated him.

Li Chengyuan never expressed himself, neither confessing his love nor proposing marriage, as if he just wanted to live and maintain this kind of life. He looked very much like a scumbag who received goods without paying.

Unexpectedly, Xia Xingchi hinted at this point. Li Chengyuan didn’t answer, as if he didn’t grasp his meaning, and only threatened in a heavy voice: “Go get the string now.”

As he said this, his cold fingers lingered on Xia Xingchi’s earlobe, making it clear that if he didn’t follow his will, he would pinch this most sensitive place.

Xia Xingchi had no choice but to sit on his lap and weave a collar for him under coercion….ah, no, a necklace.

Then the two cats in the family, one big and one small, received the same red string.

Li Chengyuan’s collar bones were quite beautiful, and his cold white skin contrasted with the red string very well. It even looked a little risqué. 

Even when he turned off the lights and went to bed that night, Xia Xingchi was still fascinated by the sight.

In addition, he drank a glass of sweet fruit wine brought to him by Aunt Li before going to bed, and was a little dizzy for a while, so he couldn’t help but lean into Li Chenguan’s arms and lightly take a bite of his collar bone.

When biting was not enough, he semi-drunkenly tried to hook the red string with the tip of his tongue, but accidentally licked Li Chengyuan’s skin —

He lit a fire on the spot. Xia Xingchi saw that something was suddenly wrong with Li Chengyuan. His disordered breathing and elevated body temperature seemed quite perilous.

Seeing this, he quickly tucked himself into bed and wrapped himself up tightly, for fear that on his birthday, he would be stir-fried by this “scumbag” who had neither confessed nor proposed.

. . . . . .

Under the influence of alcohol, Xia Xingchi was not only extremely excited before going to bed, but also slept very deeply.

He never felt someone picking him up from the bed in his sleep, putting his favorite star sweater on him, and leaving the villa in the lingering night.

Xia Xingchi leaned into Li Chengyuan’s arms in a daze. He rubbed against his chest and let out a soft grunt, obviously dissatisfied at the feeling of the plane taking off.

Perhaps it was because of the ticket that deep memories were aroused in his mind, and he had a very long, clear dream.

Every bit of what he experienced with his little porcelain doll emerged clearly.

Whether it was when Li Chenguan was sick and writhing in pain, and he handed out his wrist and let him bite until blood dripped down, or when Li Chengyuan was sober and still had a cold little face, but bandaged him with gritted teeth and reddened eyes…….

The memories played like old movies. Although they were naturally damaged due to the baptism of time, many of the details that he wanted to remember were very clear.

The pictures emerged frame by frame until that stormy night.

Seeing that the little porcelain doll had a persistent high fever and had fainted, shivering all over, Xia Xingchi gritted his teeth and had no choice but to grab Li Chengyuan’s wallet and go to buy medicine.

This was the first time he had touched the wallet.

At first it was Li Chengyuan who took money out to give to him. Later, when the two of them were struggling for money, Xia Xingchi came up with the idea of looking for a job farther away, and wanted to send this precious sick young master home.

It wasn’t because he thought Li Chengyuan was a burden, but with his physical condition, he needed to go home for treatment. Otherwise, Xia Xingchi was very afraid that he would die if he vomited blood again.

Like a dead kitten, stiff and cold.

But little Li Chengyuan was at the point where he hated himself the most and felt inferior due to his illness. When he heard these words, he only felt that Xia Xingchi would abandon him too.

Perhaps the only thing he could use to keep the little money-grubber was money. As the cash dwindled, he would only lose value. Or maybe when Xia Xingchi got all his money, he would also abandon him.

Therefore, the insecure Li Chengyuan never gave Xia Xingchi the entire wallet, nor did he let him know how much money he had left.

Xia Xingchi got this wallet for the first time and quickly glanced at the small amount of money left in it, which was still enough to buy a few boxes of medicine, and then rushed into the rainstorm.

He couldn’t open his eyes due to the strong wind, and the torrential rain hit him rapidly in the face. He could only vaguely make out the direction.

Just as he was about to rush towards the door of the pharmacy, there was a sudden explosion of thunder!

There was an immediate fiery pain all over his body, accompanied by the incomparable fear of death – little Xia Xingchi suspected that he had been struck by lightning.

But when he looked up again, he found that the rainstorm had stopped, and the dry ground in front of the pharmacy made it seem as if it had never rained.

Xia Xingchi’s mind went blank. He walked in mechanically and stood in front of the counter, but didn’t know why he wanted to buy medicine or what kind he wanted to buy.

Why am I in such a hurry……is there someone waiting for me?

Xia Xingchi suddenly opened his eyes. The thought that haunted his mind every rainy night but could never be grasped was finally clear!

Yes, my sick little porcelain doll is waiting for me!

He sat up immediately, wanting to tell Li Chengyuan what he had remembered, but when he turned his head, he found that there was no one beside him.

He looked around again. The surrounding environment was extremely strange.

After having just had a bizarre dream, when he opened his eyes and found himself in a strange and unfamiliar environment, Xia Xingchi was immediately startled.

Not only was the bed an unfamiliar one, but he looked down and saw that although he was sleeping on a bed and covered with a blanket, he was wearing a sweater instead of his pajamas.

If there was anything more surreal, it was that the room……seemed to be shaking?

Xia Xingchi was taken aback, and had to wonder if he had not yet woken up and was still in a dream.

He quickly jumped up and found his shoes that had been carefully placed under the bed.

Xia Xingchi opened the door and strode out, and never could have imagined the vast and boundless sea that came into his sight.

The arc where the sea and the sky kissed glowed gold and red next to the warm rising sun, magnificent as it ignited the entire sea —

This was a sunrise at sea?!

Xia Xingchi was shocked. For a moment, he forgot to ask why he was standing on the deck of a luxurious ship.

He was still standing there blankly when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

When Xia Xingchi turned his head, he saw Li Chengyuan wearing a neat black suit with a large bouquet of delicate blooming roses in his hand, walking toward him in the bright and gleaming dawn.

He looked around again, only to find that there were fiery, classic red roses everywhere, along with countless elaborate decorations.

Xia Xingchi suddenly came to a realization, and his heart began to beat wildly.

He saw Li Chengyuan get down on one knee, devoutly grasp his fingers and kiss them lightly, and then raise his head, equally nervous but full of incomparable affection and determination:

“Xia Xingchi, I love you. Entrust the rest of your life to me, I —”

Before he could finish speaking, Xia Xingchi threw himself into his arms with unrivaled enthusiasm.

He had no relatives or friends all his life, and had never received a carefully prepared surprise from anyone, let alone had such a grand confession waiting for him.

This feeling of joy was almost unreal. Only by throwing himself at the person he loved and feeling his same rapid heartbeat could he feel that nothing in the world was more real than this.

Xia Xingchi, who had been wandering alone, finally obtained a home and a life-long promise, like a boat that had finally found a safe haven that would always shelter him from the wind and rain.

In order to catch the little hedgehog who was so moved and excited, Li Chengyuan had no choice but to stand up and hug Xia Xingchi tightly, embracing his only rare treasure.

Xia Xingchi raised his head and closed his eyes, while Li Chengyuan lowered his head and kissed him devoutly.

Their intersecting lips blocked the rising sun, and light illuminated the blue sea and sprinkled down on the two people embracing each other tightly, bathing them in golden light.

A testament to their eternal passion and love.

T/N: That’s it for the main story! There are two extras that I will post in a day or two. I’m so sad to see this story end, but what a sweet ending it is!

---

[1] This quote is from the Chinese classic novel “Water Margin,” and has become a meme. The context is that a character in a book poisoned Wu Dalang’s medicine and persuaded him to drink it, saying, “Da Lang, it’s time to take the medicine.” It sounded loving, but was actually resentful and vicious. So it’s used as a joke to express one’s dissatisfaction with the other party. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Forty-Five << Table of Contents >> Extra 1

There was nothing more embarrassing than this. Xia Xingchi was so humiliated that he covered Li Chengyuan’s face with the pillow, not allowing him to speak and wishing he could kill him on the spot.

It was a pity that this was a big cat that was not easy to raise, and he really couldn’t bear it.

Seeing that he had finally stopped talking, Xia Xingchi simply threw the pillow aside and jumped into bed himself, disguising himself as a rice ball that couldn’t move or talk.

No matter how Li Chengyuan poked him, he would remain still and refuse to come out.

Xia Xingchi’s face turned even redder from being smothered.

Li Chengyuan’s helpless expression when he repeatedly emphasized “it’s really you” appeared in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more denials he remembered. He had even scolded sourly, “You can’t even recognize your own White Moonlight?” He looked exceedingly stupid.

Li Chengyuan reached out to touch the small sushi roll that was wrapped up tightly, his eyes full of smiles, but he deliberately said with a serious face:

“Come out. If you don’t behave well, I will fire you when my “White Moonlight” comes back.”

Seeing that this bastard dared to whip the corpse endlessly, Xia Xingchi became even more furious.

He couldn’t endure it any longer, and directly jumped out of the covers and threw Li Chengyuan on the bed!

In consideration of the wound on Li Chengyuan’s back, Xia Xingchi dared not use too much force, so he straddled his waist and reached out to grasp his face, saying through gritted teeth: “Be careful, Sir, or I will bite you to death right now!”

Obviously in a good mood, Li Chengyuan smiled lightly and held Xia Xingchi’s wrist, stroking the scar bitten into his skin.

“Do you remember this scar?”

Xia Xingchi blinked and shook his head: “It seems I don’t yet.”

There was indeed a brief fragment of memory where he handed his wrist to the sick little porcelain doll and let him bite, but he still couldn’t remember clearly.

Li Chengyuan could only frown: “After you cheated me, you forgot about it.”

All these years, he had been planning to catch the little liar back, brutally imprison him, and make him pay for his actions.

But since the day of the engagement, when Xia Xingchi bumped into him, he neither recognized the “little porcelain doll” he always teased at the time, nor did he recognize his marriage partner.

On the contrary, he took the initiative to bring them together by mistake, throwing himself into his arms as soon as they met……he was too fascinating to let go, and he was also unwilling to do so.

Xia Xingchi shook his head upon hearing this and said firmly:

“Wrong! Although I don’t remember it now, I’m sure I’m not the type to do things like murder – maybe there was a misunderstanding?”

All of this was so mysterious. Just how he met Li Chengyuan across worlds, and how his age changed from being older than him to being younger than him were temporarily unsolved mysteries.

What’s more, when he talked about “cheating him out of all his money and leaving,” perhaps at some juncture he just disappeared from this world?

Li Chengyuan narrowed his eyes, as if contemplating something.

After a while, his tone was calm but sure: “No, you’re a little liar.”

Xia Xingchi disagreed with this statement and grasped his face again: “I’m not! Why are you so sure?”

“Because you deceived me with a fake train ticket.”

On such a stormy night filled with lightning and thunder, when Li Chengyuan found out that Xia Xingchi was gone forever, his first reaction was not that he had scammed him of money and run away. Rather, he was deeply afraid that something had happened to him.

After waiting for a long time with overwhelming restless anxiety, Li Chengyuan, with his high fever and weak body, got up and tried to go out to find Xia Xingchi.

But at that time, he was so sick that he could hardly walk. He’d had a high fever for several days and nights, and would vomit even after drinking water.

When he woke up again, he found that it was already noon the next day. The rain had stopped, but Xia Xingchi still hadn’t come back.

If it wasn’t for his illness, Xia Xingchi naturally wouldn’t have had to leave in the rain to buy medicine late at night, not to mention encounter a possible accident.

At this thought, feelings of fear, guilt, and remorse intertwined. Li Chengyuan lay on the ground trembling, his mind filled with various scenes of accidents.

He hated himself so much for being sick again. He had already killed his mother by driving her crazy, so now had he killed Xia Xingchi? 

This thought made Li Chengyuan extremely miserable, and at the same time, he was burning with anxiety. After returning to the Li residence, he desperately tried to find him.

In the process of searching, however, he found that not only was there no child involved in an accident, even Xia Xingchi’s name and identity were fake, and there was no trace of him.

Li Chengyuan recalled that when he mentioned his hometown city, he was puzzled at the time because he had never heard of this province or city.

But a young person inevitably had less experience, so maybe he was just ignorant and didn’t know about it?

Xia Xingchi saw his confusion, so he conjured up a train ticket: “Look at the words on it, believe me now? This is my lucky ticket that helped me escape them and come to the capital! I’ll give it to you and hope that your illness will get better soon.”

But it was later discovered to be fake. The style and color of the ticket was wrong, and that city was not on the map at all.

Why make this stuff up if it wasn’t intended to be deceptive from the start?

Xia Xingchi was stunned when the other party finished speaking: “A fake train ticket? And fake location names?”

Regardless of whether he was actually so wicked, how could he have such a magical forgery ability?

But after thinking about it, he suddenly came to a realization. Xia Xingchi slapped his head and immediately reported the name of a province, city, and even a street.

Because he had been away from that place for many years, it had taken some time for him to remember it.

However, Li Chengyuan had almost engraved this information into his bones over the years, and immediately nodded with a frown: “Yes, that was it.”

With that affirmative answer, the context of things seemed to become clearer – maybe he had actually transmigrated without knowing it.

Because they were both in “Beijing,” and he was a child who didn’t know his way around upon first arriving, and had no relatives or friends, he had not realized that he wasn’t in his original time and space.

Although it sounded unbelievable, it all seemed to make sense.

“Actually, the ticket isn’t fake…..”

Xia Xingchi opened his mouth, but realized that if he wanted to explain this, wouldn’t the matter of transmigrating be exposed?

No one could easily accept the outrageous statement, “Actually, this is a book, and you are the short-lived villain who died prematurely.”

After hearing this, the other party would surely think Xia Xingchi was crazy.

Xia Xingchi dithered for a long time without knowing what to say, so he could only end the topic abruptly:

“Never mind, never mind! I can’t even remember. If I did, I would tell you, ba.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Li Chengyuan’s eyes slowly focusing on his face, with the familiar keenness and hidden depth of a hunting feline.

Xia Xingchi immediately had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Li Chengyuan calmly set forth: “Xia Xingchi, you’re not from this time and space, right?”

He mentioned this casually, as if making an off-hand statement such as “The weather is very nice.”

However, Xia Xingchi received five thunderbolts worth of shock, and almost jumped up in fright.

He suddenly realized that Li Chengyuan might have known that he was not a “little liar,” and deliberately said this to test him.

In the process of reporting the location name and avoiding the topic, he had completely fallen into the trap and thoroughly exposed the truth.

“You……what are you talking about, ah?” Xia Xingchi could only feign ignorance. “Are you possessed? After being cheated, have you become delusional?”

Li Chengyuan only showed a smile that was not a smile, and this time he didn’t intend to let him off:

“Why were you afraid of me in the first place? How did you know I would die? And why did you think Xia Yu should have had smooth sailing?”

Every time he said a word, the hairs raised up all over Xia Xingchi’s body. His heart was beating so hard that it almost leaped out of his throat.

He never thought that this person would be so sharp, and didn’t even know when he had been completely exposed.

Li Chengyuan saw that he couldn’t utter a single deceptive argument in his astonishment. He lowered his eyes and stroked Xia Xingchi’s wrist, saying:

“You knew my destined ending – so what kind of ‘role’ did I play?”

As soon as the last sentence came out, Xia Xingchi practically heard a resounding “zap” of shock.

How did Li Chengyuan know everything?!

He set the tune with one beat of the gong, obviously aware of much more than Xia Xingchi had imagined.

“How do you……” Xia Xingchi stammered, “No, I don’t know……”

With a sigh, Li Chengyuan touched the head of the frightened little hedgehog. In fact, he had already guessed what his role should have been.

Thinking back to how terribly afraid Xia Xingchi had been of him at first, it far surpassed the awe and fear of ordinary people.

But in order not to scare him, Li Chengyuan hadn’t shown his paranoid, twisted true self in front of him at that time – one could imagine that he was probably the villain.

Li Chengyuan knew that his mental state had been deteriorating day by day. If not for Xia Xingchi’s appearance, it would be no surprise if he went completely insane soon after.

So his little hedgehog had not only returned to his side, but even changed his original hopeless ending.

Li Chengyuan smiled faintly and didn’t continue to embarrass and frighten Xia Xingchi, raising a hand to touch his head: “So when are you going to get off of me?”

Xia Xingchi was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly found that he was still straddling Li Chengyuan in a position that was not suitable for children, which painted a very colorful picture.

Xia Xingchi: “…….”

Discussing this serious matter in such an unorthodox posture was simply terrible.

He jumped up as if he had received an electric shock, and then quickly lifted the blanket, intending to get back into his hedgehog nest.

But this time, Li Chengyuan gripped him by the back of the neck: “Come out with me for a walk.”

Xia Xingchi refused and continued trying to get under the covers, saying vigilantly: “No way, the doctor said you have to stay in bed and rest, lie down and don’t move around.”

After that, he turned his head to bite Li Chengyuan’s hand that was gripping his collar, but his nose was pinched again when that hand loosened.

Li Chengyuan got up to grab his coat, obviously not intending to follow the doctor’s advice: “It’s uncomfortable to lie down all the time.”

After lying down for several days, the farthest he went was to walk down the corridor while holding onto Xia Xingchi and the IV stand, which was really difficult to bear.

There was nothing Xia Xingchi could do about him, so he stuck his head out from under the covers to make a condition: “Let’s take a stroll down the corridor again, or you can sit in a wheelchair……I can push you for a ride!”

This proposal was rejected by one vote, of course, and he even got a tap on the forehead.

Xia Xingchi compromised in the end, thinking that a walk might improve Li Chengyuan’s appetite and make him eat more. Thus, he quickly put on his coat and agreed to go downstairs to walk the cat.

The most important thing was to put more clothes on his cat, whose body had not recovered. If he caught a cold and got sick, Xia Xingchi would definitely be worried to death.

Xia Xingchi finally felt at ease once he wrapped that person tightly in three layers inside and outside. He euphemistically said, “I’ll hold you up,” but in fact, it was obvious that Li Chengyuan was dragging him crookedly by the arm to go downstairs for a walk.

This was the top private hospital in Beijing, after all, and the supporting facilities were quite exhaustive.

Downstairs, there were not only gardens and beautiful walking paths, but it was also directly connected to a small ecological park with an excellent environment.

The two took a leisurely stroll, and finally stopped in front of a shallow artificial lake. This lake was full of koi, which would come up when people passed by, likely out of the habit of being fed.

It had already entered early winter, but today was a rare nice and temperate day, not particularly cold.

With the warm sun shining on his face, Xia Xingchi squinted his eyes and took Li Chengyuan’s arm, rubbing his head on his shoulder. He suddenly felt that this day was extremely pleasant.

There was nothing more reassuring and joyful than spending time with his family’s big cat.

The two sat on a bench by the lake, and after a while, Li Chengyuan instructed a bodyguard to quickly bring fish food over. He conscientiously unscrewed the lid and handed it to Xia Xingchi.

Xia Xingchi’s eyes lit up at once at the sight of the fish food, and he stood happily by the lake feeding the fish, while Li Chengyuan watched quietly from the sidelines.

As he watched the warm sun outline Xia Xingchi with a golden border, the other’s thick and slightly long hair looked fluffy.

“Li Chengyuan, look, look, I found a……”

Xia Xinghchi stared at the pure golden koi and wanted to have Li Chengyuan take a look, but when he turned around, he found this person standing beside him quietly.

When they turned their heads, their faces happened to meet, and Li Chengyuan leaned down to kiss him gently on the forehead – 

It was clearly a premeditated kiss.

Xia Xingchi was taken off guard by this unexpected sneak attack and immediately wanted to kiss him back, but he suddenly found that there were many fans around them, watching on with eyes full of pink bubbles.

As for Li Chengyuan’s kiss, many people couldn’t help but scream in excitement, and the atmosphere became even more lively.

There were quite a lot of people in the garden, and after recognizing the two of them, they quickly gathered over as if wishing to see another kiss on the head.

After being stared at in such a passionate atmosphere, Xia Xingchi immediately blushed and said: “What are you doing, there are still people here! Did you do that on purpose?”

Li Chengyuan gave a faint smile. Sure enough, he did it on purpose.

In the past, he had used various routines to get Xia Xingchi to officially announce them to the world. A certain person’s definition of “low-key” was really a double standard.

There was a lot of commotion, and there were so many fans and onlookers that it almost became a small meetup.

It was nothing more than showing affection in front of the camera, but now he really couldn’t adapt to being under everyone’s watchful eyes, especially the excited crowd that cheered and shouted: “Kiss again! President Li! Kiss Xingchi again!”

Xia Xingchi subconsciously wanted to run away, and was about to grab his big cat when he suddenly remembered that the doctor told the patient not to exercise vigorously during this time.

Fortunately, this group of fans was really affectionate and friendly, and didn’t rush forward wildly. They were likely taking into account the physical condition of everyone’s male god.

Xia Xingchi had no choice but to stand in place. He was a little embarrassed to see so many fans for the first time, and couldn’t help wanting to shrink back.

After all, Xia Xingchi had been despised for so long during his more than twenty years of life, and had never faced so many kind and loving eyes. He was a little unaccustomed to it, and even a little flattered and disbelieving.

When he took a step back in embarrassment, Li Chengyuan pulled him into his arms protectively. He gently stroked his head as if to comfort him, and then lowered his head and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

The fans immediately burst into cheers, and were so excited that they wished they could move the Civil Affairs Bureau here so that the two could get married on the spot.

“Why are you kissing me again? You want to fight, don’t you, ah?”

Xia Xingchi’s face was hot from the kiss, and he couldn’t help but puff up.

“This is doing business in front of fans,” Li Chengyuan said in a low voice, calmly revealing his righteousness, as if he was actually doing it for the sake of the cheering fans.

Xia Xingchi naturally knew that he no longer cared about business. This was just deliberately making up excuses.

“Sir, what is the relationship between us? I don’t seem to have said that we are going to be together. You’re being so familiar, ah!”

Just as he was speaking, he happened to hear a fan in the crowd shout: “Mr. Li! Xingchi! When will we be able to eat wedding candy? Today is also a working day for the Civil Affairs Bureau!”

Everyone’s goal immediately upgraded from a simple kiss to “Get married! Get married!”

Originally, everyone was just excited after meeting them by chance and wanted to knock cp to make things lively. Unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan actually answered:

He cleared his throat slightly as a signal, and everyone immediately fell silent.

They hadn’t heard him speak in person. His real voice was deeper and more magnetic than it was after being compressed and distorted online:

“We will marry and get the certificate soon – this mainly depends on whether I can please my little fiance. I am endeavoring to do so.”

After speaking, the corners of Li Chengyuan’s mouth turned up slightly and he went to look at Xia Xingchi again. Not only did he tell the truth, but he felt no shame chasing after this person, and was in a good mood.

The crowd was already very excited by his voice, and they immediately boiled up when they heard this, shouting “promise him,” which caused unknowing passers-by to wonder who was proposing.

Xia Xingchi could only stare at Li Chengyuan again. This big boss was already so hungry to get married to the point of asking fans to help force the marriage?

Of course, apart from the matter of getting married, everyone was most concerned about whether Li Chengyuan’s physical condition was better or not, and if it was serious.

After all, seeing him like this, his face was really pale and bloodless.

Xia Xingchi smiled and answered truthfully: “Don’t worry, everyone. The doctor has examined him carefully, and he will be completely fine after a period of rest.”

Li Chengyuan’s body did recover quickly. Although the interval between the two hospitalizations was so short, making it worse for his already injured body, he fortunately did not damage his foundation. Raising him back to health was no problem.

The two had nothing else to do, and didn’t refuse everyone’s requests for autographs and group photos. Xia Xingchi finally caught the feeling of being a legendary star.

It was a pity that the injury on his right hand had not healed. Although the bandage was removed, he couldn’t handle a pen very well. He only struggled to sign his name a few times before turning to take group photos.

Rather than taking group photos with them, all the cp fans obviously wanted to see them taking photos together. Li Chengyuan was uncharacteristically very easy-going and responsive in this regard, and obviously had malicious intentions. Xia Xingchi glared at him several times.

More and more people came, and the scene gradually got out of control.

Only then did Li Chengyuan raise his hand to signal the bodyguards to come forward, so as to avoid any accident that could result in Xia Xingchi being hurt again.

. . . . . .

That night, “Yuanchi cp” quickly became a trending search.

Because Xia Yu and Li Shengrui always made a mess of things before, every time Li Chengyuan and Xia Xingchi were on the trending searches, it was always in regard to wretched things done by those two wretched people.

This time, everyone was finally able to knock cp happily instead of looking for sugar among heartrending shards of glass. The scene was quite spectacular for a while.

[I’m the Civil Affairs Bureau, I moved myself here. Quick, quick, quick, I can’t wait!]

[Oh my god! It’s the first time since the reality show that I’ve seen Mr. Li and Baby Xingchi again, I’m so moved]

[Hahahaha When they met last time, they were still pretending not to know each other! Don’t try to fool our sharp eyes]

[Oooh, his hugging picture is amazing. Which sister thought of this pose, help me, I can still knock!]

[I was there! This is not a posed photo, everyone’s enthusiasm scared Baby Xingchi, and he subconsciously slipped into Mr. Li’s arms!]

[Aaah, that’s even better! It’s enough to see how they usually act around each other! I want to keep this one forever. The car door has been welded shut and I’ve swallowed the key! Get married soon!]

[They finally got close in front of the camera! ! Thanking the sisters who took pictures and videos!]

. . . . . .

This pairing was called “the pinnacle of knocking cp,” and was indeed out of control.

In the next few days, every detail from the reality show was picked out frame by frame, and even the photos of Xia Xingchi at the fashion soiree were re-posted.

The more people, the stronger they were, and in just four or five days, there was enough sugar for everyone to find.

[Hey hey, do you know there is also a black set of Xingchi’s couture?]

[Hmmmm? Ears ready for sugar! Is it for couples?!]

[I remember that dead green tea Xia Yu couldn’t rent it when he wanted to, but it’s said that Xia Xingchi bought it directly. Therefore, nobody could have borrowed it from the brand]

[That’s right! Mr. Li bought it for Xingchi! The most important thing is – I finally dug three feet to find a photo of Mr. Li that day! (image.jpg)]

[Groundhog scream ahhh! Mr. Li was actually wearing a couples style at that time! Wuwuwu these two are so good together!]

[Raising hand! I found one even more beautiful! Look at this one! (image.jpg)]

Xia Xingchi was playing on his cell phone in the dark. Playing in the dead of night was the most enjoyable time. At this moment, he was following the candy-knocking curiously, wanting to know what was more “beautiful.”

At first glance, the photo was dark and the phone screen was dim, so he couldn’t see anything.

But in his uncertainty, he exited the picture and went to the comment area and saw everyone shouting, “Knock it!.” Then he remembered that he could try turning up the brightness.

So at the risk of being blinded during the night, Xia Xingchi squinted his eyes and adjusted the phone screen to the brightest setting, and saw the photo clearly —

It turned out that it was Li Chengyuan hugging him horizontally in his arms. He was so drunk that he was actively clinging to him, hugging Li Chengyuan’s neck tightly and refusing to let go.

This was what happened after getting drunk that day?

Although the memory was a little distant and blurry, the two of them had obviously not had such a close relationship at that time, and were even slightly estranged.

Seeing these photos pieced together, it was obvious that he had insisted on playing tricks and making that person hug him, so Li Chengyuan had no choice but to follow suit.

Xia Xingchi was dumbfounded. There was actually some sugar found by the fans that made the idol look foolish……the sugar was quite sweet, and the shock quite shocking.

. . . . . . .

In the early morning, Xia Xingchi was sleeping drowsily when he had a feeling that something was missing.

He instinctively wanted to stick to Li Chengyuan’s body, but after rolling twice, he failed to roll into the target’s arms like he usually did, and couldn’t help but reach out sleepily to feel around.

But he found that the person next to him had left at some point.

Since Li Chengyuan was about to be discharged from the hospital, Xia Xingchi was worried that he wouldn’t follow the doctor’s advice to stay in bed and recuperate more, so he immediately woke up and wanted to find out where he was.

Just as he put on his slippers and got out of bed, he found that Li Chengyuan was standing on the balcony outside of the ward with his coat on, talking in a low voice as if he was on the phone.

Although his back was facing Xia Xingchi, he could still vaguely see that he was holding something in his hand and was looking down and fiddling with it.

Xia Xingchi tilted his head and gazed at him quietly. One day when he was half asleep and half awake, he had seen him standing on the balcony like this, and it looked pretty much the same —

Who was he talking on the phone with instead of sleeping so early in the morning?

What was even more bizarre was that although the fans had been enjoying themselves these past few days, Li Chengyuan seemed to be getting colder with each passing day.

Although his words and actions were the same as usual, he always seemed a little mysterious. When asked who he was on the phone with and what he was looking at, he replied calmly: “I’m looking at my fingers.”

Xia Xingchi naturally didn’t believe him. Although his hands were indeed extremely beautiful, he imagined the big tycoon playing with his hands while talking on the phone. This scene was too creepy, there was no possibility of it happening at all.

— Was it possible that this person was cheating before the relationship was confirmed?!

Of course, there was still a baseline of trust between the owner and the big kitty cat, and now was just a good opportunity to find out what Li Chengyuan was up to.

Xia Xingchi crept close to the balcony. He stretched out his head to see what Li Chengyuan was holding in his hand, and at the same time, tried to prick up his ears to hear what he was saying.

But the angle was not suitable. Although Xia Xingchi worked very hard, he could only vaguely look from the side and couldn’t see everything. He also couldn’t hear the content of his phone call clearly through the glass.

Just as he was thinking about opening the door and going to the balcony for a surprise inspection, Xia Xingchi suddenly realized in horror —

Li Chengyuan wasn’t wearing a bluetooth headset at all, so what kind of call was he making?!

This discovery was hair-raising. After waking up, he actually found out that his family’s cat was crazy and was standing on the balcony talking to himself?

Xia Xingchi couldn’t care less about tiptoeing. After all, “crazy” was just an adjective for others, but it might be true for Li Chengyuan.

He quickly jumped up and slammed the doorknob, opened the balcony door, and rushed forward!

This action was too fast and sudden, and clearly caught Li Chengyuan by surprise.

A bit of astonishment appeared in his usual calm and indifferent expression, mixed with embarrassment and tension that could not be completely concealed. Even the tips of his ears suddenly turned red.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback. He had never seen Li Chengyuan wear such an expression.

What made him even more confused was that although Li Chengyuan’s reflexes were fast enough, Xia Xingchi still vaguely saw —

The thing in his hand seemed to be a ring box?

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Forty-Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Six

Feeling Li Chengyuan’s thin lips getting closer and closer to Xia Xingchi’s extremely sensitive nape, he feared that if he didn’t answer, he would be kissed in the next second.

In the dim and ambiguous room, a faint smile appeared on Li Chengyuan’s face. After all, it didn’t matter if a certain person didn’t answer —

Thinking of it as an opportunity to kiss his little hedgehog more, he profited either way.

Just as he thought this, he suddenly heard Xia Xingchi say: “Wait!”

Li Chengyuan paused, and then his heart beat faster – he was nervous and eager to hear the answer to that question.

But what he never expected was that rather than answer the question, Xia Xingchi vigorously carp-flopped in his arms and twisted around to face him.

Then he went from passive to active and kissed his cheek head-on!

Soft, warm lips touched his slightly cool skin with a tingling, throbbing sensation like a weak electric current.

As if he was too nervous, Xia Xingchi accidentally licked Li Chengyuan’s face with the tip of his tongue.

Li Chengyuan was immediately dazed. As if the electric current had suddenly strengthened, his mind was blank and slightly numb.

Some instinct made him subconsciously want to reach out and put his arms around Xia Xingchi, but just as he raised his arm, there was a very loud, crisp “muah!” that pierced through the rich, lingering atmosphere.

The hot undercurrent was broken by this sound, and the scene was suddenly a bit amusing.

Xia Xingchi kissed violently like a small vacuum cleaner, and proudly said: “Don’t even think about kissing me!”

After saying this, he just dove under the covers, very satisfied with his adaptable act of making a preemptive strike. 

Li Chengyuan was taken aback for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he almost laughed angrily, wanting to take this little bastard right out of bed and give him a spanking.

The two were covered with the same blanket. In fact, he could easily pull Xia Xingchi into his arms if he stretched out a hand.

But the restless enthusiasm just now had evoked some indescribable feeling, and the residual heat had not dissipated after rising, but had rather intensified.

Touching Xia Xingchi again at this time would simply add fuel to the fire.

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips. He touched his head through the blanket after a while and then turned his back on him, intending to calm down first.

Under the blanket, Xia Xingchi blinked. Unaware of the fire he had just started, he simply thought angrily, this bastard hasn’t said it himself, and wants me to say I like him first?

This was a loss-making business!

Although he could clearly sense Li Chengyuan’s intentions, it was like flirting between young lovers, and he couldn’t help but want to hear him repeat it two or three times.

If not for Li Chengyuan’s repeated questioning, Xia Xingchi himself wouldn’t have been able to figure out his ignorant feelings.

— Is this what I like? Am I really in love with this big villain?

After much deliberation, he didn’t even know when this had happened. When he came back to his senses, he realized that his entire heart was focused on Li Chengyuan.

An unknown amount of time later, just when Xia Xingchi thought a certain person had fallen asleep, he suddenly felt a slight movement behind him.

Immediately afterwards, he was once again pulled into a familiar embrace.

He was startled, and reached out a hand to gently push Li Chengyuan: “What are you doing! Sir, pillow service is a different price, don’t hug me!”

There was a slight smile in Li Chengyuan’s deep voice: “How much? Are all my assets enough – if not, how about adding me?”

His chest vibrated slightly with his words and happened to be close to Xia Xingchi’s face. The tingling numbness from just now finally affected Xia Xingchi like an electric current, making him hot as well.

“I, I’ll think about it.”

Xia Xingchi naturally knew what these words meant. The shamelessness of the past had completely disappeared, and he whispered, “Sustaining economic losses won’t be good for you, I have to think carefully…..”

Li Chengyuan smiled even more when he heard these words, and kissed his forehead lightly: “All right, then I’ll put my arms around my little pillow on credit first.”

. . . . . .

News of the attack on the two spread like wildfire, and there were already rumors.

The police also subsequently issued a bulletin outlining the circumstances of the case.

Xia Xingchi woke up naturally and reclined in bed to scroll Weibo, watching everyone mourn the male god’s latest hospitalization. On the one hand, Li Chengyuan’s actions in the nine-on-one attack became more and more popular.

It was no wonder everyone had rich imaginations, considering how badly those gangsters were beaten.

Li Chengyuan was able to rely on his own strength to defend himself, dealing out two deaths and three injuries. He deserved to be the cruel, ruthless villain at the center of the original book.

Fortunately, the wheel of fate had changed direction, and the big villain did not embark on the road of a twisted madman. Instead, he reined himself in at the precipice before he became part of the legal system.

Xia Xingchi blinked and moved back, stuffing himself into Li Chengyuan’s arms. He didn’t need to turn his head to know that the big cat must be staring at him right now.

Sure enough, as soon as he moved, an arm stretched out and embraced him.

Xia Xingchi continued to scroll through the comments, wanting to see if everyone’s next step was to regard Li Chengyuan as a hero who could fly over the eaves and walk on walls:

[God, ah, Boss Li is so strong! Of those nine people, the police reported a shocking two deaths and three injuries. Is this real combat power?]

[Mm-mm, I love sick beauties with max force value the most, this contrast is cute! I’m about to have a nosebleed!]

[He is indeed my male god! Just soooo excellent, ahhhh!]

[Wuwuwu But Mr. Li is hospitalized again. I’m so distressed and worried, ah, how is he now?]

[I just want to know who the hell is behind the scenes! I bet a dime that besides Xia Yu, there’s a real mastermind!]

[Let the Sherlock Holmeses deduce, those who dare to commit crimes like this must benefit from it, and benefit from it hugely]

[Didn’t someone say that there’s a disgusting illegitimate child from an affair? That should be the suspect. @Beijing Public Security, why don’t you investigate?]

[No matter who the murderer is, Mr. Li’s stakeholders must have money. Spending money to make people work hard and make them squeaky clean, as long as there is no complete chain of evidence, no one can be found guilty without judgment in a court of law. Alas]

[Begging Uncle Police Officers, if the murderer isn’t caught quickly, we’ll be really worried. We’re afraid Baby Xingchi and Mr. Li will be assassinated again. It’s only been a few days, and it’s happened twice!]

. . . . . .

Xia Xingchi scrolled through the comment section, thinking that this was indeed a problem.

Li Shengrui, that son of a bitch, must have been prepared for a long time and spent a lot of money to clean up behind him. Since he was able to hide the truth in the original book, it would probably be very difficult to pin him down now.

Therefore, no matter how suspicious he was and even if he was the only suspect, as long as there was no chain of evidence, there would be no way to punish him by law.

Just as he was worrying, he saw that the hot search had been refreshed again, and a rather conspicuous entry appeared before Xia Xingchi:

#Xia Yu released on bail pending trial#

Xia Xingchi froze for a moment. Then he sat up abruptly in bed and said in shock: “Is this the protagonist halo – uh, I mean he can still survive?”

In his agitation, he almost made a slip of the tongue in front of Li Chengyuan again.

It was truly impossible not to be shocked. After all, this matter was of great importance. If Xia Yu had a chance to turn things around, then all the previous speculations about changing the ending of the book would have to be overturned.

Naturally, that also included the ending of his family’s big villain.

Li Chengyuan sat up and touched Xia Xingchi’s head, saying: “Don’t worry, I’m the one who got him released on bail.”

“Huh?” This made him even more confused, and Xia Xingchi asked doubtfully, “Why did you let him out?”

. . . . . .

As expected, Xia Yu himself didn’t understand this at all, or perhaps he didn’t care anymore.

He didn’t know who released him on bail and didn’t want to know why. There was only one hateful thought left in his heart.

This was a major criminal case involving attempted murder. The procedure was not easy, but the grounds for bail were indeed legal and compliant —

There were obviously some problems with Xia Yu’s current mental state. When the police weren’t watching him for a moment, he almost brained himself on the corner of a table. When he got emotional, he cried and laughed wildly.

Xia Yu walked out of the detention center in a daze and took the clothes and cell phone he had lost when he came in. But he found that he had done all sorts of bad things over the years and had already been deserted by his friends and relatives. At this moment, there was not a single person who was sincerely willing to pick him up.

Xia Pingjian had of course heard about his bail pending trial, but he only felt that his old face had been lost.

Whether Xia Yu went in or came out temporarily, he coldly drew a line, pretending he didn’t know this money-losing thing.

After all, the Xia family had never experienced such a shameful incident as the police coming to arrest someone. What made it even more embarrassing was that they didn’t know until now that it was Mr. Li whom Xiao Yu dared to murder.

As soon as the news came out, half of Xia Pingjian’s old life was frightened out of him on the spot. He could only go about begging for help and hope that Li Chengyuan wouldn’t hold the Xia family at fault. This was definitely not done on his order.

After much deliberation, he still didn’t feel at ease. People all over the world said that Xia Xingchi was his precious son, and that Xia Yu, a bastard, had nothing to do with the Xia family, much less that he represented them. 

Xia Yu’s hands trembled with nerves as he dialed a number and called.

But no matter how many times he called, he could only hear the prompt tone after being blocked: “Sorry, the user you dialed is busy,” and nothing else happened.

The repeated cold mechanical sound agitated Xia Yu’s mind and almost made him go crazy, screaming and shouting in front of the detention center again.

— Li Shengrui had cut off all contact with him a long time ago, and it was even more impossible to contact him now.

Xia Yu gritted his teeth, trembling with hatred when he thought that he had been tossed away after he had served his use.

Clearly, Li Shengrui was the culprit behind everything, but now that he was free from the law, Xia Yu’s own reputation and life had been ruined.

Those promises they made to each other were all false. It was all just lies and deceit.

Xia Yu held up his cell phone and became hysterical with resentment for the call that he couldn’t get to go through at all: “Li Shengrui……you bitch! Don’t even fucking think about it!”

What followed was a stream of very filthy cursing. Such was the case that passers-by all looked sideways and suddenly recognized this dirty, crazy person as Xia Yu.

In the eyes of the onlooking crowd, Xia Yu really became the “low-life detested by everyone.”

An angry fan was so furious that they poured half a glass of iced Coke on his head and shouted: 

“Damn green tea murderer! Why did you come out! Are you worth of Xingchi and Mr. Li! You thief!”

This seemed to be a symbol of encouragement. In the next second, all kinds of things that could be thrown were thrown at him like darts, and he had to run away in humiliation.

Thus, the hot search term “Xia Yu released on bail pending trial” rushed to the top with countless funny and embarrassing photos.

He finally ran to a place where no one was chasing him. Xia Yu’s face was covered in sticky cola, and he had completely lost his mind.

Clutching his phone, he muttered to himself: “Li Shengrui, lucky I was prepared…..don’t even fucking think about it!”

He grabbed a taxi and named a location, staring fiercely at the phone all the way under the driver’s surprised eyes as he looked at the fool.

In a corner of a hidden alley, Xia Yu lay on the ground with ease and took out a small USB from somewhere, then forcefully inserted it into the phone.

He opened Weibo, ignoring the insults filling his private inbox, and just stared at the screen with red eyes as he quickly edited something.

A moment later, a new Weibo appeared before everyone without warning.

It contained various content such as photos, screenshots, and audio —

And it all turned out to be evidence of Li Shengrui’s crimes.

[What the hell?! I’m shocked, what does this mean?]

[Xia Yu hasn’t been convicted yet, right? Did he go completely crazy and self-destruct?]

[Turned on the recording and listened to it, I was really fucking sick. Why are you still not dead, you fucking bastard?]

[I finally know who Xia Yu was with in the photo, who looked exactly like Mr. Li. I’m suddenly enlightened]

[Hahahaha I laughed so hard. These two were still thinking about taking the family inheritance and getting married ah? That’s when I found out there were a couple]

[This is really in line with the saying – A bitch deserves a dog forever.]

[The fake young master who occupied the magpie’s nest is paired with the successful high-level illegitimate child. You two are really a match made in heaven hahaha]

. . . . . .

Presently, Xia Xingchi was also swiping his phone in shock. He didn’t expect to see everything turned upside down like an avalanche.

Just now he was troubled by the vicious protagonist gong who had no evidence against him, and thought it would be difficult to bring him to justice.

But if he thought about it carefully, if two equally calculating people wanted to cooperate, they were already mutually grabbing each other’s handles. The only person who had evidence may indeed be the green tea protagonist.

After the two people in the original plot committed all their sins, they got a loving happy ending, and naturally, this evidence was not made public.

But now that Li Chengyuan wasn’t dead, the two were facing imminent disaster and respectively broke up.

Xia Xingchi tilted his head to look at Li Chengyuan again, and finally understood why he released Xia Yu.

As expected of a meticulous villain with an outrageously high IQ. Even though he knew nothing about the fantastical issue of transmigration, he could still perceive the key to breaking the game.

This matter of letting the dog out to bite the other dog was simply too funny. The more Xia Xingchi read, the more ridiculous it became. Li Shengrui likely never expected that he would be beaten by his own pig teammate.^[1] His face must be turning green at this moment.

Speaking of which, although Xia Xingchi had heard about the villainous protagonist Li Shengrui for a long time, he had never seen him with his own eyes, and only saw his silhouette at the cemetery that night.

Speak of someone and he was sure to appear – he saw that the omnipotent netizens had quickly picked up Li Shengrui’s photo:

[This is the front view of the scum illegitimate child (picture.jpg), how about taking a look?]

[Ah, this, ah, this. Saying he looks like Mr. Li is the worst Mr. Li has ever been insulted. The male god is much better than him, did he fail to copy him?]

[Wait, why do I feel like he’s deliberately imitating him? Is he perverted? Why did he deliberately dress up like Li Chengyuan?]

[He really is! Save me, ah, ugly people do all kinds of things to get attention. Buyer’s picture of the product vs the seller’s picture of the product? Boss Li must have been disgusted by him all these years, get out of the way for grandpa!]

[The disgusting son born to the shameless mistress, who has been imitating the other young master for so many years with a distorted mind. Blegh.]

. . . . . . 

Xia Xingchi clicked on the picture and couldn’t help being shocked by the similarity.

But if he looked closely at the facial features, he found that this “similarity” did not come from appearance, but by improving upon the four or five points of original likeness with seven or eight points of dressing up.

It could even be seen that Li Shengrui deliberately trimmed his eyebrows just to make them look closer to Li Chengyuan’s.

The circle of the rich was not large, so naturally they all knew Li Chengyuan. This behavior served no other purpose than embarrassment.

Then there was another possibility – Li Shengrui may not have realized he was imitating him.

Li Chengyuan had always been outstanding and radiant, always shining brightly. Even if the vicious mother and son teamed up to trample him into the mud, it would only further prove his excellence.

Living in the shadows of the background, Li Shengrui was more ignoble and senseless. He subconsciously took Li Chengyuan as a benchmark, making comparisons everywhere, and even his aesthetic standards eventually gravitated toward the other.

Xia Xingchi blinked. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that Li Shengrui looked awkward. It was the difference between genuine and fake.

He couldn’t take any more and put down his phone, and decided to take a closer look at his family’s genuine article so as to cleanse his eyes.

Li Chengyuan saw him taking the initiative to come over and stick to him, so he raised his hand and pinched his nose lightly: “Are you happy now?”

Xia Xingchi grinned and nodded. Seeing the villain subdued by the law and getting what he deserved, he itched to jump up and set off firecrackers to celebrate.

Now he wanted to see what punishment Li Shengrui would be sentenced to, but there was no rush —

He had attempted murder twice, and even hired killers. The circumstances were bad. Perhaps he could be sentenced to death directly, or even life imprisonment, so that he would spend the rest of his life behind bars to reflect and regret.

Li Chengyuan said: “Such a happy ‘little stand-in.’ It’s time to work, go for a walk with your boss.”

He deliberately emphasized the words “little stand-in.” Coupled with that faint smile that was not a smile, it was clear that this was another matter to solve.

Xia Xingchi was slow for a few seconds, before he remembered being jealous of himself.

He thought about all the embarrassing things that happened during that time. No matter that Li Chengyuan had said “you’re the one I was looking for,” he still insisted on not believing it. Not only did he come up with all kinds of sadomasochism in his brain, but he also grew jealous because of it……

Xia Xingchi promptly blushed, flew into a rage out of humiliation, then picked up a pillow and jumped on him!

He covered Li Chengyuan’s face, as if trying to silence him on the spot, and said angrily: “You’re not allowed to say it!”

After being sidetracked by so many messy things, he had almost forgotten about this important matter.

In fact, Xia Xingchi still hadn’t figured out the cause and effect. Since that fragment, no new memories had appeared.

But based on this alone, it was at least enough to confirm that he was the “Original White Moonlight.”

Thinking about all the sour, jealous scenes before, he even beat up his delicate, frail boss in embarrassment because the fact that he was “drinking vinegar” was exposed —

The more he thought about it, the more he itched to find a crack in the ground and crawl inside.

---

[1] A “pig teammate” (猪队友) is a teammate who is more of a hindrance than a help. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Forty-Three << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Five