T/N: Thank you to Jackile, Charlie, Parasim2323, Xiang, and a nameless Kofi-supporter for your generous donations!

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For the next few days on the way to Luobing, Lucas taught Luo Ran how to operate Lion One.

Luo Ran was a fast learner, and their spiritual forces and pheromones had a high degree of compatibility, so it was not difficult to operate. Now, Luo Ran could also make Lion One walk and fly circles around the practice room with Lucas.

The purpose of piloting a mecha with two people was not to have fun, but actually to make the mecha sharper and more flexible. After all, a two-person mecha had more energy, and the more power the mecha could burn like oil, the better.

And it was not just good for the mecha, but good for Lucas as well.

It took a lot of spiritual power to move a big guy like Lion One, and was beyond what ordinary people could do. One could naturally imagine how big it was. So if Luo Ran could come and help Lucas share the energy consumption, it was naturally better.

In short, both of them were spiritually injured people, and they could help each other.

This caused Luo Ran to belatedly realize something.

—Lucas was willing to fight side by side with him on the battlefield.

Perhaps because of their decision to be together, Lucas had a different attitude from the past, when he wanted to protect Luo Ran and prevent him from stepping onto the battlefield. He was willing to let Luo Ran share the mecha that helped him win and survive on the battlefield, and willing to face the outcomes and discuss strategies with him.

This made Luo Ran feel that he and Lucas were equal. His identity as an Omega allowed Lucas to protect and cherish him, but did not negate his ability.

Just as the battleship was about to land, shocking news came from the capital.

— The king had died of illness.

The king had been absent from politics for several years due to his terminal illness, and since last year, he couldn’t hold on and was bedridden. Now, he had passed away completely.

The First Prince and the Second Prince had always shared government affairs, so there were no problems, but this meant that an election was coming.

The First and Second Princes, including their supporters, began intensive publicity and speeches, and wasted no time listing and praising every good thing they had done in their lives.

However, in the previous Te City Meteor Shower disaster, the fact that the Second Prince went to the front lines in person was also dug up. This left a good impression on the public, and the balance slightly shifted toward the Second Prince.

After all, although the First Prince pushed the embezzlement of public funds onto Cyril, Yuan Han’s case had not been closed yet, and he was covered in controversy. Therefore, after years of operations, the victory that should have been properly his was now in jeopardy, and the number of votes dropped by a lot.

The capital could be said to be very lively at present.

“Are you sure?”

The tall, thin man frowned and said: “Your Highness, do you really want to end the partnership with Huntsman?”

“Yes.” First Prince Zhou Mingyu nodded.

The tall, thin man in front of him was Zhou Mingyu’s new secretary – smart, knowledgeable about current affairs, and obedient.

“But……”

“Not buts.” Zhou Mingyu lightly twirled the pen in his hand and said: “Now is the critical moment. As long as I take office, what I can’t do at that time should not be done now.”

The government agencies and Lucas were still investigating him closely at this time, and Yuan Han’s case was not over yet. It was too dangerous.

He could no longer be involved with the star pirates.

The star pirates were unwilling to end the cooperative agreement between them and insisted on taking over the factory. That was no problem. He had sponsored the raw materials and operating funds for the star pirates to make Meteor Showers and medicine, so he could cut off the supply directly and see if they left or not at that time.

Zhou Mingyu scoffed coldly: “I am the leader of the Empire, and the leader of the partnership with the star pirates. When do I answer to them?”

He had his dignity as the eldest son of the royal family, and also looked down on those rogues. Being squeezed and hard-pressed by the star pirates these days, Zhou Mingyu was dissatisfied from the bottom of his heart.

The secretary hesitated, then nodded and said: “Yes.”

There were only two weeks until the official election. He just had to get through these two weeks.

But as for the chaos in the capital, it didn’t impact Lucas and Luo Ran for the time being. They had more important things to do at the moment.

They arrived at Luobing, at the border of Xingyue City, where the battle was currently underway. Mu Yuan brought his battleship for the hand-over.

The situation had improved at the time of Lucas’s return to the capital, and he would only leave once the dust settled.

In essence, he had come back to finish the last battle with Mu Yuan.

But seeing Mu Yuan’s grim expression, Lucas said with a frown: “Is something wrong?”

“It was my mistake.”

Mu Yuan said in a low voice: “I didn’t expect the star pirates to have a secret plan. The common people outside Xingyue City were taken away, and in order to retrieve the hostages, we were forced to give up trying to get the UNK back from the star pirates.”

“But even though we gave up the UNK to save the common people, there are still sixty-one farmers who have not been rescued successfully. The star pirates have probably guessed that we would save those people, so they fled in different directions with the UNK and the hostages.”

Luo Ran frowned and asked: “UNK?”

Hadn’t the UNK mines been bombarded before? How could there still be UNK?

Mu Yuan said: “I am also unclear, but the star pirates did get UNK from Luobing. We only confirmed this yesterday. The star pirate battleships indeed have UNK.”

Luo Ran lowered his head and pondered.

This was too strange…..

Could it be that the star pirates discovered a new UNK mine in some corner of Luobing?

The Empire knew nothing of this matter.

The group of people went to the battleship control room while talking. Lucas glanced around and said: “Choose one.”

This starry sky was full of wormholes and nebulae. There was no way for the Empire to divide the army in two halves, so they could only make one choice.

If they went east to give chase and snatch the UNK back, they would have to give up the common people.

If they went west, the hostages may be rescued, but the UNK would certainly be taken away.

“Yes.” Mu Yuan nodded solemnly. “Imperial Headquarters also sent me a warning. I lost the UNK because of my previous choices. Now, they have ordered us to recover the UNK quickly.”

Lucas sneered: “Correction, it is the First Prince, not the Empire.”

After all, that was the UNK that the First Prince was anxiously longing for.

Mu Yuan said in a low voice: “As a soldier, my instinct is to save the hostages. If I had to choose, I would save them right now, but the UNK is worth a lot indeed…..and there are only sixty-one hostages now……”

Mu Yuan’s intention was to hand the decision over to Lucas.

But Lucas didn’t have the slightest entanglement. He rolled his eyes and said to Mu Yuan: “You’ve already said it. What are you?”

“A soldier.”

“So am I, so let’s act!”

Lucas strode back to the mecha.

Mu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said to the adjutant beside him: “Have the battleship and the brigade go west at full speed!”

“Yes……!”

The adjutant couldn’t help but say: “Then the UNK…..?”

Luo Ran said: “Don’t worry, the Admiral has his own decisions and arrangements.”

“Yes!”

Boom—

The universe was lit with cannon fire.

The battleship quickly caught up with the target, and Luo Ran and Lucas sat together in the mecha. Lucas wrapped his big palm around Luo Ran’s slender hand. He raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: “It’s Secretary Luo’s first expedition. How does it feel?”

It was the first time Luo Ran had actually used a mecha on the battlefield.

Luo Ran paused for a moment, then said without blushing: “The Admiral will guide me.”

“Heh.”

Lucas rubbed the top of Luo Ran’s hair and said: “Let’s go!”

It appeared cumbersome, but under the control of two masters, Lion One, which was more sensitive than an aircraft, took off from the battleship and rushed into the vast universe.

On the battlefield, all Imperial warships and mechas must follow and obey Lion One.

“Form up and surround the star pirates!” Lucas looked forward. “Target the main battleship where the hostages are located. Don’t get distracted by fighting, and don’t give chase!”

Lion One was still being controlled by Lucas, and Luo Ran was only sharing the burden as a provider of spiritual power, following Lucas’s spiritual trajectory to assist him.

The Imperial Army coordinated with the Luobing Army to form a solid encirclement so that the star pirates couldn’t escape, then slowly narrowed the circle, encroaching step by step.

The formation changed, and the gap made by the star pirates was swiftly filled.

Cooperating with Lucas to control Lion One, only then did Luo Ran intuitively feel Lucas’s ability to control and predict the battle situation.

Many times, Luo Ran didn’t understand Lion One’s trajectory, and didn’t understand Lucas’s intentions until he saw it later.

Lucas was only one person, but he could judge which methods, weapons, and teams should be used by the soldiers on the battlefield in order to achieve victory.

Another wave of artillery fire aimed at Lion One, and the lion nimbly dodged.

Now they were very close to the main battleship where the hostages were.

Lucas said in a low voice: “Luo Ran, concentrate and sit tight.”

“Okay.”

Luo Ran gripped the armrests tightly.

“Wrong.” Lucas put Luo Ran’s hand on his waist.

Luo Ran paused, then chuckled.

Lucas said on the mic: “Lao Wang, Freeman, get ready. Center on me, coordinates z4y7.”

Boom—

Boom—

Then, an unforgettably splendid scene appeared in the universe.

Two teams could be seen lining up in two circles with Lion One at the center.

Then Lion One launched the first shot, and they came one after another.

When Lion One finished launching, it moved at full speed.

Wherever the lion went, the mechas would fire immediately after.

Lion One was like the conductor of a band, directing them one by one to fire wherever it went.

However, the lion didn’t attack at random. Instead, according to the formation of troops and the position of the warships on the opposite side, it destroyed them one by one. The speed was so fast that the continuous artillery fire completely overwhelmed the opponents.

The Empire had principles, and would not manufacture destructive weapons like Meteor Showers, and prohibited other planets and countries from making them.

But in the same way, after knowing that the Meteor Showers had reappeared, Lucas had also thought of many ways to contend with them.

Among them was this.

After rehearsing it before, Lucas had asked Luo Ran to name it.

It was called Kaleidoscope.

They fired one after another in a circle, and before the enemy had time to react, and countless people came together to form the muzzle of a giant gun.

Bang, bang—

The star pirates were defeated one by one.

In the end, the defenses around the main battleship were defeated, and the team rushed forward to rescue the hostages.

In the splendid artillery fire, Lucas turned his head and saw it flickering across Luo Ran’s face.

Everyone outside was shouting victoriously and cheering.

Lucas knew that the enemy could see him and Luo Ran, and that Huntsman was watching.

Lucas lifted his eyebrows and grabbed Luo Ran’s collar.

They kissed in the firelight.

The shouting and cheering outside seemed to grow louder.

. . . . . . .

That night, the Starnet exploded.

[Frontline News] The battle has been won! The Xingyue City hostages have all been saved! The Admiral is the best!

[Empire Next Generation News] The Admiral and the Secretary kissed in the mecha! A demonstration of love to the opposite side!

XXXX: Aaaaaah, oh my god, it’s so sweet! Such a sweet, wonderful love! The love between the Admiral and the Secretary is a ray of warmth and sunshine in this continuous war and the turmoil in the capital, ah! Wuwuwu, a wonderful love.

XXXX: Congratulations, Admiral! Ahhh @Admiral Lucas must be so excited! Hehehe, it’s rare to kiss the little secretary’s mouth, is it tasty? What a wonderful love!

XXXX: …..Sister upstairs, you accidentally @’d the official account.

XXXX: ……Fuck.

XXXX: Don’t panic, sister. The official account doesn’t read these comments.

Five minutes later.

@Lucas: One, it’s tasty. Two, it’s not rare.

Five more minutes.

@Lucas: I would like to inform you that we are together, and we kiss every day.

……

……

It was heated before, but after the official announcement……

The Starnet went down.

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

Liang Shu had no impression of the number one swordsmith in the Central Plains. Song Changsheng said: “Three years ago, when I was passing through the Northwest, I saw a sword painted on the door of every house of the local people. I thought it was an ancient totem, but later found out that it was the sword of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.”

Swordsmiths were always extraordinarily interested in swords, so Song Changsheng stayed in Yacheng for half a month longer, and finally, Liang Shu and the sword arrived. He said: “At that time the prince was at a rouge shop across the street, and I had the intention to approach, but because I was a foreigner, I was stopped by soldiers.”

Liu Xian’an glanced suspiciously at the person beside him. Why did you go buy rouge?

Liang Shu grabbed his shoulders: “This story is a bit long, so I will tell you in detail tonight.”

Song Changsheng said: “Today, I would like to thank the prince and Second Young Master Liu for saving my life. On that mountain……”

“The vast majority of people are dead, and the rest are disabled. The government is cleaning up the scene, and the only one who escaped was the Holy Maiden,” Liang Shu said. “Dayan’s laws have always punished cults severely. They didn’t die unjustly. Blowing up the so-called ‘Holy Envoy’ can even be regarded as a great achievement.”

Yang Yao should be Wang Quan’s “guide” two more ranks above. This well-known jade merchant in Raven City suddenly transformed into a little leader of the Baifu Sect. The children in the family tried to escape overnight after learning about it, but they were all arrested and brought to justice by the well-prepared government. The common people of the city were all shocked when they saw the members of the Yang family in the prison cart, but after the shock they thought it over carefully. No wonder the Yang family business had become more and more prosperous recently. It turned out they had the cult behind them?

Song Changsheng sighed: “It’s a pity that demon girl ran.”

“It must have taken a lot of effort for Song-xiangsheng to successfully sneak into the Baifu Sect.” Liu Xian’an brought a chair over. “Their vetting of outsiders seems to be extremely strict.”

“Yes.” Song Changsheng nodded. “I spent a lot of effort, and even……even did many things that violated morality. At that time, I only wanted revenge, and I killed many people.”

They were all from the Baifu Sect, and he did it very skillfully, so it didn’t arouse any suspicion. Song Changsheng pretended to lose his mind after losing his wife. Not long after, someone took the opportunity to come to his door and deceive him by saying that the Holy Baifu Maiden could recall the souls of the dead so that he could meet his wife again.

“They seem to want to infiltrate the Central Plains martial arts realm, so they valued me very much, and at the same time secretly won over many other masters.” Song Changsheng said, “For the chosen ones, they often spend a lot of money. Every time they come to the door, they are flush with gold and silver.”

The heretical cult did not produce anything, and all the money it obtained was offered by believers. In other words, it was all the hard-earned money of the common people. Using the common people’s money to slaughter the common people was truly abhorrent.

“What about that Holy Maiden?” Liu Xian’an asked. “How much do you know about her?”

“She has become the symbol of the Baifu Sect. Every time she shows up, she will be dressed like a holy Buddha statue.” Song Changsheng said, “Although she has never killed anyone with her own hands, there are countless believers who die tragically because of her, so she also bears a thousand blood debts. But I always thought she was just there to look pretty. I didn’t expect her to also be a master.”

Liang Shu was thoughtful: “Her martial arts methods are rather familiar.”

Song Changsheng quickly asked: “Who is it?”

. . . . . .

Wumeng Yunyou hastily pushed open the door with a bang, causing the girl in the room to raise her eyes and look his way: “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? Shouldn’t I be anxious when you encounter such a big ordeal?” Seeing his sister sitting there, Wumeng Yunyou breathed a sigh of relief. “I heard that someone planted explosives on the mountain and everyone died.”

“Many people died, but not all of them.” Wumeng Yunle corrected him absent-mindedly. She picked up the teapot to pour tea, but Wumeng Yunyou pressed her hand and said: “Listen to me, even if some of those people are still alive, they’re mostly useless. The Master spent a lot of time trying to win over this group of martial arts experts, but now they’ve been bombed to pieces, and all their achievements have fallen short. After the old man heard the news in the morning, he flew into a rage on the spot. He might come here to ask you about it soon, so be careful when answering. Don’t make him angry again.”

Wumeng Yunle did not answer these words, but asked: “Ge, do you know anything about Dawn’s Gate?”

“Dawn’s Gate?” Wumeng Yunyou said leisurely, “I know the head is Zhao Xiang. This person joined the sect three years ago and was able to perform capably. The Master planned to reward him this time, but unfortunately, he was blown to death by that surnamed Song.”

“He didn’t die.” Wumeng Yunle recalled, “Moments before the explosion, he took another person beside him, and like a sharp arrow, flew to the other side. His speed was extremely fast. If it wasn’t because I kept looking at him, it would have been difficult to notice.”

Wumeng Yunyou frowned: “Why did you keep looking at him?”

“I don’t know either,” Wumeng Yunle replied. “But I thought he was different from all the other men on the scene, like……like a god walking out of a painting, tall and heroic.”

Wumeng Yunyou had met Zhao Xiang before. He recalled the face of that middle-aged man, and his brow wrinkled up: “Are you okay? Could that kind of person possibly be like a god? Out of a hundred people walking on the street, at least fifty look just like him.”

“It’s not about looks.” Wumeng Yunle described carefully, “It was his whole person. While standing there, he was out of tune with everything around him.”

Wumeng Yunyou couldn’t understand what his sister was saying, but he felt that these words were a bit dangerous and anything but reassuring. He leaned closer and warned: “Even if the man wasn’t killed by the bomb, his family already has wives and concubines, so don’t think about it. I heard that people from the government have gone to White Crown now. If they discover the relationship between Dawn’s Gate and the Baifu Sect, Zhao Xiang will definitely be arrested wherever he goes in the country, and Master will also give up this chess piece. At that time, he’ll just be a homeless dog. You’d better come to your senses.”

“I just told you about it because I thought he was strange, and now you’re talking about wives and concubines.” Wumeng Yunle threw away the teacup unhappily. “Forget it, I’m tired and don’t want to talk.”

“Don’t go yet.” Wumeng Yunyou reminded her in a low voice, “Master is here.”

Footsteps could be heard outside, and both of them stood up.

. . . . . . .

The people in Raven City were still muttering about the relationship between Yang Manor and the Baifu Sect in private, and they were a little nervous, which diluted the originally strong spirit of the New Year. Liu Xian’an stood beside Song Chansheng’s bed to carefully examine the suddenly swollen wound on his face, and said: “It seems to be poison, ah.”

“What kind of poison?” Song Changsheng asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Liu Xian’an said. “There are many poisons in the Southwest, and I have not seen all of them in books, so I can only prescribe some powders to see if they are effective.”

Song Changsheng was injured all over his body from the blast and needed meticulous care from a doctor. Liu Xian’an stayed in his room for a while until His Royal Highness Xiao Wang personally came to look for him. 

Song Changsheng didn’t know why he had come, and thought that the prince had come to ask him about the Baifu Sect, so he struggled to sit up, but A-Ning pushed him down.

“Song-xiansheng should continue to lie down,” A-Ning said. “I can do the rest.”

Song Changsheng was confused. “Ah?”

But Liang Shu had already taken Liu Xian’an away. The wind was cold in the twelfth lunar month, and the brazier in the room was warming it up. Liu Xian’an removed his cloak: “I don’t know when Elder Brother will come to the Southwest. In addition to looking at Commander Ku, he can take a look at the poison on Song-xiansheng’s face.”

Liang Shu: “Your elder brother has done research on poisons?”

“All I know about poisons comes from the poison compendium compiled by my elder brother.” Liu Xian’an said, “If you want to detoxify, you must learn poisons. There are also many toxic flowers, weeds, and insects in Biahe Mountain Village. I will take the prince to see them next time.”

Liang Shu knocked on his head, unable to laugh or cry: “Don’t you know how to show me red flowers and green willows, something auspicious and festive?”

Liu Xian’an avoided his hand. You don’t understand, the more colorful the flowers, the more poisonous they are. He stood by the basin to wash, but Liang Shu couldn’t live in peace, and embraced him from behind, reminding him: “Why haven’t you asked me about buying rouge?”

Liu Xian’an paused for a moment, then replied truthfully: “Because I forgot.”

Liang Shu was dissatisfied, and exhorted: “How could you forget such an important matter? What if I gave it to some pretty girl? After hearing there’s a fire in the back courtyard, you don’t know to be anxious.”

“Fire is fire.” Liu Xia’an continued to wipe his face with a handkerchief. “If I was anxious and the fire didn’t die, wouldn’t that be a waste of time?”

“You at least have to drink vinegar,” Liang Shu persuaded.

Liu Xian’an was cheerful, and did not drink.

He didn’t drink, but His Royal Highness Xiao Wang did not give up. He lifted him up and walked toward the bed, insisting on brewing some sourness in his sweetheart over the rouge powder a few years ago. Liu Xian’an was so discomposed by him that he could do nothing. Lying on the bed unable to move or struggle free, he could only turn his head with a smile: “Okay, okay, I’ll listen. Isn’t listening good?”

“No negotiating.” Liang Shu placed his arms around his waist. “If you want to hear a story, you must toss two copper coins at a teahouse. You’re taking advantage of me.”

Liu Xian’an’s clothes were disheveled under his palms, and it was not clear who was taking advantage of whom. Liang Shu’s fingers slid down his open neckline, and he said while they slid: “There are no twists and turns in this story, just a group of soldiers from the vanguard who achieved great success. When they went to patrol outside the pass, they actually rescued an entire village from bandits in the desert. There were many young girls among them, and they looked back and forth at each other. When they returned to Yacheng, they had developed more than a dozen pairs.”

There had never been a wedding of this scale at the military camp. Liang Shu was very happy when he heard about it, and simply took his group of subordinates to buy the betrothal gifts in person. Holding long lists in their hands, everyone walked around the streets, buying everything from cured chicken and pork to rouge powder and other cosmetics. It was probably at that time that Song Changsheng bumped into him. When Liang Shu finished speaking, he pressed his lips to the other’s chest and rubbed them intimately, saying: “So I’m very familiar with the process of betrothal and getting married. I will definitely not be deficient in courtesy for you in the future.”

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Chapter Seventy-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-One

T/N: Thank you to Jackile, Charlie, Parasim2323, Xiang, and a nameless Kofi-supporter for your generous donations!

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All the sages in the Three Thousand Worlds were very interested in His Royal Highness Xiao Wang…..of course, they may also be forced to be interested. Who made an entire universe float inside the mind of Second Young Master Liu? Having lived here, was there any reason not to listen to the arrangements of the master of this world? So they had no choice but to stand by the stream and listen for a long time to how noble and heroic His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was, and one by one, they grew sleepy.

In reality, Liu Xian’an was also very sleepy, so sleepy that he didn’t want to raise his head. However, Liang Shu indulged him very much, and let him sleep if he wanted to sleep, as if he wasn’t paying attention to the congregation of the heretical sect at all. Chang Xiaoqiu stood beside them with his heart suspended in his throat, fearing that the cult would discover that there was a person sleeping soundly. On the one hand, there was a trace of blind admiration, and he felt that he was worthy of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to be able to deal with such a complicated situation so calmly. He was distracted for a while, and didn’t pay attention to what the person above was saying, just applauding in a daze.

Liang Shu was tall, and stood at the end of the line, so even Wumeng Yunle who was sitting on the high platform didn’t notice the abnormality at this end. She sat there bored, looking at the people below one by one. She had seen too many such fanatical and pious faces, and there was nothing special about them. Besides, the vast majority of girls in the world didn’t like to stare carefully at middle-aged men. After looking around, Wumeng Yunle found that there were only two people who could be called good-looking this time. One was young, and one was…..her eyebrows twitched slightly, because she found that the other party was actually looking at her.

Believers were not allowed to look directly at the Holy Maiden, and just a quarter of an hour ago, someone had died because of it. Because Song Changsheng’s gaze was so straightforward, without any concealment at all, Wumeng Yunle was a little startled when she saw it.

Liang Shu gripped the hilt of his sword calmly.

Chang Xiaoqiu caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, and quickly grasped his sword. He didn’t actually notice Song Changsheng and Wumeng Yunle’s eyes meet, but there was definitely nothing wrong with following along with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. At this time, Holy Envoy Yang had finished reading out the doctrine, and Liu Xian’an also stood up from the stone beside the stream and waved to everyone, saying in distress: “I really have to go now. If you still want to listen to more, you’ll have to wait until next time.”

The sages didn’t seem to want to listen anymore, and sent this friend away with sighs of relief. Liu Xian’an beckoned a white crane, and was about to return to the real world when there was suddenly a loud roar in his ears—

“Presumptuous!”

He opened his eyes at once.

Liang Shu was holding one of his hands, and squeezed it, saying in a low voice: “Don’t be afraid, it’s all right.”

This end was fine, and the problem was at the other end. Song Changsheng asked lightly: “Where am I presumptuous?”

“You dare to disrespect the Holy Maiden, isn’t that considered presumptuous?” Holy Envoy Yang warned in a deep voice, “Song-xiansheng, don’t forget your identity.”

“My identity, what is my identity?” Song Changsheng pushed the crowd aside and stepped forward slowly. “Am I the number one swordsmith in the Central Plains or the sad man who lost his new wife?”

Seeing that the situation was not good, the disciples of the Baifu Sect rushed forward to surround him. But Holy Envoy Yang did not order for him to be dealt with according to doctrine, and said instead: “The Holy Maiden and I are deeply saddened about the tragedy of Yang-furen, but her soul is already on the way back. Why does Song-xiansheng make trouble at this time? Is he afraid that she will never return?”

“It hurts so much, but her soul is on its way home?” Song Changsheng laughed. His eyes were bloodshot, but he didn’t show much anger, and only lamented word by word in a tired, hoarse voice, “But if not for you, my wife would have never died. She originally only wanted to buy a bouquet of flowers on the street, but was lured into that Buddhist hall. You took advantage of her innocence, kindness, and ignorance of worldly affairs to defraud her of gold and silver step by step and deceive her into stealing my forged swords. I was also at fault. I shouldn’t have been so obsessed with forging swords that I never returned home, and it took me a whole year to notice her abnormality.”

There was a commotion at the scene. In fact, not all standing here today were devout believers, and there were also some people with other thoughts in mind. The Baifu Sect had developed like a raging fire in the past few years. They were also envious and wanted a piece of the pie, so they pretended to be pious and devout, hoping to successfully get into high positions and make a lot of money.

This group of people didn’t understand the ins and outs of the Baifu Sect very well. Listening to Song Changsheng shouting nonstop now, they were inwardly amused, and were just waiting to see him be made a mockery of—being oppressed by an old man. They had already accumulated a stomachful of fire, so no one persuaded him, and it was no big deal to watch the fun.

Yang Yao’s face paled from being scolded. He had originally wanted to save some face for Song Changsheng, because there was indeed no better swordsmith than him in the world. Being able to draw such a person into the Baifu Sect would be of great benefit to the sect’s future development in the Central Plains martial arts realm. However, Song Changsheng didn’t intend to give him the same face. Practically tearing off all pretense, he scolded his own negligence, scolded the greed of the cult, and pointed at Wumeng Yunle, saying loudly: “You killed her!”

Yang Yao couldn’t bear it anymore: “Make him shut up!”

All the disciples of the Baifu Sect drew their swords out of their sheaths, but Song Changsheng jumped up. He was the world’s number one swordsmith, as well as the world’s number one concealed weapons master. A cloud of darts shot from his lapel in an instant, penetrating the throats of the people around him like a rainstorm.

There were screams, and someone among the believers shouted: “Protect the Holy Maiden!”

The vast majority of people rushed forward. No matter if it was real or staged, since they were members of the Baifu Sect, they couldn’t stand by indifferently and let the Holy Maiden suffer. Only Liang Shu and Chang Xiaoqiu were still standing there, guarding the Sleeping Immortal who had just stepped out of a dream.

Song Changsheng failed to hold Wumeng Yunle hostage, because the seemingly powerless girl actually possessed excellent qinggong. She flew up light as a butterfly, passing by the one who came to grab her. Song Changsheng only felt a tingling pain on his face, as if he had been scratched by the other party’s nails, and when he touched it, there was blood dripping down.

Chang Xiaoqiu said anxiously: “He’s no match for the others.”

Liang Shu said: “But he doesn’t intend to fight alone.”

“Ah?” Chang Xiaoqiu was puzzled. “What do you mean…….ah!”

He yelled in panic, causing those around the high platform to look in that direction, and they were also shocked when they saw clearly. They didn’t understand how the young head of the Wanli Escort Bureau suddenly committed suicide by jumping off the mountain. There was no precipice there either, ah. Chang Xiaoqiu bumpbumpbump rolled down the cliff, grabbing a pile of dead grass indiscriminately. He didn’t realize why His Royal Highness Xiao Wang suddenly kicked him off the mountain, but there was already a dull explosion in his ears!

Liu Xian’an was closely protected by Liang Shu, but even though he covered his ears, they still buzzed for a long time. The high platform had already been blown to pieces, and there were broken limbs and bloodstains everywhere on the scene. Song Changsheng lay on the ground, spitting out blood as he still looked furiously toward the white dress deep in the forest. He tried to get up and chase after her, but he stumbled and fell forward with a thud before he could take a few steps.

He felt that he was going to die, or perhaps he was already dead. He didn’t succeed in avenging his wife, and he was dying like this.

When he opened his eyes again, what he saw was not the underworld, but an inn.

“Song-xiansheng, are you awake?” A young man with round eyes was watching over the bed. “Drink some water first.”

Song Changsheng regarded him suspiciously.

“I’m a disciple of Baihe Mountain Village. My name is A-Ning.” The young man introduced himself. “It was my young master who rescued xiangsheng and brought him back.”

Song Changsheng gradually recalled the explosion. He sat up and asked: “Your young master, he is a young master of Baihe Mountain Village? How could he be on that mountain?”

“En, my family’s second young master. He came to Raven City to find out the truth about the Baifu Sect harming people.” A-Ning supported him. “Xiangsheng won’t be able to get out of bed in the near future. He was seriously injured and poisoned, and it will take a year and a half to recover.”

Song Changsheng didn’t care about his injuries. He only cared about why the second young master of the Liu family was involved in the cult case, so he asked: “Could it be, could it be that the Baifu Sect even dared to win over people from Baihe Mountain Village?”

“That isn’t true. The story is a bit long, so my family’s young master and others will tell it in person.” A-Ning tended to his leg injury. “It’s really dangerous, ah. If it was a bit worse, this leg and the left arm would be lost.”

Song Changsheng smiled wryly: “I didn’t want to live, either.”

“I have indeed met many people who were unwilling to live, but if the knot in one’s heart can be solved, it is better to live after all.” A-Ning fastened the bandages on his hands and feet. “Drink a glass of water first, Xiangsheng, I’ll go get my young master right away.”

He trotted to the corridor, and first lay down next to the crack in the door to observe for a long moment in order to make sure that his young master was not too close to the prince, then knocked on the door and went in, saying: “Song-xiangsheng is already awake.”

Liu Xian’an was helping Chang Xiaoqiu with the scratches on his face: “Understood. Let him wait for a while.”

The young man grimaced in pain, but because of the presence of Liang Shu, he insisted on not saying a word about it. He pretended to be calm and composed as he asked: “How did the prince find out that there were explosives at the scene?”

“I smelled them. After being on the battlefield for so long, I’ve become extremely sensitive to the smell of various explosives.” Liang Shu said, “Also, even if Song Changsheng missed the Holy Maiden by mistake, he still lured the rest of the people toward the high platform. His purpose was even more obvious. He wanted to drag everyone into death together.”

His goal was almost eighty percent achieved, and the remaining twenty percent was due to his failure to die. At the critical moment, he was hit from the side by the hilt of Liang Shu’s sword, and avoided the center of the explosion. The Holy Baifu Maiden didn’t die either. She stepped on the top of Yang Yao’s head and floated away unscathed by her own strength.

Yang Yao completely exploded. His head was separated from his body, and nobody knew whether he voluntarily sacrificed himself for the Holy Maiden or if he stepped onto the pile of explosives and was too late to run.

Chang Xiaoqiu had lingering fears in his heart: “So many people, of whom many were prestigious, died just like this.”

He was still young, and unlike Second Young Master Liu, he had a preference for life over death, so he was still very upset as he continued: “It’s a good thing I was here, otherwise…..” Otherwise his father might not have been able to escape.

Liu Xian’an wrapped the other’s head tightly and left the growing boy alone to mourn the passage of life, going next door with Liang Shu. Song Changsheng was in a trance while holding tea in his hands when he heard a knock on the door. He quickly sat up straight: “Second Young Master Liu.” His eyes then fell on Liang Shu, and he seemed to be stunned for a moment in disbelief. “Your Royal Highness?”

---

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Chapter Seventy-Eight << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty

In order to enhance the communication and learning between game producers, the organizers specially held a three-hour free exchange meeting in the afternoon.

The venue was arranged on the 16th floor of the hotel, and the organizers had arranged the venue very carefully—

In addition to the major games on the market that were played in turn on the main stage, the logos and past representative works of each game studio were played on different small platforms.

After entering the hall, Pei Yi and Li Yuan looked around and walked to the small platform representing their own studio.

YWY’s logo was cute among all the cool ones, and their Last Fog mini-game was playing on the small screen. Compared with other studios present, they immediately gave off a sense of “cute and new.”

Li Yuan took a photo to send back to the group in the studio. Then he joked to his friend, “What can be done, Teacher Will? Our family doesn’t have enough to look at.”

Pei Yi chuckled. “Sooner or later, people will be unable not to look at it.”

Li Yuan agreed, “Yes.”

Pei Yi looked around. His voice through the mask seemed a little muffled. “Have you seen Ke Ming?”

“……No.”

Li Yuan carefully identified the guests in the audience, then gestured with his eyes in a particular direction. “He’s not there on the Chanming Studios platform, so he’s probably not here yet.”

Hearing this, Pei Yi pulled his mask down. He already understood thoroughly—

Of the game producers currently participating in the game design competition, only Ke Ming knew his true identity when he was at GM.

Pei Yi never thought his relationship with the Bo family could be hidden so thoroughly, but it was nice that fewer people heard about or looked into it.

Li Yuan patted him on the shoulder. “Will.”

“En?”

“There’s a friend I knew before.”

Li Yuan pointed to a man in a black windbreaker, and explained in a low voice: “He was my classmate after I changed my major in university. I’ll go say hello to him, are you coming?”

Pei Yi shook his head, but didn’t hinder Li Yuan’s normal social interaction. “You go first, I’ll take a look around.”

“Okay.”

Li Yuan stepped away, and Pei Yi’s eyes swung around again—

Before lingering on the wine tower in the corner.

Tempted by the seductive smell of red wine, Pei Yi quickly walked over.

He remembered Bo Yueming’s previous exhortations, and picked up the cell phone, snapping a picture to send to his lover. “Er-ge, do you think this wine is calling out to me?”

Bo Yueming’s message came back quickly, “Did you respond to it?”

Pei Yi’s face was tinged with a smile. “I’m waiting for your go-ahead.”

Bo Yueming replied, “Drink, but be careful not to overdo it. You know how much you can drink.”

Pei Yi forcefully typed out the word “En.”

Before and after they were in a relationship, Bo Yueming took the whole wine wall to accompany him in practicing his drinking capacity. Although he still failed to return to the ultimate goal of “King of Drinking Capacity,” he had at least made some progress and would not get drunk after one drink.

Having received the long-distance permission from his lover in the Imperial Capital, he impatiently picked up a glass of red wine, swirled it, and sniffed it.

Before he could take off his mask and formally take a sip, there was the slight sound of footsteps behind him.

“Hello.”

Hearing this greeting, Pei Yi turned around and looked over. The moment their eyes met, he recognized this person—

It was the man in the suit who had accidentally bumped into him before signing in that morning. He seemed to be the representative of the producer sent by Nebula Fun Tour to participate in the competition.

Pei Yi observed silently for two or three seconds, then nodded slightly. “Hello.”

The man in the suit looked at Pei Yi searchingly, and then asked hesitantly, “Is this Teacher Will? I’m the representative of Nebula Fun Tour.”

Hearing his gentle and polite tone of voice, Pei Yi suddenly thought of a possibility. “Team Leader Gu?”

The other party nodded at once. “Yes, I’m Gu Jianshen.”

Nebula Fun Tour was a subsidiary of China’s top game production company Weiyi, and the other party was the team leader of the copyright group Nebula Fun Tour.

Gu Jianshen had taken a fancy to Pei Yi’s “Tracking Pros and Cons,” and the two spoke in a friendly manner online, even once the copyright transaction was completed—

Gu Jianshen had also offered an olive branch to Pei Yi on behalf of his game headquarters, but was rejected by the latter.

Pei Yi removed his mask out of politeness, and stretched out his hand. “Hello, Team Leader Gu. I’m Will.”

Gu Jianshen stared at Pei Yi’s face, a little surprised. 

Pei Yi noticed his expression and said straightforwardly, “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“N-No.”

Afraid of causing a misunderstanding, Gu Jianshen quickly explained, “I just thought you didn’t want to show your face, Teacher Will, and I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

Pei Yi accepted his compliment with a smile, and put the mask back on. “Team Leader Gu, let’s talk?”

He naturally had his own set of standards for judging people—

When they first cooperated online, the communication between the two was very pleasant.

Now that he had met the real person, Pei felt that the other party was not the kind to have ulterior motives, so he was naturally willing to give him the courtesy that was due upon meeting.

Gu Jianshen had come to find him with this idea in mind. “Of course. How about we go to the lounge? There are so many people here. Since Teacher Will is wearing a mask, shouldn’t he want to be seen by fewer people?”

Pei Yi enjoyed dealing with smart and sensible people. “Sounds good.”

The two found a lounge next to the exchange hall and sat down.

Gu Jianshen was the first to open the topic. “I didn’t expect to meet Teacher Will here. I thought that when you said, ‘I prefer to be my own boss and make my own money,’ it was just an excuse to decline. I didn’t expect it to be true.”

Pei Yi raised his eyebrows. “Of course it’s true. I’ve always been serious about my career.”

He took a sip of red wine and smiled back. “I didn’t expect to meet Team Leader Gu here, and to see you bring Tracking Pros and Cons to the competition.”

After all, Nebula Fun Tour was backed by a top company like Weiyi. Once the game was launched, it would have its own various channels for exposure. Where did it need the extra blessing of winning a title in this competition?

Gu Jianshen didn’t deny it. “Whether or not we can win the award in the end or gain popularity, this is not what we value most.”

Of course, if an award could be won in the end, it would be the icing on the cake.

Gu Jianshen looked at Pei Yi, not hiding anything. “Actually, I have another important thing to do right now, which is to find suitable game projects for our company headquarters.”

The current Gu Jianshen was not only the head of the copyright team for Nebula Fun Tour, but he had also been promoted to be the copyright manager of Weiyi.

These past two years, the production levels and competition had become more and more fierce. It must be known that there were only three awards, and this didn’t mean that the games which lost in the end weren’t any good.

What he had to do was find high-quality game projects for his company, invest in them, or simply buy them out.

Pei Yi nodded in understanding.

Gu Jianshen said sincerely, “Teacher Will, I am very interested in the concept of The Last Fog 2.0”

A while ago, the operation of the 1.0 mini-game version of The Last Fog was developing well, and at first glance, the settings were aimed at a follow-up 2.0 or even 3.0 large-scale game.

As long as it was well-produced and properly promoted, it had the potential to become a hit game in the future.

Pei Yi heard his implication and replied simply, “Thank you for the compliment, Team Leader Gu.”

When a wise man spoke, he knew where to stop.

Seeing Will’s attitude, Gu Jianshen understood the unspoken answer.

If it were someone else or a different game, he would have tried to offer an olive branch, but facing the person in front of him, he could only dispel the thoughts deep in his heart.

Although the two parties hadn’t been in contact long, Gu Jianshen could roughly sense the other party’s career ambitions—

Will had his own business plan, which was to first use his original mini-games as a framework to attract a powerful Party A in the circle.

In fact, through the influence of Party A after the game’s production and release, he would make a name for himself as an original architect.

Then he would use a step by step game layout to climb steadily upward.

Right now, Will was holding a mature, well-formed game with no shortage of investment, so there was no need for big companies like them to step in and take away his business.

Gu Jianshen had to admire Will’s planning ability, and also looked forward to seeing where the other party would go in the end.

He raised his glass and said: “Then I wish The Last Fog a good ranking in the competition.”

Pei Yi gave a light chuckle, then spoke one of the doubts stuck in his heart, “Team Leader Gu, I happen to have something I want to confirm with you.”

“Please speak.”

“You must know better than me in Haishi who the behind-the-scenes people are amongst the competition organizers, or who the investors are.”

Gu Jianshen hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then said truthfully, “Except for the relevant departments that handle things, the composition of the organizers is different every year.”

“This year alone, the Youtu forum, Xunya Technology, and our Weiyi have all put forth funds.”

“……..”

Hearing these well-known companies in the industry, Pei Yi suddenly understood.

No wonder Gu Jainshen’s Nebula Fun Tour was so near the front in the opening ceremony that morning. It seemed that the behind-the-scenes organizers gave their own people some pageantry.

Then what about Ke Ming and Chanming Studios?

Could they also indirectly rely on Nanchan’s game production, or could it even be Xunya Technology behind the other party?

Gu Jianshen noticed his silence and explained, “Will, don’t worry, neither Weiyi nor Nebula Fun Tour is the kind of company that wins by going through the back door.”

Weiyi and Xunya Technology had been fighting openly and secretly for many years.

This time, Weiyi’s headquarters heard that the other party had suddenly changed their ways and joined the investment competition, so they followed suit and asked Gu Jianshen to bring their own project to the competition.

“As I said just now, even if you don’t win any prizes in this competition, it won’t have a substantial impact on the popularity of the “Traces” game in the future. Besides—”

Their eyes met.

Gu Jianshen asked confidently and rhetorically, “DoesTeacher Will believe that with your game structure, coupled with the hard capability of our games, it’s not enough to make “Traces” stand out among the many participating games?”

If it couldn’t take a ranking, there would still be various exposure channels after the game was released.

But if they could get a ranking, it would be deserved, and they wouldn’t break any of the rules of the competition.

Pei Yi liked to deal with straightforward game makers like Gu Jianshen, so he raised his glass and said, “Team Leader Gu, don’t get me wrong, of course I don’t doubt the game ‘Traces’ or you.”

Who he suspected was somebody else.

Gu Jianshen was honest and true when dealing with people, but this didn’t mean that other people, studios, and companies were like this.

Gu Jianshen touched his wine glass lightly. “Of course, I also believe that Teacher Will is a person with game ideals and aspirations. Although it may sound too government-oriented—”

“The original intention of us game makers is to make Chinese games better and better right?”

Hearing these remarks, Pei Yi’s estimation of Gu Jianshen rose another level. “If Team Leader Gu hadn’t been promoted to Weiyi’s headquarters, I would rather lure you to our studio.”

“Then thank you, Teacher Will, for your approval.” Gu Jianshen returned his smile. “Right, as I said online before, if you have the opportunity to travel to Haishi, I will treat you to dinner.”

Pei Yi didn’t refuse. “Let’s wait until the competition is over. Tomorrow and the next two days, we have to split up and prepare for the game presentations.”

Gu Jianshen nodded. “Of course, business is the most important thing.”

. . . . . . .

When Pei Yi returned to the banquet hall wearing a mask, Li Yuan was looking for him everywhere.

As soon as they exchanged looks, Li Yuan rushed over. “Where did you go? I sent you a WeChat message, but you didn’t reply.”

“Sorry, the phone was on silent in my pocket and I didn’t hear it.”

Pei Yi put the remaining half glass of wine on the recycling rack and explained, “I met with Nebula Fun Tour just now, the person in charge of Weiyi’s copyright department. We chatted briefly for a while.”

Li Yuan returned to his senses. “Nebula Fun Tour? Is that the person we met at registration this morning?”

“En, I sold the copyright of ‘Pros and Cons’ through the Youtu platform before and connected with him.”

While speaking, Pei Yi looked around again. “Where’s Ke Ming? He’s still not here?”

Li Yuan said, “No, he still hasn’t shown up. From what I know about him, I’d guess that now that he has a better backer, he’s not bothering with this kind of exchange.”

Pei Yi nodded slightly. He actually didn’t want to see Ke Ming.

“Pear Garden, do you want to stay here?”

He had drank half a glass of wine, and was feeling a little stuffy now that he was wearing a mask again.

“No, let’s go back to the suite upstairs. I happened to inquire about something with my university classmate, so I’ll tell you behind closed doors.”

“Okay.”

. . . . . . . .

The two entered the elevator.

Li Yuan had quickly found out some useful information. “Pei Yi, do you know which game and producer are the most popular to win in this Haishi competition?”

Pei Yi thought for a moment. “Apart from Nebula Fun Tour’s ‘Traces,’ which is backed by their main branch, what else is there?”

Li Yuan didn’t play charades either. “‘Gazing at the Dark Blue Sea,’ from Mufeng Games. The core person in charge is Deng Mufeng.”

Pei Yi’s eyes shifted slightly. “An ancient-style game in this competition?”

“En, ancient martial arts.”

Li Yuan continued to tell what he knew. “I just checked, and there is a prototype novel for ‘Dark Blue Sea.’ The author is Deng Mufeng’s wife.”

The length of this novel was very long. It had been continuously updated for two years, and there were millions of readers who read and subscribed to it.

Three years ago, the original author deliberately left several undisclosed foreshadowings, and claimed that the novel would be changed into a game of the same name, with new settings added.

Although it caused dissatisfaction among some serial readers, it could be regarded as a disguised way to promote game advertisement.

“Besides his wife being amazing, I know that Deng Mufeng himself is also very capable.”

In the past ten years, he had served as the chief game planner for the large-scale ancient game “Soul Cage War.”

This game became popular as soon as it was launched, and still ranked among the top three ancient martial arts games in China.

Deng Mufeng only took the position of chief game planner before its release. Later, it was said that he chose to quit due to internal struggles and disappeared for nearly ten years.

Therefore, the young people in the current circle didn’t know much about him.

The current Mufeng Games was a production company funded and founded by Deng Mufeng himself.

Li Yuan said, “I heard that this game has been tested internally, and the response was very good. The public beta will be released soon.”

Pei Yi nodded. “The ancient game style is very easy to fail in the early stages, but if it is done well, it is easy to stand out in the circle.”

“I say, Teacher Will, are you aware of the seriousness of the problem?” Li Yuan followed him out of the elevator, taking advantage of the lack of people around to reveal his worries—

“Traces and Dark Blue Sea are both favorites to win awards, so don’t we have to fight for the remaining one? Coupled with the unclear situation with Ke Ming, I’m afraid the result won’t be as smooth as we imagined.”

Pei Yi didn’t understand his friend’s concerns. Now that it had come to this point, rather than being afraid of the competition, it was better to face them head-on.

Pei Yi took the computer out of his suitcase and smiled comfortingly. “Okay, let me check the presentation and promotional materials for the game tomorrow, so that there aren’t any mistakes.”

“All right.”

Li Yuan was helpless and impressed. “I really admire your calm attitude.”

. . . . . . .

The screening of the original game design competition was divided into three rounds, and the content judged in each round was different. The first round was divided into two rounds: morning and afternoon—

There would be ten games in a large group, and five players would be eliminated in each game.

Pei Yi and Li Yuan were assigned to the sixth spot in the afternoon group, but in order to test the overall strength of the other game producers, the two chose to watch the morning games.

“Traces” and “Dark Blue Sea,” which were considered the most likely to win awards, were both held in the morning, and judging from the content of the project released by Gu Jianshen and Deng Mufeng, along with the prepared presentation—

It was a certainty that these two primary screenings would leave the rest behind!

Soon, it was the last one’s turn for the morning session: Chanming Studios: “Destroy the Alien Beasts.”

Li Yuan looked at Ke Ming, who was standing confidently on stage. “Look, the big guy has made his debut on stage. His nostrils are almost raised toward the sky, isn’t he afraid of falling while walking?”

Pei Yi smiled: “Let’s watch first.”

They would see what kind of story “Destroy the Alien Beasts” was now. Was there any trace of the plagiarism in the past?

Pei Yi had an intuition that Ken Ming still had that sort of tendency, but he really didn’t expect the other party’s behavior to be worse than that.

It took less than ten minutes after Ke Ming took the stage.

A thin layer of red anger emerged on Li Yuan’s face, and he couldn’t help but curse. “Fuck, a dog can’t change its tendency to eat shit!”

It was still the main story of the game during the bidding in the capital, and even the settings and functions of “Alien Beasts” hadn’t changed drastically!

It was only the appearance that had changed, and it was said that an overseas special effects modeling and design team had been hired at a high price.

But the core change was in the game character design—

“Destroy the Alien Beasts” had been upgraded from the original single protagonist to a five-player team line, and each game character had different attributes and abilities.

The most particular thing was that one of the “protagonists” was a mutant wolf beast.

Others present may not be aware, but how could Pei Yi and Li Yuan, the creators of The Last Fog, not know?

It was similar to the core protagonist group in The Last Fog, as well as the most important “human zombie” who had lost his memory!

This was naked plagiarism!

. . . . . . .

The morning session came to an end, and everyone left the venue one after another.

Unable to bear it, Li Yuan walked up to Ke Ming and blocked the way of the other party and his assistant, asking bluntly, “Ke Ming, what do you mean by this?”

Facing his long-unseen anger, Ke Ming let out an amused chuckle.

He motioned for his assistant to step out first, staying alone to face Pei Yi and Li Yuan. “What does Mr. Li mean by that?”

Li Yuan was afraid his friend might reveal his identity, so he directly asked the questions instead. “It wasn’t enough for you to copy the modeling at the beginning, but now you have to copy the character settings?”

Ke Ming categorically denied it. “Mr. Li, don’t be so angry. My main focus of this game is modeling, graphics, and game experience, not like those story games with empty fanfare.”

“What did I copy? Do you have evidence? If you have evidence, you can report it to the organizers.”

Ke Ming’s skin was thicker than a city wall, and he even bit back, “I’m the one who finished presenting the game settings just now, and you guys can present yours in the afternoon. Who is plagiarizing who in terms of timing?”

Plagiarism?

It also depended on whether the official recognized it or not.

Among the investors of the competition was Xunya Technology, and some backdoor channels had already been arranged!

In this world, the winner was king, and a small, little-known studio like YWY wasn’t destined to compete with them from the beginning!

“. . . . . .”

The thief had shamelessly shouted, stop, thief!

Li Yuan’s fists were clenched, and he wanted to punch him.

Ke Ming warned, “Mr. Li, there is surveillance here. What do you intend to do?”

Pei Yi saw the malice and taunting in Ke Ming’s eyes, and pulled his furious friend back. “Pear Garden, don’t bother with this dog. Let’s go.”

Ke Ming’s complexion instantly changed. “Who are you scolding?”

Pei Yi looked at him coldly. “The dog can hear who I’m scolding.”

Ke Ming choked. He hadn’t expected to fall into this new curse.

It was a pity that Pei Yi couldn’t be bothered to give him another look, and pulled Li Yuan to walk out quickly.

The two of them came to an empty security access passage.

Li Yuan was still suffocating. “Pei Yi, why did you pull me away like that? He clearly wanted to embarrass us on purpose.”

“Of course I know that. But Pear Garden, think about it. If there really is something shady about the competition, then what is the use of us getting angry?”

Could they rush up to beat Ke Ming?

He would likely turn it around on them due to malicious harm, and their names would be stained for no reason.

“…….”

Li Yuan took out a cigarette, pressed it to the tip of his nose, and sniffed it to calm down. “I-I understand what you mean, but I can’t not get angry!”

He couldn’t just watch Ke Ming steal their hard work!

Pei Yi patted his friend on the shoulder. “Believe me, I won’t just let him go. But right now is not the best time to fight back.”

Li Yuan heard something in his friend’s words. “What are you going to do?”

Pei Yi recalled Ke Ming’s past. The coldness in his eyes became firmer, and he asked, “Li Yuan, under what circumstances do you think a game will lose all its money?”

Li Yuan understood, and his eyes shifted.

Pei Yi nodded silently, and the plan he had in mind gradually took shape—

He wanted to make Ke Ming lose all his money and never have a chance to turn his life around!

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Chapter Seventy-Nine <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-One

T/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys, I’ve been very sick this week and in no shape to translate, but I’m on the mend. Thank you to Jackile, Charlie, Parasim2323, Xiang, and a nameless Kofi-supporter for your donations! I don’t have enough backlog to post more than two chapters of this story, but I’ll update two for Strong Winds and two for O Pretends to be B as well. Oh, and…..please forgive any typos. I haven’t had time to edit…..

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“…….”

The figure only lingered in Pei Yi peripheral vision for a second before vanishing around the corner, smoothly hidden behind a wall.

Li Yuan took two or three steps forward, only to realize that his friend wasn’t following. “Will, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing, maybe I saw wrong?”

Pei Yi followed, thinking honestly that he shouldn’t conceal it. “Pear Garden, I thought I saw Ke Ming just now. Do you know if he came to participate in the competition?”

“Ke Ming?”

Li Yuan heard this long-unheard name and his expression unconsciously went cold. “I’m not sure. I haven’t paid attention to him and the dynamics of his studio since we got busy with The Last Fog.”

They hadn’t seen Ke Ming since the last round of GM’s bidding, and Xiang Nansheng, who used to work with him, was also hired to YWY Studios after leaving the company.

“I heard there was a server bug in Search For Another World last time, which caused Youming Studios a lot of money.”

“Other than Brother Xiang being ‘forced’ to resign, even the investment partners they found for Alien Beasts ran away.”

Li Yuan told all he knew about the situation, but also maintained a trace of vigilance. “How about I call Brother Xiang and ask him to help figure out the situation?”

Pei Yi shook his head. “Forget it, don’t bother him at this hour. We’ll know what the situation is tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Li Yuan put a stop to his thoughts. “Then let’s set it aside for now. Whether he comes or not, we still have to go through our own process.”

This wasn’t a competition where they chose “one from two,” but rather “three from twenty.” As the participating producers, they were under a lot of pressure, and at the same time, the organizers would also pursue fairness and justice.

After all, this game design competition was being held for the eighth time, and the word “original” was in the title—

If Ke Ming still used the level of plagiarism in Alien Beasts to cheat, he likely wouldn’t achieve a ranking.

With the same thought in mind, Pei Yi patted his friend on the shoulder. “Let’s go have a late-night snack. I can already smell the aroma from the restaurant.”

Li Yuan smiled back. “Okay.”

. . . . . . . 

On the first night in Haishi, Pei Yi still couldn’t fall asleep quickly.

But fortunately, the jacket he brought had the familiar scent of his lover, and after falling asleep, he felt more at ease than usual in this unfamiliar environment.

The alarm clock rang at exactly eight o’clock.

Pei Yi was forced to wake up, and instinctively mumbled, “Er-ge, shut it off.”

Only as soon as he said these words while half asleep, he recognized the environment he was in—

This was not Bo Yueming’s house, and Bo Yueming was not by his side.

“…….”

Pei Yi’s heart trembled with a trace of unspeakable loss. After fumbling to turn off the alarm, he forced himself to sit up.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, and called to his friend in the next bed who also liked to sleep under the quilt, “Pear Garden, it’s eight o’clock. Time to wake up.”

“Mm……”

Huddled under the quilt, Li Yuan responded and then went silent. It was clear that he also had trouble getting up.

The opening ceremony for the competition was scheduled for nine o’clock. They had heard that there would be media reporters and broadcasters, and as the representatives of YWY Studios, they couldn’t be late for their first appearance.

Pei Yi got down to business and got out of bed. “I’ll go wash up first. Pear Garden, you wake up too.”

Li Yuan poked half his head out from under the quilt with a drowsy look. “En.”

. . . . . . .

When Pei Yi came out after getting ready, Li Yuan had already gotten up.

Their gazes met mid-air.

Li Yuan saw that his friend had tidied up properly, and there was a trace of admiration in his sleepy eyes. “Don’t you usually sleep in at home? How can you just get up in the morning?”

Pei Yi remembered that he had “no hands and no feet” at home, and raised his eyebrows, boasting, “Yes, ah, aren’t I amazing?”

“Amazing.”

Li Yuan nodded weakly, but didn’t delay business. “Give me fifteen minutes, I’m used to getting up early. I’ll take a shower and do my hair.”

“All right.”

Pei Yi picked up the phone and glanced at the time. “I’ll call for you when the time comes. Twenty minutes to eat will be just right.”

He waited until the bathroom door was locked.

Having nothing to do, Pei Yi fell back on the bed again and touched the jacket with his fingertips. He couldn’t help but turn his head and bury his face into it childishly—

Light ebony mixed with a hint of mint. This was his scent. 

“I wonder if Er-ge is awake.”

As soon as Pei Yi uttered those faint words, his cell phone vibrated. He tacitly realized something and clicked on WeChat to see—

Sure enough, Bo Yueming had sent a message: “Kitten, are you up yet?”

Pei Yi thought of his friend in the bathroom, and hid in the cloakroom while making a video call.

It took less than three seconds for the call invitation to be sent, and the other side connected.

Pei Yi looked at Bo Yueming on the screen, and the corners of his lips lifted. “Er-ge, good morning.”

When Bo Yueming saw his lover who had gotten up early at this rare hour, a smile burst over his face. “Good morning. It looks like you didn’t sleep in today?”

“I was afraid we’d be late to sign in at nine o’clock. Without you by my side, I didn’t dare sleep late.”

There was a hint of coquettishness at the end of Pei Yi’s tone, a sound that only Bo Yueming knew.

Bo Yueming asked again, “What are the arrangements for today?”

“The opening ceremony is in the morning, and it seems that there will be a live broadcast of the whole process. The exchange meeting will be in the afternoon.”

Pei Yi briefly outlined his schedule, then set the phone on the cabinet—

“Er-ge, help me choose. Which one is more suitable to wear today?”

Saying this, he picked up two sets of clothes.

Bo Yueming smiled. “How old are you? You want me to pick your clothes?”

Pei Yi was unresigned. “This is called — even if we are in different places, we have to participate in each other’s lives. Got it?”

When he first confirmed that he wanted to pursue Bo Yueming, he had read a lot of secrets to love on the internet. Some of them were ridiculous, but this one made sense.

Bo Yueming was persuaded by him, and chose an outfit. “Wear the beige jacket. I’ll find a similar color to wear later.” 

When Pei Yi heard that last sentence, he immediately grinned. “Okay.”

. . . . . . . .

The video call was short and sweet.

Pei Yi hung up the phone and dressed neatly, but still wore the extra layer of the mask and peaked cap. He and Li Yuan headed out the door, planning to leave for breakfast at the last moment.

—Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

The two had just stepped inside when a familiar greeting sounded. “Hey, isn’t this Mr. Li? Long time no see.”

They hadn’t seen each other for around four or five months, but Ke Ming’s face was still so annoying.

“…….”

A trace of dislike flashed across Pei Yi’s eyes hidden under the peaked cap, and he couldn’t help but glance at his friend. Enemies met on a narrow road. How unfortunate.

This person was also in the game production circle, and his reason for showing up here was nothing more than that — Ke Ming had really brought his project to participate in the original game design competition!

Ke Ming’s eyes fell on the heavily covered Pei Yi, and he couldn’t recognize him at the moment. “Who is this?”

Li Yuan took a quick step forward and to the side to block Ke Ming’s inquiring view of his friend. “Mr. Ke, it’s been a long time. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

“I don’t know what game Mr. Ke has developed by himself during this period of time?”

“…….”

When Pei Li heard Li Yuan’s “implication,” the corners of his mouth raised beneath his mask.

He had been working alongside his friend for so long that he had almost forgotten about his poisonous tongue. This encounter with Ke Ming had brought back that familiar feeling.

“…….”

How could Ke Ming fail to hear Li Yuan’s sarcasm?

At the GM bidding, Lou Yang had accused him on the spot of plagiarizing ‘Alien Beasts’ produced by Youming Studios. Not only did he lose his investment, but he lost face.

Ke Ming held back his temper, feigning ignorance. “Mr. Li is joking. Since he was lucky enough to be shortlisted for this year’s competition, the big guys naturally entered their works. Did your group bring that game ‘The Last Fog?’”

Before the lingering sound cut off, Ke Ming pretended to have made a mistake. “Oh, I’m sorry. I heard that Mr. Li had family trouble some time ago?”

“Dawn Games isn’t your company anymore? Just what is YWY Studios?”

Pei Yi saw the ridicule on Ke Ming’s face, and his eyes turned cold.

Li Yuan asked, “Mr. Ke, what are you trying to say?”

“I’m not trying to say anything, I just want to encourage Mr. Li.” Ke Ming approached and patted Li Yuan’s shoulder without waiting for his consent. “I firmly believe that no matter how small a studio is, it can develop into a big company under your leadership.”

Pei Yi let out a scoff.

Ke Ming’s attention shifted over. He saw Pei Yi’s eyes beneath the peaked cap and felt an indescribable sense of familiarity.

But in just an instant, those seemingly warm eyes turned a degree colder—

“From a studio to a big company.” Pei Yi’s voice was slightly lower as he asked pleasantly, “How many years has it been since Youming Studios was established? Why hasn’t it developed into a big company under your leadership?”

“…….”

Pei Yi imitated his tone from just now. “Oh, I’m sorry. Could it be that Mr. Ke didn’t get enough encouragement?”

Li Yuan curled his lip and said sarcastically, “Where does Mr. Ke have time for encouragement, ah? He devotes himself to researching the works of his peers and studies hard.”

The two spoke in concert with each other, sending the ridicule to Ke Ming’s ears.

Ke Ming’s face turned colors, and he felt the unspeakably aggrieved sense of being belittled.

Li Yuan couldn’t be bothered to continue talking nonsense with him. “Mr. Ke, excuse us first. Save your real skills for us to see during the competition.”

Pei Yi agreed with his friend’s proposal, and they tacitly left Ke Ming, walking toward the restaurant.

Ke Ming gazed after the backs of these two, and cursed, “Fuck, what are they showing off about?”

The previous Dawn Games was no longer powerful, but going back ten years, it could also be regarded as a well-ranked production company in the Chinese game circle, and its past performance could still support it.

What was left for Li Yuan now?

A little-known game studio. Did he still think he had the backing of a big company?

Wasn’t it because he knew he had no reputation right now that he wanted to use this competition to gild the studio’s name? What sort of act was he putting on here!

The assistant who had remained silent in the back came forward to remind him with a blank expression, “Mr. Ke, there are only fifteen minutes until the opening ceremony. Shall we go up now?”

Ke Ming looked at his assistant who had come from headquarters to help, and felt at ease. “En.”

No matter how powerful GM was, it was only an outside company, after all. How could it compare to the backer he had found now? That was real capital in the game circle!

They would see!

In this competition, he would get them back for all the humiliation he had suffered when he lost the bidding!

. . . . . . . .

Inside the 24-hour restaurant.

Pei Yi and Li Yuan only picked out a few simple dishes, and chose to sit in the farthest corner by the window.

Li Yuan took a sip of soy milk and asked in a low voice, “Will, do you think Ke Ming…..”

Pei Yi chewed a poached egg and butted in, “He’s really despicable.”

“I’m not talking about his character.” Li Yuan laughed, and tried to find the right way to express himself. “I felt that when he was talking to us just now, wasn’t he overtly or covertly acting superior?”

What small studio? What big company?

Pei Yi swallowed the poached egg and guessed intuitively, “He probably attracted a very good investment or partner for the studio. The other party’s influence in the game circle should at least be higher than that of Er-ge and GM. Even—”

Li Yuan was drawn into his train of thought. “Even what?”

“It’s even very likely that it will be a big shot in the industry, or the current top game group.” Pei Yi spoke his inner thoughts in detail. “What do you think?”

Li Yuan recalled the sarcasm in Ke Ming’s words. “I think we need to have someone inquire clearly. Ke Ming is definitely not a magnanimous and easy-going person.”

One should refrain from hurting others, but guard against those trying to hurt you.

Now that they had met an enemy on a narrow road again, what if the opponent made another move during this competition? It was never a bad thing to be prepared.

Pei Yi nodded in agreement.

Li Yuan took out his cell phone. “Then I’ll trouble Brother Xiang for his help?”

“You can ask him, but Brother Xiang might not be enough.”

After all, the other party had been gone from Youming Studios for a while.

Pei Yi stuffed the remaining half of the poached egg into his mouth and took out his cell phone. He quickly searched up Lin Zhong’s WeChat and typed in a line—

“Lin Zhong, are you there?”

“If you have time, find someone to help me look into Ke Ming and his studio. The more details, the better.”

Bo Yueming’s network of contacts had always been the widest. Apart from finding Xiang Nansheng, who had once worked with Ke Ming, they needed to rely on an external force to make inquiries.

Lin Zhong’s message came quickly—

“Okay, Little Sir!”

“I will make arrangements when I arrive at the company later, and give you an answer before five o’clock today at the latest.”

Pei Yi finished his brief task handover and glanced at the time at the top of the screen. There were only three minutes left.

“Pear Garden, are you full? It’s almost time to go.”

Li Yuan also sent Xiang Nansheng a WeChat message, and drank the remaining half cup of soy milk. “En, let’s go.”

. . . . . . . .

The opening ceremony would be held in the stage hall on the seventeenth floor.

When Pei Yi and Li Yuan arrived, the employee responsible for signing people in immediately greeted them. “Hello, are you Mr. Li and Mr. Will?”

“Yes.” Li Yuan took the lead. “Sorry, are we the last ones?”

The employee quickly led them to the check-in office while explaining, “No, no, you two gentlemen are just in time, and there are three others who haven’t arrived yet.”

The two speedily completed their check-in under the employee’s guidance. 

Pei Yi turned around quickly and accidentally bumped into someone’s shoulder.

“Careful.”

The other party gently grabbed his arm, then released it politely. “Sorry, I was in a hurry and couldn’t stop in time.”

“It’s fine,” Pei Yi returned lightly, and looked up. The other party wore a dark blue suit and looked refined.

After the two of them nodded to each other, this little accident passed.

Under the employee’s guidance, Pei Yi and Li Yuan found their spots in the middle of the fifth row. The overall view was pretty good.

Li Yuan looked at the cameras on and off stage, as well as the reporters and media scattered on both sides, and exclaimed to his friend in a low voice, “It looks like the organizers really attach a lot of importance to this competition.”

Just the opening ceremony took a lot of manpower and financial resources.

Pei Yi replied quietly, “Think about it, as long as there is a blockbuster each session, the organizers will be able to make back money.”

Li Yuan looked down with a smile. “That’s right.”

The high-intensity exposure of each competition was accompanied by certain equivalent exchange conditions.

The game projects shortlisted for the top three would sign an advertising agreement with the sponsor. In other words—

The producer needed to hand over thirty percent of the advertising fees after the game was released within a year.

In this way, the interests of both parties were tied together.

The publicity and exposure during this opening ceremony made it seem like the organizers were working only for the benefit of others and driving the interest of the gamers in front of the screen, but they were actually considering long-term interests. 

Pei Yi asked casually: “Have you seen Ke Ming?”

Li Yuan whispered to him, “The fourth from the left in the third row.”

Pei Yi looked in the direction indicated by his friend. Just then, the staff led the man in the dark blue suit whom he had seen outside the venue just now to sit in the middle of the third row.

A trace of consideration flashed in Pei Yi’s eyes. “Pear Garden, do you think this sitting arrangement has been chosen carefully?”

Li Yuan shook his head: “I’m not sure, the organizers shouldn’t be playing favorites, right?”

As soon as he spoke, the lights in the entire venue switched on.

The opening ceremony of the Eighth Original Game Design Competition had officially begun. The overall process was not too complicated—

First, they recalled the history of the previous seven competitions, the final award-winning production of each season, and the current status of those games.

In addition, they introduced the companies and studios of the twenty shortlisted producers one by one, as well as the publicity and exposure opportunities of this year’s winner.

“—Nebula Fun Tour, Traces at the Scene of the Crime.”

When Pei Yi heard the familiar name of the studio, his eyes froze slightly.

Li Yuan to the side also reacted: “Will, this company bought the game you designed before, right?”

There was a hint of a smile at the tips of Pei Yi’s eyes: “I said it was gaining exposure before the end of the year. So as for why it hadn’t been released, I suppose they were waiting for this opportunity.”

Although the name of the game had been slightly changed, from the literal meaning, it should be the “Tracking Pros and Cons” that he had created.

Li Yuan teased: “Teacher Will, do you think that The Last Fog can beat Traces?”

Pei Yi joked back: “I like both options, how can I not win?”

“So confident? Aren’t you afraid of being overheard by your peers?”

“It’s fine, you’re the first to ask.”

The two whispered for a while, and then heard the host on the stage announce—

“Chanming Studios, Destroy the Alien Beasts.”

Li Yuan frowned slightly when he heard this: “They changed the name of the studio?”

Pei Yi answered: “But it sounds like the Alien Beasts game has changed a lot.”

Li Yuan hesitated to speak.

Pei Yi saw his friend’s doubts, and signaled with his eyes for him to remain calm.

The host would introduce their studio soon. If he had any questions, they would have to wait until the opening ceremony was over.

. . . . . . . .

The opening ceremony ended.

Pei Yi and his friend returned to the hotel room and took out their phones to investigate.

Bo Yueming sent him a screenshot of the live broadcast half an hour ago. “I watched for so long, but there were only a few seconds of footage introducing your studio.”

Pei Yi took off his stuffy mask and smiled as he resumed typing. “Boss Bo, are you not concentrating on work, ah? Why are you looking at such a boring live opening ceremony?”

Not long after the text message was sent, Bo Yueming made a video call.

Pei Yi connected. “Er-ge, why are you making a video call? Are you not busy today?”

“It’s my lunch break. And didn’t you ask Lin Zhong to help you investigate something?”

Bo Yueming moved his eyes to the screen, and then walked to the office’s rest area with the computer in his arms.

Lin Zhong’s figure appeared in the video immediately. “Little Sir, some basic information has already been found. Mr. Bo was afraid that you would be anxious, so let me give you a general overview, and I will let you know when I have supplemental information.”

Pei Yi’s mind was on business, and he addressed Li Yuan, “Li Yuan, come here and hear about Youming.”

Li Yuan approached, revealing, “Brother Xiang was telling me that Youming Studios has a new investment partner, and the name was changed a while ago.”

“The Destroy the Alien Beasts that we heard of not long ago is the one they were going to release before.”

It was just unknown if the settings in the game had changed, and how much.

Pei Yi put his hands on the table and said: “Lin Zhong, what did you find?”

On the screen, Lin Zhong glanced at Bo Yueming, then said with the other party’s consent: “Little Sir, Mr. Li, you should know the top two game production companies in China right now.”

“Of course.”

“Weiyi Games and Xunya Technology. These two companies occupy more than half of the entire Chinese market.”

Especially in the past five years, various games under the two brands had gone up against each other.

A thought flashed through Pei Yi’s mind. “What, did Ke Ming get an investment sponsorship from one of them?”

“Not exactly.”

Lin Zhong didn’t beat around the bush. “I checked Youming Studios for the first time today, and the share composition of the current Chanming Studios—”

The first legal shareholder was Ke Ming, and the second shareholder had been changed to You Chang.

“You Chang?”

Hearing this name, Pei Yi looked at his friend.

Li Yuan also shook his head. “He’s a person in the gaming circle, so I should have more or less heard of him, but I’m unfamiliar with the name.”

“The shareholder’s name may be unfamiliar, but you should have heard of the game company under him.” Lin Zhong had discovered this by following the clues. “You Chang has a game company called Nan Chan.”

“…….”

Li Yuan realized in an instant, “It’s a subsidiary of Xunya Technology?”

Lin Zhong nodded. “Yes.”

From the early days of Nan Chan’s establishment, it mainly focused on single-player mini-games. It had been stagnant in the past two years, and almost all the development costs invested in it were in vain.

Later, You Chang invested in and took over the studio, and one of the stand-alone mini-games exploded.

Of course, because they were backed by Xunya Technology, they could pretty much make huge profits in the short term through the free publicity of their backer’s various channels.

Pei Yi had a vague impression of this “Nan Chan” company. “Don’t I remember that they have always seemed to have nothing to do with plagiarism?”

“Where are they different, ah? They are exactly the same, and they only pick small overseas games.” Li Yuan’s eyes showed disgust—

Change the NPC icons a bit, change the game interface, change the background music a bit, and it could be put on the shelves as a brand new mini-game.

Once the “plagiarism” had been exposed, they would be taken off the shelves directly.

It seemed that netizens had successfully resisted, but what was the use?

The short-term popularity was enough for their producers to make enough money, and after two or three months, they could make a comeback with other small games.

As for the behind-the-scenes producer Nan Chan, firstly, the netizens who liked to follow the trends to play games would rarely remember it, and secondly, it was backed by Xunya Technology and was still very stable up to now.

However, after working on small, short-term games for a long time, it was likely that they wanted to upgrade and find new paths forward through mobile games.

“One had the game prototype but lacked investment, and the other was not short of money, but lacked the game prototype.”

Li Yuan could roughly guess the reason for the cooperation between the two parties. “I suppose that is how they see each other.”

How they saw each other?

Pei Yi recalled the disgusting plagiarisation of “Alien Beasts” at the beginning, and said bluntly, “People who share common traits gravitate toward one another.”

And what were they?

They were in collusion, lowlifes of the same feather!

---

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Chapter Seventy-Eight <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty

This wood cabin was surrounded by wisteria flowers that covered the building and the flower beds around it.

Wisteria flowers covered the windows, and during the day, sunlight would seep through sparsely.

It wasn’t too dazzling, but didn’t make the room seem dark either.

“Ha…..ha…..”

Kneeling on the floor, Lucas propped himself up against the bed. The veins in his neck and arms were throbbing, his vision was blurred, and his limbs shook.

He was initially injected with medicine, so he couldn’t use his spiritual power or physically attack Luo Ran.

“Admiral, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.” Luo Ran immediately knelt down and hugged Lucas from behind, the pheromones of the two blending together.

“Don’t be afraid, Admiral.”

Luo Ran trembled as he spoke.

He didn’t know what Lucas was seeing. What was in his mind was too far away for him at the time.

Lucas lowered his head, muttering incomprehensibly.

“En, en.” Luo Ran pulled him onto the bed with him.

“Fire,” Lucas whispered. “Do you see it?”

Luo Ran stared blankly at Lucas.

What?

Luo Ran gently pulled up the quilt for Lucas, and said: “Admiral, go to sleep.”

. . . . . . .

At night, the moonlight would also shine through the hanging flowers, and the wind rustled the hanging vines.

Lucas sat quietly on the steps. The backyard was full of purple flower beds.

“Admiral, eat this, it’s delicious.” Luo Ran had baked small biscuits. He took them out and sat next to Lucas.

Luo Ran had deliberately baked the biscuits to be soft and easy to eat.

Lucas’s eyes were bruised black and blue, but his vigor and baleful expression remained undiminished. He was still the same fierce Admiral as usual.

Lucas perfunctorily picked up a few and ate them, but they didn’t taste like much to him anyway.

After eating a few, Lucas asked: “How long have we been here?”

“Three months.” Luo Ran said: “Admiral, don’t worry. The adjutants at the military department are taking good care of things, and they have been sending files over. I am also keeping the office under control.”

The two sat on the steps together, gazing at the stars. Lucas suddenly asked: “Did you sing last night?”

Luo Ran hesitated, then nodded in embarrassment.

He had sung Lucas to sleep last night.

“What song was it? It sounded rather nice.”

“I hummed it randomly. It’s a song from my memory.” It was actually a folk song from Pure City, only Luo Ran had forgotten.

The stars winked and winked.

. . . . . . .

“Admiral…..!”

Thud! Lucas pressed Luo Ran to the bed.

“Luo Ran.” Lucas said hoarsely: “You smell like pheromones.”

Although Lucas had a spiritual breakdown, he still had occasional lucid moments, and his susceptible period was currently more sensitive to Omega pheromones.

“I….have the fragrance on me, I’m not, wu…..”

Lucas bit Luo Ran’s neck.

The Alpha, whose spirit had already burst like a dam, now hit his susceptible period and became more aggressive.

Lucas turned Luo Ran over and pressed the back of his neck, his eyes darkening.

“Ah…..!”

Luo Ran gripped the sheets tightly as he felt his gland being bitten hard.

Pheromones poured in violently.

Luo Ran lay weakly on his stomach, trying to suppress the weightlessness brought on by the pheromones. He said in a breathy voice: “Admiral, you mustn’t……it’s me.”

Lu Ran buried his face in the pillow, shoulders trembling as he choked with sobs.

It was the first time Luo Ran had been given a temporary mark, so he was naturally afraid at the moment.

But he did not refuse or resist.

Lucas’s consciousness was not very clear at the moment, and it was as if countless people were beating drums in his mind.

So annoying.

“Don’t cry!” Lucas sternly pressed Luo Ran’s neck and snapped: “Be quiet.”

“……” Luo Ran gasped and shook.

Lucas leaned down and pressed against Luo Ran, moving his face to the side of his gland.

“Mm.”

It was precisely because they once fit so well that others wouldn’t do, no matter how suitable they were.

Even if they had forgotten, their bodies and pheromones remembered, and unconsciously classified the other party into the category of intimacy.

. . . . . . . 

Nine months. For Lucas, there was no concept of time. Sometimes he was lucid, and sometimes in a haze. The only constant was that Luo Ran was always with him.

He became accustomed to Luo Ran’s scent, Luo Ran’s touch. Luo Ran was no longer the same as others.

And for Luo Ran, this was a very chaotic time.

He was like a professional nurse, patiently coping with Lucas’s emergencies at any time. Lucas was confused, irritable, and aggressive, but was just like a lion that trusted him alone.

Luo Ran’s initial fear turned into a desire to protect.

Then, nine months later, Wisteria Flower Manor was invaded by star pirates.

Although the cabin looked like it was in a remote suburb of a small village, Lu Cheng had been quietly guarding it with his elites, not only concealing Lucas’s location, but also providing timely support in case of emergencies.

At this moment, alarms sounded all around.

“Look out……!”

Sensing a strong wind behind him, Luo Ran pushed Lucas away. He dodged the weapon coming from behind, but also fell uncontrollably to the ground.

They were besieged by star pirates.

Luo Ran saw the star pirate leader standing not far away raise his hand.

Whoosh—

There was a volley of arrows.

The support team was still on the way. At that time, no one had the concept of a “high-ranking government official undercover,” and Lu Cheng likely didn’t expect the number of star pirates to be so large and so fast.

Boom—

Boom—

Mixed artillery fire and explosions came from the direction of Lucas and Luo Ran, and although there was no Meteor Shower, the sky was lit up for a time.

Fire.

Firelight.

There was firelight again.

Luo Ran’s shoulder was wounded when he pushed Lucas aside just now, and he clutched it as he knelt aside. As if in acceptance, he closed his eyes and waited for the artillery fire to land.

Lucas crouched down and embraced Luo Ran, pulling him into his arms.

Boom—

Boom—

The explosions were louder than before.

. . . . . . .

Luo Ran was speechless in astonishment.

Looking up, the artillery fire was kept at a distance and bounced away. With them at the center, a transparent barrier seemed to have formed around them, deflecting everything away.

It was……a spiritual outburt.

It was rare for spiritual power to affect reality. Few people could accomplish it, and most of the time, spiritual outbursts only appeared in books.

Whether Betas or Alphas, all the star pirates collapsed under the spiritual force at this moment, bleeding from their seven orifices.

Mental outbursts attacked indiscriminately.

Luo Ran only felt that something had invaded his spiritual power. If he wasn’t marked by Lucas, he would have ended up like the star pirates at present, and died under the spiritual power of an Alpha who had gone berserk.

“A-Admiral…..”

Being embraced by Lucas, he could feel the other’s body shaking, so he put his arms around the tall man.

“Don’t…..be afraid……”

Boom—

The wisteria flowers, the small cabin, the star pirates, everything was shattered by spiritual power, and the petals swirled up and dropped again amidst the disaster.

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

“Luo Ran?” 

After Lucas finished his meeting, he saw Luo Ran standing alone in front of the window of the battleship, lost in thought. He stepped forward to hold Luo Ran’s hand: “What are you doing?”

Luo Ran shook his head slightly, saying with a smile: “Admiral, do we count as having a long courtship?”

When Lucas had his outburst in the cabin, both of them were injured.

Although Lucas got better after completely venting that time, and returned, neither he nor Luo Ran remembered.

“Whatever, ba. Who cares if we’re going fast or slow, in any case, we’re dating.” Lucas rolled his eyes, then continued: “I just spoke to Wang Qiuyang. Not only us, but countless parties in the Empire, including the royal family, are also scanning for that insect.”

“……En.” Luo Ran paused, and said in a low voice: “Admiral, can I ask you one thing?”

“Speak.”

Luo Ran lowered his eyes and said: “Can you leave that insect alive for now?”

It was due to that insect’s energy that he was able to survive. That insect saved him.

Lucas was a little puzzled.

Luo Ran said: “Both Xiaxia and Dr. Shen believe that all things are born to balance each other. So maybe there is a way to undo the side effects of UNK, and we don’t have to kill the insect in exchange for peace.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows and said: “Why do you want to protect that insect?”

Luo Ran hesitated, then spoke of his childhood to Lucas.

The two walked while talking, and soon came to the mecha control room.

Lucas trained with Lion One every day, to maintain the feel and precise operation of the mecha.

“Luo Ran.” Lucas glanced at him and said: “Do you want to learn to pilot a mecha?”

“Ah……?”

Lucas pointed to Lion One and said: “Pilot him.”

Luo Ran paused, and said: “Although I really want to try, as you know, I’m an Omega.”

“You’re a 3S Omega, so you can try it with me.” Lucas raised an eyebrow and said: “If we open our spiritual connection together, we’ll be connected, and no one else will notice that yours is also open.”

The secret of Luo Ran’s identity could only be revealed after the UNK incident was completely resolved. 

“I……” Luo Ran said with a smile: “If the Admiral is willing to teach, then I am naturally willing to learn.”

“Okay, let’s go up.”

The elevator slowly came down, and Luo Ran also jumped onto it.

Sitting in the cockpit again, this time felt different from the last.

Luo Ran glanced at Lucas.

An A and an O in the same mecha. They were not the first pair to do this, but they were definitely in the minority.

After all, two-person mechas, especially with an A and an O, were too difficult to operate, and few people could succeed.

First of all, the Alpha and Omega’s power must be equal. This equivalence could not be at B or C-level. They must be at the same high level to control the heavy weapon at the same time.

Secondly, they must be not only equal, but compatible. Past successful cases were all due to long-term familiarity, the fusion of pheromones after many years, and a high degree of natural compatibility. In the end, it was their trust in one another.

Spiritual power manipulation was rarely used in operations, and was mostly used to support one another.

Luo Ran took a deep breath and lightly put his hand on the operating lever.

“Concentrate.” Lucas said: “Practice making Lion One raise its left hand first.”

“Okay.”

The two made a spiritual connection, and white tea and tobacco blended together inside the small space.

Creak — ah.

The blue and white Lion One slowly lifted its left hand, then stretched it out 180 degrees.

A few drops of cold sweat fell from Luo Ran’s forehead. 

Lion One was difficult for even the excellent Alphas of the Empire, and it could be said that out of all of them, Lucas was the only one who could pilot it. Its weight and complexity were still too difficult for Luo Ran.

“Take your time, I have you.” Lucas said: “Relax.”

Lucas used his one free hand to embrace Luo Ran.

Squeak—

The left hand continued to rise, and then fell down directly as if it had hit its limit.

Lucas focused his attention on the mecha’s arm to prevent the sudden withdrawal from affecting Luo Ran.

“It’s okay.” Lucas pointed out: “You can practice slowly.”

Luo Ran hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile: “The Admiral’s teaching method is quite different from previous times.”

If it was a few years ago, he would have yelled and cursed, and maybe put him in the mecha alone to practice by himself. If he didn’t practice well, he wouldn’t have dinner.

“Whatever.” Lucas touched his nose: “There’s no difference.”

Lucas gestured to Lion One and said: “This mecha is indeed more difficult to control. He is like my wife. You must understand him well.”

Luo Ran was silent.

After a moment, he asked curiously: “Then what am I?”

Lucas was also taken aback.

Ah.

He used the wrong word.

Lucas looked at the smiling Luo Ran before him and asked in a daze: “Husband?”

“……”

“Pfft.” Luo Ran smiled and said: “Okay, wife.”

Then Luo Ran was pressed into the mecha and kissed.

---

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Chapter Seventy-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-One

Liu Xian’an was still waiting for Liang Shu to explain where the path was, but Liang Shu turned his head and asked Chang Xiaoqiu: “How much do you know about Zhao Xiang and those who attended the banquet tonight?”

“What do I know?” Chang Xiaoqiu slowed down and managed to organize his thoughts before replying, “I didn’t know much about Zhao Xiang at first. He used to only contact my father, but during this trip to the south, I intended to get close to the people around him, and could more or less get some inside information about Dawn’s Gate. This person is actually a gambler, and has already lost his family fortune. It’s likely that he got dragged into the water by being tricked by the cult at the gambling table.”

As for the other sects attending the banquet that night, although Chang Xiaoqiu knew most of them, they were only acquaintances and not very familiar. He said: “Only the uncle in the green robes, Song Changsheng, has come to my home twice for drinks, so there is somewhat of a friendship. He’s a well-known swordsmith in the Central Plains, but he believes in the Baifu Sect for some reason.”

When everyone was tearing off their masks, Chang Xiaoqiu found that Song Changsheng was also at the banquet. He was so surprised that he couldn’t help taking a second look, but Song Changhsheng turned a blind eye to him and didn’t even meet his gaze, just chanting slogans and drinking.

“Maybe people who believe in cults are just like this,” Chang Xiaoqiu said. “In their eyes and hearts, only the Holy Maiden is left, and they no longer care about their relatives and friends in the past.”

Liang Shu said: “It is more convenient that the believers are insane.”

Liu Xian’an said: “How is that convenient?”

“It’s convenient for us to go up the mountain openly.” Liang Shu gave Chang Xiaoqiu some instructions. The young man was shocked at first, but then gradually became delighted, and asked with nervous excitement, “Just like that?”

Liang Shu nodded: “Just like that. It’s getting late, you should go back to your room in any case, lest Zhao Xiang get suspicious. In the next few days, you should observe clearly, and be clever.”

“Yes!” Chang Xiaoqiu said, “Then I’ll head back.”

Liu Xian’an also thought that this method of ascending the mountain was very feasible, at least much better than the climbing path.

After Chang Xiaoqiu left, he stood up from Liang Shu’s arms and was about to analyze the entire plan in detail, when thud, thud, footsteps suddenly sounded in the courtyard. Then they saw Chang Xiaoqiu appear at the door again, out of breath and unspeaking. He didn’t enter the room, but looked inside with a puzzled expression.

“Young Head Escort Chang, is there something else?”

“…….No, there isn’t,” Chang Xiaoqiu said hesitantly. It was actually that he ran out the door just now, and when the cool wind woke him up, he began to feel that something wasn’t right. As for what was wrong specifically, when everyone was discussing the plan just now, Doctor Liu seemed to have been sitting in His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s arms?

Chang Xiaoqiu was stunned by the intimate image that emerged in his mind, and his first reaction was that he was hysterical after drinking that blood. He absolutely couldn’t believe that such a thing could happen, so he simply ran back to verify it with his own eyes. But there was nothing to see – His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was at the table drinking tea, while Doctor Liu was standing neatly beside him.

He consulted the doctor in a realistic fashion: “Doctor Liu, I seemed to have a bit of blurred vision just now, and had some uncontrollable imaginings.”

Liu Xian’an found some calming pills for him, and Chang Xiaoqiu swallowed them on the spot. Looking at His Royal Highness Xiao Wang and Doctor Liu again, they were innocent and decent, so it must have just been him earlier. Thus, he put this absurd matter behind him and returned to the inn to concentrate on being an undercover agent.

Zhao Xiang didn’t make things difficult for him because of taking off his mask, but on the contrary, he even praised him a little more. Because of Chang Xiaoqiu’s behavior of being the one to go first, he accidentally won Holy Envoy Yang’s favor and greatly increased Dawn’s Gate’s status among all the jianghu sects. Zhao Xiang changed his previous perfunctory and impatient attitude, and offered to take Chang Xiaoqiu up the mountain with him.

The time soon came to the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, which was also the day everyone paid homage to the saint.

Liang Shu asked: “Do you want to go up the mountain?”

Liu Xian’an was a little surprised, not expecting that he would go along too, but he would go now that Liang Shu had proposed it.

He could go up the mountain tomorrow, but it was fine to go to the inn tonight.

Zhao Xiang had come to Raven City with a total of five disciples. It was unknown if he wanted to keep a low profile and avoid attracting attention, or if it was because he had already lost his whole family fortune gambling and couldn’t afford to hire more servants. In the dead of night, he put out the lights and went to bed. When he was about to close his eyes, the bed curtain shook slightly.

There was no one in the jianghu who wasn’t vigilant, not to mention that Zhao Xiang could be regarded as a master. He immediately noticed the abnormality in the breeze that should not have appeared, and reached his hand under the pillow to draw his knife, but it was already too late.

The severe pain in his neck made his eyes fly open wide, and he was furious that someone would dare attack him. He struggled to raise his upper body, but only had time to see a pair of eyes in the darkness, like lone stars hanging high above in the clear night.

Liang Shu raised his hand and hit him again, knocking him out completely. The candles in the room were re-lit, and Liu Xian’an took out the mask from his robes. Chang Xiaoqiu also slipped in from next door and saw the miracle doctor arranging tools on the table. He thought that he was about to change the prince’s appearance, never thinking that it would be the other way around.

Liang Shu ordered: “Lift your head a little bit.”

Liu Xian’an did as he said. He raised his head and closed his eyes, his long eyebrows like faint ink strokes. 

The beauty under the candlelight was fair enough to capture people’s souls – the soul of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang in particular, because only he could see it. Liang Shu felt refreshed to have been captured, and worked more gently as he held his chin.

And with such a meticulous Royal Highness Xiao Wang, the young man to the side began to stare dumbly again, and in the end, Gao Lin slapped him sober.

“Uh, I…….”

“Let’s leave them alone.” Gao Lin held his shoulders. “Go get ready, ba. We don’t know what’s going on atop that mountain yet, so you should be more careful.”

Chang Xiaoqiu nodded, and after a moment, he couldn’t help but ask: “Lieutenant General Gao, the prince is disguising himself to go up the mountain, but why is he bringing Doctor Liu with him?”

Gao Lin answered firmly, if there is a conflict and someone was injured, wouldn’t they need a doctor’s treatment?

Chang Xiaoqiu: “They would.”

Gao Lin: “Then that’s why.”

Just like that, he fooled the unfortunate boy.

When it was nearly dawn, Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an had disguised themselves as Zhao Xiang and another Dawn’s Gate disciple respectively. After they waited in the room for a short time, someone knocked on the door. “Master Zhao, Young Head Escort Chang, it’s clear.”

In the early morning light, Raven City was still half-awake and half-asleep. The streets were quiet, and only five large carriages were parked outside the city, each of which could hold nearly ten people. Liang Shu boarded one of them. The people inside the carriage saw this and said in displeasure: “Master Zhao, we’re all going alone. Why did you bring followers?”

Liang Shu pointed to his throat and coughed twice. Chang Xiaoqiu explained: “Master Li, Uncle Zhao is unable to make a sound because of his cold. He is also worried that the saint will ask questions, so he brought confidants who can understand his gestures and looks. It is entirely for convenience, not for putting on airs.”

The other party scoffed and did not speak further, reluctantly accepting this statement.

The carriage jolted, and the people inside grabbed onto the armrests. Song Changsheng was also in this carriage. Liu Xian’an had heard from his elder brother before that there was such a swordsmith in the Central Plains, and countless famous swords all over the country were made by him. Why would such a person who was not short of money or reputation, and was young and strong, join a cult?

Halfway through the journey, one person smiled and tried to strike up a conversation with him, but as a result, the moment he called out, “Mr. Song,” he received the cold sentence, “Why do you have to smile so ingratiatingly when we’re going to pay homage to the saint?” He was snubbed despite showing good intentions, and had no choice but to shut up.

The carriage finally stopped at the foot of the mountain, and they had to climb up on foot. It would take ordinary people several hours, but for martial arts masters, this rugged mountain road was trivial. Everyone leaped up one after another, and Liang Shu also grabbed Liu Xian’an’s waist and flew up with him. Chang Xiaoqiu watched from afar, and seeing that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang could match Zhao Xiang’s qinggong by seventy or eighty percent, he admired him even more and hurriedly followed.

At the highest peak of White Crown, a flower platform had been set up. The cold winter wind had frozen the petals transparent, and the saint was sitting on the stage in white robes, half of her face covered with a veil, and only her eyes exposed. She folded her hands in front of her, and her ten fingers were slender, her whole body as clear and beautiful as the flower bed. Her hair was black like clouds, and there were a few exquisite silver butterflies attached to it, their winds flapping slightly.

One disciple couldn’t help but take a second look.

“Bold!” The maid to the side scolded. Only then did the man come to his senses. A layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, and he quickly knelt on the ground to plead guilty, but someone had already stepped forward to drag him down. A tearing cry for help pierced through the air. Liu Xian’an looked sideways, and saw that the disciple was actually lifted up and thrown down the mountain alive.

Everyone at the scene turned a blind eye toward this, as if it was a mosquito or an ant that had died just now. Liu Xian’an glanced at the saint sitting on the flower platform again. She was about the same age as A-Yuan, but her whole person was ice cold, as if she had a pair of beautiful glass beads in her eye sockets, which could only rotate emotionlessly.

He lowered his gaze, but Wumeng Yunle also looked his way at the same time.

After checking the list that day, the maid said that the two men she had seen in the teahouse were not there, and asked: “The two of them were not good looking, why does the Miss want to investigate them?”

Wumeng Yunle didn’t know why she wanted to investigate them, and couldn’t just say that it was because they looked good from the back. In addition, she had sneaked out to the teahouse, which was a violation of religious decree. She must be punished if the Master found out, so she asked the maids not to mention this matter, and reluctantly moved on.

But now, she felt that the two people in front of her and the two people at the teahouse seemed to have some subtle overlaps. She couldn’t say where they looked alike, and couldn’t tell where they didn’t look alike. 

“Holy Maiden.” Seeing her lose her bearing, Master Yang had to cough and remind her.

Wumeng Yunle turned her gaze back, but was still internally mystified. She planned to remember the identities of these two and ask her brother later. The worship meeting was about to begin, and as always, Master Yang would say a lot of blatant nonsense about bringing glory to the world. All of the believers stood there and listened. There was a couple among them, and the husband was worried that the wife would be cold, so he kept holding her hand. The two of them were intimate and affectionate. Wumeng Yunle was looking at them, as well as Song Changsheng, but their attitudes were different. One was innocently envious of a girl, and the other was unspeakably mournful.

Because the teachings of the Baifu Sect were so long, obscure, boring, and nonsensical, the whole spiel nothing but oblations, Liu Xian’an could almost push out the next ten paragraphs after listening to just one. He began to feel sleepy, so sleepy that his eyes drooped.

Chang Xiaoqiu stood by his side. He could clearly see this, and was anxious, but didn’t dare warn him. He feared that if he woke him up, there would be a bigger commotion if the other party asked him about it in a daze, so he could only ask for help and gently clear his throat, trying to attract Liang Shu’s attention. When Liang Shu heard the sound, he glanced back, but wasn’t angry. He just took a step back and gently tugged this person to lie against his back so that he could sleep more comfortably.

“……..”

Young Head Escort Chang: I really don’t understand.

Liu Xian’an wasn’t completely asleep yet. He was still explaining to his friends in the Three Thousand Worlds, I have something to do today, so I don’t have time to talk. You fellows go back first.

The sages asked, if you have no time, then why did you come?

Liu Xian’an replied, I didn’t want to come either. I just closed my eyes a little bit, but the prince let me sleep on his back for a while.

It would be disrespectful to decline, you know?

---

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

Yan Mingting had already taken the initiative to remove his clothes. He lay down and said: “I’m ready, come on.”

Zhao Yelan looked at his tall, strong body in disbelief: “Me?”

“En, you used to like to be on top, ah.” Yan Mingting asked, “Could it be that you want to change positions this time?”

“I didn’t expect that you would have such beautiful dreams,” Zhao Yelan said speechlessly. Then he patted his leg. “Get up quickly and follow me to Nanjiang for treatment.”

“Won’t go. Why do you spoil the fun every time.” Yan Mingting turned over in a fit of anger, then found that his back was facing the other party and immediately turned back, aggrieved. “You always tell me to live a good life, but you just want to abandon me again. My flesh and blood are gone, and now even you’re gone. How can you tell me to live a good life?”

Zhao Yelan clenched his fingers tightly.

“I tried to live, but it was so difficult. There are traces of you everywhere in the house. As long as I drink, I can see you, but when I’m sober, it hurts. Even if I didn’t get poisoned this time, I wouldn’t listen to you anymore. I’ll tell you a secret, in fact,  I even prepared arsenic before I set off. I was just going to wait until I got my revenge and had nothing left to worry about, and then go see you with peace of mind after returning to Beijing to deal with the funeral.” Yan Mingting sat up and slowly hugged him. “You wait for me to come back.”

Zhao Yelan pinched his thigh fiercely.

“Hiss—” Yan Mingting rubbed his leg with a grimace. “This dream is so real, I actually felt pain.”

“It’s not a dream. I’ve already said it’s not a dream.” Zhao Yelan pinched his face again. “You take a good look at me. The one in front of you is a living person.”

Yan Mingting felt the pain, but couldn’t distinguish between dreams and reality. He looked at him blankly, and caught a glimpse of the mask beside the bed from the corner of his eye.

With trembling hands, he picked it up and put it in front of Zhao Yelan, then moved it away. His eyes darkened: “You’re Little Face?”

“I am.” Zhao Yelan paused, and was about to speak more, but the other party suddenly threw the mask away.

“How did you catch up? Are you imitating him again? How do you know what he looks like? Aren’t you mute? How can you still talk?”

Zhao Yelan went to pick up the mask and said: “Little Face is me, and Zhao Yelan is also me.”

Yan Mingting felt a burst of pain. He gripped his head with a splitting headache, and asked with an expression of pain: “Where is this place?”

Zhao Yelan couldn’t tell whether it was a symptom of the poison or whether he was wandering between reality and dreams, so he hurriedly stepped forward to hug him, patting his back and comforting him: “Fangli, Yan Fangli, listen to me when I say I’m not dead. I just took a drug to fake my death, and then someone sent me out. The person in the cemetery was just a substitute. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kept it from you. I shouldn’t have found out so late that I actually fell in love with you a long time ago.”

The person in his arms seemed to be less resistant to his words and embrace, so he continued: “Occasionally when you were sleeping, you would turn over and hit me with your hand, and I would pull your hair in retaliation. You don’t make a lot of noise when you eat, I just deliberately wanted to punish you, so I scolded you for eating like a pig. You have such a good, healthy physique, and I envy you for it, but I really hate horse stance even though I want to learn horseback riding and archery.”

Yan Mingting slowly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked at him in disbelief.

Zhao Yelan stared into the other’s eyes and said: For your birthday, I bought you a total of twelve bunches of tanghulu, and I also bought you new clothes. I knew you didn’t need anything, and I didn’t know what gifts to get you, so I gave you all the gifts I received when I was young. I also gave you a painting, which was the portrait you had been pestering me about for a long time. It shows you riding a strong horse and holding a bow while shooting an arrow. It is the most beautiful and enviable appearance I could imagine.”

Something came to mind, and Zhao Yelan opened his bag. He took another painting out from it and handed it to him: “Actually, I made another painting at that time, and I always carry it with me.”

Yan Mingting opened the scroll with trembling hands. The person in the painting stood outside the gate of the General’s Mansion, turning his head and waving.

This was the last time the two of them saw each other, and it was also the scene that Yan Mingting couldn’t bear to recall the most.

The drawing paper was a bit wrinkled, and had presumably been opened countless times.

Teardrops fell on it, soaking the paper. He slowly raised his hand and caressed the other’s cheek in disbelief: “It’s really you?”

“It’s me.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Zhao Yelan was dragged onto the bed with irresistible force. His head hit the pillow, and as soon as he raised it, overwhelming kisses fell upon his face. Out of control, he kissed his cheeks and lips wantonly and forcefully.

Zhao Yelan pressed the other’s chest with his hands, trying to find a comfortable position, but his wrists were captured by the other party and pressed over his head.

“Are you trying to escape?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan shook his head, then raised his chin and kissed him proactively.

Yan Mingting’s reasoning almost broke in that instant. His mind was in chaos, and he didn’t want to distinguish between dreams and reality. All he knew was that he must catch the person in front of. Whether it was a dream or reality, he didn’t want to be alone when he opened his eyes again. The pain caused by waking up had almost driven him insane.

Zhao Yelan was about to be tormented to the point of madness. This was a post station room. There were not only soldiers outside, but also guests. He bit his lip tightly, raised his chin, and dared not make a sound.

“Why don’t you call my name?” Yan Mingting forcefully compelled him to speak out. “Didn’t you say you’re real? Then call me and prove it.”

Zhao Yelan couldn’t resist anymore, and let out a rough sob.

Yan Mingting embraced him for a long time, running his fingers over every inch of skin. Then he raised his head and stared at his flushed face and tear-stained eyes for a long moment: “Is it really you?”

“It’s really me,” Zhao Yelan said hoarsely.

Yan Mingting seemed unable to believe it, and moved again, urging him to call out his name.

“F-Fangli!” Zhao Yelan called his name intermittently. He noticed that the other’s cheeks were wet, and raised his hand to wipe the other’s face.

“Are you real?” Yan Mingting asked.

“I’m real.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Zhao Mengting, not Zhao Yelan anymore.”

“Mengting, Mengting, don’t leave, okay? What can I do to make you stay? Mengting…..”

As night fell outside, the room gradually quieted down. Zhao Yelan lay weakly on his side, Yan Mingting still trying to identify him by his ribs.

Zhao Yelan said: “You didn’t know what my ribs looked like before, so how can you identify them now?”

“I can do it.” Yan Mingting touched his left ribs over his heart and said, “There’s a heartbeat here.”

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched, and he said in a low voice: “Keep this matter secret. Can you promise me not to spread it?”

Yan Mingting looked up at him for a moment, and was about to speak, when his head suddenly hurt again. His limbs began to feel weak, and he pressed his head in pain.

“What’s the matter? Is it the poison again?” Zhao Yelan heard the doctor say that this kind of poison surged up intermittently. He sat up at once. “I’ll go to the doctor.”

“No, don’t go!” Yan Mingting grabbed his hand. “You’re not allowed to leave. If you leave, you’ll be gone!”

“I’ll be back, I’m just going to get a doctor.”

“You can’t, you always say that before you leave!” Yan Mingting rolled in pain on the bed, but still refused to let go of his hand.

Zhao Yelan knew that this person thought he was a figment of his dreams again, so he lay back down and hugged him, saying: “Okay, I won’t leave. It’s getting late, let’s go to sleep early.”

“I can’t sleep, you’ll leave if I sleep,” Yan Mingting said with an expression of pain.

“I won’t. I’ll stay with you.”

Zhao Yelan comforted him for a long time before he fell asleep in pain.

Glancing at him worriedly, Zhao Yelan got up and picked up the clothes that had fallen on the floor. The sleeves were torn, so he could only bravely put on his mask and awkwardly open the door.

The guard at the door gave him an awkward look.

The commotion the two of them had made just now was not small, and Zhao Yelan couldn’t help feeling embarrassed at this moment. Fortunately, there was a mask to cover him. He ordered: “Go find some doctors, and find out if there are any Nanjiang witch doctors around here.”

The guard nodded, and before leaving, he couldn’t help but say: “I heard from another brother that you are very similar to the deceased Zhao-daren, and that is why the General made you work so hard to make this trip. In the future, I would like to ask you to help take care of the General. You are perhaps the only one who can persuade him to seek medical treatment.”

Zhao Yelan nodded: “Go.”

“Wait, there’s one more thing. Didn’t my brother say you were mute?”

“I was poisoned by an enemy, and my throat was ruined. I’m cured now,” Zhao Yelong bluffed.

“Okay, I’ll go get the doctor now!”

Zhao Yelan returned to the room. He picked up a wet handkerchief to wipe the marks left on his body, and couldn’t help muttering, “He’s still so capable after being poisoned.”

He lay down again and held the other’s hand, but couldn’t fall back to sleep. Then the doctor came and prescribed several medicines for Yan Mingting to relieve the pain, but the poison still couldn’t be cured.

After Zhao Yelan fed him the medicine, he went to discuss with the guards and said that he should be taken back to Nanjiang to find a local witch doctor. But they all lacked backbones, and didn’t dare to make up their own minds. They were afraid that Yan Mingting would wake up halfway and run back to the capital again.

“He won’t. I’ll find a way to convince him. You go arrange a carriage first. One team will be enough, and the rest will return to Beijing as usual,” Zhao Yelan said.

When the others heard this, they also felt that they could give it a try. Perhaps the General really regarded this man as Zhao-daren and would be willing to listen to him?

When everyone split up, a doctor suddenly asked to see him at the post station, saying that he heard General Yan had been poisoned at the southern border, and he had come here to treat him.

Zhao Yelan went out to take a look. He felt that this person looked familiar, but couldn’t remember who he was for the moment. However, his eyes landed on another person, who was dressed in the clothing of the Nanjiang people.

Although he had a bit of hope, Zhao Yelan still remained vigilant and said: “Who are you? Why did you come here of your own initiative?”

“I spent thirty years in the Imperial hospital before resigning,” said the leader. “A while ago, the General’s people found me and said he had been looking for me. When I inquired, General Yan happened to be nearby, so I rushed over only to find that he was poisoned.”

Zhao Yelan finally remembered where this sense of familiarity came from. In order to find the murderer who poisoned his father, Yan Mingting did indeed send someone to find the former Imperial Hospital Envoy. He said rejoicefully: “Wonderful, come inside, please.”

“This is a witch doctor I met in Nanjiang. We often exchange medical skills together. He will need to see him as well, do you mind?”

The soldiers were a little uncertain, and looked toward Zhao Yelan one after another, but Zhao Yelan had already brought him inside: “Please do your best. If you can detoxify him, I will reward you with one thousand pieces of gold.”

“No need, I just don’t want to see the General sacrifice his life for no reason.” The court envoy drove everyone else out of the room, leaving only a few helpers behind.

Zhao Yelan was watching from the side as the two doctors checked Yan Mingting’s physical condition. Unexpectedly, when the two took off his clothes, mottled and ambiguous marks appeared on his chest.

Zhao Yelan choked for breath: “……..”

Several guards immediately lowered their heads, and the two doctors subconsciously looked at Zhao Yelan.

Zhao Yelan really wanted to flee, but he couldn’t leave, so he could only lower his eyes stiffly, thankful that he still had the mask on him. Otherwise, he would have found a tree and hanged himself.

Fortunately, the two doctors were used to seeing extraordinary things, and didn’t make any remarks.

After confirming it, the witch doctor said that he could be treated, but the poison must be drained.

Zhao Yelan agreed straightaway. Just as long as he could be cured. However, when he saw the doctor cut Yan Mingting’s wrist open and blood flowed out like pillars, he couldn’t help but feel an ache in his heart.

He walked to the bed and held Yan Mingting’s other hand.

Time seemed to stretch. The doctors applied medicine to the wound, bandaged it, and said that they would return in three hours to continue detoxification. Zhao Yelan was so frightened that his face paled. However, what the envoy said next made his face turn red again.

“He may wake up a while later, but remember, don’t indulge in sex, so as not to let the toxins spread too fast through the body.”

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

After everyone departed, he stretched out his hand to straighten Yan Mingting’s sweaty hair.

After a while, a guard delivered porridge to the door. Yan Mingting needed to eat something during this time.

Zhao Yelan got up to take it, and just as soon as he closed the door, he heard a frantic voice: “Mengting!”

Zhao Yelan looked over immediately and saw Yan Mingting sitting up in bed and looked around in a panic. When he saw his figure, he called out again doubtfully: “Mengting?”

“I’m here.” Zhao Yelan stepped forward. “Are you hungry?”

Yan Mingting looked at him without saying a word.

“Come on, eat something first.” Zhao Yelan picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and fed it to his mouth. “Open up.”

Yan Mingting slowly opened his mouth like a marionette, doing whatever he was asked to do.

“Swallow it, ah.”

Yan Mingting didn’t even chew it, but swallowed it with a gulp.

“…….” Zhao Yelan fed him another spoonful and ordered, “You eat well for me.”

Yan Mingting was taken aback by this long-lost tone. He slowly reached out and carefully touched his cheek: “You’re real?”

“En, I’m real,” Zhao Yelan answered him patiently. Then he grabbed his hand and bit his finger. “Does it hurt?”

“It hurts.” Yan Mingting raised the other hand and looked at the bandages, asking in confusion: “What is this?”

Zhao Yelan explained: “This is from the doctor treating you. You’ll recover soon.”

“I don’t want treatment,” Yan Mingting said with a forlorn expression. “It’s good now, I can see you every time I wake up.”

“Yan Mingting, if you keep doing this, I will get angry,” Zhao Yelan said sternly. “When you are cured, you will be able to see me every day.”

“You’re lying to me again.”

“If I’m lying to you, I’m a dog.”

Yan Mingting glanced at him: “You’re a dog to begin with.”

“What did you say?” Zhao Yelan glared at him.

Yan Mingting was stunned, carefully sizing up his expression. It was so vivid. He hadn’t seen Zhao Yelan like this in a long time.

In countless dreams, Zhao Yelan had an obedient character in order to cater to his dreams, and he gradually became distant from Zhao Yelan himself.

But now, he seemed to see the angry Zhao Yelan appear in front of him so vividly.

Yan Mingting suddenly reached out and hugged him into his arms, not letting go for a long time.

“Do you feel like your chest is hot?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Yes, could it be because my heart has begun to come alive again?” Yan Mingting asked.

“It is because you spilled porridge on yourself.”

“…….”

The treatment lasted for three days. The poison needed to be cleared every three hours, but every time afterwards, Yan Mingting remained awake, holding Zhao Yelan tightly with one hand for fear that he would no longer be by his side when he woke up.

The guards outside couldn’t help muttering, wondering if they should tell the General that this person was just a substitute he brought back from Nanjiang.

One of them was a guard who sent Little Face home before. He said: “I think it’s good this way. Before, I saw that Brother Little Face has a sincere affection for the General, and now he has actually saved the General’s life. It doesn’t make sense to make the General drive him away as soon as he recovered, ah. And you see the way the General clings to him now and can’t take his eyes off him.”

“Brother Little Face really loves the General a lot. The General gave him a Xuan Dynasty name, with the given name Mengting and the surname Zhao, ah. He’s not afraid of braving hardships, very respectable and admirable.”

Zhao Yelan stood upstairs listening to their conversation, and couldn’t help being amused. Only Zhao Xuan, Gu Niaoniao, and Yan Mingting knew the name Zhao Mengting, so these people ventured that it was Yan Mingting’s new name for him.

His mind took a turn, and he suddenly had an idea. If he wanted to do his best after making a mistake, he would let the world think that he was Zhao Mengting, who sacrificed himself for love.

Three days later, the treatment finally entered the final stage. Yan Mingting was lying in bed with a pale face. The doctor said he was at his weakest now, and the next thing was to see if he would wake up.

Zhao Yelan’s heart felt like it was suspended again, and he stayed by the bed day and night. He was unable to sleep late one night when he suddenly heard Yan Mingting shout in fright as he raised his hand: “Mengting, don’t go!”

“I’m not leaving.” Zhao Yelan held his hand and waited for a long time, but he didn’t wake up.

The next day, he heard him talking in his sleep again, but he couldn’t hear his babbling clearly. He lay down with his ear next to him and listened for a long time before he realized that his name was being called over and over again.

A few days later, there was still no sign of him waking up. Zhao Yelan was becoming increasingly worried, and the doctor said that he could whisper something in his ear to make him subconsciously want to wake up.

Zhao Yelan sat at the bedside alone and said: “Yan Fangli, I still have a lot of things I want to do. In the past six months, I’ve traveled around and seen many interesting things and scenery, but every time, I think about how I’m the only one there to appreciate such things. It’s really a pity. Can you go with me in the future?”

“I’m sorry, I underestimated your feelings too much. I thought that time could erase everything, but all that time gave us was regret. I shouldn’t have deceived you, nor should I have suppressed my emotions. If only I could have seen my heart clearly earlier.”

“Yan Fangli, I love you.”

Yan Mingting moved his fingers.

Seeing this, Zhao Yelan looked at him with joy: “Fangli, Fangli?”

However, there was no response from the other party. He was anxious to find the doctor, but just as he got up, he heard a weak voice. Although he couldn’t hear it clearly, it was indeed from Yan Mingting.

“What did you say?” Zhao Yelan immediately leaned closer to his ear, and heard him say weakly, “Say it again.”

“What did you say? Zhao Yelan repeated.

“You…..say that again.”

“I love you?”

“En.” Yan Mingting nodded his head with difficulty, without opening his eyes, and fell unconscious again.

Not long after, a guard knocked on the door. He delivered food to Zhao Yelan and told him to pay more attention to his body.

“Understood, thank you.” Zhao Yelan took the food and closed the door, and was suddenly taken aback by the person on the bed.

Yan Mingting had sat up silently. His face under the moonlight was extremely pale, and he stared at him with burning eyes as he said hoarsely: “Which man are you talking to?”

“A guard.” Zhao Yelan quickly put down the food, ran to the bed, and hugged him. “You finally woke up.”

Yan Mingting hugged him back and felt his heartbeat, then reconfirmed: “You’re really my Zhao Mengting?”

“Yes, I am your Zhao Mengting.”

Once Yan Mingting woke up, on the one hand, he needed to replenish his body and blood, but on the other hand, he couldn’t do so without someone’s help, specifically Zhao Yelan’s.

Whenever Zhao Yelan left his line of sight, he would immediately stop everything he was doing and look for Zhao Yelan’s figure without hesitating. After he overturned the dinner table four or five times in succession, Zhao Yelan no longer dared to make up false excuses for the guards. Thus, he could only stay by his side obediently and never leave, facing others with a mask during the day and seeing Yan Mingting with his true face at night.

But there was one problem. Yan Mingting would easily go mad when he saw his true face, and he had to remind the other party: “The doctor said you must abstain from sex.”

Yan Mingting was so angry that he beat his chest and stomped his feet.

It took about a month for Yan Mingting to regain about half of his original body strength, but fortunately, he had accepted that Zhao Yelan was indeed alive.

Recently, Zhao Yelan lived and ate with him every day, but when he woke up in the morning, the other party would always stare at him silently and say: “Is it you?”

Then Zhao Yelan would kiss him and tell him patiently: “It’s me, I’m Zhao Mengting.”

The army was about to arrive at the capital, so Zhao Yelan bid goodbye to them for the time being and waited for Yan Mingting at the post station outside the city.

Yan Mingting had originally refused to let him leave his side, and even wanted to follow him and take a fake death pill, not giving up until he heard that there wasn’t any more. So Zhao Yelan promised him one hundred and eighty times that he would wait for him outside the city.

After he returned to Beijing to deal with the follow-up matters, he would go on a tour of the mountains and rivers with him.

In fact, both of them were gambling. Zhao Yelan was betting on whether he would be bound by worldly affairs, and Yan Mingting was betting on whether he would leave without saying a word. 

But Yan Mingting had made preparations this time. The post house was surrounded by his secret informants, and Zhao Yelan couldn’t fly away even if given wings.

A few days later, a major incident occurred in Beijing. General Yan actually voluntarily relinquished his military power, retired, and went home.

After further inquiry, it turned out that General Yan, who was like a walking corpse a while ago, had actually found a man who looked very similar to Zhao Yelan in Nanjiang, and they were going to travel the rivers and mountains together.

At the beginning, no one was optimistic about it, and were quite critical of this matter. But many years later, all the news anyone heard was of General Yan and the man named Zhao Mengting’s adventures. A storyteller even wrote a storybook about it, which was very popular.

Zhao Xuan died half a year after Yan Mingting left Beijing.

When he heard the news, Zhao Yelan was planting flowers with Yan Mingting in Nanjiang. When the two returned to the small courtyard at that time, Yan Mingting teased him for pretending to be mute, but Zhao Yelan said: “Didn’t you tell me not to smile?”

Yan Mingting’s expression changed: “You always remember this. Who told you to deliberately imitate yourself?”

“Heh.”

“It’s true that you rarely smiled at me before,” Yan Mingting muttered.

Zhao Yelan smiled, and Yan Mingting also looked at him and smiled. Then they heard the news of Zhao Xuan’s death.

He was someone who had some friendship with him, after all, so Zhao Yelan burned three sticks of incense for him that night.

A few days later, Zhao Yelan said: “Now that Zhao Xuan has passed away, there is one less person in the world who knows who Zhao Mengting is. Why don’t we go tour other places first, and after a few years, we can go to places in the Xuan Dynasty.”

“Okay, ah, where do you want to go?”

“Jiangnan. When I passed by last time, I thought Jiangnan was very suitable for sightseeing.”

“We can do that. I will go wherever you want to go, as long as you don’t leave me alone.”

Zhao Yelan raised his head and kissed him: “That won’t happen again.”

Yan Mingting kissed him back, and the two rolled in the flowers, covered in petals and leaves.

In the evening, the two marched toward dusk and stepped in each other’s shadows.

Yan Mingting asked: “Why do I feel that you’re so happy when you talk about going to Jiangnan?”

“The main reason is that there is a lot of delicious food and many inns. You know this well.”

“I know, it’s very luxurious. It’s fine for you to plant flowers and dig in the ground for a day or two, but it would be difficult for a year or two,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan chuckled: “Right.”

“Then what are we waiting for? There’s no time like the present. We’ll set off tonight.” Yan Mingting tossed the hoe away. “Let’s go and live a good life. I’ve seen you touching the silver in the middle of the night more frequently than you touch me.”

Zhao Yelan laughed loudly and said: “Can we go to Jiangnan on horseback?”

“We can, what kind of horse do you want to ride?”

Zhao Yelan took a look at him, and suddenly placed his hands on the other’s back. Yan Mingting skillfully lifted him up.

“The moon is out.” Zhao Yelan looked up at the sky.

“Yes, ah.” Yan Mingting paused, then asked with a smile, “Do you hear what the moon is saying?”

“Ah? What is it saying?” Zhao Yelan asked curiously.

“It’s saying, Mengting, I love you.”

Zhao Yelan smiled and leaned on his shoulder, saying: “I also love the moon very, very much. I love him more than the moon can even imagine.”

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Extra 12: Faking Death (5) <<Table of Contents

After he said that, Zhao Yelan ignored him all night and went back to his room after dinner.

Yan Mingting knew that he had hurt his self-esteem, and gradually returned to his sanity. In the past few days, he hadn’t drank as much as before, and had become more sober.

He lingered outside the door for a long time, thinking about how to apologize. The door opened at this moment, the person inside about to come out. The two looked at each other.

After a moment, Yan Mingting spoke first: “Where are you going?”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him, holding a pack on his shoulders. Just as he brushed past, Yan Mingting suddenly grabbed his arm.

“You want to leave?” Yan Mingting frowned. “That won’t work, the army will arrive in Nanjiang tomorrow. The southern border will be in chaos, and a person with no strength could easily encounter danger.”

Zhao Yelan pursed his lower lip.

“You go back and rest first, and when the southern border is stable, I’ll have someone send you back in person, okay?”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head and didn’t answer.

Seeing this, Yan Mingting pulled him back and said: “I made a slip of the tongue just now, and there will not be a next time. But this is a matter of life and death, so you must listen to me. We are also friends, and I won’t harm you.” Yan Mingting said, “Otherwise, I will send someone to guard you day and night. Are you willing?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head violently.

“Then promise me you’ll stay here these days?”

Zhao Yelan nodded, then gestured a few more times.

Yan Mingting guessed: “Are you asking when I’m leaving?”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

“I will set off early tomorrow morning. It may be as short as a few days, or an unknown amount of time longer. But don’t worry, if I don’t come back for a long time, someone will send you back,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan frowned. He wanted to know what he meant by not coming back for a long time, but Yan Mingting couldn’t guess what he meant. He only told him to take good care of himself, then turned and left the room.

Zhao Yelan was inexplicably flustered. Yan Mingting’s tone of voice was normal just now, but he couldn’t help feeling like something was wrong.

At this time, there was some movement outside the inn. He opened the window and saw Yan Mingting riding a horse, leading a group of people and horses to disappear down the road without looking back.

Didn’t he say he was leaving tomorrow?

This liar!

Zhao Yelan hurried downstairs, trying to catch up, but was stopped by the guards at the door.

“Young Master, the General has ordered that you are not to go out. We will protect your safety,” a guard said.

Zhao Yelan pointed angrily in a distant direction. There must be something wrong with Yan Mingting, otherwise, why would he lie to him?

“I’m sorry, I’ll have to offend him.” Seeing that he wouldn’t listen, the guard knocked him unconscious and took him back to his room.

When he woke up again, it was already noon. Zhao Yelan went downstairs to stare angrily at the guard.

The other party smiled at him and said: “I know that you are also worried about the General, but if I didn’t knock you out, you may have affected the General’s plans. But don’t worry, he is the most powerful god of war in our Xuan Dynasty. Even the strong Mongolian army fears him, and the southern border is nothing to worry about. The army has already joined him, and there will be good news in a few days.”

Zhao Yelan couldn’t eat for several days, and sat in the lobby to wait for news. The guards received very little information, and most of it came from the mouths of transient commoners who came and went. 

People said that Yan Mingting had led the army into Nanjiang to rescue the old king, and joined forces with the Second Prince to attack the Third Prince and Eighth Princess. Nanjiang was already in chaos.

Some Nanjiang refugees fled to the Xuan Dynasty and insulted Yan Mingting at the inn for meddling in the internal affairs of Nanjiang. They were poisoned by Zhao Yelan that night and lay paralyzed in bed for a few days before recovering.

One night more than ten days later, Zhao Yelan was arranging herbs. The poison on his face had nearly recovered, and he felt relieved after taking the mask off.

And after he slowly put on the mask again, he reached out to hold a teacup, but it suddenly fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. He crouched down to pick up the pieces, but accidentally pricked his finger.

He looked at the red droplets of blood overflowing from his fingertip, and felt uneasy again for no reason.

He didn’t know how Yan Mingting was doing.

A few days later, he received news from the guards that Yan Mingting was about to return to the Imperial court. He breathed a sigh of relief at last, and packed his luggage together with the guards.

In the end, he found that the guards were not sending him to see Yan Mingting, but were bringing him to Nanjiang again.

He quickly grabbed a guard’s sleeve and pointed at the city gate, waving his hand and gesturing. “You don’t want to go home, but you want to see the General?” the guard asked.

Zhao Yelan nodded.

“That won’t work, ah. Before the General left, he only said that we should send you home once everything had settled down, and didn’t say that he wanted to see you. And he has already led the army back to the Xuan Dynasty, so you won’t be able to see him.”

Zhao Yelan was stunned, and couldn’t react for a while. The other party had simply left.

He returned to the house in Nanjiang again, and the guards also departed.

“Why did you come back alone? I thought you would bring that man back,” the cousin joked when he came out.

Zhao Yelan put down his luggage expressionlessly, and was suddenly at a loss for what to do.

Now that Yan Mingting had gone back, his identity would not be easily discovered, and he could think about where to go next. But he was completely uninterested, standing in the courtyard like a desolate dead tree.

The cousin asked while cleaning, “I only found out in the past few days that the person who took you away was the General of the Xuan Dynasty. You and him have known each other for a long time, right? Are you from the Xuan Dynasty?”

Zhao Yelan turned a deaf ear to him.

“A few days ago, he beheaded the Eighth Princess with his own hands, and I heard from the neighbors that he was smiling when he came out,” said the cousin.

Zhao Yelan thought to himself: He took revenge with his own hands, why should he not smile?

“He’s been poisoned, but he was still smiling. It’s unbelievable,” said the cousin.

“Poisoned? What kind of poison?!” Zhao Yelan looked at him fiercely.

“Don’t you know?” The cousin frowned. “The Eighth Princess was a master of poison. She poisoned him before she died. The king saw signs of the poisoning and wanted to find a witch doctor for him, but he refused and left with his army. If he doesn’t get treatment, he probably won’t live half a year. I don’t know what he’s thinking, he really doesn’t care about his life.”

Zhao Yelan felt that his whole body was drained of strength, and trembled as he grabbed the other’s collar: “Are you telling the truth?”

“It’s absolutely true. Many people in Nanjiang know about this. If you don’t believe me, go and find out for yourself.”

Zhao Yelan turned around and went into the room. He picked up his luggage and ran out the door, hired a carriage, and rushed off in the direction of the Xuan Dynasty.

If he was returning with the army, he should have taken the official road. He chased along this route for several days, but was entirely unable to catch up with the speed of the army.

At this time, the coachman told him that he could take a different trail, but the terrain was a bit rough.

Zhao Yelan resolutely chose the trail. The carriage shook for a long time, and then they reached a mountain.

“This carriage can’t go up the next mountain. You can climb over yourself, and hire a new carriage when you get to the town over there,” the coachman said.

Zhao Yelan began to climb the mountain with his pack on his back, but the things on his shoulders became heavier and heavier. He opened the pack and threw all the gold, silver, and jewelry onto the mountain, and discarded some other heavy objects before starting on his way again. Finally, at dawn, he found a new carriage and lay down inside it to catch up on sleep.

After constantly taking shortcuts like this, he finally caught up with the army on the eleventh day.

At this time, he was already at the Nanjiang border. He went to the post station to inquire about the speed of the army, and the post worker said that it would take half a day for them to arrive.

Only then did he support himself on a table and sit down tremblingly to order a pot of tea. He drank half the pot in one breath, then rubbed his sore and swollen legs.

In the evening, there was the sound of horseshoes outside, their speed very fast. As soon as Zhao Yelan heard the sound, he ran to the door and saw the momentum of thousands of troops and horses from a distance. But Yan Mingting was not in the lead.

Just when he was pondering, the person at the front tightened the reins and shouted to the people at the post station: “Go and find some doctors!”

Zhao Yelan’s heart skipped a beat. He held onto the door with one hand, his fingers tightly gripping the edge. Then he saw a carriage pull up from behind, and several people carried the unconscious Yan Mingting out.

When he passed by, Zhao Yelan subconsciously reached out to hold his hand, but was pushed away by the soldiers.

Yan Mingting was sent to a guest room on the second floor, and not long after, several doctors hurried over.

Zhao Yelan couldn’t even squeeze through the door. Soldiers were standing outside the room, all of their faces full of worry.

“The General is awake!” Someone called from inside.

Zhao Yelan raised his head, but was blocked by the people in front, and couldn’t see at all. Only Yan Mingting’s casual voice could be heard: “Why are there so many people around, all of you go away. The doctor said this poison can’t be cured, so can you just let me sleep for a while?”

The people inside tried to persuade him to seek medical treatment, but Yan Mingting acted extremely stubborn: “The doctor said there is no way. There is nothing to be done. Go out and let me sleep for a while.”

In the end, these people were all driven out by Yan Mingting, and when the door was closed, he lay down in the room and slept soundly.

After all the people around had dispersed, Zhao Yelan walked to the door. He tried to push the door open and go in, but was stopped by someone: “Who are you?”

“I’m his friend. I can persuade him.” The guard looked at him dubiously.

“His given name is Fangli. When he was at the border, he liked to eat tanghulu. After returning to Beijing, he often goes to the training grounds. His birthday is the thirteenth of the sixth month.”

After a moment, the guard finally let him in.

He locked the door and went straight to the bed. The person laying there was still sleeping, and his brow was furrowed.

Yan Mingting used to say that Zhao Yelan frowned in his sleep, but now he was like this.

He sat down on the bed and took his hand.

The other party didn’t respond, so he squeezed a little tighter: “Yan Fangli, wake up.”

The person on the bed moved his fingers slightly, and slowly opened his eyes. When he saw him, he didn’t reveal an overjoyed expression, but looked as if he had known he would come. The corners of his mouth hooked up, and he said in a warm voice: “Mengting, it’s so good to see you again.”

Zhao Yelan’s nose was sore: “When have you seen me?”

“I see you every day, when I’m drunk and when I’m dreaming.”

Zhao Yelan choked up. Controlling his voice, he said slowly: “That’s not the real me.”

“It’s you.”

“This right now is the real me.”

“Of course I know you’re real. Every time you appear, you’re real.” Yan Mingting said so, but didn’t dare to reach out and touch him, lest this dream be shattered again.

“Mengting, I will come to see you soon.” Yan Mingting smiled. “It’s not that I was disobedient and voluntarily gave up my life. It’s because they were too vicious and insisted on my death.”

“When you went to Nanjian for disaster relief and to get revenge, you didn’t even intend to come back alive, did you?”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head, lines of tears hanging from the corners of his eyes.

Seeing this, Yan Mingting immediately sat up and reached out to wipe his tears. When he touched the other’s skin, he stopped abruptly and stared at him for fear that he would disappear. But not only did the other person not disappear, he even raised his wet eyes to look at him.

“Yan Mingting, follow me back to Nanjiang for treatment,” Zhao Yelan said.

“I won’t go,” Yan Mingting said. “I must go back to the capital and burn incense for my parents, and tell them that our grievance has finally been avenged. Then I must prepare my tomb. I will be buried in a double coffin with you, and we can sleep together every day in the future.”

“Yan Mingting!” Zhou Yelan shouted sharply. “I’m not dead and neither are you!”

“It’s not easy for me to get to see you once, don’t say that you’re not dead. Come and see what I brought you from Nanjiang.” Yan Mingting felt in his robes, then took out an oddly-shaped hairpin. This was given to me by the king of Nanjiang. He said it is a priceless item. I thought it was very suitable for you at first glance, so I accepted it. Take a look, do you like it? If you like it, can you stay a little longer?”

“Yan Fangli, I’m really not dead.” Zhao Yelan held his face with both hands, and his lips were covered in tears when he bit him. There was a rusty taste in his mouth, and the tears were mixed with blood. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have deceived you.”

Yan Mingting couldn’t regain his senses for a long time. When the other party let go of him, he didn’t speak, but just licked his lower lip and looked at him without saying a word.

“Do you still not believe that I’m real? Would the me in your dreams do such a thing to you?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Yes, ah.” Yan Mingting smiled shyly. “You’ve done it several times even more intimately, and then you would take off my clothes.”

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

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Extra 11: Faking Death (4) <<Table of Contents >> Extra 13: Faking Death (6)

Early the next morning, Zhao Yelan went downstairs to have breakfast. As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw Yan Mingting sitting in the lobby.

Zhao Yelan paused lightly, then went downstairs with his head lowered and specially picked a table with his back facing the other person.

The two of them sat just a few tables away, eating breakfast quietly without disturbing each other, but Zhao Yelan knew that Yan Mingting was staring at his back again.

When they were about to finish eating, soldiers came from outside to report to Yan Mingting about the situation of the Nanjiang royal family. The old Nanjiang king had been imprisoned by the Eighth Princess, and today was the day the Third Prince ascended the throne.

“Let’s go see the Second Prince first.” Yan Mingting got up and was about to leave, but when he walked to the door, he looked back at the person in the corner, pondering for a moment before he urged: “Little Face, I’m going out for a while, so don’t run around the inn.”

Once he left, Zhao Yelan walked to the gate, staring at the empty road in a daze. Then he returned to the room to rest for a while, packed his luggage, and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, he was stopped by a guard when he reached the door. The guard glanced at his luggage, took him back to the lobby, and said: “Can you not stay for a while?”

Zhao Yelan looked at him blankly.

The guard said in a low voice: “Although I never met Zhao-daren, the General says you are very similar to him, so can you stay a few more days? The General has eaten a lot of meals recently, and even ate two buns in the morning.”

Zhao Yelan wanted to ask him, did Yan Minging usually not eat breakfast?

Unexpectedly, although the guard couldn’t read his eyes, he complained on Yan Mingting’s behalf on his own: “The General hasn’t eaten much in the past six months, either drinking or sleeping. It is only these days that he has slowly returned to his original appetite. Now is a critical period, so we subordinates all hope that you will stay with the General for a while longer. After he fully recovers, we will take you wherever you want, and we can give you money.”

Zhao Yelan handed him the luggage. The guard gave him a doubtful look, and Zhao Yelan pointed upstairs.

“Thank you!” The guard was overjoyed, and ran upstairs to deliver the luggage.

Yan Mingting returned in the evening. He had just sat down in the lobby when he heard a door open on the second floor. Zhao Yelan went out the door and went downstairs unhurriedly.

Yan Mingting stared at his figure, and unconsciously thought of Zhao Yelan’s posture when going down the stairs. He stared blankly until the other party sat down beside him, then returned to his senses and asked: “Why are you sitting at my table again? Weren’t you avoiding me this morning?”

Zhao Yelan gave him what was in his hand. It was a piece of paper with the word “eat” written on it.

“You’re hungry so early?” Yan Mingting called a waiter over, ordered several dishes, and asked him if it was enough. When he shook his head, Yan Mingting ordered a few more and said with a smile: “You pauper, why do you have this habit of extravagance and waste? Perhaps it is because I paid for it that you want to drain me dry.”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

“You are very honest,” Yan Mingting said.

When the dishes were all served, Yan Mingting awkwardly pointed to the seat across from him: “Why don’t you sit across from me.”

Firstly, he felt that the distance between them was too close and felt that this pauper had his eye on him. And secondly, sitting across from him made it easier for him to take a few more glances. He could always see the shadow of that person in this man, which was very satisfying.

Zhao Yelan disagreed. Sitting opposite the other person would risk his exposure. It was safer to be next to him with a mask to cover him up.

Yan Mingting’s persuasion was ineffective. As soon as he picked up his chopsticks, the other party picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his bowl, then turned back awkwardly, not daring to look him in the eye.

Yan Mingting ate the piece of meat with a very complicated mood. “That…..”

The other party immediately gave him two slices of beef.

Yan Minging finished eating the beef: “I say…..”

Zhao Yelan picked up another fried egg.

After going back and forth like this, Yan Mingting had already eaten two bowls of rice, and couldn’t keep up with the speed the other party was picking up vegetables. Seeing the man pick up even more, he hurriedly pushed his hand away: “Don’t worry about me, eat it yourself, ah.”

Zhao Yelan fiercely put the vegetables into his bowl, then picked up his own bowl and began to eat slowly.

Due to the mask, he ate very little each time. After Yan Mingting finished three bowls of rice, he stared sideways at him and continued the topic just now: “You haven’t forgotten what I told you last night, have you?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head.

“So you don’t have feelings for me?”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head and pretended to be shy, glancing at him cautiously.

Yan Mingting: Oh no, he secretly loves me, ah.

It wasn’t just the food. He habitually went to get wine, but was stopped by the other party, who handed him a cup of water and pointed at it, making random gestures.

Yan Mingting: “You’re saying you boiled this water yourself?”

“…….” Zhao Yelan was silent for a moment, then nodded. He looked at him expectantly, then motioned for him to drink the water.

Yan Mingting couldn’t bear to brush off his kindness, so he drank it all in one gulp. His stomach was full, and he didn’t want to drink for the moment.

It went on this way for the next two days. During mealtimes, Zhao Yelan kept picking up food for him, and even thoughtfully brought him tea and water, which made him feel a little embarrassed. He pulled him aside and said in a low voice: “You don’t need to worry about me. You just need to be like you were before, understand?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head: I don’t understand.

“How you ate, drank, and walked in the past, you should do the same now.” After speaking, Yan Mingting sighed in disappointment and stared blankly at nothing, adding: “If you want to imitate him, you should imitate him.”

Zhao Yelan turned around and ran back to the room. Yan Mingting thought he had given up out of embarrassment, but didn’t expect that the other party would come back soon and show him a piece of paper with three words written on it—

How to learn?

Yan Mingting laughed helplessly. He was laughing at him for being foolish enough to want to imitate someone he didn’t know, and at himself for being foolish enough to be shamefully moved by the behavior.

If he never saw Zhao Yelan again in this life, even seeing a shadow of him was good.

Yan Mingting told him many things, starting from the beginning: “The first time we met was at my mansion. The terrible thing was that I had been poisoned and was extremely ugly, so he didn’t even take a fancy to me. If I had known that I would like him so much in the future, I would have been a villain back then and taken him away directly. Even if he hated and resented me, it would be better than the eternal separation between man and heaven nowadays. The second time we met, we got married. I looked better than before, but we were so wary of each other at the time.”

After talking for more than two hours, Zhao Yelan was not sleepy at all. He had never known these things from Yan Mingting’s perspective, and he had so many habits that he wasn’t even aware of.

“Once he finished horse stance, he would snore lightly as he slept, which was very cute; if someone nearby spoke to him, he must first turn his eyes in that direction, and then his head. This is a defensive posture. But when he looked at me, he would turn his head first and then look at my face carefully without noticing what he was doing. He looked very good when he ran. Every time I dragged him to run, I would always follow behind, because his hair fluttered like catkins blown by the wind. He would always stop to breathe against the third pillar when he ran to the back courtyard, because there were the fewest people there, and he was most afraid of shame.”

He said a lot of things intermittently, saying whatever he thought of. Yan Mingting was more like a narrator, taking the opportunity to say these words to him and tell him bits and pieces of before.

When Zhao Yelan left, these memories were slowly sealed away. No matter who he mentioned Zhao Yelan’s name to, the other party thought he was crazy, and would insist on reminding him: “Wake up, he is already gone.”

No one was willing to listen to his confessions. It was just that when he was drinking and talking drunk again, everyone advised him to be sober and rational. But how could he be sober and rational when his soul had left?

The dusty memories opened up like a flood. Even Yan Mingting was surprised that he could remember so many trivial things, and his voice choked up unconsciously.

At this time, a hand patted him gently on the back.

He slowly relaxed. Looking up at the stars in the sky, he said hoarsely: “Which star do you think is him?”

Zhao Yelan pointed to the brightest one.

“No, that’s not him,” Yan Mingting said firmly.

Zhao Yelan pointed to the dimmest star and looked at him.

“That’s not him, he’s here.” Yan Mingting pointed to his chest.

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then Zhao Yelan slowly leaned over and hugged him.

Yan Mingting didn’t know if this was an encouraging and comforting hug, or a loving hug. He couldn’t think about such things for the moment, and vented the joy and pain brought on by those memories through this warm embrace.

Zhao Yelan felt a slight chill on his neck. He didn’t move, and just felt the other silently cry. His body was hugged tightly, and his ribs were almost crushed, but he didn’t say anything about the pain. Because the other party was hurting worse than him, the kind of pain that had no physical wound, but would hurt all over when touched.

Zhao Yelan finally felt a trace of regret.

He was not a person who regretted much. Once he made a decision, he would not regret it. In everything he did in the past, he took into consideration the worst result, and he would weigh the pros and cons. Only after he could accept the price to be paid would he put all his eggs in one basket.

But now, he somewhat regretted.

Zhao Yelan took this identity and escaped from the perilous court and the abuse of the common people, but still didn’t feel true freedom, because his heart was attached to another person.

He couldn’t bear for him to be hurt, and couldn’t bear to see him drinking too much. He was willing to accompany him back to this small inn on the border of the Xuan Dynasty, just to see him a few more times.

In the barren land of his heart, seeds somehow began to germinate and break through the ground.

“I’m sorry.” After Yan Mingting had vented his emotions, he let go and turned around, walking quickly back to his room.

Zhao Yelan also stayed up almost all night.

The next day, when he got up to change, his eyes glanced over his few simple clothes, and he put on a set of bright ones instead. Yan Mingting stared at him intently as soon as he went downstairs.

Looking at the other party, Yan Mingting felt awkward again. He felt that after hearing stories about Zhao Yelan last night, the other party had seriously imitated him.

He couldn’t help but want to look more, but reminded himself from time to time that this was wrong.

Zhao Yelan sat down beside him.

Almost instantly, Yan Mingting smelled a fragrance. It wasn’t the sachet that Zhao Yelan usually used, but one that he had never smelled before. Perhaps it was some flower or plant from the south.

He subconsciously glanced down at the sachet the other party was wearing, then silently raised his eyes and only looked at the food on the table. The other party didn’t take the initiative to pick food for him today, because he had said that Zhao Yelan would not pick food for him.

He seemed to be imitating him in essence.

Yan Mingting sneaked a glance from the corner of his eye and saw that his clothes and demeanor were more and more similar to Zhao Yelan’s. And he was wearing a mask, so couldn’t he imagine that Zhao Yelan’s face was hidden beneath it?

“Mengting,” he blurted out.

Zhao Yelan turned to look at him.

“Are you satisfied with breakfast today?”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

The corners of Yan Mingting’s mouth turned up uncontrollably, and he quickly picked up some food for him: “Mengting, eat more.”

Zhao Yelan saw the mound pile up in his bowl, so he picked up the green vegetables on top and put it into the other’s bowl.

So alike, so alike!

Yan Mingting gave a quiet laugh and grabbed the bowl directly. He even forgot to pick up more sides, and ate more than half of the bowl of rice plain.

Zhao Yelan noticed his actions, and couldn’t hold back his sudden smile.

Yan Mingting paused, and said seriously: “Don’t smile, you don’t look like him when you smile.”

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

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Extra 10: Faking Death (3) <<Table of Contents >> Extra 12: Faking Death (5)