Today’s official duties ended early. Xie Yi remembered that Lin Zhiji had previously said he wanted to go take a look at the fish market.
The fish market had originally started with common people rowing boats along the waterways and selling their catches to people on shore, and later it slowly developed into a kind of alternative marketplace.
After learning about it, Lin Zhiji had always wanted to go see it, but because Qingxi City had been under strict lockdown for a while, the fish market had completely disappeared. Only recently, as restrictions in the city gradually loosened, had it slowly started to revive.
During that dangerous period outside, Lin Zhiji had also been forced to stay inside the residence without being able to go out.
Xie Yi felt a little sorry for him. Now that conditions in the city were better, he decided to take him out for a walk.
It was absolutely not because Liu Muzhi had sent Lin Zhiji a letter inviting him to Jiang City, and he was jealous.
Moreover, in a while, they would be moving from Qingxi City to the Prefectural Governor’s Residence in Jiang City. Once he had free time, he would personally accompany Lin Zhiji to stroll through Jiang City.
After he left the study,
Song Lü immediately shot meaningful looks at Luo Zhitang: “Heh heh, the Master is leaving in such a hurry—he must be going back to find Young Master Lin. Scholar Luo, shall we make a bet?”
“Who would bet on something you’re guaranteed to lose?” Luo Zhitang poured himself a cup of tea, completely uninterested.
Song Lü instantly deflated. “Sigh… only Shuang Ren is easy to trick…”
Luo Zhitang smiled. “Shuang Ren is rarely in the residence and has never seen how the Master and Young Master Lin interact. Otherwise, how could he be fooled by you?”
Song Lü laughed along. “Hahaha, who among us could have imagined in the past that the Master would start caring about leisure and travel, and seize every chance to go out with Young Master Lin…”
Watching Song Lü muttering away, Luo Zhitang couldn’t help but feel emotional.
Yes—back then, the Master was so unfathomably intelligent and his martial arts were beyond comprehension. They respected him, but dared not approach him.
As for outsiders, it went without saying.
But now, with Young Master Lin, everything had changed. Even officials below knew that as long as Young Master Lin was present, the Master became much easier to deal with.
If the Master was a blade of unmatched sharpness, then Young Master Lin was its scabbard.
Luo Zhitang had once worried that the Master’s cold, extreme temperament would one day hurt both others and himself.
But with Young Master Lin there, that concern could finally be set aside.
—
The residence Xie Yi lived in was very large. The front and back courtyards were separated by a garden.
Jiangnan gardens emphasized “scenery shifting with each step.” Xie Yi passed through a moon gate and walked along a covered corridor, then saw Lin Zhiji through a lattice window.
He had not expected the two of them to be so in sync.
Xie Yi gave a soft chuckle.
But the moment he took one more step forward and saw Lin Zhiji and the figure opposite him—someone he was extremely familiar with—his smile vanished instantly.
At almost the same moment, a sharp pain shot through his left eye, forcing him to cover it.
Countless long-buried memories flashed through his mind.
At twelve years old, a batch of servants entered the general’s residence.
Among them was a servant named Ding Er, tall in stature and simple-looking, who was pushed into the most remote courtyard and did not complain.
But Xie Yi was the first to become wary of him.
Once, when he went to the main kitchen to collect steamed buns, he happened to run into Ding Er coming toward him.
Just as they were about to pass each other, he saw Ding Er glance at him—and a trace of killing intent flashed and disappeared.
It was so brief that it could easily be mistaken for an illusion.
But Xie Yi did not believe he was mistaken.
Later, he used a scheme to trap Ding Er.
Ding Er was gravely injured, his tendons in both hands and feet severed, his eyes blinded, and he was bound up.
In pain and terror, Ding Er cried uncontrollably, and only needed minimal interrogation before he confessed everything.
Only then did Xie Yi learn that this world was actually a book.
And he was the final villain who would bring about destruction.
But Ding Er himself did not know the full story, as he was not well-read.
He only knew that he had been bound to something called a “system,” and given a mission—to kill Xie Yi.
Xie Yi kept Ding Er alive and forced out everything he knew.
He also forced Ding Er to use the system’s points to exchange for martial arts manuals, classical texts, and various other materials.
Seeing those books appear out of thin air, a strong ambition rose within Xie Yi.
He thought that after Ding Er failed to kill him due to underestimating him, they—or rather, “it”—had already lost.
He split open Ding Er’s head, and an outline emerged—a strange golden sphere wearing bizarre clothing, staring at him in shock and disbelief.
Xie Yi reached out and grabbed it.
Unfortunately, Ding Er died too quickly; the moment he died, that shadow also vanished instantly.
But Xie Yi knew that as long as that shadow appeared in this world again, he would definitely be able to catch it.
He did not expect—
that he would see it again in a place like this.
The pain in his left eye grew more intense.
Even more painful than when he once used “Burning Marrow.”
Yet his other eye still stared fixedly at the two figures.
They were too far away; he could not hear what they were saying.
He only vaguely caught that sharp voice of the shadow: “he… kill… system…”
—
Lin Zhiji returned to his room in a daze.
The joy of having changed fate had already vanished, replaced by a strong sense of guilt.
So 03 was actually the one who had once tried to kill Xie Yi.
Lin Zhiji had always felt that the system and 03 were cold toward Xie Yi.
But he had never expected the truth to be like this.
Then what about him?
Was he also an accomplice?
If Xie Yi learned the truth, how would he see him?
Would he… kill him?
The moment that thought appeared, Lin Zhiji instinctively shook his head, trying to force it away.
No. That wouldn’t happen.
Xie Yi would not treat him like that.
He tried hard to suppress his chaotic thoughts.
But the more he tried not to think, the more unavoidable it became.
He remembered the moment he first bound with Xie Yi—the overwhelming pain that almost tore him apart.
At that moment, had Xie Yi mistaken him for 03, and tried to kill him?
That realization made him shiver.
Yes.
Anyone who was inexplicably targeted for assassination would want revenge.
Even someone as open and straightforward as Liu Muzhi could not suppress the desire for vengeance—let alone Xie Yi.
A dull ache rose in Lin Zhiji’s heart.
At that moment, he suddenly realized something.
He seemed to truly like Xie Yi.
Even though 03 kept warning him, even though he clearly knew Xie Yi might one day kill him, he… could not bring himself to leave Xie Yi.
He did not know how long he sat in the room.
Until night fell and the door was pushed open.
Lin Zhiji finally snapped back to reality.
Xie Yi’s figure walked in against the bright moonlight, as usual, asking, “Why didn’t you light a lamp?”
“I… I forgot,” Lin Zhiji said in panic.
He reached for the lamp on the table, but in his haste, his knee slammed hard into the table leg.
A hand reached out and firmly steadied him.
Long fingers locked around his waist, and the icy temperature seeped through the thin fabric into his skin, making him stiffen and goosebumps rise.
“Why are you so careless?” Xie Yi’s voice sounded above him, carrying an unclear meaning.
Before Lin Zhiji could react, Xie Yi used his other hand to light the lamp.
The bright flame swayed, illuminating a fleeting unnatural expression on Lin Zhiji’s face.
Xie Yi’s gaze darkened. He held Lin Zhiji’s waist and lifted him onto the table.
Xie Yi parted his legs and pressed himself between them.
Their distance was extremely close—almost eye to eye.
In the past, they had often been this intimate, but at this moment, Lin Zhiji did not yet know how to face Xie Yi.
What’s more, right now Xie Yi gave off a feeling of having torn away his refined outer shell, revealing the truly beast-like nature within, which made him even more at a loss.
Xie Yi’s gaze was fixed firmly on him, not missing the slightest change in his expression: “What did you do today? The servants said you didn’t go to eat dinner tonight.”
“Nothing… just stayed in the room.” Lin Zhiji avoided his gaze and said in a low voice.
Xie Yi’s eyes turned even colder. He reached out to touch Lin Zhiji’s cheek.
Lin Zhiji subconsciously turned his head away slightly.
But the next second, his chin was firmly grasped by Xie Yi.
“You’re avoiding me?”
Xie Yi’s voice was extremely calm.
“I didn’t… mm…”
Before Lin Zhiji could finish speaking, his lips were bitten by Xie Yi.
A slight sting spread across his lips. Lin Zhiji instinctively cried out in pain, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was met with a storm-like invasion.
Lin Zhiji could barely close his mouth; a thread of saliva spilled from the corner of his lips and slid down.
The intense feeling of suffocation made the corners of his eyes instantly redden, and tears rolled down.
He weakly tried to push Xie Yi away with his hands, making muffled “wu wu” sounds.
But Xie Yi tore off his waistband and roughly bound his wrists behind his back.
With his belt undone, his clothes also fell open.
Xie Yi’s cold fingers traced down his neck, collarbone, chest… and continued downward.
The same hands that on ordinary days were gentle and considerate, making Lin Zhiji almost forget he was a villain.
At this moment, that hidden dominance and cruelty were fully revealed.
No matter how Lin Zhiji begged, he did not let go.
Lin Zhiji felt like a small boat on a stormy sea, being torn apart by raging waves; yet each wave struck harder than the last, forcing him deeper into a darker whirlpool.
……
In the end, Lin Zhiji’s throat was hoarse from crying, his face covered in tear stains, and he drifted into a deep sleep.
Scratch marks were left all over Xie Yi’s neck and back from Lin Zhiji’s fingernails.
Xie Yi did not care.
He cleaned Lin Zhiji’s body and carried him back to bed.
Perhaps he had been thoroughly worn out; even so, Lin Zhiji did not wake.
He even instinctively leaned toward Xie Yi, completely forgetting who had done this to him.
Xie Yi’s gaze softened for a brief moment, then turned cold again.
He gently brushed the stray hair from Lin Zhiji’s face, his fingertips softly stroking his cheek.
He would never let Lin Zhiji leave.
Even if Lin Zhiji feared him.
Even if Lin Zhiji wanted to kill him.