After Xiao’s words fell, Gui Chen Zhai remained quiet for a long time.
The lamplight swayed.
The sachets, tea jars, and paper umbrellas on the wooden shelves sat quietly, as if this shop had always been nothing more than an ordinary store, with no door leading to another world, and no prince who crossed through that door every night.
Su Muchen stood behind the counter, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of the notebook.
The records of the supplies sent over tonight were still written on the paper.
The first box: medical supplies.
The second box: drinking water.
The third box: soap.
The fourth box: supplementary provisions.
The handwriting was messy, yet every stroke was clear.
Like some connection he could still temporarily hold in his hands.
He said quietly, “How do you know the door will eventually close?”
Xiao leaned against the edge of the shelves, his expression rarely without a smile.
“Because it has closed before.”
Su Muchen looked up at him.
Xiao said indifferently, “The Su family is not encountering people who come through the door for the first time. Every time it begins, it seems like a miracle. But something like a miracle never exists forever.”
Su Muchen frowned. “Then what happened to those people before?”
Xiao was silent for a while.
“Some went back, some stayed, and some… didn’t have time to say goodbye.”
The final sentence was very light and faint, yet carried a trace of melancholy, like some old matter buried beneath the weight of the years.
Su Muchen suddenly felt somewhat stifled inside.
He wanted to say that he and Xiao Yuan were merely doing business.
He wanted to say that Xiao Yuan was only a client, a patient, and currently Gui Chen Zhai’s biggest source of funds.
But those words turned around in his throat once and, in the end, he did not say them.
Because he himself knew that if Xiao Yuan really were only a client, Xiao’s reminder should not have made him feel this uncomfortable.
Su Muchen lowered his eyes and deliberately put on an indifferent expression as he closed the notebook.
“Then while the door can still open, we’ll earn more money and save more people.”
Xiao looked at him.
“Muchen.”
“I know what you want to say.” Su Muchen interrupted him. “Don’t put your true feelings into it, don’t trust people from another world, and don’t develop unnecessary feelings for someone who will eventually disappear.”
He raised his eyes toward Xiao, the corners of his lips pulling into a very faint smile.
“Besides, I’ve never put much sincerity into anyone from childhood until now. Don’t worry.”
That “don’t worry” seemed not to be spoken to Xiao, but to himself.
Xiao did not smile, nor did he say anything more.
Su Muchen picked up the spare phone on the table and lowered his head to check the new purchasing orders.
“Let’s continue stocking up tomorrow.”
Xiao watched him forcibly pull the topic back to business. In the end, he only sighed softly.
“Okay.”
That night, Su Muchen did not sleep well.
He dreamed of that door.
In the dream, cold white light seeped through the crack of the door, but no matter how he reached out, the copper ring remained cold and silent.
It seemed someone on the other side of the door was calling his name.
The voice was very far away.
As though separated by snow, wind, blades, soldiers, and countless dead people.
When he woke, the sky was not yet bright.
The lamp beside the counter was still lit.
Su Muchen stared at the tightly closed door deep in the corridor for a long time before finally muttering,
“Troublesome.”
He did not even know whether he was cursing the door.
Or himself.
◆◇◆◇◆
Clang──!!
At the Eastern Palace of Great Sheng, Crown Prince Xiao Sheng viciously slammed the memorial in his hand onto the desk.
The bronze paperweight jumped from the impact, while the teacup beside the desk overturned, hot tea spilling all over the floor.
The Eastern Palace Chief Secretary kneeling below kept his head lowered, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Xiao Sheng’s expression was gloomy.
“Acting at his own discretion? Execute first and report afterward?”
He gave a cold laugh, yet there was not the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.
“Father actually gave him this blade!”
All the attendants inside the hall were kneeling.
No one dared speak at this moment.
Yesterday in court, the Crown Prince had originally arranged a dead end.
Xiao Yuan had just been assassinated and was seriously injured. If he refused the northern-border assignment, he would be accused of fearing battle and cowardice, of disregarding the safety of the border.
If he accepted, he would be going to his death while injured.
But no one had expected that Xiao Yuan would not only accept it, but would also ask the Emperor for authority in front of all the civil and military officials.
Even more unexpectedly, the Emperor had actually granted it.
The Crown Prince closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze was so cold that it was frightening.
“Xiao Yuan has always been like this since he was young. He can’t be beaten to death, can’t be poisoned to death. Throw him to the border, and he can still fight his way into a pile of military achievements!”
His tone grew colder and colder. The final sentence was practically forced out between his teeth in resentment.
“Now you’ve given him the authority to act at his own discretion. If he really establishes a foothold in the northern border, who in the court will still dare look down on him?”
The Chief Secretary cautiously said, “Your Highness, please calm down. The northern border is bitterly cold, epidemics are rampant, and provisions are insufficient. Even if Prince Su has authority, he may not necessarily survive this crisis.”
Xiao Sheng abruptly looked at him.
“May not?”
The Chief Secretary immediately lowered his body, trembling all over.
Xiao Sheng said coldly, “I don’t want ‘may not’!”
He stood and slowly paced through the hall.
“Xiao Yuan himself is difficult to kill. Even that trap that day failed to kill him. But… what about the people around him?”
The Chief Secretary’s heart stirred.
Xiao Sheng stopped walking, his gaze cold and dark.
“Xia Lanshi.”
The Chief Secretary said quietly, “That white-faced chief secretary of Prince Su’s residence?”
“A sickly wretch.” Xiao Sheng’s voice was full of malice. “Yet his mind is useful. Xiao Yuan has been able to earn military achievements at the border all these years, and he has contributed no little behind the scenes.”
He turned to look at the Chief Secretary.
“Severing a man’s arm hurts more than killing him directly.”
The Chief Secretary’s heart tightened. “Your Highness means…”
Xiao Sheng said indifferently, “Don’t let him leave the capital alive.”
After a pause, he added, “If you can make it uglier, even better.”
The Chief Secretary immediately understood.
Although Xia Lanshi was a man, because of his pale, almost otherworldly appearance, he possessed an almost妖异, sickly beauty, one difficult even for the beauties of the capital to compare with.
If Prince Su had not guarded him so strictly, he would probably have fallen into the hands of ruffians long ago.
There had never been a shortage of malicious rumors circulating secretly in the capital.
If he were to have his reputation sullied before his death, Prince Su’s residence would not merely lose a chief secretary; it would also suffer severe humiliation.
The Chief Secretary lowered his head.
“This subject understands.”
Xiao Sheng sat back in the principal seat and slowly wiped away the tea water that had stained his fingertips.
“Be quick. Xiao Yuan leaves in three days. Before he leaves the capital, I want him to first taste what it is like to lose an arm!”
◆◇◆◇◆
Prince Su’s residence was almost endlessly busy that day.
Once the imperial edict concerning the northern border was issued, every arrangement was pushed to the forefront.
Military rosters, grain routes, accompanying personnel, hidden-guard arrangements, and distribution of supplies—all had to be finalized within three days.
Xia Lanshi’s health was already poor, and he had not slept all night. His coughing was heavier than usual, yet the brush in his hand never stopped.
Snow-white hair fell over his shoulders. Candlelight reflected off his sickly pale face, his red eyes lowered, making him look like an exquisite and fragile porcelain figure.
When Chi Banyue brought medicine inside, this was the scene she saw.
She frowned.
“If you keep writing, tomorrow His Highness will have to prepare a coffin for you first.”
Xia Lanshi raised his head and said gently, “Thank you for your concern.”
“Who is concerned about you?” Chi Banyue placed the medicine bowl before him. “I’m only afraid that if you die, His Highness will make me take over the chief secretary’s position.”
Xia Lanshi gave a low laugh, then coughed several times.
Seeing his face grow even paler from coughing, Chi Banyue said irritably, “Drink the medicine.”
Xia Lanshi said, “I’ll wait until I finish this roster.”
Chi Banyue directly snatched the brush from his hand.
Xia Lanshi froze.
Chi Banyue smiled sweetly and delicately.
“Lord Chief Secretary Xia, my hand slipped.”
Xia Lanshi looked at her for a moment before finally having no choice but to pick up the medicine bowl.
The bitter medicine entered his mouth, yet his brows did not even furrow.
He had taken medicinal decoctions every day since childhood and had long grown accustomed to them.
Chi Banyue propped her chin on her hand and watched him. Suddenly, she asked, “Do you think that physician from the other world can cure you?”
Xia Lanshi’s movement paused.
“Me?”
“Yes.” Chi Banyue said, “His Highness suffered such severe injuries and that physician still managed to pull him back. With your broken body, perhaps he might have a way too.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes.
“My weakness was brought from the womb. It cannot be cured in a single day.”
He had been born unusual. His skin had no trace of color, his white hair was naturally without pigment, and even his eyes were an abnormal crimson.
It was not merely his appearance. He could not withstand sunlight, and his constitution was extremely fragile. Fever and coughing, one minor illness every three days and one serious illness every five days, were all part of his daily life.
If Prince Su had not arranged for people to care for him meticulously, he probably would not have lived to twenty.
“That may not be so.” Chi Banyue said. “We’ve both seen things from the other world today. Since they can create those things there, perhaps they also have methods of treating illness that you’ve never seen.”
Xia Lanshi did not answer.
But his fingertips tightened slightly around the medicine bowl.
He had known since childhood that he would not live long.
His white hair and red eyes had been regarded by his family as an ill omen, and he had been abandoned.
His body was weak, and he could not practice martial arts.
If Xiao Yuan had not taken him in, he would have long ago been discarded as a useless piece in some forgotten corner.
Whether he lived long or not, he had originally not cared very much.
But now the situation in the northern border remained unsettled, and Xiao Yuan had yet to truly escape his predicament. If he collapsed, it would indeed be troublesome.
If there truly was a way to let him live a little longer, he was willing to try.
However, there were too many matters at hand now. His physical condition was not his highest priority.
Xia Lanshi said quietly, “We’ll talk about it after the northern border situation is settled.”
Chi Banyue looked at him as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she merely snorted softly.
“You two are both like this.”
“Like what?”
“Treating yourselves as tools.”
Xia Lanshi was slightly stunned.
Chi Banyue had already turned and walked outside.
“Finish the medicine. If you dare leave even one mouthful, I’ll tell His Highness.”
Xia Lanshi laughed helplessly.
“Okay.”
After Chi Banyue left, Xia Lanshi sat there for a while.
He looked toward the half-copied other-world manual beside the desk.
…Su Muchen.
He silently repeated the name once.
That physician from another world—what kind of person was he, exactly?
He could make Xiao Yuan obediently take his medicine.
He could write such a clear method for dealing with an epidemic in such a short time.
If he had the opportunity, he truly wanted to meet him once.
But just as this thought surfaced, Xia Lanshi softly coughed.
He picked up the brush again.
It was not the time to think about these things yet.
◆◇◆◇◆
The night was deep and heavy.
When Xia Lanshi returned to his own courtyard from the study, he had only two attendants with him.
This was his habit. He did not like too many people following him.
Prince Su’s residence had always been heavily guarded as well. Ordinary assassins could not easily enter.
Only today was different.
He had just walked beneath the eastern corridor when an extremely faint sound of something cutting through the air suddenly came with the wind.
Xia Lanshi’s footsteps stopped.
The next instant, the two attendants beside him fell to the ground with muffled groans.
His expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to retreat, a hand suddenly clamped heavily onto his shoulder.
“Lord Chief Secretary Xia.”
An unfamiliar male voice sounded beside his ear, carrying a trace of an evil laugh.
“Someone wants to invite you somewhere.”
Xia Lanshi’s eyes turned cold.
He could not practice martial arts, and his body was weak.
But that did not mean he had no means of protecting himself.
The short dagger hidden inside his sleeve slid out, and he stabbed backward toward the man’s wrist.
The man clearly had not expected this sickly chief secretary to dare resist. He cried out in pain and released him.
Xia Lanshi seized the opportunity to retreat two steps. He was just about to call for help when another person struck him heavily on the back of the neck.
His vision went black.
Before losing consciousness, he only heard one of them mutter,
“Damn it. Take him away.”
◆◇◆◇◆
When Xia Lanshi awoke, the first thing he smelled was the damp, earthy stench of soil.
The night wind was cold, blowing against his chest and making it ache, yet he did not dare cough.
He moved his hands and only then realized that his wrists were bound behind his back with coarse rope. His ankles were bound as well.
The rough hemp rope dug deeply into his skin. Every slight movement felt like a thin blade repeatedly cutting into him.
In the darkness, weeds grew wildly all around.
Withered trees stood in the distance. Moonlight hung from their branches like a cold blade.
This was no longer Prince Su’s residence.
It was an abandoned ruined temple outside the capital.
Torches burned, stretching the shadows of several men in black into twisted, elongated shapes, like evil spirits crawling out of hell.
Xia Lanshi’s face was pale. A bloody taste rose in his throat, yet he made no sound.
Seeing that he had awakened, the leader laughed.
“Lord Chief Secretary Xia. You woke rather quickly.”
Xia Lanshi leaned against the broken wall, his pale red eyes looking coldly at him.
“The Crown Prince sent you. You came to kill me, not to waste time talking.”
Even though the other party had not said so explicitly, Xia Lanshi understood clearly.
Within Prince Su’s residence, the only person who dared abduct someone so openly was the Crown Prince.
The man did not become angry. Instead, his smile deepened.
“Kill you? Of course we’re going to kill you.”
He slowly approached and squatted before Xia Lanshi, looking down at him as though examining an object whose wrapping was about to be torn open.
“But the person who wants you dead said—make it ugly.”
As he saw Xia Lanshi’s face clearly by the torchlight, his gaze gradually changed.
He reached out. His rough fingertip slowly slid down Xia Lanshi’s cheek, as though stroking a piece of porcelain, or confirming the actual texture of this body.
Xia Lanshi suddenly turned his head to avoid him. That hand brushed past his ear, leaving behind a sticky, nauseating chill.
The man did not withdraw his hand. Instead, he laughed.
“Smooth. And quite fierce.”
He brought his fingertip to the tip of his nose and lightly smelled it, his movement deliberate and slow, as though savoring something.
“Prince Su certainly knows how to raise someone.”
Another man in black also came closer, his greasy gaze sweeping over Xia Lanshi’s body.
“Boss, this white-faced chief secretary is prettier than a woman. This skin, this face… tsk, tsk.”
“Isn’t it?” The leader licked his lips, lowering his voice as though sharing a vile secret only they understood. “His Highness said that if people discovered Prince Su’s chief secretary dead in the wilderness, with his clothes in disarray and some filthy traces left on him… tell me, how good would Prince Su’s reputation look?”
The others laughed even more maliciously.
It was not loud laughter.
It was suppressed laughter squeezed from deep in their throats, mixed with the crackling sound of the burning torches, like several poisonous snakes flicking their tongues in the darkness.
Xia Lanshi’s stomach churned. His fingers tightened, his nails sinking deeply into his palms.
He understood.
They did not merely want his life.
They wanted him, before dying, to first be stripped, violated, and trampled until not even the last trace of his dignity remained.
Then they would let Xiao Yuan come collect his body.
They wanted Xiao Yuan to see with his own eyes his most trusted chief secretary lying in the wilderness like a discarded piece of torn cloth.
Those pairs of eyes wandered repeatedly over his body, like flies crawling over rotting flesh.
Xia Lanshi had seen such gazes before.
When he had been abandoned by his family as a child, the servants had looked at him behind his back in exactly this way.
Treating him as an abnormality, as a plaything.
As something they could humiliate at will because no one would stand up for him.
At least then he had still had clothes to cover him.
Now even that layer of protection was about to be stripped away.
Xia Lanshi’s voice was extremely cold, as cold as the final hidden current beneath the frozen surface of a winter river.
“If you want to kill me, then kill me.”
He stared into the leader’s eyes, without the slightest trace of retreat in his red pupils.
“If you dare lay a finger on me, I guarantee that you will die far more miserably than I will.”
The man laughed.
“Quite fierce.”
He was not frightened. Instead, he seemed even more excited.
“Of course we’re going to kill you.”
He reached out and grabbed Xia Lanshi by the front of his clothes, his knuckles exerting force as he pulled him half a step forward.
Rip──
The fabric tore violently.
From the collar downward, it split cleanly, like peeling open a sheet of paper.
Cold wind instantly poured inside, touching the exposed skin and raising a fine layer of trembling.
Moonlight fell upon Xia Lanshi.
His skin was so pale that it was almost translucent, like snow that had never seen daylight, without the slightest blemish.
The breathing of several men in black noticeably grew heavier.
“My heavens…”
One of them whispered in amazement, his greedy gaze sticking to that expanse of whiteness, his Adam’s apple rolling up and down.
“This is even more…”
He did not finish.
Because he could not find words dirty enough to describe what lay before his eyes.
The leader reached out, his rough palm pressing against Xia Lanshi’s chest.
At that instant, Xia Lanshi’s entire body tensed violently as though burned.
That hand did not stop.
It slowly moved downward, rubbing across his collarbone and then lower, as though confirming every contour of this body.
It was not a caress.
It was desecration.
Xia Lanshi bit down hard on his lower lip.
He told himself it was nothing more than a body.
Yet his body’s reaction was faster than reason.
The corners of his eyes began to burn and redden, his vision blurring.
Something warm slid from the corner of his eye, flowing down his pale cheek.
It was not because of pain.
It was because of humiliation.
Because he did not even possess the ability to resist.
Yet this appearance of his only further inflamed the desire of these villains.
The man saw his tears and laughed.
He laughed with satisfaction.
“Why are you crying?”
“We haven’t even started yet.”
He leaned down and said, “Later… you’ll cry even harder.”
Xia Lanshi closed his eyes.
A bead of blood seeped from his lips.
He silently repeated in his heart—
Your Highness… this subject has done his best.
He would rather die than endure such humiliation.
The man reached out and grabbed Xia Lanshi’s remaining torn collar, about to strip away the last bit of covering and violate him violently.
At that very instant—
Whoosh.
Extremely faint.
Like a needle piercing through the wind, thrown from deep within the night.
The leader’s movement suddenly froze.
His fingers were still stopped on Xia Lanshi’s collar, but his entire body no longer moved.
The next moment, a line of blood appeared across his throat.
It was as thin as a red thread.
Then that line slowly widened, and blood began to seep outward.
His eyes widened. His lips opened and closed as though he wanted to say something.
Yet he could only produce a breathy,
“Hah… hah…”
His entire body seemed to have had its bones pulled away as he collapsed heavily forward, crashing down before Xia Lanshi.
The dust kicked up by the impact scattered across Xia Lanshi’s pale face.
Blood spread from the side of the man’s neck, slowly expanding across the cold ground like a flower blooming in the dark night.
“Who!”
The remaining men in black abruptly drew their blades and looked around, fear finally appearing in their voices.
“Who is it—”
Before the words had even fallen—
A figure emerged from the shadow of the withered tree, as though the darkness itself had condensed into a physical form.
The person’s figure was tall and slender, black hair tied up, a strange black mask covering his face and revealing only a pair of eyes.
Those eyes contained not the slightest unnecessary emotion.
Only coldness.
As though they belonged to a ghost messenger from the underworld.
Deep within those eyes, something flashed for an instant.
It was not killing intent.
Killing intent was too shallow.
It was something more primitive, more intense.
A lust for killing.
It was not merely wanting the opponent dead.
It was wanting the opponent to have never lived at all.
Torchlight reflected against the figure, stretching his shadow long and dark.
In his hand was an extremely short weapon, thin and narrow.
It gleamed with an unusual cold light.
It did not look like a blade.
Nor did it look like a sword.
It was more like moonlight frozen inside metal.
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes. Tears made everything before him appear separated by a layer of water.
He could not see the person’s face clearly.
He could only vaguely make out a pair of eyes.
Unfamiliar, yet inexplicably like eyes he had seen somewhere before.
He had no time to think carefully.
His consciousness was already beginning to scatter, and all that remained in his ears was the sound of blades cutting through the wind.
Someone in the darkness had cut the noose that was about to fall around him.
The remaining assassins immediately drew their blades and surrounded him.
The masked man in black moved.
His movements were so fast that they did not resemble those of an ordinary martial artist.
There was no imposing display of internal energy, no grand or sweeping techniques.
His movements were extremely fast, so fast that they were almost impossible to see clearly.
That was not martial arts.
It was a pure killing technique honed to its utmost limit.
Brief.
Precise.
Without the slightest flourish.
Every strike landed precisely upon the most vulnerable parts of the human body—
the side of the throat, the inside of the wrist, behind the knee, the back of the head.
The first person did not even have time to raise his blade before a thin line of blood appeared along the side of his throat, blood gushing out.
The second person swung his blade over.
The black-clad masked man turned sideways, moving only an inch.
The blade grazed past the man’s chest, and then he gently thrust forward.
The folding knife sank beneath the opponent’s armpit, where there was an unknown gap that connected directly to the heart.
He pulled it out. There was no shower of blood.
Because the wound was too narrow for the blood to spurt out in time. The man had already collapsed.
The third person turned and tried to run.
But the black-clad masked man did not pursue him.
He simply switched the folding knife to his left hand and threw it, the tip of the blade precisely pinning itself into the back of the man’s knee.
The man let out a scream and pitched forward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The black-clad masked man walked over, bent down, and pulled out the knife.
The movement was smooth and effortless, as though he were doing something utterly ordinary.
He lowered his head and glanced at the assassin still twitching by his feet, then struck the back of the man’s neck with his palm.
The man immediately collapsed.
He was not dead.
But not because the masked man was incapable of killing him.
It was because some things needed a living person’s mouth to tell.
The entire process had taken only a moment. The ruined temple once again fell silent.
The torches were still burning, casting the shadows of the bodies scattered across the floor onto the walls, distorted and grotesque.
The air was filled with the rusty smell of blood.
It mingled with the scent of earth, charred wood, and something deeper—a smell that belonged to death.
The black-clad masked man stood amid the bloodshed, not a single drop of blood staining his robes.
He put away the bloodstained folding knife and turned toward Xia Lanshi.
Xia Lanshi instinctively shrank back a little.
It was not because he was afraid.
It was because of the way he looked right now—
His collar had been torn open, exposing his chest, his hands were bound, and tear marks still remained on his face.
He did not want anyone to see him in this shameful state.
Especially not a stranger.
The black-clad masked man’s footsteps paused.
He said nothing.
He simply crouched down and used the short blade to cut through the ropes binding Xia Lanshi’s hands and feet.
The instant the ropes came loose, Xia Lanshi could barely support himself and fell forward.
The black-clad masked man reached out and caught him.
The movement was gentle, like catching a flake of snow falling from a tree.
Xia Lanshi leaned against that person’s chest and struggled to open his eyes.
His vision was still blurry. All he could see was the black collar of the man’s robe.
And as the man drew closer, a faint, unusual fragrance reached him.
It was not the richness of incense, nor the bitterness of medicinal herbs.
It was like some distant afternoon, when sunlight passed through an old wooden window.
Like a solitary, proud cold plum blooming in the depths of winter, untouched and unpicked.
It left behind a little warmth in the air, a scent that belonged to the mortal world.
Xia Lanshi could not remember where he had smelled it before.
It was too far away.
So far away that it felt like something from his previous life.
“Who… are you?”
His voice was extremely faint, like a wisp of smoke scattered by the wind.
The man seemed to let out a soft laugh.
Very faint.
So faint that it was almost inaudible.
“Just passing by.”
Xia Lanshi froze.
The voice had been deliberately lowered, making it impossible to hear clearly.
Yet when those two words fell into his ears, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He could not explain why.
It was as though someone had quietly plucked a string in his destiny that should never have been touched.
He wanted to look one more time, but his consciousness could no longer hold on.
Darkness surged over him like a tide, slowly swallowing him.
The black-clad masked man lowered his head and looked at the person unconscious in his arms, his gaze settling on Xia Lanshi’s pale face.
That face was as white as paper, as white as snow.
The coldness in the black-clad masked man’s eyes finally dispersed completely, revealing a complicated emotion beneath.
Like heartache.
Like regret.
Like finally seeing someone again after crossing countless spaces and times.
He reached out, his fingertips brushing extremely lightly over the tear marks on Xia Lanshi’s face.
The movement was so gentle that he did not seem like someone who had just killed people.
Then he lowered his head.
His forehead gently rested against Xia Lanshi’s.
His voice was so low that it was almost nonexistent.
“…My little snow spirit.”
Like a voice of snow falling upon an empty wilderness, something Xia Lanshi had never heard.
In the distance, the sound of approaching horses had already drawn near, each hoofbeat urgent.
The black-clad masked man raised his head, his gaze instantly returning to calm.
He lifted a hand and straightened Xia Lanshi’s torn collar.
The movement was swift, yet extremely careful.
Then he pulled a cloak from one of the fallen assassins nearby and covered Xia Lanshi with it.
After finishing everything, he stood and glanced at the approaching firelight in the distance.
“They got here pretty quickly.”
His tone was flat.
As though he were merely commenting that the weather was nice today.
He lowered his head for one final look at Xia Lanshi. That glance was so brief it could almost be ignored.
In those eyes was a profound weariness that no one could possibly understand.
His figure flashed and disappeared into the darkness.
As though he had never been there.
◆◇◆◇◆
When Xiao Yuan arrived at the ruined temple, what he saw was a ground covered with corpses.
A torch had fallen to the ground, scorching a patch of wild grass.
The smell of burning and blood spread through the night wind.
Xia Lanshi was lying against the wall, a strange cloak draped over him. Although his collar showed signs of having been torn, it had already been carefully straightened.
Xiao Yuan dismounted with a tense expression.
The wild gallop had aggravated his wounds. The pain around his waist and abdomen had long since changed from a dull ache into a tearing, burning pain.
Beneath his dark clothing, blood was slowly seeping out.
But he could not care about that now.
“Xia Lanshi!”
He crouched down and felt Xia Lanshi’s pulse.
He was still alive.
He had simply fainted from shock and cold, compounded by his already weak constitution.
Xiao Yuan’s expression relaxed slightly.
Then it darkened again.
He looked at the dead assassins on the ground.
The wounds were strange.
They were neither ordinary cuts nor stabs from swords, nor did they resemble wounds from concealed weapons.
The wounds were narrow and deep, yet their locations were incredibly precise.
The side of the throat, the wrist, the back of the knee, the back of the neck.
Every strike seemed designed to make the person lose the ability to resist as quickly as possible.
They were so clean that they did not resemble the methods of ordinary assassins.
Even less did they resemble the techniques used by the Great Sheng army.
The ropes beside Xia Lanshi had been cut apart, the cuts perfectly smooth.
The weapon must have been extremely sharp, yet it did not resemble an ordinary long blade.
Xiao Yuan’s eyes darkened.
Someone had rescued Xia Lanshi before he arrived. He should have been grateful.
But this person’s identity was unknown, their weapon strange, and their skills uncanny.
Whether they were friend or foe remained unknown.
The hidden guards arrived shortly afterward and knelt together.
“Your Highness!”
Xiao Yuan said coldly, “Investigate.”
“Investigate these people, and investigate the person who just rescued Xia Lanshi.”
One of the hidden guards froze.
“Rescued him?”
Xiao Yuan said, “There is a third party here.”
His fingertip brushed over one of the wounds, his gaze cold and dark.
“They did not use any weapon commonly found in Great Sheng.”
The hidden guard’s expression turned solemn.
“Yes.”
Xiao Yuan removed his outer robe and wrapped Xia Lanshi more tightly in it.
Xia Lanshi gave a soft cough in his unconsciousness, his brows knitted together, as though he were still trapped in fear.
Murderous intent surged in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
The Crown Prince had actually dared to lay hands on his people.
He would remember this debt.
He carried Xia Lanshi into the carriage.
When he stood, the wound around his waist and abdomen suddenly flared with pain, and his vision even went black for a moment.
The hidden guard beside him immediately stepped forward.
“Your Highness, your injury!”
Xiao Yuan said coldly, “Return to the residence.”
“But…”
“Return to the residence.”
No one dared say another word.
◆◇◆◇◆
Inside the Prince Su’s Residence, the physician was summoned from his sleep in the middle of the night.
By the time Xia Lanshi was carried back to his room, he had already begun running a high fever.
He was already weak to begin with. After suffering fright and exposure to the cold, his entire body burned with fever, and his breathing was rapid.
After examining him, the physician’s expression was also grim.
“The Chief Secretary was excessively frightened, and the cold has entered his body. On top of that, his original weakness has not yet recovered. I’m afraid he will have quite a fever.”
When Chi Banyue arrived, her expression was frighteningly cold.
When she saw the bright red rope marks around Xia Lanshi’s wrists and his torn clothing, the murderous intent in her eyes could no longer be suppressed.
“Who did this?”
Xiao Yuan stood beside the bed, his face pale to the point of almost being transparent.
“The Crown Prince.”
Chi Banyue gave a cold laugh, without the slightest trace of weakness in it.
“Very good. Put it on the account. We’ll settle it another day.”
When the physician was preparing medicine for Xia Lanshi, Xiao Yuan finally lowered his head and glanced at his own waist and abdomen.
His dark clothing was soaked through with blood. It was obvious that the wound had split open again, and it was more serious than yesterday.
Chi Banyue’s expression changed slightly when she saw it.
“Your Highness, you need to treat your wound too.”
Xiao Yuan said indifferently, “It’s fine.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the room suddenly fell silent.
Chi Banyue looked at him.
She really wanted to remind him that if that Su Physician heard those two words, he would probably be in trouble again.
But Xia Lanshi was unconscious, and Xiao Yuan’s complexion was also terrible. In the end, she did not tease him at a time like this.
She only said, “Your Highness, you still have to go to the Northern Border in three days.”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment.
“Bring the medicine box.”
Chi Banyue immediately had someone fetch it.
Following the wound-treatment method that Imperial Physician Su had previously left behind, the physician once again stopped the bleeding and bandaged Xiao Yuan’s wound.
When the povidone-iodine touched the wound, Xiao Yuan did not even move his brows.
Only, for some reason, the image of Su Muchen’s cold face suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he became somewhat irritated.
It was not because of the pain.
It was because he knew that if Su Muchen found out about this, the other man would definitely be angry.
And this time, it would probably be even harder to appease him than before.
◆◇◆◇◆
At the same time, at Guichen Studio.
Su Muchen was dividing up the newly arrived oral rehydration salts.
His eyelid suddenly twitched.
The measuring spoon in his hand fell into the bag with a faint sound.
Xiao was sitting not far away, wiping a small and thin folding knife.
The blade glimmered coldly.
By the time Su Muchen looked up, he had already put the knife away as though nothing had happened.
“What is it?” Xiao asked.
Su Muchen frowned.
“I don’t know. I suddenly feel a little uneasy.”
Xiao lowered his eyes, his tone as usual.
“Probably because you haven’t slept enough.”
Su Muchen looked at him.
For some reason, he felt that Xiao was somewhat different tonight.
But he could not put his finger on it. There was a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
“You went out just now?”
“To buy something.” Xiao smiled. “Muchen, I’m the purchasing department manager, you know.”
Su Muchen looked at him suspiciously.
“You smell like blood.”
Although it was very faint, he was extremely familiar with the smell of blood. There was no way he could have mistaken it.
Xiao’s movements stopped.
He immediately smiled.
“I scraped my hand while moving some goods.”
Su Muchen frowned.
“Give me your hand. Let me see.”
Xiao immediately put his hand behind his back.
“It’s a minor injury. No need to trouble Physician Su.”
Su Muchen said coldly, “Do all of you people like calling everything a minor injury?”
Xiao smiled.
“I’m different from His Highness. I value my life more.”
Su Muchen was about to say something when, from the depths of the corridor, the faint sound of a door lock suddenly rang out.
Click.
Su Muchen abruptly raised his head.
“At this hour…?”
A cold white light appeared through the crack of the door.
The next instant, Xiao Yuan stepped out of the light.
His complexion was even worse than before. Although his waist and abdomen had been rebandaged, the faint red of blood could still be seen seeping through.
Su Muchen’s expression instantly darkened.
“Xiao Yuan, you!”
Xiao Yuan’s footsteps stopped.
Those few words were very soft, yet somehow more frightening than being loudly scolded.
Xiao, holding a teacup, silently moved a little farther away, conveniently surveying his escape route.
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment before honestly explaining.
“…Something happened to Xia Lanshi.”
Su Muchen froze.
“What happened to him?”
“The Crown Prince sent people to abduct him to the outskirts. They intended to kill him, and they also wanted to violate him.”
The air inside the shop suddenly fell deathly silent.
Fury instantly surfaced in Su Muchen’s eyes.
“Scum.”
He cursed in a low voice.
Then he immediately asked, “Where is he?”
“He has already been rescued and taken back to the residence,” Xiao Yuan said. “He was frightened and exposed to the cold, and now he has a fever. The physician has treated him, but his body is too weak. I wanted to ask you how he should be cared for.”
Su Muchen immediately picked up paper and a pen and began taking notes.
“Does he have any external injuries?”
“Rope marks on his wrists, a blow to the back of his neck, and his clothes were torn, but he was not violated.”
Su Muchen’s fingers paused. His anger deepened, but he forced himself to remain calm.
“How high is the fever?”
“The physician did not measure it. He only said he had a fever.”
“You don’t have a thermometer over there.”
Su Muchen took out a spare thermometer and a simple care guide.
“Take these back. Teach the people around Xia Lanshi how to measure his temperature.”
He spoke while writing.
“Keep him warm, but don’t cover him too heavily. Keep his airway clear. If the fever is high, start with physical cooling measures, then use fever-reducing medicine depending on the situation. His body is weak, so don’t give him too much medicine indiscriminately. After experiencing severe fright, he may repeatedly have nightmares, heart palpitations, or tremors. Someone he trusts needs to stay beside him. Clean and disinfect the rope wounds on his wrists. For the injury to the back of his neck, monitor his consciousness. If he vomits, becomes more unconscious, or his pupils become abnormal, tell me immediately.”
Su Muchen rattled off a long string of instructions.
Xiao listened very seriously, committing them all to memory.
After Su Muchen finished writing, he put the medicine and thermometer into a bag and pushed it toward him.
“These are for Xia Lanshi.”
Xiao accepted them.
Only then did Su Muchen look at his waist and abdomen.
“And you?”
Xiao fell silent.
Su Muchen sneered.
“Not saying anything? Are you afraid to say it, or do you not want to say it?”
Xiao Yuan said quietly, “The wound split open while I was riding there.”
Su Muchen closed his eyes.
As expected.
He picked up the first-aid kit, his voice cold enough to frighten someone.
“Sit down.”
Xiao Yuan sat down.
This time, he did not resist at all.
Su Muchen cut open the outer bandages.
When he saw the wound that had split open again, his expression became even colder than before.
“Congratulations. Your recovery progress has been reset to zero.”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
“Sorry.”
Su Muchen’s hands paused.
This was the first time Xiao Yuan had apologized to him.
But at this moment, he did not want to hear it at all.
He lowered his head and disinfected the wound, his voice cold and indifferent.
“Don’t apologize to me. You weren’t injured for my sake.”
Xiao Yuan fell silent.
Those words were like a tiny thorn. It did not pierce deeply, yet it was impossible for him to ignore.
Su Muchen treated his wound again without saying another word.
Xiao Yuan watched his tense profile. Several times, he wanted to speak, but in the end, he said nothing.
The shop was left with only the smell of disinfectant and the rustling of pages.
After finishing Xiao Yuan’s treatment, Su Muchen tossed the medicine to him.
“Eat.”
Xiao Yuan took it.
“Su Muchen…”
Su Muchen directly turned around and went to organize Xia Lanshi’s care package.
He did not even spare him another glance.
Holding the medicine bag, Xiao Yuan clearly felt an unfamiliar unease for the first time.
He was accustomed to other people fearing him, hating him, plotting against him, and betraying him.
But he was not accustomed to Su Muchen becoming this cold. Somehow, this was even more uncomfortable than being scolded.
Xiao walked over to his side and lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of schadenfreude.
“Your Highness.”
Xiao Yuan looked at him coldly.
Xiao smiled. “You’re done for.”
Xiao Yuan: “…”
◆◇◆◇◆
After Xiao Yuan returned to Prince Su’s Residence with the care package, Su Muchen was still coldly organizing the supplies.
Xiao sat to one side, twirling that small folding knife in his hand.
Su Muchen suddenly looked at him.
“Xiao.”
“Hmm?”
“Were you really just out shopping tonight?”
Xiao’s fingers paused.
Then he smiled. “If not?”
Su Muchen stepped closer, his gaze landing on a faint dark mark at his cuff.
“The smell of blood on you doesn’t seem like it came from scraping yourself while moving goods.”
Although the smell of blood had been cleaned away until it was extremely faint, it still carried a murderous aura. Su Muchen was not an idiot and was not so easily brushed off.
Besides the smell of blood, there was also a faint, indistinct fragrance.
Xiao looked at him.
Su Muchen continued:
“Xia Lanshi was abducted. Before Xiao Yuan had even arrived, someone had already rescued him, but that person escaped. The timing matches when you were away from the shop.”
Xiao Yuan had briefly told him what had happened just now.
The shop fell silent.
The smile on Xiao’s face finally faded somewhat.
After a while, he said lazily, “Muchen, knowing some things too clearly isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Su Muchen stared at him.
“Can you go to Dàshèng?”
He had always thought that Xiao Yuan was the only one who could open the door, but he had never expected that there was someone else who could open it as well.
Then again, it made sense. Xiao had never said that Xiao Yuan was the only person who could open the door.
Xiao did not answer.
His silence was the answer.
Su Muchen’s heart sank.
He remembered that when he had first arrived, he had also tried to pass through the door, but the moment his fingers touched that darkness, he had been unable to touch it at all, as though he had received an electric shock.
But if Xiao could also travel through it freely, why had he never said so before? Otherwise, he could have helped transport the severely injured Xiao Yuan and the goods over.
He had not done so, which meant there had to be a reason.
“Tell me. Are you unable to freely travel through this door?”
He guessed that Xiao could indeed go to Dàshèng, but there was some kind of restriction, unlike Xiao Yuan, who could travel through it freely.
Xiao smiled faintly. He felt that Su Muchen was becoming smarter and smarter, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide things from him.
“Indeed. I can’t travel through it freely. There is a price to pay.”
He extended his hand. When he pushed up his sleeve, a faint ring of black markings was revealed around his wrist.
They looked as though they had been burned, yet also resembled some strange door pattern.
Su Muchen’s pupils contracted slightly.
“What is that?”
Xiao lowered his sleeve, his tone still relaxed.
“Backlash.”
Su Muchen’s expression completely darkened.
“Will it disappear?”
“No.”
“What effect will it have?”
Xiao smiled indifferently and answered, “The more times I use it and the longer I stay, the more it will gradually spread toward my torso. Once it covers my entire body, I will no longer exist in this world.”
He said it so calmly, as though he were talking about someone else’s affairs, yet Su Muchen’s heart sank.
Su Muchen knew that this was extremely serious backlash. It was perhaps the price Xiao had to pay for violating the rules of the door, and the price might not merely be his life. It was possible that even his existence would be erased.
And this time, Xiao’s actions had actually been to save someone from another world. What had made him disregard his own life like this?
Seeing the worry on his face, Xiao smiled.
“Once in a while won’t kill me.”
Su Muchen’s expression changed.
“Not dying doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong!”
Xiao looked at him, then suddenly curved his eyes.
“Muchen, you’re very suited to being a doctor.”
Su Muchen, however, did not let him distract him.
“Why did you save Xia Lanshi?”
The folding knife in Xiao’s hand stopped.
This time, he remained silent even longer than before.
After a long while, he finally said indifferently, “I happened to pass by.”
Su Muchen: “…”
He finally understood why Xiao Yuan sometimes gave him such terrible headaches.
Because these people were all the same.
Stubborn, self-righteous, hiding everything and refusing to say anything.
One day, they were going to make him die of anger.
He said coldly, “Hold out your hand.”
Xiao blinked. “What for?”
“Examination.”
“I’m really fine.”
Su Muchen said expressionlessly, “Say that again.”
Looking at his expression, Xiao finally obediently extended his hand and let Su Muchen examine it.
Su Muchen suddenly felt that he had not inherited a shop.
He had inherited a group of troublesome people who refused to live properly.
One Xiao Yuan.
One Xiao.
And one Xia Lanshi, whom he had not even met yet but who had already fallen ill.
His Guichen Studio was not a shop.
It was a shelter for people across time and space who refused to follow their doctor’s orders.
◆◇◆◇◆
Inside Prince Su’s Residence.
Xia Lanshi’s high fever had subsided slightly during the latter half of the night.
Chi Banyue guarded the bedside and, according to the instructions Su Muchen had written, checked his temperature again and again.
She said quietly, “Thirty-eight point two degrees.”
The physician beside her stared in shock at the small thermometer.
“This object can actually measure fever with such precision?”
Chi Banyue said coldly, “Don’t ask. Just do it.”
The physician immediately shut his mouth.
Xia Lanshi’s brows were tightly furrowed in his sleep, as though he were still trapped in the nightmare of that moment at the ruined temple.
Chi Banyue tucked the corner of his blanket around him, her eyes becoming gentler than usual.
“Sickly one, hang in there. You still owe me a thank-you.”
Outside the door, Xiao Yuan stood beneath the corridor eaves.
A hidden guard knelt before him and reported in a low voice.
“Your Highness, the survivor found at the ruined temple has already been interrogated. He is indeed a person from the Eastern Palace.”
“Additionally, this subordinate discovered traces of another person at the scene, but that person left extremely quickly and did not leave any tracks.”
Xiao Yuan asked, “Weapon?”
“It does not resemble the weapons commonly used in Dàshèng,” the hidden guard said. “The wounds are narrow and deep, seemingly caused by an extremely thin short blade. The attacker was familiar with the vital points of the human body. The movements were concise, without any unnecessary actions.”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze became deep.
For some reason, he thought of the shopkeeper at Guichen Studio who was always smiling lazily.
Xiao.
This person could handle gold, guard the ancient door, and know the restrictions of the door.
Although things had been rushed just now, he had not missed that extremely faint trace of blood aura inside Guichen Studio.
Xiao Yuan remained silent for a long time, certain thoughts surfacing in his heart.
Finally, he said, “There is no need to investigate further.”
The hidden guard was stunned.
“Yes.”
Xiao Yuan looked toward the room where Xia Lanshi was staying.
Regardless of who that person was, at least tonight, he had saved Xia Lanshi.
He would remember this debt.
But within Guichen Studio, he had to ensure that everything remained under his control.
◆◇◆◇◆
When dawn was about to break, Chi Banyue finally confirmed that Xia Lanshi’s condition had stabilized.
She walked out of the room and saw that Xiao Yuan was still standing beneath the corridor eaves.
“Your Highness, Xia Lanshi is temporarily out of danger.”
Xiao Yuan nodded.
Chi Banyue glanced at his injured area.
“What about Your Highness?”
Xiao Yuan said indifferently, “It’s fine.”
Chi Banyue: “…”
She finally understood why Su Muchen had gotten angry.
Because those two words really did sound like they were asking to be cursed at.
She coughed lightly.
“Your Highness, did you anger Doctor Su again?”
Xiao Yuan fell silent.
Chi Banyue understood.
Apparently, he really had made him angry.
Xiao Yuan looked at her coldly, seemingly wanting to say something.
Holding back her laughter, Chi Banyue asked gently, “What does Your Highness want to ask?”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment, as though he were dealing with a matter more troublesome than seizing power at court.
Finally, he asked in a low voice, “…How do I make someone stop being angry?”
Chi Banyue’s eyes instantly lit up.
This was much more interesting than sending her to assassinate someone.
She coughed lightly, desperately suppressing the corners of her lips.
“That depends on why the other person is angry.”
Xiao Yuan said, “My wound split open.”
Chi Banyue nodded. “So His Highness made him worry.”
Xiao Yuan frowned. “He is angry.”
“He is angry because he worries about you.” Chi Banyue spoke with absolute certainty. “If he didn’t care, even if Your Highness bled dry, he would only complain that you dirtied the floor.”
Xiao Yuan fell silent for a moment.
This actually sounded quite reasonable.
Chi Banyue leaned a little closer and lowered her voice, as though she were imparting some peerless secret technique.
“Making someone stop being angry is very simple.”
Xiao Yuan looked at her.
Chi Banyue held up one finger.
“First, admit your mistake.”
Xiao Yuan said expressionlessly, “I did.”
“The way Your Highness admits a mistake probably sounds like you’re informing the other person: I understand, but I’ll still dare to do it next time.”
Xiao Yuan: “…”
Chi Banyue raised a second finger.
“Second, give him a gift.”
Xiao Yuan pondered this.
“What should I give him?”
Chi Banyue smiled. “Give him something he likes.”
“He lacks money.”
“Other than money.”
Chi Banyue rolled her eyes inwardly, feeling that His Highness Prince Su had absolutely no sense of romance.
Xiao Yuan frowned.
What did Su Muchen like?
Medical books?
Medicinal herbs?
Antiques?
Or those things that could save people?
Xiao Yuan discovered that he actually knew nothing about Su Muchen’s preferences.
Seeing him deep in thought, the smile in Chi Banyue’s eyes deepened.
“Your Highness, if that Doctor Su is soft-hearted, he may not be happy if you give him gold and silver. It would be better to give him something he cares about.”
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes. “For example?”
“For example, let him know that you truly took his words to heart.”
Chi Banyue smiled gently.
“And, for another example, give him something that will let him feel at ease.”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a long time.
Finally, he said, “I understand.”
Chi Banyue seriously doubted whether he truly understood, but she did not dare ask further.
After all, the expression on Prince Su Xiao Yuan’s face at this moment looked as though he were about to fight a battle more difficult than competing for the throne.
After Chi Banyue left, Xiao Yuan summoned a guard.
“Bring me brush and ink.”
He paused for a moment, then added, “Also bring a box of Eastern Pearls, a century-old ginseng, and…”
He thought for a moment.
“Bring the Imperial Medical Academy’s copy of Annotations on the Hundred Herbs.”
The guard was stunned.
That copy of Annotations on the Hundred Herbs was a rare imperial palace edition. Although it was not the only existing copy, it was still extremely difficult to obtain.
Who was His Highness planning to give it to?
But he did not dare ask.
“Yes.”
Xiao Yuan sat before the desk and wrote several lines.
He rarely wrote private letters and was not good at explaining himself.
But when he thought of Su Muchen’s cold gaze, the brush in his hand stopped for a long time.
Finally, only a few lines fell onto the paper:
—What happened today was not my intention.
—My wound splitting open was my fault.
—Next time, I will evade first and will not fight lightly, if it can be avoided.
After writing this, even he frowned slightly.
When Su Muchen saw it, he would probably still be angry.
He picked up the brush again and wrote at the end:
—The medicine has been taken on time.
Only after writing this line did he feel slightly satisfied.
At least this was something he had indeed done.
◆◇◆◇◆
Inside Guichen Studio.
Su Muchen looked at the black markings on Xiao’s wrist, his expression extremely grim.
Xiao was rarely somewhat sheepish.
“Actually, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Shut up.”
“Oh.”
Su Muchen could not find any medicine that could treat this kind of backlash, so he could only first examine his skin temperature, pulse, and mental state.
The more he examined, the worse his expression became.
Xiao looked like nothing was wrong, but his wrist was frighteningly cold, completely devoid of warmth, as though it belonged to a dead person.
The black markings looked like tiny cracks of some kind, spreading beneath the skin.
Su Muchen said solemnly, “You are not allowed to travel through the door recklessly again.”
Xiao smiled. “I didn’t travel through it recklessly. At least I saved someone.”
Su Muchen was about to say something else when, at that moment, white light once again illuminated the depths of the corridor.
Xiao Yuan emerged from the door again, holding a wooden box that was not particularly large in his arms.
Coincidentally, he happened to see Su Muchen touching Xiao’s wrist, as well as Xiao quickly withdrawing his hand and pulling his sleeve down.
His eyes swept over the two of them and darkened slightly.
When he saw Su Muchen, his gaze paused for a moment.
Then he looked at Xiao beside him, whose sleeve now covered his wrist. Their gazes briefly met.
Neither spoke.
Su Muchen noticed the subtle silence between them and frowned, but he still had to ask what needed to be asked.
“How is Xia Lanshi?”
Xiao Yuan said, “The high fever has gone down somewhat. He is temporarily stable.”
Su Muchen said coldly, “That’s good.”
Xiao Yuan handed the wooden box to Su Muchen.
“For you.”
Su Muchen frowned. “What is it?”
Xiao Yuan said, “An apology gift.”
Su Muchen froze.
When had he ever asked Xiao Yuan for an apology gift? Thinking carefully, he seemed to have once shouted something about “compensation for the mental damages caused by refusing to follow medical orders.”
Su Muchen frowned and opened the wooden box.
There was no gold inside.
Instead, there was a box of round, lustrous Eastern Pearls, a carefully preserved old ginseng root, and a bound medical book.
On top was a piece of paper, covered in sharp, beautiful handwriting.
Su Muchen picked it up and read.
—What happened today was not my intention.
—My wound splitting open was my fault.
—Next time, I will evade first and will not fight lightly, if it can be avoided.
—The medicine has been taken on time.
Su Muchen stared at the final line and remained silent for a long time.
The coldness on his face finally showed the slightest crack, like clouds parting to reveal the sun.
But he quickly suppressed it.
“‘If it can be avoided’?”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
“I don’t want to lie to you.”
Su Muchen raised his eyes.
Xiao Yuan’s voice was very low.
“There are some things I have no choice but to do. But I will remember what you said.”
The shop fell silent.
Su Muchen held that piece of paper, and the anger that had been stuck inside him all night suddenly did not know where to go.
This person was truly annoying.
Even his apologies were incomplete, and he refused to make his promises absolute. Yet he was honest enough that Su Muchen could not continue scolding him.
In the end, Su Muchen could only say coldly, “You took the medicine on time. You did well on that.”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
“Are you still angry?”
Su Muchen paused.
He realized that the way Xiao Yuan was looking at him seemed like a child who had been scolded, revealing a trace of expectation and fear of being hurt, only hidden extremely well so that his emotions did not show on the surface.
The tips of Su Muchen’s ears grew slightly warm. Expressionless, he put the letter away.
“We’ll see how you behave.”
A faint smile finally surfaced in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
“Okay.”