That night, Jinbao lit the lamp for Xue Yan and tidied away his clothes, yet he was reluctant to leave.
Xue Yan was holding a scroll of military texts and reading beneath the lamp. Seeing a shadow moving back and forth in front of the light, he did not even raise his eyes. His hand turned a page.
“Why are you still here? Get lost.”
Instead, Jinbao let out a silly chuckle.
Xue Yan looked up and gave him a puzzled glance.
He saw Jinbao kneel down before him, smiling somewhat bashfully.
“This servant thanks Master for saving his life today.”
He had always thought this master of his was a man-eating demon, but he had never expected him to be cold on the outside yet warm-hearted inside, even willing to risk his life to save a worthless servant like himself.
Yet beneath the lamplight, Xue Yan’s light-colored eyes merely swept over him casually before returning to the book.
“There were people from the Eastern Depot watching from the side. It was that little Wei who used to be in my courtyard. Presumably, Consort Shu’s residence couldn’t accommodate anyone they could place there. I went to the Wenhua Hall yesterday, so the Eastern Depot found out and sent someone to keep an eye on me there.”
At this point, Xue Yan gave a cold, mocking curl of his lips and looked at Jinbao.
“I was putting on a show for him. I suffered bullying at the hands of several princes, yet I was still willing to risk my life to save a eunuch. Once the Eastern Depot learns of this, they will probably trust me a little more.”
After all, everyone in the Eastern Depot was a eunuch as well. People like that might look arrogant and overbearing, but deep down they were extremely sensitive and insecure. Putting on a show like this for them was the most appropriate thing to do.
Jinbao, however, was dumbfounded. Meeting Xue Yan’s calm and cold gaze, he suddenly felt that his own appearance of gratitude and tears had been rather foolish.
Xue Yan lightly curled his lips into a smile.
“Otherwise, did you think I really wanted to save you? The Wenhua Hall is crowded with people, and Xue Yunsi only had that little strength. Even if I did nothing, someone would have intervened before you drowned.”
As he spoke, he returned his gaze to the book and concluded casually,
“Idiot.”
Jinbao: “……”
Sure enough, this was the true appearance of his master.
Perhaps because he had just walked through the gates of death today, Jinbao had also grown a little bolder. Hearing Xue Yan say this, his mind heated up, and he actually muttered a rebuttal.
“Today, His Highness the Heir also thought you were trying to save this servant. It wasn’t just this servant who thought so.”
Xue Yan’s fingers, which were stroking the book, suddenly stopped.
Jinbao immediately regretted speaking. He nervously raised his head, only to see Xue Yan staring silently at the book as though recalling something.
The lamplight flickered in his eyes. His expression was complicated, something Jinbao could not understand. Yet he seemed to see the faintest curve appear at the corner of Xue Yan’s lips.
Unlike his usual sneers, sarcasm, cold laughter, or smiles that never reached his eyes, this smile had warmth in it.
It made Jinbao feel somewhat horrified.
Could he have imagined it?
But in the next moment, Xue Yan’s expression disappeared, becoming even colder than before.
He turned his head, his amber eyes coolly sweeping over Jinbao.
“So don’t say anything unnecessary in front of him.”
His voice was very soft, yet it sent a chill down Jinbao’s spine.
Right. This was the man-eating demon he knew.
——
After that day, the incident seemed as though it had never happened.
Xue Yan still went about things alone. When studying and practicing martial arts, he and Jun Huailang remained like strangers.
This actually made Jun Huailang feel much more at ease. After all, helping Xue Yan that day had gone against his own intentions. He did not want to bring it up again afterward and make things awkward for himself.
But Jun Huailang’s nightmares never improved. Instead, they were becoming increasingly severe.
That afternoon, Jun Huailang was practicing martial arts with several princes at the training ground behind Wenhua Hall.
Ever since the day Xue Yunsi had suffered a setback in front of him, Xue Yunsi had stopped looking for trouble with Xue Yan. He simply treated him as though he did not exist. At the same time, he no longer joined in Xue Yunhuan’s conversations, associating only with the others in his own little circle.
This gave Xue Yunhuan some peace and quiet. He wished Xue Yunsi would never speak to him again for the rest of his life.
With Xue Yunhuan in a good mood, he spent all day dragging Jun Huailang into conversation. He had a lively personality and coarse nerves, so he failed to notice that Jun Huailang was mentally exhausted, assuming that he was simply as quiet as usual.
That afternoon, the instructor responsible for teaching the princes martial arts brought over a squad of guards, intending to let them practice the combat techniques they had recently learned.
Great Yong valued literary studies over martial arts. Few princes would personally lead troops into battle, so the combat techniques they learned were generally intended for self-defense, in case of emergencies.
Jun Huailang had been born and raised in Chang’an and had rarely practiced martial arts. Even by the time he died in his previous life, he had only known a little hand-to-hand combat for self-defense.
He had been mentally exhausted these past few days, somewhat absent-minded, and had little strength in his body. The guard practicing with him used only a few ordinary moves and easily brought him down.
The fall itself did not hurt much, but Jun Huailang felt somewhat dizzy. After falling, his vision blurred, and he remained there with one hand against his forehead for quite some time.
Xue Yunhuan immediately noticed what was happening.
When he first saw Jun Huailang fall, he had not noticed anything unusual. He had even signaled for the guard in front of him to stop for a moment and laughed at Jun Huailang.
“Huailang, how can you be so frail? You need to exercise more!”
But then he belatedly realized that something seemed wrong with Jun Huailang.
“What happened?”
Xue Yunhuan hurried over.
The guard practicing with Jun Huailang also panicked. He had seen that the heir did not seem to have practiced martial arts, so he had not even used twenty percent of his strength. His moves had also been completely ordinary. Who would have thought that the heir would be so weak that one move would send him sprawling?
Jun Huailang forced a smile at Xue Yunhuan and let him help him up.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “I just read an interesting book last night and stayed up a little late, so I felt somewhat dizzy this morning.”
Xue Yunhuan believed him without question. Instead, he said,
“Really? Then you’ll have to lend me that book later. I’ll read it too.”
Jun Huailang smiled and agreed.
Just then, Xue Yunhuan suddenly let out a puzzled sound and looked in a certain direction.
“That guard isn’t right.”
Jun Huailang followed his gaze, only to realize that the person Xue Yunhuan was looking at was Xue Yan.
He stood in a corner of the training ground, inconspicuous enough that no one had noticed what was happening there.
He was entangled with the guard practicing against him. Jun Huailang could not understand the intricacies of their movements. He only saw Xue Yan blocking the attacks while being forced backward step by step.
“The moves he’s using clearly aren’t the ones Master taught us these past few days,” Xue Yunhuan said. “Every move is vicious, all of them aimed at taking someone’s life! And Xue Yan can actually evade them. That’s incredible!”
Hearing this, Jun Huailang unconsciously furrowed his brows.
Just as Xue Yunhuan had said, every move the guard made was powerful and fierce. His attacks were so fast that even watching from a distance made one’s vision swim.
Fortunately, Xue Yan responded with ease. Although he had not made a single attack himself, he had not been injured in the slightest.
Jun Huailang smiled.
“He lived in Yan Commandery for so many years, after all, and even went to the battlefield.”
Xue Yunhuan immediately retorted,
“Bah. The stuff he learned at the border is nothing but low-class martial arts.”
Although he said that, his eyes remained fixed brightly on Xue Yan. The light in them was unmistakably one of admiration and yearning.
Jun Huailang could not help smiling and did not respond.
Then he suddenly realized that the direction Xue Yan was retreating in was precisely toward the weapon rack.
The space was limited. He was concentrating entirely on the attacks from the guard in front of him and, following today’s practice requirements, had not counterattacked even once. Thus, he had failed to notice that he was getting closer and closer to the weapon rack.
Jun Huailang’s brows furrowed.
“This may go wrong.”
Xue Yunhuan had been too absorbed in watching Xue Yan’s footwork. Hearing this, he froze, completely failing to understand.
“Huh?”
Xue Yan was already very close to the weapon rack. Jun Huailang had no time to explain further. He simply grabbed Xue Yunhuan and walked directly toward Xue Yan.
As he walked, he raised his voice and shouted,
“Stop! Don’t you know when to stop? You’re already at the edge of the training ground. Stop immediately!”
At this, the guards, companions, and princes in the training ground all stopped and looked over curiously.
But the guard in front of Xue Yan was the only one who, upon hearing those words, suddenly intensified his attack and struck directly toward Xue Yan’s face.
Xue Yan had already reached a point where he had nowhere left to retreat.
He dodged sideways and blocked the opponent’s attack with his backhand, but his shoulder and back slammed heavily into the weapon rack with a loud clang.
He immediately let out a muffled groan, and his lips turned deathly pale.
Jun Huailang knew that his injuries had not yet healed. He hurried forward and reached out to support him, but Xue Yan nimbly avoided him.
“No need,” he said. “It’s nothing serious.”
His voice was cold, his expression utterly indifferent, and he did not even glance at Jun Huailang.
Jun Huailang froze.
Xue Yan merely moved his shoulder and back slightly before stepping aside.
Those amber eyes had not contained Jun Huailang’s presence from beginning to end.
Jun Huailang was stunned, inexplicably feeling a little constricted in his chest.
But immediately afterward, he found his own reaction rather laughable.
This man was cold-hearted and cold-blooded. No one understood that better than he did.
Moreover, the blood feud from his previous life still stood between them. He only needed to protect his family from forming a grudge against him. Why should he help him and then expect a response in return?
Clearly, he did not need it either.
Just then, Xue Yunhuan walked over.
Seeing this scene, he took two steps forward and gave Xue Yan a hard shove on the shoulder.
“You brat, what kind of attitude is that?”
Before he could continue, Jun Huailang raised his hand and firmly pressed it against his shoulder.
“It was me meddling in other people’s business. Let’s go.”
After saying that, he pulled Xue Yunhuan around and walked away.
He was a wolf, after all.
He had merely been afraid that the wolf would hold a grudge, so he had bestowed help upon him several times. He had forgotten that such a beast was born without the ability to remember kindness.
Jun Huailang thought this to himself, yet he could not help feeling a little sour.
There had been a minor mishap on Xue Yan’s side. Fearing that something might happen, the martial arts instructor had the princes and their companions take a temporary break while he took the guards aside to lecture them.
Xue Yunhuan brought Jun Huailang to sit on a grand tutor’s chair at the edge of the training ground. Just as he was about to drink some tea, they saw a large group of palace maids approaching noisily from the distance.
Jun Huailang took a closer look and saw that the person leading them was his younger sister, Jun Linghuan.
The palace maids behind her came in a grand procession, and what they carried in their hands was actually lychees.
These lychees had been stored by Consort Shu in an ice cellar and were still fresh.
The ice in the palace was generally used up almost entirely during the summer. The only people extravagant enough to use ice to preserve fruit during autumn and winter were Consort Shu and her favored household.
Jun Linghuan hopped and skipped over to the two of them. After saluting Xue Yunhuan, she threw herself straight into Jun Huailang’s arms.
The palace maids beside them orderly arranged hot tea and lychees on the table.
“Brother, Auntie said that Brother has worked hard practicing martial arts, so she specially sent Linghuan to bring fruit for Brother and Sixth Imperial Brother!”
Seeing the fresh lychees, Xue Yunhuan’s eyes went straight.
He reached his hand into Jun Huailang’s arms, ruffled Jun Linghuan’s hair a few times, and laughed.
“Thank you, Little Sister Linghuan! I’ve been craving these lychees for so long. This is truly a gift in the middle of a snowstorm!”
Jun Linghuan hid deeper into Jun Huailang’s arms as he ruffled her hair.
After Xue Yunhuan stopped teasing her, Jun Linghuan said to Jun Huailang,
“Brother, Auntie said these lychees are precious. They’re only for my Brother and Sixth Imperial Brother.”
Just from Jun Linghuan’s retelling, Jun Huailang could imagine Consort Shu’s coquettish and stingy appearance. He could not help laughing.
Then Jun Linghuan suddenly changed the subject and asked,
“Then, Brother, what about that Brother who moved into our palace a few days ago? Does he count as Linghuan’s Brother too?”