As he sealed the last box of books with tape, the afternoon sunlight happened to slant through the old window of the apartment he rented, falling along the edge of the cardboard box.
Su Muchen crouched on the floor and glanced around the room where he had lived for several years.
It wasn’t large. There wasn’t much furniture, and there was even a crack in the corner of the wall that had already been there when he moved in.
It was far from the city center, there was no elevator, and the rent was cheap.
He had originally thought he would stay here until he found a stable position at a hospital.
But plans could never keep up with change.
One rainy night.
One plane crash.
His life had veered off its original track.
After taking over Guichen Studio, so many things had happened. Yet he had still kept thinking that once everything was over, he would return here, go back to his old life, and return to working at a hospital.
That was why he had never given up the apartment.
Until now, when he finally realized that he couldn’t go back anymore.
He no longer planned to return to the hospital, at least not in the short term.
He had decided to devote his time to Guichen Studio, to the supplies that came through the Door, to the medical records that required regular follow-ups, and…
To Xiao Yuan.
He intended to officially make Guichen Studio his home.
Making that decision had not been easy.
It meant giving up the ideal he had once held and letting all the years he had invested in it come to nothing.
But now, there were people and things more important than his ideal.
So he could let it go.
He no longer felt the intense frustration and regret he once had.
It wasn’t because he had resigned himself to his fate.
It was because he had found something more important.
This was his own choice.
He stood up, dusted off his knees, picked up the final box of books, and carried it downstairs.
Xiao was standing downstairs, leaning against the car door while looking down at his phone.
When he saw Su Muchen come out carrying the box, he put his phone into his pocket, walked over, and reached out to take it.
“How many boxes are left?” Xiao asked.
“None,” Su Muchen said.
“You really don’t have much stuff.”
Xiao carried the box toward the trunk. There was a hint of emotion in his voice, but no teasing.
“You’ve lived here for years, and this is all you’ve got?”
“Most of my things have already been moved over. I only left some things I don’t use often here.”
Su Muchen followed behind him.
After walking down several flights of stairs, he was already breathing heavily.
Xiao didn’t ask anything else.
He loaded the box into the trunk.
There weren’t many boxes in total.
Exactly ten, plus a small bookcase.
After everything was loaded, Su Muchen took one last look at the place where he had lived for several years.
The apartment had already been cleaned and restored to its original condition, and he had returned the keys to the landlord.
He didn’t look back again.
He followed Xiao and drove everything to Guichen Studio.
Xiao handled unloading the things from the car, while Su Muchen carried the boxes one by one into Guichen Studio.
But he was simply too slow.
After carrying only a couple of boxes, he was already panting.
Xiao couldn’t stand watching anymore and simply took over.
It was faster that way.
Su Muchen watched as Xiao effortlessly picked up two boxes of books at once, as though they weighed nothing at all.
He couldn’t help silently thinking that he really ought to start exercising.
The rooms at Guichen Studio were neither too large nor too small.
Small as the place was, it had everything.
A bed, desk and chairs, wardrobe, and bookshelves.
Fortunately, he didn’t have much stuff either. He just needed some time to organize it all.
By the time Xiao carried the boxes upstairs, Su Muchen had already begun opening them and sorting through his things.
Xiao suddenly seemed to remember something.
He took an access card from his pocket and handed it to Su Muchen.
The card was dark gray, with no markings or numbers on the edges. It looked like an ordinary access card.
Su Muchen looked up at Xiao in confusion.
“What is this?”
He took it and looked down at the card.
“The spare key to my place.”
Xiao’s tone was casual, as though he were mentioning some ordinary everyday matter.
“Top floor of an old apartment building in the old city. You know where it is. If anything happens, at least that place is safe.”
Su Muchen stared at the card in his hand for a moment.
He had never been to Xiao’s place, but he knew the address and floor.
He wasn’t sure why Xiao had suddenly decided to give him a spare key. He simply assumed Xiao was being cautious and had thought things through more thoroughly than most people.
So he slipped it into his pocket.
“Got it,” Su Muchen said casually, then continued unpacking.
Xiao turned and went downstairs to move the remaining boxes.
As he passed through the first floor, his gaze swept across the hallway before he stopped.
Xiao Yuan came from the direction of the back room.
He rarely came out during the day.
His gaze passed over Xiao and landed on the several boxes still sitting on the first floor.
“Where’s Muan?” Xiao Yuan asked.
“Upstairs.”
Xiao spoke as he headed downstairs.
“Moving today.”
He picked up another box and carried it upstairs.
Hearing the voices, Su Muchen came down the stairs.
He saw Xiao Yuan standing on the first floor, looking at the empty boxes.
“Oh, you’re here.”
“Mm. I’m early today.”
Xiao Yuan then asked,
“Moving?”
“I’m going to live at Guichen Studio from now on. I ended the lease today and moved everything over.”
Su Muchen’s tone was calm, as though he were simply explaining a decision he had been thinking about for a long time.
Xiao Yuan’s gaze remained on his face for a moment.
He understood.
Su Muchen intended to make this his long-term home.
That meant he wasn’t leaving.
He would be focusing his life here.
Xiao Yuan immediately picked up two of the boxes and carried them upstairs.
Su Muchen had wanted to say something.
Having a prince help him move was simply too embarrassing.
But then again, he seemed to have already made Xiao Yuan carry quite a lot of supplies by now.
So he kept his mouth shut and silently picked up the last remaining box—the lightest one.
Once everything had been moved, Su Muchen turned and walked into the back kitchen.
The sound of running water and the faint clinking of cups drifted out from inside.
Not long afterward, a familiar aroma that often filled Guichen Studio wafted through the room.
A moment later, Su Muchen came out carrying three glass cups.
A thin layer of condensation covered the glass, as though the cups had just been taken out of water.
Dark-brown liquid swayed gently inside, with several transparent ice cubes floating on top, reflecting a cool sheen beneath the lights.
He placed one cup in front of Xiao first.
Xiao said nothing when he took it, simply raising it and taking a sip.
Then Su Muchen placed another cup in front of Xiao Yuan and pushed it toward him.
“Iced Americano. Try it.”
Xiao Yuan lowered his gaze to the brown liquid that looked almost like medicine.
He recognized the drink.
He had seen Xiao and Su Muchen drinking it many times at Guichen Studio.
Every time he came, each of them would have a cup in hand, as though they were participating in some kind of everyday ritual that he had never been part of.
But he had never tried it.
Su Muchen had always prepared hot tea for him.
He reached out and picked up the cup.
The cool sensation seeped into his fingertips.
It was different from the cold of the Northern Border.
The coolness here was damp.
He smelled it.
It was that distinctive scent he often noticed inside Guichen Studio.
There was something slightly bitter about it, a roasted fragrance that slowly spread through the old-wood scent of the studio.
It wasn’t tea.
It wasn’t medicine.
And it wasn’t any beverage from the Northern Border that he was familiar with.
He raised the cup to his lips and took a small sip.
The bitterness came first.
Not the bitterness of medicine.
This was more direct, more distinct.
Then came the coolness.
The temperature of the ice contained the bitterness, preventing it from spreading.
Finally, a faint sourness remained, like an aftertaste he had not yet learned how to name.
He didn’t frown.
Nor did he immediately put the cup down.
He simply took another sip, as though confirming something.
The bitterness was not a kind he was accustomed to.
The bitterness of the Northern Border was usually something real.
Hunger.
Wounds.
Nights spent waiting for rescue in the snow.
But in this drink, bitterness was merely a flavor.
It carried no weight.
When he set the cup down, he considered how he should evaluate it.
There was a thoughtful pause in his voice.
“The flavor… is very unusual.”
It was difficult to call the drink good, yet Su Muchen and Xiao drank it frequently.
He found that somewhat difficult to understand.
Su Muchen took a sip from his own cup and glanced at Xiao Yuan.
“If you’re not used to it, you can add sugar or milk.”
Xiao added lazily from the side,
“I’d recommend drinking it black first. Eventually, you’ll realize that bitterness is the essence of coffee.”
He took another sip, as though providing evidence for his own argument.
Xiao Yuan took another sip.
He stored those words away in his mind along with the lingering bitterness between his lips and teeth.
“What does it feel like the first time you drink it?”
Su Muchen asked.
There was the neutral tone doctors habitually used.
He wasn’t asking, “Do you like it?”
He was collecting response data.
Xiao Yuan thought for a moment.
“At first, it was bitter. After that… I’m not really sure.”
“That’s normal.”
Su Muchen took the empty cup from in front of him and placed it on the counter, as though preparing to give him a routine explanation.
“This drink is called coffee. Its main active component is something called caffeine. Simply put, it keeps your nervous system alert.”
He paused, realizing that he had probably made it sound too academic.
Xiao Yuan might not understand.
So he changed to a more straightforward explanation.
“Basically, drinking it makes you less likely to feel sleepy. It’s helpful in situations where you need to stay awake for a long time.”
Xiao Yuan nodded slightly.
Now he understood why Su Muchen and Xiao drank it so often.
In his mind, he compared the effect to night watches and forced marches in the Northern Border.
“Sounds like something quite useful.”
He considered whether he should take some back to the Northern Border.
“But there are a few things you need to remember.”
Su Muchen held up one finger.
“First, don’t drink it on an empty stomach. Especially since your mealtimes aren’t regular. Drinking it when there’s nothing in your stomach can easily make you feel uncomfortable.”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze shifted slightly.
“Second, don’t drink it too late.”
Su Muchen continued,
“Drinking it at this time is fine because we still have supplies to organize. But if it’s already close to bedtime, the caffeine can keep you from falling asleep and affect your rest.”
He glanced at Xiao Yuan.
“You already sleep very little. You don’t need another reason to have trouble sleeping.”
Xiao Yuan did not deny it.
He really did sleep very little, and he knew that Su Muchen had always been trying to find ways to make him sleep more.
“Third,” Su Muchen said, “too much isn’t good either. One or two cups a day is enough.”
Su Muchen thought for a moment to see if there was anything else he needed to mention.
Then he added,
“And Xia Lanshi can’t drink it.”
The fact that Xia Lanshi was a White Child himself wasn’t the issue.
He had always been physically frail and frequently ill, and caffeine would place additional strain on his constitution.
Xiao Yuan listened quietly, as though he were listening to medical instructions he needed to remember.
Then he repeated them softly.
Watching him recite the instructions, Su Muchen couldn’t help the slight curve at the corner of his lips.
“You’re actually memorizing them?”
“If I remember them incorrectly, you’ll make me write another sheet of precautions.”
Su Muchen froze for a moment.
Then he remembered that he really did have a habit of writing out precautions before handing them over.
He neither denied nor admitted it.
He simply turned around and placed the cup in the sink.
“You certainly remember everything clearly.”
Xiao Yuan watched his back.
He didn’t say what he was thinking.
Because you keep every sheet you write.
Now Su Muchen was facing him as naturally as always, without avoiding him.
Even if, in the end, Su Muchen could never accept him, Xiao Yuan felt that being able to remain like this was enough.
These ordinary little moments were a brief place of peace and relaxation for him.
Condensation slowly slid down the side of the glass, leaving a trail of water on the wooden tabletop.
Within that ring of moisture, the warm yellow lights of Guichen Studio were reflected, like a tiny piece of time frozen in place.
The bitterness still lingered on his tongue, carrying a flavor he had not yet fully understood.
Then Xiao Yuan took three keys from inside his clothes and placed them on the counter.
Two were black.
The other was an exquisite dark key, its surface carved with extremely fine patterns. A black cord and matching tassel were tied to it, along with a jade violet-violetite peace buckle.
“This is…”
Su Muchen lowered his gaze to the three keys.
“These are the keys to the hidden door of the sacrificial storage room.”
Xiao Yuan pointed at the black key.
“You’ll need them to enter and leave the underground ancient Door space.”
He raised his head and looked at Su Muchen and Xiao.
“One for each of you. It’ll make coming and going easier in the future.”
As he spoke, he handed the keys to them.
It was a heavy black key.
The handle was shaped like a silver wolf’s head.
Its ears stood upright, its wolf muzzle slightly open, without any unnecessary ornamentation.
The wolf’s head was cast in dark silver, its surface polished smooth. Under the light, it reflected a pale silver-gray sheen, like the trace of moonlight falling across old silverware.
Tiny pieces of obsidian were set into the wolf’s eyes.
The deep black absorbed the surrounding light, leaving behind barely visible glimmers.
The body of the key extended from the wolf’s mouth, made of matte-black dark iron, like a silver wolf carrying a key in its jaws.
A thin black braided cord passed through the end of the key handle.
Without needing to say it, the sacrificial storage room was not merely a checkpoint leading to the underground ancient Door.
It also concealed Xiao Yuan’s enormous secret—
A massive underground military warehouse.
And yet Xiao Yuan had handed that secret to them.
It represented an enormous amount of trust.
Xiao held the key, his expression somewhat complicated.
He didn’t actually need it.
Unlike the Door Key, as a gatekeeper, he could travel to Dasheng without passing through the underground ancient Door, as long as he was willing to pay a sufficient price.
Xiao Yuan knew this.
But he had still given him the key.
It seemed more like a heavier symbol.
The silver wolf was the symbol of Prince Su.
Although this key was not the Silver Wolf Token, it could still exercise certain privileges to a limited extent.
Before he could speak, Xiao Yuan seemed to have already understood his thoughts.
“Keep it.”
Xiao didn’t say anything more.
He simply lowered his voice.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
And accepted the key.
Then Xiao Yuan handed the dark key to Su Muchen.
“This is the key to the main residence in the west courtyard of the regional headquarters.”
Su Muchen looked at him, still not quite understanding.
Xiao Yuan offered no further explanation.
He only added,
“From now on, you’re the master of the west courtyard. When you come to the Northern Border, you can stay there.”
Su Muchen was silent for a while.
The rear courtyard of the Northern Border regional headquarters was where Xiao Yuan currently lived.
Only the people he trusted most were allowed to live there.
And now Xiao Yuan had given the entire west courtyard to him.
Su Muchen lowered his head and looked at the two keys gleaming faintly beneath the lights.
He could feel the tips of his fingers growing slightly warm.
He hadn’t truly opened the Door yet.
He was still practicing.
Still learning.
Still feeling his way forward.
But Xiao Yuan had already prepared a place for him.
Already prepared the keys.
As though saying:
Whether you’re ready or not, there will always be a place here for you.
Su Muchen felt that what he was holding wasn’t merely a set of keys.
It was something more like the sense of belonging he had only recently found.
Here, at Guichen Studio.
And in the west courtyard of the Northern Border.
He had never had a home that truly belonged to him.
And suddenly, he had so many places he could go.
One was Xiao’s fortress.
One was Guichen Studio, with its Door leading to another world.
And one was the west courtyard at the Northern Border regional headquarters, a place he had never even seen.
There were people waiting for him in all of them.
“Thank you.”
He raised his head, a rare, sincere smile appearing on his face.
“Thank you, both of you.”
The sunlight outside had shifted, bathing Guichen Studio in warm gold.
He remembered how, a long time ago, when Su Jiancheng had thrown him out of the house, he hadn’t even known where to go.
Back then, he had no key.
No place to return to.
Only an address that no longer belonged to him.
And now, he had more keys than he had ever had before.
He looked up at Xiao Yuan, a faint curve at the corners of his lips.
Xiao Yuan returned his gaze without needing to say a word.
“…Ahem.”
A light cough brought both of them back to reality.
Xiao Yuan turned toward Xiao.
The other man’s face was expressionless, his scrutinizing gaze unchanged.
“I came here today not only to deliver the keys, but also to confirm your plan.”
Xiao Yuan’s expression returned to its usual seriousness.
He had to ensure the plan was foolproof.
And ensure Su Muchen’s safety.
Xiao turned his gaze toward Su Muchen.
“Muan, go upstairs and finish organizing your things.”
“……”
Su Muchen could clearly tell that Xiao didn’t want him involved too deeply in this matter.
He wanted to say something, but the affairs of the gatekeeper were not something he could participate in.
“Okay. I’ll go upstairs first. Take your time.”
With that, Su Muchen went upstairs.
Leaving the space to Xiao and Xiao Yuan.
Guichen Studio fell quiet again.
Xiao took out his tablet and swiped several times.
A password-entry screen appeared.
He entered a string of numbers with practiced ease, and the entire display abruptly changed from light to a black interface.
He laid the tablet flat on the table.
Xiao Yuan lowered his gaze.
The screen had a black background covered with countless intersecting lines and numerous marked points.
He had seen this diagram before.
It was the map of the area around Guichen Studio that Su Muchen had once shown him.
The marked points came in different colors and shapes.
Some points of light flickered on and off, as though they were actively operating.
He recognized it at a glance.
It was a defensive deployment map.
“Yesterday, I sent him a letter. I used the three-month trial period as bait to get Sheng Chengxiu to bite and lure him here.”
Xiao gave a brief explanation.
“Will he bite?” Xiao Yuan asked.
“He will.”
Xiao tapped his fingers twice against the counter.
“Sheng Chengxiu is the most persistent member of the Sheng family across all its generations. He knows there will be a trap here. He knows he might die. But he’ll definitely come.”
Xiao Yuan nodded in agreement.
An ordinary person would have given up after several failures.
But Sheng Chengxiu had never given up.
“You’re not luring Sheng Chengxiu here simply to kill him.”
If Xiao could have killed him directly, he would have done so long ago.
The rules of this world were far more complicated than those of Dasheng.
“That’s right. Killing him directly would cause trouble, especially because of Sheng Chengxiu and his family.”
Xiao couldn’t help giving a bitter little laugh.
“And Sheng Chengxiu will definitely have a contingency plan. But he’s too dangerous. We can’t keep letting him act unchecked. We have to make him stop, using the gatekeeper’s ‘method.'”
Xiao did not explain what that “method” was.
But Xiao Yuan sensed that it was not anything good.
That was why Xiao had deliberately sent Su Muchen upstairs.
“How high is the risk of this plan?”
Xiao Yuan continued asking.
That was what he truly wanted to confirm.
Xiao was silent for a while.
Of course he had calculated the risks involved at every stage and in every step.
The answer was obvious.
“Very high. Casualties are unavoidable.”
In the end, he gave the answer succinctly.
“Guichen Studio isn’t large, so Sheng Chengxiu can only use a small team of elites. But this is the location the gatekeeper knows best, which gives us the greatest advantage. Once the fighting starts, though, there’s no way to avoid bloodshed.”
Xiao Yuan’s brows drew together slightly.
He understood as well.
When two sides fought, there was no way to guarantee that everyone would emerge completely unharmed.
And that included Xiao.
“Your Highness doesn’t need to worry about Muan. When the time comes, I’ll keep him somewhere safe and have people guard him.”
Xiao thought Xiao Yuan was worried about Su Muchen’s safety.
But Xiao Yuan merely looked at him and said,
“I know you’ll protect Muan. But what about you?”
Xiao froze slightly.
He hadn’t expected Xiao Yuan to worry about his safety as well.
“Your Highness needn’t worry about me either.”
Xiao smiled easily, his tone relaxed.
“I’ll make all the necessary preparations. Besides… the gatekeeper doesn’t necessarily have to be me. The Su family has trained many gatekeeper candidates. Any one of them can replace me.”
His tone was indifferent.
But to Xiao Yuan’s ears, it wasn’t that simple.
Xiao didn’t understand what he meant.
Xiao Yuan fell silent.
He quietly looked at the man before him.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
“Have you always thought of yourself this way?”
Xiao didn’t answer.
There was a trace of confusion in his eyes.
Everything he did seemed natural to him.
It had always been that way.
It was still that way now.
A gatekeeper didn’t need many desires.
The answer was already obvious.
Xiao Yuan withdrew his gaze.
Slowly, he said,
“There are also many people in the Northern Border Army who can replace me.”
He raised his eyes.
“A deputy general can command the army in my place. A chief aide can handle affairs in my place. A commander can direct the battle in my place. There are even other princes in the imperial family.”
He paused.
“So I can die too?”
Xiao’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Your Highness is different.”
“How?”
Xiao Yuan gave him no time to think.
“If I die, someone else will naturally take my place. How is that any different from what you just said?”
Xiao was momentarily speechless.
He didn’t know how to explain it.
“Whether a person can be replaced and whether that person deserves to die are two different things.”
Xiao Yuan’s tone was more serious than usual.
“There are new recruits joining the army every day. But I’ve never ordered someone to their death simply because there was someone else who could fill the gap.”
The shop fell silent.
A breeze entered through the open window, and the copper bell on the door gave a faint chime.
Xiao Yuan spoke earnestly.
“That gatekeeper candidates can replace you is an arrangement made by the Su family. It is not a reason for you to go to your death.”
Xiao stared at him for a moment.
Then lowered his eyes to the defensive map on the tablet.
He said nothing.
Xiao Yuan remembered what Xia Lanshi had once said:
“Young Master Xiao may have difficulties he cannot speak of.”
He remembered seeing the black markings on Xiao’s wrist and hearing him say,
“If I don’t follow the rules, I’ll receive an even more severe punishment than this.”
Xiao was still hiding something important.
But he couldn’t speak of it.
That secret would probably be something Xiao intended to take to his grave.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuan’s tone softened slightly.
“I don’t know what else you’re hiding. And I don’t know why you always put yourself last. But there’s one thing you should remember.”
Xiao finally raised his head.
Xiao Yuan met his gaze.
Word by word, he said,
“If you die this time, Muan will never forgive you.”
The words struck like an arrow.
Xiao’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Xiao Yuan knew.
Su Muchen was now the only person who could truly influence the man in front of him.
So he didn’t say, “I don’t want you to die.”
Nor did he say, “The Su family needs you.”
Instead, he gave him the cruelest, most truthful thing he could say.
“If you die, he’ll blame himself for the rest of his life.”
Xiao’s fingers tightened slightly.
Suddenly, countless scenes came back to him.
Not from the distant past.
Not from before.
But from the “memories” of these past few months.
He knew that he treated Su Muchen exceptionally well.
Not because Su Muchen was the Door Key, the last direct descendant of the Su family.
Nor because Su Muchen was his cousin.
But because of something else.
He had never liked Guichen Studio.
In fact, he had hated it.
He had felt that it bound him and forced him to live like something less than a person.
But because Su Muchen was here, that feeling had gradually faded.
Because he knew that inside Guichen Studio, there was someone who treated him like a human being.
Someone who worried when he was injured.
Someone who cared whether he had eaten.
Such ordinary things were, in fact, his smallest wishes.
But…
Wasn’t the whole reason he had decided to deal with Sheng Chengxiu himself precisely so that Su Muchen would never be placed in danger again?
Xiao Yuan did not try to persuade him any further.
He merely added calmly,
“I won’t interfere with your plan. But I want you to promise me one thing—if there is still even the slightest chance to retreat, then stay alive.”