The quilt was too large. Whatever was trapped inside wriggled up and down, squirming left and darting right, but no matter what it tried, it couldn’t break free from the surrounding folds.
Unable to take it any longer, Cen Xianyun yanked the quilt off in one swift motion.
Suddenly regaining its freedom, the creature hiding inside was completely dazed. Its teary eyes reflected the innocent ignorance of a young child.
No, Cen Xianyun thought, pressing his palm to his forehead. What bullshit innocent ignorance? It was pure, unadulterated stupidity!
“Y-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!” Long Aotian let out a squeal of joy and scrambled quickly toward the young master on all fours. Taking advantage of a moment when the young master was off guard, he threw his arms open and tightly hugged one of the young master’s arms, shouting repeatedly, “Yeah-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!”
What in the world?
Cen Xianyun knitted his brows and tried to shake Long Aotian off, but Long Aotian clung to him like a stubborn plaster, refusing to let go for dear life.
“Let go.” Cen Xianyun was only wearing an inner garment. Now that the quilt had been pulled off and the cold wind blew over him, he felt an intense chill and shivered uncontrollably.
Suppressing an itch in his throat, a reprimand and a cough broke out simultaneously the moment he opened his mouth: “Cough, cough, I told you to let go, cough, cough, do you not understand human speech?”
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Once the coughing started, it surged out like a runaway horse, completely out of control. Leaving Long Aotian, who was now holding on even tighter, to his own devices, Cen Xianyun covered his mouth, his shoulders trembling violently as he coughed uncontrollably.
As he coughed more intensely, he tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.
Such a repulsive taste reminded him of the blood dripping all over his hands in his dream. Ling Heng, Ling Heng.
Wasn’t Immortal Ling Heng precisely his identity for this current mission?
Cen Xianyun turned his head away and saw Long Aotian acting just like a kitten, pressing half his face against his arm and nuzzling back and forth.
This was a far cry from the unhinged, sorrowful monster in his dream; to say they were the same would be a stretch, as they were completely different.
“Oh my goodness! Young Master, what’s wrong?” Hearing the commotion inside, the wet nurse hurriedly pushed the door open and entered.
She pulled aside the bed curtains, draped a thick fox-fur cloak over the young master’s shoulders, and used her rough, warm palms to gently pat his back one stroke at a time, unable to stop herself from nagging: “Why didn’t you put on an outer garment before getting up?”
After coughing for a long while, Cen Xianyun finally caught his breath. He pointed at Long Aotian, who was still clinging to his arm, and asked in a raspy voice, “What is going on here?”
The wet nurse pulled a silk handkerchief from her bosom and carefully wiped the tears from the corners of the young master’s eyes: “The other rooms in the residence haven’t been tidied up yet, so they aren’t fit for living. I heard him constantly calling for you, Young Master, and since he was brought back by you personally, I thought I’d place him in your room for the time being.”
A young master pampered with rare jewels and treasures possessed skin that was absurdly delicate. That violent coughing spell just now had brought tears to his eyes and left their corners flushed with red, adding a touch of fragile, delicate beauty to his appearance.
Seeing this sight, the old wet nurse felt an even stronger surge of doting affection in her heart. In her youth, she had served the Madam in the capital and had seen countless beautiful and handsome young masters and ladies. Looking back now, however, she felt that none of them could match even a fraction of her young master’s grace.
She smoothed the young master’s hair and added, “I settled him on the small daybed in the outer room. I have no idea how he managed to sneak in here.”
Cen Xianyun nodded to acknowledge the explanation. He pinched the back of the neck of Long Aotian, who was still nuzzling against him, and smiled half-heartedly: “Who gave you permission to climb up here?”
Long Aotian raised his head, displaying that same clueless, foolish expression. Even though his vital spot was being pinched, he parted his lips and let out a bubbly, dim-witted smile, looking all the more foolish.
“Yeah-Yeah!”
【Congratulations to the host for achieving the achievement: “That’s Right, I Am Long Aotian’s Grandpa!”】
Not satisfied with merely verbal gloating, the system set off a few fireworks in his sea of consciousness, crackling endlessly.
【Allow me to interview you: how does it feel to be recognized as a grandpa by Long Aotian, the man destined to become a god and look down upon the world in the future?】
With a foolishly grinning Long Aotian in front of him and a malicious system behind him, Cen Xianyun felt his headache growing worse.
Seeing the young master frowning deeply, the smile faded from the wet nurse’s face: “Young Master, are you feeling unwell anywhere? Shall I call a physician to take a look?”
“There’s no need to call a physician,” Cen Xianyun pinched the back of Long Aotian’s neck and pried him off his arm. “What time is it?”
“It’s the hour of the Rooster, Young Master. Would you like to have something to eat?”
Hearing the word “eat,” Long Aotian instantly stopped struggling. He whipped his head around and stared intently at the wet nurse with glowing eyes, though his hands were still indiscreetly stretching forward, trying to grab hold of Cen Xianyun.
“Let’s go,” Cen Xianyun rubbed his temples and stepped off the bed.
“I haven’t asked yet, does this child have,” The wet nurse led the way carrying a lantern. The warm yellow candlelight illuminated her deeply lined face. She hesitated for a moment before continuing, “does he have a name?”
Even raising a cat or a dog required giving it a name, let alone a human being.
After speaking, she carefully glanced sideways to observe the young master’s reaction.
The young master had been born with a congenital weakness. At birth, his breath had been as faint as a thread. They had consulted many famous doctors, but none could help. In desperation, the Madam resorted to any doctor she could find and sought out several Taoist priests who were said to possess profound cultivation.
They advised that the child be raised in secret in the countryside, without a given name and without being entered into the ancestral registry. That way, when the King of Hell wielded his brush, he wouldn’t be able to circle the name, and the Black and White Impermanence naturally wouldn’t be able to claim his soul.
Even at his current age, the young master didn’t even have an infant nickname.
Cen Xianyun maintained a calm expression. He wasn’t the real young master, so he naturally wouldn’t feel sad over not having a name.
“What kind of name could a beggar wandering the streets possibly have?” Cen Xianyun walked into the dining hall with the little tail following behind him, casually remarking, “Since he likes trailing behind so much, let’s just call him Follower.”
The wet nurse said helplessly, “Young Master.”
“How can such a bright and lively child be given a nickname like that?” Uncle Wu placed a bowl of soft, well-cooked Eight-Treasure Porridge in front of the two of them. “A name is something that stays with a person for a lifetime. How can we make a joke out of it?”
Cen Xianyun picked up his chopsticks. Before Long Aotian could bury his face in the porridge bowl, he used the chopsticks to block the bridge of his nose: “You’re not allowed to eat like that.”
Unable to bury his head, Long Aotian immediately stuck out his long tongue between the two chopsticks. Like a little cat, he began licking the warm, sweet porridge stroke by stroke, making unseemly “slurp, slurp” noises.
It truly didn’t stump him at all.
Even though they had witnessed the child’s eating manners at noon, the two elders were still startled. Spotting the young master’s meaningful glance, the wet nurse stepped forward, cupped the beggar’s chin, and forcibly raised his head.
“Waaah, no, Y-Yeah?” Unable to break free from the wet nurse’s firm hands, he had no choice but to stare pitifully at Cen Xianyun, silently begging this person to rescue him from dire straits just like last time.
The culprit, of course, remained entirely unmoved.
Cen Xianyun set down his chopsticks, pinched the handle of the white porcelain spoon, and waved it in front of Long Aotian’s eyes. Under his watchful gaze, he leisurely scooped up a spoonful of sweet porridge and delivered it into his own mouth.
“Got it now?”
It was unclear whether the rather dim Long Aotian understood or not. He stared blankly at Cen Xianyun, showing no reaction for a long while.
It was only when Cen Xianyun shifted his gaze away, ignoring him to drink his porridge, that he finally snapped back to reality and gave a small nod within the wet nurse’s grasp.
When the wet nurse released her grip, he remained motionless for a long time. Only after a good while did he lower his head to look at the white porcelain spoon resting beside the bowl.
He looked down at the spoon a couple of times, raised his head to glance at Cen Xianyun, then looked down at the spoon again, and raised his head to take another look at Cen Xianyun.
Repeating this cycle over and over, he left the wet nurse standing behind him wondering whether a flower had suddenly bloomed on the young master’s face to draw the child’s repeated gazes.
Finally, he reached out his hand. Mimicking the demonstration Cen Xianyun had just shown him, he pinched the handle of the spoon with his thumb and index finger, and plunged it into the sweet porridge with a plop.
After completing this step, he froze again. He lifted his head and watched Cen Xianyun eat two or three mouthfuls before lowering his head to slowly pull the spoon out of the porridge and bring it into his mouth.
Cen Xianyun glanced at his own bowl. He had already finished nearly half of it, yet Long Aotian had only just managed his first bite. Who knew how long it would take him to finish this single bowl of porridge.
Just as he finished his meal, Uncle Wu brought over the medicine that the young master needed to drink after dinner.
Looking at the jet-black medicine in front of him, Cen Xianyun sighed softly to himself. Chinese herbal medicine was good in every aspect, except for being excruciatingly bitter.
Frowning at the bitterness, he held his breath and downed the medicine in one gulp. He then stuffed a piece of candied fruit into his mouth to suppress the bitter taste lingering in his mouth.
“If I remember correctly, there is an herb called Lingyou in this medicine?” He pointed at the empty medicine bowl and asked.
Lingyou, also known as Gentiana manshurica, possessed heat-clearing and mind-calming properties.
Uncle Wu nodded: “Yes.”
“Mm,” Cen Xianyun replied softly. “Then let’s call him Lingyou.”
“Xie Lingyou,” he added.
“Young Master,” Uncle Wu was shocked. Xie was a noble surname; how could a beggar picked up from the street…
He turned his eyes to look at the child who was intently battling the Eight-Treasure Porridge, and shifted his tone, “He was picked up by you, Young Master, so it is only fitting that he takes your surname.”
Cen Xianyun was speechless.
He truly hadn’t thought of that connection.
This body had never been given a name, and the servants in the residence simply called him “Young Master,” which resulted in him failing to realize that this physical shell was also surnamed Xie.
However, even if he had known this body was surnamed Xie, Long Aotian would still have to bear this name. After all, this name wasn’t something he had come up with at random; it was Long Aotian’s actual real name.
Come to think of it, it was quite a coincidence.
【This is fate!】
Cen Xianyun’s train of thought was momentarily interrupted. He responded sluggishly in his mind, “You really are omnipresent.”
【Hmph, how can the host say that about me?】
The system projected a bashful, handkerchief-waving emoji in his sea of consciousness. Its normally cold electronic voice was deliberately adjusted into an artificially high-pitched, delicate tone.
Cen Xianyun: “Gross.”
【If the host continues to be like this, this humble servant won’t tell you why this world is on the brink of collapse.】
Cen Xianyun: “…”
Seeing the young master frowning deeply, the wet nurse called out worriedly, “Young Master?”
“It’s nothing,” Cen Xianyun raised an eyebrow slightly. “Today’s medicine was a bit too bitter.”
Hearing this, a look of heartache washed over the wet nurse’s face, yet her hand moved the candied fruit further away: “You cannot eat any more, it will ruin the efficacy of the medicine. Besides, eating too much at night will cause indigestion and harm your stomach.”
Before Cen Xianyun could speak, he saw Long Aotian, ah, no, Xie Lingyou, holding the bowl with both hands, shoving it toward him with all his might, his gaze steadfast: “Eat! Yeah-Yeah, eat!”
【See? Isn’t picking up such an obedient kid worth it?】
Cen Xianyun ignored Xie Lingyou and retorted in his mind: “Since you put it that way, why don’t you take over Ling Heng’s physical body when the time comes to take the knife?”
【…】
Seeing the scene unfold, the wet nurse let out a soft laugh. She gently pushed down Xie Lingyou’s arm and coaxed him warmly: “Young Master isn’t eating it. Lingyou, you eat it yourself, okay?”
Xie Lingyou stared wistfully at Cen Xianyun. Seeing that Cen Xianyun wasn’t looking at him, he finally lowered his head and continued eating the remaining half-bowl of sweet porridge.
The system snorted coldly, its tone carrying a hint of threat: 【Do you still want to know the reason why this world is on the brink of collapse?】
“I’m going back to my room,” Cen Xianyun said, pretending not to hear. He covered his mouth and let out a yawn. After taking a few steps, he recalled something and turned around to instruct, “Don’t let him climb onto my bed again.”
Seeing the young master come out, the two maidservants at the entrance hurriedly lifted their lanterns to lead the way ahead.
The evening breeze blew gently, dispersing the bitter smell of medicine around him and bringing a touch of clarity to his mind.
The lanterns illuminated the path ahead. Cen Xianyun followed far behind the maidservants before slowly answering in his consciousness space: “Does the reason why this world is on the brink of collapse even matter to me?”