Under the cover of night, the two people who had been traveling for some time finally stopped to rest.

“Master, I’m not tired.” Liu Qiao still wanted to carry Liu Zhenqing on his back and continue on the road. Since his master wanted to go back, it must be done immediately.

“Not tired? I’m tired just looking at you.” They had been running for several hours. Liu Zhenqing patted Liu Qiao on the shoulder and said: “It’s fine, your qinggong is so fast. How could ordinary people catch up?”

Liu Qiao naturally listened to Liu Zhenqing’s words. He helped him sit down and said with a smile: “Master, there’s a stream nearby. I’ll catch fish for you.”

Liu Zhenqing nodded with a smile and watched as Liu Qiao bounded over to the stream with brisk steps. In fact, Liu Qiao had a reticent and prudent disposition and rarely smiled, a bit similar to Huo Fenglie. But looking at Liu Qiao like this, only then did Liu Zhenqing feel that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Perhaps some people didn’t need the kind of freedom that he cared about.

When Liu Qiao returned, Liu Zhenqing asked: “What have you been doing these past years?”

Liu Qiao thought it over while grilling fish for Liu Zhenqing, then said: “There was nothing in particular. You know I’m slow-minded, so I usually did whatever Qiao Jin said. He’s very smart.”

This was the strangest thing to Liu Zhenqing. “Why did you stay with him for so long?”

The secret order he’d given Liu Qiao back then was to escort the eight-year-old Qiao Jin away from the capital, choose a place as far away as he could go, find him a good family, and help Qiao Jin conceal his identity and live a stable and happy life.

Liu Qiao explained innocently.

In fact, the order issued by Liu Zhenqing had been very difficult for the one-track Liu Qiao. But Bai Yu had told Liu Qiao before that if he encountered a problem that required some brainpower, to ask him. Liu Qiao was headed south anyway, so he went to find Bai Yu. 

As a result, he heard news of Liu Zhenqing’s death halfway and someone immediately began to pursue them. Once he got rid of the assassins, he placed Qiao Jin at an inn and returned to the capital alone.

Liu Qiao didn’t dare look at Liu Zhenqing while explaining this, because he had disobeyed his master’s orders. But when he heard that something had happened to Liu Zhenqing, how could he still perform any task? Thus, he immediately returned to the capital after getting rid of the assassins. He happened to meet Song Xingmu while viewing Liu Zhenqing’s grave, and after being seriously injured, he had to recuperate for a year.

“A year later, I went back to find Qiao Jin working at that inn.”

Liu Zhenqing said in surprise: “He waited for you?”

Liu Qiao nodded, feeling a little dazed as he thought about it. When he left that year, he had promised Qiao Jin that he would definitely come back. After all, the two of them had been chased by assassins many times and been through thick and thin together. The child was very dependent on him. When he saw that he was going to leave, he grabbed Qiao Jin’s sleeve and told him with tears in his eyes to come back soon. But they didn’t expect that it would be a year later.

The child who was somewhat quiet and reserved when they first met had become bad-tempered a year later. It was said that while waiting for him, he ran out of money and had no adult to look after him, so he suffered a lot. But even so, Qiao Jin insisted on staying and waiting for him.

Because Liu Qiao had been Liu Zhenqing’s greatest confidant, he would naturally be exposed and hunted, so there was no way to arrange a life in seclusion for Qiao Jin, and he could only take him to hide here. Liu Qiao intended to separate from Qiao Jin. After all, the assassins were after him, and almost no one knew of Qiao Jin’s existence. However, Qiao Jin refused to let him go and alleged that he hadn’t completed his master’s order, so they relied on each other for survival. After some time, they discovered a group of rebels left behind by the Three Kings.

Liu Zhenqing immediately asked the question that concerned him the most: “Do they know Yuan Jin’s identity?”

What Liu Zhenqing was most afraid of was that in sparing Yuan Jin’s life, he gave the rebels someone to support, which caused all of these problems.

Liu Qiao shook his head: “Yuan Jin is very smart. He said that his identity must be kept secret to prevent others from taking advantage of him.”

Liu Zhenqing was instantly even more puzzled: “Then why did you two still maintain contact with them?”

Liu Qiao said with some chagrin: “It was Yuan Jin who discovered that those rebels were being used by someone to rebel against the emperor, and he wanted to infiltrate them. By coincidence, people in the capital sent a person to replace Crown Prince Qiao An. Yuan Jin left no stone unturned to kill that man and replaced him. We came directly to Western Shu, then contacted the rebels as comrades.”

Liu Zhenqing said in bewilderment: “And you weren’t discovered?”

Liu Qiao said with a nod: “He has been sending messages and communicating with the people in the capital, and hasn’t been discovered.” Liu Qiao also couldn’t quite understand how, but in any case, Qiao Jin had dealt with it perfectly.

“So you don’t know the identities of the people in the capital?” Liu Zhenqing surmised that because the other party was also concealing their identity, they didn’t find out in time that their subordinate had been replaced.

“I only know that their influence must be enormous.” Liu Qiao lowered his head and said, “I’m sorry, Master. When I saw how Yuan Jin wanted to deal with them at first, I really believed that Yuan Jin had discovered this potential danger and wanted to help Great Zhou’s Yuan clan deal with it. I didn’t expect…..”

“You didn’t expect that he had other intentions and wanted to be the oriole lurking behind?” Liu Zhenqing sighed. He didn’t know whether Qiao Jin had made this kind of choice out of discontentment or revenge. When he first sent the child away, he hadn’t felt that there was any unwillingness or hatred in his eyes. He’d thought that Qiao Jin would choose to live a stable life.

Upon seeing Liu Zhenqing sigh, Liu Qiao nervously said: “Master, I didn’t handle things well. What do you want to do about him? I promise to get it done.”

“Of course I hope he doesn’t…..follow in his father’s footsteps.” Liu Zhenqing smiled helplessly and said: “I hope he lives well. But it’s a pity that he may not be obedient, and then blood will flow again.”

Liu Qiao immediately clenched his fist and said: “Don’t worry, Master. I’ll send you back to General Huo in a while, and when it’s safe, I’ll sneak back in and kidnap him. He can’t beat me. If he’s disobedient and wants to rebel, I’ll just lock him up.”

Liu Zhenqing: ……

This simple, straightforward Liu Qiao was really amusing. Getting Qiao Jin to this point would certainly not be simple, but in Liu Qiao’s opinion, it could be resolved so easily. This proved that to Liu Qiao, Qiao Jin was as easy to deal with as a child. Was Liu Qiao too naive, or had Qiao Jin never given him reason to think he was hard to deal with?

“We need to make Qiao Jin’s identity clear to Fenglie first when we get back, and then discuss what to do,” Liu Zhenqing murmured. 

Liu Qiao glanced at him.

Liu Zhenqing noticed his gaze and said with a smile: “Is there something you want to say?”

Liu Qiao blinked and said: “So Master really is with General Huo.”

Liu Zhenqing choked for a moment and looked at Liu Qiao with discomfort. 

Liu Qiao lamented: “Master mentions General Huo a lot when he speaks. It’s strange, didn’t Master say that he wanted to marry the most beautiful girl in the world? 

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Is Fenglie not beautiful?”

Liu Qiao thought to himself, could a man be described as beautiful? If so, he thought his master’s previous appearance was the most beautiful, and then……Qiao Jin would be the second most beautiful, Song Xingmu third, and General Huo just barely made fourth. 

“As long as Master likes him,” Liu Qiao said.

Liu Qiao placed the grilled fish on leaves and was about to remove the bones, but was stopped by Liu Zhenqing. “I’ll eat it like this. It’s too troublesome otherwise.”

Liu Qiao still cautioned him: “Master, be careful with your food.”

Liu Zhenqing seemed to no longer be used to anyone but Huo Fenglie picking out his fish bones. While eating the freshly-grilled fish, he asked: “Has Qiaoqiao met anyone he likes over the years?”

Liu Qiao shook his head without hesitation. Those black and white eyes, as clear as a child’s, seemed to be incapable of possessing that kind of emotion.

Liu Zhenqing said helplessly: “You’re still not enlightened, ah. Finding a wife for you will be a big problem in the future.”

Liu Qiao said at once: “I don’t want to start a family. I want to follow Master forever.”

Liu Zhenqing was instantly moved, but he still felt distressed that this child would never grow up.

Just as he was thinking, there was a sudden pain in his throat. His face reddened and he began to cough.

Liu Qiao also discovered the problem right away. His master had a fish bone stuck in his throat again, and it was all his fault for not handling it well. Seeing that Liu Zhenqing was in great pain, he immediately scooped this person up in his arms and squeezed him. He hit Liu Zhenqing’s back and injected his internal force, one hand supporting Liu Zhenqing’s slender neck.

Instantly, Liu Zhenqing felt much better and felt that internal force helping him swallow the fish bone.

He was just about to say he was fine when Liu Qiao’s expression changed, and he instantly stood up with Liu Zhenqing in his arms.

Liu Zhenqing glimpsed the flash of a figure where they were just sitting, and a person alighted on the ground.

When he took a closer look, Liu Zhenqing was instantly shocked. Before he could speak, he saw that person approach with a dark expression, then reach out to grab him without saying a word.

Although Liu Qiao recognized this person too, he still instinctively protected Liu Zhenqing from him.

At the same time, rapid panting sounded nearby. “You…..what are you doing?!”

This tone sounded as if the person had stumbled upon an adulterer, utterly confusing Liu Zhenqing in the midst of this chaotic situation.

Why?

Why had Huo Fenglie appeared here?

And why had Qiao Jin appeared here too?

When he saw that Huo Fenglie was already encroaching, Liu Qiao instinctively leaped backward with Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing could only shout: “Stop!”

With instinctive obedience, Liu Qiao and Huo Fenglie instantly stopped.

But the fellow panting over there was not so obedient. He rushed up and grabbed Qiao Jin’s arm, eyes fixed on him, and used his greatest internal force to yank him away: “You’re actually hugging him!”

Liu Zhenqing was naturally thrown away, and Huo Fenglie stepped forward to catch him.

Liu Zhenqing tried to push Huo Fenglie away so they could talk, but he was hugged tightly in the next second. Those taut arms turned into shackles, as if to imprison Liu Zhenqing, and the more he struggled, the tighter they grew.

He shouted impatiently: “Er-gou!”

He really wanted to ask why the general who guards the country was here alone. He couldn’t be here to save him, that was completely ridiculous, ah! He was currently in command of a 50,000-strong army, so he should have acted according to the other party’s wishes and slowly arranged a rescue. Why was he here?

Huo Fenglie was in a trance as he held Liu Zhenqing. His pupils quivered in response to Liu Zhenqing’s cry, but this time, he seemed to be rebellious and disobedient. He hugged him even more tightly, burying him firmly in his arms. He lowered his head to bury his face in Liu Zhenqing’s hair, inhaling at once. Only when his nose was full of Liu Zhenqing’s scent did Huo Fenglie finally feel the first breath of life in two days.

On the other side, Qiao Jin wanted to question Liu Qiao, but found that the man’s gaze didn’t fall on him at all. He was currently staring at Liu Zhenqing, and that worried look near instantly made Qiao Jin lose his composure.

“Liu Qiao!” Qiao Jin shouted, then coughed suddenly as if about to hack up blood. He directly fell to his knees, his vision went dark, and he passed out.

Only then did Liu Qiao finally notice him. He immediately supported Qiao Jin and frowned as he investigated his state. It seemed…..he had exceeded his limits using qinggong to get here.

And Liu Zhenqing felt like he was going to be injured by this hug, and couldn’t help but say: “Er-gou, let go, ah, you’re going to suffocate me to death!”

Liu Zhenqing patted Huo Fenglie on the back, and he relaxed somewhat. He lowered his head and stared at Liu Zhenqing’s face intently, still not saying a word. From the looks of it, he appeared to be frightened.

Please, he should be the one who was frightened, ah! Liu Zhenqing said helplessly: “Why are you here? You should know that they kidnapped me to threaten you, so I would have been fine. And you could basically guess that Liu Qiao was the one who took me away. I was prepared to go back, but then you showed up. Wait, since you came here with him, did you go over to the palace first? And then turn around and come back?”

When Liu Zhenqing analyzed this, he felt stupid. Looking at the dust covering Huo Fenglie’s body that he’d had no time to brush away, he could tell how hard he had been running around.

“You…..you…..” Liu Zhenqing was so distressed that he didn’t know what to say.

Huo Fenglie suddenly said in a hoarse, dry voice: “Qing-ge, I lost you again.”

Liu Zhenqing was startled. He looked into Huo Fenglie’s dark eyes that seemed like the bottom of an abyss, an abyss that often contained such an aura of despair. At this moment, Huo Fenglie’s body was trembling slightly.

Liu Zhenqing understood that his disappearance had truly terrified him.

He couldn’t bear to see Huo Fenglie like this, and disregarded the unhappiness and doubts before their separation. Now that things were like this, could Er-gou still say that he didn’t like him?

Liu Zhenqing held Huo Fenglie’s face, stood on tiptoe, and coaxed the puppy dog.

The startled puppy was instantly confused by such an action. When he felt the softness leave his lips and looked at this person so close at hand, Huo Fenglie seemed to be stimulated, and could no longer maintain his reasoning. The arms around Liu Zhenqing’s waist suddenly lifted him with force, and the lips that had just separated pressed together again.

Liu Zhenqing was stunned as Huo Fenglie used his big hand to forcibly hold the back of his head.

A nearly suffocating kiss commenced.

It wasn’t until Liu Zhenqing felt like he couldn’t breathe that he stopped him. Liu Zhenqing’s eyes were misty, and he looked at the person in front of him through blurry vision. The corners of his mouth slowly rose. He hadn’t expected Er-gou to be so bold as to take the initiative, so bold that his own legs were weak.

Now that he was certain that the person before him was at his side, Huo Fenglie sobered up. When he could react, he felt uncomfortable under Liu Zhenqing’s teasing gaze. He keenly sensed someone coming and turned around to look.

Liu Zhenqing followed his line of sight and saw Liu Qiao holding up the unconscious Qiao Jin, looking at them with a pure expression.

Liu Zhenqing: ……

“Ahem, Qiaoqiao should avoid this kind of scene in the future.” Liu Zhenqing educated him with well-meaning words.

Liu Qiao nodded: “Understood.”

Liu Zhenqing glanced at Qiao Jin and asked: “What’s wrong with him?”

“He fainted from exhaustion,” Liu Qiao said.

Right, how could Qiao Jin’s qinggong keep up with Huo Fenglie’s unless he was desperate?

“Say, what’s going on? Why did you act so impulsively?” Liu Zhenqing said, giving Huo Fenglie a serious look. When he realized Liu Zhenqing was missing, he had acted almost without reason, entirely on instinct.

“I just wanted to find you as soon as possible,” Huo Fenglie answered automatically. Seeing that Liu Zhenqing didn’t look happy, he quickly added: “I knew you were taken away by Liu Qiao, but I tortured Qiao An and confirmed your suspicions that they’re working together, so I was a little worried. I also arranged for the army to be on standby. I didn’t neglect them. Then I snuck to the place they were keeping you and apprehended the King of Western Shu. I only heard then that the two of you had gone missing together, so I came here.”

Liu Zhenqing gave a sigh, then asked: “Then why was the King of Western Shu alone….”

Huo Fenglie said: “I was certain you weren’t there, and I couldn’t be bothered to care about him. He could catch up by himself later.”

Dumbfounded, Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “You still have sense. If you directly captured and killed the King of Western Shu, it would be troublesome later on.” After all, they had seen through the opponent’s game. If things broke down at this point, it would cause a chain reaction to their detriment. 

Huo Fenglie was somewhat embarrassed. In fact, he hadn’t had the extra brainpower to think about this issue at the time.

Just as they were talking, Qiao Jin awoke with a start. When he saw that Liu Qiao was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed his wrist, asking angrily: “You want to leave me alone again? You don’t want me anymore! You followed Liu Zhenqing before, but who are you following now? Am I so unimportant in your heart? Anyone can take you away from me? Who do you think I am!”

Qiao Jin practically roared. Liu Qiao was yelled stupid, and Liu Zhenqing was also a bit shocked as he witnessed all of this. Looking at Qiao Jin’s reddened eyes, although his expression was fierce, why did he seem like a wolfdog with its tail between its legs? It felt almost as if he was aggrieved and about to cry. Was this still the unruly, arrogant King of Western Shu Liu that Zhenqing had met? 

“Answer me! Why did you betray me! Why do you want to follow him? Do you know nothing? You hugged him and wanted to kiss him!” Qiao Jin roared out again, holding onto Liu Qiao tightly with both hands.

Liu Qiao wore a foolish expression, as if he didn’t understand what the other was saying at all. He didn’t respond, but looked toward Liu Zhenqing instead, as if waiting for orders.

In Qiao Jin’s eyes, this reaction made it seem as if Liu Qiao belonged to someone else’s family, and he was just an outsider. This utterly snapped his last nerve.

Suddenly, Qiao Jin looked at Liu Zhenqing with eyes filled with murderous intent.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flashed as he instantly guessed something. Perhaps after being together for nine years, the bond between them wasn’t very deep in Liu Qiao’s eyes, but Qiao Jin felt the opposite. After all, he had changed his surname to Qiao.

Maybe things would be easier to handle than he’d thought.

“I’ll kill you!” Qiao Jin’s expression was fierce as he faced Liu Zhenqing with Huo Fenglie beside him. Daring to say such a thing, he must be completely irrational with fury.

But before he could take action, two swords were suddenly placed against his neck.

Huo Fenglie placed the sharp blade against his neck, but Qiao Jin ignored it in order to look at Liu Qiao’s sheathed blade resting on his shoulder.

“You would do this to me for him…..” Qiao Jin glared at Liu Qiao in near disbelief.

Liu Qiao felt a moment’s guilt when he was inexplicably glared at, but after some thought, he still said confidently: “If you hurt him, I will kill you.”

Qiao Jin was stunned.

Liu Zhenqing glimpsed the heartbroken look on Qiao Jin’s face.

Qiao Jin stared at Liu Qiao with aggrieved misery, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe it. But then his eyes suddenly flashed and he turned his head at once to look toward the distant Liu Zhenqing. He looked back at Huo Fenglie, his eyes growing wider and wider.

“You…..you’re…..Liu Zhenqing?”

Liu Zhenqing was astonished.

Huo Fenglie’s expression shifted, and he immediately began to exert strength. Liu Zhenqing’s identity could not be known to untrustworthy people. Regardless of the consequences, Huo Fenglie felt that Qiao Jin must die in order to protect Liu Zhenqing.

And upon noticing Huo Fenglie’s action, Liu Qiao raised his arm and blocked the Chunjun Sword with his scabbard. Huo Fenglie regarded him with a frown.

Liu Qiao glanced at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Qiao Jin with a frown and asked tentatively: “What did you say?”

Qiao Jin recovered from his shock and said with utmost certainty: “Stop pretending. The only person these two would do such a thing for is Liu Zhenqing !” He abruptly looked at Liu Qiao. “I absolutely don’t believe that there is anyone in this world you would do this to me for other than Liu Zhenqing! Only Liu Zhenqing could cause you to leave me so easily.”

The shock of Liu Qiao’s departure was finally resolved.

That’s right. I could only be Liu Zhenqing, ah.

No matter how unbelievable, it was the only possibility.

Seeing Qiao Jin’s determined expression, Liu Zhenqing sighed in the end and said: “Then…..what should you call me? It’s too disrespectful for you to call me by name.”

Qiao Jin gave a ferocious laugh: “I had a mother, but not one to educate me. I had a father to raise me, but not to control me. What rules can I follow?”

“Oh? I thought it was Liu Qiao who taught you discipline? Was he not very good?” How could Liu Zhenqing be ridiculed by a little brat?

Qiao Jin was instantly stifled. Sure enough, Liu Zhenqing was looking at him with displeasure.

Liu Zhenqing narrowed his eyes and asked again: “What should you call me?”

“I…..I won’t call you anything! What are you pretending for! You even killed my father! You left me homeless. Look at who’s sitting on the throne of the Zhou Dynasty now.”

Liu Zhenqing, who wanted to improve their relationship, wore a stiff expression when these words were spoken.

And Huo Fenglie was taken aback upon hearing this, his gaze shifting uncontrollably as he looked at Qiao Jin.

Noticing the change in Huo Fenglie’s aura, Qiao Jin turned with a mocking smile and pointed at Liu Zhenqing, saying: “You think he’s so loyal and patriotic? Back then, he went behind the backs of your Huo family and the emperor he was loyal to and secretly sent away the remnant of those rebels, me. I am the only son of King Huai, one of the Three Kings at that time, Yuan Jin! And also the only son of Liu Zhenqing’s paternal aunt!”

Huo Fenglie froze, looking at Liu Zhenqing in disbelief.

Liu Zhenqing gave a sigh.

Just as Qiao Jin vented his grievances, Liu Qiao to the side slapped him on the back of the head, saying: “Didn’t I tell you? Since Master’s aunt is your mother, you should call him Cousin!”

---

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Chapter One Hundred Eighteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twenty

Li Xiu followed Li Yu to school.

The weather was gloomy along the way, the sky gray. Li Xiu glanced through the car window and felt short of breath.

The car continued to turn corners.

Li Xiu felt faintly uncomfortable, and could only lean his head on the window and take short breaths.

It was strange. Li Xiu had already vomited his breakfast, but there was still a lingering taste of paper in his mouth that made his stomach churn from time to time. In order to divert his attention, Li Xiu could only place all of his focus on the view of the streets outside.

How odd…..

Were the roads from home to school always so narrow?

The sense of dissonance that had been lingering since this morning became even stronger at this moment. And just as Li Xiu was staring out the window, a tall figure suddenly broke into his field of vision.

It was a boy wearing a strange paper mask.

The mask was crudely made and very strange.

The face was white, except for two bright red spots on the cheeks.

The eyes were partially hollowed out, making them seem particularly deep and vacuous.

He was standing amidst the crowds on the street. Through the mask, Li Xiu could clearly sense that the boy’s eyes were staring directly at him.

Wait. Who was that?

Li Xiu initially thought he had seen wrong due to his dizziness, but when the vehicle passed an intersection in the next second, the boy appeared again.

This time, he seemed to be closer to Li Xiu.

The corners of the paper mask’s mouth were curved, almost reaching below the ears.

“Huh?”

Li Xiu’s back tensed. He sat up from the car window.

Li Yu beside him had been watching Li Xiu intently since they got in the car, and asked worriedly: “What happened? Do you feel uncomfortable?”

Li Xiu turned his head with some alarm, but after seeing Li Yu, he shook his head at the unexplainable event: “Ah, I’m fine. A little motion sick.”

“Seriously, you didn’t eat anything this morning and you’re feeling uncomfortable now?”

Li Yu reached out helplessly and gave Li Xiu’s head a gentle rub.

Li Xiu didn’t respond to his gege, turning his head to look out the window again. The strange figure had vanished.

This should have been a good thing, but Li Xiu’s heart clenched uncontrollably.

“A-Xiu.”

Li Yu’s call sounded beside him again.

“Why are you upset?”

“Ah?”

Li Xiu’s mind was full of thoughts about the boy he’d just seen, and it took a moment for him to respond. He didn’t understand what Li Yu was talking about.

“A-Xiu’s brow is all furrowed.” Ice-cold fingers reached over to touch Li Xiu’s brow, rubbing it gently.

The young, handsome brother looked unblinkingly at Li Xiu. His tone was slightly confused: “I don’t know what I should do to cheer you up.”

His face was obviously handsome and cold to the utmost, but at this moment, it revealed an unprecedented helplessness in front of Li Xiu.

Li Xiu was so stimulated by his gege’s sadness that he stammered as he explained.

“Ge, why are you saying this so suddenly? I’m not upset, it’s just…..uh, I’m not in a good mood today.”

“That’s good.” Upon hearing Li Xiu’s words, Li Yu smiled as if relieved.

He took Li Xiu’s hand and pressed it gently against his lips, the kiss falling as light as a feather.

“However, if A-Xiu still has any desires, you must tell your gege. Gege will give it to A-Xiu, no matter what it is.”

The brother’s cold lips fell on the side of Li Xiu’s palm, arousing a thin layer of goosebumps.

Li Xiu resisted the urge to yank his hand back, shaking his head in a fluster.

“I-I don’t have any other desires, ah. Life is really good now. Dad, Mom, Grandmother, and Gege, everyone is living a happy, peaceful life together…..” As he spoke, Li Xiu’s voice went lower.

He looked at Li Yu and asked out of nowhere: “Speaking of this, what’s your desire, ah?”

Li Yu’s movements paused.

He tilted his head, regarding Li Xiu with a very strange look.

“My…..desire?”

Li Xiu blinked.

“Um, yes, ah. Gege is always trying to make me happy and such. I also want to do things for Gege sometimes, although I’m still a student now. B-but didn’t the teacher also say it won’t be a problem to recommend me for North Beijing University? After going to university, I should be able to do something for you, right?”

Under Li Yu’s intense gaze, Li Xiu’s voice grew smaller and smaller, and he became increasingly guilty.

He didn’t know why, but although Li Yu looked the same as before, with that doting look and slight smile, the aura exuded by the other party made him feel shaky and ill at ease.

“So cute.”

After a moment of silence, an enamored, trembling sigh escaped from the gap between Li Yu’s bright red lips.

“I really like A-Xiu.”

“Ge?”

“A-Xiu is the first human to ask me this question. For so many years…..”

Although he looked like a teenager, Li Yu’s current tone made it sound like he had lived for a very long time.

Facing the still confused Li Xiu, Li Yu suddenly stretched out his arms and hugged him tightly.

He buried his face into the side of Li Xiu’s neck. At that moment, Li Xiu’s whole body trembled — he almost thought Li Yu intended to bite him.

But after waiting for a long moment, the sting of that absurd intuition did not arrive as expected.

Li Yu maintained that position, breathing thickly and deeply in the crook of Li Xiu’s neck. Li Xiu could feel him shaking violently.

“Ge…..Yu-ge?”

His brief fear faded away and was replaced by confusion. 

Li Xiu gently nudged his brother’s body without pushing him away.

“Don’t always compel me like this, ah…..”

Li Yu finally spoke up, speaking vague words that Li Xiu didn’t understand.

“I really want to swallow you whole. But, will you cry? Although it’s very cute, I would still feel bad…..”

“Forget it.”

With Li Xiu at a loss, the private vehicle finally arrived at school after countless turns.

Li Xiu was sent right to the door of his classroom by Li Yu. His care for Li Xiu had indeed reached a meticulous level. At first, Li Xiu thought his gege’s excessive concern was unnecessary. It wasn’t until he came to the door of the classroom and saw his classmates sitting there neatly, listening intently, that Li Xiu realized his legs were weak.

Was this…..social anxiety?

Li Xiu’s footsteps came to a hesitant stop at the door of the classroom.

“A-Xiu, don’t be afraid.”

A pair of hands were placed gently on Li Xiu’s shoulders, ice-cold breath next to his ear.

Li Xiu said to him with soft affection: “Your classmates all really like you, don’t they?”

Relying on his gege’s support, Li Xiu mustered the courage to enter the classroom step by step.

“Li Xiu, good morning.”

“Li Xiu, I’m really glad to see you.”

“Li Xiu…..”

As soon as he entered the classroom, everyone greeted Li Xiu enthusiastically.

And after a brief trance, Li Xiu was also confused about his previous fear and hesitation. Yes, ah, his classmates were just as enthusiastic, cheerful, and easy to get along with as his gege said. But why had he been so scared just now that he couldn’t even walk into the classroom?

Li Xiu arrived at his seat and set down his school bag, only to find that Li Yu was still standing at the door of the classroom, staring at him.

“I’ll pick you up after school,” Li Yu said, waving at him with a smile.

“Oh, okay…..”

Li Xiu signaled his understanding.

“Wa, Yu-ge likes you so much, doesn’t he?”

After hearing the conversation between the brothers, a classmate with a vague face spoke to Li Xiu.

“It seems like your ge wants to be by your side at every moment.”

“Is that surprising? Li Xiu is so cute, it’s normal for his ge to want to grow on top of him,” someone else echoed with a smile.

Facing the chattering classmates, Li Xiu smiled stiffly.

“We’re family, it’s normal for us to be close.”

It was odd.

Why were his classmates saying such strange things?

And why were they all gathering together around his seat?

As he thought, Li Xiu’s eyes inadvertently glanced at his warm and friendly classmates. Suddenly, behind everyone, he glimpsed a familiar face.

That boy — that boy wearing the paper mask.

Through the eye holes dug in the mask, Li Xiu could see the boy’s bloodshot eyes.

He stared at Li Xiu with an extremely sharp gaze.

Li Xiu’s breathing stagnated at once.

Bang—

Li Xiu shoved the table and instinctively stood. The loud noise seemed to startle the others.

“Wa, Li Xiu, what’s wrong?”

“Li Xiu?”

“Why did you suddenly lose your temper, ah?”

But when Li Xiu stood up and looked in the boy’s direction, he was no longer there.

Li Xiu stood in a daze for a long while, completely ignoring the inquiries of the students around him.

He almost couldn’t breathe.

The strange feeling that had been looming in Li Xiu’s heart since that morning was almost driving him insane.

Li Xiu’s bafflement and confusion lasted until the teacher showed up for the lecture. In Li Xiu’s impression, he had always been the kind of person who could concentrate easily. No matter what happened in real life, as long as he picked up a pen and a textbook, he could dive into an ocean of knowledge without distractions. But this time, Li Xiu found that his self-perception was inaccurate. The teacher was obviously giving a lecture, but he still couldn’t concentrate on it.

The muddleheaded Li Xiu accidentally dropped his pen on the floor and automatically bent down—

At this moment, he seemed to see the students’ feet pointing backwards, then turn toward the blackboard with a swish.

Everything happened very quickly. So quickly that Li Xiu couldn’t tell whether the scene he had just witnessed was an illusion or reality.

In extreme panic, Li Xiu stood abruptly and apologized to the teacher, then rushed out of the classroom.

He leaned against the corridor railing, breathing heavily.

His entire back was soaked in cold sweat, the muscles spasming slightly due to the excessive tension.

He breathed in the fresh air outside the classroom for a long while

Li Xiu regained his senses with difficulty, no longer frightened and panicked to the point that his brain shut down.

His classmates were obviously so kind and lovely, and they all liked him so much — no, no, concentrate. There was something wrong with them, their feet, their feet just now were backwards, right? How could a normal person be like that?!

But his gege said they…..

Li Xiu bit his lip hard, using the pain to try to avoid the distraction.

It just so happened that at this moment, he inadvertently raised his head and looked toward the nearby teaching building.

His pupils immediately narrowed.

Why…..was his home next to the school?

It had taken so long to get to school by car, but now, he could clearly see his brightly-lit home from the school corridor.

That villa was so close to the school, so close that he could even clearly see the expressionless figures standing motionless in the windows of his home.

Dad.

Mom.

Grandmother.

Their faces were pressed against the window glass. As if they were aware of Li Xiu’s gaze, they suddenly raised their heads and rushed to smile at Li Xiu with the exact same expressions.

“No—”

Li Xiu was so frightened that he stepped back repeatedly.

Then, a pair of hands were suddenly placed on his shoulders.

Li Xiu turned his head at once. Then, he met the gaze of a paper mask with a large grin.

“Wu…..”

Li Xiu’s scream was muffled by that pair of hands before he could make a sound.

He could smell the strong odor of blood from the other party’s palms. Fear swept over him. Li Xiu struggled desperately, but under the grip of this masked person, his movements were weak.

He was dragged into a run by the other party, and the surrounding illumination became very dark.

“Help…..wu…..let go…..I…..”

Li Xiu screamed, trying his utmost to break away from this strange and terrifying existence.

He felt the masked man cover his face with his hand, squeeze his fingertips through his lips, and vigorously jab the tip of his tongue as if trying to dig it out.

Help!

Helphelphelp…..

Help me…..

Li Xiu was unable to resist, and with the tingling sensation on the tip of his tongue, he burst into tears.

“A-Xiu…..A-Xiu! Wake up! Fuck, don’t bite me, ow ow ow…..”

“Shh…..Shhhh…..”

“Hiss, ow, forget it. You’re impressive, just bite. Can you just keep quiet…..”

“Fuck, A-Xiu, I’m telling you…..if this continues, I’m going down with you…..”

In the haziness, a familiar voice pierced the barrier of confusion and reached Li Xiu’s ears.

---

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Chapter 42 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 44

Like a rusty robot, Li Xiu slowly looked around.

The inner walls of all elevators in the complex were made of stainless steel. Although they couldn’t reflect every detail of a person like a mirror would, a shadowy reflection could still be seen when a person walked in.

Li Xiu was currently standing in the middle of the elevator, watching shadows emerge around him.

The shadows reflected in the stainless steel plating were too blurry. No matter how Li Xiu kept his eyes wide open, he could only see distorted figures that were unlike living people, along with blank faces as pale as paper.

“Wu…..”

A short whimper escaped Li Xiu’s throat.

He knelt weakly on the floor. His body had no strength at all.

Accompanied by an ominous electrical sound, the incandescent lights on the ceiling suddenly flickered, then went out completely.

A deathly darkness completely filled the space around Li Xiu.

There was something there. Ice and moisture, dry skin wrapped around thin bones…..countless dead hands stretched out from this darkness, tightly grasping the youth where he was curled up in the elevator, shaking with fear.

“Save…..wu…..save me…..”

Someone was jostling Li Xiu’s shoulder.

“A-Xiu? A-Xiu, what’s wrong with you, ah?”

A hoarse, familiar voice sounded in his ears.

With great effort, Li Xiu opened his eyes with difficulty while sobbing, then saw his grandmother’s kind and worried face.

“Did our family’s A-Xiu have a nightmare today? Why are you still crying?”

Seeing Li Xiu wake up, the grandmother appeared relieved. She opened her lips and smiled at Li Xiu.

“I—”

Li Xiu sat up at once, gasping for air. He stared in shock at the old woman by his bedside. His head felt as heavy as stone, and his blood felt like it had been stuffed into a freezer and frozen, even now unable to pump adequately to his heart.

His entire body shivered with cold. His heart beat extremely fast.

“A nightmare…..”

Li Xiu stared at his grandmother and sluggishly repeated her words.

His grandmother gave him a look of understanding, and said half lovingly and half as if she had a headache:

“Sure enough, oh, you’ve been under too much pressure from studying, haven’t you? A-Xiu, ah, this isn’t what Grandmother told you to do. Your grades are good enough. In fact, you don’t have to work so hard.”

“Forget it, get up quickly. If you don’t get up, you won’t have time for breakfast. For students your age, ah, the most important thing is to ensure good nutrition. Otherwise, reading so many books every day, what will you do if your brain doesn’t have enough energy…..”

The old woman chattered habitually, patted the school uniform that had been prepared for Li Xiu beside the bed, and then walked out the door.

As his grandmother vanished, Li Xiu looked around and realized that he was lying in his room.

Tall floor-to-ceiling windows allowed the morning sun to pour into the luxurious bedroom. Li Xiu sat on the bed, looking around the octagonal room. The dressing table next to the bed gave him a slight feeling of unease. He stayed there for a long while, covering his head with a muffled groan.

His head hurt…..

How odd…..why did he feel like his room was unfamiliar?

“A-Xiu, ah, hurry up!”

While he was thinking hard, his grandmother called from outside the door again.

Li Xiu rubbed his temples. Then he staggered out of bed, donned his school uniform, and walked out.

When he went downstairs, Li Xiu saw breakfast neatly arranged on the dining table.

The runny yolk of a sun-cooked egg was placed on golden, crispy bread fried in butter. Smoked ham sizzled on the plate, emitting the enticing aroma of oil. 

His grandmother poured milk into a glass and pushed it toward Li Xiu’s plate. When she saw Li Xiu, she immediately waved and called for him to quickly come down and eat.

“What are you looking at, ah? A-Xiu, isn’t this your favorite breakfast?”

A gentle woman prompted Li Xiu from the dining table.

The woman was young and beautiful. When Li Xiu looked at her, he vaguely felt that she was somewhat familiar.

Beside the woman sat a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes. From Li Xiu’s perspective, the man’s face couldn’t be seen at all. He could only see that the man had his head lowered as he took big mouthfuls of the food in front of him.

Opposite the woman was a tall young man.

Following the woman’s gentle call, he also turned his head to look at Li Xiu, who was hesitating on the stairs.

“A-Xiu, why are you dawdling, ah? Come on, why are you always so muddle-headed when you wake up?”

Similar in age to Li Xiu but slightly larger in stature, the boy gave him a helpless look. Although he was scolding him, his tone was rather doting. He stood up as he spoke and walked straight to the stairs, then took Li Xiu’s hand and led him directly to the table.

“Eat quickly! Otherwise you won’t grow taller, ah.”

The boy pressed Li Xiu into a seat and rubbed his hair.

Li Xiu braced himself, and when he glimpsed the boy’s face, he finally returned to his senses and said automatically:

“Fang Qian’an……what are you doing…..wait…..”

“Fang who?” However, after hearing his words, the boy stared blankly for a moment and then looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Hey, A-Xiu, are you actually asleep?”

Lowering his head, he approached Li Xiu and gently touched the boy’s forehead.

He stared into Li Xiu’s face and said as if in jest: “You even called me by the wrong name?! Wait, are you trying to make me angry on purpose?”

But when Li Xiu heard what he said, he couldn’t help but shudder. Before his brain had time to function, his lips were moving automatically: “Li Yu…..”

“En?”

The boy still seemed dissatisfied. His cold hands directly grabbed Li Xiu’s face, forcing him to look at him awkwardly. 

Li Xiu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and when he spoke again, it was with a much crisper: “Yu-ge.”

At this moment, the nightmare that had been lingering in his mind when he woke up that morning instantly faded, and he finally woke up.

Damn, what was happening with him today? How could he feel like his home was so strange, and not even greet his family?

“Dad, Mom, good morning.”

Li Xiu struggled out of Li Yu’s arms and quickly greeted the other two people at the dining table.

“Good morning, A-Xiu. Aiya, really, Xiao Yu, you’re this old and still acting like a primary school student. Don’t bully A-Xiu.”

His Mom smiled as she lectured, looking at the two sitting closely together at the table.

“That’s right, ah. Yu-ge, you only know how to bully me!”

Li Xiu immediately seized the opportunity and stood up, leaning toward the boy as he continued his Mom’s scolding.

“I bully you? Hey, aren’t you mistaken? It’s obviously you who bullies me every time.” Li Yu turned his head to look directly at Li Xiu, his tone particularly aggrieved. “You’re just relying on my affection for you and becoming more and more lawless.”

In the midst of the quarrel, Grandmother appeared to helplessly smooth things over.

“Okay, okay, the two of you will sleep in the same bed from now on, bullying or no bullying.”

Sleep in the same bed? What was this?

Li Xiu subconsciously stared, and even such a movement didn’t escape Li Yu’s sight.

The boy stretched out his hand beneath the dining table and lightly touched Li Xiu’s palm. 

“Don’t be shy,” Li Xiu heard Li Yu whisper to him.

“It’s not time yet.”

What did that mean, “not time yet?”

Countless doubts ran through his mind, but like raindrops falling into a lake, they disappeared in an instant, leaving only hazy ripples.

Every time Li Xiu tried to think carefully, his thoughts would scatter uncontrollably.

“A-Xiu, eat quickly!”

His grandmother urged him at this time.

“Ah ah ah, I know, I know.”

Li Xiu instantly forgot what he was thinking about just then.

He spoke perfunctorily and then looked down at his breakfast.

It had to be said that just looking at today’s breakfast made a person excited. Li Xiu began to eat at once with no hesitation.

However, the moment the breakfast entered his mouth, Li Xiu grimaced.

Wu, it tasted terrible.

They looked so delicious, but now the sun-cooked eggs and toast in his mouth were completely tasteless, just like chewing scraps of paper. Li Xiu forced himself to chew for a long time, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t swallow the sun-cooked egg toast in his mouth.

Finally, Li Xiu gave up resisting the inexplicable instincts of his body and put a tissue to his mouth, spitting out all the food.

The happy laughter and chatter at the dining table stopped abruptly.

Along with the deathly silence came three extremely sharp gazes.

“A-Xiu? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?”

“A-Xiu? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?”

“A-Xiu? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?”

Three identical inquiries came from the mouths of the mother, father, and grandmother respectively.

Li Xiu covered his mouth, his entire body stiffening.

“I…..I just…..ah, don’t have an appetite today.”

His heart beat wildly.

He began to break out in a cold sweat.

Li Xiu didn’t know why he would be afraid like this when his relatives were obviously just caring about him.

As he spoke, Li Xiu subconsciously looked at the dinner plates in front of his parents, and only then did he realize that they were completely different from his sumptuous breakfast. His mom, dad, and Yu-ge all had bowls filled with uncooked rice in front of them.

……Something was wrong…..no, wasn’t this just his parents’ daily meal? Why did he feel like something was wrong?

Li Xiu shivered. When he looked up again, he found that he had been in a daze for such a long time, but his mom, dad, and grandmother’s dark eyes had never moved away the whole time.

From beginning to end, they stared at Li Xiu.

“A-Xiu, why aren’t you eating?” they continued to ask.

“I-I’ll eat…..” Li Xiu stammered, and forced the remaining food on his plate into his mouth.

But this time, whether or not it was because he was so nervous, he found the food even more unpalatable.

The harder he tried to swallow, the stronger the inexplicable feeling of nausea and resistance became.

In the end, Li Xiu even accidentally retched.

He spat everything out. Li Xiu’s body was shaking slightly, physiological tears filling his eyes.

“S-sorry, I really…..can’t eat……” Li Xiu said softly.

Chills wracked his body one after another. Even though this was clearly just a small thing, his voice was filled with an involuntary sobbing tone.

Yu-ge stared at Li Xiu for a long moment, then let out a seemingly helpless sigh.

“Ai, forget it, forget it. It’s really not a big deal if you don’t eat.”

At the same time his voice fell, the other three people at the dining table also withdrew their deep, dark gazes. Just like before, they were still kind and gentle.

His mom feigned anger, scolding lightly: “You indulge him even when he won’t eat. Really, Xiao Yu, I don’t know where you got your subservient personality…..”

To the side, his dad lowered his head and complained softly in a voice everyone could hear: “He gets it from me.”

His grandmother sighed repeatedly and gave Li Xiu a look of great disapproval: “Really, how can he not eat? If he doesn’t eat, how will he endure you in the future…..Xiao Yu, you will regret this sooner or later.”

At this time, Li Xiu had already been drawn into Li Yu’s arms, cold hands stroking gently over his back.

As if shy, Li Xiu lowered his head, using Li Yu’s figure to avoid the eyes of his parents.

But only he himself knew how scared he was now.

Wasn’t there something wrong? 

Why couldn’t he hear Yu-ge’s heartbeat?

“What are you thinking about?”

A slightly hoarse whisper sounded.

Li Xiu huddled in Li Yu’s arms. He was startled, and when he looked up again, he forgot where his fear had come from.

“It’s nothing,” the youth murmured, his watery eyes becoming somewhat hollow.

“……I just woke up today feeling a little flustered and short of breath.”

Li Xiu rubbed his temples with a dazed appearance.

Li Yu stared greedily at Li Xiu in his arms, his bright red lips grinning wider and wider.

“Don’t be nervous, A-Xiu…..Gege has always liked A-Xiu the most…..” he said softly.

“Yu-ge won’t get angry if you’re a little bit willful.”

---

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Chapter 41 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 43

Qiao Jin was about to speak, but was interrupted by Liu Qiao, who said with displeasure: “That’s enough.”

Liu Qiao was indifferent to most things, but didn’t like others gossiping about his master in front of him.

Qiao Jin only showed annoyance when he was interrupted, but didn’t confront Liu Qiao. He just said to Liu Zhenqing: “In any case, Huo Fenglie has loved Liu Zhenqing for a long time. The kind of love that makes a person go crazy. Toward you, he only has slight feelings.”

Liu Zhenqing was speechless: “How can I just believe what you say?”

“Then let me ask you, when the rumors about the Old City Lord and Liu Zhenqing came out in Nanfeng City, did Huo Fenglie behave strangely?” Qiao Jin raised his eyebrows.

Liu Zhenqing was stunned. It suddenly dawned on him: no wonder he always felt that something was unreasonable when he analyzed the rumors before.

At that time, he felt that the other party was taking advantage of the rumored feud between the Huo and Liu families in order to obstruct Huo Fenglie. If Huo Fenglie discovered that Tang Rou’s family had been protected by Liu Zhenqing and survived, and that Tang Rou was still grateful to Liu Zhenqing in her heart, then logically speaking, this would alienate Huo Fenglie from Tang Rou.

But now, hearing Qiao Jin’s words, Liu Zhenqing realized that he’d gotten it completely wrong.

Qiao Jin knew that Huo Fenglie had feelings for him, so he spread the truth about that year to let Huo Fenglie know the truth and understand what kind of stigma his beloved had suffered. That would certainly put Huo Fenglie in an uneasy state of mind, and he would become cold toward Nanfeng City, which had always enjoyed Liu Zhenqing’s protection. This would naturally achieve Qiao Jin’s purpose of buying time.

Qiao Jin looked at the silent Liu Zhenqing, perfectly satisfied. It seemed there had indeed been something unusual. Huo Fenglie’s reaction had disappointed Qiao Jin before. He’d also asked Liu Qiao whether Huo Fenglie had actually moved on. Why did he remain harmoniously in the City Lord’s manor after hearing the rumors? He estimated that for Huo Fenglie now, both the Young Master Liu in front of him and the dead Liu Zhenqing both had status. It was just that Liu Zhenqing was dead and would have less effect over Huo Fenglie, but the person in front of him was still worth a gamble.

But Qiao Jin was now more interested in reducing Liu Zhenqing to submission: “What do you think? Have you figured it out? Would you rather remain with Huo Fenglie and be a substitute male favorite, or come to me? At least I can give you…..”

Before Qiao Jin could finish speaking, Liu Zhenqing smiled: “You’re not the legitimate King of Western Shu. Even if you are, Huo Fenglie has the final say in whether Western Shu will exist tomorrow, right? Taking a step back, even if Huo Fenglie doesn’t attack Western Shu and you continue as king…..you can’t give me the position of a powerful minister below one and above thousands, can you? I don’t know how many people are above you. Isn’t my status higher if I follow Huo Fenglie rather than if I follow you? Or do you have other calculations?”

Qiao Jin fell silent the instant these words came out, and a completely different aura enveloped him. It was as if a lion playing with its prey finally set its sights on it. He was clearly a youth somewhere between a boy and a young man, he seemed unusually astute and circumspect, exuding fierceness and coercion.

Liu Qiao didn’t understand Liu Zhenqing’s words, but Qiao Jin did. And because he understood, he raised all his spikes in a conditioned response to fear. “What do you mean?”

Liu Qiao couldn’t figure out why Qiao Jin suddenly bared his teeth like an offended beast. When he looked toward Liu Zhenqing, he found him sitting leisurely with his cuffs swaying in the air, making two cups of tea in a graceful manner. Every casual move and gesture fell into Qiao Jin’s eyes.

His pupils shrank, and the scene before Qiao Jin’s eyes seemed to overlap with the master in his memory.

The next second, the host picked up a cup of tea, and instead of drinking it himself, he held it out. Without looking around to see if anyone was there to catch the tea, he dropped it.

Qiao Jin’s voice immediately sounded: “What are you doing?”

Liu Qiao suddenly realized that he had reflexively caught the cup of tea Liu Zhenqing dropped.

This was their habit in the past. When it was only the two of them, Liu Zhenqing would make tea when he was tired. He wouldn’t let Liu Qiao do it, but would brew it himself and bring a cup to him where he was hiding in the dark. So when Liu Qiao saw this gesture, he habitually stepped forward to receive the tea.

But this was their habit, ah. Liu Qiao felt the heat of the teacup, looking up at the person sitting at the table and quietly sipping tea. His entire being was momentarily stunned.

Qiao Jin didn’t think too much about it, and just thought it was the conditioned reflex of a martial arts practitioner. He only asked in order to express his displeasure. With a look at Liu Zhenqing, he asked again: “I’m asking you, what did you mean by what you just said?”

“I meant it literally.” Liu Zhenqing pretended to be dumbfounded.

Qiao Jin gazed at him coldly. Then he saw Liu Zhenqing put down his teacup and look over, saying with sudden seriousness: “Seeing as you’re so young, I wanted to ask what you intend to do. What do you want the most? What do you think your chances of winning are, and is it really necessary to continue?”

Such unexpected questions mirrored what was deep in Qiao Jin’s heart, and he was instantly uneasy. The biggest taboo for a person like him was being seen through. After all, he’d always been surrounded by people who weren’t as intelligent as him, even the people in the capital. He thought they were making use of each other and fighting a battle of wits and courage, but the person in front of him made him feel frightened.

There was no killing intent in Liu Zhenqing’s eyes, but Qiao Jin was still forced to take a step back. After all, he was still too young and had too little experience. Faced with this situation, the only options were to kill him or avoid him, so Qiao Jin waved his sleeves angrily and said in a cold voice: “Stay here and behave!”

Having said this, he turned to leave and pulled Liu Qiao after him.

Before departing, Liu Qiao couldn’t help but glance back at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing also looked directly at him. His lips suddenly rose in a slight smile. He raised an eyebrow, and finally raised one index finger.

Liu Qiao’s expression changed drastically. This was his master’s habit.

Once they left, only a few guards remained behind to watch over Liu Zhenqing, who simply stayed in the room and didn’t move about.

He poured himself another cup of tea, staring at it in a daze.

Because he was being held hostage here, it was no longer possible for them not to recognize each other. Recognizing Liu Qiao was the first step in his plan, but what about after? 

Huo Fenglie would definitely be constrained by the knowledge of his kidnapping, but he was capable of anything. Liu Zhenqing could no longer predict Huo Fenglie’s behavior. After all, he had even refused his marriage proposal. In order to avoid trouble, it was best to escape by himself and not allow the enemy’s plan to succeed.

The purpose of delaying Huo Fenglie’s return to the capital must have something to do with Yuan Jue.

Liu Zhenqing paused slightly at this thought. A trace of self-mockery crossed his face, and he sighed. 

Nothing could happen to Yuan Jue, and the country could not be plunged into chaos. This was the conclusion. Thus, they must put a stop to the other party’s conspiracy.

But what on earth was this child in front of him going to do?

Liu Zhenqing pictured Qiao Jin’s face, a face with the Yuan clan’s bloodline as well as…..the Liu’s.

. . . . . . .

“I should have killed him.”

Qiao Jin spoke abruptly, waking up the dazed Liu Qiao.

“What?”

Qiao Jin stood up with a malicious expression on his face. “He’s too clever and knows too much. Unless I can use him, he can’t be allowed to leave.”

Liu Qiao was unexpectedly panicked: “He…..can be considered your distant relative.”

Qiao Jin’s expression turned ugly at once. “I said not to mention it. I have nothing to do with people surnamed Yuan or Liu. And our bloodline specializes in killing our own relatives, doesn’t it?”

Liu Qiao regarded Qiao Jin with a frown: “Why did you change your mind? Didn’t you decide not to kill him?”

Qiao Jin paced around restlessly, feeling as uncomfortable as a lion restrained by a collar.

“Didn’t you hear what he said? Firstly, he knows there is someone above me who’s been directing things here. Secondly, he guessed that I don’t actually intend to heed the words of those above me, and that I have my own plans. He spoke of being below one and over thousands, and asked me whether it was necessary to continue with such a small chance of winning. He must have guessed what I intend to do! We’ve only met a few times, and the information he has is limited, yet he guessed everything correctly. Such a person is too crafty to keep!”

When Qiao Jin finished speaking, Liu Qiao asked abruptly: “What do you intend to do?”

Qiao Jin froze. His eyes narrowed slightly and he suddenly looked at Liu Qiao, saying: “What if I said I want to take over the country!”

Shocked, Liu Qiao said: “You actually came up with this idea? It won’t work!”

“Why not!” Qiao Jin said, “Do you think I can’t compare to Yuan Jue?”

Liu Qiao stared blankly and said: “You can’t compare.”

Qiao Jin was dumbfounded. He was only talking, and didn’t expect that Liu Qiao would actually think he couldn’t compare to Yuan Jue.

“You…..y-y-you…..why! I’m a master of the pen and the sword, and that Yuan Jue is just a weakling…..”

“Because he was taught by Master,” Liu Qiao said directly.

Qiao Jin nearly choked to death. “So since he was taught by Liu Zhenqing, he must be good? Aren’t we running him around in circles right now? He may be the emperor of Great Zhou, but I’m still the king of Western Shu.”

Liu Qiao said bluntly: “Western Shu is a young country. The people below you are all easy-to-manage trash. How can they compare with Great Zhou?”

Qiao Jin never expected that he was so inferior to Yuan Jue in Liu Qiao’s eyes, and was so furious that he forgot about killing Liu Zhenqing.

But Liu Qiao said gravely: “Rebellion isn’t possible. Master hated rebels. This world was maintained by Master’s and General Huo’s hard work and cannot be destroyed.” If he could have, he would have killed everyone who spoke ill of his master afterward, but he knew his master’s wishes and couldn’t undermine them.

When he allowed Qiao Jin to contact the rebels and those people in the capital, he thought he was going to stop them from rebelling. Liu Qiao couldn’t help but reflect: sure enough, he was too stupid to realize that Qiao Jin had this idea.

Seeing Liu Qiao’s attitude, Qiao Jin’s eyes flashed and he said: “Can I survive if I don’t rebel? Isn’t it your job to make sure I survive? Alright, if I don’t rebel, you have to stay and protect me for the rest of your life and make sure that I live. Can you do that?”

Liu Qiao said with a frown: “Not many people in the world know you exist.”

That was a rejection. Qiao Jin was so angry that he ground his teeth again. He knew he couldn’t keep this person, but…..

Qiao Jin suddenly recalled what Liu Zhenqing had asked him, about what he intended to do and what he wanted most.

His face reddened, and he was unable to contain his explosive temper. He scoffed coldly: “I’m not reassured. And it’s beneficial for you to rebel. Are you sure you don’t want to follow me?”

“What?” Liu Qiao was taken aback.

Qiao Jin raised his head and said: “I can promise you that once I successfully ascend the throne, I will clear Liu Zhenqing’s name and wash away all grievances. I’ll write a biography to let the whole world know how great he was, letting his name go down in history and remain famous for generations. His name on the Twining Dragon Jade Pillar will also be moved to the column of loyal ministers.”

As expected, Liu Qiao’s eyes shifted: “Really?”

Qiao Jin smiled: “Let me ask you, apart from me, can Yuan Jue or any of his descendants do such a thing? Yuan Jue is most afraid of others saying that Liu Zhenqing was a good person. Once Liu Zhenqing’s good character is proven, won’t this show that Yuan Jue was ungrateful to him and disrespectful to his teacher? How can an emperor admit he was wrong? Therefore, he will never restore Liu Zhenqing’s name. But I’m indifferent to the matter. If you follow me and I break my promise, you can just kill me. That wouldn’t be difficult for you, would it?”

Qiao Jin watched Liu Qiao with a slight frown. He seemed to really be considering it. Finally, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Take time to think it over.” Qiao Jin patted Liu Qiao on the shoulder. “Furthermore, I don’t have to kill Liu Xiaozhu, but you must keep an eye on him. He’s too intelligent. I don’t trust him.”

Qiao Jin really was worried about Liu Zhenqing. He kept feeling he was too calm, like he had a trump card up his sleeve and could get out of trouble without outside help. Thus, he could only leave it to Liu Qiao, whom he trusted most, to keep an eye on that person.

With a head full of thoughts, Liu Qiao returned to the room where Liu Zhenqing was being detained and hid out of sight.

And Liu Zhenqing, who was eating in a stress-free manner, seemed to feel a familiar sense of security once more.

Next, everything Liu Zhenqing did and every move he made was so familiar to Liu Qiao that he was in a daze.

Suddenly, Liu Zhenqing said into the air: “Come down.”

Liu Qiao was startled, and ultimately descended. He stared blankly at Liu Zhenqing, his mind spinning.

Liu Zhenqing looked back at him and said directly: “Qiao Jin and Qiao An are working together.”

Liu Qiao’s pupils shrank: “You…..how do you know this?”

“Your martial arts skills are so high that you could go in and kidnap me, but you didn’t kidnap Qiao An, who was obviously behind me at that time. No matter how stupid someone is, they would be able to make this guess.” Liu Zhenqing spoke with a smile, but his expression changed abruptly and his tone became deeper, as if in stern reprimand: “It’s your superior’s intention to use the matter between Great Zhou and Western Shu to slow down Huo Fenglie, and you’re going along with it, right? Do you intend to rebel and cause chaos in our country?”

Liu Qiao was caught off guard by Liu Zhenqing revealing all their secrets. Upon hearing this tone, he instinctively wanted to kneel down, as he had done in the past after making a mistake.

He looked at Liu Zhenqing in astonishment, but the man frowned, saying: “You don’t deny it. You really do want to help him rebel? Do you understand what you’re doing?”

Although Liu Zhenqing himself appeared to be a treacherous minister, he had thought the person next to him to be patriotic and not just single-mindedly loyal. He just wished for the people in the world to be free from suffering. He’d thought that at most, Liu Qiao was following Qiao Jin out of care and protection. It was impossible for him to go along with Qiao Jin’s rebellion, ah!

“I…..I’m not!” Liu Qiao instantly panicked, as if he feared the other man’s disappointment.

But after he reacted, Liu Qiao was a little confused. He thought of Qiao Jin’s promise, and it was impossible for his heart not to be moved. Looking at the person in front of him, he said: “You…..you are Master’s kin, and your family also suffered repercussions because of Master. Let me ask you…..”

“Master?” Liu Zhenqing stared blankly.

Liu Qiao paused: “My master is Liu Zhenqing.”

“What about Qiao Jin?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“I’m just protecting him for a while.” Liu Qiao instinctively told Liu Zhenqing the truth.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flashed, and for a moment, he didn’t know whether to be happy or worried. All he could say was: “What were you going to ask?”

Liu Qiao spoke a bit hastily: “If Master’s grievances can be cleared, it will be the same as this time in Nanfeng City, and everyone will know of the good things Master did. Whoever promises this, I will…..”

Liu Zhenqing already understood before he finished speaking. It seemed that Liu Qiao was indeed not loyal to Qiao Jin. Otherwise, with their relationship set in stone, Qiao Jin would have no reason to make such a promise just to keep Liu Qiao.

He couldn’t help but glance at the undecided Liu Qiao, and suddenly felt distressed. After his death, there was still someone who continued to stupidly try to sacrifice everything for the sake of his reputation, that illusory thing.

Liu Zhenqing suddenly thought of wanting to call it quits after his rebirth, and felt truly ashamed.

He motioned to Liu Qiao in a familiar gesture. Liu Qiao hesitated for a moment, but still approached blankly. He wanted to ask why Liu Zhenqing had so many of his master’s habitual movements. They had clearly never met each other. Was their blood relationship really so spectacular? But Yuan Jin was nothing like his master.

When Liu Qiao got closer, Liu Zhenqing suddenly took action and grabbed the hilt of the sword hanging at Liu Qiao’s waist.

In a flash, Liu Qiao snapped out of his daze and moved out of reflex. Not because Liu Zhenqing was capable of killing him, but because it was a gift from his master that others were not allowed to touch.

But before Liu Qiao could take action, he heard Liu Zhenqing say: “Qiaoqiao, there’s something hidden on top of this sword’s hilt.”

Qiaoqiao?

Had he just called him Qiaoqiao?

Liu Qiao raised his head at once, the sound of Liu Zhenqing’s past teasing sounding in his mind.

“Qiaoqiao, don’t have such a sullen face.”

“Qiaoqiao is such a blockhead. How will any girl like him in the future?”

“Qiaoqiao, this is a pleasure house. Don’t hide up there, come down and have a drink with the jiejies.”

“Ai, this kid Qiaoqiao is just shy and single-minded.”

“You!”

Just as Liu Qiao spoke, Liu Zhenqing used his eyes to prompt him to look at the hilt of the sword.

Liu Qiao’s hand touched the hilt, but he hesitated.

Liu Zhenqing opened his mouth in a timely manner, saying: “I said at that time that after you completed your mission, you should open it and have a look. But your mission was completed long ago, yet you still haven’t looked, have you?”

Liu Qiao stared blankly at Liu Zhenqing. At last, with a trembling hand, he opened the mechanism inside the hilt that had been placed by the mechanism master Liu Zhenqing himself. There was a piece of tattered paper inside.

It was an old deed of sale.

The deed of sale from when he was sold to Liu Zhenqing.

And this sword had been gifted to him when he returned from his martial arts training.

Liu Zhenqing: “I wanted to give you your freedom, but I really did need your help back then, so I kept it hidden in the sword hilt. Now you understand, right? You’re free. Qiaoqiao, I’ll say the same thing again — you can choose whatever you want to do with your life.”

In fact, Liu Zhenqing didn’t entirely like to call him Qiaoqiao just to tease him. In Liu Zhenqing’s eyes, ‘Qiao’ belonged to Liu Qiao, but ‘Liu’ was more like a shackle.

Liu Qiao raised his head and looked over, tears rolling down his pretty face uncontrollably. There were no extraneous emotions on his face just now, only the respect and affection for a teacher. His wet eyes clearly reflected Liu Zhenqing’s appearance, but there was no confusion at all, as if he could see everything clearly.

Suddenly, Liu Qiao knelt down and hugged Liu Zhenqing’s legs, buried his head in his knees, and began to weep. Like a lost and helpless child.

“Master, you’re Master, you’re Master. Master, where have you been? I missed you so much. I really missed you so much. Master, punish me for not protecting you well. I should have protected you, why didn’t I stay by your side? I should have protected you myself. Punish me, don’t let me off.”

As Liu Qiao expressed his grievance and longing in broken words, he thrust the deed of sale into Liu Zhenqing’s hands.

“I don’t want this, Master, take it back. You promised me that as long as I completed this task and was willing to return to you, you would accept me. Don’t reject me, ah. Master, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’m still your best guard, and my martial arts are even better now. I will definitely protect you and not let anyone hurt you.”

Liu Zhenqing was a bit helpless. Nine years had passed, but Liu Qiao still had the same temperament.

In the past, everyone said that the civil and military-trained guard next to him was wise and ruthless, but in fact, he was innocent and childish.

Liu Zhenqing reached a hand out to lift Liu Qiao’s face. He helped wipe away his tears and said with a helpless smile: “You recognize me? You don’t think it’s bizarre or that I’m lying to you?”

Liu Qiao shook his head and said: “Master is Master.”

Liu Zhenqing was inwardly amused. This simple child was the kind who helped count the money after being robbed.

However, Liu Zhenqing still gave him a rough account of the situation.

Liu Qiao was stunned for a moment, then said: “In any case, Master won’t leave, right?”

Liu Zhenqing nodded.

Relieved, Liu Qiao knelt down to kowtow to Liu Zhenqing, as if once again recognizing his master.

Because Liu Qiao and Bai Yu had a good relationship before, he also told him the truth about Bai Yu. Liu Qiao’s expression indeed turned ugly, and he kowtowed again: “Master, punish me. It’s all my fault. I was too stupid to think of it, or else I would have definitely been able to save Young Master Wangshu.”

Liu Zhenqing sighed. “I understand, you worked hard too. The incident with Song Xingmu was also thanks to you, or else I would have lost another brother. 

Liu Qiao shook his head, saying: “I haven’t done anything well, not even the final task assigned by Master…..”

Speaking of Qiao Jin, Liu Qiao quickly said: “Master knows of Qiao Jin’s identity. He’s…..”

Liu Qiao suddenly stopped talking and turned his head to the side warily, as if he had heard something.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t hear it, and looked askance at Liu Qiao.

After a moment, Liu Qiao looked at Liu Zhenqing again and said: “It’s nothing, Master. Someone just gave me a code that means Qiao Jin is looking for me.”

Only then did Liu Zhenqing say seriously: “He can’t find out about my identity.”

Liu Qiao nodded at once. His expression changed slightly as he recalled Qiao Jin’s intention to kill him, and he said: “Master, it’s dangerous here. I’ll take you back.”

Liu Zhenqing: I hadn’t mentioned it yet, but this is convenient.

“As for Qiao Jin, you…..”

“Didn’t Master say that my mission has been completed? I’m done, so I’ll naturally return to Master,” Liu Qiao said matter-of-factly.

Liu Zhenqing: I’m feeling a little sympathetic to Liu Qiao for some reason.

“I thought you two had some feelings for each other,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Liu Qiao was momentarily taken aback, and various scenes of spending time with Qiao Jin came to mind. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he immediately said: “But he’s not as important as Master. He is already very capable and doesn’t need me. From now, on, I will do whatever Master says.”

Liu Zhenqing: “Okay, let’s leave first. If I don’t go back, Er-gou will cry.”

An hour later, Qiao Jin finally grew angry when after three orders, Liu Qiao still did not return. He went directly to where Liu Zhenqing was imprisoned, but saw no one, only a torn-up deed of sale.

Qiao Jin was dumbfounded, and his mind went almost entirely blank.

But at this moment, someone broke through the window. Just as the hidden guards cried out the alarm, Qiao Jin was choked hard by an arm around his neck before he could react.

“Where is he?!”

The terrifying murderous aura swept across the room like a dark storm. Qiao Jin looked at Huo Fenglie, whose eyes were practically red, and roared: “I should be asking you that, your person kidnapped mine!”

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T/N: Sorry for the wait, guys, the recent election here in the U.S. really messed me up, and my motivation has tanked! But I’m not giving up on these stories, it might just take a little longer between updates for a while!

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Chapter One Hundred Seventeen << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Nineteen

The Western Shu Kingdom gave no response to Great Zhou, but stationed troops in the distance as if to prevent the invasion of Great Zhou’s army at any time.

The message sent this day could be regarded as the last chance given by Great Zhou. If the King of Western Shu still didn’t respond, they would be forced to escort Qiao An back to their capital and confront him face-to-face.

Huo Fenglie had been very busy making arrangements.

Liu Zhenqing was lying in bed with his legs crossed, lost in thought, when he heard that Tang-chengzhu was coming.

Thinking that she had some important business, Liu Zhenqing went out to meet her, and Tang Rou unexpectedly apologized as soon as she saw him.

It turned out that she knew what Tang-furen had done, and was filled with shame.

Liu Zhenqing naturally knew how Tang Rou felt about this matter, so he smiled and comforted her, saying: “It’s no problem, I fooled your mother. This kind of thing can be delayed for a while, and there’s no benefit in drawing a hard line. When I saw your mother, she didn’t seem very well.”

“She is mentally ill. There’s nothing to be done.” Tang Rou’s face was full of worry, because when the army entered the Western Shu Kingdom with the prince, she and Dai Tingyu would be left behind to guard Nanfeng City and prevent any sneak attacks. She was also very busy during this period, and couldn’t keep a close eye on her mother. There were obviously big events ahead, but her mother was always causing trouble.

“Her main concern is likely to pave a safe path for you. But there are no witnesses or evidence for what happened back then, and the parties involved are dead. It is fundamentally impossible to reverse people’s views on the matter. You can make that clear to your mother,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Tang Rou took a deep breath: “It’s not that simple. I know her the best. She has to be strong in everything, and even if she’s beaten like this, she will refuse to admit defeat. Do you think what she said about not seeking status is true? She thinks that a figure like General Huo must leave an heir, and that it’s impossible for him to actually marry a male wife. She is retreating in order to advance.”

Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched when he heard this. Great, he had still underestimated Tang-furen.

Tang Rou couldn’t help but say: “I think that unless the two of you are engaged or married, my mother won’t give up. She’s just this kind of fixated person. It’s fortunate that you came to the military camp, and my mother can only bother me.”

Liu Zhenqing’s heart was moved by Tang Rou’s words.

After Tang Rou left, Huo Fenglie returned late at night and found Liu Zhenqing still awake and waiting for him.

Huo Fenglie asked: “You’re not resting?”

“I slept a lot during the day,” Liu Zhenqing replied, looking directly at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie removed his armor. With lowered eyes, he asked casually: “I heard that Tang-chengzhu came to see you. Was it something serious?”

She would normally come to him if she had any business to discuss. After all, Liu Zhenqing had no official position. Unless it was a private matter, and the most recent private matter was the struggle with Tang-furen.

Liu Zhenqing complained: “She came to apologize. She was too embarrassed to see you, and asked that I convey the message on her behalf.”

Huo Fenglie frowned and said nothing.

Liu Zhenqing had originally been lying in bed and reading a book in his underclothes. Now he was sitting cross-legged, holding his chin in one hand and looking at Huo Fenglie with his head tilted.

Huo Fenglie eventually felt that something wasn’t right with Liu Zhenqing today. When he turned his head to look over, he saw Liu Zhenqing crooking his fingers at him. That gesture was so frivolous, but it moved Huo Fenglie’s heart.

They hadn’t been on intimate terms for many days. Maybe Qing-ge wanted to do it.

Huo Fenglie’s expression was a bit unnatural. He wanted to say that they shouldn’t do it in the military camp, but then Liu Zhenqing said “Come here” in that mild tone of voice.

Huo Fenglie was still like an obedient domesticated dog, and obeyed the order to sit on the bedside.

Liu Zhenqing leaned against Huo Fenglie’s shoulder and played with his hair. His movements appeared relaxed and carefree, but only Liu Zhenqing himself knew how nervous he was. How could he lose his dignity in front of the younger man?

So he opened his mouth to feel him out: “Tang Rou said that her mother might keep bothering you since you’re not engaged yet.”

Huo Fenglie didn’t understand why he was continuing with this topic: “It doesn’t matter.”

Liu Zhenqing really didn’t dare to look at Huo Fenglie. A chill came over him, and he said abruptly: “How about…..consider getting engaged…..”

Huo Fenglie froze.

Since he was leaning against him, Liu Zhenqing could naturally feel this and became even more nervous. “Actually, getting engaged is nothing, it’s a good thing…..”

Even though Huo Fenglie had never confessed for some unknown reason, Liu Zhenqing could sense his feelings. They had done this and that together, and Huo Fenlgie had to have considered marrying him, right? He supposed the other man was too embarrassed to bring it up. If that was the case, he should take the initiative and not compete with Er-gou anymore.

He heard a low, hoarse voice sound from above: “Why are you suddenly bringing this up? What are your intentions?”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. There was something wrong with his tone. He looked up, a little confused over Huo Fenglie’s reaction, and found that Huo Fenglie’s black and white eyes were bloodshot as he looked at him with flaring anger.

Liu Zhenqing sat up straight in shock. Huo Fenglie averted his gaze and turned his head, as if the anger just now had been Liu Zhenqing’s imagination.

Frowning, Liu Zhenqing said: “You don’t want to?”

Huo Fenlgie abruptly stood up with his back to Liu Zhenqing. He said: “Qing-ge, don’t you think it’s ridiculous to mention such a thing now? Yes, I don’t want to!”

When he finished speaking, Huo Fenglie rushed out of the tent. Liu Zhenqing was left alone on the bed, with a confused look on his face and heavy mental trauma.

Wait?

Er-gou actually said he didn’t want to get engaged to him?!

Although the timing of his proposal was a bit inconvenient, a little abrupt and unromantic, shouldn’t this be a natural thing between the two of them? Why didn’t he want to get engaged to him?

Was it because his proposal just now wasn’t good?

He’d thought that after making his proposal, he would tell Huo Fenglie about the secret he’d been hiding. He just thought that if they were engaged or married, he and Huo Fenglie would be bound together, and this would give Liu Zhenqing an extra layer of psychological security, as if giving himself grounds to speak. But Huo Fenglie hadn’t given him a chance at all.

Liu Zhenqing was truly angry and annoyed. What did he mean, ah! He was playing with him!

In an instant, many possibilities flashed through Liu Zhenqing’s mind. Had he misunderstood the whole time? Did Er-gou not like him? Was it just brotherly love? Were those kisses and hugs just the product of impulse? Did Er-gou still hold his older brother’s death against him? Or did he not like his current appearance?

No, no, no, he wasn’t a fool. He could sense that although Er-gou was very reserved, he was very obvious. If nothing else, that fellow definitely had impulses toward him.

Damnit, if he didn’t like him, if everything was a misunderstanding and he didn’t want to get engaged to him, then…..then he would use every means to get him to agree. Liu Zhenqing still didn’t believe that his his abilities and charm, he couldn’t win over this stupid dog!

Liu Zhenqing held back his stomach full of questions, but was still so flustered that he couldn’t calm down at all. After getting dressed, he went out to find Huo Fenglie. He must make things clear today.

On the other side, Huo Fenglie had flown out of the tent to an open space and pulled out the Chunjun Sword, swinging it wildly under the night sky. The Chunjun Sword cut through the air with a hum. The surrounding trees seemed to be affected by the sand and rocks sent flying by Huo Fenglie’s raging internal force, dropping their leaves. 

After tossing about as if to vent his anger, he plunged the sword into the ground, holding onto it a bit too fiercely.

Huo Fenglie’s face seemed to be covered in a layer of frost, his eyes full of self-deprecating sadness.

It was fine to be used as a toy for Liu Zhenqing to relieve his loneliness. He despicably enjoyed the chance to be intimate with Qing-ge and wanted to monopolize this opportunity. He didn’t expect any other response from Qing-ge, and only hoped that his desire for this toy was exclusive.

But Qing-ge had actually suggested that he get engaged to Tang Rou over this irrelevant matter…..

Huo Fenglie had no spare time to think about how unreasonable it was that he would “propose that he and Tang Rou get engaged,” because Huo Fenglie blindly believed that since Liu Zhenqing had brought it up, he must have his own considerations. In Huo Fenglie’s view, there were no other possibilities apart from this. But this time, he could not obey.

With a bitter smile, Huo Fenglie pulled out the Chunjun Sword and calmed his emotions. He knew very well that Qing-ge had no considerations toward him, so why go looking for trouble? At most, it would make Qing-ge unhappy, and he wasn’t going to marry anyway.

Huo Fenglie suppressed his restless mood and walked back. On the way, he met the somewhat flustered Qiao An.

“General…..General Huo.” Qiao An was extremely anxious when he met Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie said with a frown: “What’s wrong, Your Highness.”

Qiao An hurriedly said: “I came to see you. I wanted to ask, if the Western Shu Kingdom doesn’t respond tomorrow…..”

“Then we will directly bring troops to escort you there.” Having already said this before, Huo Fenglie was a little impatient, but when asked by royalty, he still had to give him face.

Qiao An gave a couple of dry laughs. Seeing that Huo Fenglie was about to leave, he was a little unresigned and said: “General Huo, would you like to come to my tent tonight? When I return to Western Shu, this opportunity might not come again.”

Qiao An approached suggestively, saying: “Don’t you think sleeping with the king of a neighboring country would be a pretty good experience?

Looking at Qiao An as he drew near, Huo Fenglie’s disgust overflowed: “Your Highness, have respect for yourself and the royal family of Western Shu.”

Qiao An’s expression distorted the instant he said this.

As he watched Huo Fenglie leave, Qiao An scoffed coldly.

Huo Fenglie didn’t head back to the tent, because he didn’t want to see Liu Zhenqing yet.

But within an hour, guards came over. The Huo Family guards were very dutiful, saying that Liu Zhenqing had run out of the tent angrily, but never came back. They had no idea if he was with Huo Fenglie or somewhere else and were a little worried, so they had come to confirm.

Only then did Huo Fenglie know that Liu Zhenqing was missing.

A shout: “Find him!” Sensing their general’s anxiety and uneasiness, the 50,000-strong army searched all night without even finding an ant.

But Liu Zhenqing had simply vanished, and the responsibility of those on the periphery of the camp became greater. 

Liu Zhenqing didn’t know martial arts, and they hadn’t seen anyone come in or out, which meant that a martial arts master must have snuck in and kidnapped him.

Huo Fenglie only knew of one such master.

At this moment, someone hit the gate of their camp with a feathered arrow.

There was a note and a jade hairpin tied to it. Huo Fenglie knew that jade hairpin. It belonged to Liu Zhenqing.

The note read: Young Master Liu has been invited to be our guest. We hope that General Huo will not invade the territory of the Western Shu Kingdom.

The feathered arrow shattered with a crack in Huo Fenglie’s hand. Those around him didn’t dare breathe, because the aura released by Huo Fenglie nearly overpowered them to their knees. Among them were commanders who had followed Huo Fenglie for a long time. They all seemed to find the current Huo Fenglie very unfamiliar, because they had never seen him outwardly express his anger like this.

In a flash, Huo Fenglie raised his head, dark eyes glinting with murderous intent. He murmured: “Qiao An!”

He disappeared right after saying this, and several subordinates chased after him anxiously.

Among the peripheral guards who were questioned one by one, only one group experienced anything while on patrol that somewhat gave them an idea. That was Prince Qiao An, who had gotten lost and clamored for them to take him back. But as guards, they couldn’t leave, so they paid him no attention at all. Afterward, Qiao An left on his own.

But for a martial arts master, a single distraction was enough.

When the subordinates arrived, their legs went weak when they heard screams coming from the tent.

Upon entering, they saw that Huo Fenglie had one of Qiao An’s arms twisted, pressing his sword against his neck with a fierce, Shura-like expression.

“Speak! Tell me exactly what you did!”

When Qiao An saw others arriving, he tried to call out for help. He was the future king of the Western Shu Kingdom. How could he be abused like this? But those people pretended not to see anything and looked elsewhere, allowing Huo Fenglie’s sword to cut into Qiao An’s neck.

Only then did Qiao An realize what it meant for someone to be called the general who guards the country, inferior to one and above all others.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk…..”

On the other side, Liu Zhenqing was lying in bed when he awoke. He looked at the sunlight. It was already dusk on the second day. He had gone out to look for a certain person, but met Qiao An blocking his way and trying to pester him. He had no patience for this person, but in the next second, there was a pain in his neck and he passed out. 

Liu Zhenqing stood and rubbed his neck, scanning the decor around him with a look of such curiosity that it made the person watching him laugh out loud.

Liu Zhenqing turned to look, and found the handsome youth he had met once sitting there. Liu Zhenqing looked at him carefully this time, and the more he looked, the more apprehensive he became. 

Qiao Jin saw that Liu Zhenqing was cool-headed and unafraid when he woke up, just looking around for a while and staring at him, and he gradually grew uncomfortable.

“What are you looking at!” Qiao Jin said. “Do you know who I am? Do you know where you are?”

Know who he was? Liu Zhenqing looked at Qiao Jin and suddenly let out a heavy sigh. This strange behavior confused Qiao Jin even more.

“You…..you’re not afraid?” Qiao Jin said in amazement.

Liu Zhenqing relaxed his posture and took the time to tidy his mussed hair and clothes right at the bedside. “What’s there to be afraid of? You kidnapped me just to threaten Huo Fenglie, which is quite clever. You know I’m his weak point and can be used to restrain him, so you must treat me gently so that he doesn’t get angry and flatten your Western Shu.”

Qiao Jin was really speechless. This was the first time he had witnessed a hostage behave in such a way. But after some thought, he figured Liu Zhenqing was just putting on a front.

“Weakness? You think too highly of yourself. I just thought you were of some use to Huo Fenglie and wanted to use you to buy some time. After all, you’re just Huo Fenglie’s male favorite, not a legitimate existence. I’m actually worried that I kidnapped the wrong person. If you aren’t important to Huo Fenglie, all of my effort will be in vain.”

It had to be said that Qiao Jin’s words stung Liu Zhenqing. Wasn’t he similar to a male favorite? After all, that person didn’t want to get engaged to him.

Seeing that Liu Zhenqing had a bad expression, Qiao Jin immediately felt that he had the upper hand. “So be sensible and cooperate obediently, and I will leave you a way to survive when the time comes.”

“So if I don’t cooperate, I’m ignorant?” Liu Zhenqing retorted.

Qiao Jin choked.

“When will the time come?” Liu Zhenqing asked. “How much time are you trying to buy?”

Qiao Jin was agitated: “Why do you talk so much?”

Liu Zhenqing shrugged, having already mentally determined many things. For example, that Qiao An was on Qiao Jin’s side, or was serving the same person. What they had really been doing for so long was delaying Huo Fenglie’s return to the capital.

Liu Zhenqing pondered as he tidied himself without pause, and suddenly found that his hair pin was missing. “Where is the person who kidnapped me? Have him come out, I want to meet him.”

Qiao Jin stared blankly: “Aren’t you being too presumptuous, making demands of me?”

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I’m just curious about his identity. After all, he’s a martial arts master who can infiltrate a 50,000-strong military camp as if it’s deserted. And he must be the one who survived that last fight with Huo Fenglie, whose martial arts are the strongest I’ve ever seen. Can’t I meet him? I’ll cooperate with you obediently without making a fuss or being a threat. You won’t refuse this minor request, will you?”

Qiao Jin narrowed his eyes. He waved his hand, and a tall figure in black flew down.

Liu Zhenqing’s squinted eyes immediately locked onto that person. The man stood silently. It seemed that as long as he didn’t speak, he could be used as a silent backdrop. Although his face was still covered, those two eyes were still the clearest Liu Zhenqing had ever seen. He knew this was Liu Qiao.

His throat tightened uncontrollably, and his voice was a bit unsteady: “Still wearing a mask?”

“What are you doing? Do you plan to remember your enemy’s face so you can take revenge later?” Qiao Jin asked with dissatisfaction.

“A martial arts master like him shouldn’t be afraid of showing his face,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

Liu Qiao lowered his mask without a care, and his pretty, delicate face came into view. Different from Bai Yu’s elegance and softness, although Liu Qiao looked delicate, he seemed to have the aura of a sharp blade. At first glance, he looked like a martial arts practitioner who was not easy to deal with. If looked at closely, one part of his cheek had a slightly uneven skin tone. It was originally a brand mark scar, proving that Liu Qiao was a slave, but Liu Zhenqing didn’t like it and asked his master to remove it for him. Thus, the area with the mark appeared slightly pinker than the rest.

Seeing his old friend again momentarily put Liu Zhenqing in a daze. He could only stare at Liu Qiao blankly, confirming over and over that he was still alive…..he was really still alive.

When he asked Liu Qiao to carry out that mission, it was actually to protect him. Liu Zhenqing knew that although he was highly skilled in martial arts, he was simple-minded. He felt far from good at the time, and feared that he wouldn’t leave his side, so he made him leave in advance.

He had clearly arranged ways out for the people around him, but few of them had good endings. Seeing Liu Qiao again now, Liu Zhenqing’s heart was somewhat comforted.

The kid standing before him was still well, and he didn’t look like he was having a bad time, either. This was truly enough.

“Hey, how long do you plan to look?”

Suddenly, Qiao Jin appeared in front of Liu Qiao. He seemed to really hate the way Liu Zhenqing was looking at Liu Qiao, and Liu Zhenqing was slightly startled by this food-protecting behavior.

After thinking about it, he could basically figure it out. They had been together all this time, and he was Liu Qiao’s unfinished mission.

But Liu Zhenqing didn’t recall making such a request.

Liu Zhenqing tilted his head to look at Liu Qiao and asked: “What is your name?”

He wasn’t sure if that name was still in use.

Then he heard Liu Qiao say: “Liu Qiao.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth rose slightly. He said: “Liu Qiao? You owe me a hairpin. You took mine and now I can’t put my hair up.”

Liu Qiao stood in amazement.

Thinking that Liu Zhenqing was mocking Liu Qiao, Qiao Jin grew angry. “Someone bring Young Master Liu a box of hairpins!”

Someone soon arrived with a box of hairpins. Liu Zhenqing selected one and said to Liu Qiao: “You pulled it off, so you’re responsible for putting one back on.”

“Are you seeking death?” Qiao Jin said furiously.

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows. It seemed he was very protective of his food. He took the hairpin back and put it on by himself.

“Do you plan to keep watching me like this? Shouldn’t the King of Western Shu be very busy?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

Qiao Jin scoffed coldly and said: “Let me ask, the rumors about me and Tang-chengzhu were your doing, weren’t they?” Qiao Jin was still a bit anxious about this matter. He felt that a trick had played on him, and found it difficult to bear.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “You started it. I just copied you.”

Qiao Jin’s eyes narrowed. He said: “It turns out you’re this clever? What a talent. Hey, would…..would you consider being mine?”

Liu Zhenqing was stunned. He silently raised his hands and hugged himself, staring at Qiao Jin in astonishment.

Qiao Jin said angrily: “What are you thinking! Like I could take a fancy to you! I meant as my subordinate!”

Liu Zhenqing said at once: “You gave me a fright. But being your subordinate isn’t as good as being the general’s wife. An intelligent person should know who I’d choose, right? So why ask me this?”

Qiao Jin smiled: “Idiot, you’ve forgotten what I just said. You’re just his male favorite, not the general’s wife. Huo Fenglie will never marry in his life. And even if he does marry one day, it will definitely either be because he was forced to by others, or because he took a person home as a decoration.”

Liu Zhenqing grew angry: “What do you say that, ah?”

Qiao Jin seemed to have finally found a way to deal with Liu Zhenqing, and opened his mouth maliciously: “Because he has someone he loves deeply. Do you know who that person is?”

Stunned, Liu Zhenqing wavered for a moment: “Who?”

Liu Qiao glanced at Qiao Jin and said: “Hey.”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Lui Qiao as if in realization, and immediately became even more confused. If Liu Qiao had known, why hadn’t he told him back then? Was there really someone else? 

Qiao Jin said: “Telling him the truth isn’t a bad thing, and prevents him from being kept in the dark. Perhaps if he knows, he’ll consider becoming my subordinate.”

“Who is it?” Liu Zhenqing was truly anxious.

Qiao Jin raised his head and said contemptuously: “To be more precise, you’re a substitute. Because that person is someone from your family, Prime Minister Liu, Liu Zhenqing. How unexpected!”

Liu Zhenqing: …..

“Oh.” The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth slowly rose. “What evidence do you have that Huo Fenglie liked Liu Zhenqing? Why can’t I believe it? Please show me proof.”

---

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Chapter One Hundred Sixteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Eighteen

The silver elevator doors opened on both sides.

Jiang Jun gently pressed Li Xiu’s back, lowering his head to ask with a smile: “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you afraid of taking the elevator?”

Li Xiu swallowed, looking down to conceal the haunted look in his eyes.

In fact, if he hadn’t seen Wang Rongfa, Li Xiu would have given up on the elevator and taken the stairs. But now, Wang Rongfa’s face peeking around the corner kept popping up in his mind.

The direction where Wang Rongfa had leaned out was next to the stairwell.

Was that person still there now?

Why had he used that strange posture, stretching his neck out to stare at him?

Even just thinking about it gave Li Xiu an indescribable chill.

“I-I’m okay.”

The warmth of Jiang Jun’s body next to him transferred over. After being dazed for a short while, Li Xiu managed to cope with it and followed Jiang Jun into the elevator.

Teacher Xu had said that as long as people didn’t believe in these kinds of things, they wouldn’t be scared by them.

All he really needed to do as a student was study hard.

All the things he had seen were created to scare him…..

After entering the elevator, Li Xiu kept his head down and continuously repeated what Teacher Xu had said to him before. And he prayed wildly that the elevator would quickly reach the first floor, so that he could leave this building that had left a serious psychological shadow on him.

However, the heavens didn’t answer his prayers, and the elevator stopped just as it descended one floor.

Ding-dong—

The door opening prompt sounded.

However, no one came in from outside the elevator.

This situation was rather common. When someone pressed the elevator button and the elevator didn’t come for a long time, they would either change elevators or go directly to the stairwell.

Thus, when the elevator reached that floor and the doors opened, that person would have already left.

Li Xiu wasn’t bothered at first. He just subconsciously looked up at the empty elevator doors, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw something swaying slightly at the other end of the corridor.

Jiang Jun happened to pass him at this time and press the door button.

The silver metal doors closed. 

The elevator slowly descended again.

However…..

It stopped again at the next floor.

Ding-dong—

Accompanied by the familiar electronic sound, the doors opened again. And this time, there was still no one outside the elevator.

No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely empty…..

Li Xiu’s whole body tensed, and his hair stood on end.

He stared straight at the end of the corridor. When he saw the figure crawling on the floor, he was unable to move for a moment. 

It was Wang Rongfa.

Li Xiu was a little surprised that he could recognize the boy — that person no longer had even the basic appearance of a “human.”

The previously strong and robust boy was now hunched over. Like a forcefully stuffed courier box, his body was folded and distorted in a way that defied description. Li Xiu could no longer identify where his original torso was. Arms, legs, spine…..under pale skin were bright red muscles and gray-white bones. Next to Wang Rongfa’s head were the soles of his feet, and his arms were propped up at the very back of his body, scraping the ground little by little to push the “monster” forward.

[“Wait…..hehe…..wait a minute…..”]

[“I want…..to go out…..”]

A dry, hoarse moan came out of Wang Rongfa’s bulging chest.

But as he squirmed forward, Li Xiu’s vision was blocked as the elevator doors closed.

“Going down—”

An electronic chime sounded in the small elevator car.

Li Xiu took a sudden step back and hit the wall.

“A-Xiu? What’s wrong?” Jiang Jun looked at Li Xiu in surprise.

And Li Xiu grabbed his hand with a complete lack of control.

“Did, did you see it?” Li Xiu panted, his voice shaking.

Jiang Jun frowned slightly, looking confused: “Ah? See what?”

At this moment, Li Xiu felt the subtle inertia of the elevator stopping.

Yes, the elevator once again stopped at the next floor.

Ding-dong—

“D-don’t, don’t open the door…..”

Disregarding everything else, Li Xiu rushed to the door and pressed the “close” button. But no matter how much he pressed the gleaming silver metal button, the elevator doors still opened again.

This time, there was still no one outside the door.

At least, no living person.

[“Wait for me…..wait for me…..”]

Wang Rongfa was still squirming toward the elevator step by step from the other end of the corridor.

At this distance, Li Xiu could even look into his cloudy gray-white eyes.

He could also see that his belly had begun to swell.

Fortunately, due to Li Xiu’s frantic pressing of the button, the doors closed much more quickly than before.

“A-Xiu? Are you okay?”

Jiang Jun stepped forward and took his hand, his face full of worry.

“Sometimes people get bored and leave after pressing the elevator button. Don’t be nervous…..you must be claustrophobic, right?”

As Jiang Jun spoke, the elevator descended another level.

And, as expected, the elevator doors opened once more.

Wang Rongfa’s twisted body was getting closer to the elevator. He turned his head, meeting Li Xiu’s fearful gaze inside the elevator car.

[“I said…..wait….for me…..”]

[“You asshole…..why won’t you…..just…..listen….”]

Ding-dong—

Once again, the doors opened.

“Ah, it’s so irritating. Who was bored enough to press every level?”

The words of the boy next to him seemed to come from a faraway place.

Li Xiu was entirely unable to speak.

It felt like daytime sleep paralysis. An invisible force had taken over to suppress him.

His whole body was trembling, but he could only hold onto the bit of warmth at his side, unable to move.

He knew he should take action immediately.

He knew he needed to find a way to escape.

But Li Xiu found that he had completely lost control of his body.

A pinprick-like chill spread down his spine.

The terrifying premonition was so strong that Li Xiu almost vomited.

But he could only stand there stiffly, watching the elevator doors open and close, his eyes reflecting the figure of the twisted monster approaching on every level.

It was getting closer.

“Wang Rongfa” was getting closer and closer.

If he didn’t leave immediately, if he let the elevator continue to stop at each floor, next time….. “Wang Rongfa” would…..arrive at the elevator.

There was a voice screaming in Li Xiu’s head.

Fortunately, at this moment, Li Xiu felt the phone in his pocket buzz.

The buzzing of the phone was like magic, suddenly breaking Li Xiu’s paralysis.

Li Xiu’s hands were shaking, but he still reflexively answered the phone.

As soon as he answered, the phone blew up.

It was Fang Qian’an’s voice.

“Fuck, A-Xiu! Where are you…..zizi…..right now…..zizi…..don’t you know I’ve been calling you…..zizizizi…..”

Li Xiu pressed his lips together, trying to respond to the other party, yet unable to make a sound for a long time.

He squeezed out a sob with all his strength.

“Fang Qian’an, we’re being targeted…..”

He tried his utmost to calm himself, but his voice inevitably trembled due to his extreme tension.

“Wait, what ‘we?’ Who else is with you…..”

For some reason, Fang Qian’an’s voice through the staticky connection sounded even more panicked.

Li Xiu suppressed his fear and struggled to speak: “Jiang Jun. Only Jiang Jun is here.”

“…..A-Xiu.”

Fang Qian’an’s reply was low and deep.

“Listen to me…..zizi…..that person…..can’t be Jiang Jun…..”

“Jiang Jun is…..still attending a funeral in his hometown…..I also…..zizi…..didn’t ask anyone to find you…..”

“A-Xiu…..”

“Zizi…..quickly…..zizi…..escape…..”

Clutching the phone, Liu Xiu froze in place. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

A hand reached over and gently took the phone from Li Xiu, then pressed the ‘end call’ button. Li Xiu turned his head with great difficulty, just in time to see Jiang Jun hang his neck down to look at him.

When had Jiang Jun become…..so tall?

Li Xiu stared blankly at Jiang Jun, and even became numb to fear.

Jiang Jun’s body was stretched like a snake, and mottled blue corpse spots could be seen under white skin. He just stared at Li Xiu like that, the pupils in his eyes dark and reflecting nothing: “What’s wrong? You look so terrible.”

If he didn’t look at his face and just listened to his voice, he was still hearty and cheerful when he spoke.

Ding-dong—

At this moment, the elevator door next to Li Xiu opened again. However, this time it was truly deserted outside the door.

No people. No Wang Rongfa.

There was only darkness outside the elevator.

And when Li Xiu suddenly turned around, he found that Jiang Jun, who’d been next to him just now, had vanished.

The pale lighting brightly illuminated the elevator car, where the rigid Li Xiu stood alone.

But in the next second, Li Xiu heard a loud electronic alarm.

It was the alarm for an overloaded elevator car.

---

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Chapter 40 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 42

Li Xiu retreated with a frown, his back pressing right up against a cold wall.

It was at this time that he suddenly realized how few people were in the complex, and that the air conditioning was turned too low…..

So low that the hairs all over his body stood on end.

Was this guy Wang Rongfa planning to cause trouble for him at the door of the Academic Affairs Office?

Thinking about the past troubles caused by this person, Li Xiu felt his stomach tighten.

He stared at Wang Rongfa in silence, but the more he looked, the more he felt that Wang Rongfa looked really strange.

Li Xiu wasn’t sure if it was because the events of the past few days had made him anxious, but as he looked, he felt that Wang Rongfa’s eyes, face, and posture were abnormal.

So abnormal that he didn’t look like a living person.

And at this moment, a call suddenly came from beside him: “Li Xiu?”

Li Xiu turned his head abruptly. At this moment, a tall, handsome boy was standing next to him with a smile, leaning over slightly to peer at him.

With his body still in shock, Li Xiu’s mind went blank. His expression was extremely stiff and he couldn’t even make a sound.

But the other party wasn’t really paying attention.

The boy looked at Li Xiu with a smile and spoke in a soft voice: “Ah, it’s really you. I found the right person.”

“Fang Qian’an didn’t come to school today and was afraid you’d be bullied, so he asked me to keep an eye on you.”

When he heard this, Li Xiu’s frantic heartbeat finally slowed a bit. Li Xiu blinked and calmed down somewhat.

He had never thought that Fang Qian’an consider things so carefully. And when he came to his senses after greeting Jiang Jun, he turned and looked toward the end of the corridor and found that Wang Rongfa had vanished.

Li Xiu thought to himself, was he worried about being discovered by Fang Qian’an’s friend, so he ran away as soon as he saw him coming?

But he didn’t feel relaxed at all.

He was a little concerned about the strange posture and expression Wang Rongfa had displayed just now. Even now, that gray face and cloudy eyes made Li Xiu feel uncomfortable all over.

Fortunately, the arrival of Jiang Jun relieved some of Li Xiu’s nerves.

“Thanks for coming specifically to find me…..sorry to trouble you.” Li Xiu thanked Jiang Jun in a low voice.

He would definitely be laughed at if he said so, but right now, he was very grateful for someone to accompany him out of the complex. On the way from the Office of Academics Affairs to the elevator, Li Xiu unconsciously took out his cell phone again.

Before today, Li Xiu’s cell phone, like his life, was a stagnant pool of water. But now, in the short amount of time in morning self-study, Fang Qian’an had sent him many messages.

[Fang Qian’an: Did you make a mistake and actually ignore me?]

[Fang Qian’an: I’ve discovered that you’re actually very cold and detached, ah. Why haven’t you asked me why I didn’t come to school?]

[Fang Qian’an: I would never give ordinary people this opportunity to be concerned about me, don’t you know?]

[Fang Qian’an: Shouldn’t morning self-study be over? How long will you continue to remain in seclusion, ah?]

[Fang Qian’an: Is learning that interesting?]

[Fang Qian’an: Want to see Angry Baby Shark? It made me laugh to death. So cute.]

[Fang Qian’an: Angry Baby Shark.jpg]

[Fang Qian’an: ……]

[Fang Qian’an: Why have you been particularly cold to me since we slept together one night?]

Staring at the pointless chatter on the phone, Li Xiu let out a sigh.

Was Fang Qian’an so noisy before? In a daze, Li Xiu felt like he was looking at the big yellow dog he had seen tied to the door of the grocery store before. It looked very fierce, but after carelessly feeding it, even if it just saw Li Xiu from a distance, such a big dog would start bouncing, whimpering, and rolling over.

It was so earnest that Li Xiu was unable to resist.

Of course, when he saw the picture of the angry baby shark, he still couldn’t hold back the slight upward tilt of his lips.

[Li Xiu: Thank you.]

[Fang Qian’an: ? ? ? ? ?]

[Fang Qian’an: Wow, you finally responded to me. Right, what are you thanking me for? Did you get the cocoa?]

Looking at Fang Qian’an’s messages on the screen of his phone, Li Xiu suddenly felt a sense of warmth in his heart.

[Li Xiu: Thank you for sending someone to keep me company.]

Just as he was about to keep messaging, Li Xiu sensed someone approaching.

He took a subconscious breath and turned his head.

Jiang Jun was poking his head over beside him. He didn’t seem uncomfortable to be caught peeking at someone else’s cell phone. Instead, his smile became even brighter.

“You have a pretty good relationship with him, ah?” Jiang Jun said with a smile.

Li Xiu’s eyelashes fluttered as he subconsciously avoided Jiang Jun’s gaze.

“It’s fine.”

The boy chose his words carefully.

“Aiya, don’t be nervous.” Jiang Jun didn’t seem to mind Li Xiu’s reticence at all. “If nothing else, that guy has never been so obsessed with someone since he was a child. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had me guard you.”

As he spoke, Jiang Jun reached out to place a hand on Li Xiu’s shoulder.

The overly intimate gesture made Li Xiu shudder, and he instinctively avoided it.

“Ah?”

Jiang Jun’s eyes opened wide and he raised that hand in surprise. 

Only then did Li Xiu realize that his avoidance was too blatant. He looked at Jiang Jun somewhat stiffly: “Sorry, I’m not used to…..”

“Ai, it’s okay, I understand.”

Before Li Xiu could finish speaking, Jiang Jun was already laughing to himself.

“I was too abrupt,” the handsome boy said with a rueful smile.

“I’m not him, after all…..I get it.”

Li Xiu frowned slightly at Jiang Jun’s pointed words.

He wanted to explain, but the relationship between him and Fang Qian’an was so complicated that it was indeed a bit difficult to explain clearly.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just used to being carefree. Come on, let’s not waste any time. This place is too spooky, I’ll take you out first.”

The moment Li Xiu hesitated, Jiang Jun had already touched the back of his own head, speaking cheerfully. He looked as if he had already gotten over this episode  — however, when he walked forward again, that hand seemed to disobey Jiang Jun and hooked Li Xiu’s arm again. 

But this time, out of embarrassment, Li Xiu didn’t move away from the other party.

Li Xiu tried his utmost to center himself, and walked stiffly for a short distance, linked together with Jiang Jun. When he saw they had reached the elevator door, he took the opportunity to let go. Just in time, a sharp, fierce argument was heard from the elevator entrance.

“Fuck you. A good child of Laozi’s has disappeared in your school, and you guys just want to dress up and pretend…..”

“Mr. Wang, calm down a little.”

“Calm down my ass. That person hasn’t been seen in so many days, and you just found out now? Ah, is this how your school should act!? You are all so irresponsible and you still want me to calm down—”

“That isn’t the case. The head teacher also called your home a few days ago when he found that Classmate Wang was absent from school. You also said at the time not to worry…..”

“How can this be the same? He did go out to play a lot before, but how could he disappear like this now? And your school has lost so many lives during this period. Damnit, don’t you know that if my family’s Rongfa is gone, you animals at this school will have to pay for it with your lives? I will make you pay with your fucking lives!”

Li Xiu and Jiang Jun couldn’t help but slow down amidst the cursing of a man and woman and the servile persuasion of the dean. 

The familiar name once again reached his ears, and he didn’t have to listen carefully to know that these were Wang Rongfa’s parents troubling the school leadership.

Li Xiu stood there with a pale face.

Only then did Li Xiu realize that Wang Rongfa had been missing for many days without leaving any trace for his parents or the school. 

Initially, the parents and school thought the situation was the same as before: that the second generation rich kid skipped school to go play outside and didn’t bother to go home. It wasn’t until many days passed and not a single expense appeared on Wang Rongfa’s credit card that his parents realized something was wrong.

After calling the police, they came to the school to investigate. And when the surveillance footage was checked, the results showed Wang Rongfa entering the school a few days ago…..and no record of him leaving at all.

Wang Rongfa had disappeared at school.

No wonder his parents were as agitated as they were now.

If not for the security guards who were blocking them, the Wang family would have attacked the school leaders directly.

“Mr. Wang, in fact, you know that the school monitoring is not comprehensive. Coupled with the fact that Classmate Wang often skipped school before, we are not certain that he actually disappeared at school. And we already informed you before. Don’t you think it’s inappropriate to curse and brawl now, ah?”

Seeing the conflict between the two sides becoming increasingly intense, someone from the school could only begin to toss the blame.

Sure enough, in the next second, the parent who had finally been restrained by a security guard was so furious that he lost all control.

“Fuck your mother, what nonsense are you still going on about…..you want to pass the blame, right? Ha, let me tell you, my family is in the media. I intend to thoroughly expose this matter and let everyone know what a cesspool this shabby Qiming school is…..”

“Pfft.”

Li Xiu suddenly heard a cold chuckle in his ear.

He could help but turn his head and glance at Jiang Jun.

In front of him, the boy was always all smiles and even a little lacking in nerve.

But now, as he looked at the raucous Wang family not far away, his eyes were particularly cold. 

Only then did Li Xiu discover that in fact, Jiang Jun’s facial features were sharp. Once he stopped smiling, he appeared unusually disagreeable and grim.

“In the beginning, he just ran a few local newspapers, but later on they made money by currying favor with the Xiao family. He became a contractor later on, euphemistically known as a real estate developer…..”

Jiang Jun said this in a mild voice, his face full of disdain.

“The newspapers owned by the Wang family have already been packaged and sold, but he still has the nerve to say he works in media. It’s ridiculous. Things aren’t like they were over a decade ago, who would read his stuff now…..”

The boy spoke very briskly, but Li Xiu had no time to listen carefully. In fact, Li Xiu’s back was entirely soaked in cold sweat.

If Wang Rongfa had been missing for so long…..

Then what about the figure he had seen just now?

Had he seen wrong?

No, he and Rong Wangfa had looked at each other for so long. It was impossible to mistake him.

Or was it that Rong Wangfa was deliberately playing tricks?

Then what on earth was he thinking, hiding without a word in the school complex while his parents searched for him outside?

He knew that the “Wang Rongfa” he had seen was probably not the Rong Wangfa he knew.

But Li Xiu still couldn’t help but prevaricate, trying to find a scientific explanation for the figure he’d seen.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Jiang Jun seemed to notice Li Xiu’s abnormality, and waved a hand in front of him.

“I…..”

“Wow, just as expected.” Before Li Xiu could speak, Jiang Jun came over and stared at him for several seconds. “…..you really are timid.”

The boy’s voice was very low, and there seemed to be a hint of indescribable pleasure in it.

Li Xiu felt vaguely uncomfortable, but in the next second, Jiang Jun returned to his cheerful and friendly appearance. He pulled Li Xiu by the hand: “Just a group of people quarreling can scare you like this. No wonder he wanted me to look out for you.”

As he spoke, the boy had already pulled Li Xiu to the other end of the corridor.

The corridors of the building were so complicated that Li Xiu was in a daze and couldn’t even figure out which way Jiang Jun was taking him. After all the twists and turns, the two of them arrived at another elevator.

The elevator hall here looked no different than the other elevator halls in the complex, but whereas other elevator halls had two elevators, there was only one here.

There was a long, narrow corridor in front of the elevator, and while walking through it, Li Xiu found that all the office doors here were locked tightly.

Ding-dong—

When they got there, the elevator stopped right at their floor.

---

T/N: Finally done with a wedding where I was the maid of honor, which took up most of my time this month. It went great! And updates will be regular from here on out!

---

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Chapter 39 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 41

Qiming Secondary School.

Class A1.

“Li Xiu…..Li Xiu?”

Someone nudged Li Xiu gently.

“Ah?”

After a moment, Li Xiu turned to look at the other party as if waking up from a dream.

The girl sitting next to him was giving him an anxious look.

“Did you do yesterday’s math paper? Can you show me the answers? Why do I feel like the teacher made a mistake on the extra question? It doesn’t look right no matter how I calculate it.”

“That’s right. The solution requires a different approach, and there are traps in the extra question,” Li Xiu said subconsciously. Then he handed his paper to the girl, who thanked him profusely. 

However, after taking the paper, the girl didn’t move away immediately. Instead, she stared at Li Xiu several times, and after dithering for a minute, she lowered her voice and whispered: “Li Xiu, are you really okay? You suddenly asked for leave yesterday and you’re so distracted today…..um, someone said they saw you drinking milk tea with the prince of the Fang family in the shopping mall yesterday.”

“Ah?”

“You’re not being blackmailed by that kind of person, are you?”

The girl stared at Li Xiu’s pretty face, her expression gradually becoming solemn. And it took Li Xiu another few seconds to understand what the other party was saying.

“Ah, no…..I’m not. I’m a little distracted today because of things at home.”

“That’s good.” The girl blinked, and after heaving a sigh of relief, she smiled bitterly. “I forgot. It’s impossible for Fang Qian’an to blackmail ordinary students like us.”

But before returning to her seat, she couldn’t help but give a kindly warning: “But in any case, don’t get involved with a person like Fang Qian’an if you can avoid it. That person……is a little scary sometimes.”

The girl instinctively looked around as she spoke.

“There are rumors that Fang Qian’an’s mother was mentally ill and was in a mental hospital for a long time, so Fang Qian’an’s brain…..well, you know.”

The girl drew a circle next to her temple.

Li Xiu paused for a few seconds before responding, his voice very mild: “I see.”

Fang Qian’an’s mother was mentally ill?

Upon hearing this news, Li Xiu’s first thought was not of the rumor that Fang Qian’an had also inherited those mental problems, but of that person yesterday whose face was covered in wounds that he was entirely accustomed to.

Fang Qian’an had said at that time that all of the horrific signs of domestic violence were caused by his father.

“But these things shouldn’t be talked about outside. Fang Qian’an is really…..”

Li Xiu suddenly interrupted the girl: “Hurry up and look at the paper. I’ll need it later.”

The girl’s voice cut off when she saw that Li Xiu wasn’t going to give her the expected reaction, and she sat back in her seat with some annoyance.

Seated next to her, Li Xiu stared at the table for a long time, then lowered his eyes to look at the phone screen in the drawer.

[Li Xiu: Fang Qian’an, are you there?]

Li Xiu actually didn’t know if he had gotten to school.

After learning about that incident from the neighbor sister, for a moment, Li Xiu wanted to rush back and wake up his grandmother to seek a scientific explanation.

But his instincts directly prevented him from doing so.

Call it evasion or call it childishness.

Liu Xiu found that he didn’t want to delve into what happened at home…..he kept feeling that if he began to delve deeper, his peaceful life would fall apart entirely.

Therefore, Li Xiu mechanically went to school and began morning self-study. And before he knew it, he had sent a message to Fang Qian’nan.

It was like he was able to discuss these things with Fang Qian’an.

As it happened, Fang Qian’an sent a reply just at that moment.

[Fang Qian’an: ? ]

Li Xiu’s fingers hovered over the screen indecisively.

Then Fang Qian’an sent several more messages.

[Fang Qian’an: You sought me out unexpectedly. Is something wrong?]

[Fang Qian’an: I didn’t go to school today.]

[Fang Qian’an: But don’t worry. If something happens, just use my name and I’ll take care of it for you when I get to school.]

Obviously, Fang Qian’an wasn’t even able to protect himself…..

Li Xiu stared at Fang Qian’an’s message and finally gave a simple reply.

[Li Xiu: It’s fine.]

After a moment’s hesitation, he added another sentence.

[Li Xiu: In any case, it’s best for students not to skip class.]

After all, Teacher Xu had said that the best way to avoid ghosts was to concentrate on studying.

[Fang Qian’an: ……]

[Fang Qian’an: I don’t call this skipping class, I call it asking for leave.]

[Fang Qian’an: Forget it, I’ll come find you in the afternoon.]

[Fang Qian’an: By the way, have you had breakfast?]

[Fang Qian’an: How about I order you some?]

He was rejected by Li Xiu.

[Fang Qian’an: I finally understand why you don’t have any meat on your body. When I held you last night, your boniness hurt.]

[Fang Qian’an: You won’t get taller if you don’t eat breakfast. Of course, even if you drink milk every day from now on, you won’t be taller than me, hahahaha.]

[Fang Qian’an: Do you want hot cocoa?]

Li Xiu read the various inane words that Fang Qian’an sent one after another, and the veins on his forehead twitched slightly.

[Li Xiu: No need. Please be quiet. I’m turning off my phone. I’m in class.]

But just as Li Xiu was about to turn off his phone and continue studying, the class group interface suddenly popped up on his screen.

Li Xiu’s cell phone was very old, and its system had seizures every day or two, so he didn’t pay too much attention to it.

But it happened that today, when he was shutting the group off, he took another look.

Then, throughout morning self-study, Li Xiu was unable to do anything else.

At this time, the class group had already exploded.

[Wa, are you mistaken? How could Ou Yang’s incident be exposed outside?]

[So annoying. It’s Qiming’s own business. Which idiot went and let outsiders know?]

[The internet is going crazy right now.]

[Seriously. God, can’t the school do something to delete the post? Save me…..]

[Who the hell wants this kind of thing to be known on the entire internet, ah? I’m asking my mother to change schools.]

Amidst the continuous complaints of the student group, Li Xiu clicked on the link forwarded by the person who had spoken first.

Only then did Li Xiu learn that the suicide message and photo of him hanging himself that Ou Yang had previously posted in the group had become hot news on social media.

Unlike that group of students who were worried about tarnishing the “innocence” of the school, Li Xiu didn’t care if this incident was made known to the entire internet. What really drew his attention were a few comments under the marketing account news.

Ou Yang’s behavior originally revealed an indescribable strangeness — without any inducement, the well-hidden Internet celebrity teacher suddenly exposed his most private and disgusting side and sent that horrible photo.

In the words of the marketing account, “It’s like he was controlled by some supernatural force.”

In addition, the marketing account also connected several other things that had happened during the school year, particularly when a student was sent to the hospital for food poisoning and was attacked there, but died mysteriously in the Xiao Family Haunted House. The marketing account’s blog post had begun to be forwarded tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of times. After all, even though over a decade had passed, the famous murders of the Xiao family in City A still evoked people’s most secret fears and curiosity. And what had happened at Qiming Secondary School in just a few days was difficult to explain with common sense.

Netizens had left countless messages under this account.

Li Xiu’s gaze lingered on one of the popular messages for a long time.

[ tj178676: That Teacher Ou Yang wasn’t a good thing to begin with. I spoke up several times when he was still an internet celebrity, but you guys laughed at me and said I was jealous. Do your faces hurt now? That guy was rotten since birth, and did everything from voyeurism to filming. This was revealed several times when I was in school. ]

[ tj178676: It can be said that bad people have bad endings. He was able to escape every time in the past because his sister married into the Xiao family, and she always used her power to suppress others. When the murder case broke out later, this man quickly left the country with his tail between his legs. After he came back, you idiots chased that internet celebrity teacher, licking the screen and calling him Gege and Husband every day. ]

[ tj178676: He himself wasn’t afraid of death and went to Qiming to teach. Now that he’s gotten his wish, I hope he and his cheap sister in the underworld are never reincarnated.]

The ID of the commenter was system-generated, and it was obviously a small account.

It was filled with all kinds of abuse and humiliation toward Ou Yang and the Xiao family. This made the posts seem less credible, and many people accused him of talking far-fetched nonsense just for the popularity.

Li Xiu looked at his phone and his expression became grave. He knew very well that the other party’s words were likely true.

In the Xiao family portrait, he had indeed seen Ou Yang in his youth.

So was Ou Yang in his and Fang Qian’an’s terrible nightmare because of the Xiao Family Haunted House?

Ou Yang’s sister turned out to be the missus of the Xiao family…..

The terrifying rotting corpses he’d seen in his hallucination appeared in Li Xiu’s mind. Did that woman really abuse a child in such a cruel way? 

That child…..where was he now?

Li Xiu unconsciously shivered, beginning to feel cold again.

No…..

Li Xiu bit the tip of his tongue and forced himself not to focus on the Xiao family’s past.

After all, the most important thing for him now was studying. If he could still get first place in the exams as before, according to his contract with Qiming, he could get a scholarship of 3,000 yuan per month.

With a little planning, he might be able to buy a cheap surveillance system to put up at home.

His grandmother’s condition was obviously bad, and Li Xiu didn’t know what she might do at home with her Alzheimer’s disease advancing. 

Just as the morning self-study bell rang, Li Xiu was called out of the classroom again.

The police were looking for him.

*

The building complex, Academic Affairs Office.

Li Xiu sat on pins and needles in the office, where he had to steel himself and give an account in front of two police officers. Of course, compared to the dean, the attitudes of the police officers were particularly kind and gentle. 

What they asked about was the last time Li Xiu saw Ou Yang, and if he displayed any abnormal behavior.

And what Li Xiu hadn’t known until this moment was that he was the last person to come into contact with Ou Yang at school that day.

“Abnormal?”

Li Xiu frowned and tried to recall the scene at that time.

“At that time…..well, the window blew open and some books fell off the shelf, so he was a little frightened.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the police officers exchange looks.

Then they asked Li Xiu to verify the colors of the books on the bookshelf, but so many things had happened these days that Li Xiu couldn’t remember much. After going through the whole process quickly, the officers sent Li Xiu out of the office.

A policeman patted Li Xiu on the shoulder and said with a smile: “Okay, thank you for your cooperation, Classmate Li Xiu.”

As if aware of Li Xiu’s tension, he specifically explained before he left: “Don’t be so nervous, we’re just investigating this matter. It has nothing to do with you.”

Li Xiu tried his best to smile and cope with it.

Of course, he couldn’t tell the police in front of him that it wasn’t their identities that made him nervous, but this building. 

What had happened to Fang Qian’an in this building complex was a nightmare that Li Xiu didn’t want to recall in this lifetime.

In fact, when the office door closed, Li Xiu quickly fell into a heavy mood.

He looked with difficulty toward the elevator at the end of the corridor, then turned to look at the stairs.

The trauma that elevator had brought him was too much. How about taking the stairs?

Just at this time, Li Xiu suddenly sensed an intense gaze.

He turned his head automatically and happened to see a slightly blue face with sunken eyes slowly peeking at him from around the corner of the corridor.

That person only had their head and neck exposed, and was so low that it made a person think they were lying on the floor, only revealing their head to take a peek.

And Li Xiu looked at them for several seconds before just barely realizing who that haggard face belonged to.

“Wang Rongfa?”

---

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Chapter 38 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 40

Li Xiu had a dream.

He knew very well that it was a dream, because the red rope around his waist was always faintly hot, seemingly to remind him of this.

In this dream, Li Xiu found that he had returned to the Xiao family villa he had just visited during the day.

It must be because he was so stimulated during the day that he kept dreaming about this, right? Because this time, he not only dreamed of the silent and eerie haunted house, but also of Teacher Xu and the others he had met that day.

With no control over himself, he stood in the corner of the room and watched Teacher Xu and the others perform various strange activities in front of the small storage room door that he and Fang Qian’an had inspected before. He watched as those people poured large amounts of talismans into the brazier with cold sweat on their brows, and could faintly hear the sound of Teacher Xu chanting mantras.

Zizi…..

A discomfiting wet sound came from the brazier.

Li Xiu looked into the brazier with a frown, then realized that what was burning in the basin was not fire. On the contrary, there was now only a thick and sticky black-red mud.

Like some kind of living creature, the “mud” continuously climbed up the sides of the basin, tangled and revolting.

Li Xiu felt nauseous, and some kind of intuition made him want to avoid the thing in the basin. However, there seemed to be an invisible force restraining him in this dream, forcing him closer and closer to the storage room door.

Only then did Li Xiu discover that the storage room door was completely different in the dream than in reality.

The scarlet door was densely covered in yellow symbols, and countless chains as thick as a baby’s wrist were welded to the rock wall, locking it tightly.

One after another, long, shrill screams continued to squeeze out from the cracks in the door.

[“It’s not me…..let me out…..you made a mistake…..”]

[“He ran away. He ran away a long time ago, hehehehe…..”]

[“I beg of you, let me out…..you made a mistake, ahhhhh……let me out wuwuwu…..it hurts…..it hurts ahhhhh…..”]

They were the howls of a grown man. Each syllable uttered contained tremendous pain, as if it could be transmitted through sound waves into the souls of others.

Li Xiu’s figure swayed, and his body wouldn’t stop trembling.

So painful, so nauseous…..

He covered his ears with his hands, hardly able to continue listening.

However, no matter how he resisted, the screams of the thing inside the door were always with him, extremely clear.

But it seemed to be aware that nobody was paying any attention to its wails of pain.

The screamer’s voice became shriller and more vicious, and eventually, its howls turned into incredibly dark and vicious curses.

[“You will all die.”]

The crying was mixed with an eerie, hissing laughter.

[“There is no escape. No one can escape. Hehehehe, you think you’ve suppressed him…..hehe, he left here long ago.”]

[“I will never reincarnate…..but you…..all of you are the same…..it’s the same for all of us…..]

[“All of you will die. Everyone will die!]

Accompanied by the male voice’s curses, black and red blood as thick as asphalt seeped out of the cracks in the closed door.

“Wu…..”

Even knowing that this was a nightmare, Li Xiu still couldn’t help but take a step back.

Then…..he felt himself crash directly into a cold embrace.

Li Xiu instantly froze.

It was obviously a dream, but the feeling of cold behind him was so clear. So clear that even in a dream, his hair stood on end and his heart tightened.

The pair of hands gradually moved from Li Xiu’s shoulders to his chest. Under Li Xiu’s trembling gaze, that pair of nailless hands moved over Li Xiu’s body inch by inch.

The corpse’s lips pressed against his ear, and his breath when he spoke brought with it an arctic chill.

[“Don’t be afraid, A-Xiu.”]

[“Gege won’t kill A-Xiu.”]

[“Gege loves you.”]

. . . . . .

Beepbeep beepbeep—

The alarm on his cell phone rang next to his pillow. The boy, grimacing and sweating on the single bed, was successfully brought back to reality from his nightmare.

Li Xiu groaned. With great difficulty, he fumbled for his phone and turned off the alarm. It took several more seconds before he forced himself to open his eyes.

His head was very heavy.

All of the joints in his body were also extremely stiff. When Li Xiu stood, he almost felt like he was carrying another person on his back, so heavy that he could hardly lift his head.

It seemed he’d had another nightmare last night.

Having experienced many such things since childhood, Li Xiu didn’t pay attention to the strangeness of his body.

He just vaguely felt that something wasn’t right when he woke up. Thinking about the reason his body was so heavy now, Li Xiu suddenly realized that there was one person missing from the bed.

All of Fang Qian’an’s things had vanished. Apparently, the other party had left before Li Xiu woke up.

For a moment, Li Xiu looked at the bed and didn’t know if he should feel unhappy or relieved.

Now that he thought about it, it should be more of the latter.

…..Maybe it felt a little weird to wake up in the same bed or something. 

This thought briefly passed through Li Xiu’s mind. He glanced at the time on his phone and was suddenly invigorated, waking up completely. He also had no time to think about his poor, choppy interpersonal relationships.

Because he was almost late.

Li Xiu quickly finished washing up, changed into his school uniform, and went to rush into his gege’s room and take out the uncooked rice he had placed under the bed the day before.

However, there was nothing under the bed.

Li Xiu’s heart tightened at once. He even took out his cell phone and took several pictures under the bed, but the bowl that should have been there was still missing — it wasn’t until Li Xiu arrived in the kitchen that he discovered that his gege’s bowl had been cleanly washed and placed on the dining table.

Standing at the table, Li Xiu looked at that lone bowl. He kept feeling that after waking up this morning, the house felt extremely cold.

There seemed to be a sweet, fishy smell in the air…..

Teacher Xu’s words the day before were still ringing in his ears. Li Xiu calmed down and forced himself not to think in the direction of the supernatural.

After taking a deep breath, he stood next to his grandmother’s bedroom and whispered into the quiet room, “Grandmother, did you take out Gege’s rice bowl?”

He waited for a long time before an extremely faint, hoarse response came.

“He’s full…..A-Xiu, ah…..he’s full.”

He was full?

Did that mean “Gege” was full?

Li Xiu was at a loss. He heard his grandmother continue to speak: “Just ignore all that and leave quickly. Leave quickly.”

The old woman’s voice returned to normal, and she began to urge Li Xiu to go to school.

At the door, Li Xiu let out a quiet sigh: “Oh. Then I’ll leave for school first, Grandmother.”

Recently, his grandmother’s various manifestations showed that her Alzheimer’s disease was getting increasingly serious. Perhaps in his grandmother’s mind, that “gege” trapped under the bed was finally full?

Although he was extremely uneasy, Li Xiu was indeed very close to being late.

Li Xiu could only hastily rush out of the house with his school bag on his back, his heart in his throat.

When the door closed, it seemed as if he could still hear his grandmother’s babbling.

[“A-Xiu, leave quickly.”]

[“Leave quickly.”]

*

“Hey, Li kid.”

When he got downstairs, Li Xiu walked in a hurry with his head down.

But when passing by the downstairs neighbor, he was still stopped in the alleyway by the neighbor sister.

“Auntie Liu? What is it?”

Li Xiu raised his head to see the neighbor sister’s long face.

“I say, ah, can’t you tell that relative of yours to stop crying every night at three in the morning? Seriously, I’ve tolerated you for a long time. How can the noise keep me awake living next door to you across the street? Crying one day, two days, crying and crying every day. You wouldn’t want to be disturbed by that noise, would you? My son still needs to go to school. It’s annoying to death.”

Li Xiu looked at the neighbor with a blank face.

“Relative? Auntie Liu, we don’t have any relatives coming to our house…..”

Auntie Liu became instantly furious when he heard Li Xiu’s response, and yelled while pointing at the window of Li Xiu’s living room: “How is that not the case? I can see through your window!”

Building homes in a shantytown had always been about finding every opportunity. Although Li Xiu’s house and the neighbor sister’s house were two buildings, the distance between the two families was indeed so close that you could run from one to the other just by clambering up.

And the neighbor’s balcony really did face Li Xiu’s living room.

As Li Xiu suddenly became very silent, the neighbor sister was still shouting in anger.

“At three in the morning, she’ll run around the living room crying, and I’ll call to her through the window to keep her voice down. But she’s still pretending to be deaf.”

“But…..”

“I say this so loudly and angrily, because you’re a child who studies, yet you’re still lying to me. What do you mean your family has no relatives? How many years has that woman lived there with your grandmother? Do you think we’re all blind?”

The shouts of the neighbor sister gradually became distant.

It was like a pair of invisible hands were gently covering Li Xiu’s ears.

However, on this ordinary weekday morning, Li Xiu stood below his home and shivered uncontrollably from the cold.

He knew very well that he and his grandmother had only each other to depend on for so many years.

But at the same time, he also thought of the “guest” he would see in the living room every time he went home, as well as the pair of high heels the guest left by the door.

Some things that Li Xiu had inadvertently ignored suddenly became extremely clear.

For example, he had seen the old pair of high heels at the door when he got home yesterday.

But when he entered the house, no one was there.

For another example, his grandmother seemed to have hugged him once while murmuring to him.

[“A-Xiu, don’t touch those shoes.”]

[“Those are the shoes of a dead person. Whichever direction the toes of the shoes point, she only knows how to go in that direction.”]

[“If you mess up her shoes, she won’t know how to get home.”]

---

The Author Has Something to Say:

Just in case, I’d like to add that this idea of the shoe toes came from a ghost story I heard before. 

That is to say, everyone should avoid pointing the toes of their shoes toward the bed before going to sleep. Otherwise, ghosts will follow the toes of the shoes and crawl up.

---

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Chapter 37 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 39

After Pei Xi spoke, he realized he had said the wrong thing.

He “couldn’t remember” what happened when he was braid-addled. He shouldn’t have known that they went to the supermarket together the day before, let alone that he’d bought jello there.

As expected, He Chuzhou was silent for a long time on the other end of the line: “How did you—”

“Is it difficult to guess?”

Pei Xi made a preemptive strike: “There’s obviously a large supermarket opposite the community gate. If I didn’t buy it there, wouldn’t I have to travel a long way?”

“These weren’t at home before yesterday. Since they’re here today, they must have been bought yesterday. It’s impossible for you to have gone out and bought so many things before going to work.”

“Even if I didn’t buy them from the supermarket, if I go there and buy something else and ask them to give me an extra spoon at checkout, they won’t refuse.”

He spoke logically and meticulously, blocking off all avenues of suspicion. He Chuzhou had no chance to interrupt.

When he finished speaking, the phone was strangely silent for a few seconds.

After a long moment, He Chuzhou said leisurely: “I just wanted to say, why go to the supermarket to get one? There are plenty small spoons to eat jello with at home.”

Pei Xi: …..

Pei Xi: ……..

He Chuzhou seemed to be suppressing a smile: “Now that it’s not on your way, will you still send the document to me?”

Pei Xi drew in a deep breath. He opened the study door and asked stiffly: “Where is the document?”

He Chuzhou’s tone rose: “In the left hand drawer, you’ll see it when you open it. My office is on the top floor. I’ll go down to pick you up when you get here?”

Pei Xi opened the drawer and found the file: “No need.”

He Chuzhou: “You can come up yourself. I’ll tell the front desk staff soon to send you to the elevator when you arrive.”

Pei Xi hung up the phone.

He Chuzhou listened to the dial tone and looked at the interface that had jumped back to the address book. Finally, he couldn’t hold back his laugh.

At home, at home he’d said.

He savored the words spoken by Pei Xi, unable to keep his lips from rising.

Ai, it was nothing specific, ah.

So why did it sound so pleasant from Pei Xinxin’s mouth?

*

*

There was more than one vehicle in He Chuzhou’s garage, and he told Pei Xi where the keys were so that he could drive them as he pleased.

Between driving and taking a taxi, Pei Xi chose the latter without hesitation.

He didn’t know how the parking spaces on the basement floor of the He Group building were allocated. Parking in an unfamiliar place was too troublesome, so taking a taxi was more convenient.

The front desk knew of him and greeted him in advance, attentively taking him to the elevator as soon as he arrived.

It was just that the elevator card wasn’t authorized for the special elevator, and he wasn’t the only one waiting outside the general one.

A man and a woman were holding computers as they chatted behind Pei Xi.

“Did you hear that President He brought someone home?”

“What kind of person?”

“What kind? What do you mean, what kind? Of course it’s a little lover, ah. According to my friend at the upper levels, President He dotes on him so much that he always has him with him during video conferences. If he’s hungry or thirsty at one moment or another, he’ll spread dog food in public.”

“Oh, no wonder he didn’t come work at the company yesterday.”

President He’s little lover standing in front of them: “……”

The elevator arrived. Pei Xi entered first as soon as it opened, as the two behind him chatted animatedly. They came in and pressed a button, then turned their backs to him and continued gossiping.

“But isn’t President He in a relationship with that person? There was such a commotion over it, so why is there another little lover now?”

That person?

Pei Xi wasn’t taking their nonsense seriously at all, but he was stunned when he heard this.

He Chuzhou was in a relationship?

Who was he dating?

Why wasn’t he aware at all?

“Ai, do you not understand the world of wealthy people or are you pretending not to understand? Besides, can a boyfriend and a little lover be the same?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, President He isn’t that kind of person.”

“That kind of person? It’s normal for grown men to have some fun. Besides, those willing to give and take are young and romantic. I don’t believe that person doesn’t know. He must have acquiesced.”

“Did they see what that little lover looked like?”

“No, ah. President He hid him well, he never showed his face. Not even a finger could be seen.”

“Then how do you know it was his little lover and not the empress?”

“How could that be…..”

Pei Xi closed his eyes forcefully. Inexplicable anger surged through his chest, and a strong astringency went straight to his nose.

He Chuzhou had a boyfriend?

Who was it, and why had he never seen him?

Since he already had a boyfriend, why was he so comfortable playing the part of Pei Xi’s other half when he was brain-addled? Why had he still let him move in?

He shouldn’t have agreed to move in so easily. After delivering the document, he would immediately go back and pack—

“What is President Pei’s identity? He’s not one of those young boys who serve others for sex. How is it possible for him to act cutesy when President He is taking care of business?”

“Yes, President Pei should have been working at that time.”

Pei Xi: “……”

The roller coaster plummeted from its apex, and the swell of anger extinguished with a pop.

His breathing stopped for a moment, and the astringent feeling in his nose reminded him of his inexplicable near-emotional collapse just now. 

In the end, he was the one who benefitted. He Chuzhou had the freedom to fall in love, so why would he be angry? 

“According to what you said, does that mean—”

The man’s voice cut off abruptly the second he raised his head.

The gleaming elevator walls reflected a clear image of the elevator’s interior, and he happened to meet a cold, indifferent gaze from outside.

“……”

“……….”

Pei Xi wasn’t wearing formal attire, and the casual clothes gave him the appearance of a new intern who hadn’t yet graduated. This was the main reason that the two of them hadn’t noticed him right away.

But once he noticed, he was frightened to death.

The man swallowed hard and stiffly nudged the arm of the woman next to him. The woman asked what he was doing and raised her head.

“……”

The two of them stared foolishly and even forgot to turn back toward one another. With difficulty, they called out to the reflection on the wall: “…..P-President Pei.”

Pei Xi gave an indifferent hum just as the elevator door opened. Seeing that the two were still standing there foolishly, Pei Xi reminded them: “This is your stop.”

“Ah?”

“Oh, oh, it is, it is.”

After two or three scrambling steps, they didn’t dare to leave even once they were out. They turned their heads and stood up straight at the door like two doormen, watching the elevator door close.

“It’s over…..”

“My career has come to an end…..”

“I just saw dog hair on President Pei’s clothes. Doesn’t President He have a dog in the family?”

“I already said he’s the empress……”

“……”

“We’re dead, we’re dead…..”

Pei Xi went to the top floor and directly to He Chuzhou’s office, then set down the documents and went to leave.

He Chuzhou was absolutely dumbfounded, and quickly stood up: “No way, you won’t even have a sip of water? You’re in that much of a hurry?”

Pei Xi: “I’m not thirsty.”

He Chuzhou: “Aren’t you tired from coming all the way here? Won’t you sit down and rest for a while?”

Pei Xi said seriously: “This isn’t my destination.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Why did he feel like he’d received a piece of wagyu beef for his hotpot, but when he picked it up and bit into it, it was frozen?

With a helpless sigh, he picked up the elevator card: “Let’s go, I’ll take you down.”

Pei Xi refused: “I can go down by myself.”

He Chuzhou: “It’s on my way. I’m going to the front desk for a bottle of water.”

They descended in the special elevator to the ground floor lobby. He Chuzhou casually took a bottle of mineral water from the front desk, put Pei Xi in the car, and told him that if he was bored, he could go to the supermarket and buy what he wanted to eat in the evening. He would cook it when he got back.

Pei Xi nodded and asked him if he was going to have a meeting later.

He Chuzhou nodded. “There’s a meeting, why?”

Pei Xi said quietly: “Lock the door tightly. Don’t let random people come in and disturb you.”

Although He Chuzhou didn’t understand his reasoning, he still agreed.

He watched the taxi depart until he could no longer see it, then rubbed his nose and turned back.

The receptionist poked her head out from behind the computer and began to type with joy:

[President Pei was here for some spice!]

[President Pei came and went!]

[President He was very sad when he walked him to the car. He looked like a big dog that had been wagging its tail for a long time without being petted~]

[Ah, so cute!]

*

*

Pei Xi didn’t know how to buy groceries.

To put it shamefully, he couldn’t tell the difference between many similar-looking vegetables, such as Chinese cabbage and baby cabbage, or leeks and garlic sprouts.

He was unable to tell which raw materials He Chuzhou had used to cook for him before, and was too embarrassed to call him and specifically ask. Thus, he could only deliberate slowly based on his intuition. He brought a lot home in the end.

Of course, when he checked out, he didn’t forget to ask the cashier to give him a plastic spoon for eating the jello when he got back.

As a result, He Chuzhou returned from work in the evening to see that the bunch of vegetables he’d bought were difficult to use together, as well as mushrooms that had been pre-soaked in water and ended up spilling all over the floor. He almost couldn’t contain himself.

Pei Xi frowned: “I only soaked enough for the two of us. Their expansion was out of control.”

“It’s no big deal. They would have expanded out of my control too.”

In order to save some face for him, He Chuzhou tried his utmost not to laugh. After cleaning up the overflowing mushrooms, he turned his attention to the huge sack of vegetables.

“You like fried pork with bell peppers, right? Then you need to buy bell peppers, ah. These small peppers are too spicy and can only be used in condiments.”

“Crucian carp is good, but sweet and sour fish generally isn’t made with them. You can try making this fish into a salad or a crucian carp soup.”

“This is okay, is it? How do you want to eat the okra? I didn’t make it since I didn’t think you’d eat it, but it turns out you like it? 

Unexpectedly, Pei Xi was confused: “You didn’t?”

He Chuzhou: “Did I? No, I haven’t even bought them…..hiss, wait, are you talking about the hot tigerskin green pepper dish?”

Pei Xi: “…..I didn’t taste any spiciness.”

He Chuzhou: “I was afraid you didn’t know how to eat spicy food, so I took special care with it.

Pei Xi: “……”

He Chuzhou: “……”

Since none of the vegetables Pei Xi had gone home were something he really wanted to eat, the two of them went to the supermarket again.

This time, He Chuzhou was in charge of the precise selections and taught Pei Xi: “The tigerskin pepper dish is made with this kind of pepper, and this kind of young ginger is used for stir-fried pork with ginger, not the old ginger you bought. You can use regular carp, mandarin fish, grass carp, and koi carp for sweet and sour fish…..”

Pei Xi listened intently, silently jotting down mental notes.

He was dressed too much like a young, energetic university student today, and his posture made it seem like he was practicing looking upper-class. From time to time, he would pick up a bunch of vegetables and study them carefully. His face was so tender that water could be squeezed from it, and He Chuzhou’s heart melted at the sight.

“You really want to learn how to cook, ah?” he asked.

After some thought, Pei Xi nodded. His cooking skills were very poor. Almost non-existent. He could freeload off He Chuzhou now, but he would be on his own in the future.

At this thought, he happened to recall the question Pei-calico had asked, and the answer He Chuzhou gave him.

—I don’t want to learn, can you keep cooking for me?

—Of course.

Was he simply trying to coax him into behaving, or…..”

“Okay!” He Chuzhou said, easy-mannered. “I’ll pick a suitable time to teach you later. Which dish do you want to learn, braised pork ribs or sweet and sour fish?”

Pei Xi’s distantly stunned look vanished and he picked up the bag, turning around to leave.

“What’s wrong? Why are you unhappy?”

He Chuzhou followed at once: “You don’t want to learn those? Then how about something else?”

“How about I teach you something simple, like steamed crab?”

“Be careful, there’s water on the ground ahead…..”

When checking out, Pei Xi carefully observed each cashier channel and made sure that the auntie who cashed them out yesterday wasn’t there before letting He Chuzhou choose as he pleased.

Think of the thing you’re afraid of, and it will come. A few steps out of the supermarket, they ran into that auntie, who was coming in for a shift change.

Pei Xi took a deep, silent breath. He slowed down and prayed that the aunt wouldn’t recognize them and would pass them by.

The auntie: “Ai! It’s you, ah, young man!”

Pei Xi: “……”

When he saw her shift her gaze from Pei Xi to He Chuzhou, his heart was on tenterhooks and he quickly listed countless responses he could give without giving himself away.

Little did he know that the situation of the other person wasn’t much better than his.

He Chuzhou had completely forgotten about this incident at first, but how that they’d met the enemy on a narrow road, he felt like they were Spartans.

The auntie said with a smile: “You went to the supermarket with your husband again, ah.”

Pei Xi: “……”

He Chuzhou: “……”

“Ah, yes! What a coincidence, Auntie!”

He Chuzhou was the first to react: “Do you live around here? So do we, are you going to work? No wonder I just said I didn’t see you. You must be busy, so we won’t take up your time. See you here next time!”

He said his hellos and goodbyes in one breath and forcibly sent the dazed auntie away before turning to face Pei Xi.

Pei Xi’s Adam’s apple bobbed: “She……”

“That cashier met us yesterday.” He Chuzhou intercepted his words in a timely manner. “She said we look alike, so I casually said I’m your big brother.”^[1]

Pei Xi was silent for a moment, and his tone was a bit strange when he said: “Big brother?”

“Yes, ah.” He Chuzhou found an opening and began spewing nonsense in an earnest manner: “She just asked if you went to the supermarket with your big brother, did you not hear clearly?”

Pei Xi nodded, accepting this explanation. Without asking further questions, he turned around and began to walk.

He Chuzhou breathed an inward sigh of relief and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.

It was a close call, but fortune smiled upon him and he reacted quickly.

And as he turned around, Pei Xi closed his eyes in relief and finally let his dangling heart drop.

That was a close call. But fortune smiled upon him and He Chuzhou reacted quickly.

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T/N: Sorry for the wait on this one, guys. I’m a couple chapters ahead on the other two ongoing stories, but behind on this one. I’m the Maid of Honor at my best friend’s wedding, which is in two weeks, so…..responsibilities!

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[1] So the wordplay here is that “husband” (Lǎogōng, 老公) and “big brother/dude/bro” (Lǎoxiōng, 老兄) are pronounced so similarly that one could have been mistaken for the other. ⮐

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Chapter 34 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 36