That summer, the emperor’s youngest brother, King Huai, married the second daughter of Duke Shou An. This was naturally a huge event in the capital, and was even handled by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself.

There were few people in Shou An Manor, so Liu Zhenqing naturally invited a bunch of his friends to help out, waiting for this uncle to come pick up his bride.

Huo Feihan and Liu Zhenqing were standing at the door when Li Xingruo exited the auntie’s room.

Liu Zhenqing stepped forward and asked: “How is she?”

“Fine, it’s just morning sickness. It won’t affect anything.” Li Xingruo said disdainfully, “Can’t you look at the situation and come to that conclusion yourself? If Master knew of this, he would definitely punish you.”

“Women are more accurate at diagnosing women, ah,” Liu Zhenqing said innocently.

“I heard that after your aunt marries King Huai, she’ll go to Nanfeng City, which is near the Western Shu Kingdom,” Huo Feihan said.

Liu Zhenqing nodded and said: “Yes. This is a good ending.”

The old emperor’s health was getting worse, and the crown prince had already been allowed to take up governance of the country. If the old emperor hadn’t been reluctant to give up the power in his hands, he could have become Taishang Huang, a retired, living emperor who gave the throne to his son. But the court had already accomplished a smooth transition, and the three kings basically knew there was no hope for them.

King Huai was the first to withdraw, and asked for an Imperial decree of marriage. 

Liu Zhenqing guessed it had something to do with him getting his aunt pregnant out of wedlock.

Outsiders didn’t know the inside story, and Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo had only found out about it shortly before.

The girl from Shou An manor had initially claimed that she was in ill health and needed to recuperate, and stayed at home. Residents of the capital nearly forgot about this person, but when King Huai suddenly requested a marriage, everyone suddenly remembered that Liu Zhenqing had an aunt.

In the entire manor, only the duke and Liu Zhenqing knew the entire story.

His aunt was not recuperating from illness, but had a secret private life with King Huai. The old duke said that if she followed him in his plot to seize the throne, she would no longer be his daughter, so their relationship was not made public. It wasn’t until King Huai had completely given up his ambition that the old duke gave the nod and agreed to their marriage.

So after the marriage, King Huai would take his aunt away from the capital and go to the southernmost fiefdom, where they would spend the rest of their lives in peace while guarding Great Zhou. This also prevented outsiders from discovering that she had become pregnant before marriage.

Very soon, the wedding procession arrived. As Liu Zhenqing carefully carried his aunt out of the house, he could sense that she was tense.

He naturally understood why, and whispered: “Auntie, it’s okay. If Shimei says it’s fine, then it’s fine. She’s not a half-baked doctor like your nephew, hahaha.”

She was obviously amused, but as the two exited the duke’s manor, his aunt’s tears still wet Liu Zhenqing’s collar.

“Xiting, I’ll leave Grandpa in your care,” said his aunt. Her voice was choked with tears.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. Grandpa has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. When my future cousin is born, I’ll bring Grandpa to visit you.”

His auntie breathed a sigh of relief and said: “Okay. I also hope that by then, you’ll bring along your future spouse.”

“Hahaha, of course, of course.”

When handing her over to King Huai, Liu Zhenqing called him “Uncle” with a smile.

King Huai was naturally not fond of the brat in front of him. He had been deceived by him many times in their secret past confrontations. 

At that time, King Huai couldn’t help but think that if this kid were willing to assist him, he would definitely be the one sitting on the throne. But he would not use his beloved spouse to curry favor with someone. Now that the situation was hopeless, he just let it go.

But he was still extremely unsure, so he took advantage of their close proximity and the noise around them to whisper: “Since you can call me ‘uncle,’ why didn’t you help me before?”

He should know that if King Huai took the throne, his status would be higher than what it was now.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Naturally, I did what was best for the common people of the world.”

King Huai gave him a doubtful look.

“The world needs stability, and Great Zhou needs a benevolent ruler.”

King Huai got the gist of it. He was a war hawk. Before seizing the throne, he had been thinking about how to quickly expand his territory once he was in power, as well as which countries to attack. He longed for the prosperity and greatness of ages past, and wanted to take back all of the territories that used to belong to their Great Zhou, but the current Great Zhou could not support his ideals.

King Huai dully withdrew his gaze. Nowadays, what he cared about the most was the person in the carriage behind him.

Liu Zhenqing and the others followed the wedding procession as it set off. Since it was the crown prince who organized the events, the two didn’t have separate banquets but instead gathered in the same place. 

Li Xingruo was not willing to get into the carriage with the ladies. They would definitely urge her to have children, but she didn’t want a baby for the time being and didn’t want her peace and quiet to be disturbed. However, even though she was already married, she was advised by the older women around her to behave herself a little. No woman should ride a horse on such an occasion. 

But in the next second, Huo Feihan and Liu Zhenqing arrived on horseback to find her.

Huo Feihan immediately reached out to her. Li Xingruo’s lips curved into a smile, and under the disapproving looks of the crowd, Huo Feihan directly pulled her onto the horse so they could ride together.

Liu Zhenqing joked with a laugh: “Be careful the Huo family elders don’t see you.”

Just as Li Xingruo was about to retort, Huo Feihan chuckled: “It doesn’t matter. Ruoruo can do whatever she likes.”

Full of pride, Li Xingruo instantly raised her eyebrows at Liu Zhenqing and said sarcastically: “I see that you still ride crooked. Why don’t you take a carriage so that you don’t fall off?”

“Don’t insult me!” Liu Zhenqing scoffed. “My riding skills have improved a lot!”

But the slap in the face always arrived too quickly. When they were approaching the palace gates, it was so crowded with guests that his horse was startled. 

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t hold the horse back, and it reared up.

Huo Feihan saw this and was about to fly up and save him, but Li Xingruo stopped him.

Because Li Xingruo had already spotted the person jumping down from the palace.

It was Huo Fenglie, who had been called by Yuan Jue to accompany him and the crown prince.

In a flash, Huo Fenglie leaped high into the air and landed steadily beside Liu Zhenqing.

Before Liu Zhenqing could react, the reins in his hand were taken away.

A shout was heard, and along with the tightening of the reins, the horse’s entire front practically lifted up.

Liu Zhenqing slid backward and fell into the arms of the person behind him. That person had a strong chest, and even in this mid-air state, Liu Zhenqing felt as safe as if he was leaning against a solid wall.

The horse was tamed in a few moments, having caused almost no trouble to the surrounding area.

Liu Zhenqing pretended to be calm, but he was breathing rapidly. He heard a soft voice of comfort from behind: “Qing-ge, it’s okay.”

Huo Feihan rode up with Li Xingruo and said: “Is everything alright?”

Liu Zhenqing managed to calm himself: “Just a small problem.” Then he turned to look behind him in pleasant surprise: “All thanks to Er-gou.”

Standing beneath the sun, this youth had grown up a lot. The angles of his face had become more shapely, to the point that young girls would blush upon seeing him. But in Liu Zhenqing’s eyes, there wasn’t much difference.

Although Huo Fenglie had grown rapidly in recent years, he was still only as tall as his Qing-ge and was ten years younger than him, so he could barely hold him. Huo Fenglie lowered his arms, keeping one hand on the reins and the other arm around Liu Zhenqing’s slender waist.

But Liu Zhenqing didn’t notice anything wrong. After all, they were always close like this.

The palace steward came forward anxiously to express his concern, but Liu Zhenqing just smiled with a wave of his hand and let him go see to his work. Then the two people continued riding together with Huo Fenglie handling the horse. Liu Zhenqing was lazy, and just used Huo Fenglie as a pillow to recline against. As long as Er-gou was there, he didn’t need to worry.

When they arrived at the place where the horses were tied, Liu Zhenqing and Li Xingruo stopped bickering. Li Xingruo had mocked him for the situation just now, and Liu Zhenqing had turned around and said that she had a crow’s mouth. 

Huo Feihan lifted his wife down from the horse and tidied her dress. Huo Fenglie dismounted first and waited for Liu Zhenqing to come down, even supporting his waist with one hand so that he wouldn’t strain himself.

After everyone was on their feet, Liu Zhenqing was about to thank Huo Fenglie for showing up in time before he could embarrass himself – but he saw Huo Fenglie holding his hand, looking down with a solemn expression.

Because of the events just now, Liu Zhenqing had stark, painful-looking red marks on his hand.

Huo Fenglie turned and said to Li Xingruo: “Sister-in-law, do you have any ointment?”

Li Xingruo and Huo Fenglie were startled, thinking that he was injured. But when they stepped forward to take a look, Li Xingruo said speechlessly: “Something like this needs ointment? No use worrying about it. It’ll be gone in a quarter of a shichen.”

She then gave Liu Zhenqing a blank look.

When Liu Zhenqing finally reacted, he didn’t know what to say: “Why are you griping at me? I’m not the one who asked. Er-gou, do you think I’m made of porcelain?” 

Liu Zhenqing started to pull his hand back in amusement.

“But…..it should hurt.” Huo Fenglie frowned as if unwilling to let go, and sent him a conflicted look.

Li Xingruo immediately sent Huo Feihan a look. In the Huo family, from oldest to youngest, no one had enjoyed such attentive care from Huo Fenglie.

Although Huo Fenglie was still young, he had reached the age of first romance. And Liu Zhenqing hadn’t reacted yet despite Er-gou showing such care toward him?

But in the next second, Liu Zhenqing stretched his hand out to Huo Fenglie and said with a coaxing smile: “Then Er-gou should blow on it for me and Qing-ge won’t hurt anymore, hahaha.”

Seeing this person laugh so heartlessly, the two onlookers were speechless and sent Huo Fenglie looks of sympathy.

However, Huo Fenglie dithered for a moment before obediently blowing for Liu Zhenqing.

It didn’t really hurt, but it did tingle a bit when air was blown on it. Liu Zhenqing had originally wanted to embarrass the kid, and hadn’t expected him to actually take it seriously. All of a sudden, there was an unfamiliar feeling in Liu Zhenqing’s heart.

But this feeling soon vanished. Liu Zhenqing raised a hand and pinched Huo Fenglie’s increasingly straight and handsome nose, saying playfully: “Be good.”

Presently, the four of them went to watch the wedding ceremony.

“Sure enough, girls really do look good in red wedding dresses,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile. Perhaps it was because they usually didn’t wear bright red, so when they put the dress on, they looked extremely stunning.

“En, Ruoruo was also very…..” 

Li Xingruo poked him before Huo Feihan could finish his words: “What do you mean, do I not look good now?”

Huo Feihan, a simple man, realized he’d said the wrong thing and quickly apologized.

Liu Zhenqing shook his head and laughed. Li Xingruo switched targets and said: “Yes, they look good. But don’t you look the best wearing one?”

Suddenly reminded of his dark history, Liu Zhenqing was about to retort when he heard Li Xingruo say to the dazed Huo Fenglie: “Right, Fenglie? Isn’t your Qing-ge the most beautiful in a red wedding dress?”

Liu Zhenqing immediately became interested and turned to look at Huo Fenglie, awaiting his answer.

Huo Fenglie came to his senses with a start. His cheeks reddened uncontrollably, and he immediately nodded twice in silence.

Liu Zhenqing laughed and put an arm around Huo Fenglie’s shoulders, saying: “Er-gou has good taste, but you can’t hold people up to your Qing-ge’s standards in the future. You’ll definitely never find my match in this lifetime.”

Li Xingruo immediately complained: “How do you have the face to say such things?”

“Am I wrong? I look better in women’s clothes than Song Xingmu.”

“But back then, you clearly told my brother to find someone who measures up to your standards,” Huo Feihan recalled.

Liu Zhenqing exclaimed: “Did I say that? Hahaha, I forgot.”

“Irresponsible.” Li Xingruo said to Huo Fenglie with a sly smile: “Fenglie, if you can’t find someone like that in the future, blame him and make him take responsibility.”

Huo Fenglie only felt more ill at ease when he heard this.

The thick-skinned Liu Zhenqing, on the other hand, said directly: “Okay, okay, okay, I’ll take responsibility.”

“How will you take responsibility? Marry Fenglie and become his wife?” Li Xingruo asked at once.

“I…..” Liu Zhenqing was stunned, and couldn’t react for a moment. As he was thinking of how to retort, the wedding ceremony ended.

When the banquet started, there was naturally no seat for Huo Fenglie at Huo Feihan and Liu Zhenqing’s table.

Huo Fenglie could only go back and accompany Yuan Jue. The young prince looked at the absent-minded Huo Fenglie and raised an eyebrow, saying: “I’ve found that wherever Laoshi is, your attention is always on him.”

Yuan Jue was a clever person, and had already noticed something.

Huo Fenglie didn’t deny it. He just said: “I’m usually at the East Palace now and don’t go to the Imperial Academy anymore. I rarely have time to see Qing-ge.”

Yuan Jue said with a smile: “You blame me? I was thinking of waiting for my father to ascend the throne, and then asking him to grant you a marriage!”

Yuan Jue didn’t think there was anything wrong with Huo Fenglie being in love with Liu Zhenqing, who was ten years older than him. Huo Fenglie had been by the side of this brilliant, handsome man day and night since childhood. How could his young heart not be moved? But Yuan Jue had heard that his teacher intended to marry a beautiful woman, and didn’t know if his good brother could accomplish his goal.

When he heard Yuan Jue’s proposal, Huo Fenglie shook his head: “Qing-ge says that if the two parties aren’t in love, an arranged marriage counts as buying and selling people. He doesn’t like it.”

Yuan Jue didn’t understand why he wouldn’t take the shortcut, but he was just watching the fun.

It was already dark when Yuan Jue was taken away and Huo Fenglie had time to look for Liu Zhenqing.

On the way, he met a young man who offered him a toast.

“Thank you for what happened in the palace the day before last!”

Huo Fenglie recalled that he was a relative of the commander of the Jinyiwei, and was currently a guard in the palace. “You’re welcome. It was my duty.”

“That little eunuch…..”

“I sent him to the Dongchang. He should be fine,” Huo Fenglie said.

Young He Lan breathed a sigh of relief. The two had just gotten to know each other, and although their personalities meshed well, they hadn’t spoken much. After saying a quick goodbye, Huo Fenglie went to the main hall, but he had lost track of Liu Zhenqing.

He looked around and spotted Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo conversing under a tree.

When he asked them about Liu Zhenqing, Huo Feihan finally recalled: “Oh, someone invited him to the Drunken Spring to watch the courtesans. He seems to have agreed…..”

Before Huo Feihan could finish speaking, Huo Fenglie used qinggong to fly away.

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(Alt Universe) Extra 9 << Table of Contents >> (Alt Universe) Extra 11

Pei Xi stared at him for a long time before finally asking with mixed feelings: “How did you get here?”

He Chuzhou: “I drove. Why?”

Pei Xi left him with: “Stay here for a while with your dog and wait for me.” He went to the bedroom and got ready as quickly as possible, then returned to the door. “Let’s go.”

He Chuzhou didn’t understand: “Go where?”

Pei Xi lowered his head and changed his shoes: “To the hospital.”

He Chuzhou instantly became nervous: “Are you feeling unwell? Where does it hurt? Is it —”

“I’m not feeling unwell,” Pei Xi cut in impatiently. “You’re the one who needs to see a doctor.”

He Chuzhou: “Me? I’m not feeling unwell, ah.”

Pei Xi: “You are.”

He Chuzhou: “I’m really not.”

Pei Xi didn’t want to argue with him: “Didn’t you say you would obey me? If I tell you to go to the hospital now, will you go or not?”

He Chuzhou was hit at a critical point, and changed his words at lightning speed: “I’ll go.”

Pei Xi grabbed the car keys and started to leave. He Chuzhou, however, remained standing in the middle of the door, blocking it.

Pei Xi: “What is it?”

With an innocent look on his face, He Chuzhou pointed to the spot next to him: “Xixi, my luggage hasn’t been unpacked.”

How could Pei Xi actually let him stay here?

He had done his best by letting him stay one night and taking off work to bring him to a doctor: “I haven’t agreed to let you stay here. Don’t leave it here with me, take it back to your own home.”

He Chuzhou didn’t reply to this topic. He just looked over at the dog and whispered: “Pets aren’t allowed in the hospital.”

Pei Xi: “Let him wait in the car.”

He Chuzhou: “But Xingxing is a little carsick. I’m afraid he’ll vomit if he goes in the car again.”

Pei Xi paused for a moment, not because of the lame car sickness excuse, but because: “What did you call him?”

He Chuzhou: “Xingxing, ah. Why?”

Pei Xi: “His name is Xinxin?”

He Chuzhou nodded: “What’s wrong with it? You’re the one who named him.”

Pei Xi felt that things were becoming more and more absurd: “When did I name him?”

He Chuzhou opened his mouth and said: “When we first got married, and you came to my house and saw him for the first time. You said his eyes were as round and beautiful as stars.”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “Change it back.”

He Chuzhou: “Change what back?”

Pei Xi: “What was the dog’s name before? Change it back to his original name.”

He Chuzhou: “Why?”

Pei Xi’s already limited patience was completely exhausted: “If you ask me why again, I’ll call security to kick you out.”

He Chuzhou: “Okay, okay, I won’t ask again. I’ll listen to you. If you say so, I’ll change it. Xing……no, Shitbag, did you hear that? Remember, your name has been changed back from today on.”

The border collie lay on the ground and whimpered. His ears drooped back, and it was unclear whether he was answering to his name or protesting it.

He Chuzhou wanted to take credit, but found that the other’s expression was a little strange. Thinking he’d done something wrong again, he asked cautiously: “Xixi, is there anything else you’re dissatisfied with?”

Pei Xi: “No. Let’s go.”

He Chuzhou: “Then Shitbag and my luggage……”

Pei Xi took a deep breath: “Put it inside. Hurry up, you’ve already wasted a lot of my time.”

He Chuzhou beamed with pleasure: “Okay!”

Since he couldn’t move this big Buddha away for the time being, there was no need to drive two vehicles.

Pei Xi sat in He Chuzhou’s passenger seat, thinking that if He Chuzhou didn’t need to be hospitalized, he would tell him to come back and take away his dog and his luggage.

In short, he shouldn’t even think about moving in. Pei Xi had no obligation to keep him. 

He Chuzhou stayed behind him the whole time they waited in the registration queue, following him closely and quietly, as obedient and well-behaved as a human-shaped pet.

Other than asking half a question in confusion when he saw Pei Xi making an appointment with a brain specialist.

As for why it was half a question, the reason was very simple. Pei Xi gave him a mild glance, and when his pet received the warning, he rubbed his nose and obediently shut up.

It’s fine, it’s not a big problem, He Chuzhou thought.

His wife’s new rule was that he didn’t like to be asked anything. Although the reason was unknown, the correct thing to do was to follow it blindly.

While they waited, they were unlucky enough to run into an employee from He Group headquarters.

The employee spied He Chuzhou first, and after greeting him, he discovered Pei Xi sitting next to him. His eyes immediately widened, and his expression became somewhat complex.

Pei Xi’s heart was also suspended.

He Chuzhou was currently in an abnormal state of mind. Who knew what nonsense he would say to his employee?

As he was worrying over whether to drag this person away, He Chuzhou spoke up so fast that Pei Xi didn’t have time to cover his mouth: “En, I came here because of a cold. What about you? Is there any big problem?”

The employee was flattered to receive one-on-one care from the big boss: “No, no, no, I have a common cold just like you. I can go back to work after getting an injection.”

He Chuzhou nodded, saying casually: “Okay, but if you really don’t feel well, don’t push yourself. The company has benefits. Please contact your supervisor and ask for sick leave.”

The employee nodded repeatedly. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but glance between the two of them.

Although they were sitting together, both of them were looking at their phones, one indolent and the other indifferent. There was no eye contact or verbal communication throughout the whole process, nor was there physical contact. This was no different than strangers meeting by chance at a hospital.

He seemed to have misunderstood. How could people so incompatible have come to the hospital together?

But why did he keep feeling like something wasn’t right?

Pei Xi noticed from the corner of his eye that the employee had already walked out the hospital gate and immediately looked at He Chuzhou, eyes full of suspicion and scrutiny.

He Chuzhou blinked: “What’s wrong?”

Pei Xi said in a cold voice: “Are you pretending?”

He was shameless behind others’ backs, but very dignified in front of them. Could it be that this person hadn’t lost his memory at all, and had been playing a trick on him from the start?

At the thought of this possibility, he became so angry that he even wanted to throw the registration forms at this liar’s face and walk away.

“Yeah,” He Chuzhou said.

But before Pei Xi’s expression could completely transform, he added the other half of his sentence rather aggrievedly: “Didn’t you say that you don’t want others to know about our relationship?”

Pei Xi’s anger seemed to burn on a pile of dry sand. The fire inexplicably went out, and he was stifled for a long time, not knowing what to say.

He Chuzhou’s bold complaints weren’t over yet: “I’m so miserable. I’m already married, but I don’t have a legitimate status.” 

He Chuzhou: “There are a lot of girls in our employee group who secretly call you ‘husband.’ I told the administrators to ban them from posting, but they still refused to stop.”

He Chuzhou: “Oh, and there are a few male interns who are so bold as to say that they’ll pursue you once they have money. The hell are they pursuing when they haven’t even grown all their hair yet? Taking a salary from me and still pursuing my wife? They’re just asking for trouble…..”

Pei Xi’s face switched from one shade to another. In the end, he couldn’t bear to listen any longer and pulled him to his feet: “Shut up and go upstairs. It’s your turn soon.”

It was the same doctor as last time. He was very calm about the situation Pei Xi described: “There have been previous cases of intermittent sequelae. Rest at ease, this is a normal phenomenon.”

Pei Xi: “Is there no pattern to this? Or can it happen at any time?”

The doctor: “There should naturally be some kind of pattern. The patient’s family should pay attention to it.”

The doctor: “Oh, yes, there is one particular thing you should pay attention to. The brain of such a patient is more fragile, and he should not be stimulated. Otherwise the recovery speed will be slowed down at best, and at worst, he will not regain the ability to think normally in the future.”

Pei Xi understood this as: “He could become mentally handicapped in the end?”

The doctor: “Well……you’re not wrong.”

This sounded very troublesome. Pei Xi could only ask again: “What do you mean by ‘stimulation?’”

The doctor: “According to the patient’s current situation, try to communicate with him according to his thinking. It’s best not to force correction.”

Pei Xi understood. 

He Chuzhou was currently playing house, and not only could Pei Xi not tell him he was mentally ill, he had to play house with him.

What had he done wrong to deserve this?

Due to the special circumstances, He Chuzhou was not allowed to enter, and sat waiting alone in the corridor.

He had initially been firm in his belief that there was nothing wrong with him, but upon seeing Pei Xi come out with a bad look on his face, his heart began to hang in the air.

On the way back, he carefully considered his tone before asking Pei Xi: “Xixi, there’s nothing wrong with my brain, is there?”

Pei Xi: “There is.”

He Chuzhou’s heart tensed: “What’s the problem?”

Pei Xi: “The doctor said you’re mentally handicapped.”

He Chuzhou: “Ah?”

Pei Xi didn’t answer, and continued to look out the window. This made it impossible for He Chuzhou to observe his expression, and he could only guess anxiously: “Xixi, are you crying?”

“ ? ” Pei Xi turned his head with a perplexed look. “Why would I be crying?”

He Chuzhou: “Even though I have a terminal tumor or something and the doctor says there’s no cure, you’re keeping it a secret from me and enduring the grief and burden all by yourself—”

Pei Xi: “…..Be quiet.”

He Chuzhou shut up.

Pei Xi made up an excuse: “You’re not sick, nor do you have a terminal illness. It’s just that lack of sleep has caused some temporary memory loss. Don’t make drama for yourself.”

A question mark slowly appeared above He Chuzhou’s head: “I don’t get enough sleep even though I sleep ten hours per day? Do I need to sleep twelve hours per day?”

Pei Xi gave a casual hum, then reacted two seconds later in disbelief: “You sleep ten hours per day?”

He Chuzhou was puzzled: “Don’t we both?”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “Do you not work?”

He Chuzhou: “Aren’t there still fourteen hours left?”

Pei Xi: “……”

He’d almost forgotten that he was arguing with a rich second-generation who was full of nonsense.

The corners of his mouth pulled back, and he continued to recline and look out the window: “Then that means you’re getting too much sleep. Reduce it by two hours from now on.”

He didn’t seem to want to chat. He Chuzhou very wisely quieted down and also turned down the volume of the music in the car to make it easier for him to rest.

Once they arrived home, the first thing Pei Xi did was go to the bedroom and change clothes. Then he came out to chase this person away: “Take your dog and luggage with you and go back on your own.”

He Chuzhou’s face fell once more.

Pei Xi didn’t care if he looked depressed. He just remembered the doctor’s orders and added a sentence to go along with He Chuzhou’s logic: “From today on, we are separated.”

He said this lightly, but it was like a bolt from the blue to He Chuzhou: “…..Xixi, you want to separate from me?”

Pei Xi nodded: “Yes. Not only separate, but divorce.”

As he finished speaking, the eyes of the person in front of him reddened. Those eyes that seemed to always be full of deep affection were now filled with sorrow, and Pei Xi felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

But he had clearly done nothing wrong. He was just an innocent bystander.

He uncomfortably avoided He Chuzhou’s pleading gaze, planning to cut the Gordian knot and rid himself of this person once and for all, but the phone rang at an inopportune time.

It was his father, who was accompanying his second son to relax abroad and was checking in on him as usual. Pei Xi could only distractedly pick up the call first.

Pei Yansong was still using the same old words. First, he talked about what he’d heard about the company’s current situation, then asked Pei Xi about his plans for future work, and finally pointed out the issues that he unilaterally thought needed improvement.

Whether those things would change or not was still to be decided, but Pei Xi just agreed: “Understood. Don’t worry, I’ll solve those issues—”

Pei Xi was caught off guard when his cell phone was suddenly snatched out of his hand. He froze with his hand next to his ear for two seconds, but these short two seconds gave a certain person enough room to perform.

He Chuzhou had not yet recovered from the shock of being asked to divorce. With red eyes and a hoarse voice, he said into the phone: “Pei Yansong, don’t go too far!”

“Don’t forget that you sold your son to me. He’s mine now and has nothing to do with you. What qualifications do you have to tell him what to do?”

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Extra 1 << Table of Contents >> Extra 3

Chapter 13 – Competing

“The White-Nosed Demon Bear is a common low-level demonic beast with violent and aggressive tendencies. An adult White-Nosed Demon Bear is over three meters tall, with a cultivation level equivalent to a cultivator at the Qi Refining stage.” Feng Ye raised his eyes and took the measure of the creature standing ten meters away, which was an entire head taller than him, estimating: “The one in front of us should be an adult.”

Clap, clap, clap. Hao Chen clapped, then praised with a smile: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is so knowledgeable.”

“Fellow Daoist Hao Chen thinks too highly of me. The White-Nosed Demon Bear is the most difficult monster to deal with on our back mountain culling list. All disciples of Lingxiao Sword Sect are knowledgeable about this monster. Also…..”

Feng Ye changed the subject, turning to Hao Chen with a sheepish look on his face: “To be honest, I’m not very strong. I’m only at the third level of Qi Refining. Fellow Daoist Hao Chen is at a higher level than me, so I’ll leave this White-Nosed Demon Bear in your care.”

Hao Chen maintained his smile and kicked the ball back: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye may not be aware, but although I’m at the fourth level of Qi Refining, I gained this level by taking medicinal pills. My foundation isn’t stable, and my actual strength is only at the second level of Qi Refining. Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is still a little better.”

“No, no, no, my cultivation isn’t very stable either. As Fellow Daoist Hao Chen has seen over the past few days, my swordsmanship has been neglected for too long, and I really don’t have the ability to deal with such a monster.”

“Roar!” As if to confirm Feng Ye’s words, the White-Nosed Demon Bear opposite roared. A flock of unknown birds in the forest were startled, and fled quickly with flapping wings.

The roar created a wave of sound that caused Feng Ye and Hao Chen’s daoist robes to sway, but the two men stayed firmly on their feet without taking a single step back.

Although they didn’t retreat, they also had no intention of advancing.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye also knows that our Tiangong Pavilion is a sect that focuses on the refinement of weapons. In terms of combat ability, ten of our disciples may not be able to match one disciple of your sect. Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, don’t be so modest. Your strength is definitely superior to mine.”

Fang Yang, standing behind them, listened to their conversation with an expressionless face.

He wasn’t surprised at all that the two men before him continued to shirk their responsibilities and make all kinds of excuses.

The friend of his Useless Shixiong was, of course, another useless person.

These two losers seemed to have similar interests, and were actually competing with one another to see who was the most useless one.

What was there to compare? The world of losers was too hard to understand.

Fang Yang looked up at the sky. He began to have regrets.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have promised his Useless Shixiong yesterday that he could accompany him to look for miasma-dispelling herbs.

This morning, he, Useless Shixiong, and Useless Shixiong’s good friend Hao-dage had gone up the mountain together. The beginning was relatively smooth. Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage bickered as they walked, while Fang Yang concentrated on picking herbs.

But as the two of them were bickering, some strange things started to happen around them. For example, a branch suddenly fell on Useless Shixiong’s head, and then a bigger branch fell on the head of Hao-dage.

Useless Shixiong tripped on a stone that suddenly appeared under his feet, and Hao-dage took fewer than three steps with a smile on his face before also tripping on a stone.

Later, it got even worse. A tree near Useless-shixiong suddenly fell down, hitting Useless Shixiong and no one else. 

Standing to the side, Hao-dage asked with concern if Useless Shixiong was injured. Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, the tree behind him suddenly collapsed, hitting him and no one else.

And Fang Yang attributed all of these things to…..bad luck.

Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage were too unlucky. Unlike him, who didn’t encounter any obstacles along the way. Falling branches, stumbling stones, and abruptly collapsing trees – none of it had to do with him.

But this current event certainly did.

Coincidentally, those two fallen trees were the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s favorite fruit trees.

When the fruit trees fell, the fruits themselves were naturally not spared. The smashed fruit oozed juices, and the fragrance attracted a nearby White-Nosed Demon Bear.

Thus, the scene before them.

Faced with a White-Nosed Demon Bear hungrily eyeing them ten meters away, Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage still did not stop bickering.

The two of them became increasingly animated as they talked, belittling themselves to the point of worthlessness. After comparing themselves for so long, which one of them was the most useless was still undetermined. 

Fang Yang was getting tired of listening to it.

Thud, thud, thud.

Dull footsteps approached.

It seemed the White-Nosed Demon Bear was also getting tired of listening to it. Although it was a demonic beast, its intelligence wasn’t low. After all, it wouldn’t be able to top the list of the most difficult beasts in the back mountain by relying on force alone.

Before attacking, it observed the three humans in front of it for a while and felt that they didn’t pose a threat, so it rushed over and brandished its enormous bear claws.

The three-meter-tall bear’s running speed was not lowered by its size. It took only a breath of time for it to rush in front of Feng Ye and Hao Chen.

And the two people continued to stand there motionless, one with crossed arms and the other waving a fan.

“Roar!” The White-Nosed Demon Bear roared again.

Due to the close distance, along with the sound of their sleeves blowing, the three of them now smelled the pungent, fishy odor of the bear’s mouth.

Huge claws swiped down from above, capable of tearing apart the hardest human skull.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, if you don’t do something, we’re going to die.” Feng Ye looked up at the claws that were bearing down toward his head.

“Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, don’t worry. Being able to perish with you is enough for me in this life.”

Fang Yang: “……”

He lamented inwardly that although he was the least in both height and age, he felt that he was the only adult present and must shoulder the responsibility of protecting these two wastes.

Moreover, he was at the seventh level of Qi Refining. He didn’t understand why Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage automatically ignored him when deciding who would fight the White-Nosed Demon Bear.

Although this adult bear possessed the strength of someone at the tenth level of Qi Refining, he didn’t need to defeat it. He just needed to delay it for long enough that Useless Shixiong and Hao-dage could escape.

Fang Yang was confident in himself, so he pushed aside the two people blocking his way and used the iron sword he had brought up the mountain for self defense, slashing diagonally from bottom to top.

This was not the first time this White-Nosed Demon Bear had dealt with human cultivators, and it knew the power of this cold-shining metal. The claws swinging down suddenly changed direction mid-air.

With a clang, the tip of the sword hit the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s hardest claw.

At the seventh level of Qi Refining, a cultivator’s physical fitness was greatly enhanced, far surpassing that of ordinary mortals. But it was entirely incomparable to the natural advantages of monsters.

The White-Nosed Demon Bear was also renowned for its strength, which was at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

As a result of the collison, Fang Yang was knocked back five to six meters by the force transmitted through his sword.

Fang Yang’s proactive behavior angered the White-Nosed Demon Bear. It no longer bothered with Feng Ye and Hao Chen, and just rushed toward Fang Yang with a roar.

Fang Yang regained his footing as quickly as he could. He pointed his sword forward, spread his legs and lowered his center of gravity, and got ready to meet the enemy.

At the same time, he recalled yesterday’s advice from the mysterious big brother who lived in a bamboo slip: “Although you use great force when you draw your sword, that force is not flowing through your body in the right direction, resulting in thirty percent of the force used on your sword being wasted.”

“Power starts from the ground, then spreads to the body, arms, wrists, fingers, joints, all connected from the bottom to the top. Only in this way can the maximum force be poured into your sword.”

Sharp claws swung in front of him again. Fang Yang’s eyes focused. He followed the mysterious big brother’s instructions, exerting force from his feet, then to his body, arms, wrists, fingers, and finally to the body of the sword.

Fang Yang swung his sword fiercely, and the iron sword infused with powerful force audibly split the air before hitting the bear’s claws once more.

There was another clang.

Fang Yang’s feet sank deep into the dirt, and he slid back two or three steps.

But he stopped.

After moving two or three steps back, he stopped. He was not knocked back again by the White-Nosed Demon Bear, but actually blocked the bear’s claws, which were renowned for their strength.

Fang Yang was delighted. The mysterious big brother’s words were true.

Not far away, Feng Ye smiled. He noticed the slight change in Fang Yang’s movements when he drew the sword and knew that his lesson the previous night had not been in vain.

“What is Fellow Daoist Feng Ye smiling about?” Hao Chen suddenly asked, having paid close attention to Feng Ye’s actions.

Feng Ye immediately stopped smiling, and came up with an excuse: “My fellow junior disciple is so strong. Fellow Daoist Hao Chen, it looks like we don’t have to die. I’m grateful that we escaped the bear’s claws, ah.”

Hao Chen hid half of his face behind his fan, leaving only his peach blossom eyes exposed. He narrowed his eyes slightly, asking in a tone of disbelief: “Is that so?”

Feng Ye nodded affirmatively: “It really is.”

Hao Chen didn’t believe him, but also didn’t ask further questions.

He closed his fan and tapped his palm with the handle. His eyes were on Fang Yang, who was fighting the White-Nosed Demon Bear, but his words were for Feng Ye: “Why doesn’t Fellow Daoist Feng Ye step forward to help? Aren’t you afraid that your shidi will be torn apart at the White-Nosed Demon Bear’s claws?”

Feng Ye was also watching Fang Yang, observing his sword movements. After all, it had only been one night, and Fang Yang hadn’t truly comprehended his instructions. But with Fang Yang’s current strength, dealing with this White-Nosed Demon Bear shouldn’t be a problem.

Even if he didn’t win, he wouldn’t lose.

Feng Ye was very confident – not in Fang Yang, but in the sword skills he had taught Fang Yang.

So he stood there motionless and said to Hao Chen: “I’ll be of no help with my insufficient strength, so it’s better for me not to add to the bear’s murder tally.”

“Heh heh.” Hao Chen chuckled. “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is always so modest.”

Feng Ye replied without missing a beat: “I’m not being modest, just self-aware.”

Hao Chen smiled, saying nothing.

---

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Chapter 12 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 14

Liu Zhenqing brought Er-gou back to the banquet and saw that Huo Feihan had been besieged. He rushed over to help, and using his eloquence, he was able to block seven or eight out of ten cups of wine. In addition, Liu Zhenqing’s physique was such that he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, so it was no problem for him to drink alone with a group of people. 

Huo Fenglie’s friends also came to see him. 

The Yue family were old friends with the Huo family, so they naturally sent people to attend the happy event, and Yue Xuqian was brought along.

Yue Xuqian was wise beyond his years. When he saw Huo Fenglie coming over, he pretended to complain: “I rarely come here, but you’re hanging around with Xiting-ge instead of accompanying me…..”

“I…..was lending a hand.” Huo Fenglie was still young, and felt uncomfortable when he was told this.

Yue Xuqian smiled and teased him: “I never thought Huo-dage would actually marry Li-jiejie. Ai, do you think my auntie has a chance?”

Huo Fenglie immediately sent Yue Xuqian a look, not bothering to hide his jealousy at all.

Yue Xuqian’s smile grew even brighter: “I bet my family’s elders came here with the intention of…..”

“No!” Huo Fenglie said at once.

Yue Xuqian stifled a laugh: “Then I’ll help you keep an eye on the matter and tell you if there are any signs.”

Huo Fenglie was taken aback, and could only nod. There was anxiety in his eyes, but it was no use being anxious. He was still a child, and there was nothing he could do.

As they were talking, they saw two elegant young men, one tall and one short, walking toward their table.

Yue Xuqian asked: “Who are these two…..”

Huo Fenglie took a look and said: “They’re the two young masters of Imperial Preceptor Bai’s family. The elder brother is Bai Yu, and the younger one is Bai Su. We all study at the Imperial Academy together, and Bai Su is my classmate.”

Having said this, Huo Fenglie stood and greeted them.

“Second Young Master, my didi is bored staying with us. Please take him out to play.”

Bai Su playfully stuck his tongue out at Huo Fenglie. He had a very lively personality, and was obviously familiar with the other boy. 

In contrast, Bai Yu had a gentle temperament, clear eyes, and a scholarly air to his every move, which gave people a very comfortable feeling.

Standing together, the Bai brothers had a rare and outstanding disposition.

Huo Fenglie nodded in agreement. Bai Su gave a polite smile, and was about to leave when he was stopped by his little brother. 

“Gege, didn’t you want to get acquainted with Young Master Liu? Fenglie is very familiar with him, he can help introduce you.”

Bai Yu’s neck turned red from embarrassment when he was exposed by his little brother. He was a young man born into a scholarly family, so he was naturally very thin-skinned. 

“Don’t…..they’re busy, so I won’t disturb them.”

The Bai and Huo families could only be regarded as officials from the same dynasty, with no deep friendship between them. Adding to that the age difference, Bai Yu was not familiar with Huo Feihan, and much less familiar with Liu Zhenqing. 

How could he have the nerve to approach and disturb the other person at this time? Just as he was feeling awkward, he looked up and met Huo Fenglie’s black and white eyes.

“Brother Bai wants to meet Qing-ge?” Huo Fenglie asked frankly.

Bai Yu was initially a little embarrassed, but seeing that Huo Fenglie was asking seriously, he gave an honest nod: “Young Master Liu is a great talent. I’ve read many of his articles and admire him very much. I’ve hoped that we would meet someday, but I don’t need to speak to him now. I’ll speak to him next time.”

Bai Yu always felt that aside from reading and painting, he had nothing to show for himself, unlike the brilliant and unrestrained Liu Zhenqing. He felt like he had to accomplish something before he could befriend the person he admired.

“Qing-ge is a very good person. You can talk to him whenever you want,” Huo Fenglie said after some thought. According to his understanding of Liu Zhenqing, the man liked people with Bai Yu’s personality the most – docile, well-behaved, and very easy to tease and bully.

Bai Yu thanked him shyly, then left Bai Su behind and returned to his elders.

Their tablemates were all young boys around the same age, many of whom were classmates. After sitting down, Bai Su naturally began chattering and laughing with everyone.

Yue Xuqian nudged Huo Fenglie with his elbow and said: “Didn’t you call him Xiting-gege before?”

When had he become ‘Qing-ge?’

Huo silently drank his tea, offering no explanation.

Yue Xuqian sighed and spoke again: “Xiting-ge really has a lot of admirers wherever he goes. Aren’t you afraid that fellow just now will like Xiting-ge?”

Huo Fenglie was stumped for a moment. His mind had been so focused on the fact that Liu Zhenqing attracted so many women that he hadn’t considered men as a threat.

The clever Yue Xuqian pointed at Liu Zhenqing within the crowd. That person was radiant with delight, shoulder-to-shoulder with others, and there were indeed quite a few men looking at him with impure eyes.

Huo Fenglie suddenly felt a little dejected: “Qing-ge doesn’t like men for now.”

Yue Xuqian patted his shoulder in silent consolation.

After three rounds of drinking, many people had already passed out. Looking again at Liu Zhenqing, a faint tinge of pink had appeared on his jade-like face, making the two moles at the corner of his eye extremely eye-catching.

A nearby drunk man couldn’t help but dizzily reach out to touch that stunning face, but iron claws grabbed his wrist halfway there.

When the man’s eyes focused, he saw that it was Huo Fenglie.

He was about to take the brat to task for being unruly, but was startled by the sudden pain in his wrist. He looked again at Huo Fenglie, and upon seeing the warning on his young face, he could only smile awkwardly. When the other party let go, he quickly withdrew his hand and looked for a chance to leave.

Liu Zhenqing was playing a drinking game with the others when he suddenly felt a tug at his sleeve. Turning around, he saw a pair of chopsticks with crystal clear fish meat being handed to him. As soon as he saw who was holding them, Liu Zhenqing boldly swallowed the food in one gulp.

Sure enough, there wasn’t a single fish bone.

He had been drinking from the start, and had barely eaten anything. Drinking in such a way was certainly harmful to the body, but with the atmosphere like this, who had time to eat, ah?

But it was different for Liu Zhenqing. He had an assistant to feed him. Huo Fenglie took a seat next to him and continued to feed him food, removing bones and picking out peppers as necessary. In short, he prepared it well and picked up just enough at a time for one bite.

Huo Fenglie handed it over, and Liu Zhenqing opened his mouth.

Somebody noticed this and joked: “Whose didi is this Second Young Master, ah? Your elder brother is about to pass out and hasn’t had a single bite of hot food.”

Huo Feihan was lying on the table, and quickly raised his head when he heard his name, peering at his little brother sitting across the table with Liu Zhenqing.

Huo Feihan was used to this, and had no hard feelings at all. He just said with a smile: “Who said he’s my didi? He’s the one our family raised for Zhenqing.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Liu Zhenqing hugged Er-gou as if hugging his own baby and said, not to be outdone: “You have a wife, so it’s naturally your wife who should take care of you. I’m still a bachelor, so what’s wrong with Er-gou taking care of me? I think you’re just jealous.”

“Jealous, jealous, so jealous. Liu Xiting, you’re lucky. You’re spoiled by the crown prince, protected by Huo-dage, and pampered by the second Huo brother. You even have good looks, and all the young maidens and wives like you. You’re simply the public enemy of the rest of us men! I think the heavens must owe you from a previous life, so they only made you responsible for enjoying this one.”

Everyone laughed again, and on account of Liu Zhenqing’s good luck, they made him drink more.

Since everyone had “blessed” him with cups of wine, Liu Zhenqing had to drink them.

*

*

Li Xingruo ate and drank her fill in the room, waiting for a long time before she heard the door open. When she turned around, she watched as Huo Feihan staggered over to her and drunkenly embraced her.

She quickly helped him to the bed, cursing: “Didn’t I ask Liu Zhenqing to help block drinks for you? How are you still this drunk?”

“Zhenqing…..fell down too..…haha…..”

Li Xingruo was momentarily speechless: “Forget it. You lie down first. I’ll go make you some hangover soup.”

When she tried to leave, Huo Feihan held her waist tightly and refused to let go: “Don’t go…..Madam…..Madam…..Ruoruo. My wife…..I like my wife so much. Hehe, I finally brought you home.”

Li Xingruo blushed. “Feihan…..I’ll be back soon.”

“Ruoruo, I thought…..I would never have a chance with you in this life. Thanks to Zhenqing, thanks to him…..”

Li Xingruo’s eyes were gentle, and she coaxed him for a long time before he let go. It seemed that he was truly drunk.

Helpless, she assisted him in changing his clothes, covered him with a blanket, and then changed into a simple outfit to go out. Li Xingruo liked to personally make things like hangover soup, and would add some medicinal herbs to make it better for the body. 

After leaving the room, she heard the bustle of people being sent away one after another. She knew that Liu Zhenqing would definitely be staying in the Snow Catkin Courtyard, so she would have Er-gou bring him some hangover soup later. 

Just as she was walking through the courtyard gates, she caught sight of a person lying on the rockery in the large courtyard, sleeping silently under the moonlight. 

Li Xingruo recognized Liu Zhenqing at a glance, and her face immediately darkened. It seemed that the two of them had come together just now, but Huo Feihan had come to the room while Liu Zhenqing had lay down elsewhere. The servants were busy in the front, so nobody had noticed him until now. 

Huo Fenglie had just sent his friend off when he discovered that Qing-ge was missing, and immediately went to look for him. 

“Qing-ge,” Huo Fenglie called out softly, trying to help the man up.

But Liu Zhenqing was drunk. He hated it the most when someone disturbed his sleep, and would struggle hard if anyone touched him.

If the other person was stronger than him, he would push at them wildly. And if the other person was weaker than him, he would drag them into his arms and make them behave.

Although Huo Fenglie was stronger than Liu Zhenqing, he had always treated him like porcelain and naturally used less force.

Liu Zhenqing pushed him a few times, then pulled him down and tried to hug him to stop him from making noise.

The rockery was already bumpy, and the footing was inevitably unstable as he was being pulled. Huo Fenglie practically fell into Liu Zhenqing’s arms.

He managed to prop himself up and lift his head. Liu Zhenqing, who had been lying on his side, was now lying completely on his back beneath him.

The two were so close that their noses were almost touching.

Their breathing invisibly intertwined.

Such a close situation hadn’t happened again since Huo Fenglie had refused to share a bed with Liu Zhenqing.

It had happened so suddenly now that Huo Fenglie’s heart was beating like a drum and he was in a complete daze.

The young man’s blood was boiling, and he didn’t know if it was because of the intoxicating moonlight or Liu Zhenqing’s alcohol-tainted breath.

Liu Zhenqing smacked his cherry-red lips unconsciously, and they seemed to exude some kind of magic.

Huo Fenglie felt his brain and heart heat up, and lost his mind.

Li Xingruo had originally planned to not bother Huo Fenglie when she saw him arrive, but then she saw Liu Zhenqing holding him in his arms. She knew Liu Zhenqing was drunk and thought that Huo Fenglie was unable to struggle his way free, so she started forward to help.

Under the bright moonlight, even though she couldn’t see their faces clearly, she could see a man pressing another man down on the rockery in an ambiguous manner, the distance between them so negligible that it looked as if they were about to kiss. Li Xingruo stared in a daze.

Considering Er-gou’s usual attitude toward Liu Zhenqing, Li Xingruo still thought he had a brother complex. But looking at the scene in front of her, that didn’t feel right. After all, Er-gou couldn’t be considered a child any longer.

Just as she was lost in thought, Li Xingruo suddenly froze. Her pupils shrank, and she goggled at the scene on the rockery in disbelief. 

Er-gou…..was actually kissing her shixiong!

It was a brief moment of contact, and in the next second, Er-gou was stimulated into foolishness. He jumped up from Liu Zhenqing’s arms, held his face, and began to flee.

That handsome little face had turned red.

But he stopped halfway through rushing away. He rubbed his face vigorously, then turned around, picked up Liu Zhenqing, and returned to the Snow Catkin Courtyard.

Li Xingruo was in such shock that she didn’t even cook the hangover soup, and ran swiftly back to tell Huo Feihan the gossip she had just witnessed.

His family’s little brother was actually going to be given away!

But Huo Feihan had already fallen asleep. It wasn’t until the next morning that he awoke with a start to find that he had missed his wedding night. He quickly apologized to Li Xingruo, who was slowly waking up beside him.

Based on her temper, Huo Feihan felt that she would definitely be angry, but Li Xingruo was drowsy after waking up. She grinned, saying with a stifled laugh: “You’re awake. I’m going to tell you a shocking secret.”

Huo Feihan: ? ? ? ?

Li Xingruo: %#&*

Huo Feihan: ! ! ! ! !

“Really!” Huo Feihan was stunned. “Er-gou really…..”

Li Xingruo said: “Your little brother is actually going to be his wife.”

Huo Feihan was dumbfounded. Li Xingruo immediately said: “What? You’re unwilling, ah!”

Frowning, Huo Feihan said: “But…..Zhenqing likes women, ah. Wasn’t there that Li Jinshu incident before, where he said he couldn’t accept men? How could he possibly accept Er-gou?”

“Then let’s make a bet. I bet that Er-gou will definitely win my shixiong.”

Huo Feihan shook his head, saying: “Although I also want him to be family, Zhenqing treats him as his own little brother. Er-gou is a little dull and can’t flirt with Zhenqing, so I’m not optimistic about their future. I just hope this won’t cause Zhenqing trouble. He’s so soft-hearted. Besides, Er-gou is still young, and it would be even worse if he’s just acting on a whim. Ai, I’ll have to give him a scolding later. How could he rely on Zhenqing being drunk to steal a kiss?”

Li Xingruo said: “That’s true. Perhaps Er-gou likes Zhenqing as a woman. He has that kind of face, after all. But it’s better not to scold him. Just pretend like you don’t know anything.”

Thus, the two of them decided to wait and see what happened.

Of course, the most important thing at the moment was to make up for their wedding night.

On the other side, Liu Zhenqing gradually woke up. The windows were bright and clear, the sky filled with a morning glow. Liu Zhenqing turned to find a person curled up on the small couch under the window sill.

He was accustomed to this and turned slightly to the side, which woke up Er-gou.

Er-gou rubbed his eyes: “Qing-ge…..”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and waved, then patted the bedside.

Huo Fenglie hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t help walking over and lying down next to him. Liu Zhenqing wrapped him in the blanket and said with a smile: “Isn’t there enough space for you to sleep here? Didn’t you like sleeping with Qing-ge very much before? Now you don’t want to.”

Huo Fenglie choked and didn’t dare to answer, but Liu Zhenqing didn’t press. He was just teasing him. Instead, he smiled and said: “Were you worried that I drank too much and would feel uncomfortable in the middle of the night, ah?”

Huo Fenglie nodded obediently.

Liu Zhenqing’s heart melted. What a cute and well-behaved little brother. He held Huo Fenglie and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Huo Fenglie was struck dumb. It wasn’t like such an intimate action hadn’t happened before, but when he thought of the secret kiss he stole last night, and the lips that had just been imprinted on his cheek, Huo Fenglie’s entire being froze.

But Liu Zhenqing didn’t let him go. Instead, he stuffed him under the quilt and started to hold him while making mischief.

When Huo Fenglie rushed out of bed with a red face, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help laughing. He just thought Er-gou was ticklish and couldn’t handle it.

Ah, another refreshing day.

---

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(Alt Universe) Extra 8 << Table of Contents >> (Alt Universe) Extra 10

“There may be side effects.”

The doctor closed the exam forms and pushed up his glasses, which had slipped down: “The family of the patient should be mentally prepared.”

“I’m not his family member,” Pei Xi explained, then asked, “What kind of side effects?”

The doctor put his index and middle fingers together and tapped his temple meaningfully.

Pei Xi: “He’s mentally ill?”

The doctor: “Oh, that’s not the case. The patient hit his head during the car accident and has a concussion that could cause some side effects, but it’s nothing serious. It will just take time for the injury to heal by itself.”

Pei Xi asked again: “What are the side effects?”

The doctor: “There are many possibilities: insomnia, sleepiness, lack of energy, excessive energy, amnesia, or memory confusion, all of which have precedent.”

The conversation between the two took place at the door of the ward. The person inside had already woken up, and was lying in bed with his arms behind his head, yawning comfortably.

Pei Xi turned his head to glance at He Chuzhou.

…..There were many possibilities, but he felt that this person fit none of them.

The driver who caused the rear-end collision was someone else. Pei Xi was just playing the part of a responsible citizen throughout the whole process, and since this person was fine, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.

He was in a hurry to meet Mr. Zhang. Whether He Chuzhou experienced side effects or not had nothing to do with him.

It was just that for some reason, accidents happened one after another.

As soon as he reached the car after leaving the hospital, Dong Han received a call from Mr. Zhang’s assistant, who said that Mr. Zhang had to leave for something urgent. All matters would be discussed after he returned.

After politely hanging up, Dong Han turned around from the passenger seat and asked: “President Pei, what do we do now?”

Pei Xi closed his eyes and rubbed his nose, feeling more tired than upset: “Go back.”

This was a wasted trip. He’d had to run around a hospital for no good reason, and his work was delayed because of an unworthy person. Pei Xi was really not in a good mood.

With his morning plans disrupted, he could only move the rest of his schedule forward.

As usual, he worked overtime at the company until 8:00. When night fell, he packed up and went downstairs after a reminder from Assistant Dong Han.

After eating dinner at a nearby restaurant, he was considering whether to go home or return to the company and finish the remaining work, when a call suddenly came in.

The caller ID was just the perfunctory character “He,” referring to the person lying in the hospital with side effects in reserve.

Pei Xi answered the phone. His manner of speech wasn’t terrible, but it definitely wasn’t good either. “What is it.”

He Chuzhou: “Honey, why aren’t you at home? Where did you go, ah?”

Pei Xi’s face darkened, and he decisively hung up the phone.

Unexpectedly, within a few seconds, the other party called again. Even when he was hung up on repeatedly, he continued to call.

Pei Xi was annoyed. When the other party called once more, he picked up: “He Chuzhou, are you sick? Do you not know how to look at which contact you’re calling?”

As if in confirmation, there was a moment of silence.

Pei Xi didn’t have time to waste with him. Just as he was about to hang up, he heard the person on the other end say: “Honey, stop joking with me. How could I not recognize your voice?”

Pei Xi: “…..What?”

He Chuzhou: “Where have you been? If you’re not feeling well, don’t go running around. Give me an address, I’ll pick you up and take you home right now.”

Pei Xi felt a chill all over his body at the repeated address of “Honey.” Thinking of the doctor’s words that day, he wondered if these were the so-called “side effects” that needed time to heal naturally.

But whether or not this was the case, it had nothing to do with him.

Pei Xi: “You don’t need to worry about where I am. If you’re feeling unsound, call your parents, don’t call me anymore. I’m hanging up.”

He Chuzhou hurriedly said: “My parents went abroad.”

Pei Xi’s finger paused above the screen. He hesitated, then put the phone to his ear again: “Abroad?”

He Chuzhou gave a hum. His voice sounded a little aggrieved: “They can’t come back at short notice.”

Pei Xi: “Then call another relative or friend.”

He Chuzhou: “They’re all busy.”

Pei Xi: “Do you think I’m idle?”

He Chuzhou: “Of course not, you’re the busiest!”

Pei Xi: “Then I’m hanging up.”

“Hey, don’t, Honey…..”

He Chuzhou lowered his voice and said pitifully: “I know you’re still angry, but can you at least tell me where you are? It’s so dark outside at night, I’m really worried about you being out there alone.”

“……” Pei Xi took a deep breath. “He Chuzhou, if you don’t know where to go, you can return to the hospital and stay there. I wasn’t the one who hit you, so don’t waste my time.”

“Also, I’m not your ‘honey,’ so stop calling me that.” After that, he disconnected and drove home.

It was quiet all the way there. He thought He Chuzhou had given up, but as soon as he drove into the community garage, his phone chimed several times in succession. The screen lit up to show that he had received several WeChat messages:

He Chuzhou: [Honey, don’t be angry (T . T)]

He Chuzhou: [I promise I’ll never do it again. I’ll listen to you obediently in the future. If you say stop, I’ll stop, and if you say move, I’ll move. If you say no, even if the arrow is on the string, I’ll endure it.]

He Chuzhou: [Honey, forgive me. /sobbing]

He Chuzhou: [I really know I was wrong.]

He Chuzhou: [The path of abandoning your home is too difficult, bring Zhouzhou with you. /sobbing /sobbing]

What was he talking about?

Pei Xi could now be sure that this person really had a problem with his brain. He was about to block him, but was stopped in his tracks by what he said next: 

He Chuzhou: [Are you at the company?]

He Chuzhou: [Can I come pick you up?]

He Chuzhou: [/holding head in grievance.jpg]

He Chuzhou: [But will the security guards open the door for me if I don’t have an employee badge? Honey, if I wait at the door, will you come down to get me?]

The company’s security guards were on duty 24/7, and there were also employees in the programming department who were still working. If He Chuzhou really went to find him with great fanfare, Pei Xi didn’t dare imagine what would come out the next day.

Why was this person so irritating?

Pei Xi suppressed his anger and sent his home address.

Pei Xi: [I’m staying here tonight. It’s safe. Don’t come find me. We can talk tomorrow if you have something to say.]

Pei Xi: [/picture]

Pei Xi: [And look carefully, there are a lot of lights around. It’s not dark at all.]

He paid no more attention to what the concussion patient read or replied to. Pei Xi put his phone away and went upstairs. He habitually showered as soon as he got home, and after coming out of the bathroom, he went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

When the doorbell rang, he was holding his coffee and about to go to the study and continue working. At the sound, he could only put down the coffee and go to the door.

He casually asked who it was, but nobody answered.

As a result, he looked through the peephole to see who it was, and his impatience immediately soared.

He opened the door with a cold expression, and before he could ask “What’s wrong with you?”, he was hugged tightly by the other party. His feet even lifted off the ground for two or three seconds, and he was almost unable to breathe.

“Honey, why did you secretly buy a house for yourself? Do you really not want me anymore?”

There was a huge difference in strength between the two. He Chuzhou rendered Pei Xi unable to break free with just a little effort: “Don’t, ah, it’s difficult to find a wealthy man like me on the market. I promise I’ll be obedient in the future, so just compromise, Honey.”

“I’ll transfer the house to you later. And if you’re unhappy in the future, just make me go, don’t go away by yourself. I get worried when I don’t see you.”

“My wife smells so good, ah. Did you change your shower gel? This scent absolutely suits you.”

Pei Xi tilted his head back and pushed hard against his shoulders: “He Chuzhou, let go!”

“I won’t.” Not only did He Chuzhou not let go, he also buried his head and rubbed it around in a very scoundrelly manner: “If I let go, you’ll run away again. I haven’t hugged you in an entire day.”

What did he mean, he hadn’t hugged him in an entire day?

They had never come within three meters of each other.

Pei Xi: “If you don’t let go, I’ll divorce you.”

In the next second, the arms constraining him were immediately withdrawn. He regained his freedom and quickly took two steps back to distance himself from He Chuzhou.

He Chuzhou stood there like a large, downtrodden dog, looking pitifully at him with downcast eyes. This was the complete opposite of his usual high-spirited self.

An angry “scram” caught in Pei Xi’s throat.

And he didn’t know if it was because He Chuzhou’s dog imitation was so good, but it gave him the illusion that he could actually hear a dog barking.

He Chuzhou: “Honey…..”

Unknown source: “Bark, bark!”

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

He turned around with confusion in his eyes and unexpectedly discovered a border collie puppy, which had lay down at some point on the cabinet under the projection screen.

The puppy had a red collar around its neck, and was looking at him curiously with bright puppy eyes. It shuffled its front paws occasionally and barked softly as if to join in the fun.

Pei Xi’s eye twitched. He looked back at the humanoid canine: “Your dog?”

He Chuzhou whispered: “He’s your dog too.”

Pei Xi’s expression hardened: “Coming here in the middle of the night is one thing, but you brought your dog with you too?”

He Chuzhou: “He’s your dog t—”

Pei Xi: “If you say it’s my dog one more time, I’ll call the security guards to throw you and your dog out!”

He Chuzhou gave an ‘oh,’ then changed his words weakly: “He’s your son too.”

Pei Xi: “……”

Forget it. Calm down.

Pei Xi, you’re a normal person. Don’t bother with the mentally impaired.

“Okay, you’ve seen that I’m fine and safe now. You can go back.”

Pei Xi turned around and drove the border collie off the cabinet, then grabbed the leash and led it to the door: “Take your son with you and see yourselves off.”

He Chuzhou didn’t take the dog. His gaze remained fixed on Pei Xi: “Honey, won’t you come back with me?”

Pei Xi: “No. And as I said before, don’t call me ‘honey.’”

He Chuzhou appeared even more depressed: “Okay. Xixi, can I stay with you?”

Pei Xi: “What are you laughing at?”^[1]

He Chuzhou was at a loss: “I’m not laughing.”

Pei Xi: “If you’re not laughing, what are you xixi-ing about?”

“You won’t let me call you ‘honey,’ so I can only call you Xixi.”

He Chuzhou scratched his head: “Or do you want me to call you Peipei? But your father’s last name is also Pei, so it feels weird.”

Pei Xi: “……Get out.”

He Chuzhou stood firm and said: “I really can’t stay?”

Pei Xi said expressionlessly: “No.”

He Chuzhou whispered: “But it’s so empty when you’re not home. I won’t be able to sleep well.”

Pei Xi: “Then go to a hotel.”

He Chuzhou: “Hotels don’t allow pets.”

Pei Xi: “Don’t you have a bunch of bed partners? Have one of them come over and sleep with you.”

He Chuzhou: “Ah? Since when have I had bed partners?”

Pei Xi: “How should I know?”

“I don’t have bed partners, ah, only a wife.”

He Chuzhou was extremely wronged: “Honey, you can hit me or scold me when you’re angry, but you can’t put that label on me. And there was a section of streetlights that were broken on my way here.”

Pei Xi didn’t get his meaning: “Do you want me to fix them for you?”

He Chuzhou: “It’s too dark. I’m scared.” 

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “Then take another route.”

He Chuzhou: “The car is almost out of gas. I can’t take another route.”

Pei Xi swore that other than the times he’d faced Pei Zhen before, he had never experienced such a strong urge to beat someone up: “He Chuzhou, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

He Chuzhou said in a low voice: “Xixi.”

Pei Xi: “Don’t call me that.”

He Chuzhou pursed his lips. His eyes were desolate.

Pei Xi: “Don’t play the victim. These tricks won’t work on me.”

He Chuzhou: “Oh…..”

The border collie: “Wu…..”

Pei Xi: “……”

Ten minutes later.

Pei Xi took a blanket out of the bedroom and threw it onto the sofa. He was too tired to be bothered with the pile of dog food, dog bowls, and a dog bed on the balcony that He Chuzhou had brought up from the car.

This person had planned to stay here long-term.

He could tolerate him for one night at most, but he would immediately find a way to have him picked up the next morning.

He Chuzhou’s long arms and legs were curled up on the sofa, and it was difficult for him to turn over: “Xixi, there’s no guest room for me to sleep in?”

Pei Xi: “You can sleep on the sofa or in the car. Your choice.”

He Chuzhou wisely hugged the blanket and lay down obediently: “This sofa is so soft. It’s more comfortable than a bed. My wife has really good taste.”

Pei Xi couldn’t be bothered to pay him any attention. He poured a bowl of water for the dog and touched its head. Then, without even looking at He Chuzhou, who was staring at him from the sofa, he turned around and went to the study.

The weather was overcast tonight, and the stars were hidden behind clouds. As it got closer to midnight, those clouds dispersed a bit and some stars began to appear.

Pei Xi rubbed his nose and turned off the computer, then stood and left the study. As he went to the bedroom, he remembered something and sent a casual glance toward the living room.

The person on the sofa was sleeping awkwardly. One foot and half of the blanket were outside the bounds of the sofa, with the other half rolled up enough to just press under his body. It would all fall to the floor if he turned over.

Pei Xi withdrew his gaze and touched the door handle. A rustling sound came from the living room.

When he looked again, he saw that the other half of the quilt had fallen. He Chuzhou was curled up on the sofa in thin clothes. The puppy lay obediently in a fuzzy dog bed not far from him, and when it saw Pei Xi, it politely wagged its tail.

It was a dark and windy night. The door to the master bedroom opened and closed, and the living room returned to silence.

The puppy put down its wagging tail and fell peacefully asleep. He Chuzou was also asleep, facing the inside of the sofa. The blanket covering him tightly again concealed his face, with only a small section of his head exposed.

*

*

The next morning, Pei Xi woke up on time according to his biological clock.

He hadn’t forgotten the troublemaker in the living room. After he tidied up and came out of the bathroom, he called his assistant Dong Han, intending to have him call He Chuzhou’s assistant to take him away.

But whether it was because it was too early or the other party was delayed by something else, the phone rang for a while without an answer.

He switched to WeChat and found Dong Han, walking out as he edited a text.

As soon as he opened the door, the aroma of food that hit his face made him pause.

Looking up, there was already a ready-made breakfast on the dining table. The living room was empty, with the blanket neatly folded and placed on the sofa. The balcony had been cleaned up without a single dog hair left behind.

As he approached the dining table, he spied a piece of paper underneath a glass of warm milk. On it was a string of words in cursive script:

[President Pei, thank you for taking me in. I’m very sorry for causing trouble all last night. All of this is to express my apologies. My cooking skills are average, but my intentions are as good as ever~]

It was signed ‘He Chuzhou,’ with a messy heart scribbled beside it.

Had he recovered after a good night’s sleep?

It seemed that his sequelae were much less troublesome than anticipated.

After the tossed the note into the trash, Dong Han called back. Pei Xi picked up the call, pulled out a chair, and sat down: “It was nothing. By the way, help me rearrange today’s schedule and move the meetings to this morning. I have to go out and meet a client in the afternoon.”

There actually wasn’t much work to do during this period. The projects were proceeding in an orderly manner under the supervision of the responsible personnel.

But Pei Xi was a person who couldn’t sit still, and apart from work, there didn’t seem to be anything else to fill his life.

As usual, he had a busy and mechanical day, and in the evening, he showed up at a dinner party hosted by one of his partners. It was almost twelve o’clock when he got home.

He washed away the fatigue from running around and lay down in bed. In a short while, he fell into a deep sleep under the tide of exhaustion.

However, his sleep seemed particularly short this night. It felt like he had just closed his eyes one second, and was awoken by the doorbell in the next. 

When he opened his eyes, the sky outside the window was just beginning to turn a pale grey.

Outside the door was He Chuzhou. Pei Xi assumed he was here to apologize. But when he opened the door, he saw the dog squatting at his left foot and the suitcase at his feet, and suddenly had a bad feeling.

As expected, He Chuzhou opened his mouth with a powerful statement: “Xixi, it’s okay if you don’t want to go home. I can stay here and take care of you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m easy to please. Just lend me the sofa.”

---

[1] “Xixi” is a laughing sound. ⮐

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Chapter 73 << Table of Contents >> Extra 2

Chapter 12 – Jade Pendant and Bamboo Slip

Although Feng Ye was full of questions, this group of people simply looked at him with mystical expressions, not offering a reason for their behavior.

After all, how could one gossip in the presence of the subject of that gossip? Therefore, Feng Ye remained completely confused.

Very soon, he couldn’t bear the pressure of so many stares on him and quickly slipped away from the crowd with Fang Yang.

As a well-qualified sticky person, Hao Chen naturally followed close behind Feng Ye.

The three of them returned to the messy martial arts training square. The meeting was over, but they still had work to do.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen also realized the childishness of their previous behavior. The two of them didn’t continue to make trouble, and honestly swept their respective sides.

Fang Yang enthusiastically joined the cleaning team. As he swept, he told Feng Ye about his decision: “Shixiong, I’m going to go!”

Feng Ye was unsurprised, as if he’d already seen through Fang Yang’s thoughts.

He was not going to dissuade him. No matter how difficult and dangerous the path of cultivation was, it was destined to be walked by each person alone.

He only warned: “You must make preparations before you go. Healing pills, for example, and herbs to dispel miasma.”

Fang Yang thought for a moment, then said: “I still have some healing medicine, and I think there are some herbs for dispelling miasma in the back mountain. I’ll go up the mountain to look for them tomorrow.”

The founder of Lingxiao Sword Sect had chosen this location as the sect’s base, a decision that had certainly not been made lightly. This mountain range was vast, with strong spiritual energy. This made it a rare and treasured place for cultivation.

Although disciples of past generations had built many houses and palaces on the mountain, there was still a considerable area of deep, old forest that was entirely undeveloped.

This was what Lingxiao Sword Sect called the ‘back mountain.’ The spiritual energy in the back mountain nourished all kinds of spiritual medicines, plants, and monsters.

Naturally, in order to ensure the safety of the disciples, Lingxiao Sword Sect would periodically organize disciples above the Foundation Establishment stage to clear out the monsters there.

But there would always be some fish that slipped through the net. Although it wouldn’t be a big problem with Fang Yang’s cultivation, when he thought about Fang Yang leaving soon, it seemed that he, as a shixiong, had never done anything for Fang Yang.

Feeling a little guilty, Feng Ye said: “I’ll go with you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hao Chen jumped on the opportunity and said: “I’ll go too.”

Feng Ye looked at Hao Chen and thought, Sticky candy.

Hao Chen smiled back, pretending not to understand Feng Ye’s look of contempt.

Although Fang Yang didn’t believe his Useless Shixiong would be of any help, he was considerate enough to not reject his kindness.

Once the three of them finished cleaning, they agreed to meet again in the morning and went back to their respective rooms.

Having finally gotten rid of Hao Chen, Feng Ye breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the door closed. It felt as if he had unshouldered a huge burden.

He searched around his room and finally found the book “Legend of Li Aotian’s Cultivation” that had been tossed under the bed.

Feng Ye wiped the book and blew the dust from it before opening it and flipping through a couple of pages.

He had not suddenly sought out this book because his tastes had changed. He still thought the book was complete nonsense.

Feng Ye had been itching to give Fang Yang pointers while sword training in the early morning, but was unable to speak up with Hao Chen present.

But then he came up with a great idea. And that idea was inspired by…..

Feng Ye flipped through about ten pages before he found what he was looking for.

The protagonist Li Aotian was looked down on because of his mediocre talent. Just as he had given up on himself, he happened to pick up a jade pendant.

He thought it was just an ordinary jade pendant, but by an unexpected coincidence, blood dripped from Li Aotian’s fingertips onto the jade pendant, awakening the old grandfather slumbering within it.

The old grandfather was certainly not an ordinary old man. He was the remnant soul of a powerful being who had been stranded there due to happenstance.

It didn’t matter how he ended up there, nor why he had found the mediocre Li Aotian.

In any case, they were together.

The old grandfather guided Li Aotian’s cultivation and growth the entire way, and successfully aided him in reaching the pinnacle of his life.

This was not the point. The point was that the words of the old grandfather inside the pendant could only be heard by Li Aotian, after his blood dripped on it and the jade pendant recognized him as its master.

What a great idea. If he could just replicate a jade pendant like this, he could avoid Hao Chen and talk to Fang Yang directly.

Flipping through the book, Feng Ye marveled at his own cleverness.

When he was finished admiring himself, Feng Ye stroked his non-existent beard. He had already placed himself into the role of the old grandfather.

Feng Ye jumped up from the bamboo couch, ready to get to work.

And then……and then, he encountered a problem.

Where was he going to get a jade pendant?

Feng Ye looked through all of the drawers in his house and came to a conclusion: 

Oh. It turns out I’m a pauper.

Although he had been impersonating someone for a month, Feng Ye, who had never cared about money, only discovered this fact today.

But as the old saying went, as long as your thinking doesn’t slip, there are always more solutions than problems.

There was no jade pendant, so he would make one out of wood.

Feng Ye used local materials, cutting some bamboo directly from the bamboo forest outside his house. He polished the bamboo into a slip two fingers wide, then picked up a brush and drew an array onto it.

He, a counterfeit grandfather, wasn’t actually going to place a wisp of his soul into the bamboo. He simply drew a communication array onto the slip, through which he could talk directly to the person on the other side in his sea of consciousness.

And in addition to the communication array, Feng Ye added a stealth array to prevent the special nature of the bamboo slip from being exposed due to spiritual energy leaking out when the array was activated.

These two arrays were simple on their own, but when drawn together, the difficulty level was completely different.

The two arrays must be linked and integrated with each other. If a mistake was made, the array would be worthless. This type of combined array that required personal modification could only be done by a master-level figure who was extremely proficient in the principals of arrays.

And Feng Ye drew very quickly, taking even less time than it took to polish the bamboo.

When the last stroke of the array was completed, it flashed briefly before sinking into the bamboo piece and vanishing.

It was done. Feng Ye looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction.

There was only one step left – getting this bamboo slip to Fang Yang. Feng Ye planned to copy the plot in the book and let Fang Yang pick it up.

It was currently near evening, and Fang Yang would be coming back from sword practice.

Thus, Feng Ye stealthily went to Fang Yang’s residence. When he saw his figure from a distance, he immediately tossed the bamboo slip to the ground.

Then he hid in the bamboo forest and waited for Fang Yang to pick it up.

Fang Yang got closer…..and closer…..and then he walked right over the bamboo slip.

Walked over it?

Feng Ye watched him walk over the bamboo slip without a passing glance.

Feng Ye: “……”

He suddenly realized his mistake. Most people would pick up a jade pendant on the ground, but wouldn’t even notice an ordinary piece of bamboo. 

Feng Ye covered his face, regretting his stupid mistake. However, he still had a chance.

Fang Yang came out soon after entering the room, holding clean clothes in preparation to bathe.

Seizing the opportunity, Feng Ye activated the array when Fang Yang walked near the bamboo slip again, and the flashing light finally drew his attention.

Fang Yang squatted down and picked up the bamboo slip, frowning slightly. He seemed to have seen the slip flash a second ago, but now it had stopped.

Fang Yang studied it for a while, but couldn’t figure it out, so he put it into his pocket and planned to study it further after he bathed.

Hiding in the bamboo forest, Feng Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Success at last.

It had gotten darker. Fang Yang had just returned from bathing, and took a seat on the bamboo couch, looking at the bamboo slip he had picked up over and over again.

He didn’t think he had just been seeing things. This bamboo slip had indeed flashed back then, but it had stopped now, and there was nothing unusual about it.

Just as Fang Yang was about to set it aside…..

“Cough…..”

Out of nowhere, a dull cough sounded. Fang Yang jumped up from the couch in shock. He asked while looking around: “Who is it?”

A hoarse, elderly voice spoke in his ear: “Young man, is it you who woke me?”

In his room nearby, Feng Ye pinched his throat and spoke the lines in the book out loud.

Fang Yang stared blankly. Why did this line sound so familiar? As a die-hard fan of the book, he very quickly remembered where this line came from, and his expression transformed into astonishment: “Are you an old grandfather mentor?”

Old grandfather mentor?

Feng Ye’s mouth twitched.

“Cough, cough, cough.” The old voice coughed violently for a moment, then denied: “No, but you and I were destined to meet. I see that you’re also a swordsman. I can teach you a thing or two.”

According to the plot of the book, the old grandfather still had another paragraph to say about wanting to test the protagonist. But Feng Ye felt that it was too tiring to speak with a pinched throat, so he got straight to the point.

Fang Yang had no suspicions about this old grandfather who had appeared out of nowhere, and just put on his shoes excitedly: “Wait a minute, I’ll go tell my shixiong!”

Feng Ye: “……”

As Fang Yang walked farther away, he called out in a panic: “Wait!”

The receding footsteps paused, and then slowly returned.

Fang Yang’s tone was puzzled: “Why did your voice change?”

Feng Ye: “……” Oops. He’d misspoken just now due to anxiety.

But Feng Ye adjusted his thinking. It was tiring to talk with a pinched throat, and who stipulated that the jade pendant or bamboo slip must contain an old man?

He had already replaced the jade pendant with bamboo, so it was fine if the old man became a little younger.

Feng Ye returned to his senses and used his original voice instead of the voice of the body he was using. He was communicating via his spiritual consciousness, so his real voice was naturally what Fang Yang heard.

A deep male voice sounded inside the room. It was as clear as a spring valley, as firm and powerful as a ray of sunlight breaking through the overlapping shadows of the trees.

Because of this voice, Fang Yang didn’t focus on why the grandfather who’d appeared inexplicably had become a big brother inexplicably. Instead, he couldn’t help but sigh: “Big Brother, you have a really nice voice.”

The man with the really nice voice chuckled, replying with a smile: “I will teach you swordsmanship, but there is a condition. You cannot tell anyone about me.”

“Not even Useless Shixiong?”

Useless Shixiong?

Feng Ye: “……” Although he was roughly aware of his image in Fang Yang’s mind, hearing this title in person still felt like getting shot in the knee.

The pleasant voice disappeared for a moment, and when it came again, it carried an unquestionable denial: “No.”

“Aw,” Fang Yang replied with some disappointment.

“By the way.” Fang Yang suddenly remembered: “You haven’t told me who you are yet.”

The voice chuckled again, with a hint of encouragement and unconcealed haughtiness: “When you can truly stand at the top of the world, you will know my name.”

---

T/N: Feng Ye is such a clown! Haha.

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Chapter 11 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 13

Chapter 11 – Lucky Chance

“Shixiong.”

“En?” Fang Yang’s voice interrupted Feng Ye’s thoughts. He turned to glance at him.

Fang Yang’s eyes were filled with stars, and he said with a look of irrepressible anticipation: “Is this the lucky chance mentioned in the storybook?”

Storybook? Feng Ye thought for a moment, then recalled what Fang Yang was talking about.

Although the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy put most of his energy into cultivation, humans were not plants. After training hard, they also needed entertainment activities for rest and relaxation.

Fang Yan’s entertainment activity was reading storybooks, such as the recently popular “Legend of Li Aotian’s Cultivation.” This book told the story of a grassroots protagonist who grew step by step from a despised waste spiritual root person to a powerful being who dominated the world.

In this story, numerous lucky chances fell into the protagonist’s hands as if they were free, with more zeal than porcelain scammers. Of course, this kind of story must have a like-minded senior or junior sister with a secret crush on the protagonist.

But Fang Yang probably still wasn’t enlightened yet. He still had no comprehension of the relationships between men and women. It was written into the story in a rather subtle way, and to this day, he still thought that the women around the protagonist were all just good friends of his.

Fang Yang believed that the story focused on the series of adventures the protagonist experienced, as well as how to seek treasures in various spiritual realms. It made his blood boil, and it wasn’t enough for him to read it himself – he also had to strongly recommend it to Feng Ye.

Feng Ye flipped through a few pages and became irritated with the nonsense-filled article, whereupon he tossed it into the corner of the room, where it was gathering dust.

Although Feng Ye hadn’t read much of it, he could roughly guess what Fang Yang was referring to. Fang Yang probably thought that the Floating Island Secret Realm was of the same nature as the secret realms experienced by the protagonist of “Legend of Li Aotian’s Cultivation,” and that upon going there, all sorts of treasures would fall from the sky.

This, however, was complete nonsense. Not to mention whether one possessed the luck to encounter such treasures, the dangers that one must experience during the treasure hunt were not something a disciple at Qi Refining stage could handle.

On the surface, this place was a treasure trove of rare prizes, but underneath, there was no telling how many corpses of cultivators were buried there. 

Some died at the claws of the monsters guarding the spiritual plants, while others died at the hands of their companions.

It was not uncommon for brothers to kill each other because of their greed for treasure.

Feng Ye felt that he must shoulder the responsibility of a shixiong. He cleared his throat, intending to gravely explain the dangers to Fang Yang in order to calm his heated mind.

Just then, having been silent the whole time, Hao Chen suddenly cut in: “What storybook?”

Fang Yang, a die-hard fan of the book, excitedly gave Hao Chen a brief account of the story.

This sort of silly thing is only liked by young people who have never seen the world, thought Hao Chen, proud of his age and experience.

Fang Yang felt that this brief description was still not enough, so in order to prove that the book truly was good, he also gave an example: “My shixiong also likes it a lot.”

Feng Ye, who was suddenly implicated: “……” No, I don’t like it.

“Oh?” Hao Chen’s expression became very strange, and he looked at Feng Ye with a hint of incredulity. It turns out you like this kind of thing.

No, I really don’t like it. Feng Ye understood the look in Hao Chen’s eyes and refuted inwardly.

Feng Ye wanted to explain, but seeing how excited Fang Yang was to share his favorite thing with others, he was somewhat speechless. Should he tell Fang Yang that he had used the book as a footstool?

No, no. In order not to destroy their relationship as martial brothers, Feng Ye chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Silence!”

The voice wasn’t very loud, but for some reason, it felt like thunder ringing in everyone’s ears.

The bustling square fell silent, and everyone looked up at the middle-aged man standing suspended in the air above the stone steps, and the old man with a white beard and white hair standing next to him.

There was no one present who didn’t know of these people. Even Hao Chen, who had just arrived, could guess their identities based on their Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

Those at Golden Core stage were already powerful people who could stand on their own in the cultivation world, but those at Nascent Soul stage were the real top masters.

Although there was the Body Transformation stage after Nascent Soul, no one had broken through to Body Transformation in a hundred years, so Nascent Soul was currently the highest level in the cultivation world.

If all sects in the world – big and small – were counted, there were only a few dozen people who had reached Nascent Soul stage, and they were almighty beings who commanded respect wherever they went.

Most of these Nascent Soul cultivators were distributed amongst the top-ranked sects, as elders or simply sect leaders. 

Of these two people in front of them, the middle-aged man with a stern expression was none other than the current sect leader of Lingxiao Sword Sect – Ji Chengyue.

And the white-haired, white-bearded man with a gentle expression was a very experienced elder in the sect – Zhou Zhiqing.

These two were both major figures whom disciples in the outer sect usually never had the opportunity to meet. Today, they were present for an important announcement.

Seeing that the crowd below was silent, Ji Chengyue said: “You should have more or less heard the reason I’ve summoned you all here today.”

There were whispers below.

Ji Chengyue frowned, and was about to scold them when Elder Zhou Zhiqing took over the conversation and said to the crowd with a smile: “That’s right, this is about the opening of the Floating Island Secret Realm.”

Ji Chengyue was helpless in the face of Elder Zhou’s interruption. He didn’t know if it was due to age, but Elder Zhou was particularly tolerant of these young disciples. Ji Chengyue, however, was the opposite. He believed that there was no order without rules.

But Elder Zhou was a highly qualified person, and it could be said that he had witnessed Ji Chengyue’s breakthrough to Nascent Soul step by step. Ji Chengyue didn’t want to confront such a veteran figure outright, so he let Elder Zhou act as peacemaker.

Elder Zhou continued: “I won’t say much about what kind of treasure land the Floating Island Secret Realm is. You should all be aware. But as everyone knows, the Floating Island Secret Realm has shown signs of collapse, so the number of people who enter, as well as their cultivation levels, must be strictly regulated.”

“A hundred years ago, our Lingxiao Sword Sect took the lead in establishing a set of rules, according to which each of the top ten sects are allocated one hundred spots for Qi Refining stage disciples and ten places for Foundation Establishment disciples.”

“Everyone present here is in the Qi Refining stage, and the quota for Foundation Establishment has nothing to do with you. As for the hundred places for Qi Refining, there are also some disciples in the inner sect who are not yet at Foundation Establishment, for a total of twenty-one. These twenty-one disciples are directly qualified to enter the Floating Island Secret Realm. The rest of you will need to compete for the remaining seventy-nine spots.”

“The selection will be held in two days, right here in this square, with random grouping and qualifying rounds. The top seventy-nine will be eligible to enter the Floating Island Secret Realm in five days. Furthermore…..” Elder Zhou’s tone suddenly dragged out.

He kept everyone on edge for a while before stroking his beard with a smile: “The champion of each match will also be rewarded with the opportunity to enter the Armory Pavilion and choose an earth-level magic weapon of their choice.”

The moment these words were spoken, the entire room erupted.

The strength of a cultivator was not determined solely by the level of their cultivation; magical weapons were equally important, and could improve the combat effectiveness of cultivators to a certain extent. Some powerful magical weapons could even help cultivators with low cultivation defeat those who were stronger than them.

And magic weapons were divided into four levels: heaven, earth, black, and yellow according to their preciousness.

Yellow grade was more common, and could usually be bought for dozens or hundreds of spirit stones. And black was more precious, costing hundreds or even thousands of spirit stones. For ordinary disciples, including inner sect disciples, unless they possessed a particularly prominent family background, just by relying on the monthly salary of ten spirit stones from the sect, it would take more than ten years to save up to buy one.

As for earth-grade magic tools, the price must be increased by several times. A few thousand spirit stones were only the base price, and a good quality magic tool could even cost tens of thousands.

Heaven-grade spiritual tools were on a completely different level than the first three grades. Earth-grade tools could still be purchased, but heaven-grade tools were in short supply. It was rare to come across one, and they could not be measured by money.

Lingxiao Sword Sect taking out an earth-grade magic weapon at this time was a big deal. Of everyone present, aside from the two weirdos Hao Chen and Feng Ye, nobody was unmoved.

“Don’t be too hasty. I have one more thing to remind you.” Ji Chengyue spoke again, pouring cold water on the situation: “The Floating Island Secret Realm not only contains panaceas and treasures, but also extremely vicious monsters. In the last decade, of the one hundred Qi Refining disciples we sent in, only half returned.”

“The opportunities inside the secret realm are indeed great, but opportunities also come with dangers. Even if you do obtain a treasure, whether or not you can return alive is still unclear. You can consider the pros and cons yourselves. We will not force anyone to join. It is entirely voluntary. Those who wish to join, please sign up tomorrow.”

This was actually everything Feng Ye had wanted to say to Fang Yang. He cast a covert glance at Fang Yang’s expression from the corner of his eye.

The silly boy who had been exuberant just now had become solemn. There was a frown on his face, as if he was considering the risks of this journey.

Ji Chengyue and Elder Zhou left first when they were finished speaking. The group of junior disciples didn’t disperse immediately, instead discussing with their friends whether to sign up.

“Only half of the people came back. This trip seems really dangerous. Zheng-xiong, what do you think?”

The person named Zhen-xiong replied: “It is indeed very dangerous, but…..those of us who cultivate fight against the heavens for our lives. As the saying goes, wealth and honor can only be obtained through taking risks. If you’re afraid of consequences, you might as well go home and farm instead of cultivating immortality.”

“Zheng-xiong is right!”

“Wealth and honor come through taking risks!”

These words were unanimously agreed upon by those around. Feng Ye actually agreed with them too. Although he wanted to warn Fang Yang of the danger, he didn’t want to discourage the youth’s enthusiasm. He just wanted Fang Yang to make his decision after clearly understanding the risks and rewards of the journey.

Having heard these words, Fang Yang’s hesitant expression disappeared and his gaze gradually became resolute. He had made his decision too.

It seems I don’t need to say anything more, Feng Ye thought with some gratification.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, what do you think? Will you go to the Floating Island Secret Realm or not?” Hao Chen abruptly asked from beside him.

Of course not, Feng Ye answered inwardly. He wasn’t afraid of the danger. Those monsters in the secret realm were dangerous to others, but to him, they didn’t even qualify as a threat. Besides, Feng Ye had no interest in the so-called treasures there.

But even though he thought this way, he couldn’t say it out loud. Feng Ye skewed his eyes, donning a trepidatious expression as he proceeded to speak nonsense: “I’d better not go. I’ve heard there are terrible creatures inside that will skin and debone people.”

As he spoke, he shuddered as if truly terrified.

His acting looks just like the real thing, Hao Chen noted.

But Hao Chen didn’t expose Feng Ye. Instead, he gave an identical shudder and said: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye is right. The outside world is too dangerous. It would be best for us to cultivate diligently.”

The words of these two useless people were too different from those of the high-spirited junior disciples. Everyone could only look over, wanting to see which losers were so clear-headed and aloof from worldly affairs.

Upon closer observation, they turned out to be two celebrities.

Their contemptuous looks turned to understanding. After all, they were family men and didn’t want to take risks, unlike these single fellows. 

Feng Ye once again experienced those unspeakable, meaning-laden looks from that morning.

Feng Ye: “ ? ? ? ” What in the world?

---

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Chapter 10 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 12

One bow to heaven and earth…..

“Hey, do you see that person in front?”

“That Liu Xiting is an outstanding talent, but he’s also eccentric. His fiance is marrying the person he recognizes as his elder brother, but he’s happily attending the wedding banquet and helped with the reception.”

“I heard the engagement was called off because they weren’t compatible.”

“Who knows? Maybe Li Xingruo couldn’t bear Liu Zhenqing’s licentious nature, or maybe Huo Feihan forcibly seized his brother’s woman.”

“Martial Huo, Talent Liu, and Medical Li, the brightest combination of two men and one woman in the capital, have ended up like this. There will definitely be a rift between them, and they might even become enemies in the future…..”

Two idlers at the edge of the crowd were talking excitedly when they were suddenly hit in the knees and fell to the ground behind the crowd of people.

Although the two shouted out loud, the surroundings were so lively that even the people standing in front of them didn’t know there was something going on in the back.

The two cried out in pain and looked back, only to find a youth in his teens standing behind them.

The boy appeared taller and more upright than his peers, and his youthful face was cold. Eyes as dark as cold stars simply glanced at them, and the two young men suddenly didn’t dare to breathe.

Their gossip had been heard by the subject’s family member.

However, the youth didn’t make things difficult for them. He just walked between the two of them, squeezed to the front of the crowd, and stood next to the person they had just been gossiping about.

“Second, bow to honor the parents!”

They watched the newlyweds kneel down and pay their respects.

The curve to Liu Zhenqing’s mouth lifted higher and higher, and his heart couldn’t help but surge with excitement at this scene. He sensed someone beside him, and turned to find a youth standing there. He lowered his head slightly so they could look each other in the eyes.

Liu Zhenqing embraced the youth with a smile, patting his head: “Where has Er-gou been? You’re late for your brother and sister-in-law’s wedding?”

As soon as Liu Zhenqing finished speaking, he saw Huo Fenglie raise his hand and offer him a piece of peach blossom cake.

Liu Zhenqing was stunned, and almost burst into laughter. Er-gou was so cute. He had just gotten back from helping with the wedding reception earlier and was feeling hungry, so when he saw servants passing by, he couldn’t help but say: “I’ll eat a piece of peach blossom cake to fill my stomach later.”

He forgot about it after getting busy again, but Er-gou, who had been following him around, unexpectedly remembered. Had he just gone out to find this peach blossom cake for him?

There was no obvious flattering smile on Huo Fenglie’s little face, only an expression of sincerity. A pair of eyes, black and bright, looked straight at him like small stars twinkling in the sky, serious to the point of being cute.

Liu Zhenqing’s peach blossom eyes arched into crescents with his smile. He was inherently attractive, his smile as vibrant as a rose. If the people watching the ceremony across from them happened to see him right then, they would be distracted by his exquisite face. Even straight men would blush. 

Suppressing his smile, Liu Zhenqing leaned forward and took the cake into his mouth from Er-gou’s hand. He could just barely eat it in one bite.

He secretly chewed and swallowed it. Feeling some residue at the corner of his mouth, he could only wipe it away with his tongue. 

But he didn’t notice that when Er-gou lowered his head next to him, the ears hidden behind his black hair were red, and the hand that had offered Liu Zhenqing the pastry was clenched into a fist.

Because Liu Zhenqing’s soft, cherry-red lips had accidentally brushed his index finger, and that finger was now being held and rubbed.

“Third, exchange bows with one another!”

“Er-gou, look, your brother is so awkward,” Liu Zhenqing said suddenly, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

Huo Fenglie looked over and saw that the face of the tall, mighty, handsome Huo Feihan was flushed, whether due to excitement or because of his red robes. The corners of his mouth were stiff, but couldn’t stop rising, and his eyes sparkled as they stared straight ahead.

On the surface, he had his head held high and his chest puffed out like a majestic general, but underneath, it was as if a mechanical spring had broken, and he began to move his hands and feet in an unnatural manner.

It was fortunate that he didn’t have to walk much, or he would be pointed at and mocked.

Huo Fenglie knew that his elder brother had been too excited to sleep the night before and had walked endlessly around the new house that had been prepared long ago, never satisfied no matter how he looked at it. Whenever he thought of buying something his fiance would like, he would immediately find someone to take care of it overnight.

It was the first time his brother had tormented the people in the manor like this, but the smile on his face never dropped.

The ceremony ended.

Everyone cheered and applauded. Huo Feihan was so excited that he picked Li Xingruo up horizontally. In fact, it was rare in Great Zhou for a newly-wed husband to carry the bride to the bridal chamber, and if it ever happened, the two in question would need to have a very close relationship.

The crowd surrounded the newlyweds and sent them to the bridal chamber.

Liu Zhenqing naturally pulled Huo Fenglie over with him.

When they arrived at the bridal chamber, the newlyweds went through lifting the veil and drinking the wedding wine according to tradition.

After some commotion, someone from outside delivered a message that Crown Prince Jing Yang had arrived.

It was, of course, a supreme honor to have His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come to congratulate them.

This was a good opportunity to prevent this group of people from making mischief in the bridal chamber.

Huo Feihan hurriedly urged everyone to leave together, and said to Li Xingruo before he left, “Eat if you’re hungry, don’t worry about tradition. The kitchen has stewed your favorite pork elbow…..”

Before he could finish speaking, Li Xingruo gave him an elbow to the chest, obviously unhappy with him airing her food preferences to the public.

Huo Feihan was naturally used to being beaten. He grinned foolishly, then said unnaturally with a blush: “Wait until I come back, M….Madam.”

Li Xingruo stared, then nodded with flushed cheeks: “En.”

Huo Feihan then rushed out happily.

Liu Zhenqing was about to leave when Li Xingruo called him back: 

“Shixiong.”

Liu Zhenqing instantly froze with a full-body shiver, then turned cautiously to look at Li Xingruo. Any time she called him ‘shixiong,’ she would have excessive demands.

“Wh…..what do you need?”

“Help me keep an eye on Huo Feihan. Don’t let him drink too much.”

Liu Zhenqing breathed a sigh of relief: “You scared me to death. How is this a big enough deal for you to call me ‘shixiong?’ Could it be that you’ve gotten more sensible after marriage?”

Li Xingruo sent him an angry glare and raised her fist: “Don’t force me to beat you on my marriage day!”

Liu Zhenqing immediately smiled and said: “Don’t worry, Shimei. I won’t allow Huo-dage to spoil your wedding night fun no matter what, hahaha.”

He ran out with a grin after saying this, but looked back at Li Xingruo in her bridal makeup and couldn’t help but laugh: “This is the first time I’ve seen Shimei look so beautiful. You finally look a little feminine.”

A silver needle flew toward him in response.

Liu Zhenqing ran away in fright, thinking that his shimei was truly amazing to have brought silver needles with her even on her wedding day.

When he left, he ran into Er-gou, who was waiting for him alone. Er-gou usually followed him around, so it was normal for Liu Zhenqing to see him as soon as he turned his head.

Liu Zhenqing walked forward and nonchalantly embraced Er-gou, who handed over a piece of peach blossom cake. Amused, he leaned forward to eat it.

When they arrived at the gates, Huo Feihan had already brought people to welcome Crown Prince Jing Yang.

Liu Zhenqing could see Yuan Jue following the crown prince from afar. Although they were the same age, Yuan Jue hadn’t caught up to Huo Fenglie in height.

Yuan Jue seemed to be looking around. He happily waved his hands as soon as he saw them outside the crowd, not even bothering to maintain the demeanor of His Royal Highness, Eldest Grandson of the Emperor. Presently, he tugged at Crown Prince Jing Yang’s hand.

Crown Prince Jing Yang leaned forward slightly and listened attentively to Yuan Jue’ s words. When he looked up and spotted them, the corners of his lips curled up and he waved at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing quickly brought Huo Fenglie over to pay their respects.

The crown prince didn’t allow Liu Zhenqing to kneel. He held him up and said: “No need to be polite. I just came to deliver gifts, and I’ll be off again soon.”

“You’re not staying for the wedding banquet, Your Highness?” Huo Feihan asked.

“No. If I’m here, people won’t be able to enjoy their drinks.”

“No way, we can only drink to our hearts’ content when His Highness is here,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

The crown prince gave Liu Zhenqing a helpless look, but his tone was rather doting: “You can’t fool me. If you get drunk and cause trouble, I’ll have to clean up your mess for you.”

Huo Feihan laughed out loud at this, while Liu Zhenqing donned an innocent look. It was just that after getting drunk, he had taken Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo to go and bully a few dignitaries. His Highness was so petty.

The two stood to the left and right of the crown prince, laughing and chatting. Huo Fenglie and Yuan Jue, who were also familiar with each other, were engaged in their own friendly conversation. Nobody else could get close.

The crowd of onlookers could only feel jealous. Great Zhou was presently stable, and the internal struggles between the three kings had been silently resolved by Crown Prince Jing Yang. Even the health problems he had faced previously were slowly being cured with the help of a miracle doctor.

Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in good health, the restless three kings gradually lost interest.

After all, Crown Prince Jing Yang was capable, and none of the civil and military officials in the court had any objections. He was also the darling of the common people, and had no intention of exterminating his royal uncles. Only those with defective brains would want to rebel against the whole country.

Therefore, it could be seen that Great Zhou had a stable future. And for Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie, who could be considered confidants of Crown Prince Jing Yang, their future prospects were limitless.

Huo Feihan was a member of the Huo family, and also became a top martial arts champion. Nobody was able to match him, and he would naturally be the right hand of the crown prince after he ascended the throne. And although Liu Zhenqing didn’t seem to fit in, having achieved an average score in the Imperial Examination, anyone who had studied alongside him at the Imperial Academy knew of his talent. Not to mention that he had previously been the main force behind solving several major cases in the Imperial Court. His talent was evident to all, and it stood to reason that he would be the future prime minister.

Huo Feihan had taken the position of military general, and was considered to be the successor to the Huo Family. It was thought that Liu Zhenqing would obtain a civil service position, or even become an official in the crown prince’s palace. But Liu Zhenqing was a layabout who only wanted to enjoy his freedom, and was unwilling to serve as a court official. Up to now, in addition to his identity as a son of a wealthy family, his only position was tutor to the emperor’s eldest grandson, whom he went to the East Palace to teach alongside Huo Feihan.

The key point was that the crown prince didn’t ask them to do anything and truly treated them as younger brothers, indulging them in whatever they wanted to do. When people saw Liu Zhenqing enjoying every honor and favor without vying for a position or seeking power, how could they not be filled with resentment?

The crown prince only spoke a few words and was about to leave with Yuan Jue. Huo Feihan wanted to see him off, but the crown prince rejected him, telling him to entertain his guests well. Seeing the reluctant look on Yuan Jue’s face, Liu Zhenqing went to see them off on Huo Feihan’s behalf and asked Er-gou to bring some food for Yuan Jue.

Although there were all kinds of good things at the palace, there was still a different feeling to eating out. Yuan Jue felt much better as he held the pastry box.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t stay by himself, but he still had to go to the palace and talk to the Empress Dowager, since it would soon be time for his father’s successor to be chosen.

Once they set out, Yuan Jue glanced at the smiling Liu Zhenqing and suddenly said: “My father told me today that he wants to arrange a marriage for you.”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes instantly widened. He shook his head.

Following behind Yuan Jue, Huo Fenglie abruptly looked up and forward. Yuan Jue was surprised by his reaction.

The crown prince smiled and said: “Don’t worry, I know what you’re thinking and I’ve already rejected it for your sake. But you’re already so old. If you don’t marry, your old father will be worried. You don’t have a girl you like, but I’ve heard that numerous girls in the capital like you. If you want someone, no matter who they are, I can help you obtain them. Don’t miss out on the flowering season of young women.”

Liu Zhenqing shook his head: “I still feel like I’m young.”

Liu Zhenqing did indeed feel like he was young, but for a crown prince in ancient times, hearing this made him want to laugh.

The crown prince gave a silent sigh. It seemed that this little brother had not yet become enlightened. 

“By the way, the three Imperial uncles may have to leave the capital soon. Where do you think is an appropriate place to put them?” asked the crown prince.

Liu Zhenqing suddenly gave the prince a level look. “Your Highness must already have an answer in mind.”

The crown prince could only raise his hand and smack Liu Zhenqing on the head: “I’ve dealt with so much trouble for you, and now that I ask you to use your brain for once, you’re complaining?”

Liu Zhenqing touched his forehead, quick to apologize with a smile. Such a powerful backer as His Highness should not be offended. 

“I think there should be no worries about sending King Qi to the eastern coastal area. Song Xingmu’s family is there. He’s a man of many talents, but he’s best at angering people to death, so he’ll definitely be able to keep an eye on him. King Huai is skillful in battle, and also more upright, so it would be best to have him guard Nanfeng City. Seeing the difficulties faced by the common people, it’ll be difficult for him to have any wicked thoughts. The Dai family is nearby. Although they are in a period of transition, there won’t be a problem with using them as an internal source. As for that awful King Zhao, hmph, pick anywhere in the north or west. Oh, wait, the west. Huo-dage intends to go west, so send him to the north. It’s full of hardship there, suitable for reforming him.”

Liu Zhenqing had no scruples in front of the crown prince. Although the starting point was different, the results coincided with what the crown prince had expected. Generally, decisions went through the two of them before he settled on one.

The crown prince smiled and patted the back of Liu Zhenqing’s head: “Very clever. Alright, let’s have a drink next time.”

Liu Zhenqing watched the crown prince’s carriage leave and felt a little regretful. If the crown prince had stayed, Liu Zhenqing could use his power to intimidate those fellows who were about to force him to drink like crazy. 

But Liu Zhenqing also understood that him coming here today was not a good idea.

After all, the old emperor was narrow-minded. Since he himself had no ability, he didn’t want his son to be too capable, and it was even worse that he was close to a military general. 

However, the crown prince was a righteous, loyal man, and came over with difficulty to give them gifts as a show of respect, so that others would give them face. He wouldn’t deliberately invite trouble on their wedding day. After all, many of those attending the wedding banquet were close to the three kings, and even if the three kings seemed to be giving up now, it would still be easy to ignite a conflict. 

“Qing-ge,” Huo Fenglie said in an inquisitive tone.

Liu Zhenqing turned to look at Er-gou: “En?”

Huo Fenglie said: “Qing-ge, are you still going to marry later?”

Liu Zhenqing was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud: “You little brat, why do you still care about such a thing? I get it. After watching your brother get married today, are you feeling lonely? Don’t worry, you’ll always be our beloved didi.” 

Liu Zhenqing held this dog’s head and kneaded it for a while. Er-gou didn’t resist, just letting him play. However, there was a sense of crisis and possessiveness in those eyes as black as obsidian.

---

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Wedding Extra 7 << Table of Contents >> (Alt Universe) Extra 9

On the second day of the New Year, the two of them got up early in the morning and rushed to the airport. After flying for a while, a message came from He Aiyue, who had just woken up and was asking where they were.

He Aiyue: [Hurry back, we’re going to discuss whether to go hiking or see the ice sculptures.]

He Aiyue: [Oh, right! There’s a third option now, going to the snowy mountains to soak in the hot springs!]

He Chuzhou: [I choose option four.]

He Aiyue: [Where did a fourth option come from?]

He Chuzhou: [/location]

He Aiyue: [ ? ? ? ]

He Chuzhou: [Tell this to Mom: Your sons will not be joining you on the New Year’s tour. We’re on our way to Finland to see the Northern Lights.]

He Aiyue: [ ? ? ? ? ? ]

He Aiyue: [Damnit! You!]

He had a feeling there would be a string of unpleasant messages appearing in the chat box. He Chuzhou wisely turned off the notifications.

He put down his phone and gently leaned the swaying head next to him against his shoulder as a pillow.

Outside the window was a vast expanse of white clouds and bright sunshine.

A good sign, he thought with satisfaction.

Then he would just hope that this trip would be, um…..what he wanted it to be.

After more than ten hours of flight time, Pei Xi caught up on his sleep. He ate a delicious airplane meal, listened to his boyfriend talk excitedly about their travel itinerary after landing, then closed his eyes and successfully fell asleep again.

When he awoke again, the plane was circling the airport in preparation for landing.

It was 4:00 China time and 10:00 Finland time. Pei Xi looked out the window and saw a world covered in white snow. This was a rare visual treat for a person who seldom saw snow.

Of course, the temperature was also “a treat.”

“You’ve been planning this trip for a long time, haven’t you?”

Standing in the negative ten degree air, Pei Xi felt as if his mind was entirely refreshed: “The temperature in your hometown is so high, but you still brought so many sweaters and thick jackets.”

He Chuzhou gave him a thumbs up: “My wife is wise.”

Pei Xi: “Why did you want to come here all of a sudden?”

He Chuzhou: “Huh? Does there need to be a reason? Seeing the Northern Lights is just a whim.”

Pei Xi’s eyes narrowed. He Chuzhou blew out a breath and rubbed his hands together, then walked forward with his arm around the other person: “Aiyo, it’s so cold. Honey, look, my hands are about to freeze off. Take me inside to warm up.”

Pei Xi was hugged by him all the way inside. Perhaps his brain had frozen in the cold air. After thinking about it, he actually felt that it made some sense.

Watching the Northern Lights was indeed worthy of a sudden whim.

Phone cards, shuttle bus, hotel, and lunch – He Chuzhou had arranged everything. Pei Xi didn’t need to use his brain at all. He just had to follow He Chuzhou and accept his arrangements.

There was plenty of annual leave, so the two of them weren’t in a hurry to return home, and spent a day and a night lavishly adjusting to the jet lag and the icy weather here.

The next day, they slept until they woke up naturally, and ate a breakfast meticulously prepared by the hotel, then set off for the first stop of their journey. It was a must-see attraction in Rovaniemi – Santa Claus Village.

An hour later.

The two people stood in front of a wooden house covered in snow, watching in silence as another Santa Claus drove past them on a reindeer sleigh carrying three tourists.

The parents on the reindeer sleigh were so cold that their eyes were dull, devoid of the will to live. Only the child sitting between the two of them, covered up snugly, was cheering with hands raised.

“……”

“……”

“Xinxin, do you want—”

“No, I don’t.”

“Good. I don’t really want to either.”

With two votes, Santa Claus Village was directly passed by. The two bought some postcards at the store entrance to send back home. After He Chuzhou confirmed the route, their destination changed to the Christmas Park not far away.

The Christmas Park was built in an underground cave, with a distinctive theme. It could be said that there was a pervasive atmosphere of Christmas everywhere. The most important factor was that it wasn’t exposed to the wind and cold, so it was very suitable for a leisurely stroll.

He Chuzhou’s little SLR started out functional, but after taking a few photos, he started to regret not bringing his Polaroid camera. It would be perfect if he could send photos along with the post cards.

Pei Xi swept a dried Christmas flower across his brow: “Gege, need I remind you why you didn’t bring the Polaroid?”

He Chuzhou: “Huh?”

Pei Xi: “Because your suitcase was so full that there wasn’t even room for a bottle cap.”

“Really? I brought so much stuff?”

He Chuzhou recalled what he’d brought with him. When passing by a souvenir stand, he didn’t neglect to buy two reindeer ornaments: “I’ll give them to Xingxing and Yueliang, one per person. That is, one per dog and cat.”

While selecting some seasonal dried flowers, they met a French couple.

The other party was currently in intense conversation, and the main reason the two couples began interacting was because the blond-haired, green-eyed man said angrily in Chinese: “Fuck!”

“Fuck?” This sentence came from He Chuzhou.

The other two were very happy to hear that they were from China. They said that they loved China and were working hard to learn Chinese, excitedly endeavoring to communicate with them in the language.

However……

“Fertile, tender chicken not a pink drinking house, milk department jelly rice, yo. What fun to mix with here we are!”

Pei Xi: “……”

He Chuzhou: “……”

They looked at each other in silence, then back at the cheerful, talkative international friends who were speaking gibberish:

“I’m sorry, but what are you saying?” 

The pleasant Chinese exchange they had imagined was aborted. Pei Xi learned from them that they had just gotten married, and had taken special leave to come here for their honeymoon.

The one with green eyes was named Leo, and the one with blue eyes was named Wilma. It was evident that they were very much in love. When they showed the matching wedding rings on their fingers, their faces were overtaken by ecstatic smiles.

“What a coincidence. It’s the same for us.”

He Chuzhou replied thus: “Plus, it was just the Chinese New Year, so my wife and I wanted to take advantage of the holiday to see the Northern Lights.”

Leo and Wilma were very interested in both the Chinese New Year and the Northern Lights, and asked He Chuzhou many questions about them.

Pei Xi wasn’t a talkative person, and was absent-minded for a while as they chatted. He looked down at Leo and Wilma’s wedding rings, then at his and He Chuzhou’s bare knuckles.

Honeymoon…..?

Perhaps only Pei-calico would be able to confidently call this a honeymoon.

After saying their goodbyes, He Chuzhou and Pei Xi left the Christmas Park. It was snowing heavily outside the cave, and the world as far as the eye could see had become a snow globe.

But it was only suitable to be viewed from a warm room with a burning fireplace, so they quickly returned to the hotel room and took many pictures of the snow globe through the window.

The next two days, they maintained their leisurely schedule. Rather than a tour, it might be more appropriate to call it a vacation – although it was rare to go to the northern hemisphere on vacation during the winter.

The Northern Lights were a rare sight to behold. He Chuzhou had been paying attention to the aurora forecast, but to this day, there was still no definite news.

On the fourth day in Finland, they planned to visit the Aurora Museum. If they didn’t end up being able to see the actual Northern Lights, they could at least experience it at the museum.

On the way there, they passed by a Lutheran church. Coincidentally, a warm, exquisite wedding was taking place inside.

Pei Xi saw from afar that the two newlyweds were both tall, handsome men. Wearing clean white suits, they walked to the altar with the blessings of their relatives and friends, exchanged rings and vows, and kissed each other.

He Chuzhou was buying hot cocoa from a dessert window twenty meters away, and waved him over when they were ready.

Pei Xi turned back three times on the short journey until the scene entered his blind spot. When he could no longer see it, he withdrew his gaze and took the hot cocoa He Chuzhou handed to him.

“Do you like that church a lot?” He Chuzhou asked. “Then do you want to go over and take a look?”

Pei Xi shook his head: “No need. I just finished looking around, it’s not very big. Let’s go.”

The heat of the cocoa transferred through the paper cup to his palm, and Pei Xi just then remembered that he was standing in Finland, where same-sex marriage was entirely legal.

The Aurora Museum was really interesting. It told the history of Finland and the origin of the aurora, but Pei Xi was a little distracted. The hot cocoa went from hot, to warm, to cold, and only a small amount was gone.

It was actually very obvious that he was distracted, but He Chuzhou didn’t notice at all, as he was distracted for once too. 

While admiring the simulated aurora, He Chuzhou would occasionally reach into his pocket. He looked like he was going to take something out, but his expression was conflicted, hesitant, and indecisive.

In the end, he took his cell phone out of his other pocket. Biting his cheek, he refreshed the news over and over, waiting for a miracle to happen.

The two people had their own thoughts, and neither noticed the peculiarities of the other.

When leaving the experience center, He Chuzhou happened to see a message, and his expression turned overjoyed: “Honey, we have hope of seeing the Northern Lights.”

Pei Xi was about to respond, when two familiar voices sounded behind him. Wilma and Leo called out their Chinese names with distorted accents, striding happily toward them.

Fortunately, Leo consciously switched to English during the conversation: “There’s a good chance we’ll see the Northern Lights tonight. Have you signed up with an aurora-chasing group?”

He Chuzhou responded in the negative: “We just received news.”

Leo cheered: “Great, then come with us!”

Wilma: “We signed up with the best aurora-chasing group in Rovaniemi. And we heard that the chances of seeing the aurora tonight is seventy percent, so with the addition of their keen insight, we should have a one hundred percent chance!”

*

*

The aurora convoy set off at 8:30. After getting in the vehicle, Pei Xi discovered that there were more than their two groups, and more than one car.

There were six or seven of them in total, and others joined during their journey. It seemed there was a large number of tourists chasing the aurora tonight.

Everyone in the vehicle chatted excitedly in differently-accented English. He Chuzhou didn’t join in. He touched Pei Xi’s face to confirm his temperature, asking in a low voice if he was sleepy.

“Are you sleepy?” Pei Xi returned.

He Chuzhou: “You don’t understand my biological clock yet. I don’t sleep until the moon sleeps.”

Pei Xi smiled and squeezed his hand.

His fingertips were cold. He Chuzhou brought them to his mouth and blew on them, then rubbed them between his hands to warm them up.

Leo: “Some people make wishes on the Northern Lights. Is this the same as wishing upon a shooting star or cat whiskers? It’s rare for those wishes to come true.”

Wilma: “Maybe when the aurora appears, you can make a wish for a rainbow to appear outside the window tomorrow morning to test it.”

Leo: “Forget it, I’d rather wish for you to help me pick out every last black pepper in tomorrow’s breakfast.”

The driver laughed: “My friend from afar, if that’s the case, I would rather say that a wish made under the aurora will last as long as the ice and snow in the Arctic Circle.”

Pei Xi’s heart moved. He glanced up at He Chuzhou.

The latter grasped his fingertips and muttered to himself: “It has to come out, ah. Otherwise, this trip would be in vain…..”

Pei Xi: “Why would it be in vain?”

He Chuzhou: “Hm? It’s nothing, just that we’ve traveled so far in the freezing cold just to see the aurora. If we can’t see it, it would all be in vain.”

The process of aurora-chasing was not as smooth as expected. From 8:30 to 9:00, then from 9:00 to 10:00 and 10:30, they changed locations three times in total until they finally stopped upstream of a frozen river. 

There was an endless field of snow, with only dead branches left on the trees. Occasionally, the frozen surface of the water reflected a slight, flowing blue radiance.

Pei Xi sat slightly above water level and waited. He guessed that the aurora must have appeared here more than once, because there were wooden chairs built around the area that weren’t covered in snow.

He Chuzhou crouched beside the vehicle and asked the driver some questions, then quickly climbed up and sat next to Pei Xi.

The others gathered on the river below, extremely interested in the fish they could see swimming below the surface of the ice.

“Maybe we could add an aurora design to the aquarium,” Pei Xi said. “The aurora, the universe, and the ocean. Nobody could dislike that.”

“Makes sense. I’ll tell them when we go back.”

He Chuzhou took a thermal hand warmer from his pocket. He broke the small metal sheet inside, and the liquid began to solidify and emit heat.

He placed it in Pei Xi’s hands to keep them warm.

This thing was very convenient, but unfortunately very short-lived, and cooled down faster than a hot water bottle. But there was nothing to be done. People in the Arctic Circle didn’t seem to be afraid of the cold, and there were no hand warmers or hot water bottles to be bought, so he bought this item when he passed by the children’s toys area. 

It was Pei Xi’s first time seeing such a hand warmer. He turned it over in his palm, wanting to know what the hot substance inside was.

He Chuzhou looked toward the horizon and abruptly posed a question: “Xinxin, do you think the gods have national boundaries? Do they usually communicate with each other?”

Pei Xi looked up: “What?”

He Chuzhou: “If I make the wish I wished on the river lanterns again to the aurora, will it cancel out or be doubled?”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi: “Are you considering a job in theology?”

He Chuzhou laughed: “I’m just kidding.”

“Hey, guys, why are you up there?”

Wilma looked up at them and called out: “Want to come down and see the fish? There are a bunch of fat ones here. It seems like they’re waiting for the aurora too.”

He Chuzhou waved a hand in refusal: “No thanks, it’s freezing cold. I’ll get hungry if I look.”

Pei Xi noticed that He Chuzhou’s fingers were red from the cold and couldn’t help but frown, reaching out to warm them up. In the next second, He Chuzhou put his hand in his pocket, and the backs of Pei Xi’s fingertips hit something solid through the layer of down. 

It didn’t feel like a hand. The SLR camera was around his neck, and He Chuzhou didn’t usually put his hand in his left pocket, so Pei Xi asked: “What else did you bring?”

He Chuzhou: “Nothing, ah.”

Pei Xi: “Then what’s in your pocket?”

He Chuzhou moved his fingers through the cloth: “My hand, of course.”

Pei Xi didn’t believe him. He tried to reach into his pocket and feel around, but before he could even touch it, He Chuzhou suddenly bent over and said it tickled, covering his pocket to prevent it from being touched.

What a contrived performance.

Pei Xi was now completely certain that He Chuzhou was doing something behind his back, but what exactly it was, he didn’t know.

As he was dithering over whether to give up or pursue his curiosity to the end, the crowd below suddenly burst into an uproar. Pei Xi raised his head to see a green band of light floating and flaring silently in the sky.

The surprise came so suddenly that people were taken off guard.

The fish-watching crowd hurriedly took out their cameras and began to take pictures. With the sound of shutters clicking, they sighed over the natural phenomenon: 

“It’s a big flare-up. You’re so lucky, Dear.”

“I figured we wouldn’t be able to see it!”

“God, it’s like a floating green galaxy, stretching and curling!”

“Is it in the shape of the wind?”

“So beautiful! So novel! So spectacular! Wilma, look, the edges are purple!”

“I swear, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life!  An unparalleled view!”

“Oh my god, it’s so beautiful I forgot what I wanted to wish for.”

Pei Xi stared upwards unblinkingly. The gorgeous aurora meandered all the way across the sky to the polar horizon, the unique green light illuminating his preparations for reckless action.

As he listened to the crowd’s passionate exclamations, he felt his heart beating increasingly harder.

As a different-colored streak of light passed overhead, amid the grand scenery and loud exclamations, he clenched the cold hand warmer in his hands.

Filling his lungs with a silent breath of cold air, he closed his eyes and abruptly turned to He Chuzhou: “Let’s get married.”

He Chuzhou paused blankly mid-action.

Their eyes met, and Pei Xi slowly lowered his gaze to find that He Chuzhou had taken out a small black box at some point, silently extending it to him.

The ring had a blue pattern at the base, inlaid with gemstones that looked like a wave of pearls held up from the depths of the sea. It shone brightly under the aurora.

“……”

“……”

“I, um, prepared this.”

He Chuzhou scratched his head, feeling awkward: “Baby, how about you take yours back and let me ask?”

THE END

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T/N: Stay tuned for the extras!

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Chapter 72 << Table of Contents >> Extra 1

Early in the morning the day before New Year’s Eve, He Chuzhou moved the previously packed luggage into the car.

Pei Xi wanted to help. He Chuzhou considered it, then hung a small, exquisite SLR camera around his neck: “You can help by taking pictures of your husband working hard.”

Pei Xi: “……”

Pei Xi raised the camera to capture this person’s inexplicable boasting.

“The temperature in my hometown is actually higher than in the city. I suppose the sweaters will be useless. Wait, they’re fine, they’re fine.”

“Fortunately, there’s snow in Wancheng. Although we won’t be able to see any when we go, we’ll still see wintersweet flowers all over the small hill.”

While He Chuzhou was putting the luggage into the trunk, he chattered to Pei Xi about their trip home.

“The food is pretty much the same as here, but it tastes better. Lots of delicacies from small places are unpalatable when they’re brought to big cities.”

“There are quite a lot of New Year’s customs, which can be a bit troublesome, but you should have fun seeing them for the first time.”

“Oh, right, there’s one more important thing.”

He clapped his hand and turned to Pei Xi, emphasizing: “Several of my uncles are alcoholics. Especially at New Year’s reunions, they won’t leave until they’re drunk. If they try to make you drink, don’t do it, just give it to me. Or we can just run away.”

“Don’t think it’ll be difficult to refuse a toast from an elder. In my family, we don’t have that elders-over-youth thing going on, so don’t even think about having a drink or two to show respect. The wine in my hometown is homebrewed, and the alcohol content is so high that you couldn’t even handle a sip.”

“Well…..if you really want to drink, I’ll be there. I’ll cover your mouth and take you back to the bedroom before you start attacking indiscriminately like last time. Oh, in that case, we’ll have to bring some condoms, otherwise you won’t be able to ravage me—”

Pei Xi pinched his upper and lower lips together, his cool features revealing some shame and anger: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t bring that up?”

What made him despair wasn’t revealing his true colors after getting drunk, or waking up to discover that he didn’t have the habit of forgetting things after drinking, but that there was a person by his side who deserved a beating and repeatedly helped him recall his glorious deeds.

He Chuzhou’s eyes were curved in joy. He said nothing, just raising his hands in surrender. Only then did Pei Xi let him go.

He Chuzhou smacked his lips upon regaining his freedom. He originally didn’t plan to say anything, but when he saw Pei Xi’s red ears, he couldn’t help but comment: “Honey, will there be a next time?”

Pei Xi: “A next time for what?”

He Chuzhou: “Where you just sit on me and move yourself—aiyo!”

Pei Xi went around to the front of the car and got in, leaving He Chuzhou there alone, crying and hugging his leg where it was numb from being kicked.

Father and Mother He were leaving on the same day as them. The amount of luggage Mrs. Chu and He Aiyue had was frightening, so much so that their SUV couldn’t even accommodate three people. He Aiyue had to come over and ride with He Chuzhou.

Her parents left early to refuel, and He Aiyue waited at the door for her brother to pick her up. From a distance, they could see the young girl squatting there like a big red dumpling, frenetically playing on her cell phone.

He Chuzhou stopped the vehicle next to her and honked.

He Aiyue climbed in, not looking up until she finished what she was doing. Holding onto the passenger seat, she tugged on Pei Xi’s arm enthusiastically: “Pei-ge, Pei-ge, why haven’t you joined the group yet? Come on, I’ll pull you in to grab a red envelope!”

Without giving Pei Xi time to react, she pulled him into the [Loving Family] group chat. Pei Xi’s phone began to vibrate wildly.

Red envelopes interspersed with text messages flashed rapidly across the screen in the chat, and the notification of him joining the group was soon visible.

Pei Xi guessed nobody had noticed him. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the chat was silent for two seconds before a string of exclusive red envelopes appeared. The words on the red envelopes were all warm welcomes to him for joining the group.

Pei Xi’s breathing stagnated as his introvert self was murdered through the screen.

He Aiyue cheerfully patted his shoulder: “You’ve made a fortune! Pei-ge, come and get it! The red envelopes from the uncles and aunties are huge!”

At somewhat of a loss, Pei Xi turned to look at He Chuzhou.

Driver Xiao He looked straight ahead with a smile on his face: “It’s alright, just accept them. If you don’t accept them, people will ask why you didn’t when we get there. Then they’ll turn around and pack an even bigger one with cash and force you to put it in your pocket.”

Pei Xi was frightened by the scene he described. After a moment of silence, he replied with a well-behaved ‘thank you’ and accepted the string of exclusive red envelopes.

The amount was indeed too large for New Year’s money, the smallest being 18,888.

He Aiyue had spent the previous night scrambling for red envelopes until midnight, then got up this morning to continue scrambling. She’d achieved less than six hours of sleep in total and was currently feeling sleepy, but she was reluctant to put down her phone. The dragons on the red envelopes turned into double images before her eyes.

The car stopped at a rest area on the way, and He Chuzhou got out to buy milk teas for them. He Aiyue grabbed hers and took a sip, eyes curving briefly as she waited for the next wave of red envelopes to rain down.

Pei Xi took the milk tea, and was about to retract his hand when his wrist was grabbed and pulled closer to the driver’s seat. He could guess what this reckless man intended to do, and with the knowledge that his sister was behind them, he automatically tried to evade.

“It’s okay, the kid fell asleep.”

He Chuzhou held his neck to prevent him from retreating, and kissed him while murmuring soothing words. It wasn’t until Pei Xi’s breathing became disordered that he released him. Tilting his head, he met a pair of sharp black eyes in the back seat.

Pei Xi: “……”

He Chuzhou’s mouth twitched: “Weren’t you asleep?”

“Nope, I’m just waiting for red envelopes.”

He Aiyue shrank her neck and accepted the red envelope that had just woken her up, then closed her eyes and lay back: “Okay, I’ll continue sleeping. Just pretend I don’t exist.”

Pei Xi glared at He Chuzhou, then sat back in the passenger seat and turned to look out the window with a red neck.

He Chuzhou touched his nose in disappointment and drove out of the rest stop, not daring to speak a word.

It was nearly a three-hour drive. His hometown was also in Wancheng, a port town that hadn’t been commercially developed. Built next to the water, the house’s white bricks and blue tiles were very picturesque.

It was located upstream of the river, and the Lantern Festival was held at the temple street downstream. Making use of a traffic jam, He Chuzhou pointed it out to Pei Xi: “See the red lanterns at the Guanyin Temple over there? It’s actually a bit far to walk, but you can take a boat and float straight down.”

Pei Xi rolled down the window and looked out. Layers upon layers blocked his view, and he could only see a little of it.

“It looks so good when it’s lit up at night!”

He Aiyue eagerly introduced it to Pei Xi: “They’re still getting ready today. There’s a stage that’s going to be set up, and it won’t start until the night of New Year’s Eve. We’ll come out and watch after the family reunion tomorrow night. It’ll be fun.”

“But Pei-ge, do you get seasick? I brought a friend before who was really seasick, and she puked from upstream to downstream.”

Pei Xi wasn’t sure. He had never been on a boat.

“If you don’t get motion sickness in a car or airplane, you probably won’t get seasick,” He Chuzhou comforted. “If you do, Grandma has motion sickness medication at home.”

There were a great many young people returning to their hometowns for the New Year. The roads in the town were narrow, and traffic was jammed for over half an hour. Once they arrived and parked in the courtyard, they were forced to offer sacrifices to the car. Grandma urged them many times, saying that the chicken blood was about to clot.

Pei Xi had never known of such customs.

When he was still young, he had followed Pei Yansong’s family to the southern city of Haicheng for the New Year, and only felt that he had changed residences for a short period of time. Other than the taste of the foods, nothing else had changed.

Once he grew up, he was no longer willing to follow them and force himself to fit in. He would rather stay alone in Wancheng, watching the lights of thousands of homes outside and the brilliant fireworks by the shore.

He felt no envy. After all, he had never experienced a normal New Year. It was nothing more than taking a short vacation, eating good things, and watching fireworks from a high location. Nothing special.

But this year was different.

He had a strong intuition that the New Year he spent here would be completely different than the past, something he had never experienced before.

It stood to reason that at his age, having gained so much social experience, it would be difficult for him to be interested in ordinary things. But in fact, he still found everything he saw and heard here very fresh and novel.

They used chicken blood and talisman paper to offer sacrifices to the car, lit candles and burned incense next to the white walls, placed a pig’s tail as an offering in the direction of the river, and let the children pass first when sweeping the dust in front of the door…..

He didn’t voice his curiosity, but the others could see it.

He Chuzhou participated in these rituals passed down by his ancestors, taking Pei Xi with him wherever he went.

A few people didn’t know what some of these things meant, so they took their wives to ask Grandma, who proceeded to talk for a long time. When they couldn’t understand after quite a while, the two of them exchanged glances and silently turned toward the kitchen to help make dumplings.

Glutinous rice balls were also being made, and some young children were given small handfuls of glutinous rice dough to play with. But He Chuzhou felt that making them required too few technical skills, and wanted to show off his ability by making dumplings in front of his wife.

Pei Xi naturally didn’t know how to make them, so he could only learn by following He Chuzhou step by step.

“A little flour won’t hurt.”

“Don’t add too much meat filling, otherwise the dumplings will explode in the pan before they’re cooked. And don’t add too little, or you won’t be able to get two bites out of it.”

“From here, go up like this and crimp the lace. See?”

“Right, rub the front two times like so.”

“The back point should be sharper, and the tail should be longer.”

“Add four legs to it and it’s a dinosaur, see? So cool!”

Mrs. Chu was rolling out dumpling wrappers nearby, and the more she listened, the more she felt that something wasn’t right. When she turned around, she saw that there were only a handful of dumplings on the tray. The rest were all strange-looking creatures with eyes and long legs.

He Chuzhou was still holding his dinosaur dumpling proudly in one hand. Pei Xi was seated next to him with a perplexed look on his face, holding a dumpling that looked like a steamed bun in one hand, and two floury legs in the other with no idea where to put them.

He Aiyue and Yun Ji were shrieking in delight and holding the dinosaur dumplings at different angles to take a slew of photos.

Mrs. Chu: “……”

Mrs. Chu: “Boss He, are you looking for death?”

Realizing that something was wrong, He Aiyue and Yun Ji put away their phones and fled.

He Chuzhou also knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to stay here long, and quickly retreated with Pei Xi: “Mom, we’ll eat what we made later, don’t overcook them for us. I’ll go call those outside to come back for dinner.”

The ones outside were some cousins who were still in primary school. It was rare for everyone to get together, but they’d gone out to have fun before their feet were even warm. They had bought some firecrackers and were throwing them everywhere. A dog bowl was blown away, and they received a scolding from the owner.

When He Chuzhou found them, they were squatting in a circle with their heads touching, studying how to put a small cannon into a pit and turn it into a mine.

They proceeded to chase each other toward the house, laughing and joking. One little brother dropped a small cannon from his unsteady arms, and He Chuzhou picked it up. He weighed it in his hand and planned to give it to Pei Xi.

“Be careful not to blow your hand off.” Pei Xi didn’t like these little safety hazards, always feeling that one would go off accidentally.

“Don’t worry, Gege is an expert.”

He Chuzhou didn’t smoke or carry a lighter, so he lit the firecracker using the blue incense that was still burning at the roadside.

The flying sparks turned out to be bigger than he’d imagined, causing the cannon to fall to the ground. He tried to kick it away, but missed.

A vein pulsed in Pei Xi’s forehead. Before he could do anything, He Chuzhou hastily pulled him away: “Even experts slip up occasionally. Run!”

There was a loud bang behind them. Pei Xi was startled, and his trust in He Chuzhou, the master of fireworks, dropped to zero.

However, he could just barely qualify as a dumpling-making master. Although he’d made a mess of it to show off his skills, none of them were overcooked or had the stuffing exposed, and they tasted pretty good.

The next day was New Year’s Eve. They heard it would be even busier than today and that they had to get up early, so tonight was a no-drinking night. After eating and cleaning up, everyone was sent upstairs to sleep and recharge their energy for tomorrow’s busy day.

One child was full of energy and couldn’t sleep, so he went to the yard to set off the fireworks they hadn’t hadn’t finished firing during the day.

He Chuzhou took Pei Xi back to their bedroom. Seeing as it was still early, he found a photo album in the desk drawer and let him flip through it to pass the time.

There were photos of him when he was very young. At that time, He Chuzhou was still a genuinely naughty brat.

Eight out of ten photos showed him getting smacked, and in two, he was about to be. He was so frightened by Mrs. Chu’s smacks that his neck shrank into his collar, but he still didn’t forget to make the V sign at the camera.

The collected photos went from cover to back, and the person in the photo grew younger as the pages turned. He Aiyue disappeared, and He Chuzhou became a small, bare-butted baby crawling on the floor.

His boyfriend looked very cute with his short arms and legs, and Pei Xi couldn’t help but want to look some more.

He Chuzhou was sitting cross-legged beside him, sending messages in the group. When he turned and saw him looking at just this one page, he quickly covered it with his hand: “Aiyo, give the child a little respect. Just look at these ones, okay?”

“No.” Pei Xi mercilessly pushed his hand away and carefully observed the naked child: “So it turns out you didn’t have a mole on your left butt cheek when you were a kid. Did it grow later?”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Thanks very much. It turned out he had a mole on his left butt cheek and didn’t even know it.

Pei Xi looked at his suddenly quiet boyfriend: “Are you shy?”

He Chuzhou rubbed his face: “It seems I am, a little bit. Look, am I blushing?”

Pei Xi touched his head and smiled: “Don’t be shy. In any case, I’ve seen every part of you.”

“En, that’s true.”

He Chuzhou put down his hand. While Pei Xi wasn’t paying attention, he abruptly turned and pushed him down on the carpet, grinning: “In any case, I’ve also seen every part of you. Oh, not only have I seen it, I’ve also kissed and bitten it. I know that when I bite the root of your thigh, you scream beautifully…..”

“He Chuzhou, stop talking!”

Pei Xi was once again defeated. He had to admit that he stood no chance of winning against this guy when it came to thickness of face.

The child in the yard was calling for assistance. He shouted at the top of his lungs for a long time before finally calling the two big brothers out to the balcony.

The younger brother who had just graduated elementary school waved vigorously at them and threw a box of fireworks upward with force, easily sending it up to their second floor balcony.

It was a box of fairy wands. He Chuzhou was endlessly amused, and leaned over the railing: “He Jiajia, you’re only giving me these?”

He Jiajia giggled and said: “There’s nothing wrong with giving a fairy a fairy wand.”

He Chuzhou: “Come here, I promise not to beat you.”

“I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about Xiao Pei-gege.”

He Jiajia pointed at Pei Xi beside him with a bit of embarrassment and then immediately covered his face with his scarf. This macho man was shy.

He Chuzhou went back to the room and found a lighter. Upon returning to the balcony, he opened the box and lit two fairy sticks, handing one to Pei Xi: “Here’s your award. Take it, Fairy-gege.”

Pei Xi really liked this firework. It was beautiful, safe, and didn’t explode. He gave it a perfect score.

When a breeze blew from the south, he subconsciously shielded it with his hand. He looked at it blankly for a moment before realizing that this kind of firework couldn’t be blown out.

He Chuzhou was struck by his cuteness, and suddenly called out: “Xinxin?”

Pei Xi turned his head, and He Chuzhou quickly pressed the camera button. The young man frozen in the picture looked a bit confused, wind ruffling his hair on one side as the sizzling firework illuminated the other.

How beautiful.

He Chuzhou set it as his new phone wallpaper and admired it with satisfaction.

*

*

Nighttime in the small town was exceptionally quiet. Pei Xi slept very soundly. When he woke up the next morning and opened the door, he was stuffed with red envelopes bearing the names of various unfamiliar elders. In this way, a chaotic day kicked off. 

They ate glutinous rice balls with red peanuts, held white and yellow chrysanthemums to worship the ancestors and the gods, and went home for lunch. Then they moved the fireworks to the yard and waited for the procession worshiping the Dragon God to pass by, gave out red envelopes, and then busied themselves preparing dinner.

The tables and chairs were moved to the courtyard, wine was placed on the tables, and the lively New Year vigil began from there.

The He family didn’t have a drinking tradition, nor did it require every child to hold a cup and toast the elders while offering auspicious words. Even moreso, they didn’t talk about work or urge marriage or childbirth, nor bring up various annoying topics.

Everything was perfect except for one thing: all of the uncles looked like the reincarnations of wine barrels.

He Chuzhou was seized and brought over to the table every year, but this year was different. He had brought someone home, so he had a good excuse to leave the table early and go to the Lantern Festival with his boyfriend and the younger generation.

The stalls in town were all set up at people’s houses, so that they could be open for business while eating New Year’s Eve dinner.

He Chuzhou bought lotus lanterns for everyone. He bought three for his wife, because he took into consideration that they might break when his wife played with them for the first time, so two extra were needed for scrap.

There were stone steps leading beneath an arched bridge to the river, where one could board a boat. One black-sailed boat could hold six people, and there were nine of them, so they required two boats.

He Chuzhou and Pei Xi fell behind and waited for the others to board first. The five little ones took the first boat. He Aiyue and Yun Ji considered themselves adults, and neither of them wanted to ride in the same boat as the chattering little brats, so they simply waited to get on the second boat with them.

After boarding, the two of them were determined not to be lightbulbs and tactfully went to the bow to fold their river lanterns, leaving the stern for the young couple.

It was Pei Xi’s first time riding on this kind of boat, and he felt a little unsteady when he first boarded. He Chuzhou held him and sat down near the water, patiently teaching him step by step how to fold the flat river lantern.

At this time, many young people had escaped from the drinking tables to watch the Lantern Festival, and there were many black-sailed boats along the river.

There were many folded river lanterns with lit wicks placed by the water, along with red lanterns hanging along both sides of the river, casting flickering reflections across the water.

Pei Xi was a slow learner, but he succeeded on his first attempt. When he lit it and was placing it into the water, he heard the sound of a young couple quarreling in the boat behind them.

“How are you so stupid that you can’t even fold a lantern?”

“It’s my first time doing this.”

“It’s lucky my dad isn’t here, or he’d be disgusted with you again.”

“Then don’t tell Uncle, I’ll learn.”

Something touched the palm of his hand. Pei Xi withdrew his gaze and found that there was another folded river lantern placed there.

“My wife is so smart. He learned it right away.”

He Chuzhou happily lit a lantern and told Pei Xi to light another.

Pei Xi bent down close to the water and placed the river lantern. With a gentle push, the lantern slowly floated a short distance and collided with other lanterns.

When the boat passed by the stage, they could hear the sound of singing. The people sitting in the audience were all elderly and wearing the same small, knitted hats. They listened with great enjoyment, nodding their heads.

“Aiya! He Jiajia!”

He Aiyue’s angry voice suddenly came from the bow: “Try that again and see if I don’t beat you to death later.”

Pei Xi looked over to find He Aiyue patting away the droplets of water on her head as He Jiajia made faces at her from the opposite stern: “Do it, do it — ah!”

Before he could finish speaking, Yun Ji splashed water into his face.

Yun Ji: “You got what you asked for.”

He Jiajia: “Enemy attack! You have no morals!”

He Aiyue felt better and made a face back at him: “Didn’t you just attack me? That means you have no morals.”

He Jiajia: “That’s called ‘there’s no limit to deception in war.’”

He Aiyue: “You deceived your sister. Is this how that word is used?”

He Jiajia: “Hmph, I’m going to put out your river lanterns.”

Yun Ji: “Then don’t even think about lighting yours.”

He Jiajia: “Brothers, follow Jia-ge, ah!”

He Aiyue rolled up her sleeves and said: “Get out of the way, Yun Ji! I’m going to soak him like a drowned chicken!”

A baffling water war began. He Chuzhou immediately took Pei Xi and moved a little farther away to avoid being affected.

The boat happened to pass by the white walls of houses. Pei Xi looked over, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Not far away, colorful lights were hung above the streets. Vendors gathered on both sides of the road, people coming and going with a lot of noise and bustle.

With a bang, the first fireworks of the night bloomed above their heads.

The first thing Pei Xi saw was the reflection of the fireworks spreading across the surface of the river. He turned his head to look up at the starry sky. Thousands of tiny sparks disappeared beneath the stars, soon replaced by more that rose into the sky and bloomed, illuminating this section of the river.

It was truly beautiful. Very pretty.

Pei Xi could boast that he’d seen much grander fireworks, but none were as beautiful as tonight’s.

Firelight fell into his heart and turned it molten. This was the first time he intuitively felt that the fireworks were not just fireworks, but contained infinite joy.

“Do you like it?” he heard He Chuzhou ask in his ear.

“En, I like it.” His surging joy didn’t allow him to hide or hesitate at all. He turned his head, eyes sparkling with fire: “Chuzhou, I really like it here.”

He liked the wind here, the water, the people, the lights, and the small boats. He liked the fireworks here, and the quietness, as well as the noise.

Pei Xi: “If it were possible, I’d really want to stay here forever.”

“Forever? That won’t work.”

He Chuzhou rubbed his head: “But it’s definitely okay to come back anytime. Have you decided where to go for the New Year?”

Mrs. Chu had asked them where they wanted to go for the second day of the New Year. Mr. He wanted to go hiking, but He Aiyue and Yun Ji weren’t interested in physical exercise. They would rather go to a northern city to view the ice sculptures.

Pei Xi: “Do you want to hike a mountain or see ice sculptures?”

He Chuzhou: “Only these two options?”

Pei Xi: “Weren’t these the only two mentioned?”

He Chuzhou: “That’s for them. I have a third option – how about it, do you want to go with mine?”

Pei Xi: “What is the option?”

He Chuzhou: “It’s…..”

He Chuzhou waited for the next round of fireworks to burst, then whispered as He Aiyue and Yun Ji were talking loudly: “Instead of going with them, let’s secretly go to northern Europe to see the Northern Lights.”

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Chapter 71 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 73