The four kittens were two months old in the blink of an eye. He fed the few little ones until they were chubby, and the price he paid was a pair of looming dark circles under his eyes. His skin was pale, so it was a bit obvious. Xu Hengxing was taken aback when he came to pick up the kitties. He crouched on the floor and stuffed them into a crate, asking: “Someone who didn’t know might think you have a fox spirit hiding in your house, sucking out your vitality…..”

As soon as he finished speaking, a tall man wearing an apron came out of the kitchen and asked while holding a spatula: “Will your friend stay for dinner?”

Xu Hengxing: ……

Fuck! A fox spirit!

Lu Qi lowered his head and asked: “Do you want to eat here?”

Xu Hengxing’s voice trembled. “Who…..who is this? You’ve been doing good deeds for more than twenty years,  so has a cat or dog finally transformed to repay your kindness?”

He picked up a kitten and said: “Transform! Transform for me!”

“……” Lu Qi lightly kicked him on the hip and coughed. “This is my neighbor. He…..he doesn’t have a kitchen, so he often comes here to cook…..”

His guilty eyes wandered, darting around.

Xu Hengxing whispered to Lu Qi, “Brother, aren’t you lying? The watch on his hand could buy a small restaurant, but he still lacks a kitchen?” After looking Lu Qi up and down, he suddenly hehe’d. “Is he pursuing you?”

Lu Qi couldn’t deny it, and muttered faintly.

“Then I must stay for dinner!” Xu Hengxing was eager to start. “Rich men play around a lot. I need to guard the pass for you so that you aren’t deceived!”

He gave Mu Nanqiao a meaningful look.

Mu Nanqiao was all smiles, and no matter how he looked at that smile, it seemed as if he had a card up his sleeve.

When it was time to eat, Xu Hengxing faced the six dishes on the table and swallowed his saliva. “I admit, I spoke a little loudly just now.”

When Mu Nanqiao chatted with him about the operation of the rescue center, Xu Hengxing became more serious. Mu Nanqiao listened attentively, and didn’t forget to peel shrimp for Lu Qi.

“I can fund the rescue center.” Mu Nanqiao said: “Mr Xu, you can contact my assistant later to confirm the relevant procedures with him.”

Mu Nanqiao had brought this matter up with Lu Qi two days ago, so Lu Qi was not surprised. He had a detailed discussion with Mu Nanqiao at that time and hoped that the other party wasn’t spending money just because of him. Mu Nanqiao said that Mu Group had a special expenditure every year that was used for public welfare. After Mu Chuansong came to power, all of the funds were given to Mu Rui for food and drink, prostitutes, and gambling.

He was just reusing this money in the right place.

Xu Hengxing’s eyes lit up when he heard that Mu Nanqiao was going to donate to the rescue center every month, and he reached out tremblingly to pat Lu Qi’s shoulder.

“Boss, he’s yours,” Xu Hengxing said. “I can also help you guard the door. No matter how loud he screams, I won’t open the door for him.”

Lu Qi almost choked. He kicked Xu Hengxing’s calf with burning ears, silently reprimanding him for neglecting their friendship over wealth.

Mu Nanqiao noticed his small movements and just chuckled, raising his hand to push a small plate of shrimp toward Lu Qi.

Xu Hengxing suddenly felt like he had been fed full of dog food.

The four kittens were taken away by Xu Hengxing. After finding suitable adoptive families, they would start new lives. The mother cat, Xiao Sanhua, was kept by Lu Qi and officially joined his family.

After sending Xu Hengxing away, Lu Qi went to the kitchen to wash the bowls. When he came out again, he found that Mu Nanqiao was still in the small living room and was teasing Xiao Sanhua with a cat teasing-stick. When he saw Lu Qi come out, he raised his eyes and smiled: “Your friend is quite interesting.”

“What’s so interesting about him? Isn’t he especially hypocritical?” Lu Qi couldn’t help but want to laugh when he thought about Xu Hengxing’s cheap appearance. “He was completely convinced by Boss Mu’s wealth…..but aren’t you going to work this afternoon?”

He himself didn’t notice the familiarity of this sentence, as if they were very close friends or a couple living together.

Mu Nanqiao knew that Lu Qi was just asking a question and had no other meaning, but he didn’t care, and was busy digging some sugar out of this simple question. His smile became more cheerful, and his fox eyes were shining brightly.

“I actually don’t have to go to the company on Saturdays and Sundays.“ He picked up the cat and put her on his knees, using his fingers to play with her ears. “Various departments in the company were in the handover stage previously, and things were inevitably a little more complicated. Everything is good now, so I plan to give myself a day off today.”

Mu Nanqiao looked at Lu Qi and grasped the cat’s front paw, shaking it. “Do you want to go out for a walk together? Hike a mountain? A picnic? Archery?”

Lu Qi was a little moved, and his round little deer eyes lit up. Then he thought of something again, and his raised eyebrows drooped. “Forget it, I’m afraid I can only take a half-day tour of my living room today. I took an urgent commission that needs to be handed in tomorrow. I have to concentrate on catching up with the progress.”

Mu Nanqiao nodded: “Oh.”

After waiting for a moment, Lu Qi blinked. “You’re still not leaving?”

“To go where?” Mu Nanqiao looked at Lu Qi, and he and Xiao Sanhua tilted their heads in unison. The big fox and little cat both gazed at Lu Qi with equally innocent eyes. “The place next door is damp and dark. Do you really want me to go back?”

“You…..” Lu Qi reached out and picked up the cat to prevent her from learning bad things. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. Speak politely and don’t act coquettish!”

Having achieved his goal, Mu Nanqiao took out freeze-dried cat food from the small drawer of the coffee table. He called Xiao Sanhua back and sat on the sofa to focus on feeding the cat.

Lu Qi went to the bedroom to take out his equipment, and shrunk into a small corner to draw. He clearly didn’t want Mu Nanqiao to know what he was drawing, and put his back to the wall while facing him, as nervous as a little hamster secretly collecting food.

But a prompt popped up on Mu Nanqiao’s mobile phone, and he paid special attention to a live broadcast. 

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He didn’t mean to peek, but as a qualified “captain,” wasn’t it right for him not to miss any of wifey’s broadcasts?

A lot of fur was rubbed onto his chest when he picked the cat up and nestled them both on the small sofa. Pretending to check his phone, he entered the live broadcast room.

As soon as he entered, Mu Nanqiao raised his eyebrows and reached out to cover the cat’s eyes.

Xiao Sanhua: “Meow?”

The drawing was nearly completed, and the final rendering was in progress. Mu Nanqiao didn’t recognize this character, and only after looking at the barrage did he realize that it was fanart for a certain game.

There were special effects when a captain entered the live broadcast room, and Mu Nanqiao heard Lu Qi’s soft gasp. After a moment, the barrage appeared slowly and Lu Qi typed out a welcome to him with his own hands.

[Why isn’t wifey speaking today? It always feels like something is missing when the wife doesn’t speak. I refuse to hand over my pants.]

[555~ Two of my favorite elements, wifey is drawing my favorite idol]

[This pixelation is a bit strange]

[Although, aren’t the abs drawn by wifey not so natural, ah?]

[Yes, it’s a shortcoming. Fortunately, most of the time wifey likes to draw more subtle things, so they usually have clothes]

[Today’s sponsor daddy specifically asked for no clothes]

[Hot, hot~ You are all experts, but I only know hot~]

Mu Nanqiao silently threw out two gifts, and heard Lu Qi huddled in the corner let out a small sound again, like a little frightened animal.

After a moment, the barrage appeared slowly: Thank you @Lionid for the tip. Just watching is enough, no need for gifts.

Mu Nanqiao thought and then sent a message.

[You can do it, wifey~ It will be even better with the abs drawn well~ I look forward to wifey’s progress~ (holding heart)]

“Meow~”

Xiao Sanhua licked her paws. She didn’t understand what this human was doing, but she could see that this man had a cunning smile on his face, almost like a fox wagging its tail. Cats and dogs were naturally incompatible with each other. She instantly forgot the friendship of being fed freeze-dried food and yelled at Mu Nanqiao, jumping away by stepping hard on his belly.

Mu Nanqiao: ? ? ?

What kind of ungrateful rebellious girl had he been feeding in vain?

However, Xiao Sanhua ran to Lu Qi’s feet in the blink of an eye, circling around him as she purred coquettishly and said in a soft and delicate voice: “Miwu~”

Lu Qi endured it for two minutes before he finally couldn’t resist the temptation. He leaned over and picked up the cat, stroking her in his arms. “What are you doing? I’m at work…..”

Mu Nanqiao hadn’t turned on the sound, so he heard this sentence directly, and the people in the live broadcast room obviously heard it too. The barrage stopped for a few seconds, and then a series of ahhhhs filled the screen.

[Wifey, you’re acting coquettish with me, I know it]

[I told wifey earlier to livestream and lull me to sleep. I’m sleepwalking so much that I could spin around thirty times. I’m so busy that I’ll put the donkeys in the fields out of work]

[Laughing to death. The more I listen, the more energetic I become. Finally, some unspeakable program has been opened]

For a moment, Mu Nanqiao felt sour.

He sat up and asked softly: “Do you want to go out to eat tonight?”

Lu Qi replied subconsciously: “What should we eat? Do you want to go to that Sichuan restaurant from last time?”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He shouldn’t have asked this question, and simply said they would go eat seafood.

Who would have thought that this pale, clean person like a soft butter cake turned out to be filled with hot pepper flavor, but it happened that Mu Nanqiao couldn’t eat spicy food. He almost couldn’t maintain his dignity last time and cried in front of Lu Qi.

Nothing could make a boss shed tears, and if so, it was abnormally spicy.

But Lu Qi’s eyes were bright, as if he was looking forward to testing it. “No? Then let’s…..”

“Yes.” Mu Nanqiao smiled with difficulty. “We’ll just eat at that one.”

“Okay,” Lu Qi agreed immediately. “Then I’ll treat you this time.”

The barrage: ……

[Fuck~ A mysterious wild man]

[He hesitated, he hesitated! He’s not sincere! Let me go with wifey! I can show off my tolerance for chili seeds]

[It sounds so good that my ears are numb]

[Are they roommates? Is this the friend wifey mentioned last time? That super handsome one!]

But Lu Qi didn’t say anything else. In order to go to dinner early, he focused on completing his task, and successfully uploaded it before dinner.

After booking a seat, Mu Nanqiao planned to go back and change clothes. He stood up and stretched his stiff muscles, casually informing Lu Qi, but received no response.

When he looked down, Lu Qi was gazing at his waist, lost in thought. After a moment, he reached up and pinched his own waist.

Mu Nanqiao: ……

If he lifted his clothes to see if Lu Qi’s waist was red, would he be invited out by the Holy Sword of Physics? 

But he had pinched really hard and was cruel to himself.

“What are you thinking about?” He vaguely guessed the answer, but pretended to be puzzled and asked: “Why did you pinch yourself?”

Wife Xiao Lu sat on a small stool and held his chin, frowning in distress as he asked: “Do you exercise? I don’t seem to have seen you working out.”

“……” Mu Nanqiao said: “While you’re sleeping, I get up early for a run. Sometimes when I come back late, it’s not always because I’m working overtime. There is a gym downstairs at the company.”

Lu Qi: ……

My goodness, Boss Mu secretly one-upped everyone and stunned them.

“Then you…..” Lu Qi’s eyes sparkled with anticipation: “Do you have abs?”

Ah, the little fish took the bait.

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Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twenty << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Two

T/N: Thank you once again to DashingRavens for the donation! I thought the bonus chapter was too short, so I tossed in an extra one!

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Lu Qi was quickly angry to the extreme at Mu Nanqiao. How could such a smart person be defenseless against the scumbag who bullied him? He watched as Mu Nanqiao took the glass of wine and began chatting with Lin Yuan, the golden liquid swirling in the glass with a clear light.

But Lu Qi had clearly seen what that bastard Lin Yuan put into the glass.

He watched the glass vigilantly, but unfortunately didn’t have time to take out his mobile phone and take a picture for evidence.

Mu Nanqiao held the glass and didn’t pay attention to what Lin Yuan was saying. He seemed to be chatting with Lin Yuan, but in fact, his thoughts were all on the little deer huddling in the corner.

He set down his wine glass and turned toward that baseball hat at the bar, then picked up the wine glass and turned his head back. He couldn’t hide the smile on his lips, and could only raise his hand to cover his mouth and cough.

The glass was switched twice, and Lin Yuan’s face darkened. “Did you hear what I said?”

Mu Nanqiao finally turned his eyes toward him.

“Does it matter whether I heard? It’s all nonsense.” In a good mood, he leaned back on the bar counter, a smile on his face and a gleam in his fox-like eyes. There was not enough time for the lingering sentiment to disperse, but faced with this eyesore, his tone was chilled. “Mr. Lin has motives other than drinking, and this ceasefire is a sham. Getting me to drink the wine you brought was your original intent, right?”

Lin Yuan’s eyes grew cold, and his feigned kindness just now was seen through and torn apart bit by bit. He was sure that Mu Nanqiao wouldn’t drink, so he sneered and was about to speak when Mu Nanqiao gave him a meaningful look.

Raising his hand, Mu Nanqiao pressed the glass of wine to his lips and actually drank it in one gulp. He drank a little hastily, and a bit of golden wine flowed down from the corners of his lips, moistening his Adam’s apple.

Lin Yuan was stunned. He didn’t know where this was coming from, but instinctively sensed that something wasn’t right and took a step back.

At the same time, a person suddenly appeared next to Mu Naniqao and slapped him on the back. “Spit it out, spit it out!”

Lin Yuan: ……

This person’s voice was quite familiar.

When he took a closer look, it turned out to be Lu Qi.

Lu Qi was so anxious that he turned the brim of his hat to the back of his head and patted Mu Nanqiao’s back: “Spit it out! I saw him throw a little white pill into it.”

Mu Nanqiao: “Cough, cough, cough…..cough cough…..”

He turned his head and gave Lu Qi an innocent look. His eyes were a little wet from coughing, and he opened his mouth to show Lu Qi.

His thin lips were a pale pink, and his tongue was red. He had actually swallowed it!

Lu Qi almost jumped on the spot. With such a short distance, he couldn’t even have run this fast in a hundred meter sprint! But he had already drunk it!

“Are you a child? Your mouth is so quick.” Lu Qi turned his head and glared at Lin Yuan. “What did you put in it? Did you drug him to do something nefarious?”

Lin Yuan was going insane. With no care for embarrassment, he shouted out: “I’m not interested in him! Who would be interested in someone who held him down and beat him, ah! I’m not a masochist! What I really want is you!”

The well-rounded Wife Xiao Lu could not be fooled, and his face said: that is not necessarily the case.

Lin Yuan felt dizzy. He did add something to Mu Nanqiao’s wine, but his original intention was to wait for the drug to take effect, and when Mu Nanqiao went to the private box to rest, he would send in a little duck. It would be best if Lu Qi arrived and happened to run into the two of them doing something.

But why had Lu Qi come so early? Now Lu Qi happened to be here when Mu Nanqiao drank. Wasn’t he spending money just to entertain others? He should just give them a room card!

What the hell was this injustice!

Lu Qi did see the text message from Lin Yuan about the car being sent to pick him up, but he was not a fool. Why would he get into the scumbag’s car? He could still afford the taxi fare! What’s more, he hadn’t seen Li Yimiao in a long time and planned to come in advance to see his cousin.

Before he set off, Lu Qi was a little angry.

No matter whether Mu Nanqiao was a driver or a CEO, there would be no difference in Lu Qi’s attitude toward him. The root of the problem was that Mu Nanqiao had lied. It should be known that he was really worried about Mu Nanqiao’s livelihood at first, but in the end, this guy clearly had no worries about food and clothing.

The little flame of anger burned brightly. When he came in, he saw Mu Nanqiao sitting in the corner.

The man was sitting at the intersection of light and shadow. He had a handsome profile, a tall, straight figure. His long legs were crossed, and two buttons on his black shirt were unbuttoned at the collar. The hair falling across his forehead covered his eyebrows, and his expression was full of a cold arrogance that Lu Qi had never seen before. He smiled and greeted everyone, but always stayed away from the crowd.

Lu Qi held his chin and admired this beauty. The more he looked at him under the lights, the more breathtaking he was. The little fire in his heart flickered in the breeze, swaying from side to side, and ultimately went out with a pop.

It couldn’t be helped. Lu Qi made a mistake that any man would make. Looking at that face, he couldn’t help but think that regardless of the facts, could it be that he was suffering some hardship?

He would wait until he heard his explanation.

And as a result, he saw Mr. Mu swallow the drink Lin Yuan handed him in one gulp!

Lu Qi nearly rushed over and grabbed Lin Yuan’s collar to ask what kind of drug it was, but Mu Nanqiao hugged his waist and rubbed his head, pushing him behind him.

“Be good.” Mu Nanqiao said: “What would you do if you bumped into someone while rushing in front?”

He rolled up his sleeves and raised his hand to pull off his tie, stuffing it into the small bag hanging against Lu Qi’s chest.

He blinked his eyes, smiling softly and cunningly. “Let me do it.”

When he turned around, he no longer looked so gentle. Stepping over the obstructive decorations on the ground, he walked straight toward Lin Yuan.

As soon as Lin Yuan saw his expression, he felt a dull pain in his newly-healed wrist and ribs. He turned around unthinkingly and started to run away, but the people around him had long been drawn in by the commotion here. The faces that looked familiar or unfamiliar were basically all well-known people in the circle.

He hesitated for a moment between being shameless or not, and missed his chance to turn around and run away. Seeing that Mu Nanqiao had already reached for a chair, he simply took the initiative to pick up a bottle of wine from the bar.

Lu Qi was a little worried, but Mu Nanqiao easily twisted his thin waist and dodged.

Watching this, Lu Qi felt relieved, and his eyes turned from worried to complicated.

He was a black hole when it came to sports, and was also a homebody, so he was not very good at them at all. But even a person who had never eaten pork had seen a pig run. Mu Nanqiao was not only good at fighting, but was simply an expert, and his steps were very methodical. In comparison, Lin Yuan really only had a bit of ruthlessness and nothing else.

Therefore, Lin Yuan didn’t last two minutes. After taking a beautiful side kick from Mu Nanqiao, he fell into a booth and knocked down a bunch of glasses with a clang.

The scumbag lay on the floor surrounded by a bunch of drinks and broken glasses, howling miserably.

Wu, this was the legendary white moonlight who was too weak to take care of himself? Lu Qi touched his chin and thought that there were still similarities between the two of them.

For example, the position where they chose to kick the scumbag was the same.

. . . . . . . .

When they came out of the bar, Mu Nanqiao’s assistant was still negotiating with Lin Yuan’s assistant. For some unknown reason, the Lin family didn’t have any intention of calling the police and were trying to keep it low-key.

One of the two parties entered the hospital once more, and the other walked down the road with Lu Qi.

Opposite the bar was a music square with a light show, along with a musician holding a guitar and singing. The two people walked slowly along the outer circle of the square. Disordered light and shadow fell on Lu Qi’s white short-sleeved shirt like smudged oil paint. It also fell on Mu Nanqiao’s black shirt, leaving little spots of light on the smooth, silky material.

“I’m sorry.” Mu Nanqiao apologized in a low voice: “When I saw you at the bar, I figured Lin Yuan told you about my identity. But it’s not that I deliberately hid it from you. I’m just a general manager, it’s not like I’m the emperor trying to go incognito. There’s nothing to hide.”

His attitude was pretty good. Lu Qi glanced at him, unsure if he was angry or not. Although Mu Nanqiao had lied, it hadn’t hurt him, but as a friend, he still didn’t feel good.

“So why did you do it?” Lu Qi took off his hat and gripped the hair that had been pressed down. “Can you tell me?”

He asked casually, but to his surprise, Mu Nanqiao nodded without any hesitation. His handsome face was filled with sincerity. “I can tell you.”

This time, Lu Qi felt a little awkward. The two of them walked to a relatively secluded corner and found a bench to sit down. 

The cicadas chirped and the night wind blew. Mu Nanqiao fell silent again.

Lu Qi whispered: “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it.”

“I was wondering where to start.” Mu Nanqiao turned his head to look at Lu Qi, some kind of emotion surging in his narrow eyes. “En, let’s start with my dad having a car accident and having to go to Sweden for treatment. The story is actually…..rather cliche.”

When Mu Chuanbai had a car accident, Mu Nanqiao had just graduated from middle school.

The situation was critical at that time. Talia asked around and found a Swedish expert who could operate on Mu Chuanbai, and had to immediately take him abroad for treatment.

At that time, Mu Chuanbai had been alienated from the Mu family for many years. He had opened a small company of his own and could be said to have an affluent life, but in the face of enormous medical expenses, it was inevitable that he was financially strapped.

Talia didn’t know when Mu Chuanbai would wake up, but her son was still underage and needed to continue his education, so it was not suitable for him to go to a foreign country with them.

Mu Chuanbai had once said to Talia that the Mu family were all relatives in the end. Because of this sentence, Talia made the wrong decision.

The young Mu Nanqiao was sent to his grandfather’s house. In name, he was a young master of the Mu family, but in fact, the junior members of the Mu family could bully him.

“I could have a full meal, but I had to be served last. Sometimes they took a long time to eat, and the food got cold.” Mu Nanqiao stared at a point in the void and suddenly smiled. “It’s rather funny, isn’t it? The Mu family, with assets in the hundreds of millions, used this method to squeeze out a child.”

Lu Qi didn’t think it was funny at all. He pursed his lower lip and quietly moved in Mu Nanqiao’s direction. He raised his hand and put it down with no place to rest it, feeling that it would be very misleading for him to rashly grab his hand.

But he really didn’t know how to comfort people.

As he hesitated, Mu Nanqiao reached over and gently grabbed his hand.

Lu Qi blinked and held it back.

With their fingers intertwined, Mu Nanqiao felt the warmth from his palm and continued: “As for me, at first I thought it was because I wasn’t good enough. Later, I found out that it had nothing to do with what I did. I had never been bullied like this as a child, and if someone hit me, I would definitely hit them back. Even if I won, I would be punished to kneel, but at least I was satisfied.”

“Later, that dog Mu Rui didn’t dare hit me at home, so he did it at school and relied on the power of numbers to win. After beating me, he would take photos to show his father. I didn’t want to see the disgusting faces of that father and son, so I wouldn’t go back to the Mu residence.” Mu Qi thought about that old warehouse and rubbed the back of Lu Qi’s hand with his thumb. “But the money my mom left me was still in his hands. Mu Chuansong refused to let me live on campus, so I had no choice but to work part-time and rent room 502. At that time, room 502 was still group rental housing, so the environment was very poor, but the rent was cheap.”

“I could rest there without having to worry about cold water being poured on me in my sleep.” Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyelashes and gripped Lu Qi’s clean, slender fingers. “This is why I moved back into 502. I have trouble sleeping elsewhere, and always feel like someone is going to jump out and attack me. In 502, the situation is much better.”

“So that’s why I’m in 502.” He exhaled a long breath. “After all these years, I’m still trapped there. As long as one of those people is still living a good life, I can’t get out.”

Lu Qi said nothing for a long time, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “So you didn’t say anything at first, because if you did, you would have to explain your…..”

Psychological trauma.

“I’m sorry, ah…..” Mu Nanqiao lowered his head like a little mushroom caught in the rain. “I shouldn’t have…..”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lu Qi said softly. “From the day I met you, I knew you had something to say.”

En, this……

If you met someone at a bar who treated you as a duck, could you really have a heart-to-heart relationship with him?

He hesitated to speak, and finally shut up in a well-behaved manner, with an “as long as you’re happy” look.

Mu Nanqiao knew what he was thinking by his tangled look and flicked his forehead, angrily amused.

He leaned back and raised their intertwined hands. Looking up at Lu Qi’s clean, slender fingers, he said with a sigh: “Sometimes I hope you pity me, so that I can take advantage of your weakness, but sometimes I don’t want you to pity me, so that it doesn’t influence your judgment……”

“I won’t stay with you just because I sympathize with you,” Lu Qi retorted in a low voice. “You’ve experienced a lot of terrible things, but now you’ve grown into a very good person. Of course there are things that are more attractive to me.”

“En?” Mu Nanqiao became interested and asked, “For example?”

Lu Qi didn’t realize that this was a trap to lure him to confess his affection, and thought about it seriously. “En, for example, your face…..”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He was amused by Lu Qi’s frankness, and said while laughing: “I thank my parents for giving me the ability to serve others…..”

Lu Qi blushed and quickly interrupted him: “I haven’t finished speaking yet. Of course there are other things……huh? Mu Nanqiao? What’s wrong with you?”

The man sitting opposite him had suddenly gasped and frowned slightly.

“It seems…..I don’t feel very good.” His voice became hoarse as he spoke, his eyes misty, and he raised a hand to tug at his collar.

Lu Qi: ……

Why did he look like this, as if spring love was overflowing, ah…..

“Didn’t you say that the effect of the drug would go away if you went out and got some air?” Lu Qi panicked. If Mu Nanqiao hadn’t been holding his hand, he would have spun around in circles. “What should we do now? Do you need to go to the hospital? Should I call 120?”

“No need.” Mu Nanqiao shook his head and reached to push back the strands of hair over his forehead. The straight lines of his brow were exposed, and the long, narrow hook-like tips of his eyes were stained by a bit of crimson, making the small mole at the end of his eye even redder.

He glanced at Lu Qi with blurry eyes, and the Adam’s apple on his slender neck rolled, as if he was suppressing something.

Like a charming fox spirit.

Lu Qi patted his cheek with the other hand to keep himself calm. After some thought, he still needed to call 120. He had heard a lot about these messy things. The consequences of misusing such a drug could be large or small, and they couldn’t risk any problems.

He would quickly ask an angel in white^[1] to collect this evil-doer.

As soon as he took the mobile phone out of his bag, Mu Nanqiao reached out and pressed it back.

“Don’t make trouble.” Lu Qi smacked Mu Nanqiao’s hand away, but Mu Nanqiao pressed it back down again.

Mu Nanqiao closed his eyes and murmured, “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

“Then what do you think we should do?” Lu Qi pulled out of his grip and smacked his hand angrily, using a bit of force. There was a slap, and a red mark appeared on the back of his hand. “Don’t lie or think about wicked things, I’ll sue you for sexual harassment! Get up quickly, we’re taking a taxi to the hospital!”

It could be said that Lu Qi was anxious, otherwise he would have seen the corners of Mu Nanqiao’s lips twitching as he obviously held back a smile.

“Okay.” Mu Nanqiao seemed to compromise: “Then my assistant must be informed. He has all my documentation.”

“Oh, oh.” Lu Qi felt a little strange. “It’s so troublesome for a general manager to be hospitalized? If your assistant asks why you’re going to the hospital, won’t it be a kind of social death? And which department should you go to?”

He glanced faintly downward.

Mu Nanqiao: “…..Does it look good?”

Lu Qi shifted his gaze, thinking that nothing had changed, ah. If it was Lin Yuan who drugged him, there wouldn’t be any change in Mu Nanqiao. Maybe it was because of…..

Mu Nanqiao took a deep breath and stretched out his hand, saying: “Let’s go. Help me.”

“Cough…..” Lu Qi reached out his hand to help him.

But it didn’t feel right. Mu Nanqiao didn’t seem to put any weight on him at all, only holding his shoulder loosely. The two took steps side by side, and Lu Qi frowned in confusion.

Just at this time, Mu Nanqiao lowered his head and spoke in his ear with a smiling voice. The sound was obviously not loud, but it made his ears slightly numb.

“En, although whiskey has a lot of stamina, there’s no need to go to the hospital over it. Which department would I be admitted to?” He finally couldn’t help but laugh. “Did I forget to tell you that I didn’t drink the wine Lin Yuan gave me? I exchanged it with one of the glasses on the bar.”

Lu Qi: ……

“Mu. Nan. Qiao!” He stomped on that stinky fox’s foot, and his sneaker left a distinct mark on the leather shoe. “You’re a big liar!”

This stomp was substantial, and Boss Mu reaped the consequences. He nearly jumped up on the spot, but regained his composure. He quickly caught up with the little deer he had offended, who was running away, and had to coax in a low voice: “I was wrong, there won’t be a next time. Do you want to go home? Mu-shifu drank today and can’t drive. How about we take a taxi back?”

Lu Qi finally returned to his senses.

Having been teased by Mu Nanqiao, the heavy sourness in his heart had faded a lot, as if it had been swept up into the night sky by the evening breeze.

Lu Qi slowed down and looked back at Mu Nanqiao.

This man was following him at a leisurely pace, his fox eyes constantly trained on him. The fog in his eyes seemed to have greatly dissipated, and his eyes were clear and focused.

He really wasn’t willing to let others pity him, let alone use other people’s pity to achieve his own goals.

Even though he was facing a person whose heart was easily softened, he didn’t bother to use this method.

He caught up with Lu Qi and walked side by side with him, asking with a smile: “Are you still angry?”

Lu Qi huffed and turned his head.

His ears silently turned red.

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[1] An “angel in white” is a an honorary title for a doctor or nurse. ⮐

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Chapter Nineteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-One

Just as they were talking, a loud noise suddenly came from the third room in the small courtyard, which was supposed to be the room He Lan was staying in. They had originally thought that neither of them came back last night, so how could there be any movement?

When the three people heard this sound, they rushed over to take a look and saw He Lan being kicked out of the room by someone.

He fell with an aiyo in front of the three of them. Upon closer inspection, there was a big footprint on his chest.

They looked up in shock and saw Qin Yu flying out of the room with a sinister expression. The layers of his robes were still open, leaving only the inner garment fastened as he rushed out and stepped on He Lan.

He Lan stood up and quickly began to fight Qin Yu, but Qin Yu was so furious that He Lan couldn’t resist him at all, and was soon stepped on again. He could only look to Huo Fenglie, who was standing aside, for help.

“Zhanyuan, save me.”

However, Huo Fenglie shielded Liu Zhenqing and stood at a distance. Even Bai Su silently stepped back, refusing to save him.

In the end, amidst a burst of cries and howls for mercy, the one-sided beating ended. Qin Yu went to Bai Su’s room to change clothes with a sullen face.

He Lan lay on the ground and rubbed his legs silently, looking with resentment at the three people who had watched him being beaten.

“You’re not human, why didn’t you help me?”

“Will you tell us what you did first?” Bai Su rubbed his brow helplessly as he spoke, as if he was accustomed to this.

Liu Zhenqing’s face was full of curiosity. “This is the first time I’ve seen Brother Qin truly angry.” Although Qin Yu was a cold person, he could occasionally let loose with these few people and play around, and truly treated himself as one of their own.

He Lan let it be known that he was wronged. “I only pushed him down on the bed…..”

The three people: ? ? ?

“And tore off his clothes.”

The three people: ! !

“I wanted to see the tattoo on his body.”

Huo Fenglie frowned in disgust, while Liu Zhenqing looked curious. Tattoo?

Bai Su said with a sigh: “How is it different from the tattoo on your body? Didn’t you all get them with Zhanyuan when you were young?”

This being said, Liu Zhenqing indeed saw that He Lan, whose clothes were ripped and torn, had a tattoo on his body.

“I have an eagle, and he has a snake. I was just curious. I heard that the snake’s scales are different, and I wanted to take a closer look.” He Lan clapped his hands and said, “I failed again.”

Bai Su couldn’t be bothered to talk to him anymore: “I think you were simply itching to be beaten.”

Seeing He Lan’s unresigned appearance, Liu Zhenqing felt deeply that this fellow not only showed no introspection at all, but also still intended to keep trying.

Although he had never expressed anything and Liu Zhenqing never asked, Qin Yu came from the Dongchang. At this time, the Dongchang were all eunuchs, and this was a rather sensitive thing, so Qin Yu should have a taboo about others looking at his body, even his brothers. Then he happened to encounter this careless fellow He Lan, so Qin Yu couldn’t be blamed for beating him.

However, according to Liu Zhenqing’s observations, He Lan’s martial arts should be superior to Qin Yu’s. Therefore, He Lan was beaten at this moment because he knew he was in the wrong, and let himself be beaten. He was a typical fool who loved to create difficulties for himself.

Huo Fenglie asked a more important question: “Why did you sleep together?”

He Lan said: “We didn’t return until dawn, and didn’t want to disturb Yuzhou’s rest, so I just asked Lao Qin to come to my place.”

In fact, this fellow was trying to find a chance to see his tattoo. Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but have this conjecture.

This farce quickly broke up. Afterwards, Qin Yu came out to have breakfast with everyone and ignored He Lan, who gave an airy apology. But He Lan was thick-skinned, so the result didn’t matter.

During this time, Liu Zhenqing realized that their tattoos were actually different. Huo Fenglie’s was usually not visible, and would only show up when his body heat reached a certain level. For example, when they bathed in the hot spring last time. And Qin Yu and He Lan’s were directly visible.

Although they had all gotten tattoos from the same person, they didn’t know what Huo Fenglie had tattooed on his body. They were only vaguely aware that it was very large and took up his entire upper body.

Liu Zhenqing gave Huo Fenglie a curious look, but Huo Fenglie still avoided talking about it and said: “It’s nothing special.”

Such concealment meant it must be very special. Liu Zhenqing’s curiosity was no lower than He Lan’s, and he intended to take a peek the next time Er-gou bathed.

After dinner, they split up. Liu Zhenqing first followed Bai Su to find Cheng Xi.

In the office hall, several officials transferred from local areas and officials from the investigation team gathered together. When everyone saw Bai Su and Liu Zhenqing arrive, they turned a blind eye. The local officials didn’t know them and only thought they were part of the investigation team, and naturally, everyone in the investigation team knew Bai Su and Liu Zhenqing. Although Liu Zhenqing had a special status, they had all received hints that he had come with General Huo, so they naturally didn’t dare to say anything and just kept their heads down to work.

Cheng Xi was the leader here, so he had a separate study. The two of them went directly to his study where it was more convenient to talk.

As soon as they entered, they saw the tall man with a slightly bloody cloth on his head standing next to the desk. He had a frown on his face and a frosty expression, carefully reviewing the information in his hands.

If it weren’t for a few coughs from time to time, the room would have been so quiet that it seemed like you couldn’t even hear him breathing.

The paperwork consisted of case files and newly obtained confessions, and sorting out each person’s charges was a huge workload. Who made this Imperial Examination fraud almost half the burden on the officials here?

Hearing a sound, Cheng Xi looked up. His face was covered in frost just now, but facing Bai Su, he looked like a delighted big brother.

“The two of you were given a fright today.”

“Cheng-daren, don’t say that. We’re here to help. Is there anything we can do for you?” Bai Su stepped forward with a slight smile, but his eyes remained on Cheng Xi’s wound with a hint of worry.

Just as Cheng Xi was about to speak, he suddenly coughed again. Bai Su quickly stepped forward to support him and pour him tea.

Liu Zhenqing listened carefully to the sound of his cough, and feared that he was going to cough up blood. Looking at Cheng Xi’s skin, there was no color to it. 

“Cheng-daren, do you really not need to see a doctor?” Liu Zhenqing said. Cheng Xi’s body looked like he had a long-term lack of rest, excessive worry, and exposure to cold. To put it bluntly, without proper treatment, his life would be short.

Bai Su also said with a frown: “It is better to rest. This case is not your responsibility in the first place, so there is no need to sacrifice yourself to such an extent.”

Cheng Xi waved his hand and said: “I’ve been sick for a long time and I’m well aware. I should take advantage of my ability to still work, and work harder.”

These words sounded as if he had no fear of his mortality.

As Cheng Xi spoke, he looked at Bai Su with a smile: “I promised Wangshu that I would be a good official who works on behalf of the common people, but I can’t live up to his expectations.”

Bai Su’s eyes flashed, and his breath caught in his throat.

Liu Zhenqing frowned slightly. Such “good officials” were very rare. And it seemed that Cheng Xi’s feelings for Bai Yu were very deep. If he didn’t have a wife and a mistress, he would have really believed Huo Fenglie’s analysis.

Bai Su helped Cheng Xi sit down and said: “I came to help you. Don’t worry, I won’t delay your progress.” He was already a top scholar, so it would be easy to deal with these matters. Before, he simply hadn’t wanted to get involved in such things.

Seeing Bai Su like this, Cheng Xi didn’t refuse. He held a hot tea cup to warm his hands and looked at Bai Su in a daze. “I’ll ask my servant to bring some snacks from Shu Ya Pavilion later. Wangshu liked them very much. He said the two of you had the same tastes, so I think you’ll like them too.”

Bai Su’s hand holding the brush paused, then he nodded and said, “Thank you, I’m looking forward to it.”

Liu Zhenqing took the opportunity to step forward and say: “Give me the list of jailed officials and I’ll sort it out.”

Bai Su was about to hand it over to Liu Zhenqing when Cheng Xi asked with polite curiosity, “By the way, has Young Master Liu also passed the Imperial Examinations?”

“That…..actually, no.” Liu Zhenqing was suddenly embarrassed.

However, Cheng Xi did not discriminate, and asked with a smile, “Then what is Young Master Liu’s name?”

Liu Zhenqing said directly: “My name is Liu Xiaozhu, courtesy name…..”

Before Liu Zhenqing could finish speaking, the teacup slipped from Cheng Xi’s hands and hit the floor with a bang.

Liu Zhenqing looked over and saw that Cheng Xi’s expression, which had been pleasant just now, was filled with shock, and then turned into an uncontrollable sullenness. 

Liu Zhenqing’s heart thumped, and he had a guess in mind.

“Oh, what is the relationship between Young Master Liu and the late treacherous minister Liu Zhenqing?”

As soon as these words came out, Bai Su also realized the problem and looked embarrassed, wanting to stop him.

“It seems that Cheng-daren already knows,” Liu Zhenqing said calmly.

“When I took over this case, I naturally knew that the Imperial merchant Liu family in the capital was also involved in the Imperial Examination case, and I also heard the name of their eldest son. Unexpectedly, Young Master Liu was not arrested, and even more unexpectedly, he is traveling with General Huo and Young Master Bai.” The hostility on Cheng Xi’s face was undisguised, and his unkind gaze even extended to Bai Su.

“Cheng-daren, the Liu family has been divided since their ancestors’ ancestors lived, and Brother Liu didn’t even know that person. We should not implicate innocent people,” Bai Su said firmly.

But Cheng Xi continued to look at Liu Zhenqing with gloomy eyes and said: “Apologies, I believe that General Huo and Young Master Bai can treat you fairly. They have clear grievances and can act normally, but I cannot. When I think of Wangshu’s tragic death, I just can’t understand it, and I don’t want to see anything related to that person. To avoid me losing my composure, Young Master Liu should leave.”

This was the first time Liu Zhenqing had felt such deep-seated hatred since his rebirth. He gradually lost all expression on his face and faced Cheng Xi’s anger in silence.

Although Cheng Xi was very restrained, he began to cough violently again right away. The coughing was even more severe this time, and it seemed as though he was about to cough up half his life.

It would be rude to stay any longer. 

Liu Zhenqing could only apologize and walk out.

Bai Su wanted to persuade him to stay, but he didn’t know what to say. Liu Zhenqing just gave him a faint smile and said: “Take care of Cheng Xi. He’s right. His behavior is only natural, and it was me who was insensitive. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

When Liu Zhenqing finished speaking, he turned around and left.

Bai Su sighed and looked back at Cheng Xi.

Cheng Xi also looked at Bai Su. “I know I am not qualified to say anything to you, but you are Wangshu’s younger brother. Do you know what he went through? Everything started because of Liu Zhenqing. Everything is his fault. How can you still have contact with his relative?”

Although Bai Su could understand Cheng Xi’s attitude, to be honest, Cheng Xi’s performance before was so perfect that the current Cheng Xi made Bai Su a little disappointed.

On the other side, Liu Zhenqing was thinking about where to go next. His steps got continuously slower, and his head went lower and lower.

Suddenly, he bumped into something. When he looked up, he saw that Huo Fenglie had appeared in front of him and was regarding him with a serious look.

Liu Zhenqing blinked. “What are you doing here?”

“Du Dongfeng is working. I was watching from above and saw you.” Then he heard Huo Fenglie ask in a slightly worried tone: “What’s wrong?”

Liu Zhenqing: “Oh, I didn’t find anything over there. I plan to go to Qin Yu’s place and have a look. There should be a list in the interrogation room.”

Liu Zhenqing was the best at acting. He confirmed that he hadn’t leaked out any emotion, but in the next second, Huo Fenglie grabbed his wrist.

Startled, Liu Zhenqing stared at Huo Fenglie with wide eyes. But Huo Fenglie didn’t say anything, and just forcefully pulled him toward the small courtyard.

“Yi? What are you doing? I’m not going back, ah, wait…..” Liu Zhenqing was pulled so hard that he staggered. Before he could regain his balance, he was picked up by Huo Fenglie.

It was difficult to comply with this kind of princess carry. Liu Zhenqing said with embarrassment: “Er-gou? What are you doing?”

But when he looked up, he only saw Huo Fenglie’s slightly gloomy face, as if he was sulking and blaming himself for doing something wrong. He didn’t dare to look at Liu Zhenqing.

Such an Er-gou made Liu Zhenqing shut up for a moment.

With a bang, Huo Fenglie kicked open their door. Liu Zhenqing didn’t realize what he was going to do until he placed Liu Zhenqing on the bed and removed his shoes.

Soon after, Huo Fenglie turned around and brought over a bunch of small mechanism toys he had bought on the road and spread them on the bed. Even a hidden Rubik’s Cube was included. 

Huo Fenglie looked up at Liu Zhenqing and said: “Stay here and don’t move. Wait for me for a while.”

Liu Zhenqing seemed to realize what Huo Fenglie was going to do, and said nothing.

Huo Fenglie hurriedly left. Soon, a circle of snacks he had said were delicious the day before were added to Liu Zhenqing’s bed. There were also new novels, as well as drinks that were not too strong, and Liu Zhenqing’s favorite incense was lit on the small table next to him.

Liu Zhenqing watched Huo Fenglie place them carefully and couldn’t help but smile: “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenglie looked up at Liu Zhenqing and said: “Qing-ge, you rest today. Don’t do anything. Just stay in bed.”

As he spoke, Huo Fenglie helped Liu Zhenqing put down the bed curtains to give him a small space.

In fact, he did this because it was what Liu Zhenqing used to do when he was unhappy and gave himself a holiday. Er-gou remembered.

Amused and helpless, Liu Zhenqing said: “Is there anything serious to be done?”

“There is…..nothing important, not at all,” Huo Fenglie said in a suddenly dark and cold tone.

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly at Huo Fenglie standing beside the bed, and suddenly felt that the person in front of him was no longer a child. He was grown up enough to shield him from some unpleasant emotions.

“I will keep an eye on Du Dongfeng,” Huo Fenglie said softly. “At noon, I will bring Qing-ge back the grilled fish from Wan Zhao Tower.”

As he spoke, he reached out and gently touched Liu Zhenqing’s head. “Qing-ge, have a good rest.”

Liu Zhenqing felt an inexplicable surge of sourness. Huo Fenglie’s tone of voice was a bit cold and unnatural, but he really felt the affection in his words.

It was strange. When Huo Fenglie said he felt sorry for him before, he only thought it was amusing, but now he felt very moved.

This person really felt distressed for him.

“Okay.”

Having received this response, Huo Fenglie left so as not to disturb Liu Zhenqing’s rest.

Lui Zhenqing took a deep breath and truly let himself go. He wrapped himself in the quilt and nestled in bed, eating snacks, playing with toys, and reading books when he was tired of playing.

When he was flipping through the pages, Liu Zhenqing came across a unique book.

The cover said “Album of Secluded Courtyard Paintings.”

Liu Zhenqing opened it curiously, and found that the first picture showed two figures sitting face to face on a bed, each of them using their hands to play with the other…..

Wait? What was he looking at? There were two men!!

Liu Zhenqing sucked in a deep breath and instinctively slammed the book shut.

Great Zhou was open to homosexuality, and even marriage was possible. This was not rare to Liu Zhenqing, and because of his appearance, he was often admired by men. So Liu Zhenqing knew some common sense things about it, but had no interest in his own sex, so he had never been curious to see any male erotic pictures. 

The scene just now shocked him hard.

It was so bizarre.

Why was this sort of thing mixed in with the books, ah?

Such nonsense. Liu Zhenqing tossed the book aside with no intention of looking at it again.

After a stick of incense, Liu Zhenqing closed the book again with a red face.

So ridiculous, how could that be possible? It must be an exaggerated depiction! Too unrealistic!

After another stick of incense, Liu Zhenqing felt that his soul had transcended, as if he had received incredible knowledge and the door to a new world had opened.

All those men who liked him wanted to do these things to him! He thought for a moment and really couldn’t accept it no matter what.

Er-gou had found this. Could it be…..

Several scenes suddenly flashed through Liu Zhenqing’s mind, including bathing in the hot spring pool, the Heaven’s Blessing Sect’s aphrodisiac, determining the scent on his body before…..all the drawings he had just seen became countless fragments and mixed together in his mind, as if they were about to condense into some kind of picture.

Liu Zhenqing’s mind went blank, and he wrapped himself in the quilt in shame and anger. He seemed to have accidentally thought of an incredible scene just now. It was simply crazy.

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Chapter Forty-Seven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Nine

T/N: Thank you so much to DashingRavens for the generous donation! Here’s a regular chapter and a bonus chapter!

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Du Dongfeng didn’t expect to wake up again. He touched his neck, which was already very painful, and truly felt that those people were crazy. They knocked him out three times in one night but didn’t kill him. What in the world did they intend to do?

Thinking of this, Du Dongfeng immediately groped for the jade pendant on his body and found that it was still there. He breathed a sigh of relief and then took out a piece of paper.

‘Like-minded person, we tested you many times and offended you.’

Du Dongfeng couldn’t help but frown. He was puzzled and could only go home in embarrassment, unaware that there was someone behind him.

At an ordinary house in an alley, Du Dongfeng looked around carefully and found nobody following him, so he went inside. In fact, there was no need to be cautious. The government knew where his house was.

When he entered, he saw that the lamps were still on, and there was a low coughing sound coming from inside.

Huo Fenglie observed for a long time on the roof and determined that Du Dongfeng’s father was indeed chronically ill. There were also a mother and younger siblings at home, truly an ordinary family. Just based on the calculation of his age, Du Dongfeng should be the oldest of his siblings, otherwise the age of his parents would be inconsistent. 

Not long after Du Dongfeng returned home, everyone also went to sleep. Only Du Dongfeng sat in the courtyard, holding the jade pendant in a daze, which made Huo Fenglie very unhappy.

Huo Fenglie kept watch all night without finding anything, full of displeasure. When he went back, he saw Liu Zhenqing sleeping peacefully with a pillow in his arms.

Since this person was nearby, he could only digest his anger silently.

The person on the bed suddenly turned over, and the quilt slipped off again. Huo Fenglie was about to step forward and cover him up, but when he glanced at him, his breath suddenly froze.

He saw that Liu Zhenqing had moved so much that his robes were all messed up. The top and bottom of his clothes were open, with only the middle belt barely holding them together.

A large area of fair skin was exposed. Delicate collarbones, a smooth chest, and a dot of red were accidentally revealed. That flat belly and belly button rose and fell slightly with his breathing.

Huo Fenglie felt his throat instantly tighten. Thinking of his brief suffering the previous night, his entire body felt bad. He quickly walked back to the table and took a sip of cold tea to extinguish the fire in his heart.

Likely because the teacup made too much noise, Liu Zhenqing woke up in a daze. When he saw Huo Fenglie sitting there, he got up with difficulty and took a deep breath, asking: “How did it go?”

Huo Fenglie briefly explained the situation.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes gradually became clearer. “So cautious? He didn’t go find the people he follows?”

Huo Fenglie said with discomfort: “In short, apart from taking care of his parents and sleeping normally, he just stared at your jade pendant. Now, he has returned to the government office for his duties.”

Liu Zhenqing coughed at once, looking embarrassed.

It was true that he had been admired by men before, but wasn’t the age gap a bit high? Could it be that he was able to charm people from eight to eighty years old, with no scruples between men and women?

After thinking about it, he felt inexplicably proud. Liu Zhenqing touched his chin and said with a smile: “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”

Huo Fenglie was speechless.

Liu Zhenqing noticed that Huo Fenglie’s expression wasn’t good and thought he was tired, so he said: “Then you should rest quickly. He’s on duty during the day and can’t run around, so I can still observe him. You can keep an eye on him at night.”

Huo Fenglie said: “I’ll rest for a while and continue to watch him. You don’t need to look at him.”

Liu Zhenqing opened his mouth, feeling that there was no need to make Er-gou work so hard. But seeing that Huo Fenglie had really taken off his outer layers and went to rest on the other side, he didn’t speak further. When he got up and went out, he happened to meet Bai Su, who had also just gotten up.

Bai Su’s mood seemed to have improved a lot after a night’s rest, and he had returned to his handsome appearance with a leisurely smile. They said good morning to each other and planned to go to the kitchen together to find food.

“Did Brother Qin and the others come back last night?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“No, they didn’t come back all night. Although the investigation is important, how can they do this without rest? But I don’t know what the physique of someone who practices martial arts is like. Perhaps they really don’t get tired easily,” Bai Su said.

Liu Zhenqing nodded along. Just as they were talking, they heard a commotion when they passed by the gate of the government office and some officials went to open the door.

When Liu Zhenqing saw that Du Dongfeng was there, he couldn’t help but shift his attention. Bai Su was also curious, so he followed him to see what was going on outside.

As soon as they opened the door, they saw a group of people blocking the door angrily and making an uproar. They were chased back by the government office guards, but they could only push them to the bottom of the steps.

These were the family members of imprisoned scholars and officials. It seemed that what Du Dongfeng said before about people coming to make trouble every day was true.

There was no point in arguing with them. Liu Zhenqing and Bai Su didn’t want to cause trouble, and were about to retreat.

At this moment, they saw a sedan chair approaching. It seemed that some people recognized Cheng Xi’s sedan chair, and they immediately surrounded it. Cheng Xi always traveled simply and did not bring a lot of guards. He was not originally the person in charge here, and had only come to handle the case and then return to his residence at night, so he could only rely on the government officials here to come forward and save him.

Seeing that Cheng Xi was in danger, Bai Su stopped and Liu Zhenqing could only watch along. Bai Su breathed a sigh of relief when the government officials escorted him over.

Cheng Xi was a local official, after all. After standing firmly on his feet, he faced the questions and immediately replied in a loud voice: “Where do you think this is? How can you be allowed to make a disturbance in front of the government office? Those who are not guilty should go home, and those who are guilty should face the law. The laws of Great Zhou will not bring injustice to good people, nor will they indulge evil people. You cannot change this just by making some noise. If you don’t go back, you can only be thrown into prison according to the law.”

A person with a clear conscience would naturally go home obediently after hearing such upright words, but these people all had evil intentions in their hearts. Not only did they disobey, but they also made worse trouble and picked things up to throw at people in an ignorant and unreasonable manner. They also specifically focused on the three people who were not wearing official uniforms, perhaps thinking that they were officials like Cheng Xi.

The government officials instinctively protected Cheng Xi and disregarded Liu Zhenqing and Bai Su.

Bai Su was standing next to Cheng Xi, and when Cheng Xi saw him get hit, he stepped over and used his slightly taller body to shield this person completely behind him.

Liu Zhenqing watched rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs flying toward him. He tried to dodge, but was not that agile, and was about to lament the suffering of his clothing when a figure blocked him.

“Be careful, my lord, and retreat inside.”

Liu Zhenqing took a closer look and saw that it was Du Dongfeng.

The matter came to an end with a few leaders being arrested, and everyone returned to the main hall.

“Hurry, the medicine kit,” Bai Su called out.

“Should we invite a doctor?” An official asked nervously.

Cheng Xi covered the bleeding wound on his forehead and said: “No need to bother. It’s only a scratch. Just use the medicine kit to treat it.”

The medicine kit was soon delivered, and Bai Su took charge of it himself.

“Don’t trouble yourself…..” Cheng Xi raised his hand to block Bai Su’s wrist, attempting to stop him.

Bai Su said in an unusually firm tone: “If Cheng-daren hadn’t protected me just now, I would have been injured. Let me do it. I can handle it.”

Cheng Xi looked at the extremely familiar gentleness revealed in that firm expression, and did not refuse. Instead, he stared blankly at Bai Su and let him deal with the wound on his forehead.

The wound was indeed not serious, but it left a mark. Bai Su felt increasingly guilty as he looked at it. He should have known better than to watch the fun.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and rubbed away the wrinkles on his brow.

Bai Su was startled, then lowered his head to see Cheng Xi staring at him intently. The affection in those eyes made Bai Su’s heart tremble.

“Don’t frown, you look good when you smile.” As he spoke, Cheng Xi held Bai Su’s face in his hands.

Suddenly, in a flash, Bai Su saw a clear look of aggressive encroachment in Cheng Xi’s eyes and couldn’t help but step back, his heart beating wildly.

And Cheng Xi seemed to sober up in an instant. He quickly apologized, “Young Master Bai, I’m truly sorry. I was distracted for a moment and thought you were…..Wangshu. You brothers look so much alike.”

Bai Su raised his head to look again. The way Cheng Xi looked at him was completely different, as if he was looking at a favored younger brother.

Cheng Xi looked at Bai Su almost lovingly and said: “You are Wangshu’s younger brother, so it is right for me to protect you. Don’t take it to heart. If his little brother got hurt on my territory, he would be angry with me.”

Bai Su had countless thoughts in his heart at this moment, as if there was something lodged in his chest. In fact, he was aware of his brother’s affection for Cheng Xi. During his tenure here, at least half of every letter he sent home praised Cheng Xi, speaking of Cheng Xi’s kindness and the things they did together. Bai Su had known from a young age that there was such an outstanding person who was very well-liked by his brother. He didn’t understand it before, but when he read them after he grew up, he clearly understood their friendship and his brother’s unrequited love. Because his brother knew that the other party was engaged and liked women, he could only be a confidant and not cause offense. But at this moment, Bai Su really wanted to ask Cheng Xi what kind of friendship toward his older brother he had seen in his eyes.

He distinctly felt that they were more than confidants.

At the same time, Liu Zhenqing also quickly told Du Dongfeng to take a break and go down to change clothes. His robes were just like jianbing pancakes, containing everything. He was the most miserable among the government servants.

“My lord is not injured.” Du Dongfeng actually cared for him honestly. Although he was responsible for his duties and didn’t dare let a distinguished guest be hurt, it still made Liu Zhenqing a little embarrassed. After some thought, he told Du Dongfeng to change his clothes and come to his place. Then he turned around and rushed back to the courtyard.

Entering the room, he looked for the money bag next to Huo Fenglie’s clothes.

Huo Fenglie naturally woke up when Liu Zhenqing came in. He turned around and was about to speak, when he saw Liu Zhenqing running out in a hurry.

Du Dongfeng came over after a while and Liu Zhenqing directly gave him ten taels of silver. He had heard before that Du Dongfeng’s family was generally poor, and he wouldn’t sell his jade pendant, but now he tried to protect him from disaster. Liu Zhenqing didn’t have anything to give him, so he wanted to give him some more money as thanks. 

“My lord, this is unnecessary.” Du Dongfeng quickly refused. “I did what I should have done.”

“I’m not an official of the investigation team, so I’m not under your protection. You helped me, so you deserve it. Don’t think about it too much. Just take it and treat this as making a friend,” Liu Zhenqing said firmly.

Du Dongfeng still tried to refuse, but Liu Zhenqing forced it into his hands.

While the two of them were holding hands, Huo Fenglie had gotten dressed and was going out. Upon seeing this scene, he immediately froze.

Du Dongfeng finally accepted it with some embarrassment. He hesitated, then asked Liu Zhenqing’s surname.

“My surname is Liu,” Liu Zhenqing said frankly.

Du Dongfeng was stunned, and his expression softened for an instant. “What a coincidence. Young Master Liu is a kind-hearted person, very similar to someone I knew. You are both good people.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Really? Thank you very much for the compliment.”

Du Dongfeng nodded firmly and looked at Liu Zhenqing for a moment. His cheeks suddenly turned red and he gave a quick salute, turning around to run away.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes became inquisitive as he touched his chin. When he turned his head, he was startled.

He saw a demon standing in front of the door with a gloomy face that dripped with ink.

“Eh, did I wake you up? Do you have a bad temper right after waking up?” Liu Zhenqing looked in confusion at Huo Fenglie’s novel terrifying expression.

Huo Fenglie’s piercing gaze turned from Liu Zhenqing’s face to his hands.

Liu Zhenqing thought he was looking at the money bag, so he explained the situation in front of the government office doors.

Hearing what had happened to Liu Zhenqing, self-blame flashed across Huo Fenglie’s face, but it was immediately replaced by displeasure.

“You and him were so close. Did you have an ulterior motive?”

Huo Fenglie still knew Liu Zhenqing, and there must be an explanation for his extraneous behavior. The most likely reason was that he felt compassion for a person who admired him.

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback for a moment, and then chuckled. He walked to Huo Fenglie on his own initiative and said softly: “Actually, there was a point, but not a major one.”

His originally fluctuating heart calmed down somewhat, and Huo Fenglie listened carefully. Judging by Liu Zhenqing’s tone, he must have something to say.

“Du Dongfeng is very sharp. When he was protecting me just now, I could just see his face. It was normal at first, but at a certain moment, his expression froze and he secretly observed me. I wondered if there was some scent on my body that reminded him of his captors, such as the ink he brought last night or the incense on my clothes. In fact, I didn’t smell anything, and only suspected it, so I took advantage of the situation to send a gift in order to get closer. Judging from his reaction just now, he shouldn’t be suspicious.”

Liu Zhenqing was not a naturally emotional person, and he was extremely sober when faced with such a petty quarrel.

After Liu Zhenqing explained, he wanted to say that Er-gou looked down on him.

As a result, his arm was pulled by someone in the next second, and he suddenly hit a solid chest. By the time he reacted, Er-gou had already lowered his head and moved closer, almost nose to nose. Liu Zhenqing was so alarmed that he couldn’t help but hold his breath as he stared blankly at the aggressive Huo Fenglie before him.

“Er…..gou?”

“Did you get this close? That’s why you saw him so clearly, and why he could have smelled something?”

Huo Fenglie’s deep voice and peculiar questioning tone made Liu Zhenqing inexplicably ill at ease, as if he was being invisibly suppressed. He instinctively reached out his hand to push this person. “It wasn’t this close.”

“Really?” Huo Fenglie’s eyes darkened, and he suddenly buried his head in Liu Zhenqing’s neck, taking a deep breath. Liu Zhenqing felt Huo Fenglie touch his neck, and didn’t know if it was his nose or lips that touched it.

He could feel the cool breath being passed across his skin and then inhaled away.

Liu Zhenqing was stunned, and before he could react, Huo Fenglie had already stood up straight, saying seriously: “There is a faint scent of ink, but he would have to be as close as I was to smell it, so he probably didn’t. No matter how good his nose is, his suspicion would be very shallow.”

Liu Zhenqing lifted his hand and put it on his neck in astonishment. It seemed that he had teased Er-gou not long ago, but now it was the other way around. Somehow, he felt like Er-gou was flirting with him.

But he was Er-gou, ah, how could that be possible?

The strange feeling flashed through his heart, and under Huo Fenglie’s calm gaze, Liu Zhenqing automatically answered: “In any case, it’s better to be careful. Do I really smell like ink? Should I take a bath?”

“No need, it’s very light. Just don’t let people get so close.”

“If someone else got as close as you did, I would have reflexively used my killing move.”

“Is…..that so?”

“Of course. I’ve been taking care of you since you were a child, so I instinctively have no defenses against you.”

“Oh.”

Just as he was speaking, Huo Fenglie looked up and seemed to catch sight of someone. Liu Zhenqing turned around and saw Bai Su returning in a dazed manner.

Liu Zhenqing asked: “Brother Bai, is Prefect Cheng still okay?”

Bai Su was taken aback, and said with an unnatural expression: “Oh, he suffered a cut on his forehead. It has been treated now and he’s back to work.”

“Aren’t you going to lend a hand?” Liu Zhenqing asked curiously.

“I…..I’ll go later, I haven’t had breakfast yet.” 

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment and said: “Then I’ll accompany you later?”

Bai Su didn’t think too much of it, and nodded in agreement.

Liu Zhenqing turned his head and glanced at Huo Fenglie, who gave a nod. He wanted to go watch Du Dongfeng, so Liu Zhenqing naturally had to check on the situation with those officials who were involved in the embezzlement of tax money.

---

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Chapter Forty-Six << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Eight

Liu Xian’an was so sleepy from being massaged that he lay on the couch and watched through the window as a few white butterflies descended. Liang Shu followed his gaze and said: “There are more and more butterflies in the army these days.”

“En,” Liu Xian’an replied lazily. “There will be more in the future. It would be great if A-Yuan were here. She loves butterflies the most.”

There were many butterflies in the southwest, so it was not a strange thing. The person with Ku You’s face constantly walked around the military camp on crutches. Gao Lin followed beside him, complaining endlessly, you look half-dead, so why do you have such good physical strength? It won’t do to measure the entire radius of one hundred and ten li with your feet. Is this illness real or fake?

Yuan Yu ignored his chatter and continued to walk across the wet ground, watching the white butterflies flutter high and low in the shadows of the grass and trees under the moonlight. He thought he had successfully attracted poisonous Gu, but in fact, the white butterflies were attracted by disciples of Baihe Mountain Village using nectar. The two looked roughly the same, but there were some subtle differences. With the interference of nighttime and the silver gauze, they were almost unnoticeable.

In addition, Gao Lin complained about dizziness and weak legs from time to time. They also met a few soldiers along the way who had to go to the hospital for treatment because of a severe wet cough, which was a sign that the plague of poison was spreading. Everything was going according to Yuan Yu’s plans.

And as more and more soldiers developed symptoms, the demand for heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs in this area also surged. Medicinal supply dealers often asked one or two questions when delivering herbs, and the news spread like this. But it did not cause a panic—after all, the southwest was heavy with humidity and miasma. It was common to have headaches and fever if one was not careful during the summer.

. . . . . . .

Feng Xiaojin stroked his sore temples and tried to sit up in bed, only to feel that his muscles and bones were weak. He realized something was wrong and turned his head to glance at the antidote on the cabinet, then gritted his teeth and tried to get out of bed, but he only moved less than two cun.

When he tried to perform exercises, his qi dispersed without gathering. Feng Xiaojin clenched his fists, his face turning blue. He had thought he still had time. He had thought that as long as Liang Shu was still alive, his martial arts would be valuable to Mu Zhe, but now it seemed the madman was much crazier than he had imagined.

Feng Xiaojin rolled over and fell to the ground, crawling toward the cabinet little by little.

And the Nanyang woman, disguised as Wumeng Yunle, had already walked into Wumeng Yunyou’s room with a medicine bowl. When the witch doctors standing guard saw her, they stood up, bowed, and then left. Wumeng Yunyou turned his head and smiled: “What’s wrong? You look unhappy? Is Ku You ignoring you again?”

“No.”

“Then don’t scowl miserably. Everything’s ready, right? When do you leave?” Wumeng Yunyou sat up and reached out to pinch his sister’s face, but she dodged. The Nanyang woman turned her head and said softly: “Master asked me to visit twenty more cities this time.”

“Twenty?” Wumeng Yunyou frowned. “This is too many. And Liang Shu is always watching your movements. The longer you stay out, the greater the danger. Why would Master arrange this?”

“Because of Liu Nanyuan. She is highly sought after by the entire southwest now. Liang Shu wants her to take my place.” The Nanyang woman said hatefully, “He wrote many beautiful stories for her, comparing her to a goddess who can resurrect the dead, and pushing her to the top of the clouds full of shining golden light. He also spread rumors to trample me into the mud, saying that I am not the successor of the Baifu Buddha Mother. He says I…..that Ku You and I had a private affair, and that I’ve already fled to the Valley of Ten Faces while pregnant.”

“Nonsense!” Wumeng Yunyou held her arm and said, “Ai, don’t cry, ah. This is why Master asked you to go to twenty more cities?”

“Yes. In order to make the rumors more credible, Liang Shu even found someone to pretend to be me and pay homage to Liu Nanyuan.” The Nanyang woman looked at Wumeng Yunyou, her eyes red with grievance. “Ge, kill her for me. Kill Liu Nanyuan. I don’t want to wait one moment, do it now.”

“Okay, okay,” Wumeng Yunyou agreed. “I’ll kill her for you.” He nodded in a light and airy way, because in his heart, it was just one life. Whether her name was Liu Nanyuan or Liu Beiyuan, it was just the flick of a blade.

A witch doctor came in with a bowed head, holding a porcelain jar in his hands. The Nanyang woman took his hand and warned: “Uncle will not allow you to use the Embroidered Spider Lady. You must not tell him.”

Wumeng Yunyou hesitated a bit, but couldn’t resist his sister’s plea in the end and said: “Okay, but if Uncle gets angry because of this in the future, you have to speak for me.”

He lay back on the bed and watched the witch doctor pour the huge spider out of the porcelain jar. When this black and red monster scented blood, it immediately stabbed its hairy claws into flesh with excitement, then slowly wriggled forward and bit the skin cun by cun with venom-containing teeth.

The Nanyang woman stood outside the bed canopy, gazing at the pale cheeks of the young man inside. She smiled brightly: “Thank you, Gege.”

Wumeng Yunyou’s consciousness gradually blurred, but after some brief sleep, he soon woke up again. He looked down at the wound on his waist. Although the surrounding area was shining with a strange black sheen, it had been completely “sewn up,” and his movements were unimpeded. He took the sword beside the bed and left the dense forest without stopping.

The Nanyang woman asked: “What if he fails to complete the task?”

“He is more than capable of killing Liu Nanyuan.” Mu Zhe gazed after the young man’s back in the jungle. “Taking a step back, even if he fails and is killed by Liang Shu, there is nothing to regret. If I keep him here, sooner or later he will have to fight against me for his uncle and sister. It is better to send him out to fend for himself.”

The Nanyang woman shook her head: “It’s just a shame about that face.”

“You are pretending to be A-Le, the last thing you will lack in the future is a man. It is a pity that you are so short-sighted.” Mu Zhe turned around and walked back. “Since the reward has been collected, start working tomorrow.”

The Nanyang woman raised her hand and examined the newly painted black nails: “That’s easy to say.”

By the time Feng Xiaojin finished his movement and breathing exercises and arrived at Wumeng Yunyou’s residence, the courtyard was already empty.

Although Ku You was certain that Feng Xiaojin would cooperate with him, he did not expect that the other party would stumble all the way to the dark room. There was darkness all around, and Ku You relied solely on his ears to hold his arm and ask: “Mu Zhe—”

“Mu Zhe hasn’t discovered this place.” Feng Xiaojin was covered in cold sweat. He bit off his words forcefully and slapped a thick pile of paper into his arms. “Yunyou is missing. I suspect Mu Zhe has sent him to the Valley of Ten Faces. These are the things you wanted. I’ll let you go if you promise to spare his and A-Le’s lives.” Feng Xiaojin’s eyes darkened. He continued after a moment, “Both he and A-Le have been poisoned. I have been searching for an antidote for many years, but I haven’t been able to find one so far. I wrote down the few things I have. You…..perhaps Baihe Mountain Village can find a way to keep them alive, or at least let them suffer less.”

Ku You helped him sit in the corner. He reached out to check his pulses and asked: “Bone erosion powder?”

“Mu Zhe wants to turn me into a puppet. He only needs this face. It’s best if I can move, but better for me not to be able to move than to lose it.” Feng Xiaojin raised his head and leaned against the stone wall with a bitter smile. “But he underestimated my skills. You go, don’t worry about me. There are masks and pills in the bag, which can reduce the poison of the forest miasma. Go toward the direction of the Northern Wolf Star. At the end is your Dayan’s military camp.”

Ku You raised his hand and sealed two of his acupuncture points, which would delay the spread of the poison. “You know I can see?”

Feng Xiaojin didn’t answer, and only said with all his strength: “Remember what you promised me.”

He groped for the mechanism, pulled hard in his direction and flipped the latch, sending Ku You out.

Outside was soft, moist woodland.

At midnight, Mu Zhe walked into the courtyard carrying a tray and tools. He planned to do it himself and keep the other person’s face forever, but when he opened the door, he saw nothing but a mess. The person had long since vanished. If Wumeng Yunle’s disappearance had made him furious, then Feng Xiaojin’s disappearance filled his heart with panic and fear. The tray in his hand immediately fell. Various utensils clattered and shattered to pieces. The disciples outside the door followed the sound and rushed over, only to receive a furious roar: “Go, get him back for me!”

Silver-white torches lit up most of the dense forest.

But in the end, nothing came of it.

Mu Zhe waited anxiously at first, then sat blankly in the room, crying, cursing, and then crying again, pacing back and forth like a trapped animal. Thinking that he might lose the lover in his memory forever, his blood receded and his face turned as pale as paper. 

“How dare you,” he repeated over and over again. “How dare you!”

No disciple dared to approach the leader again, and everyone in the forest was in a panic, fearing that if they were not careful, they would lose their heads. And just at this moment when anxiety was spreading, someone suddenly discovered that Liu Hengchang had also disappeared mysteriously. No one could tell whether he had fled by himself or with Feng Xiaojin. In any case, he had vanished completely.

There was a boom, like a heavy object falling to the ground.

Feng Xiaojin listened distractedly, and then there was a slight call: “Young Master Feng, Young Master Feng!”

Liu Hengchang followed a rope and slipped down nimbly. He picked up the bag on the ground, patted it clean, and put it on the table. Then he lit a fire stick. “Young Master Feng, Commander Ku asked me to come over.”

Feng Xiaojin didn’t speak. He also had no energy to speak anymore. Liu Hengchang checked his pulse and quickly opened the needle pack, prepared ointment, and helped the man lay down on a small bed.

. . . . . . .

In this land, it seemed that only Liu Nanyuan and many of the common people in the southwest were completely happy.

Just like Second Young Master Liu said, she was so happy that she didn’t even remember to write a letter, so he relied on Chang Xiaoqiu and Cheng Suyue to send letters back. Liu Xian’an read them over and over again. Liang Shu asked: “What, can’t you memorize it the first time?”

“Isn’t it possible that A-Yuan met a sick man she likes?” The more Liu Xian’an thought about it, the more he felt that this possibility was not low. 

Liang Shu said: “I don’t think so. And based on Chang Xiaoqiu’s letter overflowing with joy, it doesn’t look like he’s fallen out of love.’

Liu Xian’an still sighed. Ai, ai, ai, he really had somewhat of a brotherly appearance.

Liang Shu took this person back into his arms: “You really miss A-Yuan. I’ll ask Gao Lin to send you there so that you can take some time to relax by the way. You won’t have to be bored in the military camp and be disciplined when you laze around for a while.”

“Da-ge has had no time to teach me these past few days,” Liu Xian’an said. “Wumeng Yunle is enough to give him a headache.”

One headache was the antidote, and the second headache was the other person’s mental state. Mu Zhe had used a lot of Gu to give her a normal appearance even though her body was full of poison, and now that the medicine had stopped, all kinds of negative consequences were appearing one by one. The most obvious one was that she was no longer beautiful. Her fair skins seemed to have been sprayed with a layer of black and yellow dye, and ugly speckles had appeared on both sides of her nose.

Wumeng Yunle screamed and broke the mirror in front of her.

Liu Xianche frowned: “Calm down.”

“You, you are jealous of me!” Wumeng Yunle tried to rush forward, but was stopped by the soldiers. She continued to curse, “Your sister is jealous of me!”

“A-Yuan has never seen you at all.” Liu Xianche said, “I am a doctor. As long as you are willing to cooperate with treatment, this face—”

Before he could finish speaking, Wumeng Yunle lowered her head and bit the hand in front of her. The soldier hurriedly broke away and accidentally bumped into her face in his haste. The blow he gave her was neither light nor heavy, but it stimulated Wumeng Yunele to lose control even more. No one had ever dared strike her in the face, and no one had dared question her beauty. She struggled desperately, and her clothes and hair were scattered. Liu Xianche turned his head and considered what the woman responsible for guarding her had said: “Young Master Liu, she will not listen to advice, and only look at herself in the mirror all day long. What if…..she really is insane?”

“You let me go!” Wumeng Yunle was still screaming. “I want to stand with Liu Nanyuan, I want to stand with her for everyone to see! Don’t even think about ruining my face!”

Her voice was pitched so high that it pierced the roof. The soldiers held her down, all of them panting from exhaustion. They were extremely puzzled. How could this madwoman’s eccentric personality attract tens of thousands of followers to be enthralled by her? Where was she beautiful, ah? But though they thought so, they could never say it, and she had to be comforted from time to time. Yes, ah, you are the most beautiful woman in the world.

Wumeng Yunle looked at her black nails and the ugly face in the bronze mirror and cried again. She could hear the perfunctory tone in their voices, but she felt that his kind of perfunctory treatment was justified, because her appearance was nearly ruined and she wouldn’t get any preferential treatment if she lost her beauty.

Liu Xian’an also stood outside the courtyard and listened. He felt that there was no solution to this matter, because his elder brother would never use Gu to save someone, but without Gu, Wumeng Yunle’s face would not be restored to its original state. And if her face was not restored, she would remain crazy.

A-Ning suggested: “Young Master, why don’t you tell her about the vast and beautiful Heavenly Dao and the universe?”

“I have told her.” Liu Xian’an clasped his hands. “I said that everything will age, and that ‘not being beautiful’ is actually a method of self-preservation. As a result, she wouldn’t listen at all, and even yelled at me and asked why I didn’t ruin A-Yuan’s face.”

A-Ning: “……”

Liu Xian’an said: “She has been clamoring to see A-Yuan. But I feel that even if she sees A-Yuan, her symptoms will not be relieved, but will only become more out of control.”

“Because she is indeed not as beautiful as the Third Young Lady. She can still comfort herself now, but after seeing her, even her last justifications will be lost,” A-Ning said. “But if she is not allowed to see the Third Young Lady, it is not an option for her to continue to make trouble like this, not eating or drinking. She will die.”

Liu Xian’an said: “Da-ge came up with an idea.” He thought for a moment. “Tell Aunt Liu to cover the windows of this house with gauze, and remove the candles at night to make the light as dim as possible. Then send some nice new clothes, rouge, and cosmetics, especially powder, which can cover those spots to some extent.”

Facts proved that this method was indeed effective. The dim light blurred the flaws on her face, and Wumeng Yunle’s mood finally calmed down a little, but the recovery was very limited. Liu Xianche asked: “When will A-Yuan return?”

“Three or four days,” Liu Xian’an said. “It’s almost time.”

The “poisoned” atmosphere in the garrison camp was already in place, with the appropriate fainting and vomiting. It was a time when doctors were in short supply, so no matter how smoothly Liu Nanyuan’s journey to win the peoples’ hearts was going, whether for sentiment or reason, Liang Shu “must” call her and the other disciples back in order to make the act more realistic. Liu Xian’an asked: “Does Da-ge want Wumeng Yunle to see A-Yuan?”

“Mu Zhe’s Gu medicine is dangerous. Her physical condition is deteriorating rapidly, and she refuses to cooperate with treatment. Her inner demons are also at work, making it difficult to treat her.” Liu Xianche said, “When the time comes, let A-Yuan dress more simply and less glamorously.”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “Okay, I will pick her up personally when the time comes and give her your instructions in advance.”

That the lazy fellow was willing to take the initiative to walk around camp showed that he truly missed his sister. On the day of departure, Liang Shu grabbed his hair tie behind him and asked sourly: “Why have I never seen you miss me this urgently?”

“I miss you too, miss you too,” Liu Xian’an said perfunctorily, and got into the carriage with the clothes in his arms. 

He ran extremely fast.

Liang Shu: “……” Spoiled!

Liu Nanyuan’s team had already marched near the Valley of Ten Faces. The trip had gone very smoothly, and the assassination attempts they had been worried about didn’t happen. Every day was uneventful. The biggest dispute was simply some people fighting over their places in the queue, and they were stopped by soldiers on the spot. Chang Xiaoqiu said: “With more than a hundred guards, as well as the Imperial guards sent by the prince, if Mu Zhe isn’t stupid, he must know that sending assassins would be in vain.”

“Not only the guards and Imperial guards, but also you. Your performance is pretty good.” Cheng Suyue turned her head and asked, “How is it going? Is there any progress?”

Chang Xiaoqiu replied: “Yes, I don’t blush anymore.”

Cheng Suyue was puzzled: “This can only mean that your face is growing thicker, right?”

Chang Xiaoqiu: “…..That’s also correct.”

Cheng Suyue sighed deeply. Aside from the prince, why were there only bachelors in the Xiao Wang Palace team? They weren’t the very intelligent sort.

Just as she was troubled, the most intelligent person in Xiao Wang Palace came to trouble her: “Er-ge!”

Cheng Suyue and Chang Xiaoqiu also stepped forward to greet him, but considering the recent emergence of a group of disguised Nanyang people, Liu Nanyuan stopped not far away and asked: “Give an example. The dao is in the world, but what happens next?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “It is like creeks and valleys are to the rivers and seas.”

“What is in the trance of the dao?”

“Images.”

“What else is in the trance of the dao?”

“Objects.”^[1]

Liu Nanyuan let down her guard and was very happy. This was her amazing Er-ge!

Cheng Suyue and Chang Xiaoqiu both stood there with dispassionate expressions. Won’t ask. We won’t understand if we ask.

A-Ning had already roughly told her the story of Wumeng Yunle in his previous letter. Liu Nanyuan asked: “As long as I’m uglier than her, it’s okay?”

“It can calm her mood somewhat,” Liu Xian’an said. “I’ve brought you all the clothes. Da-ge prepared them himself.”

A-Ning took over the bundle and opened it. They were plain, even plainer than the clothes the disciples of Baihe Mountain Village wore when seeing patients, and similar to Second Young Master Liu’s usual robes. But since the wide robe couldn’t conceal the lazy egg’s immortal bearing, it naturally couldn’t conceal his sister’s beautiful face. On the contrary, the poor clothing and thorn hairpin made her look more delicate and pitiable.

Liu Xian’an said: “Forget it, I’ll change your appearance when the time comes.”

Although it was very troublesome, Wumeng Yunle was currently his elder brother’s patient, and everyone from Baihe Mountain Village must fulfill their duties as a doctor.

Liu Nanyuan was full of curiosity about this rumored “Holy Maiden,” and Wumeng Yunle also wanted to see her without waiting for one moment. Jealousy was like poison ivy winding tightly around her heart. Such was the case that she groomed her face carefully at all times, meticulously applying layer after layer of rouge and dying her nails the most gorgeous red.

The woman asked worriedly: “Isn’t this behavior already crazy?”

“Let her see A-Yuan more quickly. I will ask the prince to send troops to escort her.” Liu Xianche said, “If she sees A-Yuan and gets rid of her inner demons, perhaps she can still be saved.”

So that night, a group of carriages secretly drove out of the Valley of Ten Faces.

Wumeng Yunle held a mirror and looked at her reflection. She had put on the most beautiful dress and placed hairpins in her hair, like a butterfly alighting on the clouds. The thick cosmetics covered her unhealthy complexion. She admired it, entranced, and felt that she was still beautiful.

And Liu Xian’an also put a disguise mask on his sister. He pinched her almond-shaped eyes like black grapes and shaped them into inverted triangles. Her lips were dark, her hair was yellowing, and the most important thing was to carelessly wear a big skirt. He asked: “Do you feel comfortable?”

Liu Nanyuan said: “What is so comfortable about this? It’s uncomfortable to death. If not for treating people’s illnesses, it would be impossible for me to dress this sloppily in my life.”

Liu Xian’an: “But the prince—”

“The prince likes you, so of course it’s fine no matter what, but these clothes are so ugly.” Liu Nanyuan jumped off the carriage. “I’m not saying that one’s appearance comes from the heart, but you should know what I mean.”

Liu Xian’an: “Oh.”

While the two were talking, Chang Xiaoqiu ran over and said: “Wumeng Yunle has arrived.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but look at the disguised person a few more times. Liu Nanyuan asked: “What, do I not look good?”

“N-n-no, you look good, I don’t think you’ve changed much.” Chang Xiaoqiu hastily waved his hands. “The clothes also look good.”

Liu Nanyuan: “……”

Liu Xian’an cough cough coughed next to her. Did you hear that? He said you look good. He likes you.

Liu Xian’an felt that her brother was very silly, and didn’t want to talk to him, so she picked up her ugly skirts and went to see Wumeng Yunle at the front.

In the forest clearing, Wumeng Yunle had been waiting for a long time in a daze. Perhaps it was because she had stayed in a dark room for too long or perhaps because of the poison, but she had been a little afraid of the light lately. So she wrapped herself in a bright red cloak and wore a hat to block most of the dazzling sunlight, leaving only a shadow on her face that made her red lips look even brighter.

Cheng Suyue alerted her: “Third Young Lady Liu is here.”

Wumeng Yunle immediately returned to her senses and looked up at the end of the path.

Liu Nanyuan said, natural and poised: “Yunle-guniang.”

Wumeng Yunle’s eyes widened, as if she couldn’t believe that the ordinary-looking woman in front of her was the legendary most beautiful woman in the world. She simply stared at her without blinking. Her mind went blank at first, and then she was filled with the ecstasy of victory. She knew that no one in this world could be more beautiful than herself. 

Liu Xian’an stood behind Liu Nanyuan and watched the changes in Wumeng Yunle’s expression. Knowing that his brother’s method was effective, he breathed a sigh of relief. And at this time, perhaps because she wanted to take a closer look, Wumeng Yunle rushed at Liu Nanyuan. The guards would naturally not allow her to get close. Just as they were about to stop her, a silver light flashed in the forest!

“Be careful!” The Imperial guards were the first to react. Two of them protected Liu Nanyuan, the other dragged Liu Xian’an away, and Chang Xiaoqiu took A-Ning and flew out of the way. Cheng Suyue instinctively went to pull Wumeng Yunle away, but when she stretched out her hand, her pupils shrank and she quickly took two steps away. 

The silver light was not a sword, but a venomous snake with its mouth wide open! Cheng Suyue drew her sword at once and chopped it into two pieces. She had already seen the face of the attacker clearly. It was Wumeng Yunyou. Thus, her first reaction was that he was here to save his sister, so she held the sword backhand and placed it across Wumeng Yunle’s neck to threaten the other party, but another silver flash had already arrived like lightning!

With a thud, it penetrated into Wumeng Yunle’s heart.

Everyone was shocked in an instant by this turn of events. Cheng Suyue grabbed Wumeng Yunle’s limp body and the bright red cloak fell down, revealing the girl’s face smeared with countless layers of cosmetics. Under the dazzling sunlight, it looked a little stiff and mottled, as if she was wearing a poor-quality mask.

Wumeng Yunyou saw the other party’s appearance and gave a slight frown, but he didn’t think it was his sister. He just remembered the sentence from before he departed, “In order to make the rumors more credible, Liang Shu even found someone to pretend to be me and pay homage to Liu Nanyuan.” Therefore, he didn’t experience any grief, just a little annoyance. Annoyance that he had prepared so hard for so long, but in the end he only killed a substitute.

He hadn’t met Liu Nanyuan, and based only on the intelligence he had received before, he killed the most beautifully dressed person he saw in the crowd who loved butterfly hair pins. Although he had killed the wrong person just now, there was no time to correct it, so he turned around and ran deep into the forest, preparing to look for the next opportunity.

The guards rushed to catch up.

Liu Nanyuan pressed a large piece of gauze to Wumeng Yunle’s wound, but it could not slow the speed of her life passing. The abnormally-colored blood soon soaked completely through the gauze and dyed the grass dark, and the fishy smell soon attracted many filthy flying insects.

Wumeng Yunle was still looking at her face. She said hoarsely: “You’re not beautiful.”

“En, I’m not beautiful,” Liu Nanyuan said. “You are the most beautiful.”

Wumeng Yunle slowly moved her gaze above her head, looking at the sun through the shadows of the trees. She looked for a moment, and suddenly smiled: “I am the most beautiful. My gege said so.”

She raised her hand and struggled to wipe the blood from the corners of her mouth before she died, trying to make herself cleaner, but her face only became more and more smudged. Liu Nanyuan wrung a clean handkerchief and helped her wipe her face then closed Wumeng Yunle’s wide eyes and sighed deeply. 

Liu Xian’an said: “At least before she died, she still felt that she was the most beautiful.”

Liu Nanyuan asked: “Who killed her?”

Cheng Suyue replied: “Her brother.”

Liu Nanyuan was extremely shocked: “How can there be such a brother?”

“Who knows,” Cheng Suyue said, upset. “I didn’t expect it and even tried to use her as a hostage. As a result…..the people of this evil cult are truly insane.”

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[1] This back-and-forth about the dao comes from the classic Chinese text “Tao Te Ching,” a foundational text of Taoism. ⮐

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

How about it…..

He had never expected such an answer, and Lu Qi was stunned by this question. He stared dumbly like a little hamster that suddenly had its melon seeds taken away and was holding its little paws at a loss.

His original intention was really just to remind Mu Nanqiao to pay attention. He knew that many straight men looked more gay than gay men, and boys might not feel that it was a problem to horseplay like this, but Lu Qi was a little concerned about it. 

When he was a freshman in high school, he was short, with pale skin and big eyes. Even with short hair, he looked a bit like a girl, and some boys in class would come over and touch him intentionally or unintentionally. At the age when hormones were exploding, they didn’t dare to be blatant about their love for girls, but were unscrupulous with him because he was a boy of the same sex.

Unlike Mu Nanqiao’s sense of proportion, Lu Qi didn’t like that kind of touching. He was sensitive to the ill intentions of those boys. After a harsh rebuke, the boys in class who loved to make dirty jokes about girls pointed at Lu Qi’s nose and called him a sissy.

One also said in an ill-mannered way that perhaps Lu Qi didn’t have that thing growing down there after all, so he should go to the bathroom and take off his pants for him to check.

That was the closest Lu Qi had come to violence in school, but as soon as the boy finished saying this, a girl slapped him in the face with a duster.

Before the boy could curse, many people in class stood up, boys and girls included. One of the boys said: “You guys have a lot of free time, do you? Let me tell you, Lu Qi is my buddy. Do you want me and your father to take off our pants too?”

Someone said: “Lu Qi, let’s go together to eat at my house after school. Thanks to you giving me a little bit of tutoring, I did well in the physics exam this time. My mom said she would make sweet and sour pork ribs for you.”

Someone else said: “Lu Qi, have you finished that portrait you’re painting for me? Once you’ve finished it, I’ll treat you to a seafood buffet…..”

The girl who slapped someone with a duster pointed her middle finger at that boy and shouted: “Don’t even try to compete with me! After school, Lu Qi has to go with me to do makeup and cosplay Zhuang Zhou with me like he promised last week.”

Lu Qi: “When did that happen…..”

However, no one listened to what he said. When they heard that he wanted to cosplay Zhuang Zhou, the boys and girls all made a racket. The atmosphere inside and outside the classroom was filled with joy, and no one gave those bedbugs another look.

The matter ended just like this. In the next two years, he suddenly started to grow taller. When he met the male classmate who had humiliated him, he had dropped out of school and dyed his hair yellow. Lu Qi realized that the other person hadn’t grown taller, but had gotten shorter due to his hunchback.

When he passed by Lu Qi, he wished he could make himself smaller. Lu Qi had to lower his head slightly to look at him.

Therefore, this unpleasant episode during high school left no psychological shadow on him. He didn’t object to the intimacy of same-sex friends, but Mu Nanqiao was really…..

En, he was so handsome, a male Bodhisattva. It was hard for his imagination not to run wild.

Lu Qi cherished this friend, and didn’t want to misunderstand Mu Nanqiao and end up causing an ugly situation. 

Now, Mu Nanqiao was saying that he hadn’t misunderstood.

Lu Qi blinked, slowly coming back to his senses. “But, it seems that we just met not too long ago…..”

They had met for the first time at a bar on a summer night. Now the leaves hadn’t even turned yellow yet, and at most had a small edge of it.

But as Mu Nanqiao knew, they had known each other for a long time. It was only that the little sun shone every day, and the sunshine warmed many people. He, the cunning fox who secretly treasured the sunlight in his dark cave, was only one of them.

“Some people are still strangers after spending a lot of time together, and some feel like old friends as soon as they meet…..” Mu Nanqiao raised his hand and touched the corner of his mouth where the cotton swab had just rubbed. “The heart can’t be measured by the length of time we have known each other, right?”

If he was still probing just now, then this sentence was almost a confession. Lu Qi pursed his lower lip, and was about to say something when Mu Nanqiao asked again: “Do you hate it when I touch you?”

“No, no, no…..” Lu Qi shook his head repeatedly, like a kitten that had just climbed ashore.

Mu Nanqiao laughed in spite of himself and raised his hand to hold his head. “Okay, I get it. Why did you suddenly enter vibration mode?”

Lu Qi gave a sheepish cough. Lowering his head to avoid Mu Nanqiao’s gaze, he explained in a low voice: “I really…..haven’t wanted to fall in love recently. As you know, the matter with Lin Yuan has consumed a lot of my energy…..”

Mu Nanqiao suddenly felt that he had been too benevolent today.

But he was in no rush. Only trash like Lin Yuan would call in a favor for such a trivial matter as delivering food and hurry to establish a relationship.

There was no trace of disappointment at being rejected in his tone, and he gave a lazy shrug as he said, “I understand. You’ve been so tired lately. I didn’t plan to say anything, but it seems that my bad intentions were a bit obvious, and since you asked, I’ll certainly admit that I like you. There is no need to be secretive about it.”

He confessed repeatedly with sincere eyes. It was as if there was a river of stars in those eyes, but the only magnificent star was Lu Qi.

“I, I…..I…..” Lu Qi was tongue-tied, feeling that he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“You said you don’t hate it when I touch you.” Mu Nanqiao pinched his hot earlobe and laughed softly. “I really hope it’s not my finger that lands here next time…..”

. . . . . . .

“Ahhhhhh—” Lu Qi rolled around on the bed, holding Xiao Sanhua, his cheek pressed against the kitty’s soft belly. He complained in a whisper: “Why won’t you nurse the babies? You irresponsible scumbag cat…..”

“Meow~” Xiao Sanhua’s paw pressed against Lu Qi’s cheek, pressing a little plum blossom mark into the human’s soft face. Her green eyes looked at this unreasonable human with contempt, and she seemed to ask Lu Qi: 

Is it really the problem with the babies that has you so upset?

She broke away from Lu Qi with a meow, jumping off the bed lightly, and left the little human to continue rolling around. 

After that day, Mu Nanqiao never brought the matter up again. He went to work early and came back late as usual, occasionally coming over for a meal or to feed the grown cat and the kittens in the apartment.

It was just that this person was very good at playing to his own advantages. Every day when he walked in, he looked like he had just come from a fashion show. Those broad shoulders, long legs, and narrow waist were clad in an abstinent three-piece suit. And when he undid the buttons with one hand, the veins on the back of his hand flexed. It was simply…..

Naked seduction.

“Wu…..” Lu Qi put a pillow over his head and groaned in shame. He felt that he was actually a sanctimonious pervert. Otherwise, why would he have dreamed about Mu Nanqiao last night? Nothing too extreme happened in the dream, but Mu Nanqiao kept taking off his clothes. His beautiful fox-like eyes were mesmerizing, and he said as he removed his clothing, “Do you want to draw the human body? Totally nude?”

What kind of perverted thought was this? He was actually just a pervert who coveted a person’s body as soon as he rejected them. He was so despicable, ah, wuwuwu…..

From a certain point of view, Mu Nanqiao’s goal had been achieved. He was like a thousand-year-old vixen who had seduced a little scholar, and finally brought out some reveries in the little scholar who was full of the teachings of sages.

Lu Qi finally escaped from his embarrassing state of digging his toes into the ground. While he was washing up, his mobile phone buzzed with a message.

It was from an unknown number, and the content read: Xiao Qi, you still don’t know Mu Nanqiao’s true identity, do you? Have you ever thought about why a man of his worth insists on getting close to you? Why he stays in such a trashy apartment with you? He’s doing this just to take revenge on me.

Lu Qi: Bad luck! I can’t have my mobile phone anymore!

But immediately after, there was a multimedia message.

These days, it was really not common to still receive picture text messages, but that trash Lin Yuan probably couldn’t help it. After all, he couldn’t add Lu Qi to WeChat.

The picture he sent was of a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with a group of men and women in suits and ties standing on a red carpet. The crystal ornaments behind them were dazzling, and the light of a golden champagne tower created a halo. The high-hanging banner read: Groundbreaking ceremony of Longwan Yi City Elegant Garden.

There was a man with a tall figure who stood out from the crowd. He wore a low-key muted black suit with dark patterns. The exquisite tailoring was perfectly tight around his waist, and this tall and handsome appearance formed a sharp contrast against the bald old man with a big belly next to him.

But this young man was standing in the front position, eyes lowered and face stern as he cut the ribbon. Even though the temperament was completely different, nobody could fail to recognize the person they saw almost every single day. Not to mention that Mu Nanqiao had come to his apartment in this suit last night to spread his peacock tail.

A new text message came in:

Let me introduce him to you again: Mu Nanqiao, general manager of Mu Group and the rightful crown prince of the Mu family.

Lu Qi: ……

Oh! No wonder. That suit last night was really not something that a driver could afford.

The final message said: If you don’t believe me, come to this place to verify it. Tonight, everyone here knows who he is.

Lin Yuan gave him an address. Lu Qi felt that something about it was familiar, and thought for a while before coming to a realization. Wasn’t this the bar where he and Mu Nanqiao first met?

. . . . . . .

Making an appointment with “old friends” at the bar where he first met Lu Qi didn’t seem so annoying anymore. Mu Nanqiao greeted every flattering face, but was in fact bored with this sort of entertainment. 

But what could be done?

He couldn’t let his dad come to a club in a wheelchair.

However, he didn’t expect that Lin Yuan would also be there.

Lin Yuan’s condition was obviously not good to the naked eye. People who were unlucky in love couldn’t hide their low mood no matter how they faked it. What’s more, he had not only been unlucky in love recently, but he had also been beaten by Mu Nanqiao in the business field. Several bids had fallen into Mu Nanqiao’s hands, one of which was Longwan No.1.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan actually walked toward Mu Nanqiao with a glass of wine in his hand.

He came to a stop in front of Mu Nanqiao, and the arrogance in his tone was all-encompassing. “Nanqiao, the Mu family has been targeting our family everywhere these days. Is it really worth making such an ugly fuss over a man?”

Their location was not a private room, but a semi-open booth. When others saw these two come together, they thought they were reminiscing about old times. Mu Nanqiao even heard someone say with a smile that he had the best relationship with Mu Nanqiao when he was in school.

However, only those involved knew the truth. Mu Nanqiao couldn’t be bothered to say a word to Lin Yuan. He crossed his long legs, and his toes swayed impatiently. Just when he wanted Lin Yuan to go away, his wandering eyes inadvertently caught sight of someone.

It was very odd. In the dazzling lights and bustling crowd, he caught a glimpse of a little friend shrinking his head. He was also wearing a baseball cap to conceal his face. When he looked over, that person immediately lowered his head and pretended to drink.

Aw, cute.

Mu Nanqiao felt his teeth itch. He brushed his tongue over his canine teeth and suddenly had a change of mind.

He raised his hand to take Lin Yuan’s glass of wine, then glanced with satisfaction at the round eyes under the baseball cap.

En, the way he bit the hook so easily was also cute.

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Chapter Eighteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty

Liu Zhenqing could only see the person’s back through the gap in the boxes under the moonlight. They were wearing night clothes, so it was impossible to tell whether it was someone he knew. 

He could only keep adjusting the angle, trying to see his face.

As he adjusted, his waist became straighter and straighter, and the body of the person under him became increasingly stiff.

But Liu Zhenqing still couldn’t see. He didn’t give up, and couldn’t help but raise his lower body, crane his neck, and look over the top of the boxes.

The man moved his neck a little and Liu Zhenqing shrank in fright, sitting down.

At once, Liu Zhenqing felt like something was poking him where he sat. Could it be Huo Fenglie’s belt buckle?

Just as he was about to move away, he felt Er-gou take a sudden breath.

The next second, Liu Zhenqing was flung away by a strong force, and a figure flashed in front of his eyes. The person standing by the bookshelf focusing on looking for a book felt the strong gust of wind behind him. When he looked back, he saw a pair of fierce, savage eyes flash through the dark night. Before he could get a better look, there was pain in his neck and he lost consciousness.

Liu Zhenqing was shocked by this turn of events. “Er-gou, what are you doing? Shouldn’t we have observed and followed him?”

Having said this, he came forward, but Huo Fenglie kept his back turned to him, which was convenient for Liu Zhenqing to look at the visitor who had fallen into their hands.

He used the moonlight to sweep his gaze over him, and was even more surprised. It turned out to be Du Dongfeng? The government office boy?

And at this time, Huo Fenglie also found a good justification. 

“I…..I thought it was him based on his body shape and footsteps. Since it’s someone we know, there is no need to follow him. And I feared it would be unsuitable to bring you to follow, so it is more appropriate to arrest him first.” Huo Fenglie’s hoarse voice was difficult to hear clearly in the dark night.

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment. He didn’t think it would be a big problem for him to go with Huo Fenglie based on his martial arts skills, but when it came to martial arts, he absolutely trusted Huo Fenglie’s judgment. “En, what you say makes sense. But what should we do now?”

“I’ll take him back to the room first, and pick you up afterward.” Huo Fenglie said in a slightly urgent tone, “Very quickly.”

“Okay, you go ahead. I’ll take a look at the account books here.” Liu Zhenqing approached a bookshelf and picked up the brush and paper left by Du Dongfeng, which was convenient for him to make notes.

Huo Fenglie quickly ran back and forth, and waited for Liu Zhenqing to read all the ledgers before taking him back to the room.

Liu Zhenqing was able to confirm the fact that the tax deposits and withdrawals were indeed inconsistent. Although they had tried their best to conceal it in the accounts, this was not a problem for Prime Minister Liu, who once took charge of the entire Ministry of Revenue alone.

But the troublesome thing was that these account books were re-registered account books. The original accounts and the copies submitted to the court were not here. Even if these books were handed over, it could only be regarded as suspicion without proof, and in the end, it would be regarded as a bunch of bad debts and amount to nothing.

Liu Zhenqing murmured: “So that’s why these people put the account books here so generously. It seems it will be necessary to identify the officials involved and then obtain the evidence in the hands of each official.”

Huo Fenglie frowned as he looked at the names of counties and prefectures written down on the paper by Liu Zhenqing.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a suspicion. In fact, there shouldn’t be so many. After all, some of them really do have bad debts, so their accounts will be abnormal.” Liu Zhenqing patted Huo Fenglie on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”

Liu Zhenqing stretched out his hand. In the past, Huo Fenglie would embrace him and fly away, but this time he hesitated for a moment, then put one arm around Liu Zhenqing’s waist and flew out with him in a way that minimized their contact surface.

However, Liu Zhenqing was not used to such an unstable holding method, so he directly reached out and hugged the other’s body. Feeling Huo Fenglie’s stiffness, Liu Zhenqing gave him a strange look. It wasn’t until they descended back to the ground that Liu Zhenqing said: “What’s wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable somewhere?”

Huo Fenglie calmly denied it, which made Liu Zhenqing think he was overthinking things.

When they entered the room, they saw the tied up Du Dongfeng, who had his eyes and mouth covered. He was already awake, and could only turn his head when he heard a sound.

Liu Zhenqing walked up to Du Dongfeng and signaled Huo Fenglie to grab his neck.

As soon as Huo Fenglie moved, Du Donfeng immediately felt the threat to his life, and his body tensed up.

Liu Zhenqing pinched his nose to change his voice and said: “Kid, I’ll let you speak later, but if you yell, don’t blame us for being cruel. Do you understand?”

Du Dongfeng hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Huo Fenglie removed the gag, and Du Dongfeng took a breath. “Who are you, and why did you arrest me?”

It seemed that he hadn’t seen clearly what Huo Fenglie did.

“Isn’t it right to arrest you? Who told you to look for something you shouldn’t be looking for?”

Du Dongfeng immediately said: “You misunderstand. I’m a government servant here, and I patrol occasionally.” 

“You patrol wearing night clothes, carrying paper and a brush, and specifically search for tax and bank-related account books?”

Du Dongfeng understood at once that these people must have been watching him for a long time.

“You two, I was just curious. I wanted to see if there were any secrets I could dig up to make a bit of a windfall.”

Liu Zhenqing found it interesting that he remained calm in the face of danger. 

“Kid, if you want to dig up secrets, now is the best time to dig up things related to the Imperial Examinations, not tax money. If you still refuse to tell the truth, we don’t mind going to your home to ask your family for details.”

This threat indeed hit Du Dongfeng’s weakness.

“W-Who are you working for?”

Liu Zhenqing sat leisurely on a chair and played with the small toys placed next to him, which were all bought by Huo Fenglie.

“This is what we should be asking you. Who are you working for?”

“I’m not working for anyone. I’m just an ordinary citizen who suspects that officials in Tongmao Prefecture are embezzling tax money. This has nothing to do with my family, they’re ordinary people and know nothing. If you are subordinates of Magistrate Yao, then just kill me. Don’t trouble my family!”

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing, who shook his head and slewed his gaze. “We were indeed sent by Yao-daren. Since the investigation team arrived recently, Yao-daren was worried and sent us to observe just in case. But Yao-daren said he had someone in a low position here as well. It is a pity that person is not you. Do it.”

Huo Fenglie used force at a moderate speed, giving Du Dongfeng enough time to beg for mercy, but Du Dongfeng only used his tied hands to touch something on his chest and then raised his head high. “The loser becomes the villain. Dad, this child can no longer fulfill his filial piety. May heaven have eyes to punish these dog officials who oppress the common people! May Great Zhou be purged!”

In the next moment, Du Dongfeng was choked unconscious.

“It seems there really has been a misunderstanding,” Liu Zhenqing said while touching his chin.

“You believe him?” Huo Fenglie frowned.

Liu Zhenqing chuckled and said: “Of course I don’t believe him entirely. Although there are indeed people with lofty ideals, the fact that he didn’t read those account books on the spot but prepared to copy them and take them away shows that there is someone behind him. But he is someone who would rather die than reveal them, so what he said is half true and half false. At the least, he wants to investigate the truth about the embezzlement of tax money as much as we do. And that Magistrate Yao is likely behind this matter. I think we can cooperate with this person, but we need to let him know our identities…..”

Huo Fenglie let Liu Zhenqing think, but his hands had already begun to search through Du Dongfeng’s belongings.

“What are you doing?” Liu Zhenqing asked, confused.

“He touched something on his chest when he thought he would die. It must be something important.”

Liu Zhenqing became interested at once and came over. “Right, could it be identification? A token? Or evidence?”

Huo Fenglie felt around for a moment and then pulled out a delicate red rope from around Du Dongfeng’s neck. Following the red rope, a green jade pendant emerged.

The two of them were unavoidably stunned for a moment, and took a sharp breath at almost the same time.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing with dark eyes, and Liu Zhenqing gazed at the unconscious Du Dongfeng with question marks on his face. 

Why? 

How could his jade pendant appear in this kid’s hands?

It was a piece of jade of excellent quality, carved into the shape of a willow leaf. When Liu Zhenqing was still the heir of a noble house, he often wore it around his waist. But because it was an ordinary type of jade, it was actually relatively common. Liu Zhenqing’s pendants, however, all had special symbols that were Arabic numerals. This one had a ‘5’ faintly engraved on it.

Therefore, even if Huo Fenglie didn’t know the meaning, he knew that this was indeed Liu Zhenqing’s pendant.

Funnily enough, there was actually more than one. When Liu Zhenqing got a whole piece of good jade, he intended to ask the jade carving master to carve a small willow tree for his grandfather. But there was an accident and only the willow leaves were left, so he simply strung them together as jade pendants and hung them around his waist. For fun, he engraved Arabic numerals on them. There seemed to have been fifteen in total.

And there were basically two fates for these jade pendants. One was that they were pawned when there was a need for money, and the other was that they were given away.

Yes, when Liu Zhenqing was young, he was famous all over the country. He was extremely handsome, and was naturally a wanton romantic, with many beauties and confidants. Women were often attracted to him, but the young master had no intentions toward them. He would just treat her as a friend and behave like a gentleman as he pleased.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t stand to see a woman’s sad and tearful look. Seeing that the other party wanted to keep him in her thoughts, the best thing he could use was a jade pendant. There was no tradition in Great Zhou of gifting jade pendants as a token of love, so there was not much pressure when giving one over.

The first time he gave a girl a jade pendant, her tears turned into laughter. Only Li Xingruo rolled her eyes and called him a scumbag and a prodigal son who didn’t take people’s sincerity seriously. But Liu Zhenqing felt that he was being wronged. Was it a bad thing that he had a natural instinct to treat women well?

In short, because of these jade pendants, he left behind many so-called romantic affairs. Every last one of the fifteen were gone, and what he carried with him was the simple Rubik’s Cube-style jade pendant given to him by Huo Fenglie.

“It’s yours.” Huo Fenglie’s tone suddenly turned gloomy. “You gave it to him?”

Liu Zhenqing laughed dryly: “I…..have no impression?”

“Did you ever give one to a man?” Huo Fenglie’s tone became even colder.

“Absolutely not.” Liu Zhenqing was also puzzled. “Based on the age…..could it have been his sister? I don’t remember being here, ah. It seems…..that I don’t know a girl named Du either? Let me think again…..”

Seeing that Liu Zhenqing seemed to be counting in his mind the girls with unclear intentions toward him, Huo Fenglie’s expression turned even uglier.

“Maybe he bought it after it was pawned? Or it was transferred to him by somebody else.” Liu Zhenqing really had a headache. How could this have something to do with him?

“Then question him again!” Huo Fenglie decisively woke Du Dongfeng up, startling Liu Zhenqing. He felt that Er-gou was particularly aggressive at this moment.

Once Du Dongfeng woke up, before he could figure out what was going on, he felt the jade pendant pass across his hand and his expression immediately changed. “My jade pendant, what are you doing? Aren’t you going to kill me? Why did you take away my jade pendant! Do you intend to steal a dead person’s belongings? Give it back to me!”

Huo Fenglie looked toward Liu Zhenqing and signaled with sharp eyes for him to ask. Liu Zhenqing swallowed and asked cooperatively: “This jade pendant is quite special. Perhaps it holds some clues.”

“Nonsense, this jade pendant was given to me by my lover. It has nothing to do with anything else!”

Liu Zhenqing choked. He could feel the burning gaze coming from Huo Fenglie.

He stopped beating around the bush and said directly: “Liu Zhenqing? It turns out you’re a remnant of his defeated party?!”

Liu Zhenqing’s tone changed, and Du Dongfeng understood at once that the other party had a lot of background and actually recognized the jade pendant. He struggled wildly. “Bah, how are you worthy of mentioning his name!”

Liu Zhenqing was a little surprised. The protective intent in these words was obvious. Could it be that he really was a member of his party?

And then Huo Fenglie suddenly said, “Lover?”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie in astonishment, worried that he would be exposed. And what kind of question was this, ah? It was clearly an excuse that Du Dongfeng made up.

But at this time, Huo Fenglie’s cold and murderous voice was more like an assassin in the dark night, very different from usual. And Du Dongfeng was so agitated that he couldn’t hear it. He replied directly: “Yes, Prime Minister Liu was my lover, can’t this be so? I’m not a remnant of his party, I just admire him. That is the jade pendant that he gave me. It has nothing to do with your investigation. If you want to kill me, then do as you wish, but return the jade pendant to me. Otherwise, I will not let you get away with it even if I’m a ghost!”

Liu Zhenqing’s expression was utterly amazed when he heard this, and he was completely speechless.

Huo Fenglie chopped down with his hand and poor Xiao Du fainted again.

“Lover?” Huo Fenglie asked, looking at Liu Zhenqing expressionlessly.

“Eh…..”

“You personally gave it to him?”

“This…..”

“Heh.”

Huo Fenglie was obviously unhappy, which inexplicably made Liu Zhenqing feel that he had done something wrong. He wanted to coax him quickly, but was really full of questions.

Liu Zhenqing said quickly, “I swear I never gave it to him. I don’t even know him. How old is he now? He was probably not as old as you were back then, just a little kid.” 

Huo Fenglie’s expression remained unchanged, and he gripped the jade pendant tighter and tighter. 

Suddenly, he said in a low voice with a hint of grievance: “You never gave one to me.”

Liu Zhenqing instantly couldn’t laugh or cry. It turned out that this kid had a temper because of jealousy over his different treatment as a child, ah.

“Aiya, my god, didn’t I love you dearly when you were a child? Did I not give you everything you wanted? I remember asking you if you wanted one, and you said no. If you wanted one, I would have given you fifteen pieces,” Liu Zhenqing practically swore.

“There is a difference between asking for something and being given something.” Huo Fenglie turned his head and continued in a low voice, “And it would still be something that others had.”

Liu Zhenqing took Huo Fenglie’s arm, inexplicably anxious to explain: “What is all this, ah, the child I loved the most was you, and I treated you as my own little brother. But I really didn’t ever give one to a man. Do you think I’m Liu Xiaozhu? I don’t like men at all, let alone have any tender feelings for them. How could I give a man a jade pendant for no reason, even a little boy?”

Huo Fenglie froze at once, and the expression on his face changed again and again as if he was experiencing several fluctuations. In the end, he could only acquiesce to this statement. “So where did his come from?”

Seeing that Huo Fenglie was willing to discuss properly, Liu Zhenqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. But after breathing this sigh of relief, he inexplicably felt that something was wrong?

It was strange. Why did he try so hard to coax Huo Fenglie? Just like coaxing…..coaxing an angry little girlfriend. Although he had never had a girlfriend, Huo Feihan had coaxed Li Xingruo like this.

This…..A flash of strangeness zipped through Liu Zhenqing’s heart, and was interrupted by Huo Fenglie’s question.

“Do you want to press him further?”

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment and said: “I’m sure we won’t get anything out of him if we press him. Let’s pretend to be like-minded people and let him go to see what he’ll do next. I never knew him, and I didn’t have such a little subordinate at that time, but the people he answers to might be acquaintances.” As he said this, he went to put the jade pendant back on the person.

“You still want to give it to him?”

“Yes, yes, to win his trust, ah.” Liu Zhenqing had a headache. What was wrong with this kid? Why had he suddenly become so childish? “Let’s go to the jade shop later, and I’ll buy you whatever you want, eh? Wait, I have no money, so you’ll still pay for it.”

Liu Zhenqing put the jade pendant back on Du Dongfeng. When he looked up, he saw that Huo Fenglie was aggrieved at his perfunctoriness, looking gloomy and cold. Liu Zhenqing could only say helplessly: “I really have no money, you know.”

. . . . . . 

In the palace of the Empress Dowager.

The blue smoke from an incense burner curled up and drifted behind a screen. On the Imperial Concubine’s couch, a beautiful woman was lying on her side with her eyes closed in meditation. Her pale hands held a willow leaf-shaped pendant with a “1” faintly visible.

Suddenly, the jade pendant’s string slipped from her hand, and the woman woke up with a start. She was just about to reach out to catch it, when a hand that was even more beautiful reached out. This hand that looked like top quality mutton-fat jade caught it, and the faint aroma emanating from the person’s body also permeated the entire room.

“Sister?” Empress Dowager Yao Hua looked at the beautiful woman in front of her who looked like a goddess from a painting. She said awkwardly, “You came?”

“Sister, you miss him, but you must be careful.” Taifei Jian Shuang helped the Empress Dowager stand up, and returned the jade pendant. “You were practically asleep. If a servant saw it and spread the news, how could you stay in the palace as the Empress Dowager? It would not be easy for the emperor to explain.”

“This sort of jade pendant is so common that others would not be able to tell it apart.” The Empress Dowager smiled lightly and hung the jade pendant back around her neck again, putting it under her clothes. “I just had a dream. It was about this jade pendant.”

“Oh? Did you dream about that person too?” The Taifei asked with a half-smile.

“I didn’t see that person. Probably because I heard about General Huo going south, I dreamed about General Huo when he was a child. Back then, he often followed that person around.” The Empress Dowager touched the jade pendant on her chest with a smile: “When that person gave me the pendant, General Huo looked straight at me. He couldn’t hide the emotions on his young face, and was full of displeasure. That person asked him if he wanted one too, but General Huo shook his head firmly and said no. He obviously…..wanted one very much.”

“Children, they want everything.” The Taifei smiled, and suddenly began to cough while speaking. The Empress Dowager quickly called the palace servants to put out the incense burners and open the windows for ventilation.

“You aren’t in good health, and you shouldn’t stay in such an enclosed space. Before you come next time, please send someone to notify me so that I can ventilate the room in advance.”

The Taifei’s eyes were soft. “It is still Sister who treats me well.”

---

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Chapter Forty-Five << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Seven

Feng Xiaojin took Ku You to a dark cave with a remote entrance. After the mechanism was closed, even if disciples of the Baifu Sect excavated the ground cun by cun, it would be difficult to detect any abnormality. Ku You listened to the chaotic footsteps above his head and said: “For Miss Yunle, there is currently no safer place than the Dayan Military Camp. The real danger for her is here.”

“The laws of Dayan will put her to death.”

“Those men who kneel before her would also kill her, and do so in the filthiest and cruelest way in the world. That is true brutality.” Ku You gazed at the silent darkness in front of him. “She couldn’t sit cleanly on a high platform and play the role of the beautiful mute statue forever. Young Master Feng should know this better than I. Peoples’ desires expand unceasingly, and cult followers are no exception. If there is one, they want two. If there are two, they want hundreds of millions more. No matter the time or place, as long as Mu Zhe wants to win peoples’ hearts, she will be sacrificed at any moment.”

Feng Xiaojin suppressed his anger: “But she is poisoned, and without Mu Zhe’s antidote, she will certainly die!”

“So, Young Master Feng, why don’t you join forces with me quickly and destroy this den of thieves before the poison spreads? Now that it is impossible for Miss Yunle to be sent back, the only option is to pry open Mu Zhe’s mouth as soon as possible.”

“What do you want, a map of the dense forest, the hiding place of the gold, or the spies the Baifu Sect has everywhere?”

Ku You replied: “I want it all.”

Feng Xiaojin turned to look at him, a small breeze stirring up his clothes.

Ku You sat without moving, because he felt that this request was very reasonable. Maps were needed to fight a war, and to eliminate weeds, the roots must be dug up. As for the gold, it was something that belonged to the common people of Dayan, so it certainly must be taken back. Although the prince had people from the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe helping him outside, there were not so many helpers. Also, Feng Xiaojin’s martial arts were extremely strong. Even if Ku You couldn’t win him over, he at least couldn’t be allowed to side with the Baifu Sect when the two sides were fighting.

After a long time, Feng Xiaojin said: “All right.”

. . . . . . .

The disappearance of the Holy Maiden brought a shock to the Baifu Sect that was no less than the collapse of heaven and earth. Although Mu Zhe had commanded for the news to be suppressed, news was the most difficult thing to suppress in the world. In just one afternoon, everyone in the entirety of the dense forest was in a panic, saying that Ku You had taken the Holy Maiden away.

Later, the rumors became tinged with romance. After all, the Holy Maiden’s fascination with Ku You had been witnessed by many people. Now that the two of them had vanished, there were really too many details to speculate upon. The disciples who went to pursue them returned empty-handed. Wumeng Yunyou lay in bed, listening to the cacophonous sounds outside the window. He frowned and said: “What happened?”

“Nothing,” the witch doctor said. “They’re just rehearsing in advance for the Yan army’s future invasion.”

Wumeng Yunyou lay back on the soft pillow and stretched out his hand to touch the wound on his waist. Liu Hengchang came in with a medicine tray. Seeing this scene, he hurriedly said: “Young Master Yunyou, don’t touch it.”

“What kind of poison is on Liang Shu’s sword?” Wumeng Yunyou was unhappy, and pressed harder, causing him to gasp in pain. “Such a small wound opens over and over again. Is it really going to take a year and a half?”

This was not the first time he had lost his temper. As usual, Liu Hengchang went on to clean the pus and blood from the wound. Wumeng Yunyou breathed out and lay flat on his back. After lying there for a while, he felt bored and asked again: “Hey, why hasn’t Uncle come to see me today? Did he go to see A-Le off?”

Liu Hengchang was taken aback when he heard this, surprised that he didn’t know what was happening outside. Just as he was about to speak, the witch doctor next to him gave him a fierce look and said first: “Yes. Young Master Yunyou, don’t worry. The Dayan army has been eyeing the Holy Maiden recently, so Young Master Feng will protect her along the way.” Wumeng Yunyou gave a leisurely response, not suspecting anything. With the witch doctor around, Liu Hengchang couldn’t say much. He started to go back to his room, but was stopped by the two other witch doctors, who coldly commanded: “Doctor Liu, from now on, Young Master Yunyou’s injuries will be treated by us without your intervention.”

“But—”

“The herb fields in the west need maintenance, and there is not enough manpower. Bothering Doctor Liu to take the trouble these days.” When the witch doctor finished speaking, he waved his hand to summon two disciples, who went back to his room to pack up his clothes with him. Liu Hengchang didn’t dare to show his dissatisfaction on his face, but thought quickly that in this situation, it should not be that he had exposed his identity as an undercover agent. Otherwise, he wouldn’t simply be sent to a remote flower field. In all likelihood, Mu Zhe wanted to deal with Feng Xiaojin, so he would target the people around him first.

The disciples didn’t leave Liu Hengchang much time. He had only packed two pieces of clothes when they urged him to go faster.

Feng Xiaojin’s residence was empty when he returned, with only Mu Zhe standing in the courtyard. Hearing the sound of footsteps, Mu Zhe turned around and said: “I thought you were going to find A-Le.”

Feng Xiaojin’s eyes hidden beneath his mask were cold: “Can I go?”

“You cannot.” Mu Zhe stepped forward and put his palm on the mask. “This is obviously a trap set by the Yan army. I will never allow you to be in any danger, so it is best to quickly put away all the thoughts you shouldn’t have.”

“Without the Leader’s antidote, I can’t even leave this forest, so why does it matter whether or not I have the intention to save her?” Feng Xiaojin stood there with no emotion in his tone. “I’m tired.”

“All right.” Mu Zhe placed a porcelain bottle on the table. “One more thing. Yunyou doesn’t know that Yunle has disappeared. His injury has not healed yet, and I feel it is best for him not to be stimulated. Otherwise, I’m afraid I will have to sew up the wound with the Embroidered Spider Lady again when he rushes out to find her.”

Feng Xiaojin said: “I thought you would immediately instigate him to sacrifice his life.”

Mu Zhe smiled: “But I assumed you wouldn’t agree. Since you don’t agree, I will consider letting him off.” 

He turned around and walked out. “So for Yunyou, A-Feng, you had better be good. Just like your mother.”

Feng Xiaojin closed his eyes slightly, reached for the antidote on the table, and turned back to the room.

A swatch of red clothing floated down the courtyard wall and followed Mu Zhe quickly. The Nanyang woman said with a giggle: “It turns out that Leader Mu is still a compassionate person. It is a pity that he is willing to raise a peerless master in vain and not have him work on behalf of  the Baifu Sect. The way I see it, perhaps Young Master Feng can find the saintess girl and bring her back.”

“That isn’t necessary. He does not need to do anything.” Mu Zhe said, “He only needs to stay by my side.”

He had lost the first one, and would never lose the second one. Recently, he didn’t know if it was because he was getting older or because he felt excited about directly taking the royal city, but he had become increasingly eager to stay with his young lover at all times. In short, he could not accept any possibility of losing the face beneath that mask, even if the cost was to sacrifice the Holy Maiden who had worked hard for many years.

“Name a price,” Mu Zhe said. 

The Nanyang woman covered her mouth and laughed again: “Then I must calculate carefully. It must not be less than the Island Master’s.”

When she spoke, she used Wumeng Yunle’s voice.

In the Valley of Ten faces, Liu Xian’an asked: “How is she today?”

“Not very good,” Liu Xianche said. “She didn’t even know she was poisoned, so she refuses to take my medicine.”

“But her nails have turned black.”

“She only feels that black nails are not beautiful enough.”

Liu Xian’an sighed: “Life and death are determined by fate.”

He had three thousand worlds in his mind, and it stood to reason that he could come up with a profound truth anytime and anywhere, but this time he had no idea what to say. Or to be more precise, he knew what to say, but it was easier said than done to reshape a person’s inherent three views. For the time being, he couldn’t figure out where to start.

For the first time, Liu Xianche did not scold his younger brother for being lazy. There were too many things to be done in the army right now, and each of them was more important than having a heart-to-heart talk with Wumeng Yunle. He asked: “How is it going on A-Yuan’s side?”

“The prince has sent three batches of troops to protect her, as well as the Imperial guards. There is no need to worry about safety issues.” Liu Xian’an said. “I feel she must be having a lot of fun, otherwise she wouldn’t have forgotten to write us a letter.”

This was the first time in Liu Xianche’s life that he had heard a trace of concern and complaint in his brother’s tone. It was new and novel, so he reached out and patted him on the shoulder, inviting: “Come play a game of chess with Da-ge in the evening.”

Liu Xian’an waved his hand in refusal: “But I still have something to do.”

“What is it?”

“I want to get some sleep.”

Liu Xianche: “……”

Liu Xian’an felt his brother’s sudden gloom and unconsciously stood up straight. Then a game is also fine.

The chessboard was brought by Liu Xianche. It was his favorite way to relax. The servant boys quickly made tea for the two young masters, lit the incense, and brought a few pots of flowers out of nowhere, trying their best to decorate in a quiet and elegant flowery shade in this iron-blooded camp.

The atmosphere was just right.

But Second Young Master Liu’s chess-playing method was not quite right. He didn’t need to think much. Liu Xianche concentrated for a long time before gently dropping a piece. Then there would be a pop sound on the chessboard as a piece of a different color fell. This technique was as urgent as if he was anxious to go to someone else’s house to eat, or rushing to vacate his bowels.

Liu Xianche thought at first that he was messing around again, rushing to finish so that it would end quickly. Thus, he deliberately pressed for time and slowly ground down his temper. As a result, he suffered a big loss and was utterly defeated.

The servant boys standing on both sides: “Ai?”

Liu Xian’an said: “I won.”

Liu Xianche said expressionlessly: “One more game.”

Liu Xian’an’s smile froze. After thinking for a moment, he said: “If Da-ge wins, can I leave? If this is the case, the next game can be faster.”

Liu Xianche: “……”

In the end, Second Young Master Liu ran away without receiving punishment. Liang Shu was reclining in a tree outside to rest in the breeze. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed his sweetheart walking very slowly along the path. He jumped down and reached out, accurately taking this person into his arms. He asked curiously: “I heard you were playing chess. I thought I would be waiting here for a while, but instead, you ran out in a hurry.”

“Because it’s already finished.”

“Did you win or lose?”

“I won. So I had to run quickly, otherwise Da-ge would drag me to continue. He plays chess very slowly.”

And the lazy fellow no longer wanted to continue. He was tired, and felt uncomfortable sitting down. After returning to his residence, he lay down on the couch and pointed at himself. I’m sore here and here.

Liang Shu washed his hands and massaged him cun by cun. “It’s only a sore waist and sore legs, so why are your fingers sore too?”

“From taking the chess pieces.” This was very reasonable and well-founded.

Liang Shu nodded: “That makes sense.”

---

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

When Lin Yuan met Mu Nanqiao, Mu Nanqiao had already been living with the Mu family for a year. His first impression of Mu Nanqiao was that he was timid, docile, and shy.

Like a small animal with no attack power.

At that time, Mu Nanqiao was not living a good life with the Mu family. Lin Yuan knew this, and even deliberately made matters worse by asking people at school to gang up and isolate him.

In the end, he got his wish and appeared in front of Mu Nanqiao as a savior. And Mu Nanqiao indeed befriended him, relied on him, and trusted him.

It was only that the year Mu Nanqiao graduated high school, he returned to his biological father.

Looking back on the year and more that he and Mu Nanqiao had been friends, in fact, Mu Nanqiao never invested anything in the friendship at all. With a weak word or a tearful look, Lin Yuan would deal with Mu Rui for him, which even led to enmity between the Lin family and the Mu family later on.

Lin Yuan thought, if Mu Nanqiao had not gone abroad, would he have come out to his family for him? But there was no way to verify this until Mu Nanqiao returned to China.

With Mu Chuanbai taking power, Mu Nanqiao suddenly became the head of Mu Group. With a wave of his hand, hundreds of people were willing to serve him. He was no longer that pitiful person from back then.

But Lin Yuan had always believed that the first person Mu Nanqiao wanted to see when he returned to China must be him. After all, they were close childhood friends and hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Mu Nanqiao had even avoided some public occasions, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

He had imagined many scenarios of them meeting again, but never thought it would be like this.

He saw his own white moonlight in the house of his chosen substitute.

Not even fully clothed.

And…..

Lin Yuan looked at Mu Nanqiao’s muscular upper body in shock. Those were not exaggerated muscles developed for fitness. Clear abdominal muscles and mermaid lines tucked into the waistband, and explosive power lurked in every smooth contour.

Lin Yuan had been hospitalized recently and had neglected to exercise, so it was difficult to restrain Lu Qi just now. He subconsciously took a step back.

After taking that step, he discovered that Mu Nanqiao was even half a head taller than him, and his narrow, fox-like eyes were filled with a chill as they gazed at him condescendingly.

His facial features were still like those of his youth, but the youthfulness had faded away, and his features had grown. There was no trace of softness or shyness anymore, and his aura was as sharp as a knife. When standing in front of Lu Qi, he looked like a beast king defending its territory.

Lin Yuan found that the white moonlight’s face in his memory was blurred by this assault. On the contrary, it became confused with Lu Qi, and gradually became indistinguishable.

He gaped, muttering in disbelief: “Nanqiao? Why are you here?”

He looked at Lu Qi standing behind Mu Nanqiao and subconsciously tried to explain: “Xiao Qi, I don’t know how you met, but he and I used to…..”

Before he could say the words “used to be friends,” Lin Yuan saw Lu Qi step forward and shield Mu Nanqiao behind him, opening his hands to block his line of sight. His round eyes were full of vigilance and disgust.

“Mu Nanqiao, don’t be afraid!” Lu Qi said loudly: “Let’s call the police! I can’t believe it, this scumbag is still lawless!”

Lin Yuan: …….

Wait, no. This man was nearly 1.9 meters tall. What could he be afraid of? Was he afraid that he wouldn’t be able to kill him in one punch?

However, what stunned him even more and collapsed his three views was still to come. Mu Nanqiao, whose eyes were dark and cold just now, raised his eyebrows and suddenly changed his expression.

“Lu Qi…..” He held the hem of Lu Qi’s house clothes and lowered his gaze, saying: “Is he here to see me?”

Lin Yuan was astonished: “Nanqiao, I really want to see you, but today…..”

Mu Nanqiao appeared to be very frightened. He raised his hands and tightly wrapped them around Lu Qi’s waist, and this big person tried to shrink down. He put his head on Lu Qi’s shoulder and said in a low voice: “But I don’t want to see him.”

Patting the hands around his waist, Lu Qi felt his desire to protect swell to the extreme at this moment. “Go to the kitchen and take out the new chili powder I bought yesterday!”

As Mu Nanqiao held back his laughter, his shoulders trembled slightly, making his “fear” more genuine.

Lu Qi had his back to Mu Nanqiao and couldn’t see the expression on his face, but Lin Yuan could see it clearly.

He encircled Lu Qi with his arms, his tall figure and broad shoulders like an unseen barrier. He was like an evil dragon entrenched on a rare treasure, his expression arrogant and proud, eyes staring coldly at the intruder.

Lin Yuan only felt it was absurd, so absurd that it made him dizzy.

Even if he was blind, he could still see that his white moonlight and his substitute were mixing together!

In recent years, many of the gang of scoundrels around him were just for fun and entertainment, but on the day the plot was exposed, which one was not a lover or an ex?  It was good he had come, his white moonlight and his ex-boyfriend were embracing right in front of him!!

The moment Mu Nanqiao came out, he was still a little hesitant. Should he choose his white moonlight or the more controllable substitute? Now it seemed that it was simply a matter of getting 200 points on the mock test and wondering whether to study at Tsinghua University or Peking University. Even saying it made a person feel like a fool!

But it was also at this moment that Lin Yuan realized that he could not tolerate Lu Qi standing at the side of another person. He thought of the light Lu Qi would leave on for him when he came home late at night, the porridge delivered to his bedside when he had a stomach ache, and the painting he had picked out of the trash can.

Lu Qi once took this relationship seriously and hoped that the two of them could hold hands without letting go or getting separated even if they were walking backwards in a milling crowd.

This was who Lu Qi was. When he had someone, he put his heart and soul into them. After experiencing this heart that was bright like the sun, Lin Yuan found that he was used to seeing this light and could not let go.

He looked at Mu Nanqiao, the white moonlight he had admired as a boy, but he only wanted to get him away from Lu Qi. 

To him, Lu Qi was no longer anyone’s substitute. He was just Lu Qi.

“Xiao Qi, I really know I was wrong.” Lin Yuan no longer looked at Mu Nanqiao, but said to Lu Qi in a hoarse voice: “I picked up the painting. You see, I still picked it up even after you threw it away. We have a destiny, right?”

“When I threw it away, it was no longer my painting,” Lu Qi said. “It was just a piece of garbage.”

As if he could no longer bear this atmosphere, Lin Yuan wiped his face and took a deep look at Mu Nanqiao, who was standing behind Lu Qi. “You come out, let’s talk.”

Lu Qi was vigilant: “What do you have to talk about with him? Your glorious past of secondary school bullying?”

Lin Yuan smiled bitterly. “Xiao Qi, you didn’t even know how to curse before, but now you’re so sharp-tongued just to protect him.”

Lu Qi pursed his lips, but still stubbornly spread his hands to block the two of them.

“Let’s go out and talk.” Mu Nanqiao straightened up. He finally removed his hands from Lu Qi’s waist and raised a hand to rub Lu Qi’s hair. “It’s all right. I’ll just tell him clearly so that he doesn’t pester us in the future.”

Lu Qi hesitated, then pushed Mu Nanqiao into the bedroom. “Then I’ll find some clothes for you.”

The bedroom door slammed shut.

Lin Yuan was just tossed like trash into the living room. He looked around, and the hands hanging by his side slowly clenched into fists.

The furnishings in the small living room were completely Lu Qi’s style, and many things were familiar to him. This apartment was small and narrow, and he would have looked down on it in the past, but now he envied the little kittens crawling around in it.

When he thought of something, his whole body froze.

With the layout of one bedroom and one living room, everything in this small residence could be seen at a glance. He didn’t see another bed, and the small sofa in the living room was not something to sleep on at all. What Mu Nanqiao was wearing didn’t make it seem like he was a guest. He simply wasn’t wearing anything at all!

In that case……

Lin Yuan stared at the bedroom door, and an unbelievable idea came to his mind. 

Did Lu Qi and Mu Nanqiao sleep together on the same bed?!

. . . . . . .

In the bedroom, Lu Qi found a light blue sporty short-sleeved shirt that was looser on him and handed it to Mu Nanqiao. Still feeling uneasy, he said: “What will you do if you’re bullied by him?”

Mu Nanqiao put on the short-sleeved shirt. It was a bit tight, but not too bad. When he heard this, he glanced at Lu Qi with his fox eyes curved and gave a sly smile. 

“In your eyes, am I so weak?” He tilted his head and took a step closer to Lu Qi. “En, then let me prove myself?”

The bedroom was already very small, and when he took such a big step forward with his long limbs, Lu Qi was almost pressed against the cabinet door. His instincts, like a small animal, sensed a hint of danger. But he trusted Mu Nanqiao very much, so he blinked and asked in confusion: “How will you prove it?”

As soon as he spoke, Mu Nanqiao leaned over and grabbed his legs, using his arms to lift him up.

Although Lu Qi was thin, he was not short. He was slender and well-proportioned, at a standard weight for an adult male. He had never imagined that after the age of fifteen, he could be picked straight up like a child.

His line of sight was suddenly elevated. Lu Qi bent over and immediately pressed down on Mu Nanqiao’s shoulders. Unexpectedly, Mu Nanqiao still had the strength to spare, and hefted him twice casually before turning around. Raising his eyes, he asked with a smile, “Are you still worried? Hm?”

His face was full of pride, as if he was holding a teddy bear, but the small red mole at the tip of his eye had a different kind of charm. Lu Qi looked at his face so close at hand, and his cheeks suddenly warmed up. He grabbed the clothes on his shoulders and exclaimed in a low voice, “Okay! I know you won’t be bullied!”

Mu Nanqiao put this person down securely and pinched Lu Qi’s ear, asking with feigned surprise, “Your ears are so red, do you have a fever again?”

“No fever.” Lu Qi averted his eyes. “Ahem, go ahead and tell him clearly. Be careful.”

Lin Yuan stood outside the door, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Why did it take so long to change clothes? Was there laughter coming from inside?

His patience ran out, and when he was about to kick the door open, Mu Nanqiao opened the bedroom door and walked out.

Facing Lin Yuan, the warm and innocent smile on his face disappeared, and a sarcastic and indifferent look took its place. 

Mu Nanqiao closed the door at once, blocking Lin Yuan’s prying eyes, and raised his chin toward the front door.

“Let’s go.” He chuckled, but his eyes were like a frozen lake. “Old classmate, let’s go out and catch up on old times.”

. . . . . . . .

Neither of them spoke, and they went downstairs one after the other.

Coming out of the north gate of the Garden Community was an open park, and there were not many people at this time. Old men and women walked in twos and threes. Lin Yuan found a relatively secluded corner and stood beneath a pavilion. 

Mu Nanqiao followed slowly.

Lin Yuan turned and looked carefully at Mu Nanqiao once more.

Mu Nanqiao was wearing a light blue sporty short-sleeved shirt and a pair of casual white trousers, along with a pair of cinnamon dog slippers on his feet. The hair on his forehead that had been splashed by Xiao Sanhua hung down casually. Putting one hand in his pocket, he watched a group of puppies playing in the distance with unfocused eyes.

Although his posture was undisciplined, he was elegant and casual with a tall and graceful body. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that he was noble.

After walking all this way, Lin Yuan became much calmer. He stood on the steps and looked down at Mu Nanqiao from a high position, saying calmly: “Mr. Mu, you are really different from how you used to be. Right now, who would recognize you as the timid secondary school student you were?”

Mu Nanqiao finally laid eyes on him, and after looking at him for a long moment, he laughed.

Lin Yuan frowned: “Why are you laughing?”

“Hah, it’s really hard for old classmates to recognize me. After all, they’ve never known me before.” Mu Nanqiao shook his head. “But you’re still the same as before. You don’t dare to speak directly, and pretend to be sophisticated, setting traps, using indirect metaphors and making insinuations…..”

He chuckled: “Lin Yuan, you’re still like this. Very good, it won’t be too difficult to deal with you.”

Lin Yuan was not at all concerned about his threat. After all, the image of that little white flower was still deeply rooted in his heart. He asked Mu Nanqiao coldly: “Do you know everything about the past? All right, I admit that what I did was wrong, but when you and I hung out together, I got you out of a lot of trouble, right? Even if we can’t be friends anymore, at least we were classmates. You don’t have to be so cruel and steal my person, right?”

“Your person?” Mu Nanqiao seemed to have thought about something amusing. “Ah, right. Lin Yuan, did you like how I pretended to be before? Gentle, kind, like a shining little sun…..”

He smiled and asked, “What, am I not your white moonlight?”

The words ‘white moonlight’ came out of Mu Nanqiao’s mouth with such mockery that Lin Yuan felt his blood pressure rise and his eardrums buzz. He gritted his teeth and said: “You say you were pretending.”

“En, pretending.” Mu Nanqiao’s smile became more friendly, but his fox-like eyes were full of malice. “I just suddenly remembered that I wasn’t good at pretending in the beginning, but then I met a boy later who went to Hengjin Secondary School to participate in a competition. In order to keep me awake, he kept talking to me and telling me of his experiences……”

He enunciated every word, doing his utmost to make Lin Yuan hear every word clearly. “Later, when I encountered a problem, I thought, ‘what would that little sun do?’ I imagined what he looked like and tried to imitate it, and some fool really took the bait.”

He laughed without restraint: “Lin Yuan, can you guess who I was imitating? As a friendly reminder, Lu Qi has been to Hengjin Secondary School.”

This sentence was somewhat roundabout. Lin Yuan spent some time thinking about it, and slowly, his expression changed. It only took a few seconds for him to go from pretending to be calm to looking ferocious. He roared and rushed toward Mu Nanqiao with his fist raised. 

Mu Nanqiao turned sideways and his fist brushed the corner of his lips. He whispered: “Now it’s self-defense……”

He raised his hand to clasp Lin Yuan’s wrist, then violently slammed it down and raised his foot to kick Lin Yuan’s knee.

Crack— the sound of his knees colliding with the floor tiles was shocking, and Lin Yuan immediately groaned in pain.

“Tsk…..” Mu Nanqiao was speechless. “And Xiao Lu was still worried that I would be bullied…..”

He raised his hand and slapped Lin Yuan twice. “Mr. Lin hasn’t been exercising. If Lin Group goes bankrupt in the future, moving bricks will be a laborious job. Even if you go to prison, you will still have to undergo labor reform, don’t you know?”

From childhood to adulthood, Lin Yuan had never suffered such humiliation. He knelt on the ground, suppressed, but what he cared about more was what Mu Nanqiao had just said.

“You said you…..ugh…..imitated Lu Qi…..” He gritted his teeth. “How do you know him?! You knew him back then? So I…..I…..”

So he didn’t like Mu Nanqiao, but a shadow who was similar to Lu Qi. He had always liked a person like Lu Qi, who was gentle, honest, and passionate.

He was simply going crazy. The moment Mu Nanqiao released him, he ignored the pain in his wrist and tried to attack, but was kicked in the chest by Mu Nanqiao and fell to the ground.

A cinnamon dog slipper stepped on his chest, and Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyelashes calmly. With the streetlights on, his expression was half hidden in the darkness and looked a bit sinister.

“Lin Yuan, I truly appreciate your stupidity. Thank you very much for bringing him to me with your own hands. To express my gratitude, I will call an ambulance for you.”

“Have a good rest. Our ‘reminiscing about the past’ has just begun.”

. . . . . . .

Lu Qi bathed the semi-wet Sanhua, dried her, and put her into the box, carefully observing the reactions of the mother cat and her kittens. As expected, Sanhua no longer recognized her babies, and slapped the kittens away one paw at a time.

After all, their smells had changed and so much time had passed. Lu Qi was not surprised. In order to prevent Sanhua from harming the kittens, he locked her in the bedroom first and then took his coat, planning to go out and have a look. 

The sky had darkened, and Mu Nanqiao had not yet returned. Although this man had childishly shown off his strength before going out, Lin Yuan was a member of the Lin family, after all. Even if he was a person only fit for guzzling and boozing, he was still rich and powerful.

What if he was unsportsmanlike and hired a bunch of bodyguards? Would Mu Nanqiao suffer a loss?

Just as he was about to go out, footsteps sounded in the corridor.

Lu Qi would never open the door without looking through the peephole again. He leaned down to look, and when he saw the familiar blue color, he quickly opened the door. 

The living room lights fell warmly on Mu Nanqiao. He stood at the foot of the steps and smiled up at him, raising his hand to let him see the bag in his hand. “I found a good barbeque restaurant and brought it back for dinner.”

His suspended heart finally dropped. Lu Qi let out a small breath and turned sideways to let Mu Nanqiao in.

The cinnamon dog slippers were dirty. Mu Nanqiao walked into the living room barefoot, put down the package, and then rubbed his nose with a bit of embarrassment: “I forgot to change my shoes just now, and they got dirty. I’ll clean them for you tomorrow.”

The actual situation was that it was good that the slippers were still there. He had kicked someone with the slippers still on, and they could have gone on a long journey.

“A small thing like that isn’t important.” Lu Qi waved his hand and looked at Mu Nanqiao carefully. Sure enough, he found a small bruise at the corner of his lip, which was bleeding even though it was a small cut.

“He hit you?” Lu Qi rolled up his sleeves angrily. “It turns out that this piece of garbage actually has time to hurt others!”

Lin Yuan, who was lying in an ambulance, sneezed heavily. Severe pain came from his cracked ribs, and he groaned with a pale face.

Mu Nanqiao didn’t say that Lin Yuan was already on the way to the hospital. He touched the corner of his lips and gave a desolate sigh, walking to Lu Qi’s side and raising his hands to hug the anxious young man.

“What……what’s wrong……” Lu Qi cautiously raised a hand to pat his shoulder. He was a little embarrassed by the sudden embrace, but didn’t reject it. He just asked worriedly: “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“No, I’m just a little tired.” Mu Nanqiao said softly, “When I was in secondary school, wounds of this magnitude could not be considered injuries. Even if there were bruises on my body, I had to go to school as usual the next day and work part time.”

He made a pretense of tragedy.

He had just beaten up Lin Yuan. To be honest, it was more pleasant than hitting a sandbag, but he wanted to hug Lu Qi, so it didn’t matter if he pretended to be pitiful. After all, what he said was not a lie.

Lu Qi smelled really good. The tip of Mu Nanqiao’s nose lightly rubbed the side of his neck, and then he straightened up as if nothing had happened. “Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s eat. It won’t taste good if it’s cold.”

“How can you eat barbecue if your mouth is hurt?” Lu Qi looked at him helplessly.

Mu Nanqiao was also dumbfounded. “It’s fine, it actually doesn’t hurt very much.”

“Forget it, it’s a pity you were hurt, ah.” Lu Qi took the skewers into the kitchen. “Let me help you pull it all off, eating like this will really hurt you, ah. 

Mu Nanqiao laughed and squeezed into the kitchen with him.

After eating grilled mutton, Lu Qi took out the medicine kit and applied a bit of iodine to the corner of Mu Nanqiao’s lips.

“Ever since I moved here, I’ve been using this medicine kit.” The cotton swab touched the corner of his mouth like a cool kiss. 

Lu Qi moved closer and looked at it. “En, it’s just a small cut. Don’t worry, it will be healed by tomorrow.”

Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyes and looked intently at the small pear dimple on Lu Qi’s cheek.

“Lin Yuan hit you, will he come again?” Lu Qi was anxious. “I wanted to ask you before, do you want to rent a house together? Let’s move away. Although I don’t know if we can avoid Lin Yuan, at least the rent will be cheaper if we rent together.”

Mu Nanqiao should have been happy to share an apartment. After all, this meant that the person he liked was willing to stay in the same place as him, and this was a kind of trust. If they lived together, he could also take good care of Lu Qi. The pavilion closest to the water enjoyed the moonlight first, and all future pursuits would fall in place.

“How strange,” Lu Qi muttered. “The injury on your hand isn’t good. Be more careful, ah.”

Mu Nanqiao’s fingers curled up.

Lu Qi raised his head and asked, “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Mu Nanqiao shook his head, then said in a low, hesitant voice, “The matter of sharing an apartment…..I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.” Lu Qi thought this was normal. After all, many people enjoyed living alone, and he may not be accustomed to living with others after living alone for a long time.

He put away the small bottle of iodine and thought of something else, saying hesitantly, “There’s one more thing…..”

Mu Nanqiao found that the ears hidden beneath his hair were red again, like a layer of creamy strawberry frosting. It looked very sweet.

His Adam’s apple moved up and down, and his voice was a little deep when he said, “What is it?”

“It’s just…..that, ahem…..” Lu Qi averted his eyes, and after a long moment, he finally made up his mind and said quickly: “You know I’m bent. I don’t know if you are. Even though you are the object of Lin Yuan’s delusions, you’re not necessarily bent, so don’t do the ambiguous things you do sometimes. If…..if you seduce me like this, I will misunderstand you!”

He finished speaking in one breath, nearly suffocating himself, and took a long inhale. Light pink spread from his ears. “If you just want to be friends with me…..”

Mu Nanqiao blinked, then gave a low, light chuckle: “You can still tell that I’m seducing you. It’s really not easy.”

Lu Qi: “Ah……”

He watched as Mu Nanqiao leaned closer, his fox-like eyes staring at him intently. The small red mole at the tip of his eye was bright and dazzling.

“I don’t just want to be ordinary friends with you. How about it, ah?”

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Chapter Seventeen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Nineteen

Although the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe had lived in the dense forest for a long time, they were not isolated from the world, and they had heard a lot about what the Baifu Sect was doing. La Yue said: “Perhaps she has never killed anyone with her own hands, but there are hundreds or thousands of people who have died because of her. The cult used the Holy Maiden as a lantern, causing many believers to risk their lives and lose their minds. Even if such a person is judged according to the laws of Dayan, she may not have a way out.”

“Whether or not she has a way out will be decided by the prince. All you and I have to do is bring her to justice.” Ku You said, “Let’s start tonight and get it done quickly without further delay.”

La Yue was astonished to hear this: “It sounds easy, but how can it be done quickly? I’ve seen how the Holy Maiden walks, and her qinggong skills are not inferior to mine. It will not be easy for me to catch her.”

“She will come here tonight,” Ku You said. “You only need to find a route to take her away. Leave all the rest to me.”

La Yue looked doubtfully at the silver gauze covering his eyes and thought to himself, he said this so confidently. How will he trap her, with male beauty?

He hid in the darkness of the rafters and waited until it was dark outside. Sure enough, the sound of the wooden door being pushed open sounded from the courtyard, and the bell on the girl’s waist rang loudly. Wumeng Yunle lifted her skirts and stepped into the room. She looked at the silver-haired young man sitting at the table and said with some reluctance, “I must leave again tomorrow.”

Ku You asked: “Where are you going?”

“To go and do what I should do.” Wumeng Yunle sat down. “This time will be longer than before, and I may have to leave for thirty or forty days. In fact, I wanted to take you with me, but Master didn’t agree, and he also gave me a lecture.”

Ku You smiled slightly.

Wumeng Yunle stared at the corners of his beautiful slightly raised lips and unconsciously stretched out her fingers to trace them. In the end, she stopped halfway and only held onto a trailing strip of material. The silver gauze fell to the ground, revealing a pair of light golden eyes. She admired them attentively and said: “Your eyes are so beautiful, just like the sun this morning.”

“So you also like the sun.” Ku You asked, “Then why do you always stay in dark rooms?”

“Everyone has something they must do,” Wumeng Yunle said happily. “You don’t understand. That doesn’t matter, because I don’t understand either. I don’t understand why you keep chasing our people. They aren’t doing anything wrong, and only want to live a better life.”

She stood up, looking forward to being closer to him, and looking forward to being this man’s wife. Although she actually didn’t know what being husband and wife meant, she knew that if she fell in love with a man, she should marry him. Wumeng Yunle leaned forward slightly and put the tip of her cold nose against the other person’s forehead. Just like those fanatical believers kissed her fingertips with extreme piety and love, she wanted to cover the same pale skin with her lips.

La Yue in the dark: ……

He was considering whether he could still see the upcoming scene, but Wumeng Yunle had already let out a muffled groan. Her body leaned to one side limply, and a thin stream of blood oozed from the corner of her lips. Ku You grabbed her and raised his head, saying, “Thank you.”

La Yue jumped down and deftly shook open a sheet that he had found somewhere. He rolled Wumeng Yunle into it, saying: “I’ll take this little enchantress away. Will you be alright?”

Ku You said: “I won’t stay here any longer.” He picked up half of the silver gauze on the ground. “The maids will soon be looking for her, so we can’t stay here long.”

Without further delay, La Yue picked up Wumeng Yunle and went out. With the help of the night and the terrain, he disappeared into the dense forest miasma in the blink of an eye.

Ku You tied the silver gauze in front of his eyes and sat back at the table. Not long after, a maid indeed came and said respectfully in the courtyard: “Holy Maiden, we should go back.” After saying this, she pushed open the door and entered. Seeing that there was only Ku You in the room, she was a little taken aback. Ku You said: “She has already left.”

“She left early?” The maid couldn’t believe it, and hurriedly departed. After a while, a cacophony of voices could be heard in the distance.

Ku You remained alone in the darkness, waiting very patiently. He knew who would be the first to come to him, and as expected, that person indeed came first. Feng Xiaojin grabbed his collar and said through nearly gritted teeth: “Where is A-Le?”

“She is safe, at least for now.” Ku You pried his fingers apart one by one. “But whether she will be safe in the future depends on Young Master Feng’s choice.”

Feng Xiaojin looked at him. “If something happens to A-Le, I will kill you.”

“That is easy to say.” Ku You said. Unmoving, he only listening to the sound of swords being unsheathed outside. “But the future can be discussed later. As for now, Young Master Feng should think about how to save my life. After all, Cult Master Mu should also be furious at the disappearance of the Holy Maiden. I am a delicate person and cannot withstand any severe torture.”

The voices outside the window were getting closer and closer. Feng Xiaojin didn’t have time to think, and firmly held his shoulders: “Let’s go!”

. . . . . . .

La Yue carried Wumeng Yunle and leaped through the depths of the white mist all the way. The people of the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe were gifted, and could hold their breath for a long time. Therefore, his range of activities in this dense forest was even wider than that of the disciples of the Baifu Sect. A large, gnarled tree stretched out its canopy in all directions, with lush green leaves, forming an excellent natural shelter. La Yue held his breath and hid in a high place, letting the disciples of the Baifu Sect shuttle back and forth in the forest. But nobody noticed anything strange above.

Worried that the hostage would wake up, La Yue specially pulled open the sheet and took a peek inside during the journey. Wumeng Yunle’s head was turned to the side, a hidden weapon nailed into her snow-white neck. It looked like the crude nails commonly used when hunting wolves and bears in the Northwest. His eyelid twitched slightly. Even though she was a witch, this style of attack seemed too barbaric.

Once the Baifu Sect disciples had left, La Yue also jumped off the tall tree and continued to run toward the Valley of Ten Faces.

When the seasons changed, the climate in the mountains did as well, and a moderate sunny rain fell in the early morning. The golden light mixed with the golden silk of rain and embroidered thousands of li of green beauty all over. Liu Xian’an was still wrapped in his big robe, with his bare feet stepping on the clean and moist bamboo floor. His upper body leaned over the railing as he reached out to catch rainwater to play with.

If Master Liu saw his dissolute appearance with no care for his health, there was a ninety-nine percent chance that he would be beaten again, but the person who came back was His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. He gazed at his sweetheart’s snow-white arms, slightly damp forehead, and the rain falling on his thin shoulders, and all the scarce literary eloquence in his bones was dug out. What mountains in the distance, what fragrant frozen pear blossoms. No wonder those pedantic scholars would risk their lives to write a carriage full of poems after just one look at a beautiful woman. It was truly human nature.

Liu Xian’an said: “The weather is still a bit cold.”

“With rain and blowing wind, it will be cold even in the middle of summer.” Liang Shu took out his handkerchief and wiped the other’s hands carefully, then picked him up and returned to his room. He placed him on the couch, took out his shoes and socks, and put them on for him. “Where is A-Ning? Why were you just standing there in the wind and rain today?”

“He went to assist Da-ge. I will go there later, but I still wanted to wait for the prince to return first.”

“Waiting for me to return. Do you still want to be lazy again?” Liang Shu smiled. “According to my past habits, I wouldn’t come back at this time. I went out in a hurry today and forgot to pick something up. I didn’t want others to disturb your sleep, so I had to make an extra trip to get it myself.”

Liu Xian’an motioned at a pile of official documents placed by his shoulder: “Military reports can just be thrown on the pillow?”

“They weren’t…..” Liang Shu stood up and defended himself. “Before going out, I was confused by desire.”

Liu Xian’an had slept very soundly in the morning and didn’t remember what he had done to make His Royal Highness Xao Wang so intoxicated as to forget himself. 

Liang Shu smiled and tugged his slightly open collar, tying his belt again: “Let’s go. Come with me to have something to eat first, and then go to the pharmacy.”

Liu Xian’an picked a light cloak in order to avoid being nagged about the cold and humidity by his elder brother later. Liang Shu intertwined their fingers. As soon as they walked out of the courtyard, they saw Gao Lin running over in a hurry. La Yue ran side by side with him, conspicuously carrying someone on his shoulders.

Looking at the bloodstains seeping out of the sheets, Liang Shu frowned. He strode forward and asked urgently: “How is he?”

La Yue was extremely tired: “Fine, she was knocked unconscious by Commander Ku.”

Liang Shu retracted the hand touching the sheet: “What do you mean, it’s not Ku You?”

“No, it’s the cult enchantress.” La Yue explained, “I originally intended to bring Commander Ku out with me, but he refused. He said that he would continue to stay in the Baifu Sect and get more things so that the prince would not have to worry.”

Gao Lin gave a thumbs up. Yes, this is the right idea, if it were me, I would scoop things up too.

In the end, Wumeng Yunle was imprisoned in secret. She woke up in a daze, her neck feeling as if it had been bitten by a beast, and she almost screamed in pain. And what frightened her more than the severe pain was the unfamiliar environment around her. This was not a prison, but there were two long iron chains fastened to her ankles, and at the other end of the chains was a huge and heavy iron ball.

Her memory seemed to be blank. She could only remember those beautiful golden eyes, and then she opened her eyes and saw the scene in front of her. She tried to move her body, but felt rough fabric pricking and stinging her back. The woman in charge of guarding her said from the side: “The clothes Wumeng-guniang was wearing were contaminated by poison, so I temporarily found a dress of my own. Although it is an old dress, it is very clean.”

“This…..this is your military camp.” Wumeng Yunle sat up. “He knocked me out and brought me here!”

“He, Commander Ku? He has not returned, and is still in the dense forest.” The woman brought a bowl of sugar water and said, “His Highness will be here later. You have lost too much blood, please drink something first.”

Wumeng Yunle waved her hand to ward her off. She had never thought that she would one day fall into the hands of the Yan army. Those rumors about Liang Shu’s cruelty poured into her mind uncontrollably, causing her face to pale even more. Upon closer inspection, there were even blue and black lines on her neck.

The woman put the sugar water on the table with a sigh. The sunlight shone on the bright red dates in the bowl, like shining gems.

Wumeng Yunle felt that the red color was exceptionally and abnormally alluring. She pushed the bowl onto the ground and tried to stand up, but her whole body swayed due to excessive blood loss.

The woman stretched out her hand to assist her.

“What are you trying to do!” Wumeng Yunle asked sharply. As she stepped back, she caught a glimpse of herself in the bronze mirror. Her hair was disheveled, bloody white gauze was wrapped around her throat, and she wore an ill-fitting old white dress. Such a strange appearance made her feel more and more lost. For a moment, she couldn’t even think about running away. Dragging the chain, she staggered to the mirror and stared at the person in it, and reached up to neatly tie her hair.

“I want my clothes.” Wumeng Yunle turned around and repeated, “I want my clothes!”

The woman never thought she would have such a reaction after waking up. She didn’t dare stimulate the other party’s emotions too much for a while, so she comforted her while sending someone to report the matter to Lieutenant General Gao.

Gao Lin was with Liang Shu, and Liu Xian’an and Liu Xianche were also there. No matter how serious the injury to Wumeng Yunle’s neck was, it couldn’t be more severe than the poison in her body. There were seventeen or eighteen kinds of poisons scattered around her body, and most of them had been with her for more than ten years. Liu Xianche said: “Mu Zhe should feed her the antidote regularly and quantitatively, but the antidote is also poisonous. As the toxins accumulate over the years, she may not be able to live long. At most, five years.”

“Mu Zhe doesn’t need her to live long,” Liang Shu said. “Only for her most beautiful years.”

“Her brother may be in the same situation.” Gao Lin turned around and asked, “First Young Master Liu, can this poison be cured?”

“It cannot, and it wouldn’t be of much use to treat it,” Liu Xianche said. “Instead of trying every possible means and causing the poisoned person to live in pain for another year or two, it is better to continue to take the so-called ‘antidote,’ so that at least she can live a slightly more comfortable and decent life in her remaining years.”

“This Mu Zhe…..” Gao Lin was even more disgusted. “Raising a freak with an ageless appearance, and raising such a short-lived brother and sister pair, this doesn’t fall short of his sinister and immoral spirit at all.”

Liu Xian’an went alone to the hut where Wumeng Yunle was imprisoned.

He held a cloth bag in his hand and handed it to the woman guarding the courtyard, saying: “This is A-Yuan’s dress. It’s new. She doesn’t think the color looks good, so she hasn’t worn it before. Give it to her.”

The woman brought the dress into the house. Yumeng Yunle had already torn her old dress to pieces. It was unknown how much force she exerted, but her sharp black and red nails broke, and crescent-shaped bloody marks were printed on her body one after another.

She was like a crazy person. And she was indeed going insane, simply because she saw that she was not beautiful enough.

The woman placed the cloth bag on the table, and the silk fabric poured out like running water, giving off a gentle luster. Wumeng Yunle was drawn to the sight. She stopped taking off her clothes, and when she was about to touch it, she saw the butterfly gem button on the collar and her eyes suddenly seemed to burn: “This is Liu Nanyuan’s clothing.”

“It does belong to Third Young Lady Liu. She is the only one in the army with a figure similar to yours. But this dress has never been worn.” The woman said, “Put it on, ba. No matter whether it fits or not, at least the material is good.”

Wumeng Yunle stood without moving, and only stretched out her hands haughtily. The woman wasn’t bothered. She stepped forward to change her clothes and then took two steps back and looked her up and down. She said: “It fits well, but the waist is a little too big by half an inch.”

She just mentioned it casually, but Wumeng Yunle became happy again because of her half-inch slimmer waist. She lifted her skirts and looked at the vague figure outside the window screen, asking: “Who is that?”

“Second Young Master Liu.”

The woman opened the door and invited Second Young Master Liu in. The sunlight was very bright at noon, enough to illuminate every corner and every person in the room. Although the two of them had seen each other before, they had only glanced at each other in a hurry. This time, they finally had enough time to slowly look at one another’s faces.

Wumeng Yunle asked: “Where is your sister?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “She went to the towns and villages farther south.”

“When will she return?”

“It’s difficult to say.”

“Does she look like you?”

“She is very similar.”

Very similar. Wumeng Yunle stared at his face, as if trying her utmost to imagine what it would look like if the same facial features appeared on another woman’s face. She became anxious again as she thought about it, because it seemed that she really was an alluring beauty, walking in the sunshine, surrounded by singing and laughter. She remembered the words of the Master, and how she should use her body to confuse those men, use her slender waist and mellowest tone in exchange for the other party’s absolute fanaticism and piety.

But now, she was trapped here with wounds all over her body, blood flowing out of her flawless white skin and solidifying into hideous and ugly scars at the wounds.

The current situation caused Wumeng Yunle’s face to gradually become distorted, and her eyes turned a bright red. Seeing that the Gu worms in her body were about to start wandering again, the woman raised her palm and knocked her out at the crucial moment, asking in confusion: “What’s wrong with her? Did she train to become a demon?”

Liu Xian’an said: “It is obsession, an inner demon.”

Inner demons were the hardest to heal.

Liu Xian’an left a bottle of soothing pills, returned to the study, and roughly recounted the situation to Liang Shu. He said: “I wonder if the parents who gave these siblings to Mu Zhe will feel remorse after learning the truth.”

“How can there be so many medicines for remorse in the world?” Liang Shu said. “I just received another secret report, you take a look first.”

Liu Xian’an picked up the letter on the table. It roughly said that because of Liu Nanyuan’s activities in the southwest, many members of the Baifu Sect had begun to doubt their previous choices, as well as if the Baifu Buddha Mother who could cure diseases and eliminate disasters really existed. So they confessed one by one to get leniency, hoping that the goddess…..the miracle doctor could also cure them and their families.

Liu Nanyuan and the other disciples of Baihe Mountain Village welcomed everyone who came, conducting free medical consultations along the way, and actually found poisonous Gu in many people’s bodies. Many people watched this scene, and seeing was believing. When more and more people learned that the Baifu Sect’s seemingly miraculous chanted blessings were actually poisonous Gu used to play tricks, fearful worship turned into furious cursing. Moreover, there were various styles of cursing, up to the ancestors and down to the grandsons, not missing half of the family tree. It was a cursing style evenly distributed like rain and dew. 

“Okay, okay, please keep your voices down!” Chang Xiaoqiu held up the Pojun sword to maintain order and shouted loudly, “If you want to curse, then go away and curse. If anyone dares to speak filthy words in front of Third Young Lady Liu, I will seriously beat them!”

Therefore, everyone went away to curse, all of them talking at once. Unsatisfied with just cursing, they directly submitted a collective petition asking the prince to eradicate the Baifu Sect as soon as possible in order to seek justice for everyone.

Upon receiving the petition, Liu Xian’an looked at the long string of fingerprints and names on the back and sighed: “The prince should send more people to protect A-Yuan. I feel the Baifu Sect will not allow her to be so free and happy.”

“No need to tell me, I already made arrangements in the morning,” Liang Shu said. “Of the Imperial guards sent by Emperor Brother, I will only keep one, and send the rest to protect A-Yuan.”

Hearing this, Liu Xian’an felt a little relieved. Because if nothing else, the Imperial guards appeared particularly reassuring just by their physiques. Each one was tall and broad, full of a simple sense of security.

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