Lin Zhiji froze.
His first reaction was: is this mission insane?
Xie Yi and that old bastard in the capital were thousands of miles apart, and there were no phones or video calls now. Could they expect Xie Yi to ride a horse back to Shangjing?
Besides, with all the things that old bastard had done…
Not only Xie Yi, even he felt like vomiting. Not punching him twice was already being merciful, and they actually wanted Xie Yi to actively ease the relationship?
Ridiculous!!
But this was a main mission.
If Lin Zhiji wanted to go back, he had to complete it.
Lin Zhiji: …
Suddenly felt like cursing.
He instantly felt the world’s deep malice toward him.
He stood there in distress for a long while before slowly walking back.
Just as he entered the room, he found Xie Yi’s expression was not very good.
Was it because of the insider issue?
Lin Zhiji guessed.
But he remembered that in the original story, Xie Yi’s Qingzhou campaign against bandits was very successful, which meant this insider did not cause him much trouble.
Thinking of this, Lin Zhiji took the initiative to comfort him: “It’s fine, you’ll definitely be able to solve the insider problem.”
The night wind blew in through the window, making the candle flame flicker.
The candlelight’s shadow swayed across Xie Yi’s face, lighting it half bright and half dark, making Lin Zhiji unable to clearly see his expression for a moment.
Only a soft sneer was heard: “Is this also a plot in the book?”
Lin Zhiji felt he was a bit strange, and after a pause he said, “Yes, but it doesn’t describe it in detail. It only mentions that your Qingzhou bandit suppression went very smoothly, so you don’t need to worry.”
Xie Yi did not seem comforted at all, instead asking, “Is that all you want to say to me?”
Lin Zhiji froze.
If not this, then what?
At that moment, a gust of night wind blew through, the candle suddenly went out, and the room fell into darkness.
Only a few faint streaks of moonlight leaked through the window.
The sudden darkness made Lin Zhiji uneasy.
He subconsciously called out: “Host?”
Xie Yi did not respond.
The room was extremely quiet.
Only the sound of wind brushing through leaves could be heard.
After the initial fear, Lin Zhiji gradually calmed down.
He had actually been afraid of the dark before.
But after being ill for a long time, his former friends all made new friends, and his parents were expecting a new child.
Their visits became fewer and more hurried.
Lin Zhiji could understand them.
So he tried to expand his own circle in the hospital—children in the ward, doctors, nurses, even cleaning aunts could all be people he talked to at any time.
During the day, his ward was always the most lively.
Full of noise, laughter, and warmth.
But at night, the children returned to their own rooms, and doctors and nurses were busy on duty.
He lay alone on the hospital bed, curled up against the darkness.
At that time, he even wished he could have an attack at night, so doctors and nurses would all come to him, and he wouldn’t have to face the darkness alone.
But he only thought about it; later, after facing the darkness alone for a long time, he gradually stopped being afraid of it.
In fact, after coming to this world, he had rarely thought about his past life.
At first it was because he lived inside Xie Yi’s mind. Although the host was cold and cruel, killing without hesitation, every single one of Lin Zhiji’s words received a response—even just a simple “mm.”
Even later when he had a body, he was always with Xie Yi, so he indeed no longer felt that kind of loneliness.
Perhaps because he was currently in darkness, and Xie Yi did not respond, these memories surfaced again unconsciously.
But it was already different from before.
Lin Zhiji told himself that he now had a healthy body.
Although this body was temporary, as long as he completed the mission and returned to the transfer bureau, he would be able to obtain a real, his own, healthy body.
Lin Zhiji shook his head, forcing these memories out.
The urgent matter was to light the lamp first.
He walked toward the desk based on his memory, but bumped into something hard and warm.
He reached out and pressed it, and just as his fingertips touched fabric, he was grabbed.
Lin Zhiji hesitated: “Host?”
After a moment, the other person said: “It’s me.”
Lin Zhiji let out a breath of relief: “Why didn’t you make a sound? You scared me just now.”
Xie Yi had no trouble moving in the dark and quickly lit the lamp with a fire starter.
The room was bright again.
Lin Zhiji relaxed, then carefully observed Xie Yi’s expression.
It seemed the same as usual, with no abnormalities.
Maybe… he just didn’t hear it earlier?
Lin Zhiji comforted himself.
After all this trouble, he was also a bit sleepy, so he said to Xie Yi, “Host, let’s finish the mission first.”
After speaking, he yawned widely.
Because of this, he didn’t notice that Xie Yi’s gaze darkened, only for him to lower his eyes and conceal it again before Lin Zhiji looked over.
“Alright.” he said.
Lin Zhiji obediently opened his hands, tears from yawning still hanging at the corners of his eyes.
Xie Yi looked at him steadily for a moment before pulling him into his arms.
Xie Yi knew Lin Zhiji was hiding something from him.
But feeling the warm, soft body in his arms, the thought of exposing everything suddenly faded.
Forget it.
He thought he could step back half a pace for Lin Zhiji.
He would wait for Lin Zhiji to tell him the truth on his own.
—
The next morning, when Lin Zhiji woke up, he found Xie Yi was gone again.
He opened the mission list.
Main Mission Two was still there.
Very conspicuous, impossible to ignore.
After sleeping for a night, he still hadn’t thought of a solution.
So, how exactly was he supposed to “ease the relationship”?
What level even counted as “easing”?
This broken mission only issued tasks and didn’t give any rules at all.
Lin Zhiji frowned in distress as he thought.
Then Chen Ben patted his shoulder: “Brother Lin, do you have something on your mind? You’ve had a sour face all morning! Everyone’s been worried about you.”
Lin Zhiji looked up and saw many people were watching him with concern.
His heart warmed.
Then an idea struck him, and he asked Chen Ben: “Big Chief, I have a question I want to ask you.”
Chen Ben: “Ask away.”
Lin Zhiji: “It’s just… I have a friend…”
He paused. Fortunately, people in this era were still simple and didn’t know the “I have a friend” meme. Chen Ben even asked curiously: “Not someone in our stronghold, right? A friend from your past?”
“Uh… let’s say so.” Lin Zhiji scratched his head. “It’s like, my friend wants to ease the relationship between his friend and… his relative, but this relative previously did some bad things to my friend’s friend. But because of some reason, my friend must…”
Chen Ben was already getting dizzy from all the “friend”s, but still quickly grasped the point: “So you just want to ease the relationship, right!”
Lin Zhiji nodded rapidly like a chick pecking rice.
Chen Ben: “Ha, that’s easy!”
Easy?!
Lin Zhiji hadn’t expected the problem he had been struggling with for so long to be “easy” here.
“Yeah,” Chen Ben said. “Just have them give gifts!”
Lin Zhiji froze: “Give gifts?”
“Yeah! The more gifts the better—no one dislikes gifts,” Chen Ben said matter-of-factly. “If something can’t be solved, it just means the gift isn’t valuable enough…”
Lin Zhiji’s eyes lit up.
Right!
How did he not think of such a simple method earlier!
As long as he convinced Xie Yi to send gifts to the general’s residence, then it would count as easing the relationship—after all, gifts were sent!
Lin Zhiji instantly felt the world open up and his mind clear.
So, when Xie Yi returned, he saw Lin Zhiji standing at his door holding a plate of wild fruit, wearing an ingratiating smile.
Xie Yi knew Lin Zhiji well.
He rarely acted like this, so he must be asking for something.
But he didn’t care, and pushed the door open: “Come in and talk.”
Lin Zhiji quickly went inside and placed the plate on the table.
The fruits were picked from the mountains.
Although Qingzhou was remote, the mountains had abundant resources.
Lin Zhiji specially picked several that looked good and tasted sweet, even arranging them neatly into a fruit platter.
Now he eagerly recommended them: “Host, try these. They’re really sweet!”
Seeing Xie Yi’s gaze land on a red fruit, he quickly picked it up, peeled it himself, and placed it into Xie Yi’s hand with extremely attentive service.
However, Xie Yi did not eat it, simply watching him with an amused, knowing expression, waiting for him to reveal his true intention.
As expected, after praising the fruit for a while, Lin Zhiji pretended casually: “Such good wild fruit… there probably isn’t any like this in the capital, right?”
Xie Yi knew he liked to eat.
He thought Lin Zhiji was worried he wouldn’t be able to eat such fruit after returning to the capital, and said with a faint smile: “So what do you plan to do?”
Lin Zhiji tentatively said: “Then… would you send some to the general’s residence?”
The smile on Xie Yi’s face disappeared instantly.
Lin Zhiji was about to continue speaking when everything suddenly spun, and he was pressed onto the bed.
Xie Yi used one hand to pin both his wrists above his head.
His other hand moved downward, resting at his waist.
Xie Yi’s fingertips carried warmth, burning through the thin fabric onto Lin Zhiji’s sensitive skin.
He loomed over him, their distance extremely close.
Close enough that Lin Zhiji could feel his hot breath.
Xie Yi was like a mountain, firmly pressing him down so he could not move at all.
Lin Zhiji struggled uneasily, but it only made Xie Yi grip tighter.
“Mm…”
He frowned in pain.
But Xie Yi did not relent. At the same time, his hand at Lin Zhiji’s waist moved.
From the waist to the abdomen, then slowly upward, all the way to his chest.
Lin Zhiji looked at him in panic: “Ho-Host, what are you doing! I… we agreed…”
Xie Yi curled his lips into a slow, indifferent smile and used his fingertips to undo Lin Zhiji’s clothing ties.
Lin Zhiji:!!!
With the barrier of clothing gone, Xie Yi’s fingers touched Lin Zhiji’s collarbone.
Lin Zhiji instinctively shrank back, and a flushed red immediately spread across his neck, extending from his collarbone down to his chest along Xie Yi’s fingertips.
Lin Zhiji’s entire body went numb, his mind going completely blank.
Yet Xie Yi’s gaze remained extremely calm, completely unlike someone driven by desire.
He listened to Lin Zhiji’s rapid breathing and the chaotic heartbeat beneath his fingertips.
His gaze locked tightly onto Lin Zhiji’s face as he asked coldly: “Is this a new mission?”
Those words made Lin Zhiji shudder violently.
His already racing heartbeat surged to its peak, making him feel almost dizzy.
Exposed?!
No, wait!
Lin Zhiji suddenly realized.
Xie Yi didn’t know about the main mission—he probably thought this was a daily task.
His pounding heart eased slightly, and he went along with it: “Yes… yes, it’s a new mission. I-it’s about giving gifts to relatives…”
However, whether it was his heartbeat or his momentary pupil contraction—
All of it told Xie Yi that he was lying.
Xie Yi’s eyes turned cold.
Little liar.
Anger pushed to the extreme made him instead laugh softly. He pinched Lin Zhiji’s chin, forcing him to look up.
He lowered his voice slowly: “Did you forget? Asking me comes at a price.”
His fingers were like iron tongs, firmly controlling Lin Zhiji.
Warm breath fell on his lips, their breaths mingling—dangerous yet intimate.
It reminded Lin Zhiji of his lost first kiss.
No… no way…
But for Mission Two!
It was just a kiss, it wouldn’t lose a piece of flesh… and it wasn’t even the first time anyway…
Lin Zhiji gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and puckered his lips: “Come on.”
Because of this, he did not notice that after he agreed, Xie Yi’s expression instead became even worse.
He leaned down and kissed him almost roughly.
Grinding and pressing, with a fierce intensity as if he intended to swallow Lin Zhiji whole.
Lin Zhiji was kissed until he was dizzy, almost deprived of oxygen, before Xie Yi finally pulled away.
Lin Zhiji’s body went limp, his eyelashes wet with physiological tears, clumped together in a pitiful state.
His lips were even broken, his tongue faintly red, breathing in pain.
Xie Yi’s gaze deepened.
He reached out and brushed over the corner of Lin Zhiji’s injured lip.
“I agree.”
Lin Zhiji opened his eyes blankly, only then realizing Xie Yi was referring to sending gifts to the general’s residence.
“Re-really?”
“Mm.” Xie Yi said casually, “I just so happen to have a gift to send back to the general’s residence.”
The head of that insider.
It was the most suitable gift for Xie Pingyue.
Lin Zhiji let out a breath of relief.
Great! Mission completed!
Xie Yi looked at Lin Zhiji’s relaxed expression, narrowing his eyes.
Forget it.
If he didn’t want to say it, he would find the truth sooner or later anyway.
As long as he stayed by his side.
—
Lin Zhiji escaped back to his room and wrapped himself tightly in a blanket.
His mouth hurt, his wrists hurt, and his head was buzzing.
All for this mission—he had really paid too much!!!
He bumped the bedboard in frustration.
Tonight’s Xie Yi was too terrifying, too dangerous.
He had just lost his first kiss—he wouldn’t lose his first time next, would he?
At the thought of this, Lin Zhiji became extremely alarmed.
No!
A straight man’s butt is his last dignity!
This absolutely cannot continue!!!
So the next morning, he got up early. After Xie Yi left the room, he immediately followed out as well.
During this period, he had been busy teaching the people of the Qilin stronghold to make cement, but he hadn’t been idle with other matters either.
Through continuous experimentation, he discovered that as long as he was about 100 meters away from Xie Yi and not within his line of sight, 03 could send a signal.
Based on the distance from their previous meeting, he further estimated that if he was about 500 meters away from Xie Yi, he would be able to make contact with 03.
He had previously asked Chen Ben to help measure the distance from the stronghold to the back mountain; the straight-line distance to the limestone quarry area was roughly 500 meters.
Recently, Xie Yi had been unusually busy—leaving early in the morning and sometimes not returning until night. He had plenty of time.
Lin Zhiji carefully made his way toward the back mountain.
Because they had recently begun transporting limestone, this path had been slightly improved and was much easier to walk.
Even so, Lin Zhiji still fell several times before finally reaching the limestone quarry area.
By now, quite a few people were already working there.
Lin Zhiji quietly circled around them, and not long after, he indeed heard a familiar voice—but it sounded somewhat angry.
【047!! You finally came to find me!!】
Lin Zhiji felt a bit awkward.
Recently, he had been testing the safe distance with 03, but worried about being discovered, he would immediately withdraw as soon as he saw 03’s signal.
03’s signals had gone from calm at the beginning to increasingly irritable later on.
Lin Zhiji could even sense its growing frustration.
However, before he could even apologize, 03 spoke rapidly and seriously:
【047!! Did something happen? Is it related to the villain? Or to other plot characters?】
【Uh, it’s like this.】 Lin Zhiji hesitated. 【I just want to ask… Xie Yi… mm…】
03 became fully alert.
Lin Zhiji: 【Is Xie Yi… gay?】
03: ………?