Here is the American English translation, keeping the names and terminology consistent and staying close to the original wording.
Su Muchen was startled. Before he could step forward, he saw that the strange black mark that had originally lain quietly around Owl’s wrist was now violently trembling and twisting as if it were alive.
It was not an illusion.
Those patterns were spreading upward along his wrist, winding around and branching apart.
“Owl!”
Su Muchen’s instinct as a doctor made him realize the danger instantly, and he lunged forward almost uncontrollably.
Xiao Yuan tried to stop him, but it was too late.
The black mark seemed to have received the summons of some supreme will. Under everyone’s horrified gaze, it transformed into strands of extremely fine, pitch-black lines, like steel wires.
Those black lines were composed of countless twisted patterns, resembling strange talismans.
Silently, the black lines rapidly spread along Owl’s arm at a speed visible to the naked eye, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues.
Strand by strand, they wound around his arm, then his torso, climbing upward along his collarbone.
“Owl!” Su Muchen’s eyes were nearly splitting with fury. He grabbed those black lines that had dug into the flesh, trying to tear them apart by brute force.
But the black lines passed directly through Su Muchen’s fingers, like an empty phantom, or like mist, yet they were solidly tightening around Owl’s flesh.
Su Muchen panicked. He turned and grabbed surgical scissors and hemostatic forceps from the first-aid kit, desperately trying to cut and clamp them.
It was useless.
The scissors passed over the black lines without even producing a spark.
“Ugh… ah!”
The black lines had already wrapped around Owl’s neck, and even his face.
His limbs, face, and torso were all densely entangled by these black lines.
Then, they suddenly tightened, viciously constricting Owl’s neck!
The same happened elsewhere.
Wherever the lines tightened, the skin sank inward.
When the lines contracted to their limit, Owl’s breathing began to grow short and rapid, as though he could not get enough air.
He could not even make a sound.
Su Muchen refused to give up. He rummaged through the first-aid kit again, and finally found a scalpel in the corner.
He took several deep breaths, steadied his trembling hand, and tried to cut the black lines.
But it was still useless.
The vital-monitoring device on Owl’s left wrist began to fluctuate erratically, flashing an abnormal red light while emitting a piercing alarm.
Su Muchen could only watch helplessly.
This was the first time he had ever encountered a patient like this.
He knew that the other person was suffering inhuman suffocation and agony. He knew that the patient’s life was rapidly slipping away.
But after searching through every piece of modern medical knowledge in his mind, he could not find a single scalpel or any medication that could save him.
That helplessness and despair of being a doctor overwhelmed Su Muchen like a flood.
Owl’s skin was forcibly cut open by the black lines tightened to their extreme. Blindingly bright blood seeped out drop by drop along the black lines, staining his white inner garment in patches.
He could barely breathe. His eyes were filled with blood vessels, his lips had turned bluish-purple, and his entire body convulsed on the bed, yet he could not even force a complete scream from his throat.
Su Muchen’s fingers trembled.
His hands were once again covered in Owl’s blood, and so were his clothes.
There were no other usable medical tools here. He had no way to do anything for Owl.
Xiao Yuan firmly held down Su Muchen, who was on the verge of breaking down. Terrifying waves churned within those ink-dark eyes.
He remembered that night, when Owl had said to him—
“If I don’t follow the rules, I will receive a punishment more severe than this.”
This was the price.
This was the punishment imposed upon a gatekeeper who attempted to reveal heavenly secrets and alter cause and effect.
Xiao Yuan placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and drew “Hanzhao.”
When the sword left its sheath, its radiance reflected against the snow.
With swift precision, he tried to sever the black lines without harming Owl.
But when Hanzhao swept across the black lines, there was no sensation of cutting anything, as though he were slicing through mist.
The black lines remained tightly bound around Owl’s entire body.
A full three minutes.
Those three minutes felt as long as a century to the five people inside the room.
Even Chi Banyue, who had always killed without blinking, could not bear to look. She turned her head away, but she did not feel any better because of it.
That suffocating sensation continued to come through the fragmented sounds.
Xia Lan Shi sat there from beginning to end, quietly watching without looking away.
The fingers of his right hand pressed against the peace-lock pendant on his left wrist, almost unable to suppress their trembling.
It was not until Owl had completely lost the strength to struggle and his entire body had collapsed limply into a pool of blood that the black lines, which had nearly cut him to pieces, finally loosened their restraints like bloodthirsty monsters that had feasted until they were full.
They transformed into wisps of black smoke and slowly withdrew back onto Owl’s wrist, becoming that lifeless black mark once again.
Su Muchen’s hands trembled as he immediately went forward to check Owl’s carotid pulse.
He was still alive.
His pulse and breathing were both shallow and rapid.
Only heavy panting remained in the room, along with violent coughing and dry heaving.
Every cough tugged at the wound on his right shoulder, making him hurt even more.
Owl could not control himself.
Strangely, as the black lines faded, the densely packed bloody marks that had just been cut across Owl’s body actually began to slowly but stubbornly heal themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The flesh could recover, but his spirit, which was already completely exhausted, could no longer withstand such torment.
Blood loss, fever, external injuries, coupled with this deadly divine punishment from the gate, made Owl look like someone who could shatter at any moment.
After a long while, Owl finally managed to stop coughing. His breathing was still rapid, and all the color had completely drained from his lips.
He barely opened a slit of his eyes and, through his blurred vision, saw Su Muchen beside the bed, his face deathly pale and his hands covered in blood.
He struggled to bring his consciousness back into place, moved his dry, shriveled lips, and used the last trace of strength remaining in his soul to murmur intermittently:
“It was me… who let him into Da Sheng…”
“Don’t speak. Shut up, stop talking!”
Su Muchen’s voice was hoarse. He was afraid that if Owl said anything else, he would receive the same punishment again.
If it happened a second time, Owl definitely would not be able to endure it.
“Muan… I… failed again…”
As the final syllable fell, Owl once again sank into unconsciousness.
“No, you didn’t… you didn’t…” Su Muchen’s voice choked with sobs.
But those words never reached Owl’s ears.
◆◇◆◇◆
When they came out of the guest room in the South Courtyard, the sunlight had already been completely covered by thick clouds.
The wind of the Northern Border passed through the corridor, making the copper bells beneath the eaves ring softly, lowering the already-low temperature by several more degrees.
Xiao Yuan’s expression was as heavy as iron and stone. He summoned two trusted military physicians inside to carefully attend to Owl, who had fallen unconscious again, then said nothing as he strode toward the main courtyard.
Su Muchen, Xia Lan Shi, and Chi Banyue followed closely behind. Each of their expressions was more solemn than the last.
The “divine punishment” and shocking secrets they had witnessed with their own eyes beside the couch just now were like a massive stone, weighing heavily upon everyone’s hearts.
The four of them walked all the way to the eastern side room of the main courtyard, Xiao Yuan’s military command study.
No one spoke along the way.
When the heavy door was pushed open, the underfloor heating inside was still strong.
What came into view was not the luxurious furnishings of an ordinary high-ranking official or noble, but military maps of the Northern Border covering an entire wall, secret memorials and military reports piled as high as mountains, and, in the center of the secret room, a huge defensive sand table of Linbei City.
This was the true center of power where troops were deployed and life-and-death decisions were made in the Northern Border.
Wei Mingchen brought over a clean outer robe and changed the bloodstained one on Su Muchen.
He then withdrew.
“Guard within a hundred paces. No one is allowed to approach. Anyone who violates the order will be executed.”
Xiao Yuan stopped before the sand table, his voice cold without a trace of warmth.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
An answer came from outside the door, followed by the faint sounds of mechanisms locking into place and hidden guards landing with soft rustling noises.
The door of the side room was completely shut, cutting off the wind and all prying eyes.
“Sit.”
Xiao Yuan raised a hand slightly.
The few of them sat around the sand table.
The room fell silent again.
Finally, Su Muchen spoke first.
“…There’s no time to grieve.”
Too many things had happened over these two days.
The sacrificial gate ritual.
The gatekeeper.
The out-of-control gate.
The newly awakened gate master.
And the divine punishment that had nearly driven Owl insane.
Everyone knew there was no time to sink into their emotions.
From this moment onward, every moment of delay gave Sheng Chengxiu one more moment to prepare.
Su Muchen took a deep breath, forcing down the slight trembling in his fingertips caused by his helplessness just now.
“We have to find Sheng Chengxiu as soon as possible.”
His voice became very calm.
So calm that it did not resemble the person who had just witnessed a family member collapse.
“If he manages to establish himself first, we’ll have a lot of trouble.”
Xiao Yuan looked at his still-red eyes and remained silent for a moment before saying:
“The problem is that besides you and Owl, no one here has ever seen him.”
Su Muchen took a smartphone out of his pocket.
“There are photos here.”
This was something he had forgotten to leave behind at Guichen Studio when the situation had been urgent, and had brought with him.
Perhaps because this phone was still new, there was almost nothing stored inside it, and there were no electronic books, which was why the gate had allowed it to pass through.
Su Muchen unlocked the screen and slid his finger across it.
Although there was no network, his phone’s photo album still contained quite a few news photos of the Sheng family.
Several photos were displayed one after another on the table.
Official photographs of Sheng Chengxiu dressed in a suit while attending corporate press conferences.
A side profile secretly photographed by a financial reporter.
Photographs downloaded from the Sheng family’s official website.
Different angles, different expressions.
When the glowing glass rectangle was pushed to the center of the long table, even Xia Lan Shi and Chi Banyue, who had seen countless strange things, could not help widening their eyes.
Chi Banyue stared in amazement at the lifelike, exquisitely detailed “immortal painting,” in which even the strands of hair could be seen clearly, and clicked her tongue in wonder.
“So this is the other world’s ‘bone-portrait technique’? It can actually imprint a person’s appearance so precisely that not the slightest detail is different.”
“Immediately order the painters to copy this and make a Da Sheng line-drawing portrait.”
Xiao Yuan glanced at the man on the screen whose eyes were sinister, his gaze darkening slightly as he memorized the man’s face.
Xiao Yuan’s gaze fell upon Chi Banyue.
“Banyue.”
“Here.”
Chi Banyue restrained all of her usual frivolity, her expression becoming solemn as she answered.
“Secretly send Sheng Chengxiu’s appearance to the Hidden Guard Camp, Tingxue Pavilion, the various courier stations and pawnshops throughout the Northern Border.”
Xiao Yuan’s distinct fingers knocked coldly against the edge of the sand table.
“Do not issue an official wanted notice. Use the pretext of searching for a person and conducting a secret investigation. As long as anyone has seen this person, report immediately.”
“Yes.”
Chi Banyue accepted the order.
Xiao Yuan turned his gaze back toward Su Muchen.
“Tell us about him.”
The entire room became quiet again.
Because only one person here truly understood Sheng Chengxiu.
Su Muchen looked at the mountains stretching across the Northern Border on the sand table.
“Sheng Chengxiu is not the kind of person who would panic and lose his head upon first arriving in another world. On the contrary, he is deep-minded. He takes one step while calculating three.”
Only Su Muchen had truly dealt with Sheng Chengxiu. Everyone else fell silent and listened to his analysis.
“When he arrives in Da Sheng, the first thing he absolutely will not do is expose himself. He also won’t be stupid enough to directly search for the emperor or reveal the existence of the ‘gate.’”
Su Muchen shook his head firmly.
“The most frightening thing about him is not how much wealth he has, but his patience. He will be like a hibernating venomous snake, first finding a safe place to hide and quietly observing everything about this world.”
He raised his head.
“So he will hide first and find a way to establish himself. Then he will observe, learn, obtain an identity, figure out the power structure, and make money. Only after everything is fully prepared will he begin to act.”
He paused and added:
“He is the person most skilled at waiting that I have ever met.”
Silence filled the room.
Xia Lan Shi lightly tapped his finger against the table.
“If that is the case, then we don’t need to urgently search for ‘Sheng Chengxiu.’”
Everyone looked at him.
Xia Lan Shi slowly said, “Because the real Sheng Chengxiu will soon no longer exist. He will change his identity, change his name, and even change his background. If we only search for someone named Sheng Chengxiu, we will never find him.”
Su Muchen nodded in agreement.
“That’s right.”
“Then use another method to find him,” Xiao Yuan said.
Chi Banyue thought for a moment. She looked at Su Muchen, then recalled Sheng Chengxiu’s appearance just now and said:
“His appearance and clothing are completely different from those of the people of Da Sheng. Clothing can be changed, but his bearing, manner of speech, and hair cannot be changed in a short period of time.”
Xia Lan Shi nodded in agreement with this point, but did not completely agree.
His fingertip lightly traced the edge of the sand table.
“He needs time to learn the common knowledge of Da Sheng, change his identity, understand the official system and etiquette, and gather information everywhere.”
In an unfamiliar environment, with no connections, everything would have to start from scratch.
Until he figured out where the centers of power were, who could be used by him, and so on, it was not something that could be accomplished in just two or three days.
He raised his eyes.
“There is time, but not much.”
Although he had never truly met Sheng Chengxiu, judging from what he had previously learned and the scale of the “sacrificial gate operation” planned by Owl, Sheng Chengxiu was indeed an extremely troublesome person.
He was not merely meticulous. He was an extraordinary individual whom even Owl had needed to expend every effort to set multiple traps for and reveal his trump cards to lure into the trap.
Owl had not actually failed.
It was simply that there had been a layer of variables hidden within his opponent, and multiple coincidences had changed the outcome.
Xia Lan Shi’s clear red eyes narrowed slightly. His long fingers lightly tapped the table.
“Someone this meticulous—if he casually kills a displaced person and takes over their identity, then if we only conduct blind searches, it will be no different from searching for a needle in the ocean. However…”
“The clues Owl revealed just now have given us a true way to break through this situation.”
Xia Lan Shi stood up and walked to the enormous map of the Northern Border. He raised his hand and pointed to an inconspicuous little dot beneath the three characters “Linbei City.”
“I believe the lead concerning the descendants of the Da Sheng Su family’s gate key that Owl mentioned is highly possible.”
Since the Sheng family could pass through the gate and establish roots in another world, the Su family could likewise reproduce and continue in this land.
He was so certain about this because those with imperial blood, the Sheng family, and the Su family all knew the importance of the gate-key bloodline.
Among them, especially those possessing imperial blood, they would certainly have introduced the Su family bloodline from the other world into Da Sheng through certain means.
The gate-key bloodline could not disappear out of thin air. The descendants of the Su family might still be hidden somewhere within Da Sheng.
Xia Lan Shi turned his head. A faint light flickered in his red eyes.
“All of the county records and clan records concerning that abandoned ancient shrine in Linbei City have been erased completely. History does not erase things for no reason. Only deliberate concealment can do that.”
“You mean to investigate the ancient shrine again?”
Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. Investigate the ancient shrine in Linbei City again.”
Xia Lan Shi’s expression was stern.
“Because it was erased far too deliberately. That means it must contain a secret that cannot be allowed to become known to future generations.”
Su Muchen said, “If I were Sheng Chengxiu, I would definitely investigate it. Because it is the only place that could possibly be connected to the gate. He will investigate everything related to the gate and the gate key. If there are descendants of the Su family’s gate key, they should still be living somewhere close to the gate. They wouldn’t have left.”
Xia Lan Shi nodded lightly and said:
“So there’s no need to follow Sheng Chengxiu. Instead, we should find what he will definitely go looking for. We have to get there before him and find this person—the moment the ‘gate key’ is found, we must immediately protect them and hide them completely.”
“Not bring them back to the Prince’s residence?”
Chi Banyue keenly caught the unspoken implication.
“Absolutely not.”
Xia Lan Shi shook his head.
“Right now, the Crown Prince’s informants in the capital and Sheng Yuanli’s spies are watching the Northern Border administrative office and Prince Su’s residence closely. If there is any major movement, it will instead expose the existence of the gate key.”
Xiao Yuan nodded slightly, implicitly approving Xia Lan Shi’s arrangement, then said coldly:
“Our greatest advantage right now is that the enemies do not know about each other.”
The brazier in the study gave a crisp crack, stretching the shadows of the several people extremely long.
They all remembered what Owl had said before receiving the divine punishment.
The fingers inside Xia Lan Shi’s long sleeve moved slightly before he said:
“Yes. The fact that Owl suffered such consequences clearly shows that this clue is extremely important.”
Owl had said two passages at the time, both incomplete.
But Xia Lan Shi had already vaguely sensed what Owl intended to say.
Owl had said it to him, which meant Owl believed that he would be able to piece together the truth.
His fingertips rubbed the white jade peace-lock pendant. From the moment Owl had spoken those words, he had already begun thinking.
Sheng Chengxiu and Sheng Yuanli carried on the same bloodline between the two worlds.
Sheng Chengxiu had the Sheng family’s fragment in his hands.
A fragment meant it was incomplete.
Owl had said, “Sheng Yuanli has the remaining half of the fragment from back then—”
“What Owl wanted to say at the time should have been that Sheng Yuanli had the remaining half of the broken fragment from back then. If the fragment and the broken section were combined, they would piece together an almost complete truth. By then, all our advantages would be gone, and endless trouble would follow. So what Owl wanted was—to prevent these two people from meeting, and prevent them from piecing together their information.”
Xia Lan Shi analyzed it carefully.
Xiao Yuan said, “We cannot let them build a bridge.”
“Exactly.”
Xia Lan Shi said, “Right now, the enemies do not know each other. That is our greatest advantage. Whoever learns of the other first will have the initiative.”
Xiao Yuan said, “So we have to make sure they never know about each other.”
Xiao Yuan remembered what Owl had said before.
He had once said that the greatest mistake the Su family had made was cooperating with the Sheng family.
That had been the beginning of everything.
Now the Sheng family’s information was incomplete, yet they were still difficult to deal with. If they were allowed to learn everything, they would become even more troublesome.
People could die, but information would continue to spread in various forms, endlessly passing down through generations.
“Sheng Yuanli’s side must be watched even more closely.”
Xiao Yuan said this to Chi Banyue.
Chi Banyue nodded in acknowledgment.
“Besides these long-term arrangements, there are several urgent remedial tasks that must be completed today.”
Xia Lan Shi picked up his brush and rapidly wrote on the xuan paper, one instruction after another flowing from the tip of his brush.
“First, re-investigate the population. Send a unit of personal guards disguised as wandering bandits or soldiers ordered to carry out repairs. Conduct an investigation within ten li of the abandoned ancient shrine in Linbei City and bring back anyone connected to the ancient shrine for questioning.”
“Second, search for traces. After the gate went out of control and rioted last night, there must have been unusual phenomena. Banyue, order the Hidden Guards to immediately investigate the area around Linbei City last night and see whether there were any reports of strange people, strange incidents, or bizarre deaths.”
“Third, secretly investigate medical clinics and physicians. Sheng Chengxiu experienced spatial-temporal distortion and a sacrifice last night, so he may not have emerged unscathed. If he was injured, he will inevitably need to seek a physician and medicine. Investigate every pharmacy and see whether any stranger has recently offered a large sum of money to purchase medicine for knife wounds or fever.”
“Fourth, strictly investigate outsiders. People without a local accent, without a guarantee from the village head, without a clan, or with unusual appearances. Anyone who has suddenly appeared in various professions in recent days, has a strange accent, uses strange words, and looks different from the people of Da Sheng must all be registered.”
As each decisive order was issued, the confusion and panic caused by the “divine punishment” were instantly replaced by this vast, airtight intelligence network.
This meeting had already escalated into an intelligence war fought in the shadows.
Xiao Yuan looked over everything once before saying:
“Carry it out. Multiple lines in parallel. Find Sheng Chengxiu, find the descendants of the Su family, and keep a close watch on Sheng Yuanli.”
Xia Lan Shi and Chi Banyue acknowledged the order.
Then Xia Lan Shi said to Chi Banyue:
“As long as a person is alive, there will be traces.”
Chi Banyue understood immediately.
“He will ask people questions, change clothes, buy hair, find food, find somewhere to stay, inquire about the court and the Northern Border, and even conduct business. All of these will leave ‘traces.’ I’ll have the people from Tingxue Pavilion keep watch.”
Xia Lan Shi took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to ask Su Muchen:
“How long was the gate open last night?”
Su Muchen froze for a moment.
He carefully recalled it. What had happened last night had been too chaotic. After thinking for a long time, he finally said:
“It was very chaotic at the time. I couldn’t accurately determine the time, but subjectively, it felt like no more than two minutes.”
Su Muchen recalled what had happened then.
From the opening of the gate to its loss of control, the scene of several people being torn apart and swallowed by the light.
Among those people were also members of the Su family…
At the thought of this, his expression could not help but darken.
It had been a disaster, and also an accident.
He could understand why Owl blamed himself so deeply and took all the fault upon himself.
Even if someone told Owl now: This wasn’t your fault.
Owl would not be able to listen.
Xiao Yuan noticed Su Muchen’s expression and knew that it was not only Owl who needed time to face this matter now. Su Muchen also needed time.
All he could do was keep the entire situation within the lowest possible level of harm.
Chi Banyue received the secret orders and was preparing to bow and leave to carry out her duties.
Just as Xia Lan Shi’s hand was about to touch the door of the side room, however, his footsteps suddenly stopped.
The underfloor heating in the study remained warm. When Xia Lan Shi slowly turned around, a solemn expression appeared on that cool, immortal-like face.
Su Muchen’s heart jumped.
“What’s wrong?”
Xia Lan Shi looked at everyone. His voice was extremely soft, yet every word was as heavy as a thousand jun.
“Everyone, all of our deductions and arrangements just now are actually built upon an assumption that we have taken for granted.”
He paused.
The air in the study seemed to freeze in an instant.
“We have been assuming all along that Sheng Chengxiu… only arrived in Da Sheng last night.”
Xia Lan Shi’s red eyes were bottomless as he asked word by word:
“What if the gate’s loss of control did not merely cause space to become disordered, but also distorted time along with it?”
“What if… he didn’t fall through yesterday, but was sent by the gate to an earlier point in time? What if, right now, he has actually already been hiding in Da Sheng for several days, or even… several months?”
Those words were like a silent thunderclap exploding inside the eastern side room.
Su Muchen felt an icy chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
Even Xiao Yuan’s fingers, which were resting on the sand table, stiffened slightly for an instant.
If Sheng Chengxiu had already arrived in Da Sheng, if he had already changed his identity and secretly laid out his plans…
Then the pursuit they were carrying out now—was it merely trying to repair a situation after the damage had been done, or had they already fallen into the other party’s calculations?
Su Muchen thought carefully and felt that it was not impossible.
His world and Da Sheng had always had a difference in time.
He had always thought that passing through the gate meant crossing space.
In reality, it meant crossing the dimensions of both time and space.
Under normal circumstances, the gate could stably maintain consistency in time between the two worlds, apart from differences in the seasons.
But last night’s situation had been far too abnormal. It could not be compared with normal circumstances.
Perhaps Owl would know more clearly about this.
But when he thought of Owl’s condition…
He did not want to place any more burden on Owl.
“I’ll go back once. I’ll directly ask Su Huaishan… my Third Granduncle. He should know something. There may be records or ancient texts from the gatekeepers.”
Su Muchen then added:
“I also need to get some more medicine and make some preparations.”
When he said this, his voice lowered.
“Muan, go back without worry. I’ll have people watch Owl carefully.”
Xiao Yuan said this.
Su Muchen nodded.
Then he instructed:
“I need some time. Make absolutely sure to watch Owl carefully. Don’t let him run away. I have no way of predicting what he might do right now.”
He thought for a moment, then added:
“If you can make him sleep, let him sleep. If he uses the power of the gate, no one will be able to stop him.”
Owl’s mental state was unstable, and his body was also in an extremely weakened condition.
Making him sleep was truly a last resort, but it was still better than letting him act impulsively.
Owl had the ability to open the gate. He could leave whenever he wanted.
Even Xia Lan Shi could not help but furrow his brows deeply.
Even if they locked Owl up now, Owl would still have the ability to leave.
The only reason he was staying obediently for now was because his body had not yet recovered enough to open the gate.
This man could not be restrained with an ordinary lock.
He was just about to say something when a wave of dizziness suddenly struck him, and his vision went dark.
“Xia Lan Shi!”
Chi Banyue immediately supported him and checked his condition.
She touched Xia Lan Shi’s forehead to see whether he had a fever.
Xia Lan Shi’s face, which had already been pale, had endured an entire sleepless night. After holding himself up until now, his already frail body was finally unable to bear it.
Su Muchen also hurried over to check his condition.
“I’m fine…”
Xia Lan Shi barely managed to gather his strength.
“What do you mean, you’re fine? You’re practically about to collapse and you still say you’re fine!”
Chi Banyue said angrily.
Yesterday, Xiao Yuan had clearly told him to rest once he finished his work, but Xia Lan Shi had not listened. He had continued caring for Owl until just now and had then followed them here to discuss matters.
“Your constitution is weak. You can’t keep staying up like this. Go sleep first.”
Su Muchen’s expression was solemn as he spoke.
“Go rest.”
Xiao Yuan’s voice was deep and cold.
“This is an order.”
Xia Lan Shi heard him.
Even though he still had objections, he had no choice but to obey Xiao Yuan’s order.
“…This subject obeys the order.”
There were still many things that needed to be done at this moment, but he also understood that if he collapsed, then nothing could be accomplished.