Indeed, it wasn’t difficult to handle at all. Once he received the letter, Yuan Jue directly granted the request and sent it swiftly to Nanfeng City.

Reading over the private message about the current situation, Yuan Jue slowly turned the jade ring on his finger. The smile on his face was cold.

“It seems Zhanyuan really does have a new advisor. Liu Xiaozhu…..Liu……”

*

*

When he heard their arrangements, Dai Tingyu gave Liu Zhenqing a thumbs up.

And Tang Rou stared at Liu Zhenqing in shock and bewilderment. She had never expected someone to go to such lengths for her.

She lamented silently once more: This relative was indeed very similar to Liu Zhenqing.

Next, Dai Tingyu woke up Uncle Tang and began to interrogate him.

When Uncle Tang awoke and realized the others were no longer there and that Huo Fenglie was back, he understood at once that he was doomed. Even if he used his status as Tang Rou’s uncle and begged her to save him, it would all be in vain. After all, even Tang-furen was absent, which proved that nobody was on his side.

Dai Tingyu clearly had a knife against his throat. Uncle Tang was a coward at heart, and confessed everything at once.

The facts were thus: People from the Western Shu Kingdom had contacted him and promised to work with him inside and outside to make him City Lord, offering him glory and wealth. He resented Tang Rou for refusing to abdicate, which resulted in this situation. Regarding the Old City Lord’s treason, he had no idea whether or not it was true, but he possessed some minor cleverness. Rumor would become truth if he actually obtained the position, so up to the end, the Western Shu Kingdom had no idea that Tang Rou was a woman. It was entirely his intention to use this to raise the stakes and show his goodwill to the Western Shu Kingdom. 

“You really are my uncle.” Tang Rou was so angry that she almost laughed.

“I’ve confessed everything. For the sake of me being your uncle, please have mercy.” Uncle Tang said tearfully, “Your mother only has this one brother. If you kill me, your mother will never forgive you.”

“Then I just won’t be forgiven!”

Although Tang Rou was a woman and had an affable personality, she was not a pushover. For both public and private reasons, Uncle Tang must die. At most, she was unwilling to do it herself, and left it to Dai Tingyu to remove him from the City Lord’s manor before executing him.

But the impact caused by Uncle Tang was extremely dire, and even with 50,000 troops camped nearby, the anxiety of the common people in Nanfeng City couldn’t be assuaged in one day.

Of course, it didn’t matter that Tang Rou’s identity as a woman was exposed. As soon as the Imperial Edict arrived, everything would be put to rest. But the matter of the Old City Lord still couldn’t be discussed, not only for the sake of the innocent members of the Tang family, but also for the sake of peace in Nanfeng City.

But just as Uncle Tang had expected, if one thing was true, the other matter would be regarded as true in the eyes of the public even without evidence, so corresponding measures must be taken to guide public opinion.

As everyone discussed, Tang Rou frowned in thought. As an involved party, it was difficult for her to think outside the box, and Dai Tingyu was racking his brains even more. He really couldn’t bear it anymore, and wanted to beat people up when he went out nowadays. What those bastard common people said about Tang Rou was entirely unreasonable.

He really couldn’t think of anything in the end, and instinctively turned to ask Liu Zhenqing: “Young Master Liu, do you have a method?”

Tang Rou also looked over expectantly. With an awkward smile, Liu Zhenqing said: “There is indeed a method, but it’s a bit damaging to your reputation.”

Tang Rou hadn’t actually expected Liu Zhenqing to have a solution. She said quickly: “What reputation do I have now? Brother Liu, please speak.”

Liu Zhenqing touched his head and slowly explained his plan.

*

*

Soon after, in the Western Shu Kingdom, someone knelt down and reported the news from Nanfeng City to Qiao Jin.

“It is rumored that Your Majesty has long known that Tang-chengzhu is a woman, and because his love was unrequited, you snatched the throne and used it to force Tang-chengzhu to submit. They say that all of the current rumors are just traps set to force Tang-chengzhu to marry you, so…..”

“Nonsense! That isn’t true at all!” 

Qiao Jin became anxious at once, because he saw Liu Qiao peering at him with curious eyes.

Under pressure, the subordinate said: “Of course it’s only a random fabrication, but…..it is already known to everyone in Nanfeng City. Everyone’s emotions have been assuaged, and nobody believes what was said about the Old City Lord. Coupled with the Imperial Edict from the Zhou Dynasty’s emperor, the Tang-chengzhu’s identity has been rectified and she has been appointed as the City Lord. So now, the common people of Nanfeng City are united against the outside world. They all say…..don’t even think about marrying their City Lord!”

Qiao Jin was so enraged that the veins on his forehead bulged. He hadn’t expected that someone would use such a trick against him, causing him to fall short of success. Inexplicably, he thought of that member of the Liu family, feeling that such an unscrupulous method must have come from his mind. 

“What about Huo Fenglie!” Qiao Jin asked, “Is there news?”

“There has been no movement. He met up with the main army, and they are training steadily. It seems they are ready to attack our Western Shu Kingdom at any time.”

Qiao Jin’s face darkened. He gestured for him to step down, and saw that Liu Qiao was still looking at him curiously. He immediately shouted at Liu Qiao: “Don’t believe that too!”

Liu Qiao considered for a moment, then said: “You’re eighteen and it’s time for you to get engaged, but…..Tang-chengzhu is much older than you…..”

“Bullshit! Are you trying to anger me to death too?” Qiao Jin was in a fury.

Liu Qiao shrugged, saying: “In any case, your plan failed.”

Qiao Jin’s mood wasn’t good. He knew that although his excuse for this plan was to reveal the truth about Liu Zhenqing and restore his reputation, Liu Qiao knew that his real purpose was to deal with Huo Fenglie. Liu Qiao was unhappy with this, but didn’t stop him. In his opinion, apart from the already deceased Liu Zhenqing, Qiao Jin was at least the most important in Liu Qiao’s heart, so he was quite happy. But unexpectedly, that was thoroughly undermined by this person.

“Are you happy that my plan failed?” Qiao Jin habitually vented his anger on this block of wood.

Liu Qiao said: “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!”

“Because I don’t know whether or not you wanted it to fail. What are you trying to do?” Liu Qiao regarded him with a rare frown.

Qiao Jin’s eyes darkened. He said: “Regardless, what will happen to me if you leave? It can’t be that you also don’t care about me?”

Liu Qiao was taken aback. He saw Qiao Jin’s bright eyes glinting under his thick black eyelashes, like an encroaching wild beast. It made one’s heart tremble to behold it. That natural attractive force was worthy of a member of the Yuan clan.

That gaze was so fiery hot that it made Liu Qiao rely purely on instinct to avoid danger.

“If it really does come to battle, even if Western Shu has a 200,000-strong army, it won’t be able to defeat Huo Fenglie’s 50,000 Huo family troops.” Liu Qiao showed rare concern for Qiao Jin’s plight.

Qiao Jin gritted his teeth, saying coldly: “Of course I know that even the generals of Western Shu can’t stop Huo Fenglie, but……he is not the flawless God of War he was before. Do me a favor.”

“Tell me,” Liu Qiao said. “I won’t assasinate Huo Fenglie.”

Qiao Jin glared angrily at Liu Qiao: “Help me kidnap a certain person. Rest assured, I’m reluctant to let you take risks. Someone will assist you.”

Liu Qiao was startled. Reluctant to let him take risks? It seemed this kid had begun to like saying things like this in the past year or two.

*

*

On the other side, at the City Lord’s manor.

Due to being frightened by Huo Fenglie, Prince Qiao An hadn’t shown up for several days. But at this time, he actually came to Tang Rou.

“I heard that the false king of Western Shu likes you?”

Liu Zhenqing, who was discussing matters with Tang Rou, laughed endlessly upon hearing this. Unexpectedly, Tang Rou had heard about this while living in seclusion. It seemed that his plan had been successful.

Tang Rou rubbed her brow with a headache: “Your Highness, it’s time for you to pack up and head to the military camp.”

Because 50,000 troops had arrived, the military camp was naturally safer than staying in the City Lord’s manor. Liu Zhenqing was also going over.

“Let me remind you, that person is no good. Don’t become confused and betray your Great Zhou Dynasty,” Qiao An said.

“Many thanks for the reminder. I won’t,” Tang Rou said with displeasure.

Qiao An scoffed coldly and departed. Compared to his previous attitude toward Tang-chengzhu, it was about twice as bad. This clearly had something to do with the extremely low status of women in his country.

Liu Zhenqing gazed after Qiao An’s departing figure and analyzed the purpose of his actions. When he turned around, he found Tang Rou looking at him.

Tang Rou was currently still in customary men’s attire.

“What is it?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“It’s still hard for me to imagine that Nanfeng City’s attitude has changed in such a way,” Tang Rou sighed.

“Just don’t blame me for ruining your reputation,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile. “The common people are more receptive to gossip than power struggles, especially when it comes to love and hate. This can arouse their collective sense of honor and unity against the outside world, which is the most consistent way to divert attention. And when the emperor’s Imperial Edict arrived, the positive effects were condensed, and the common people naturally felt that all of the previous negative news was all a conspiracy. In fact, they had been led well. Public opinion was a double-edged sword. If used well, it would definitely benefit them. And at this point, the king of Western Shu was still young.

Tang Rou considered for a moment before saying: “Just like Prime Minister Liu used public opinion to exonerate our Tang family, Nanfeng City has been stabilized. Brother Liu, you have a lot in common with Prime Minister Liu.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said curiously: “Do you intend to wear men’s clothes all the time?”

Looking embarrassed, Tang Rou said: “It’s convenient, and I’ve said that I don’t intend to marry.”

Liu Zhenqing coughed and said, “Actually…..”

“I know what you’re going to say. I’m not going to marry and attach myself to someone. I just don’t think it’s necessary.” Tang Rou said with a smile: “I’m content right now. Not every woman in this world wants to get married and have children.”

Liu Zhenqing was momentarily stunned. “Indeed,” he said. He had actually intended to say that she could look at the people next to her. Dai Tingyu, for example. But it felt inappropriate to say such a thing now.

According to the time, Huo Fenglie should be coming back to pick him up. Liu Zhenqing intended to go back and clean up.

As a result, he met Tang-furen halfway.

They hadn’t seen each other for several days. Upon meeting again, Tang-furen seemed to be in a daze. When she saw Liu Zhenqing avert his gaze, she at last stepped forward to salute Liu Zhenqing and apologize for her previous offenses.

Seeing her finally behaving in a reasonable manner, Liu Zhenqing breathed a sigh of relief. “Is Tang-furen out for a walk?”

“No…..I…..I’m looking for General Huo.” Tang-furen’s tone of voice sounded a little weak. Looking at her pale face, Liu Zhenqing wondered if she was ill. Although he had some medical skills, Liu Zhenqing was not generous enough to extend them to everyone he met.

“General Huo should be here soon. Would you like…..to wait in the courtyard?” Liu Zhenqing glanced in the direction Tang-furen was walking and simply planned to go to the courtyard they resided in.

Tang-furen nodded and said: “I’ll trouble you.”

When the two arrived at the courtyard, Liu Zhenqing said: “I still need to pack my bags. Tang-furen, please make yourself at home.” He was actually a little curious as to why she was here. But according to the relationship between the two of them, Tang-furen probably didn’t have anything to say to him. Thus, Liu Zhenqing could only clean up and wait for Huo Fenglie to return.

In fact, all Liu Zhenqing needed to take with him were a few articles of clothing and the medicine left to him by his master. When he went to the bedroom, he saw that everything was basically tidied up. He dared say that when he was lying in bed in Huo Fenglie’s room, the man had come and cleaned everything up for him in advance.

Liu Zhenqing looked at the bags placed on the table and sat down with a smile to take inventory. He recalled that there seemed to have been a similar scene in the past. As long as Er-gou was around, even a young Er-gou, he didn’t need any servants around him. Er-gou would prepare everything for him, so he didn’t have to worry about such trivial matters at all. 

Li Xingruo had said jealously that Er-gou didn’t even treat his own brother like this, and that he was basically part of the Liu family.

Come to think of it, hadn’t he been raised by the Liu family?

The more Liu Zhenqing thought about it, the happier he became. Suddenly, he remembered the hidden troubles in his heart and could only sigh. He’d been thinking about Liu Qiao these days. He still couldn’t think of what to do, and didn’t know how to talk about it with Huo Fenglie. He always felt that as soon as he spoke, the perfect image Huo Fenglie had of him would be destroyed. After all, Huo Fenglie came from the loyal and patriotic Huo family, and his infatuation with Liu Zhenqing might be broken. He was already used to Er-gou’s affection for him, and if it diminished even a little, he might not be able to bear it.

But a war might begin soon, and he couldn’t just not tell him, ah.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a noise outside. Huo Fenglie had returned.

As soon as Liu Zhenqing opened the door, he saw that a distance across the courtyard, Tang-furen had knelt down and was kowtowing heavily toward Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie was very indifferent toward outsiders. He didn’t step forward to help her up, and only asked: “What is the meaning of this, Tang-furen?”

Tang-furen had naturally come because of Tang Rou. She knew in her heart that everything was untrue. Huo Fenglie had protected Tang Rou so that she could avoid fretting over the crime she’d committed, and also protected the Tang family from the problems left behind by the Old City Lord. Tang-furen felt exceptionally guilty and grateful, and naturally wanted to express her gratitude.

But Tang-furen’s purpose was not limited to that.

“General Huo, I would like to apologize to you for my previous designs with you and Rou’er, but my intentions were good. You and Rou’er are the same age, and you’ve also seen that she has been passing for a man all these years and her conduct is pure. If General Huo doesn’t dislike her, can he accept Rou’er?”

Liu Zhenqing was struck dumb. With a slight frown, Huo Fenglie looked up at Liu Zhenqing by the door of the house. He couldn’t understand why he had let Tang-furen inside.

How could Liu Zhenqing not have known that Tang-furen had such a plan, ah? Publicly prying into his corner? He really wasn’t taken seriously, ah. He really didn’t have a legitimate identity. He should get engaged and married as soon as possible. Next time he would just say that he was the general’s fiance, husband, wife, whatever, and see who dared to be so hasty.

“Tang-furen, please come back another time.” Huo Fenglie’s refusal was cold.

Tang-furen’s face paled, and she began to cough. Feeling as if she was at the end of her life, she immediately kowtowed to Huo Fenglie and said: “I know that General Huo already has someone, but you are the general who guards the country, ah. It doesn’t matter if there is one more or one less person at your side. Even if you don’t give Rou’er the status of first wife, a side wife or concubine is fine, or at least give her a son or two to let the world know that she is your woman.”

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this. He seemed to understand Tang-furen’s thoughts.

Huo Fenglie’s brow furrowed. His tone was displeased: “Why does Tang-furen look down on her daughter like this?”

Tang-furen kowtowed again, her forehead turning red. “The King of Western Shu has his eye on my daughter, I…..”

“That is false,” Huo Fenglie said directly.

In the end, Tang-furen could only tell the truth: “General, have mercy. Just accept Rou’er. That father of hers left a life-threatening danger behind for our whole family. Even if we can hide it for a while, there is still a sword hanging over our heads, ah. As long as you put her under your protection, Rou’er and her younger siblings will not…..If this old woman dies, that’s fine, but they are innocent, ah.”

Tang-furen shuffled on her knees to Huo Fenglie. She knew that this was her only chance. If Huo Fenglie left, there would be no chance of fighting for asylum for her children. Tang-furen tugged at the hem of his clothes and said with a teary face: “General Huo, Rou’er is beautiful and gentle. If the matters at home hadn’t happened, she would have been able to marry and become a wife long ago. I no longer expect an engagement between Rou’er and the general. As long as you just accept her…..”

Huo Fenglie simply stepped away. Tang-furen lost her grip and fell to the ground in great embarrassment. Liu Zhenqing looked at the older woman with a sigh, then stepped forward to help her. 

Tang-furen grabbed Liu Zhenqing and said bitterly: “Young Master Liu, Rou’er has a good relationship with you and won’t compete with you. We just want to save our lives, ah. Please help intercede for me, Young Master Liu, and ask General Huo to agree.”

Although this Tang-furen was always doing muddle-headed things, she was thinking of Tang Rou in this particular matter.

“But is Tang Rou willing?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

Tang-furen said quickly: “As long as you agree, Tang Rou will still accept if I cry, make a fuss, and threaten to hang myself.”

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment, then said: “Tang-furen, please go back first. I will advise him.”

Tang-furen instantly looked at Liu Zhenqing in shock, while Huo Fenglie opposite stared blankly at Liu Zhenqing.

After the staggering Tang-furen was sent away, he turned to find Huo Fenglie glaring at him with a dark expression.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “What’s all this? I lied to her, otherwise the old woman would cry, fuss, and hang herself right here. Why go to all this trouble? It was better to trick her into leaving first so she wouldn’t faint in front of us. I made no promises on your behalf, so why are you angry?”

Huo Fenglie turned around and said: “I’m not angry.”

“You’re obviously angry.” Liu Zhenqing stepped forward and nudged Huo Fenglie, saying with a smile: “You’re outstanding and hold a high position. It’s normal for others to have such thoughts.”

Huo Fenglie slowly turned his head to look at Liu Zhenqing, and it could be seen that he really wasn’t angry at all. On the contrary, he was teasing him. Huo Fenglie smiled wryly and took a deep breath, saying: “Have you ever encountered such a thing before?”

Liu Zhenqing rubbed his nose and said proudly: “There must be many times, but I don’t have…..”

“Then did Tang Mu have such a plan before, to promise Tang Rou to you? It happened to be that she liked you.” Huo Fenglie’s tone was suddenly unclear.

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback, and looked at Huo Fenglie in astonishment. How had he guessed? He was so clever, ah.

Huo Fenglie knew he had guessed correctly as soon as he saw his expression. Tang-furen had such thoughts, but he hadn’t known if Tang Mu had them back then. What’s more, Tang Rou was still in her prime at that time, and Liu Zhenqing was not yet married. A marriage to the powerful Prime Minister Liu would naturally give protection to the Tang family.

Liu Zhenqing was about to explain that Tang Mu had only mentioned it, but Huo Fenglie was already walking toward the room.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t take it seriously, simply regarding it as a casual chat.

Soon afterwards, he and Prince Qiao An were escorted to the military camp by a team led by Huo Fenglie. Liu Zhenqing wanted to show off by riding with the general under the eyes of 50,000 people, but on the way there, Huo Fenglie was very stern. Riding on Chen Jiangyue, he didn’t look back at Liu Zhenqing peeping at him.

Even when he coaxed Chen Jiangyue to turn his head, Huo Fenglie still took the reins to control her.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t clear on if he just wanted to maintain his dignity in front of the army or if before they left the City Lord’s manor, Tang-furen had secretly pulled him aside to talk and annoyed him.

But he had tricked that old woman.

Liu Zhenqing shamelessly followed Huo Fenglie after disembarking the carriage. He still knew the rules of the military camp. After all, he used to spend time next to Huo Feihan, so he wouldn’t mess around and damage Huo Fenglie’s prestige. He took care to not behave excessively.

This was the 50,000-strong Huo Family Army, and they followed Huo Fenglie. They saw that besides Qiao An, there was a young master following their general very closely. Was this a distance their general would permit? Would the general shoulder-toss him to the ground? Everyone couldn’t help being curious.

The quartermaster was just about to find a place for Liu Zhenqing, when Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I don’t want to waste resources, I’ll share a tent with your general.”

He heard Qiao An scoff coldly beside him. The subordinate was shocked, and looked toward his general.

Huo Fenglie was talking with someone, and turned around when he heard this. He was about to say that he wasn’t sharing a tent with Liu Zhenqing, but then he saw him look over with a smile. And he still…..nodded.

The quartermaster was dumbfounded, and could only have someone show Liu Zhenqing the way. Huo Fenglie was still busy, so Liu Zhenqing went on his own.

The tent where Qiao An was staying was right beside Huo Fenglie’s. When he saw Liu Zhenqing swaggering into Huo Fenglie’s tent, he was suddenly so angry that his face twisted up. His eyes flashed again, and he scoffed.

The tent of the general who guards the country wasn’t much more ostentatious than the others, and was in the center of the military camp. When Liu Zhenqing entered, he looked around and saw that there were too few places to sit, so he threw himself directly onto Huo Fenglie’s bed. He was feeling tired after riding in the carriage for so long.

Just at this time, a soldier announced that he was coming in to add an extra bed. At a glance, he discovered Liu Zhenqing lying on their general’s bed indecently, and was stunned on the spot.

Liu Zhenqing looked at the bedding the soldier was holding and skewed his eyes, saying with a smile: “No need to bother, I’ll sleep right here.”

The rather young soldier instinctively retorted: “That’s the general’s bed the young master is using. The general …..”

As a result, he was teased by the older man and retreated awkwardly.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t stop laughing. This would spread throughout the military camp soon. He felt as if he had easily put a stop to an untold number of hidden love rivals, as well as fellows who wanted to be Er-gou’s in-laws.

---

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

Fang Qian’an knew that Li Xiu was very pale.

But he didn’t expect him to be this pale.

Because it was bedtime, there was only one desk lamp turned on in the room. Under the dim light, Li Xiu was changing clothes with his back to him. His skin was as white as a handful of fresh snow, or a dollop of fine, soft cream.

Every inch of the boy in the corner seemed to glow.

His back was so slender, the contours of his shoulder blades fine and delicate with the furrow of his spine sandwiched between them. Li Xiu weighed far less than his peers, which made his waist look extremely narrow.

Fang Qian’an unconsciously raised his hand, grasping in mid-air. He felt that he would be able to hold Li Xiu’s waist with one hand.

And what made Fang Qian’an unable to take his eyes away the most was the red rope tied around Li Xiu’s waist.

To facilitate movement, it was loosely tied. Following Li Xiu’s movements, the red rope continuously swayed around his thin, narrow waist, leaving Fang Qian’an’s dry mouth tongue-tied.

Fang Qian’an couldn’t figure it out. It was just a simple red rope tied to a boy, but why did the red rope look so…..like that?

It felt like something inside his body was on fire.

Fang Qian’an’s Adam’s apple kept bobbing. He knew he shouldn’t continue to stare at Li Xiu, but his eyes wouldn’t obey him at all.

The gaze from behind was so intense that it was impossible to ignore.

Li Xiu put on his pajamas and abruptly turned his head to face Fang Qian’an’s burning eyes. He asked with a frown, “What are you looking at?”

It was just a casual question, but Fang Qian’an instantly shrank under the quilt as if frightened. Li Xiu’s bed gave several overburdened creaks as he moved.

Li Xiu: ……

After a few seconds’ pause, Fang Qian’an put a fisted hand in front of his lips and lightly coughed.

“I was just looking at that red rope Teach Xu gave you yesterday. It turns out you’re so obedient that you tied it on now, ah?”

Li Xiu tilted his head in confusion. 

“Otherwise?” He asked back, “It’s better to believe it works rather than think it doesn’t. Haven’t you tied yours?”

Fang Qian’an shook his head.

“I originally planned to tie it on when I got home, but right after I left, I got into a fight with that old beast. When I thought about it later, my shoulder was already swollen…..en, now that you’ve ravaged me, my hand is even more unruly.”

Fang Qian’an’s thoughts moved as he spoke. He looked straight at Li Xiu and blurted out: “This is just right. A-Xiu, can you tie it for me now?”

As these words fell, Fang Qian’an reached for his jacket and took the crumpled red rope out of his pocket, moving to hand it to Li Xiu.

Li Xiu was silent for a few seconds.

His eyes slowly moved from Fang Qian’an’s palm to his face.

Although the boy didn’t actually refuse, Fang Qian’an could clearly see the avoidance and rejection in Li Xiu’s eyes.

Sure enough, in the next second, he heard Li Xiu say faintly: “But Fang Qian’an, I recall that your hand is only injured, not broken.

Fang Qian’an bit the bullet and asked Li Xiu: “But shouldn’t good friends help each other out?”

“Since when am I your friend?” Li Xiu replied.

Fang Qian’an stared blankly, then remembered all at once that just a few days ago, he had watched with indifference as a group of idiots bullied Li Xiu unscrupulously on campus.

For the first time in his life, the prince of the Fang family felt what it meant to be “too late for regrets.”

The tall boy froze on the bed. His lips closed for a moment, and in the end, he couldn’t even say a word — an apology was indeed too frivolous to say to the victim.

However, just as Fang Qian’an was at a loss, Li Xiu’s clear voice sounded in his ears.

“Forget it. Give it to me.”

Li Xiu approached the bed and took the red rope directly from Fang Qian’an’s palm.

The youth lowered his eyes and leaned forward to lift Fang Qian’an’s clothes. Li Xiu’s arm went around Fang Qian’an’s waist as he wrapped the red rope around him.

Li Xiu’s pajamas were very well-used, and the loose collar hung down. Fang Qian’an could even see a flash of something on Li Xiu’s chest…..

Damnit, they were both men. Why were Li Xiu’s pink?

At this time, Li Xiu began to tie the red rope.

And Fang Qian’an stared dumbly at the boy close at hand, his mind completely blank.

Right then, as long as he lowered his head slightly, it was as if he could touch the tips of Li Xiu’s eyes.

Upon realizing this, Fang Qian’an’s movements stiffened. 

His heart was beating so fast that it was practically performing death metal.

As a male high school student, Fang Qian’an could only stiffly and awkwardly try to hide his embarrassment.

Li Xiu’s fingers were quite dextrous, and in just a few seconds, he had tied the evil-warding rope for this young master who was far removed from the lives of normal people.

“Do you have any further instructions? Honorable Young Master Fang?”

When he stepped back, he saw Fang Qian’an’s foolish appearance and narrowed his eyes.

“Of course, even if there are more instructions, I won’t go along with them. I’m already really tired,” Li Xiu said with a sullen expression.

Perhaps his admonition finally had its intended effect. Although Fang Qian’an wore a strange look, he didn’t make trouble out of nothing again.

“Oh….g-good night then,” Fang Qian’an said as if sleepwalking. Then he fell to his side on the bed with his back toward Li Xiu.

The whole bed became extremely narrow and crowded because of him lying there. And Fang Qian’an was so tall that he even had to bend his knees to sleep. Li Xiu glanced at him and felt that his posture would only make the bed more crowded, but considering all that had happened, he really didn’t have the energy to worry about such small things anymore.

“Good night.”

After turning off the light, Li Xiu carefully leaned against Fang Qian’an’s side and found a gap to lay down too.

So crowded…..

This was the first thought in Li Xiu’s mind after lying down.

It wasn’t just that the single bed was now extremely cramped with two boys crammed into it.

There was also the particular scent of Fang Qian’an’s body mixed with medicine, as well as the other person’s body temperature…..

Fang Qian’an’s sense of presence was so strong that it seemed to have substance, pressing toward Li Xiu from all directions.

This made Li Xiu, who had never had close contact with anyone his age since childhood, feel more crowded than ever before.

Li Xiu thought to himself with a wry smile, It’ll be difficult to fall asleep tonight…..

But unexpectedly, enveloped in the unfamiliar scent and body temperature, Li Xiu fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The youth who had fallen into a deep sleep had no way of knowing that, long after he fell asleep, the boy beside him suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes quivered violently, and the strange double pupils glowed like will-o’-the-wisps in the darkness.

A rough, turbid growl sounded, and it took a long time for the boy’s bent legs to slowly straighten out.

Fang Qian’an, who’d originally had his back to Li Xiu, changed his position.

The large boy lying on Li Xiu’s single bed looked like some kind of ferocious beast in the dark, ready to attack.

The pitch black darkness could not block his gaze. The boy’s eyes continued to wander, greedily licking at the face of the boy sleeping peacefully beside him.

Then, he reached out and enveloped the boy in his arms.

[What should be done?]

[My A-Xiu, ah…..]

[Such an unwary child…..]

[It really makes one worry, ah.]

*

Late at night.

In Li Xiu’s grandmother’s room, the old woman who should have been deeply asleep began to frequently toss and turn in bed.

“Wuwu…..”

“It hurts so much, ah…..Mom…..it hurts so much…..”

“Wuwuwuwu…..wuwu……”

A faint cry sounded from the depths of the night.

A look of pain gradually appeared on the old woman’s sleeping face, and her eyes began to twitch rapidly under her eyelids.

“Wuwuwu…..”

Finally, amidst cry after cry, the grandmother suddenly opened her eyes with a gasp.

“Linlin—”

The old woman turned sideways and held herself up in bed with her arms, looking nervously toward where the cries had been coming from outside the door.

But the crying that had lingered in her sleep instantly vanished when she awoke.

However, just as the grandmother squinted her eyes to look outside the door, something seemed to flash past the gap.

It seemed to be a pale shadow.

The grandmother straightened up at once and murmured, “Linlin? Linlin, why are you here now?”

Supporting herself with the bed, the old woman hurriedly staggered to her feet, tottering out of the bedroom in pursuit of the shadow.

But there was nothing in the hallway.

The night was already very deep.

So deep that even the feral cats outside the window had ceased making noise.

In the darkness, the old wall clock ticked and tocked regularly on the wall.

The grandmother slowly approached the living room with dragging steps.

On this night, something in the house seemed to be different than before. Even though her mind wasn’t very clear, at this moment, the grandmother realized this very clearly.

The red shrine in the living room was still lit, but at this moment, the electronic candle in front of the shrine that was always supposed to be on had dimmed as if malfunctioning. There was only a wisp of red in the light bulb, glowing with an extremely weak crimson light.

It was obviously dark all around, but in the grandmother’s field of vision, the entire room was immersed in a hazy blush. 

A bone-chilling sensation seeped out little by little from the room’s red hue. 

“Linlin? Is that you?”

There was a thick, unpleasant odor wafting in the air, like the fishy stench of accumulated blood stains, or some kind of spoiled and rotten incense.

Shasha—

A soft rustling sound came from deep within the kitchen.

Panting rapidly, the grandmother tremblingly turned her head toward the kitchen.

In the next second, her body began to shake.

She saw a thing, a thing that did not belong in the world of the living, crouching on the floor with its body hunched over as it chewed something.

The thing was twisted and filthy, its shadow so enormous that it filled nearly the entire kitchen.

Crunch—crunch—

A clearly audible chewing sound came from between its teeth.

“Wu—”

The grandmother covered her lips, forcing back her whimper of fear as she looked at “it.”

The old woman stepped back in sheer terror.

However, that thing had already noticed her arrival.

Its head was turned past 180 degrees. The blue-white face and double pupils pointed directly at the grandmother.

[“Grandmother…..”]

A strange, emotionless voice sounded from deep within its body.

Although it called out “Grandmother,” this address was obviously just mimicking what Li Xiu called her.

It grinned, opening its lower jaw to reveal the sharp white teeth inside.

[“I was just so happy today that I got hungry really quickly.”]

[“Grandmother can just go to bed. I…..will be full very soon.”]

There seemed to be something squirming in its nailless hands, dripping with foul blood.

The grandmother felt faint for a moment and staggered back, but happened to step on something wet and cold, and almost slipped and fell.

The old woman lowered her head to look at the floor in horror. Then she discovered that what she had stepped on was a strange thing that looked like a leather bag.

The thing was soft, its skin an indescribable off-white color.

When the grandmother stepped on it, she could hear the squelching sound of wet mucus come out of it.

A brightly-colored advertisement shirt was wrapped wetly in the large leather bag. A red rope stretched out from it like an umbilical cord, connecting it tightly to the thing in the kitchen.

---

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Chapter 36 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 38

Ten minutes later.

“Shh…..”

Li Xiu tiptoed to open the door and turned around, gesturing to Fang Qian’an.

“My grandmother is already asleep, don’t wake her up.”

The youth’s voice was very low. Seeing Fang Qian’an nod in understanding, he let him into his home.

Li Xiu gave his slippers to Fang Qian’an. The latter struggled to stuff the front halves of his feet into the worn slippers, walking with a peculiar sort of clumsiness.

There were no lights on in the early morning, so the house was dark.

The old woman’s dull, turbid snoring sounded from the dark room. Li Xiu unconsciously held his breath and turned to look at Fang Qian’an behind him.

The late night visitor followed him quietly with an extremely well-behaved appearance.

However, Li Xiu was still a little ill at ease, although he himself couldn’t think of the reason for his discomfort.

Li Xiu took Fang Qian’an to his bedroom like a thief. When they entered the room, Li Xiu quickly locked the door, blocking out his grandmother’s snoring. He leaned against the door frame and breathed a slow sigh of relief.

After calming down, Li Xiu turned to look at Fang Qian’an.

“Fang Qian’an, what’s going on with you?”

As soon as the latter entered the door, he occupied the only chair in the room, not at all reserved like someone would usually be during their first time at someone else’s home.

Fang Qian’an sat backwards on the chair, resting his hands on the backrest to support his chin. He said nonchalantly: “Didn’t I say? I had a fight with someone.”

Li Xiu knitted his brow.

Just downstairs, he had given the same vague answer.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Fang Qian’an fastened his eyes on Li Xiu. As if aware of the other’s dissatisfaction, he slowly added a few words. “It’s just that…..something happened, so I got into it with my old brute of a father. But let me emphasize, it was one against many. And even if it wasn’t one against many, it would have been a tie.”

He said this vaguely to emphasize that he was not beaten unilaterally.

Li Xiu lowered his eyes, his brow furrowing even more upon hearing that Fang Qian’an had been beaten like this by his father.

“I’m telling you, these are just flesh injuries. I was just accidentally scratched by the belt buckle. It’s really nothing, it just looks scary—”

Before Fang Qian’an could finish speaking, Li Xiu had already pulled out various bruise spray medicine and iodine cotton swabs from the corner of the room and approached him.

Li Xiu: “Look up.”

“Don’t worry about my injuries, they don’t hurt. They’ll be fine in a couple of days—hiss, owowow.”

As Li Xiu stared at the boy whose face was covered in injuries but was trying to maintain a playful smile, he suddenly felt agitated for no reason.

In an almost crude way, he poured hydrogen peroxide directly onto Fang Qian’ans wounds.

Fang Qian’an groaned. His jaw muscles tightened, and the fake smile on his face finally vanished.

A pair of hands reached over and neatly applied medicine for him.

There was still a stinging pain in the wound the dressing had been applied to. Fang Qian’an reflexively wanted to curse, but when he raised his head, he happened to meet Li Xiu’s lowered features.

His heartbeat jumped wildly.

“…..I told you not to worry about it.”

Fang Qian’an’s voice gradually went lower, until it was a hum as quiet as a mosquito.

Li Xiu seemed unusually silent in the room.

After cleaning up the wounds exposed outside Fang Qian’an’s clothing, he continued to speak to Fang Qian’an with an indifferent tone.

“Take off your clothes. Then scram over to the bed and lie down.”

Fang Qian’an was stunned for a few seconds, then his lips twitched and he joked exaggeratedly, “…..What are you going to do to me?”

Li Xiu stared at Fang Qian’an in silence.

After a brief meeting of the eyes, the corners of Fang Qian’an’s mouth twitched unnaturally.

“Damn, why are you so fierce?” the young school bully complained at a volume that (he thought) only he could hear.

Then he turned to Li Xiu and raised his voice: “Do you know that in the entirety of City A, you’re still the only person who dares say the word ‘scram’ to me—”

“Fang Qian’an, don’t make me say it a third time. It’s late. I’m very sleepy, and I just want to go to bed quickly.”

“Tsk. Fine, I can’t be bothered to argue with you about this,” Fang Qian’an muttered as he took off his shirt. Following Li Xiu’s command, he lay down on the narrow single bed in the room.

Sure enough, it was just as Li Xiu thought. The bruises on Fang Qian’an’s body were worse than the wounds on his face.

The worst part was that the shoulder, which had been injured in the afternoon, was now slightly swollen.

Li Xiu sucked in a deep breath.

His grandmother was old, and there may not be much else at home, but the medicinal wine used to treat headaches, brain heat, bruises, and injuries should be enough to treat it.

Ice-cold medicinal wine was poured directly onto the bruises on Fang Qian’an’s body. The youth’s palms were slightly warm, and after pouring the medicinal wine, he began to rub it in hard.

The unexpected pain hit Fang Qian’an along with the pungent smell of medicinal wine. He lay on the bed, unable to restrain his trembling and whimpers.

“Holy shit, A-Xiu, please be gentle…..hiss…..it hurts so much, my bones are about to break…..save me, why are you more ruthless than my father? Wa, it hurts so much, ahhh…..”

Under Li Xiu’s hands, Fang Qian’an was like a live fish thrown onto a chopping board, jumping so much that he nearly fell off the bed.

“It hurts so much…..please, A-Xiu, slow down a little…..hiss…..seriously…..lighter, lighter…..wu…..”

The boy’s muffled gasps echoed in his ears, along with his hoarse pleas for mercy.

Li Xiu told him several times to be quiet, and Fang Qian’an just gasped even more severely.

“I told you, shut up!”

As he listened to Fang Qian’an’s voice become increasingly ambiguous, Li Xiu’s cheeks felt inexplicably hot. Unable to bear it any longer, he directly slapped his hand down.

Pa—

In the cramped room, that slap was nearly deafening.

Li Xiu felt the 1.9 meter tall school bully’s body bounce heavily under his palm. Fang Qian’an instantly fell silent.

Li Xiu: “……”

He pursed his lips.

Fang Qian’an buried his head in his arms and remained silent. However, his neck exposed to Li Xiu’s sight, and even his earlobes, were so red that they were practically bleeding.

The location of the slap just now…..

Li Xiu quickly withdrew his gaze.

“You’ll be fine once the blood congestion is rubbed away. Aren’t you usually so formidable? Yet this hurts you.” He swiftly took care of what could be done for Fang Qian’an, and a thin layer of sweat soon broke out on his forehead. “But you’d better go to the hospital for a checkup.”

The boy spoke calmly, deciding to pretend that little incident never happened.

“Tsk, it stinks to death. I told you not to worry about it. Only someone like you, a person with thin arms and legs and who can easily fall over if the wind blows, would make such a fuss.”

In the end, Fang Qian’an’s obedience only lasted for a short amount of time.

When Li Xiu finished with the medical kit and stowed it away, Fang Qian’an instantly turned over and sat up. As he raised his hand and softly brushed the shoulder Li Xiu had rubbed for him just now, he stared at Li Xiu’s back and continued to mumble as if in complaint.

Li Xiu stuffed the cardboard box back into the corner of the bookcase. Hearing the chatter of the guy behind him, a vein on his forehead pulsed.

Fang Qian’an kept saying that there was no need to worry about the injuries on his body. However, when Li Xiu applied medicine to it just now, it was clear that it was not a minor injury that would heal on its own without treatment.

Not only his head and face, but Fang Qian’an’s body hidden under his clothes was also covered in wounds. Even Li Xiu felt a little alarmed at the sight.

Of course, from another perspective, Fang Qian’a’n’s injuries were not so terrible.

With Li Xiu’s character, he likely wouldn’t have agreed to Fang Qian’an’s request at all.

[“What’s wrong with you…..no, how do you know where my home is?”]

[“I found someone and asked.”]

[“……”]

[“Are you touched that I came here specially to find you? Seeing how hard it was for me to find your home…..can I stay at your place for the night?]

In fact, Fang Qian’an didn’t act miserable at the time, and his tone of voice was even casual when he spoke.

Contrary to what was expected, Li Xiu glared at the uninvited guest downstairs but couldn’t force the rejection past his lips.

After treating Fang Qian’an, Li Xiu yawned.

He happened to glance at the time and immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.

Li Xiu paled, murmuring, “This won’t work. If I don’t go to sleep, I’ll be doomed to sleep in morning self-study.”

After searching the room for a long while, Li Xiu finally dug out an oversized T-shirt from the corner of the closet, which smelled like mothballs. 

Those old clothes were left there by the previous renter. There was an advertisement on it from some supermarket chain in alarming red, blue, and yellow colors that could blind a person. Its only advantage was probably that it was loose enough for someone as big as Fang Qian’an to squeeze into.

When Fang Qian’an put it on, the effect was…..intriguing.

Even Li Xiu had to admit that even though Fang Qian’an was beaten until his face swelled, was wearing the cheapest and most ridiculous advertising shirt, and would be sleeping in a narrow, dilapidated room in a shantytown, he still had a strangely noble aura about him.

He and Li Xiu came from two completely different worlds. If not for the ghostly encounters, it was likely that the two would never intersect after leaving Qiming.

Tonight, however, Li Xiu had to sleep in the same bed as someone like Fang Qian’an.

Li Xiu looked at Fang Qian’an and couldn’t help but ask, “Actually, a young master like you should have a lot of places to spend the night, right?”

Fang Qian’an was taken off guard, and blurted out, “Ah, that’s not the case. I don’t have any friends.”

“If not for you this time, I would have no choice but to sleep in the car. It was like that every time before. But after being beaten and huddling in a sports car, my whole body would really hurt when I woke up the next day.” The tall boy said this with a calm expression, and it was unknown whether to call this a misfortune or humble-bragging.

Li Xiu was silent for a moment, then replied in a dazed manner: “Oh. If you hadn’t bought me hot chocolate today, I wouldn’t have bothered to take care of you.”

“Forget it, go to sleep.”

As he spoke, Li Xiu retreated to the corner to change into pajamas.

In a fluster, Li Xiu didn’t notice that the moment he took off his shirt, Fang Qian’an, who was looking at his phone, happened to glance in this direction.

Then, Fang Qian’an’s eyes fixed onto him.

---

The Author Has Something to Say:

Dog Qian’an: Although young, he is already under the wife’s thumb.

---

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Chapter 35 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 37

Liu Zhenqing asked Huo Fenglie about it when he returned at night, but Huo Fenglie had no idea. He only knew that Dai Tingyu had issued a city-wide arrest warrant. But when it came to Dai Tingyu’s situation, the man seemed somewhat nervous, especially in regard to Tang Rou. Dai Tingyu seemed to be hiding something, and was fearful of Huo Fenglie finding out.

However, Huo Fenglie didn’t ask further questions.

Liu Zhenqing truly hated iron for not becoming steel, ah. How could he not have asked more questions? But soon, Liu Zhenqing became aware of what was going on.

Within the first two days, Dai Tingyu captured Uncle Tang and escorted him back to the City Lord’s manor so that Tang Rou could interrogate him.

Only then did Liu Zhenqing lay eyes on Dai Tingyu. The man often stared blankly at Tang Rou, but when Tang Rou looked over, he would immediately move his gaze away again with a look of discomfort on his face.

Liu Zhenqing instantly understood.

But before this situation could be exposed, there was a sudden commotion outside the City Lord’s manor.

Immediately after, a few officials rushed inside to find Tang Rou.

When they saw her, they got straight to the point. It had been exposed that the City Lord was a woman

Currently, it could be said that the entire city was in an uproar.

The officials, the servants, and the crowd outside the City Lord’s manor all seemed like shackles on Tang Rou’s body.

Her expression was no longer very surprised, but her face was pale. She looked down at her uncle, who was kneeling at the front of the hall.

And Uncle Tang was already trembling. It was clear that he had caused this.

“City Lord, are you really…..” Somebody stepped forward.

Dai Tingyu immediately stood in front of the visitor and said: “Do you still have discipline? You just believe what others say! I…..I can certify that the City Lord is a man! Are you just like the ignorant people outside, slandering the City Lord because of hearsay?!”

When Dai Tingyu said this, everyone who was about to take action fell silent.

But that fool Uncle Tang felt that if Tang Rou didn’t step down at this time, something might befall him. So he shouted: “Why did you arrest me? I didn’t make a mistake, I just told the truth! You…..are my niece, Tang Rou. Tang Mu died nine years ago, and Tang Rou replaced him as City Lord. You’ve all been deceived! This is a crime of deceiving the emperor! Don’t let this little girl keep fooling you!”

“What nonsense are you saying?” Dai Tingyu swiftly kicked Uncle Tang over.

Uncle Tang shouted: “Commander Dai supports my niece to such an extent, could it be that he’s having an affair with her?!”

These words were simply the most vicious insult. Dai Tingyu drew his sword in a fury.

Uncle Tang shouted at once: “If you don’t believe it, ask her to remove her clothes in public. She’s still unmarried and has no other women around her. Don’t you doubt her?”

Everyone looked toward Tang Rou in suspicion. 

Tang-furen had heard the news that her brother had been arrested, and also rushed over at this time in embarrassment. She originally intended to plead for her brother, but upon witnessing this scene, she was dumbfounded: “What do you think you’re doing!”

Uncle Tang saw his sister and quickly shouted: “Sister, you’re her mother. You are the best proof that I’m not lying. What I said was obviously true, but they still arrested me.”

In a rare occurrence, Tang-furen stood on her daughter’s side. She stepped forward and shoved Uncle Tang: “You’re crazy! Crazy! It’s all nonsense!”

Tang-furen often threatened her daughter, but never intended to actually expose her publicly. After all, this was a crime of deceiving the emperor!

Uncle Tang was angered by this: “How am I crazy? Sister is the one who’s crazy, actually thinking she’s the dead Tang Mu. You promised to give me the position of City Lord, but now you’re going back on your promise and allowing others to drive me away. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have…..”

Tang-furen couldn’t believe that the promise she’d made had actually given Uncle Tang this ambition. In the end, she had caused her daughter to be hurt. She looked at her daughter with great regret. Everything felt irreversible, and for an instant, she wanted to slam herself into a wall and end it all. 

Tang Rou closed her eyes and shouted for them to stop it. She was well and truly exhausted.

“I…..” Tang Rou was about to take off her official hat and reveal everything.

Suddenly, Liu Zhenqing’s voice sounded from outside the door.

“Tang-chengzhu is indeed a woman.”

Everyone looked toward Liu Zhenqing the moment he said this. Dai Tingyu was sweating anxiously. He wanted to refute, but seeing Tang Rou’s ashen expression, he didn’t know what to say.

“It’s just as I told you,” Uncle Tang shouted at once, “If you still don’t believe me, then you’ve all been fooled by her.”

The people present couldn’t help but make a clamor.

But then Liu Zhenqing walked over and directly kicked Uncle Tang, who cried out and glared at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing went to Tang Rou’s side and addressed everyone coldly: “Everyone, be quiet and listen to me.”

His voice couldn’t be considered commanding, but its condensed authority inexplicably silence everyone present.

“General Huo has known for some years that Tang-chengzhu is a woman.”

These words were like thunder, shocking everyone.

Even Tang Rou was staring at Liu Zhenqing blankly.

Liu Zhenqing said calmly: “Back then, Tang Mu left for business, leaving his sister Tang Rou to temporarily take on the position of City Lord in order to prevent the surrounding countries from seizing the opportunity to cause chaos. They didn’t expect that something would happen to Tang Mu at that time. But the borders of Great Zhou were unstable, and the three southwest countries were looking on with anticipation. Great Zhou was considering sending more garrison troops to Nanfeng City during that period. Tang Rou didn’t know how best to act, so she wrote a letter to General Huo explaining the situation, and was willing to accept the punishment for her crime. Upon learning that Tang Rou was the interim City Lord of Nanfeng City and was managing it properly, he asked her in his reply to continue managing it in case something unexpected happened.”

Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard this, and stared at Tang Rou in disbelief.

Uncle Tang regarded her with a horrified expression.

And Tang Rou knew that Liu Zhenqing was lying. She had never done any of this.

Liu Zhenqing continued: “And General Huo promised to explain his reasoning to His Majesty in private. As you all know, war was constant at that time, and General Huo rarely returned to the capital, so the matter was repeatedly delayed. But before coming here and accepting the Imperial Edict, General Huo wrote to His Majesty for an Imperial Edict to appoint Tang Rou as City Lord. I believe this edict is on its way, and everything will be reasonable and legal at that time. Do you still have any doubts?”

Dai Tingyu looked toward Tang Rou, but she was looking at Liu Zhenqing. She was in a daze, feeling that although the person in front of her was obviously not tall, he was still holding back a flood. He was just as dazzling as that person, causing one to be unable to tear their eyes away.

“Young Master, is what you say true?” Someone asked. “If you’re lying, then…..”

“It’s a lie, it must be a lie! You’re just using General Huo’s name to help her get away with it!” Uncle Tang shouted at once.

“It’s so noisy, Commander Dai.” Liu Zhenqing glanced at him.

Dai Tingyu understood immediately and stepped forward, knocking Uncle Tang unconscious to await interrogation.

Liu Zhenqing looked at everyone once more and said with a smile: “Don’t worry, when General Huo comes back later, you can ask him to see if I’m lying.”

When he said this, someone dared to ask: “Where is General Huo right now?”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and pointed out the door to the north.

“Fifty thousand troops are coming here, so he naturally went to pick them up.”

It was unknown if it was just a psychological effect, but everyone felt the ground shaking slightly at this moment. That was the movement of 50,000 cavalry heading toward Nanfeng City.

Everyone present wore solemn expressions, as if they didn’t dare to offend Liu Zhenqing at all.

“Don’t worry, if you have any questions, you can ask me or General Huo later.” Liu Zhenqing’s smile remained unchanged, but there was no trace of one in his eyes. “Our Great Zhou Dynasty has laws that permit women to take office, so General Huo recommended Tang Rou to continue as City Lord based on her past achievements. If everyone feels that Tang Rou was incompetent and inadequate during her nine years as City Lord, hindering the development of Nanfeng City, or if you feel that someone else would do better than her, or perhaps you already dislike her because of her former false identity as Tang Mu, you can also make reports, suggestions, and recommendations to General Huo. While General Huo is still in Nanfeng City, he will help you take care of it in one go so that you’re all satisfied. How about it?”

Liu Zhenqing glanced at everyone, and they lowered their gazes. After all, no one could justifiably say that Tang Rou hadn’t done well.

“Tang Rou is a woman, after all, so she certainly has her shortcomings. Everyone talk it over. If you don’t speak up, you won’t have a chance in the future.” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile, “Tang Rou, if you don’t wish to be City Lord, you can dismiss yourself when the Imperial Edict arrives and recommend someone else. You have the freedom to do so.”

Tang Rou stared blankly at Liu Zhenqing, not knowing for the moment which of his words were true or false.

But the others were a bit flustered. It wasn’t a question of whether the City Lord was qualified, but whether Tang-chengzhu wanted to lead them.

Everyone examined their own consciences, and really didn’t think that Tang Rou had done anything wrong. In the past, they had praised her the most for being young and promising, a model member of the Tang family. Now that they knew she was a woman, they still felt at first that a woman couldn’t take on such a huge responsibility. But now Liu Zhenqing had said these things, giving them the right to refuse and Tang Rou the opportunity to choose, they didn’t feel happy at all.

At this moment, Dai Tingyu said with a sneer: “I’ve been here for many years, and whether male or female, I haven’t met anyone better than the City Lord. I’m willing to follow her. But if someone else takes over, it remains to be seen if the General can be convinced.”

Stunned, Tang Mu looked at Dai Tingyu.

Dai Tingyu didn’t avoid eye contact now, and nodded firmly at Tang Rou.

Everyone seemed to recall that when Dai Tingyu first came to Nanfeng City, his Dai family had produced military commanders for generations, and there was a precedent for their women to be marquis. So when he came, his status was higher than anyone present here. There was no one he didn’t look down on, not even the weak, scholar-like Tang Rou. But later on, he was gradually tamed by Tang Rou’s management ability, as they had witnessed themselves. 

Now that Dai Tingyu had said this, they could only acknowledge Tang Rou’s ability.

The shaking of the ground seemed to gradually stop at this moment, and very soon, someone announced that General Huo was coming.

When Huo Fenglie arrived, he sensed something off about the atmosphere. He glanced at Liu Zhenqing and was given a playful wink.

Someone came forward at this time to ask cautiously: “General Huo, have you known for a long time that Tang Rou is a woman? We’re not…..calling you into question, we’re just worried that there is a possibility of a crime. These subordinates will listen to you…..”

Not waiting for the man to probe further, Huo Fenglie said directly: “I knew from the start. His words are my will. Are there any questions?”

Huo Fenglie’s expressionless majesty turned all of Liu Zhenqing’s unbelievable words to facts. The dust settled. 

Liu Zhenqing smiled in satisfaction. Tang Rou didn’t expect even the general to lie so easily on her behalf. 

Tang Rou drew in a deep breath. She stepped forward and cupped her hands, saying: “Everyone, it was wrong of me to deceive you. But since I became City Lord in my brother’s stead, I have tried my best, and have never done anything detrimental to Nanfeng City. Everyone, please believe in me and join me in protecting Nanfeng City through this calamity. If you have no faith in me, you can dismiss me, and I will have no complaints. I have worked with you all throughout the years. Thank you for your hard work, everyone.”

Tang Rou bowed deeply after she finished speaking. She wasn’t Tang Mu, but she was still the person who had been City Lord for the past nine years. She was faultless, her grace undiminished.

At this time, someone finally said: “Tang-chengzhu, don’t say that. As long as you don’t violate the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, I’m willing to follow you.”

Once one person spoke up, others spoke up one after another to pledge their allegiance. In the end, all of the officials in the room saluted Tang Rou.

How many of them were sincere? How much of this was due to the support of Huo Fenglie and Dai Tingyu? None of this mattered to Tang Rou.

Tang Rou’s mental barriers were no more.

She was willing to be City Lord if others supported her, and willing to step down if they didn’t .

Tang Rou asked everyone to leave and see to their business, and to not worry about rumors from the outside world. She would take care of them herself.

There were some people who trembled, wanting to ask that since it was true that Tang Rou was a woman, were the rumors about the Old City Lord also true? 

But with a cold glance from Huo Fenglie, they were forced to retreat, as if one word from them would get them arrested as spies.

The shaking Tang-furen was also helped away. What had just happened had likely cost her half her life.

Once everyone departed, Tang Rou saluted the remaining three people.

“Chengzhu, don’t be like this. I meant everything I said! I haven’t had conviction in many women, but I have faith in you!” Dai Tingyu said with a blushing face.

“As long as you don’t blame me for deceiving you.” Tang Rou showed her womanly side for a rare moment, which immediately made Dai Tingyu even more flustered.

Tang Rou turned to Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie, at a momentary loss for words.

Liu Zhenqing first made things clear to Huo Fenglie.

Dai Tingyu was absolutely shocked to hear that everything he’d said was a lie, yet Brother Huo hadn’t reacted at all. On the contrary, he seemed accustomed to Liu Zhenqing using his power to intimidate people.

“Understood,” said Huo Fenglie.

“Just like that?” Dai Tingyu said, “Then what about the Imperial Edict?”

A lot of what had been said just now about Huo Fenglie’s private actions had been fabricated. As long as Huo Fenglie and Tang Rou didn’t tell anyone, nobody would know whether it was true or false, but what did the Imperial Edict say, ah?

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Actually, before…..”

Tang Rou looked over, her eyes full of shock.

In fact, after they discovered that Tang Rou was a woman, Liu Zhenqing felt that it might cause trouble in the future. In order to avoid this, he had asked Huo Fenglie to request an edict to clear Tang Rou’s name. 

According to its speed, the reply should already be on the way.

The general who guards the country, a leader below one man and above thousands, made his statement, and Liu Zhenqing polished up his private message. It boasted of the difficult and desperate situation Tang Rou was forced into. According to Liu Zhenqing’s understanding of Yuan Jue, Huo Fenglie was just asking for a small favor during wartime, and Yuan Jue wouldn’t care at all as long as it didn’t hurt his interests. In addition, Tang Rou had indeed performed well, so this situation would not be difficult to handle.

---

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

“Chuzhou, have I never gone to a supermarket before?” Pei Xi carried a small plastic bag on the way back.

All of the heavy things were in He Chuzhou’s hands, and there was only a handful of green onions in his own bag.

He Chuzhou said absently: “En.”

Pei-calico, why did you call him husband? This, this, this was too out of line…..

Pei Xi: “No wonder. I’ll accompany you more in the future.”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

And he’d called it so nicely that half of his face was numb…..

Pei Xi: “How will we eat the crabs? Should they be steamed directly?”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

He was going to die. Was this what it felt like to be called husband?

Who knew? His soul was ascending to heaven.

Pei Xi: “I want to eat sweet and sour fish.”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

It was all he could think about! He wanted to hear it again.

But did this count as taking advantage of the other’s situation to bully Pei-calico?

No, wasn’t it a bit perverted…..

Pei Xi finally noticed the other’s perfunctory tone and stopped, turning around: “Chuzhou?”

He Chuzhou stopped too and nodded distractedly. Chuzhou, he thought to himself. Chuzhou sounded nice, but it was still rather inferior to “My husband.”

Husband.

Hiss — husband.

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

Pei Xi could only poke him in the face. “What’s up with you? What are you so happy about?”

He Chuzhou returned to his senses at last and bumped his face against those fingertips: “Huh? What’s up?”

Pei Xi was helpless: “I’m the one asking you! You’ve been smiling the whole way.”

“Smiling? I have?”

He touched the corner of his mouth. It was true.

He coughed to cover it up. Naturally, he wouldn’t admit that he’d lost his normal brain functions after being called “Husband.”

“I wonder how long that kid will throw a fit over not getting potato chips. When Aiyue couldn’t get a piece of limited edition merch before, a dark cloud hung over her head for almost a week.”

Pei Xi’s face fell: “Do you blame me?”

He Chuzhou couldn’t catch his train of thought: “Ah?”

Pei Xi: “Blame me for bullying a child. Blame me for stealing his potato chips. But I just don’t like children. He doesn’t have money to buy potato chips, but I have money and can buy as much as I want.”

“I’m not, ah.”

He Chuzhou was wronged: “I’m clearly gloating over another’s misfortune.”

What he hated to see the most was the disappointment and grievance on Pei Xi’s face. Unfortunately, both of his hands were occupied, so he could only bump him with his forehead to comfort him: “Don’t feel wronged. How could I blame you over someone else’s kid? Don’t you know how biased I am?”

Pei Xi’s expression improved somewhat, but he was still in a low mood: “You weren’t even listening to me just now.”

He Chuzhou: “I was listening, ah. Why wouldn’t I listen?”

Pei Xi: “Then what did I say?”

He Chuzhou: “You said…..said…..uh, give me a hint?”

Pei Xi gave him a brief glance, then turned around and walked off.

“Ai, I was wrong.”

Helpless, He Chuzhou quickly followed after him: “Don’t be angry, ah. I can steam the crabs for you to eat when we get back. I can also stir-fry them with rice or marinate them raw.”

“I could make your favorite sweet and sour fish again?”

“Xinxin…..”

They spent the day at home.

He Chuzhou prepared snacks and a fruit plate for Pei Xi, put on a TV series, sent the puppy to him, and arranged other entertainment. Even when he was working in the study, he would come out from time to time to visit and talk to him.

Of course, when Pei Xi was willing, he was happy to welcome him into the study and work alongside him.

Pei Xi’s potato chips made crunching sounds when he bit into them, particularly pleasant to his ears. One hand slid the mouse as he read over a document while the other hand absent-mindedly passed water to Pei Xi.

In the evening, he went to the kitchen to make dinner right on time, Pei Xi following him step by step like a little tail.

Pei Xi’s obsession with cooking had not diminished, and he was always trying to find an opportunity to try it again.

He Chuzhou didn’t want to dampen the child’s enthusiasm, and also thought that his kind of craft work must be handled step by step. Thus, he blanched two tomatoes and handed them to him, asking him to slowly learn how to peel them.

Pei Xi’s OCD manifested when he was peeling the tomatoes. They must be peeled smoothly, so when he accidentally dug a small pit into the pulp, he would try to fill it in to keep it smooth.

His expression was as serious as if he was doing cell transplant research. He Chuzhou glanced over from time to time, and the corners of his mouth never lowered.

He Xingxing got tired of playing ball in the living room and ran into the kitchen with the ball in his mouth, going too fast to stop. The dog used his head as a brake and ran into He Chuzhou’s calf, then lay on the floor with the ball, panting.

Bright, warm yellow light poured down on the kitchen, making the domesticity of this moment especially complete.

He Chuzhou glanced from He Xingxing to Pei Xi, and his cucumber-chopping gradually slowed. He wished this could go on forever.

“Forget it.”

Pei Xi put the tomato down abruptly and admitted: “I seem to have really forgotten how to cook.”

He Chuzhou couldn’t bear to tell him that he might have never learned how to cook in the first place. He comforted him intimately: “It’s okay, there’s plenty of time if you want to learn.”

Pei Xi lowered his head to look at the tomato, which was so pitted that it couldn’t be repaired no matter how hard he tried. He pondered for a couple of seconds: “I don’t want to learn. Can you keep cooking for me? I’ll wash the dishes.”

He Chuzhou stared blankly for a moment.

Pei Xi mistook this as unwillingness, and was a little disappointed: “Okay. It’s really tiring to cook all the time. It’s normal if you don’t want to—”

“Who doesn’t want to?”

He Chuzhou fed a small piece of cucumber to his mouth: “Isn’t it right for me to do this for you? Besides, washing dishes is a big job. Just throw them into the dishwasher, you don’t need to do anything but eat.”

After speaking, he paused before saying: “I’d prefer to do this for you all the time. It just depends on if you’re willing to eat it in the future.”

His tone was relaxed, and seemed to contain some inexplicable self-deprecation. His eyes were lowered, making it difficult to see his expression.

Pei Xi was unable to examine it. Just when he was about to ask, he was kicked out of the kitchen together with the dog.

“I’m stir-frying, oil might splash on you.”

“It’s fine for you to go out and wait.”

Pei Xi had always been sensitive to the emotions of the people around him, and thought something he’d said had made He Chuzhou take offense. He went to the living room and sat on the sofa, thinking all the while. 

But he couldn’t figure it out.

So when He Chuzhou brought the dishes out and told him to come and eat, he observed him carefully once more, only to find that He Chuzhou’s slight moodiness had vanished without a trace.

“What, does it not taste good?” He Chuzhou asked.

Pei Xi shook his head. Pursing his lips, he temporarily put aside the things he couldn’t figure out and concentrated on eating.

A person running a company always had lots of last minute work to deal with.

After dinner, He Chuzhou took a phone call and then told Pei Xi to go and rest first while he worked in the study for a while.

Pei Xi walked halfway to the room, then turned around. When he found He Chuzhou still gazing after him, his heart moved and he couldn’t help but hurry over to hug him.

“Chuzhou.” He leaned into He Chuzhou’s arms and whispered: “You have to tell me if I do something that upsets you. I’ll apologize and make you happy again.”

Knowing that He Chuzhou was in a hurry, he didn’t take up too much of his time, and left once he was done speaking.

But as soon as his hands released their grip, the other’s palm smacked down on his back and pulled him into an embrace again.

Unlike his coquettish hug, He Chuzhou hugged him very tightly and firmly in his arms.

His huddled shoulders and neck felt hot as He Chuzhou buried his head and took a deep breath.

The imprisoning hug didn’t last long. Very soon, the arms around his waist loosened, and he was free again.

He raised his head first, but still couldn’t catch the slightest hint of abnormality on the other’s face.

He Chuzhou still had that relaxed appearance, and the smile in his eyes was even more prominent than before.

“How could you possibly upset me.”

He gently pressed the backs of his fingers against Pei Xi’s face: “I’ll be happy even if you ride on my head and use my nose as a pedal. Go to sleep. I’ll come back when I’m finished.”

Pei Xi obediently turned around and went to the bedroom. 

He Chuzhou watched his slender back disappear, and his smile faded. After a while, he let out a tsk and smacked his forehead hard with the heel of his palm, his thoughts in turmoil.

*

*

It was late at night. Pei Xi had fallen into a deep sleep, but he still felt the suble movement of the pillow. Someone gentle hooked his waist with their hands, and he fell into a warm embrace.

He fell into an even deeper and more peaceful sleep, and was unable to tell when the embrace disappeared.

When he opened his eyes, it was already bright outside.

The curtains were drawn to block out the bright and dazzling sunlight, which could only emerge pitifully from the crack below.

He subconsciously stretched out a hand to feel around, but the place next to him was already empty and cool.

He looked up, listened to the silence in the living room, and looked at the space beside him. As he curled his fingers with a blank expression, his eyelashes lowered to cover his pupils.

So he would only stay home all day with him when he was Pei-calico?

Silently, he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Toiletries for two people were neatly placed together, creating the illusion of intimacy.

He looked at them for a moment, then packed them up and moved them back to the guest bathroom.

When he received a message from Xiao Gu, he was sitting in front of the computer in the study and logging into his mailbox.

He Chuzhou had done nearly everything for him, and the few important things remaining were not too much trouble. The workload had been reduced. It seemed that he no longer needed to rush to the company every day.

Perhaps he could actually have a good rest this time.

He replied to Xiao Gao and processed the few remaining emails. Then he had some free time and didn’t know what to do for a while. The house felt too quiet, so he went to the living room and turned on the TV.

He hadn’t had such leisure time in a long while, and didn’t know how to spend his time being idle.

Should he go to the supermarket?

…..Forget it, the elevators going up and down were too confusing. Without He Chuzhou around, he would easily get lost.

The snacks on the coffee table had been neatly arranged by He Chuzhou in a grid of boxes, making it convenient for him to pick and choose.

Or perhaps, for the convenience of Pei-calico.

In the spirit of Pei-calico, he took a pink package of potato chips and tore it open in a low mood.

So this is what they taste like, he thought.

Then he quickly finished the entire pack.

The imported jello looked similar to the domestic ones, but he had never tasted domestic jello. He wanted to try one, but found that there was no spoon to go with it.

Had it been lost?

Or had he forgotten to grab one last night?

He was rummaging around in the small box when suddenly, He Chuzhou called. He was surprised when he saw the caller ID, and answered it while crouching beside the coffee table.

“Hey, are you up?”

He Chuzhou’s voice sounded over the phone, and Pei Xi subconsciously replied: “I’m up.”

He Chuzhou: “Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I ate.”

He Chuzhou: “Are you still at home?”

“I am.”

When Pei Xi finished answering, he heard a low chuckle from the other end. Belatedly, he realized he had been acting too obedient. Frowning, he took the initiative to ask: “Is there something you need?”

He Chuzhou: “Ah, I forgot a document at home. I’ll be back to pick it up later. If there’s anything you want to eat, I’ll buy it for you on the way.”

Pei Xi’s frown deepened. He wanted to say that he wasn’t a child who needed an adult to bring him a small cake when he came home. 

But what came out of his mouth was: “I’ll bring it to you.”

After speaking, he froze.

The person on the other end of the phone was silent for a long moment, then asked uncertainly: “You want to bring it to me?”

Pei Xi: “…..”

Pei Xi put down the jello and stood up: “Where is the document, and what is the title?”

He Chuzhou told him over the phone. He finally couldn’t help but ask, feeling flattered: “You’re really willing to bring it to the company?”

He’d said it out loud. Pei Xi couldn’t possibly say he was only joking this time, and could only bite the bullet: “I was just going out. I’ll drop it off on the way.”

He Chuzhou said all of a sudden: “You’re going to your company, right?”

“No,” Pei Xi said coolly. “The jello I bought yesterday didn’t come with a spoon. I’m going to the supermarket to have a salesperson find one.”

---

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Chapter 33 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 35

At dusk, the setting sun fell through the Xiao family villa’s gray windows, lending the dark, gloomy house a strange red light.

In the deepest part of the villa, in what seemed to be the most ordinary housekeeping room, there was now an odd-looking copper brazier on the floor. Talisman paper continued to burn in the basin with a crackling sound, and the flames engulfing the paper had a strange green hue, entirely unlike normal fire.

Slender tongues of fire swayed continuously in the brazier, like aquatic plants drifting in the waves deep underwater.

But whenever flames were about to cross the edge of the copper basin, they seemed to be blocked by something invisible and could only crawl along the sides, engulfing more talisman paper.

The men guarding the brazier wore imposing expressions, each of them staring intently at the flames as if facing a formidable foe. Once the talisman paper burned down more and the green flames became stronger, they would fill the basin with stacks of talisman paper tied like green bricks.

There was clearly no breeze in the room, but everyone could feel a slight airflow around them, bringing with it a deep chill.

Teacher Xu had his back to everyone as he stood before the locked storage room that Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an had found strange before.

His eyes were closed, his hands clasped together as he continuously murmured low, faint scriptures in a soft voice.

Shasha—

Shashasha—

But as Teacher Xu chanted, an extremely distinct and restless scratching sound came from the storage room that had not been opened in over a decade.

It seemed as if some kind of whimpering sound similar to a wail could be faintly heard.

Suddenly, the flames surged inside the copper basin, and the talismans drawn with cinnabar were thrown in wildly as if they were free money. When they entered the copper basin, it was like snow meeting fire, and they instantly turned into snow white paper ash.

Watching the scene in front of them, everyone in the room had beads of sweat as big as soybeans on their foreheads.

The stalemate lasted over ten seconds before the flames in the basin gradually faded away.

Click.

The heavy old iron lock suddenly made a crisp sound as the door was shaken.

Immediately after, the entire room fell into a dead silence.

The scratching sound vanished.

The chill also went away.

It was only at this moment that Teach Xu took a sharp breath and stopped chanting. His whole body shook, and he staggered back from the door.

He clutched his chest and said to the others: “Okay, it’s good.”

If Li Xiu were here, he would be shocked to see the current Teacher Xu. The gentle, affable man of just a few hours ago now looked as if he had lost too much blood. He had become weak and haggard, with an ashen face.

The disciples jumped up and rushed forward to support the shaky Teacher Xu.

“Teacher!”

“Master Xu, is it done?”

“Are you okay…..”

Teacher Xu raised his hand and gestured weakly for his disciples to quiet down.

He leaned against the wall and paused for a while to stare at it before he gradually recovered. When he spoke, his voice was as calm and gentle as ever: “There is nothing else. It’s been taken care of.”

Someone looked at Teacher Xu’s current miserable appearance and couldn’t help but curse angrily.

“Those pig-brained people at Qiming Secondary School were fine before, but in the end, they didn’t care about their good students and made it like this. I’m not even talking about the dead person, but that they exhausted Master Xu, making you waste your practice like this—”

“I told you I’m fine. And this accident can’t be entirely blamed on the school.” Teacher Xu sighed helplessly, catching his breath. He paused for a moment before adding, “The Xiao family has been raising it since the late Qing Dynasty. How many of their own children’s lives have been lost in the last hundreds of years…..with such an evil spirit, how can it be said that the seal will never loosen and it will always be safe?”

As Teacher Xu finished speaking, everyone present suddenly remembered the origins of the “thing” in the Xiao family villa, and their faces were all filled with a gloom that was difficult to rid themselves of.

At this time, it was Teacher Xu who first spoke to comfort them: “Don’t be too nervous. After all, it’s only in this form now. After all these years, hasn’t so much money, manpower, and material resources been spent just to neutralize its ferocity? We must still believe in the government and the people. In terms of actions, we must always be ready to confront it, and in terms of mentality, we must relax our minds and deal with it calmly…..”

Upon hearing Teacher Xu’s words, the group of people gradually relaxed.

However, just as they were packing their things and were about to leave the Xiao Family Haunted House, someone happened to bring up the past.

“…..But the people of the Xiao family were really cruel. They had a good little boy, their own child, who they raised by their side for several years, right? Even dogs can develop feelings, and they actually had the heart to offer a person as a living sacrifice…..”

The others could only let out a sigh after hearing this.

“In the end, he wasn’t born in this house, but was brought here from a mistress outside.”

“Ai, what could that mistress have been after? The Xiao family are no good…..”

“Stop talking.” Teacher Xu interrupted the disciples’ chatter with a frown.

Standing in the front garden of the Xiao family villa, the man suddenly turned his head and looked at the villa’s second floor.

A gust of wind blew by. In front of the broken window, a woman’s swollen, gray-white face was pressed against the glass, staring straight at the people downstairs. Her clouded eyes overflowed with pain and despair.

Teacher Xu gave her a mild glance and then turned back, walking toward the outside world.

Just like the noble lady back then could casually abuse the illegitimate child brought back by her husband, the seemingly kind and gentle man also responded to the ghost’s plea with unusual indifference.

For more than ten years, she had been trapped in that house, repeating the scene of her demise over and over again, from death to final decay.

*

At the same moment, in the shantytown on the other side of the city, Li Xiu was frowning as he tried his utmost to decipher his grandmother’s mumbling.

“Grandmother, what are you talking about? What did you do wrong?”

When Li Xiu was a child, he once heard his grandmother say she had given a name to his “gege” under the bed.

If “gege” was still alive…..

His name would have been Li Yu. 

But since some unknown time, his grandmother rarely called his “gege” by name.

It was not until tonight that Li Xiu heard the name “Xiao Yu” ^[1] from his grandmother again. Different from when he was young, when his grandmother would hold Li Xiu in her arms and gently speak to him about the origin of the name “Li Yu,” there was now only endless fear when the name fell from his grandmother’s mouth.

Li Xiu looked at his grandmother in front of him, who was obviously incognizant, and the expression on his face gradually became grave.

To be honest, if not for what happened in the Xiao Family Haunted House, Li Xiu might have regarded his grandmother’s babbling as the gibberish of an old person suffering from dementia.

After all, a significant feature of Alzheimer’s disease was that the elderly would have various persecutory delusions. But after experiencing so many things that were difficult to explain scientifically, Li Xiu couldn’t help but feel somewhat frightened.

Li Xiu suppressed his uneasiness and coaxed his grandmother softly: “Grandmother, please tell me carefully. What went wrong?”

His grandmother stared at Li Xiu vacantly, her dry lips pressed together.

As if because of sheer terror, her voice was reduced to a few mumbles as she replied.

Li Xiu couldn’t hear it clearly, so he could only lean forward slightly to get closer.

And at this moment, a crisp sound came from the kitchen.

Crash.

Li Xiu was startled.

When he rushed to the kitchen, what he saw froze Li Xiu in place.

The kitchen could only be described as a disaster.

Pots and pans were scattered everywhere, the faucet was on with water spilling all over the floor, and all the fresh and old food had been taken out of the refrigerator and spread everywhere.

Every ingredient was topped with rice.

What shocked Li Xiu the most was that the jar that had been used to store incense ash was now completely broken.

The slop on the ground had completely soaked the scattered incense ash, making it impossible to collect again.

As for the crisp sound Li Xiu heard before, it had come from a broken bowl.

The bowl that was used for “gege’s” food.

It was unknown where his grandmother had put it before, but now it had been smashed to pieces.

Li Xiu stood there and took more than ten deep breaths before he was able to just barely calm down.

“Grandmother, what were you trying to do before? The kitchen…..is such a mess.”

His grandmother had calmed down by now.

Hearing Li Xiu’s question, she raised her head listlessly.

“Li Xiu, you’re back, ah?” said the old woman, her eyes filled with confusion.

“Why did school end so early today?” After a pause, she smiled. “Have you made any friends there?”

A drop of saliva flowed down from his grandmother’s mouth as she spoke.

And Li Xiu stood stiffly in the kitchen, his heart sinking little by little.

Li Xiu didn’t continue to ask his grandmother what she had or hadn’t done.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around and began to skillfully clean up the kitchen.

By the time he finished cleaning everything up, it was very late. Fortunately, not too many things were wasted. The only things that couldn’t be returned to their original places were the small jar containing incense ash that his grandmother cherished, and the bowl for bringing rice to his gege…..

Wait, bringing rice?

Standing in the kitchen, Li Xiu abruptly realized where the feeling of wrongness in his mind was coming from.

Today, his grandmother…..hadn’t urged him to bring food to his gege.

Li Xiu stood still for a moment. His throat was dry and his stomach felt a little tight.

He felt a sort of strange uneasiness.

Standing at the door to the kitchen, he looked toward the living room.

After experiencing such inexplicable panic in the afternoon, his grandmother seemed to have forgotten her gaffe. At this time, she had already rolled up her sleeves and was seated on the sofa, watching TV intently.

“……”

Li Xiu looked at his grandmother’s tranquil profile, and after a long while, slowly exhaled a deep breath from his chest.

He said nothing more, and only turned back to the kitchen, filled the rice bucket with rice, and placed some in an ordinary bowl.

There was no incense ash to use, so Li Xiu didn’t bother mixing the ash with the uncooked rice this time.

Gege won’t mind, right? Li Xiu said to himself.

Of course, the premise was that “gege” actually existed.

After setting the bowl under the bed as usual, Li Xiu sat tiredly in the dusty, dilapidated room for a while.

He thought again about what Teacher Xu had said that afternoon. However, his mood at this time was very complicated.

Looking unconsciously at the jagged shadows of the junk in the room that had fallen to the floor, Li Xiu said to himself, “If Grandmother really has Alzheimer’s, she’ll probably have to be sent to a nursing home, right?”

“Grandmother’s other relatives don’t seem too reliable. She can only rely on me to support her. Without a university degree, with my body, it will be impossible to support her for the rest of her life…..”

“But if I go to university, I won’t be able to take care of her. It’s too dangerous to leave Grandmother home alone.”

“I don’t know how much it would cost to send her to a nursing home…..I don’t think I’ll have that much money…..”

As he received no response, Li Xiu’s voice continued to grow softer.

It seemed that even he himself realized how ridiculous and weak he was at this moment.

“Besides, Grandmother will forget me soon, won’t she?”

In the silent, deserted room, the thin boy bent his knees and buried his face in his arms.

A faintly choked whisper sounded. “If that’s the case, I…..I’ll be alone.”

The room remained silent.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Li Xiu found that he had been listening carefully for movement under the bed.

He waited for a long time, but it seemed that even the mice were unwilling to visit this shabby room tonight.

This kind of silence caused Li Xiu to return to his senses.

He was dumbfounded by his thoughts at that moment.

It turned out that his modern worldview had been shaken by what had happened in that haunted house.

Li Xiu let out a sigh, returning to his bedroom with a wry smile.

Just as Teacher Xu said, the only thing he should do now, and the only thing he could do now, was to study.

Li Xiu gritted his teeth as he told this to himself.

Then, all in one go, he made up for all of the homework he had missed due to the uneasiness of the past few days.

When Li Xiu pulled himself out of his happy studying, he found that early morning had come without him realizing it.

Li Xiu stretched with a yawn.

Just as he was about to get in bed, his cell phone rang at this inopportune time.

The caller ID was Fang Qian’an.

Li Xiu stared blankly at the name on the screen for a few seconds before pressing the button to connect.

“Fang Qian’an?”

“What are you doing?”

The youth narrowed his eyes at Fang Qian’an’s inane and lackadaisical question.

He was really not in the mood to deal with Fang Qian’an, and his answer was perfunctory.

“I’m sleeping.”

But Fang Qian’an’s response was completely beyond Li Xiu’s expectations: “Isn’t the light still on in your window? Are you just going to bed?”

Li Xiu sobered up at once when he heard these words.

He jumped up and rushed to the window, then opened the curtains and looked down.

With the faint light of the table lamp in the window, Li Xiu lowered his head to see the tall boy standing downstairs at his home.

Noticing Li Xiu when he leaned forward, he held up his cell phone with a smile and waved in Li Xiu’s direction.

“Hey, you’re still up so late?”

At first glance, Fang Qian’an still looked a bit handsome now.

Of course, only on the premise that you ignored the fresh blood on the former school bully’s head and face, as well as the layers of horrible bruises covering it.

---

[1] This is the 小 xiao, different from the character used for the Xiao family. ⮐

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Chapter 34 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 36

Dai Tingyu was so furious that he jumped down and grabbed the fellow who threw it, just an ordinary young man.

“How dare you throw rocks at someone! Do you know who you just threw that at?”

“What are you doing! Soldiers are beating people at will!” the young man shouted as he struggled. He likely didn’t know the identity of the person who caught him, so he thought the person in front of him wouldn’t casually kill someone. “Are you stifling the voices of us common people? We have the right to know the truth.”

The young person jeering in such a way immediately aroused public outrage.

The people who originally asked the question also turned into ill-toned inquisitors, throwing blame and putting on a ludicrous performance with their eye sockets about to burst from anger. It was just like the rumors. They had been deceived.

Dai Tingyu’s eyes were red with anger, but Tang Rou called him back.

Tang Rou bowed deeply to everyone, saying: “I know you are all uneasy right now because of the news, but think about it. Didn’t we win a battle not long ago? Our Tang family has been in Nanfeng City for generations. This is my home, ah. As the City Lord, I will always cleave to Nanfeng City and protect everyone. Please, everyone, calm down and trust me.”

Tang Rou’s words were truly sincere.

The people below were quiet for a moment at first. Then a voice said abruptly: “Who knows if you’ve been bribed like your father was? It’s not like your Tang family hasn’t abandoned us before, ah.”

When these words sounded, the atmosphere just now was disrupted once more.

Tang Rou stared blankly at the crowd around her, while Dai Tingyu’s face grew livid with fury. These people clearly didn’t know the truth at all. How could they embarrass the City Lord like this based on hearsay?!

Just when things were on the verge of going out of control, a figure suddenly flew forward to stand in front of Tang Rou and Dai Tingyu.

Due to his ice-cold aura and lofty form, everyone was instantly in shock and awe.

Many of them had witnessed Huo Fenglie’s heroic and triumphant return, and naturally recognized him.

Making a public appearance at this time was very useful. When everyone was certain that the new arrival was General Hou, someone actually asked Huo Fenglie to help find out the truth. It seemed they were more willing to believe Huo Fenglie than to believe Tang Rou and Dai Tingyu, who had been protecting them.

How ridiculous this scene was. But this was reality. Because he knew this would happen, Liu Zhenqing had asked Huo Fenglie to salvage the situation in time.

Huo Fenglie spoke coldly to them all: “Those who dare to listen to hearsay and spread rumors to cause trouble will be punished as spies!”

The order was powerful and resounding, and immediately frightened everyone present. Many people were so stifled that their faces were ashen as they mumbled, “How can we be spies! We mean well. Please don’t accuse us wrongly, my lord.”

Huo Fenglie’s frigid gaze seemed to sweep across everyone present. No one dared to look up at him, and the scene gradually quieted down.

“I trust Tang-chengzhu, and I am willing to guard Nanfeng City alongside him. If you lack faith, you can leave.” Huo Fenglie completely ignored these people’s entreaties. Like a cold-faced Shura, he put the common people in a state of awe and fear, uncertain if this powerful official would actually punish them.

When Huo Fenglie was done speaking, he shot a glance at Dai Tingyu.

Dai Tingyu immediately led troops to clear the way and escort Tang Mu out.

It wasn’t until they returned to the City Lord’s manor that Dai Tingyu stomped in anger. 

Liu Zhenqing watched them return and asked Tang Rou: “Is everything okay?”

Tang Rou shook her head.

Dai Tingyu said angrily: “Okay? He was nearly hit with a rock just now. Tang-chengzhu has been in charge of Nanfeng City for so many years, and when has he ever been treated like this before? These people are cruel and unscrupulous. You didn’t see…..”

Dai Tingyu spoke in a fluster for a while, but found that not only did Huo Fenglie not respond after coming back with them, but Liu Zhenqing’s expression also lacked emotion. 

“Doesn’t it make you furious?” Dai Tingyu said heatedly.

Liu Zhenqing smiled at Dai Tingyu’s reaction: “It seems that you’ve always had smooth sailing when leading troops to war.”

Dai Tingyu was taken aback: “What do you mean?”

Liu Zhenqing said mildly: “This is a normal reaction for ordinary people, ah. Repeated lies become fact. If a lie is told too often, people will naturally believe it, especially during such unstable times when people are the most suspicious. When someone takes the lead, even if there is no evidence, a hero will turn into a villain in their eyes if there are too many rumors.”

Dai Tingyu was shocked for a long moment, then said abruptly: “Just like Liu Zhenqing?”

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly, then shook his head. His situation wasn’t like that. He had actually done bad things. Even if those things were for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty on a national level, on a personal level, the common people had indeed lost out. Therefore, he never thought about clearing his name, because even if he did, some people would still criticize them from their own perspectives. This was human nature.

“It’s very easy for the common people to change their evaluation of a person from praise to disparagement. A few words of hearsay are enough, but the reverse is very difficult. Not only must there be enough ironclad evidence to change their minds, they also need to shamelessly admit they were wrong. And when they belittle someone, they are often sincere, but when admitting their mistakes, they will downplay them. They are magnanimous and tolerant of their own mistakes, but critical and severe regarding the mistakes of others.” Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “So settle down, ah. It’s not worth getting angry over this sort of thing.”

Dai Tingyu stood in amazement when he heard this.

He suddenly remembered that the Old City Lord’s betrayal and Liu Zhenqing’s infamy were clearly opposites. There were many people who suspected and belittled the City Lord just now, but nobody spoke a word about the injustice done to Prime Minister Liu. What they cared about was being deceived by the City Lord. They felt that their gratitude had been extended toward the wrong person, but not that Prime Minister Liu’s benevolence had been attributed to the wrong person.

“But…..but even if the Old City Lord was wrong, what does that have to do with Tang-chengzhu? Tang-chengzhu has toiled hard for Nanfeng City for so long and contributed a lot. Are they all blind? Do they not remember?” Dai Tingyu felt aggrieved on behalf of Tang Rou. Others didn’t know, but he knew very well. How many nights had he seen Tang Rou’s exhausted figure? Such conscientiousness had enabled a small border town like Nanfeng City to develop so well. What could they be dissatisfied with?

“The common people like to elevate themselves in hypothetical situations and accuse those involved in those problems as imperfect. This is entirely normal. If conflicts happen more frequently, you’ll probably get used to it.” Liu Zhenqing patted Tang Rou on the shoulder to offer comfort.

Huo Fenglie grabbed his hand and held it away.

Liu Zhenqing: ……

Tang Rou smiled at everyone: “I’m fine. Don’t worry, everyone. The common people were also deceived, and…..it’s true that I deserve this. What’s more, this is a lot better than I expected.”

Both Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie knew Tang Rou meant that at least her identity as a woman wasn’t exposed.

“I just feel that we’ve had such strict control, so why are there still such large-scale rumors? There has to be a mole. It must be investigated thoroughly.” When Tang Rou said this, Dai Tingyu naturally raised his hand at once to take over the matter, and left in a hurry.

The three people hadn’t been talking for long in the Office of Government Affairs when they saw Tang-furen rushing toward them on the warpath.

Tang Rou really didn’t have the energy to spare to face Tang-furen at the moment. Before the woman could speak, she got up to drive her away.

Unexpectedly, Tang-furen directly passed her by and headed toward Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing was momentarily a bit confused. Before he could react, he was picked up by Huo Fenglie, who kicked Tang-furen away the moment she rushed over.

It happened so suddenly. It wasn’t until Tang-furen fell into a pillar and the dagger in her hand flew out that everyone realized what was going on. 

“Mother, are you insane?” Tang Rou hurried forward in absolute shock to grab Tang-furen, who was reaching for the dagger. 

Tang-furen seemed to have lost her mind. She shoved Tang Rou away and shouted: “You’re the one who’s crazy, you’re all crazy! Who is he! I’m asking you, who is he! It turns out you can still live in harmony with him! Have you forgotten how your father died? Have you forgotten that your father was even decapitated after death? How can you spend time with someone who is kin to such an evil person! A relative of that person still dares to come to our Nanfeng City. He’s simply looking down on us and came here to humiliate us. There are rumors outside slandering us now, so how do we know it wasn’t him? I’ll make him bleed today to pay homage to my late husband’s spirit in the afterlife.”

When Tang-furen roared out in such a way, everyone immediately understood what was going on with her. Because Tang-furen wanted to snatch Huo Fenglie as her son-in-law, she had secretly investigated Liu Zhenqing, and soon learned his identity. After all, Liu Zhenqing hadn’t concealed his identity as Liu Xiaozhu from the outside world.

And as for Tang-furen, she didn’t care about the rest of it. She only knew one thing – that the fellow who stole her daughter’s man was kin to the treacherous minister who brought harm to Nanfeng City. It felt like they were enemies meeting on a narrow road, and with overwhelming hatred, she had rushed over regardless of anything else.

Tang-furen roared in grievance, face stained with tears that ruined her makeup and made her appearance fierce and terrifying.

This kind of sorrow made Tang Rou the most helpless. Because her mother didn’t know. Because…..she couldn’t bear to let her know about her father’s betrayal. That was the agreement she had made with her brother. It was enough that the two of them knew about such a cruel thing. 

And now, the ignorant Tang-furen couldn’t believe her eyes as she witnessed Huo Fenglie still protecting Liu Zhenqing. “General Huo! Why are you still protecting him! You’ve actually lost your wits to lust! Have you forgotten your Huo family’s grudge? This man is that person’s kin, ah!”

Huo Fenglie looked at Tang-furen and killing intent flashed across his face.

Liu Zhenqing frowned slightly, a bit embarrassed.

Tang-furen still tried to get up and vent her anger on the person in front of her. It was as if since brothers paid each other’s debts, so should even such a distant relative.

And at this moment, Tang Rou truly couldn’t endure any longer and shouted: “The rumors outside are all true!”

Although she couldn’t bear to hurt her mother, it was even more unreasonable to let harm come to her benefactor’s relative. 

With tears hanging in her eyes, Tang Rou grabbed Tang-furen and said: “Mother, it’s all true!”

Tang-furen was dumbfounded. Suddenly, her eyes widened in anger and she slapped Tang Rou directly in the face. “You unfilial daughter! What nonsense are you talking about!”

It could be seen that these words had such an impact on Tang-furen that she no longer cared about concealing her daughter’s identity. Luckily, there was no one else around but the four of them.

Tang-furen had used a lot of force, and Tang Rou’s face immediately became swollen and red. Slowly, she turned her head toward her mother with eyes full of sorrow.

Trembling all over, Tang-furen said: “If you say such a thing again, I’ll smash your mouth! Is it because your brother is gone? Your wings have grown and hardened after being City Lord for a few years, and you even slander your own father for fear of offending others. How could I have given birth to a daughter like you!”

“Mother!” Tang Rou roared: “Back then, Father was obsessed with the concubine. Didn’t you know that best? He also said he wanted to divorce you and marry her. Have you forgotten about the quarrels and fights you two had over it? Later, why did Father suddenly give up on divorcing his wife? You thought Father had changed his mind, but the next day when we fell asleep, there was a fire. Father did that, ah! It was Father! If my brother hadn’t escaped and run into Prime Minister Liu, we would have all died in that fire. Your face was burned in order to save your daughter, but did Father ever show concern for you? Did you not find that strange?”

Tang Rou had finally aired all her secrets and grievances. In fact, she hadn’t fully known the truth back then. It was her brother who knew, and he only told her when they had to deal with their father later on. She didn’t want her family to collapse back then, but now she wasn’t capable of remaining silent.

Tang-furen was frozen on the spot. Her entire being seemed to have been drained of energy, and he face was ashen. Tang Rou couldn’t help but step forward and hug her, saying: “You shouldn’t disrespect Prime Minister Liu, ah. It was he who bore the infamy and saved our lives. He not only saved our family’s lives, but also saved us from being criminals implicated by Father. He was a benefactor for our entire family. This is the truth, Mother, the truth, ah.”

“No…..impossible, I don’t believe it…..I don’t believe it. It’s not possible, he would never be so cruel to me!” Tang-furen seemed to have been stimulated, and ran out almost crazily.

“Mother!” Tang Rou shouted, quickly chasing after her.

Watching this scene, all Liu Zhenqing could do was sigh. It was nothing to Huo Fenglie. He pulled Liu Zhenqing away and looked him up and down. Clearly he had taken action in advance and Liu Zhenqing hadn’t been injured at all, but he still checked him over uneasily for a moment, as if the other person’s hatred could have left an invisible wound on Liu Zhenqing.

When Liu Zhenqing saw his lowered head, he stealthily pinched Huo Fenglie’s nose. That nose was perfectly straight, and very easy to pinch. Liu Zhenqing played with it for a while, and Huo Fenglie let him. Then he looked up innocently over Liu Zhenqing’s hand. Those clear black and white eyes were so cute. Liu Zhenqing released his grip and inquired: “When you led troops into battle in the past, did you ever encounter unreasonable people who wronged you for your good intentions?”

Huo Fenglie seemed to search his memory for a moment, then said: “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?” Liu Zhenqing asked curiously.

“It’s because I didn’t care.” It didn’t matter to Huo Fenglie. His heart was no longer with him at that time, and the good or bad intentions of others never entered his eyes. It was fine as long as he could fulfill his responsibilities as a member of the Huo family and protect Great Zhou on behalf of Qing-ge and his older brother.

Although Liu Zhenqing didn’t know the reason, he smiled at Huo Fenglie’s words and said: “It’s good that you didn’t care.”

In the evening, Dai Tingyu obtained some information and came to report it. However, instead of going to the City Lord, he went straight to Liu Zhenqing’s courtyard.

Because Huo Fenglie had gone to the military camp, Liu Zhenqing was alone in the courtyard. When he saw Dai Tingyu coming, he advised after hearing his purpose that Tang Rou might be with Tang-furen.

In fact, Liu Zhenqing was also very curious about the situation over there, but because of his awkward identity, he didn’t go see it. As it happened, Dai Tingyu asked him to go over and take a look. 

“Tang-furen knows?” Dai Tingyu said in surprise. “That haughty old woman must have received a great blow when she found out, and might take her anger out on the City Lord. That’s not good, we should go over and have a look.”

When Dai Tingyu rushed over, the servants were standing around outside, not daring to approach. When he inquired, they all said that the City Lord gave the order to be ready to go in.

Dai Tingyu didn’t care about the facts of the matter, and rushed in directly. Upon entering, the expected scene of the City Lord being bullied was absent. There was only Tang Rou sitting in the courtyard and drinking alone with a bitter expression. There were still traces of dried tears on her face. When Dai Tingyu drew closer, he could hear Tang-furen sobbing, fussing, and cursing in the distance, her voice hoarse and dry. Although she couldn’t be heard clearly, she was probably unable to accept it after hearing the truth.

“Chengzhu,” Dai Tingyu said as he stepped forward.

Tang Rou raised her head and looked at Dai Tingyu in a daze, saying: “You’re here. What’s wrong?”

Dai Tingyu had rarely seen Tang Rou drink. After all, she had to exercise self-discipline as the City Lord. Not knowing if Tang Rou was drunk or not, he said: “I’ve identified some sources that may be related to your uncle. I went to arrest him, but wasn’t able to catch him. Strictly-speaking, he’s guilty of collusion with the enemy and needs a city-wide arrest warrant from you in order to avoid further escalation of the situation.”

Tang Rou listened with a frown. Seeing that she was silent, Dai Tingyu said: “Chengzhu, I know this is awkward for you.”

Tang Rou took a token from her waist and said, “Go. Do it.”

Dai Tingyu knew she was upset, so he didn’t say much. He was preparing to take the order and leave, but saw Tang Rou collapse onto the table.

“Heavens, you’re drunk?” Dai Tingyu instantly felt helpless. He stepped forward to nudge Tang Rou, but she had already passed out. He couldn’t leave the City Lord here.

He called for the servants over to help this person back to the main residence to rest, but nobody responded. Then he remembered that those servants were hiding far away. After some thought, he didn’t trouble them, and just picked the City Lord up and flew with him to his residence.

He went to put Tang Rou down, but when he had just taken her down from his shoulder, his neck was hooked abruptly and he fell down along with the other person.

In an instant, Dai Tingyu’s iron-like muscles seemed to come into contact with something soft.

Dai Tingyu stared blankly, thinking that scholars were different and their muscles were all soft. He had better tell the City Lord to exercise more in the future, or else he really wouldn’t even be able to truss a chicken.

Just as he was getting up, a voice suddenly reached his ears.

Its tone was gentle and melodious, very pleasant to the ears. It was superior to the girls he had heard singing songs from Jiangnan. 

But this voice contained an endearing tearful tone.

“Brother…..I’m sorry…..Brother…..”

Where was the female voice coming from? Where was…..

Dai Tingyu froze in disbelief, watching as the petite red lips of the person beneath him opened and closed. Only then did the scent of a woman’s body reach his nose. And there was still the soft…..Dai Tingyu stood abruptly, feeling as if his entire being had been electrocuted. He took a dozen successive steps back, his eyes as wide as a bull’s. 

The City Lord…..was a woman?!

Weren’t all women supposed to be soft and delicate, tearful and useless, long of hair and short of knowledge, knowing only the trivial matters of the boudoir? How…..could this be the City Lord?!

The City Lord must be a man, ah…..Tang-furen hadn’t wanted to play matchmaker before……wasn’t it more reasonable for a man and woman to marry?

He must be a man, ah…..when they were together…..it seemed they had never bathed or swam together, and his invitations were to no avail……

So…..

Curious about the situation, Liu Zhenqing wandered around the gardens nearby. As he was waiting for Dai Tingyu to return, he heard a long scream of Ahhhhh soar high into the sky, startling him. Liu Zhenqing thought something had happened, but when he looked up, he saw Dai Tingyu in the middle of a breakdown, roaring as he flew over the courtyard wall and left the City Lord’s manor.

Liu Zhenqing: ???

---

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

Fang Qian’an abruptly grabbed the cup of milk tea and took several sips. His Adam’s apple rolled each time he swallowed.

Li Xiu glanced at him in astonishment.

“…..Be careful not to burn yourself.”

Fang Qian’an gave an “mm,” trying to keep his faces expressionless, and then put down his cup.

The boy’s neck was still red. After a glance at Li Xiu, he lowered his head and took out his cell phone, seeming to concentrate on reading it.

Li Xiu said nothing more. He just sat with Fang Qian’an for a long while in the milk tea shop, their knees touching awkwardly.

After finishing the cup of hot chocolate, Li Xiu was in a daze and began to speak in a low voice about what they had previously encountered in the haunted house.

“…..I saw Ouyang in a group photo.” The boy’s fingertips unconsciously tapped the milk tea cup. “I don’t know if it was a hallucination or not. But the reason for him appearing in our nightmares likely has something to do with the Xiao family villa.”

As Li Xiu spoke, Fang Qian’an could no longer concentrate on his cell phone.

When he heard what happened to Li Xiu, his brow knitted together tightly, and there was a trace of anger in his eyes that even he didn’t recognize.

“Don’t think about that guy anymore. That scumbag is dead, anyway,” Fang Qian’an said. “And that Teacher Xu also doesn’t want you to think about this stuff anymore.”

Li Xiu was taken aback for a moment, and met Fang Qian’an’s eyes.

“I know.” His voice weakened incrementally. “I don’t know why, but I just worry about it a little. You know? I never actually believed in this stuff, but what happened there was really…..”

Even when being held down and bullied by a group of people, the feeble boy never showed any signs of weakness. And right now next to Fang Qian’an, he revealed an ice-thin fragility.

“Fang Qian’an, what…..did you see in the villa?”

“……”

Fang Qian’an was silent for a few seconds.

“I sprinkled salt and glutinous rice in the room, and in the blink of an eye, you were gone.” Recalling that scene in the haunted house, Fang Qian’an clenched his fists unconsciously. “It took me by surprise. Right then, I caught a glimpse of a white form floating outside the door and thought it was you, so I chased it out…..”

In Fang Qian’an’s memory, the sound of rushing footsteps could be heard from time to time in the huge abandoned villa.

Normally, Fang Qian’an would find those footsteps creepy and terrifying, but that time, he no longer cared so much. He was thoroughly panicked that a living person like Li Xiu could vanish out of thin air.

He followed the shadow similar to Li Xiu up and down the haunted house several times, but was never actually able to find him.

Until he heard Li Xiu’s voice coming from far away at the end of the upstairs corridor.

“…..When I ran up to the second floor, I saw you standing in that room, mumbling to an, uh, shadow-like thing. I was almost scared out of my mind, so I shouted to you.”

Fang Qian’an’s expression turned ugly when he said this.

“As soon as you turned around, I saw something wrapped around you, and the door was also moving like it was about to close. It seemed like that thing was going to drag you away. I was almost scared to death at that time, but I couldn’t care less. I rushed over and blocked the door, then dragged you out of the room. What kind of monster was that thing? It was really powerful.”

Fang Qian’an hunched his shoulders when he spoke.

Due to the movement, the injury on his shoulder flared up and he couldn’t help but gasp.

“I hit the door with my shoulder, and it still hurts now. Hiss—”

Li Xiu looked at Fang Qian’an in pain and felt a little restless: “I’m sorry.”

Because of his body and background, Li Xiu had always been proficient at processing all kinds of difficulties and discrimination brought on him by others. However, when all kinds of mocking and exclusion turned into care and kindness, Li Xiu’s reaction was particularly stiff.

He had never been good at dealing with such unfamiliar emotions.

Fang Qian’an paused, glancing sideways at the confusion on the face of the young man beside him. A certain school bully raised his eyebrows.

“Say, ah, didn’t you seem to be number one in the grade in Chinese Language last time? Why do you only say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ when you’re with me now?”

The boy’s seemingly arrogant complaint instantly broke the unnatural atmosphere lingering between the two.

Li Xiu said to him subconsciously: “What else do you want to hear? Could it be that you want me to say, ‘I can’t repay you with my life, so it’s better to repay you with my body?’”

In fact, this was just an enigmatic saying that Li Xiu blurted out, but when Fang Qian’an heard it, he was stuck in place with his mouth open silently.

Li Xiu stared at the blushing Fang Qian’an and felt that something wasn’t right.

The hot chocolate continued to radiate heat in his stomach, and Li Xiu’s face also felt a little hot.

After a long while, Fang Qian’an finally came to his senses and responded dryly: “I-It’s a difficult job, but not impossible.”

Li Xiu: “…..Ha, in your dreams.”

The conversation between the two finally returned to normal, but when they inadvertently met eyes, Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu would still look away and feign casualness as they played on their phones.

After a lengthy stalemate, Fang Qian’an’s phone buzzed. He turned the phone to take a look, and a chill streaked across his originally rosy cheeks.

When Fang Qian’an pressed the call button in the next second, that call reminded Li Xiu that they had been unknowingly sitting in the milk tea shop for a long time.

“It’s so late, I need to get back.”

Li Xiu glanced at the time, then grabbed his school bag and stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, he felt a tug on his clothes.

A wide-eyed Fang Qian’an asked anxiously: “You’re just leaving? Do you plan to go home alone?”

Li Xiu stared blankly for a moment: “What else? I have some papers to do in the evening.”

Because of the so-called ghost incident, he was unable to concentrate on his studies for several days.

Now that he had made up his mind to have nothing to do with these strange things, what he should do now was go home quickly and study hard.

…..It was impossible to hide in a crowded milk tea shop for the rest of his life, right?

Hearing Li Xiu’s response, Fang Qian’an seemed to come back to himself.

“Oh.”

The tall boy released his grip.

“Then, aren’t you afraid to go back alone?”

Li Xiu lowered his eyes.

“Didn’t Teacher Xu say? The more afraid you are, the more unstable you will become. It’ll be fine if I don’t think about it.” As he spoke, Li Xiu looked at Fang Qian’an thoughtfully. “Are you afraid? I still have several comprehensive essay collections in my bag. I can give you a few.”

Fang Qian’an sat up right and raised his voice: “Ha? If you’re not afraid, what can I be afraid of? I’m just worried about you.”

Li Xiu stared at the boy who was strong in appearance but weak in reality, a bit of inexplicable worry in his heart.

However, Li Xiu thought that with Fang Qian’an’s identity, if he really didn’t want to be alone, there should be many people fighting to spend time with him, right?

“Don’t worry about me. Um, I’m leaving,” Li Xiu whispered, turning to leave the milk tea shop.

But as he was waiting for the bus at the roadside, Li Xiu still felt Fang Qian’an’s eyes glued on him from behind.

That person was still watching him?

Li Xiu turned his head to look through the clean, bright floor-to-ceiling windows of the shopping mall toward where he and Fang Qian’an had been sitting before, only to find that Fang Qian’an had disappeared.

*

Because he had skipped class in the afternoon, Li Xiu got home much earlier this time.

When Li Xiu opened the door, he set aside the ladies’ high heels as usual. As he was looking for the key, he heard a loud bang from inside the house.

Li Xiu was startled. He opened the door quickly and rushed in.

His grandmother was standing in the living room, her entire body trembling. She had her hands up in front of her as she looked around in a panic, as if afraid of something.

“Grandmother?!”

Li Xiu staggered to his grandmother and found that the old woman’s eyes were empty, her wandering gaze not focused at all.

“What’s wrong? Grandmother?”

Li Xiu called to her for a long time until she seemed to finally notice his arrival. A hand like a dead branch instantly grabbed Li Xiu’s arm with force. The old woman stared at him, two lines of tears falling from her cloudy eyes.

“A-Xiu…..grandmother was wrong…..grandmother did something wrong…..wuwuwu…..”

His grandmother continued to mutter incoherently. No matter how Li Xiu asked her what had happened, the old woman just kept repeating the same sentences.

Li Xiu glanced at the shrine where his grandmother always entertained guests.

The table was empty. No one was there.

The whole house was still as dark as ever, and his grandmother’s fearful sobs echoed in the shadows that were filled with the scent of inferior sandalwood. Li Xiu frowned, faintly aware that something was wrong. But his grandmother’s abnormality took up all of his attention at the moment, and he didn’t have time to think much about it.

Li Xiu hurried to comfort his agitated grandmother, and it was with great difficulty that he got her to sit on the sofa to calm down.

He half knelt on the floor and asked cautiously: “Grandmother, what’s going on? What happened?”

One of his hands pressed comfortingly to his grandmother’s back, and he distinctly felt how she trembled upon hearing these words.

The next second, his grandmother suddenly turned her head, her gray eyes quivering slightly.

She stared straight at Li Xiu.

“Shh…..”

The old woman raised a finger and kept her voice very low.

“Don’t let him find out,” his grandmother said.

“Who? Don’t let who find out?” Li Xiu didn’t understand.

“Xiao Yu…..” The old woman breathed heavily, and then a look of horror appeared on her face again. “N-no, not Xiao Yu. I made a mistake…..I really made a mistake…..”

“The one I brought back is not that child at all.”

---

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Chapter 33 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 35

After careful consideration once he’d read the schedule, He Chuzhou chose not to go to the company in the end. Instead, he stayed and worked from home.

He needed to become familiar with the content of Pei Xi’s work, and it was more convenient to take care of him at home. Although he could take him to the company, there were always hidden dangers, not to mention that the office was far less spacious and comfortable than staying at home.

Fortunately, Pei Xi had just passed his busiest period, which could be seen from the significant reduction in emails that needed to be processed each day.

He read the new meeting minutes and three new quarterly plans, and marked the feasible parts of the plans so that Pei Xi could look over them later. When they didn’t get to the key points for a long time, He Chuzhou just backspaced and rewrote it.

Of course, in order to not expose himself, he also read through previous emails and learned Pei Xi’s communication habits. His preparations were very thorough.

After finishing Pei Xi’s work, he began to read through his own mailbox.

The sound of running paws came from the living room, along with a puppy’s panting breaths. Pei Xi was playing with He Xingxing, and the sounds came in through the crack in the open door.

Very soon, the door was pushed open.

He Xingxing ran inside first.

He Xingxing normally wouldn’t enter the study. He would sleep obediently on his dog bed while He Chuzhou was working, or lie on the balcony, watching the clouds in the sky outside in a daze.

But today he was having fun, and also felt that he had a supporter. If he squeezed inside with the person playing with him, he could join in without being scolded.

Indeed, he was not scolded.

His father was holding a video conference and wearing a Bluetooth headset. With a glance at the two uninvited guests, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

He Xingxing jumped up and down. Wagging his tail, he lay down on the carpet in the center of the study, panting with his tongue stuck out, his puppy eyes shining brightly.

Pei Xi kept the door ajar and turned his head to determine what He Chuzhou was doing. He walked closer as lightly as a cat, tilted his chin up slightly, and didn’t make a sound.

He Chuzhou listened to the report, but his eyes automatically fell on Pei Xi.

He still hadn’t changed out of his loose pajamas. Likely due to the excitement, the top two buttons were undone and the next one was loose, revealing the contours of delicate collarbones and a small swath of pale chest.

He Chuzhou’s Adam’s apple moved slightly and he followed him with his eyes, watching as he walked to the side of the desk and stopped.

Pei Xi knew he was busy and didn’t disturb him. But he wanted to stay with him, so he put one hand on the table and sat down lightly.

He took his slippers off, shook out his legs, and set one of them on the soft seat next to him.

“The last project initiated has already produced financial statements, which look much better than expected. We’ve compared it against several similar projects and determined that it has great development potential…..”

Pressing the Bluetooth headset with his fingertips, He Chuzhou leaned back leisurely in his chair and lowered his eyes slightly.

From the perspective of the employee in the video, he was keeping quiet as he listened intently, thinking along the way.

But in fact, his gaze continued to fall on his left hand, which was casually placed to the side of the computer.

Out of camera view, Pei Xi was fiddling with his fingers in boredom, head tilted.

He pinched from the index finger to the little finger, from the fingertip to the root. Finally, he lifted them up gently and inserted his fingers, playfully tickling his palm.

Although his actions were childish and clingy, there still wasn’t much emotion revealed on his face. That cold expression made it look as if he was studying something seriously.

Very much like a cat.

He didn’t make a sound, but liked to hang around people when they were working, fiddling with the mouse or stepping on the keyboard to draw attention, or simply lying down beside them with paws folded and eyes narrowed, waiting.

When he was distracted, He Chuzhou suddenly closed his hand and caught those mischievous fingers. He was startled, and escaped easily.

Then he raised his eyelids and sent him a light glance, rubbing those fingertips on the table in a subtle way. Very soon, he repeated his old tricks and began to hook his fingers teasingly.

He Chuzhou chuckled.

The employee giving his report on screen stared blankly for a moment, then said uncertainly: “President He, is there a problem?”

He Chuzhou: “Hm? No, the Powerpoint is well done. Let’s continue.”

The employee didn’t dare ask him which part of the Powerpoint was funny. With doubts in his heart, he scratched his head and continued his report.

It was just that his originally confident tone became less assured, and he glanced at He Chuzhou from time to time to observe his face.

He Chuzhou seemed to be in a really good mood.

It seemed he wasn’t laughing at him.

The employee gradually relaxed and concentrated on his work.

When it was almost over, he saw from the corner of his eye this big boss raise his left hand and stretch it lazily over the computer, seemingly to adjust the camera.

Of course, he didn’t know that the camera was on the left, and that on the right, there was a certain bored kitten pressing his cheek on top of the monitor.

He Chuzhou pinched Pei Xi’s other cheek neither lightly nor heavily. It was warm and soft, and felt good in his hand.

Pei Xi didn’t speak, looking directly at him. Placing one hand on his wrist, he used his index and middle finger to squeeze the flesh of his cheek next to the monitor, which made him look more than a little bit cute.

If the puddle He Chuzhou’s heart had turned into had a physical form, the study would have already been flooded.

“Are you hungry?” he asked in a whisper.

The group of people on video subconsciously shook their heads.

Then they found that the big boss wasn’t looking at them at all, and naturally wasn’t asking them if they were hungry.

They exchanged glances across the computer screens, and suddenly felt that their uniform movements made them look like a bunch of idiots.

Hidden above the camera, Pei Xi bobbed his head lightly and put a hand under his cheek to cushion it, tapping his mouth to express that he wanted to eat.

This gluttonous kitten was adorable.

He Chuzhou’s lips rose, and he rubbed the other’s chin with his fingertips: “Okay, I’ll take you to the supermarket in a bit. Go change clothes first.”

Very satisfied with this answer, Pei Xi happily got off the desk, put on his slippers, and left.

He Chuzhou curled his still warm fingertips and looked at the screen again, a lingering smile in his eyes: “That’s it for today’s meeting. If there are any changes that need to be made, I will send them to you via email.”

The meeting ended, and this group of people left very slowly while poking their heads out, curious as to who he was talking to just now. Who was it who could make this big guy’s voice so gentle that water could be squeezed from it?

Yun Ji also wanted to know. After waiting for a long time, he lost his patience and simply kicked out everyone who was joining in the fun. In an instant, he was left alone in the conference room with He Chuzhou, who was looking through the synchronized meeting record.

Yun Ji: “Cousin, you have a guest at home?”

He Chuzhou: “What’s it to you?”

Yun Ji: “We’re family, shouldn’t we care about each other? Who is it, who is it? It couldn’t be…..”

He Chuzhou: “Go about your business and stop asking.”

Yun Ji: “Okay. Can I visit you at home another day?”

“No.” He Chuzhou decisively refused. “Also, send me the visitor records. I’ll go to the company tomorrow to make follow-up arrangements, but I’ll probably be working from home for a while.”

Yun Ji: “What’s wrong with you?”

He Chuzhou ignored him.

Yun Ji: “I really can’t come over? I’ll just have a cup of tea and leave.”

He Chuzhou: “There’s no water.”

Yun Ji: “Should I bring some myself?”

“No, you’re not allowed to bring your own drinks.”

When He Chuzhou finished speaking, he moved the mouse to the upper right corner and neatly clicked the X.

*

*

There was a chain supermarket not far from the community. It was very big inside, with a comprehensive range of items. Almost anything one could want could be bought here.

Because by default it mainly supplied goods to the wealthy in these neighborhoods, most everything was imported. The prices were very expensive, and there was minimal traffic.

Pei Xi didn’t seem to have been to the supermarket very often, and was unfamiliar with the entrances and exits. He even got confused when going up and down the elevator.

But he had an eager sense of novelty about everything, and his calm eyes had contained a slight gleam since he entered the door.

“You like it that much?” He Chuzhou pushed the shopping card and followed him leisurely.

Pei Xi fell back a little to line up with him, then nodded.

He Chuzhou: “Why is that?”

Pei Xi: “It feels really lively.”

He Chuzhou looked around and didn’t see many people in the store. There was even more staff than customers.

He Chuzhou gave a hiss and lowered his voice: “…..Xinxin, did you see something unclean?”^[1]

“Unclean?” Pei Xi looked down at the floor. “It’s not unclean, Chuzhou. It’s very tidy here.”

He Chuzhou: “But you say it’s lively?”

Pei Xi: “There are lots of shelves here, crowded with colorful packaging bags. Is that not lively?”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

He Chuzhou lost his composure and turned around: “Let’s go. Gege will take you to see something a bit more lively.”

There were even fewer people in the aquatic product area.

But the aquatic products were plentiful, and unlike the bottles, cans, and bags on the shelves, they could swim and move.

Except, of course, the frozen squid and shrimp arranged neatly on a sheet of ice as if in a military parade.

Pei Xi was very pleased. He walked around the entire seafood floor with gusto, occasionally stopping for a better look. He stopped the longest in front of a tank of bullfrogs.

He Chuzhou was mentally planning out when he should take him to an aquarium. From the look of him, he had probably never been to one before. Seeing that he’d been staring at the bullfrogs for a long time, he asked: “Do you want to eat frogs?”

Pei Xi shook his head and said with a frown: “No way, they look as ugly as Pei Zhen.”

When they left the aquatic area half an hour later, they took away two huge but shy-looking bread crabs.

There was a slight problem with the QR code during checkout, and it wouldn’t scan. It just so happened that Pei Xi found the bread crab that was endlessly blowing bubbles very unpleasant to look at, so He Chuzhou went with the staff to choose another one.

While he waited, Pei Xi pushed the cart to the nearby snack area and shrew all the snacks he liked into the cart.

When he turned to the potato chip section, there was a little boy sitting on the floor in a very conspicuous place in the aisle, sobbing. His father sighed where he was crouched at his side, looking like his patience was in jeopardy.

“Mama said you can’t eat snacks.”

“Children can develop tooth decay if they eat too many snacks.”

“You won’t be able to eat them even if we buy them.”

“Be obedient.”

The little boy paid no attention to this coaxing and cried even harder, harsh and unpleasant, screaming: “Wanna eat, wanna eat!”

“Little Fatty eats them and even showed them off to me!”

He rolled on the floor, feet rapidly kicking the bottom of the shelves: “I wanna eat this one, wahhhhhhh!”

The light suddenly dimmed. He temporarily stopped crying, and peered at the good-looking gege who appeared in front of his teary face.

“Which one do you want to eat?”

The good-looking gege’s voice was very nice when he asked this, like spring water running over pebbles, clear and gentle.

The little boy pointed blankly at the tube of pink-packaged potato chips.

Pei Xi took a tube and asked: “This one?”

The little boy nodded.

Pei Xi asked again: “Is it tasty?”

As if he’d guessed what he was about to do, the little boy nodded harder, sobbing, but with hope in his eyes.

The child’s father was very helpless. He sighed, wanting the soft-hearted young gentlemen to ignore the kid.

As a result, before he could even open his mouth, the other person said “Oh,” turned his wrist, and very obviously put the potato chips into his shopping cart.

Perhaps he felt that one tube wasn’t enough, because after thinking briefly, Pei Xi simply took five tubes off the shelf and tossed them into the cart. Ignoring the astonished looks of the father and son behind him, he leisurely pushed the cart away.

He Chuzhou returned from exchanging the crab to find Pei Xi pushing a cart of snacks. He let him take a few looks at the new crab first, then noticed the heartbroken wailing nearby.

“What’s going on?”

He looked upward and dug in his ear: “Is that an air raid siren?”

“Children who always think they’ll get what they want and be coaxed by everyone as long as they cry are very annoying, “ Pei Xi said expressionlessly. “The noise is so irritating.”

“Very true, it’s irritating.”

He Chuzhou lifted his hands in agreement.

Pei Xi: “So I took away all the potato chips he wanted to eat.”

He Chuzhou: “…..Ah?”

He looked again toward where the “air raid siren” was going off. Then he quickly took the shopping cart and tossed the crab in, as if he feared that someone would catch up and grab the potato chips: “Let’s go, let’s go, my ears are ringing.”

No matter, the child could be coaxed by his own family.

His Pei-calico just wanted to eat some potato chips. What was wrong with that?

There were many checkout aisles, so they chose one at random. The person at the cash register was a kindly-faced auntie with great skill at scanning products.

When the bags were finally packed, the auntie set down the scanning machine and asked Pei Xi with a smile: “Do you have a membership card?”

Pei Xi couldn’t remember whether he did or not. After some thought, he took a step back and gently pushed He Chuzhou forward: “My husband has it.”

In an instant, He Chuzhou’s pupils quivered, the sole of his foot slipped, and he nearly hit his chin on the cashier counter under the auntie’s surprised gaze.

---

[1] “Unclean” here is referring to things like ghosts and the supernatural. ⮐

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34

Teacher Xu looked at Li Xiu with a smile that contained a hint of understanding.

“Were you scared?” he asked.

“Teacher Xu…..”

Li Xiu didn’t know how it happened, but after exchanging a couple of words with Teacher Xu, his mind suddenly cleared up and became orderly. It was only now that Li Xiu realized that he had been somewhat confused before.

Also, if he hadn’t been so dizzy, it would have been impossible for him to follow Fang Qian’an and make a fool of himself. He’d clearly felt that something was wrong in the villa, but when he heard strange footsteps, he had still chased after them as if he’d lost his mind.

Teacher Xu spoke softly, and as he spoke, he reached out to touch Li Xiu’s forehead and heart.

“Those things want just such an effect. Otherwise, why would we call such terror being ‘frightened out of one’s wits’? The more frightened you are, the easier it is to harm you. Therefore, ah, students should study hard. Only when the mind is calm can the soul be stable. If the soul is stable, such things will not stick to it. As young people, it is best to believe in science and study hard. Books have their own vital energy. I see you are also a child who can study, so don’t be afraid, it will be alright.”

Li Xiu abruptly shivered and felt that his back and shoulders were much lighter — it was as if some invisible, heavy burden had been lifted from him. 

Li Xiu looked at Teacher Xu in bewilderment. After staring blankly, he could only say: “Thank you, Teacher Xu.”

Teacher Xu smiled and said nothing.

The man was still attentively observing Li Xiu’s eyes. Seeing that the other’s eyes had become lively again, he turned his head slightly to face Fang Qian’an.

He waved to Fang Qian’an: “Come.”

“What for?” Fang Qian’an asked warily.

Seeing that Fang Qian’an was unwilling to cooperate, a young man behind Teacher Xu couldn’t help but speak up.

“Hey, kid, don’t you know the difference between good and bad, ah—”

But Teacher Xu opened his mouth before he could finish speaking, and explained attentively to Fang Qian’an:

“It’s nothing. I’m just checking on your situation. Think of me as a Chinese medicine doctor taking your pulse.

“But—”

When he saw that Fang Qian’an was still unwilling to step forward, Li Xiu couldn’t endure, and stretched out a finger to covertly poke Fang Qian’an in the back.

Don’t cause trouble.

He also threw eye knives at Fang Qian’an.

The tall boy staggered when he was poked by Li Xiu like this. Then, with a glance at Li Xiu, he reluctantly stepped forward, allowing Teacher Xu to gently press his head.

Seeing the wretched look on Fang Qian’an’s face gradually disappear at this touch, the imperceptible solemnity in Teacher Xu’s eyes faded as well.

“Good.” Teacher Xu clapped his hands with a laugh.

“Don’t focus on these strange things from now on. Study hard and get into a good university. That’s better than anything else.”

Clearly, this man had been acting like a spiritual master a few minutes ago, but when he spoke now, he was almost like a mundane relative from someone’s family, spewing uninformed platitudes when he opened his mouth.

“Yes, Teacher Xu is right!” the vice principal quickly echoed. “You two are about to take the university entrance exams. Study hard from now on and don’t engage with such dangerous…..feudal superstitions again. This time, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you two here. But the next time I catch a student skipping school to enter the villa, don’t blame me for giving them a demerit.”

It was very clear that the vice principal was terrified of what happened in the Xiao family villa, and didn’t even dare to pursue the matter further.

Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an were light-headed after just escaping disaster. Before the two of them could ask further questions, they were hastily ushered away from the Xiao Family Haunted House by this group of people.

In fact, Li Xiu would rather not know at all — just as Teacher Xu said, what he should really do was study to get into university instead of being inexplicably scared to death by ghosts in a haunted house.

Before they left, Teacher Shu suddenly addressed them again.

“Wait, this is for you two…..just in case.”

Teacher Xu dug into the inner pocket of his suit for a while and pulled out two warm red strings, handing one each to Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu.

“When you get back, don’t take these off even when bathing. Wear them for at least, hm, forty-nine days,” Teacher Xu said with a smile.

When he finished speaking, his eyes lingered on Li Xiu’s face for a moment.

“Li Xiu, right…..” Teacher Xu’s voice sounded a little more serious than before.

Li Xiu couldn’t help but tense up when he looked at the man. But after a brief silence, all he heard was Teacher Xu’s solemn instruction.

“You must study seriously, ah.”

Li Xiu nodded, not knowing the reason why.

“I will,” he promised.

*

A short while after, the backs of the two teenagers gradually disappeared into the lush shade of the wild forest.

Teacher Xu’s apprentice stood beside him, staring in the direction Li Xiu had left. He couldn’t hold back and murmured: “That kid, don’t you still need to warn his parents…..”

“Shh…..”

Teacher Xu made a gesture to stop his apprentice from continuing.

Different from his mild mannerisms in front of Li Xiu, the man now look grave, with an extraordinarily imposing appearance.

“That kid has prodigious academic talent. Even with that kind of physique, he doesn’t have to walk down that road.” Teacher Xu said solemnly, word by word, “Concerning the child’s future, the more undecided it is, the less should be spoken of it, lest it determine a person’s path.”

The young apprentice shivered under Teacher Xu’s stern gaze and couldn’t help but shrink his neck, not daring to say anything more.

And the others fell silent as well upon hearing Teacher Xu’s words. But it could also be seen from their expressions that even though they were learning together with Teacher Xu, the thoughts of this group of people differed.

Only the vice principal stood among them, looking at this and that with a face full of confusion. He had no idea what these people were talking about.

He had been at Qiming for so long, and only vaguely knew that there were indeed some things in the Xiao family villa that couldn’t be explained by common sense or science — and that every few years, the school would invite some particular people to deal with it.

This year had actually not yet ended. However, in just a few days, various incidents had emerged, including the English teacher hanging himself and a student mysteriously dying inside the villa. The one above the vice principal seemed to be very frightened. During this period, he made a lot of phone calls begging for help, and the person named “Teacher Xu” had finally come today.

The vice principal could vaguely feel that Teacher Xu’s status seemed to be different from the ones who usually came to the school.

It was precisely because of this that the vice principal’s curiosity was aroused after hearing their confounding words.

Once extraneous people like Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an were gone, Teacher Xu didn’t pay much attention to the vice principal and told him to wait outside the door, taking a few close disciples to walk warily into the villa.

The vice principal wiped his hands as he waited outside. He was a little impatient with the wait, so he handed a cigarette to the “master” next to him.

The master remaining outside with him now had been here a few years previously. The vice principal had some respect for him, so he was able to strike up a conversation with him now. 

The vice principal asked softly while puffing away: “Master, let me just ask, ah…..is there something wrong with the student who was mentioned before, Li Xiu?”

The master with a cigarette in his mouth skewed his eyes upon hearing the vice principal’s inquiry.

“That’s not really the case,” the man murmured.

After a pause, he leaned close to the vice principal’s ear and lowered his voice, saying: “Just take it as a story and don’t tell anyone else…..the student just now named Li Xiu is more likely than not a ‘human coffin.’”

In a world that couldn’t be explained by science for the time being, there was a saying that some special things were very suitable for nourishing yin energy and raising ghosts.

They usually called such things “soul-nurturing coffins.”

“…..It’s said to be a ‘coffin,’ but it’s actually a title. In some places, naturally-formed underground yin caves are also called soul-raising coffins.”

The master took another puff from the cigarette, unconsciously glancing in the direction of the school as he spoke.

“There is also a type of soul-raising coffin that is the most powerful ghost-raising place, because the coffin is not dead, but alive.”

“Ah?”

A cluster of cigarette ash fell onto the back of the vice principal’s hand, burning him.

“Some people born with particular horoscopes have weak yang energy and strong yin energy, which is very suitable for nourishing ghosts. You saw that the student is handicapped. In fact, this is due to fate. Just like fortune tellers, they are prone to five disadvantages and three deficiencies. Before the liberation, many powerful masters would specifically adopt such people, because they are generally disabled and have no father or mother. They would just casually feed them and have them raise ghosts for themselves. This was especially useful. But now…..” The man took another puff and glanced fearfully at the villa. “That sort of illegal thing definitely can’t be done now. This kind of human coffin is already very rare. I didn’t expect to bump into one at your school.”

“Oh, but, what can a human coffin do?” The vice principal couldn’t help but question him further.

“Didn’t I say it? They raise ghosts, and raise evil spirits. We are no longer allowed to do these things. But it’s no wonder those two students ran into ghosts like this. They were probably attracted by the yin qi of the human coffin. But Teacher Xu also said that although the student is a human coffin, he is fated with prodigious acaemic talent…..as long as he studies hard, these things will naturally have nothing to do with him…..”

. . . . . . .

“Achoo—”

Inside a crowded shopping mall, Li Xiu sneezed.

Fang Qian’an approached with two cups of milk tea and happened to hear Li Xiu sneeze. He couldn’t help but ask: “What’s wrong? Are you cold?”

Li Xiu said nothing. He just reached out and took the milk tea. The scalding milk tea reddened Li Xiu’s hands through the cup, but he had no intention of taking them away. In fact, his body was no longer cold at all, but deep in his bone marrow, there seemed to be a lingering chill.

After getting out of the villa, Li Xiu took the initiative to skip class with Fang Qian’an for the first time.

The two of them left school at the same time and came to the most popular shopping mall in City A. They went straight to an internet-famous milk tea shop known for its long, overcrowded queues.

Li Xiu had always hated such boisterous crowds, but right now, it felt really good to be around so many people.

“I don’t know if that Teacher Xu was useful at all. Why do I see that your face still doesn’t look very good?”

Fang Qian’an leaned forward slightly to peer at Li Xiu with a frown.

The tables in the internet-famous milk tea shop were very small. Fang Qian’an only moved by a fraction, but Li Xiu could feel the other party’s knee pressing against him.

The strong, tall, 1.9 meter high school boy’s frame was stuck in one of a variety of white and pink girly seats, which even looked a little comical.

Li Xiu blinked, and couldn’t help but smile.

“I really am fine. I was born this way.”

His grandmother was getting older, and she had always been somewhat unable to care for Li Xiu.

The consequence of long-term malnutrition and using his brain too much was that Li Xiu’s face was always a shade paler than those of his peers.

“Fine.”

After confirming that Li Xiu was okay, Fang Qian’an seemed to let out a long sigh of relief.

“That’s great. I was…..scared to death before.”

Li Xiu stared blankly when he heard Fang Qian’an’s extremely worried voice.

His chest palpitated slightly. It was a very unfamiliar feeling.

Li Xiu quickly lowered his eyes and took a sip of milk tea to suppress the unexplainable discomfort.

“Hm?”

The youth’s eyes widened in shock at the sweet flavor that poured into his mouth.

What Fang Qian’an brought to Li Xiu was not the most famous milk tea in this store. Instead, it was a pudding hot chocolate with red beans, cream, and a lot of taro.

Li Xiu was stunned.

“Go on and drink it,” the other boy said softly.

Unable to help himself, Li Xiu gave Fang Qian’an a quick glance.

By the time he realized it, Li Xiu had already asked: “How do you know I like this?”

……Unlike ordinary young men, Li Xiu was very fond of sweets. Moreover, his favorite was the super sweet hot chocolate with lots of ingredients.

Fang Qian’an was given a start. He looked at Li Xiu’s red-tinted cheeks and lips stained by the hot chocolate’s heat and was lost for a moment.

“I-I just bought it randomly,” the boy replied gruffly. For some reason, his voice sounded a little flustered. “Who knew, uh, that you really like this kind of sweet stuff, ah?”

Li Xiu blinked. In fact, as soon as the question left his mouth, he also came to his senses. It was indeed impossible for Fang Qian’an to know what he liked to drink. Li Xiu didn’t have much contact with his classmates, and hot chocolate was too expensive. No matter how much Li Xiu craved it, he could only think about it inwardly and never tell anyone how much he liked it.

But in any case, the hot chocolate made Li Xiu’s entire body and mind feel warm.

The corners of the youths eyes unknowingly filled with a soft warmth.

It was probably because the seats in this bullshit internet-famous store were too crowded, Fang Qian’an thought in a fluster. Otherwise, why would he be able to smell the sweet chocolate fragrance escaping from Li Xiu’s lips the moment he opened his mouth?

“Thank you, Fang Qian’an,” said Li Xiu.

Fang Qian’an’s face instantly turned red.

……He suddenly wanted to drink hot chocolate.

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34