“Here.”
Yu Yu handed Xie Xin a clean handkerchief. Xie Xin took it but only wiped the blood from his mouth with his elbow. He couldn’t bear to ruin such a fine handkerchief.
“Why did he run off?” Xie Xin leaned against Yu Yu’s shoulder, asking in a faint voice.
“He couldn’t kill you, and you know it.” Yu Yu began to spout nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
“You’re just pulling my leg.” Xie Xin let out a pathetic chuckle or two, then fell silent.
He really must have been out of his mind today, attacking without even knowing the opponent’s strength, and getting beaten this badly. How embarrassing.
“Don’t fall asleep. You’re heavy, and once we’re back, I won’t have the energy to look after you.” Yu Yu said it without any restraint, a completely different person from how he was during the day.
“You’re so strange… one moment kind… the next cruel.” Xie Xin had little strength left, managing to get the words out only in fragments.
“Not taking care of you makes me cruel? Then you’re quite the fussy one, Your Highness.”
Xie Xin was about to slide off Yu Yu’s back, so Yu Yu had to hoist him up and give him a bounce.
“Either lie still or not at all, at this rate, we won’t make it back even by dawn.”
“Oh.” Xie Xin tightened his arms around Yu Yu’s neck and shook his head, trying to stay a little more alert.
Xie Xin thought to himself that Yu Yu was all bark and no bite, not only did he not mock him, but he’d also scared off that monster with a single arrow, and now he was even willing to carry him home on his back.
Their overlapping shadows were cast by the moonlight onto the empty street. There were many stars tonight, keeping the moon company in the vast sky. If Xie Xin had been in the mood to admire the moon, he would have downed several jugs of fine wine tonight.
Too bad there was no fine wine, instead, medicinal alcohol was rubbed all over his body.
By the time Yu Yu carried Xie Xin back to the palace, dawn was nearly breaking. They had to sneak around carefully to avoid everyone’s watchful eyes.
The moment they returned to Xie Xin’s Qiwu Palace, Xie Xin was already on the verge of collapse. Yu Yu half-dragged, half-carried him into the room, and the instant he touched the bed, he passed out.
In the split second before losing consciousness, through his blurry vision, Xie Xin saw Yu Yu undo his wrist guard and start pulling at the gauze wrapped around his wrist. After that, he knew nothing more.
Seeing Xie Xin unconscious, Yu Yu quickened his movements. He tore off the gauze in a mess, the wound on his wrist had yet to heal, and with a light press, fresh blood seeped out. He positioned the wound over Xie Xin’s mouth, pinched his cheeks to force his jaw open, and let the blood drip, drop by drop, from his wrist into Xie Xin’s mouth. Only when Xie Xin’s complexion gradually improved did Yu Yu pick up a fresh piece of gauze and rewrap his wrist.
“Lucky for you, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been willing to cut myself a second time.”
No one could possibly regret this more than Yu Yu right now.
He’d only meant to mess with Xie Xin, but who would’ve thought he couldn’t take a hit? One move and he was beaten this badly, costing Yu Yu a huge loss for a small gain.
If he weren’t worried about someone in the palace asking questions, he’d have let him lie in bed and ache for a few good days.
Damn Xie Xin!
Yu Yu tied off the gauze, settled Xie Xin properly into bed, and then snuck back to his own room. He stumbled as he entered, catching himself on the doorframe just in time to avoid a fall. After a whole night of exertion, he was exhausted to the point of breathlessness. He wrapped himself tightly in his blanket, and the moment his head hit the pillow, drowsiness overwhelmed him.
The rooster crowed a few times, and the courtyard began to stir with signs of life. Listening to those sounds, Yu Yu closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Until a familiar voice reached his ears, Yu Yu opened his eyes, and a gentle noblewoman was looking at him with kindness.
“Yu’er, look, Mother has a little sister in her belly.”
“Mother? You… you’ve come back to see Yu’er?” Burning emotions tore at Yu Yu’s chest. He reached out his hand, and sure enough, he touched his mother’s round, swollen belly.
“Yu’er, what happened to your hand? Why is it wrapped in such thick gauze?” His mother’s voice was ethereal and sorrowful as she grabbed his hand, about to unwrap the thin layer of gauze.
He quickly hid his hand behind his back, wiped his face, and pretended nothing was wrong: “No, what could happen to me? I’m going to become a great immortal in the future, and immortals don’t have anything happen to them.”
His mother gently stroked his head, placed both hands on his shoulders, and leaned down to whisper softly: “Is the great immortal Yu’er wants to become bought with the lives of me and your little sister?”
From his mother’s meticulous eyes, a wisp of black smoke emerged, transforming into a pair of pale, sharp hands.
The absurd and bizarre dream took a sharp turn. That wisp of black smoke viciously seized Yu Yu’s throat.
His vision went pitch black, and he could no longer see his mother’s figure. Yu Yu couldn’t find the owner of these hands and could only let them tighten. If it truly were his mother, he wouldn’t resist.
Just as Yu Yu felt his breathing become difficult and he was nearly suffocating, he suddenly snapped his eyes open. The black smoke vanished, and what met his gaze was the carved lotus-patterned canopy of his bed.
Yu Yu shifted slightly, his entire body tingling with numbness, his robes half-soaked with sweat.
He struggled with great effort to sit up, moving his wrists with a dull ache. Fortunately, Yu Yu had always been good at enduring pain, and he didn’t intend to carefully tend to himself after losing so much blood and energy.
Yu Yu pushed open the window. The morning sun was blazing; he hadn’t slept long.
He asked the palace attendants for several buckets of hot water and went to the inner chamber to bathe and change clothes.
His black hair cascaded down, his undergarments removed. Yu Yu lay in the bath, feeling drowsy again.
The white gauze showed faint traces of blood, silently telling him the wound had split open once more. Yu Yu stared at that spot with little emotion, then tore off the layers of blood-soaked gauze in one pull, revealing his wrist that had only just begun to heal.
He took the golden wound medicine and applied it bit by bit to the wound. The cool, soothing sensation quickly eased the stabbing pain, and Yu Yu let out a comfortable breath. But it didn’t last long before the pain surged back.
Clean gauze was wrapped around his wrist, layer by layer. His slender elbow rested on the edge of the bath, and Yu Yu stared blankly at the thin curtain.
At an inopportune moment, the door was pounded loudly by some energetic royal relative. Yu Yu’s good mood shattered instantly.
“Yu Yu, I heard from the servants that you’re awake. Would you like to have a meal?” The muffled words came through the door to Yu Yu’s ears. Yu Yu casually threw on a robe, walked to the bedside, took a sip of tea, and only then replied: “Your Highness, go ahead first. I’ll follow shortly.”
“Alright.”
That “alright” was deliberately drawn out by Xie Xin. Only after the sound of footsteps faded away outside did Yu Yu pick out a suitable garment and prepare to change.
“The signature dish at Zuixiang Pavilion has been discontinued, did you know?”
On his way to the dining hall, Yu Yu overheard palace attendants chatting quietly.
“Yes, what a shame. This is the second time he’s stopped serving it. I was actually planning to try my luck and see if I could snag a plate.”
“You? You’d have to save up half a year’s allowance just to afford a ticket, would you really be willing to part with that?”
“The world’s big, but eating’s the biggest thing of all. If I saved up enough, wouldn’t I want to splurge once?”
…
Yu Yu realized that Si Tan had run off again.
A blood-soaked arrow had scared him that badly.
Yu Yu raised his hand to tighten his wrist strap, shaking his hand to keep his movements from being too stiff. Stepping into the dining hall, Xie Xin had already ordered the servants to lay out the meal and was waiting for him.
“Greetings, Ninth Prince.” Yu Yu bowed with distant formality.
“No need, no need, sit down quickly.” Xie Xin hurriedly helped Yu Yu up and had him sit across from him.
Yu Yu didn’t stand on ceremony, taking the opening and sitting cross-legged across from Xie Xin.
Xie Xin had returned to his usual lively self, showing no trace of the weak, barely breathing figure he’d been on Yu Yu’s back the night before.
After sitting down, Xie Xin didn’t pick up his chopsticks, staring intently at Yu Yu. Yu Yu felt a chill run down his spine under that gaze, sensing he was up to no good.
“Why aren’t you eating? You didn’t eat properly yesterday either.” Xie Xin picked up his chopsticks and piled a heap of dishes into Yu Yu’s bowl.
Yu Yu gave him a suspicious look, but still picked up the bowl and brought the food to his mouth, chewing slowly.
He had no particular craving for fine cuisine. Throughout the meal, he only finished what Xie Xin had piled into his bowl, barely touching the rice.
Xie Xin barely touched his own chopsticks the whole time, watching Yu Yu finish eating before falling silent again.
Yu Yu set down his chopsticks and asked directly: “Your Highness, what did you want to see me about?”
Xie Xin didn’t beat around the bush either, asking bluntly: “Is your hand any better?”
From the moment Yu Yu picked up his bowl, Xie Xin had been deliberately observing his left hand. Yu Yu held the bowl with a refined posture, keeping it properly in front of his chest, bringing each bite of food to his mouth one by one.
Xie Xin noticed that beneath the corner of Yu Yu’s mouth, there was a small red mole.
That mole only showed itself faintly when its owner’s face was expressionless, a fleeting glimpse that still caught the eye. Anyone who saw it would be compelled to seek it out again.
The moment he set down the bowl, Yu Yu’s left hand, which had been holding it, trembled uncontrollably. It was only a split second, but Xie Xin caught it keenly.
“Not great. To save Your Highness yesterday, I lost a lot of blood.” Yu Yu began to lie without a hint of shame or a racing heart. The blood he’d lost yesterday wasn’t even half of what he’d shed a few days prior, but he made it sound severe, blaming it all on Xie Xin sitting before him.
“Why didn’t you call for the imperial physician?”
“No need, I heal quickly.” Yu Yu stopped the fussing Xie Xin, giving a symbolic wave of his hand to show he was fine.
“Have you applied medicine? Is it inconvenient? I can help you…” Xie Xin leaned in, wanting to untie Yu Yu’s wrist strap and see for himself.
Yu Yu subtly withdrew his hand, responding coolly: “No need, Your Highness. Is the matter at Zuixiang Pavilion really over just like that?”
Yu Yu changed the subject, asking about Xie Xin’s plans. After all, he was the one who had set him up. Even though Xie Xin had mostly recovered, Yu Yu still wanted to hear his thoughts.
If Xie Xin dared to take the easy way out, Yu Yu would make sure he suffered a few more days of pain next time.
“Of course it’s not over. We haven’t figured out where those people’s fortunes are headed, and that monster, what exactly is it?” The righteous words came out of his mouth, and Yu Yu could only stifle a laugh.
He definitely wouldn’t want to know who the “monster” he spoke of really was.
“He’s outside the city.” Yu Yu answered truthfully.
“He can hide himself, but the excess fortune clinging to him can’t be hidden.”
Yu Yu idly rubbed the jade pendant at his waist, his pale hand stroking up and down, a hint of gentle warmth flickering in his eyes.
This jade pendant, white veined with purple, its sheen like flowing brocade, had been left to him by his mother. With this pendant by his side, Yu Yu would never fear, would always dare to walk a path straight into the dark.
“Your eyes always seem sharper than mine.”
Yu Yu gently set down the jade pendant, his lashes trembling slightly: “Is that so? Your Highness’s eyes should be the same as mine.”
Xie Xin lazily propped his chin on his hand, leaning casually against the table, one brow arching slightly: “How could they be the same? We’re two different people after all.”