After Xiao left, Xiao Yuan also had something to attend to and temporarily departed, leaving Chi Banyue to accompany Xia Lanshi.
The tent was quiet for a long while.
Xia Lanshi leaned against the headboard, his fingertips gently brushing over the white jade peace buckle, as though he had something on his mind.
Chi Banyue sat beside him, peeling a pear.
She peeled it very slowly, one circle after another.
Yet her eyes kept stealing glances at Xia Lanshi from time to time.
At last, Xia Lanshi put down the peace buckle and said lightly, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Chi Banyue smiled.
“Your heart is in turmoil.”
Xia Lanshi paused.
“No.”
Chi Banyue snorted.
“You stared blankly at that person’s departing back for almost half a quarter of an hour.”
Xia Lanshi: “……”
Chi Banyue handed over a plate of sliced pears.
Xia Lanshi accepted it, but had little appetite. He only tasted one piece before setting it down again.
He was not unfamiliar with the name Xiao. He had already learned from Xiao Yuan that this person was a subordinate hired by Su Muchen.
This person was unfathomably mysterious. The fact that he could even travel through time and space to arrive here showed that he was anything but ordinary.
Today’s encounter had only been brief, but after hearing Chi Banyue’s analysis, it further proved that this person was far from simple.
But that was not what was troubling his heart at this moment.
From Chi Banyue’s hints, it seemed she was saying that Xiao was the person who had saved him back then.
But… how was that possible?
Their brief contact today had made him feel that Xiao had merely come to check his condition as though going through the motions of a job, then retrieve the artifact.
That person’s gaze had been far too cold and unfamiliar. He absolutely could not be the benefactor who had risked himself to rescue him from the Xia family back then.
Much less could he be the person who had given him the white jade peace buckle.
Moreover, Xiao was a person from another world. What reason could he possibly have to travel through time and space to save a stranger he had never met?
Chi Banyue must have gotten it wrong.
But then… why was his heart in such turmoil?
“Xia Lanshi.”
She rarely called his name so seriously.
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes slightly.
Chi Banyue said, “If it really is him, what are you going to do?”
Xia Lanshi froze.
…What would he do?
He had searched for that person for so many years and thought about him for so many years.
If one day he truly stood before that person, he actually did not know what he should do.
After a long while, he said quietly, “At the very least, I should thank him in person and offer him a gift of gratitude.”
He admitted that toward this benefactor, he still harbored some unnecessary feelings and fantasies.
What if that person really was Xiao?
He had to admit that Xiao was indeed handsome, tall, and well-built. His unusual clothing somehow complemented his figure perfectly, while his pair of eyes were deep as a pool.
His voice sounded pleasant too, though he always spoke with barbs, making it difficult for Xia Lanshi to properly express his gratitude.
He did not know what to do now either.
Besides, there was no evidence proving that Xiao was the person who had rescued him back then.
Chi Banyue looked at him and suddenly smiled.
“Hm? Just a thank-you and a gift of gratitude?”
Xia Lanshi fell silent and glanced at Chi Banyue, knowing all too well that she merely wanted to watch the show.
The smile in Chi Banyue’s eyes deepened.
She knew Xia Lanshi too well.
If it had merely been a life-saving favor, it would not have caused someone to remember him for more than ten years, much less reveal such an expression whenever he was mentioned.
It was just that there were some things Xia Lanshi himself had not figured out yet, so naturally, she would not expose them.
Thus, she changed the subject.
“But seriously, setting aside that mouth of his, this person really is handsome, and tall too.”
Xia Lanshi’s fingertips tightened slightly.
“It’s merely skin. What matters about a person is what lies within.”
Chi Banyue propped up her chin.
“Oh? Really?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I saw how your eyes were glued to him at the time, like they were stuck there with sugar.”
Xia Lanshi was choked by those words and could not help coughing.
“Cough, cough… You’re talking nonsense. I was… cough…”
Seeing that she had teased him too much, Chi Banyue hurriedly patted his back and quickly handed him warm water.
“All right, all right, I’m not teasing you anymore. Why are you getting so worked up? You don’t look like your usual calm self at all.”
Xia Lanshi finally managed to stop coughing, only to hear Chi Banyue continue.
“But I think he doesn’t seem completely indifferent toward you either.”
“……”
Chi Banyue recalled the way Xiao had looked while giving him emergency treatment.
From the moment that person appeared, he had been frighteningly calm, like a blade hidden inside its sheath.
Until he saw the peace buckle on Xia Lanshi’s wrist.
That momentary loss of composure.
And the complicated emotions that had faintly surfaced in his eyes.
She felt that this was not merely Xia Lanshi’s one-sided affair.
Chi Banyue asked, “How much do you still remember about what happened back then?”
Xia Lanshi carefully recalled it. Aside from some vague memories and that peace buckle, he did not remember much else.
After all, he had been young and seriously ill at the time.
Suddenly, he remembered the scene in his dream when he had been on the verge of death. That dream had felt incredibly real. Most likely, it had been a memory from his childhood.
“That person… suffered a knife wound on the back while protecting me. The wound was deep. It may have left a scar.”
He carefully recalled the scene from his dream, searching for clues.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
“I also saw a flower-shaped mark on his back.”
A knife wound alone might be difficult to identify him by, but not everyone had that flower-shaped mark.
Chi Banyue pondered for a moment before saying, “That’s easy enough. Ask Doctor Su to help. Strip his clothes and check.”
The moment Xia Lanshi heard this, he immediately exclaimed, “How could we!”
His shout pulled at his throat, and he immediately began coughing violently again.
The coughing startled Xiao Yuan, who was returning outside.
He lifted a hand and swept aside the tent flap, his gaze passing over Chi Banyue as though questioning how she had been taking care of the patient.
“I’ll go get the doctor.”
Chi Banyue immediately found an excuse to escape.
The tent suddenly fell silent, leaving only Xia Lanshi’s coughing.
◆◇◆◇◆
Returning Dust Pavilion.
The white light faded.
Xiao walked out carrying the silver-gray case.
Su Muchen was sitting behind the counter, sorting medicines.
Seeing him return, he merely glanced over and asked, “What happened?”
Xiao stopped walking.
“What?”
“Has Xia Lanshi’s condition not improved?”
Xiao was silent for two seconds before answering, “Very well. Well enough to have the energy to mock people.”
Su Muchen was surprised.
What surprised him was not Xia Lanshi’s condition. From their previous correspondence, he had always thought Xia Lanshi was a refined and gentle person.
But why did it seem that he was not like that at all now?
“Did you two argue?”
Xiao: “…No.”
Su Muchen added another blow.
“Then why do you look like you’re in a bad mood?”
Xiao froze for a moment.
He had thought he had hidden it quite well. He had not expected Su Muchen to notice.
Su Muchen put down his pen and looked at him for a moment before suddenly saying,
“Xia Lanshi is very important to you.”
It was not a question, but a statement.
The previous time Xia Lanshi had been kidnapped, Xiao had gone to rescue him.
This time, Xia Lanshi had been poisoned and was on the verge of death, and Xiao had once again risked the backlash to save him.
It was obvious that Xiao did not merely know Xia Lanshi. He was someone Xiao was willing to pay a price to protect.
The smile on Xiao’s face faded slightly.
He neither denied nor admitted it.
He merely walked over to the table and sat down.
“Muchen.”
“Hmm?”
“There are some things that are better left unexplored.”
Su Muchen frowned.
He had heard that sentence too many times.
From Xiao.
From the ancient texts.
Even from the door itself.
However, he was not the sort of person who liked to keep asking questions until he got to the bottom of everything. He knew that everything had to be handled with restraint, and he also understood that knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.
Moreover, this was Xiao’s private affair. Between him and Xiao, they could not exactly be called friends. At most, they had an employer relationship.
The bronze ring on the door suddenly trembled lightly.
The two of them looked up at the same time.
The familiar white light illuminated the room.
Xiao Yuan walked out, holding a folded sheet of paper.
“Translation.”
Su Muchen froze for a moment before immediately understanding.
It was the translation of the first section of the Su family’s ancient text.
He immediately took the paper.
He only glanced at it once before freezing.
There were only a few short lines on the paper, yet they made a chill run down his spine.
—The door is not a passage.
—When the key is activated, the fates of the two worlds become connected.
—Imperial blood holds the door.
—The blood of the Su clan opens the door.
—Neither may be lacking.
Su Muchen raised his head.
“What does this mean?”
Xiao Yuan pointed at “imperial blood” and said, “This should refer to my clan’s bloodline.”
He then pointed at “the blood of the Su clan.”
“And this is you.”
The door was now connected because of the two of them, allowing the worlds to communicate.
His gaze then sharpened as he said solemnly, “Under no circumstances can we let anyone else know about this.”
“Why?” Su Muchen asked.
“Because you may be captured and used as the key to open the door.”
Xiao Yuan spoke coldly.
He thought of Sheng Chengxiu, who had constantly been pestering Su Muchen. Perhaps that person knew something.
But since he had not directly acted against Su Muchen yet, perhaps he had some reservations, or perhaps he simply did not know much.
Regardless, if this secret became known to the world, Xiao Yuan did not dare imagine what would happen to Su Muchen.
Su Muchen finally realized that his situation was dangerous as well, and a chill ran down his spine.
Before, he had merely thought that this door could help him repay his debts.
Now, it seemed that the situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.
No wonder Xiao had always hidden so many things from him and refused to let him know too much.
He was now one step closer to the truth.
And that truth was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
But there were some things he had to know before he could figure out how to deal with them.
“Muchen,” Xiao Yuan looked at him. “Do you trust me?”
“…?”
Su Muchen thought about it.
Although they had not known each other for very long, Xiao Yuan was a man who kept his word. He honored every promise he made and had never once broken one.
Thus, he nodded.
“I trust you.”
The corner of Xiao Yuan’s lips lifted almost imperceptibly before he restrained the expression.
“Then entrust the Su family’s ancient text to me. I will read it, then tell you its contents.”
“Okay.”
Su Muchen went to retrieve the ancient text without the slightest hesitation.
After he left, Xiao Yuan looked at Xiao.
“You shouldn’t have any objections, right?”
Xiao shrugged indifferently.
“My only duty is to guard the door and prevent people from abusing it. As long as it doesn’t violate the rules, I’m fine with it.”
“Then crossing the door to save Xia Lanshi wasn’t a violation?”
“It was. That’s why I paid the price.”
Xiao undid his cufflink and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a faint circle of black markings around his wrist, resembling some kind of eerie door pattern.
Originally, these black markings had only been on his wrist.
Now, they had spread somewhat toward his elbow.
Seeing this, Xiao Yuan asked again, “What effect will this have on you?”
“When these black markings cover my entire body, I’ll have to say goodbye to this world.”
Xiao said it extremely casually, as though it had nothing to do with him.
Xiao Yuan knew that this was the price for violating the rules.
And it was a price Xiao had paid to save Xia Lanshi.
He cupped his hands and gave a slight bow.
“You saved Xia Lanshi, which means you also saved me. Once the gift of gratitude is prepared, I will bring it over.”
Xiao waved his hand, refusing.
“No need. Keep the gold for Muchen. I’m not short of money, and there is nothing I want.”
At this moment, Su Muchen had already returned with the ancient text.
He handed it to Xiao Yuan.
“Don’t lose it. There’s only this one copy. I don’t even dare copy it now.”
He had originally wanted to photograph it, but he was afraid the cloud storage might be hacked and his phone stolen.
He had originally wanted to make a copy by hand, but was afraid that one day Sheng Yancheng’s people might steal it.
Now that he was handing it to Xiao Yuan, at least Sheng Yancheng would not be able to get his hands on it.
“Of course. Once I have finished examining it, I will tell you the contents.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you.”
Xiao Yuan then returned to Dasheng.
◆◇◆◇◆
At the same time, the Eastern Palace in the capital.
A secret letter from Linzhou was placed on the desk.
After reading it, Crown Prince Xiao Sheng was so furious that he remained silent for a long time.
Zhou Jin was dead.
But Xia Lanshi had not died, and Xiao Yuan was still alive.
Everything was developing in the direction he least wanted to see.
He vaguely sensed that something was wrong, as though someone was helping Xiao Yuan from behind the scenes.
Otherwise, Xia Lanshi should have been certain to die.
Previously, when he had ordered people to abduct and kill Xia Lanshi, someone had also arrived before Xiao Yuan and rescued him.
It should have been a certain death situation, yet Xiao Yuan had repeatedly turned danger into safety.
Moreover, he had received intelligence that Xiao Yuan had obtained some strange supplies through overseas merchants and had successfully controlled the spread of the epidemic through his planning.
Although Xia Lanshi was intelligent, he sensed that there was another pair of hands behind the scenes controlling the situation.
After a while.
He suddenly laughed.
The smile was cold, with a hint of madness.
“Interesting.”
He held the letter over the candle flame.
The flames quickly consumed the writing.
“I want to see just how long you can survive.”
Under the firelight, his eyes were as gloomy as an abyss.
And a new game of chess was quietly unfolding in the darkness.
He did not merely want Xiao Yuan dead.
He wanted Xia Lanshi dead as well.
And he wanted that person behind the scenes dead too.