Having made up his mind, before going to sleep that night, Bai Yiyan said to the silly rabbit, “Xiaohan, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it, Brother Liu?” Cao Xiaohan looked innocently at Bai Yiyan, waiting for him to continue.
Over the past few days of living together, they had grown quite familiar with each other, as evident from the fact that they had both changed how they addressed one another.
“The poison in your body is already cleared, and it is about time for us to part ways. Do you have any plans?” For some reason, when he spoke of parting ways, Bai Yiyan felt a lingering reluctance in his heart.
“Ah?” Cao Xiaohan wore a blank expression. He had no idea where he should go either. Now that he was a wanted criminal, he could not return to his former home, so what was he supposed to do? Besides, he still needed to clear the original owner’s name of the wrongful accusation. Why not just leech off Brother Liu for a while? This guy had great martial arts and a decent personality to boot.
Seeing the boy’s distressed expression, Bai Yiyan figured he probably had nowhere to go, and even considered whether he should take him along. The kid was a great cook, so bringing him along would not hurt, right? Before he could fully sort out his thoughts, he saw the silly rabbit looking at him with beaming eyes full of anticipation.
“Brother Liu, I have nowhere left to go. Can I follow you? I can cook for you, and my culinary skills are really good, you know. Besides, since you saved me, you have got to take responsibility for me all the way to the end.” Having made up his decision, Cao Xiaohan looked at him with eager eyes.
Bai Yiyan was left speechless. So this silly rabbit had already planned to latch onto him all along; well, he might as well keep him around for now.
“Alright.”
“Ah, what did you say?” Not expecting the other person to agree so readily, Cao Xiaohan, who was still trying to figure out how to persuade him, failed to catch up for a second and asked stupidly once more.
“I said alright.” Bai Yiyan sighed helplessly; this fellow was acting foolish again.
“Ah, that is no fun at all! Should you not be asking what benefits you would get from taking me along?” Finding his request accepted with unexpected ease, Cao Xiaohan had all his prepared arguments and self-praise trapped inside his chest, accidentally letting his inner thoughts slip out.
“Oh? Put that way, I really do need to hear what benefits I get from taking in a fugitive dead weight like you.” Bai Yiyan raised an eyebrow, casting an amused glance at the silly rabbit who, realizing his slip of the tongue, had immediately clapped both hands over his mouth.
“I can cook, wash clothes, and warm the bed.” Cao Xiaohan proclaimed proudly, but in his smoothness he had almost blurted out something about mechanism arts, so he quickly switched to a more casual phrase that turned out even worse. Right after finishing, he added a remorseful supplementary remark: “We are both men, I do not mean it that way! I just meant I can help warm up the blankets for you in winter.” The more he tried to explain, the darker things got.
“Well, warming the bed actually sounds rather nice.” Bai Yiyan swept a wicked, lingering gaze up and down over the silly rabbit.
“Um, Brother Liu, I misspoke! We are brothers who have shared trials and tribulations together, I should not have said it like that.” Cao Xiaohan was a pure kid who genuinely meant nothing untoward by it. In his worldview, relationships between men were just pure, simple friendships.
“Oh, is that so?” Bai Yiyan looked with feigned disbelief at the silly rabbit who was frantically trying to figure out how to explain himself, finding the boy’s flustered appearance quite adorable.
“Right, do you have any plans, Brother Liu?” Seeing that he could not explain himself out of it, Cao Xiaohan cleverly changed the subject to redirect his attention.
“Do you still remember that ancient jade from Scholar Zhang’s family?”
“That is the exact reason I was framed in the first place.” Cao Xiaohan had no idea what he was driving at by bringing this up.
“I am going to find that jade. Do you know who framed you?”
“Of course I do. It was that wealthy patron Niu colluding with Magistrate Liu.” Cao Xiaohan gave Bai Yiyan a look that clearly said: Do not take me for an idiot.
“Then that wealthy patron Niu must know where that piece of ancient jade is.” Bai Yiyan muttered to himself.
“That is for sure, it is probably right in his hands! What a despicable fellow. Is Brother Liu planning to go find that jade?”
“Indeed. How can such a fine piece of jade be allowed to be desecrated by those black-hearted villains?”
Hearing Bai Yiyan say this, Cao Xiaohan rolled his eyes and eagerly buttered up to him.
“That is right! Only a peerlessly talented and extraordinarily handsome expert like Brother Liu deserves a top-tier precious jade like that.”
Seeing the transparent agenda written all over Cao Xiaohan’s face while the boy delusionally thought he was hiding it well, Bai Yiyan could not help finding it amusing.
“Xiaohan, just spit it out. What is on your mind?”
“Huh? Is it really that obvious?” Realizing his intentions had been seen right through, he looked a bit embarrassed.
“It is very obvious. Go on, spit it out.” Bai Yiyan reached out and gave the silly kid a light tap on the head.
“I was just wondering, while you are looking for the jade pendant, could you also help me clear my name?” Cao Xiaohan knew this was a tricky problem to solve and was unsure if Brother Liu would agree to help. If he agreed, the original owner could finally rest in peace knowing justice was served, and he himself could smoothly finish his task without feeling any lingering burden.
“Very well. In exchange, you will be responsible for my three daily meals from now on.” Bai Yiyan figured the kid had zero self-protection capabilities anyway, so eliminating his fugitive status was for the best.
“Brother Liu, you are truly a good person!” Overjoyed, Cao Xiaohan gave Bai Yiyan a spontaneous rabbit-hug. He felt like he had hit the jackpot; coming to another world and immediately running into a good Samaritan willing to lend a hand was fantastic.
Bai Yiyan felt a soft, squishy creature fling itself into his arms and hold him tight. At that moment, a hollow spot in his heart felt instantly filled with a wonderful, cozy warmth. But right after, that soft rabbit he had grown so attached to pulled away from his embrace, almost making him reach out to pull the rabbit right back into his arms for another squeeze.
“Brother Liu, when are we going? And wait, are we not both fugitives right now? Will we not get arrested the moment we step foot into the city?” Striking upon a crucial question, Cao Xiaohan tilted his head, wide eyes opened wide in innocence, and looked trustingly at Bai Yiyan.
Bai Yiyan reached into the corner, retrieved the bundle he had brought from the valley, and placed it on the table. Untying the cloth wrap, he revealed two human-skin face masks alongside several small bottles and jars.
“Whoa! Are these the legendary human-skin masks?” Cao Xiaohan gingerly picked up an exquisitely crafted human-skin mask and inspected it closely. This was a legendary human-skin mask! The quintessential, must-have tool for murder, banditry, and all sorts of shady dealings. “What are these made of, Brother Liu?” Fascinated by the mask, which looked as detailed and delicate as a real person’s face, Cao Xiaohan inquired with wide-eyed curiosity.
“These are extremely difficult to make. First, you have to select someone with a suitable facial structure, tie them down, and secure their head firmly. Then, using a razor-sharp blade, you slice the person’s entire facial skin off piece by piece along the edges of the face.” As he spoke, Bai Yiyan closely watched the silly rabbit’s expression. While the boy had initially treated the mask like a prized treasure, as the description progressed, he dropped it back into the bundle with a terrified expression, looking thoroughly grossed out.
Continuing his account, Bai Yiyan added, “You cannot harvest them from corpses either, because dead skin loses its elasticity, and if you make a mask out of it, whoever wears it ends up with a paralyzed, dead-looking face. Once the facial skin is removed, the person does not actually die; they just lose a single layer of skin on their face. Furthermore, that person can be fitted with a specialized mask and left to slowly heal until the flesh grows back to match their face, allowing them to continue serving as a loyal death-operative so that even if they get captured on a mission, nobody will ever know what they actually look like. As for the harvested skin, you scrape away the subcutaneous fat and treat it with special medicinal concoctions before it is ready for use.”