Fu Liao felt extremely uncomfortable.
To a large extent, it was physical.
With the way Xi Lingjian was carrying him, Fu Liao’s lower abdomen happened to be wedged right against the ridge of Xi Lingjian’s shoulder. With a single prominent spot sticking out and the sides curving slightly inward, he had no leverage whatsoever and could only cling desperately to Xi Lingjian’s collar.
His flesh pressed and frictioned against the slightly hard, protruding bone, and Fu Liao could hardly doubt that this was a cruel punishment deliberately inflicted on him by Xi Lingjian.
His gaze could only point toward the ground, where he saw Xi Lingjian’s jade pendant swinging vigorously, as if it were a weapon rather than a mere decoration.
The sound of his heartbeat grew louder and louder, frantically filling his ear canals to the point where he could not hear the surrounding sounds, only the chaotic din that added insult to injury for his already unwell body.
Fu Liao saw the footsteps nearby descend into chaos, long robes swaying back and forth, yet not a single person dared to approach him.
Completely unfazed, Xi Lingjian carried him and naturally carved a path through the crowd. Although his steps were steady, Fu Liao felt as though the thin porridge he had barely touched that morning was about to come right back up.
“Ugh, wait,” Fu Liao could not force his voice out, feeling as though the dense agarwood scent was about to suffocate him.
Xi Lingjian’s hand was locked behind the backs of Fu Liao’s knees, pressing right against a pressure point. This left the lower half of Fu Liao’s body numb, weak, and powerless, forcing him to rely entirely on his hands as his primary points of support.
He felt as though he were constantly slipping downward, perhaps an illusion, but the hollow sensation in his lower abdomen as the wind rushed inside made him instinctively curl his body tighter.
If anyone laid eyes on this awkward spectacle, they would undoubtedly embellish and gossip about it all over again.
Fu Liao felt his face burn with extraordinary heat, helpless that Xi Lingjian completely ignored him as if he hadn’t noticed a thing.
He used all his strength to grip Xi Lingjian’s clothes. “Xi, ugh, Prince of Jing.”
Xi Lingjian paused and chuckled. “Does the Heir Apparent only have this much strength? Will you be able to hold onto the reins later?”
As he spoke, amidst his dizziness, Fu Liao felt the physical discomfort ease considerably. His head suddenly shifted to a different orientation, no longer flushing with blood and spinning, and he realized Xi Lingjian had changed his posture.
Fu Liao was now facing backward, but his spine was straight, and his abdomen was no longer pressing against that hard bone.
Instead, Xi Lingjian was supporting him by the thighs, meaning Fu Liao was practically sitting entirely on Xi Lingjian’s arm.
It looked rather like an adult taking a child out for an excursion, Fu Liao thought.
The points of close contact had multiplied, inexplicably growing more intimate as well.
Realizing that his arms had instinctively wrapped around Xi Lingjian’s neck, Fu Liao’s breathing turned irregular once more.
It was just that Xi Lingjian finds this uncomfortable, too.
Even as he tried to convince himself, Fu Liao lowered his head anyway, not daring to look at the scenery around them.
This way, his head ended up buried right in the crook of Xi Lingjian’s shoulder once again.
Muttering softly under his breath amidst the familiar scent of agarwood, Fu Liao decided to play the ostrich for a while.
Catching sight of the red tips of the ears of the person pressed against him, and seeing him freeze like a child caught doing something wrong and being disciplined, Xi Lingjian’s thin lips pressed into a slight line, and his steps suddenly quickened a fraction.
Inhaling the familiar, pleasant fragrance with his chin resting right against the broad shoulder, Fu Liao’s thoughts slowly drifted back.
Following Xi Lingjian’s plan, how was he going to achieve two birds with one stone?
Surely he wasn’t going to toss him onto that obstructing boulder and use the momentum to investigate.
The horses had all been prepared by Xi Lingjian, leaving him with no choice.
Calling it leaving it to fate was essentially waiting to see if Xi Lingjian was willing to let him live.
Even if he survived, his eyes would be gone.
His eyes gone, gone was fine, he supposed he could accept that.
Fu Liao felt his body jolt abruptly, just like being on a horse, and his palms broke out in a sweat.
As long as he stayed alive, there was still hope of changing Xi Lingjian’s temperament.
“What do you mean by gone was fine?”
An abrupt explosion sounded right beside his ear, the low voice devoid of any readable emotion.
Fu Liao jerked his head up. As his body listed sideways, he collided with something hard, or rather, somewhat soft.
He raised his eyes to look.
During his brief moment of zoning out, he had already been carried into the sedan.
Xi Lingjian was sitting right beside him. When the sedan had taken a turn just now, Fu Liao had almost crashed into the frame, and it was Xi Lingjian who had blocked it for him.
An old scar crossed the palm that had shielded him. Though it was clearly healed and harmless, Fu Liao still asked instinctively, “Are you alright?”
Xi Lingjian raised an eyebrow.
“Heir Apparent, I am asking you.” He lowered his hand. “What did you mean by saying your eyes being gone was fine?”
Fu Liao hesitated, unsure how to reply.
He had let it slip while daydreaming just now, though thankfully the second half of his sentence hadn’t been heard.
Looking around evasively to escape, he shifted his gaze and spotted Yin Ruche and Meng Zhui sitting directly across from him.
Recognizing them as Xi Lingjian’s trusted aides, Fu Liao noted their expressionless, nonchalant demeanors, as if they weren’t even inside the sedan.
Yet Yin Ruche’s curious gaze was far too obvious. Even if Meng Zhui’s gloomy face gave nothing away, the former’s expression was enough to convey his astonishment.
“It means exactly what it sounds like,” Fu Liao said simply, since he hadn’t meant anything else by it. “If I win, I take Ji Liandu with me; if I lose and you want to dig my eyes out, you dig them out. We agreed on this long ago, didn’t we?”
He lowered his gaze, feeling the solid seat vibrate beneath him incessantly.
They were still on flat ground right now, and such a rocking motion ought to have been leisurely and comfortable, yet Fu Liao still could not adapt to it.
If a mere sedan ride felt like this, how on earth was he supposed to ride a horse a moment later?
What was even stranger was that he was currently sitting right beside this big demon, and their conflict didn’t seem quite as irreconcilable as it had appeared.
Xi Lingjian let out a cold scoff.
Fu Liao offered no further response. Let him think whatever he wanted; none of it mattered anyway.
A suffocating silence settled inside the sedan.
“I will give you one chance,” Xi Lingjian spoke up abruptly. “Tell me who you really are, and I can spare you.”
As expected, Xi Lingjian only harbored deep suspicion toward him with no actual proof.
“This has nothing to do with you and us in the first place. As long as you are willing to explain how this was done, I can guarantee your safety.”
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Fu Liao felt that when Xi Lingjian spoke those words, his tone was much lighter than before, yet all the more awe-inspiring.
Fu Liao drew a slow, deep breath.
Indeed, this had nothing to do with him, but he simply found it hard to let go.
Especially after realizing that Xi Lingjian was not as malevolent as he had imagined.
Of course, that only applied to human relations; his handling of Ji Liandu was still a complete mess. But since it still looked salvageable, it was worth a few more tries.
As long as he stubbornly insisted he was the original owner, Xi Lingjian couldn’t refute him or push him aside, which would at least keep him close.
“I am Fu Liao.”
Staring straight into Xi Lingjian’s eyes, Fu Liao said softly, “If you believe I am not, bring out the evidence.”
“So cautious,” Xi Lingjian dismissed it with disdain, taking it as a mere excuse. “I didn’t ask you to make a public proclamation to the world.”
“Does it matter whether I am Fu Liao or not?” Fu Liao shook his head, having no intention of admitting it.
There were many things he did not want to admit.
For instance, he was actually quite eager to experience horseback riding; he genuinely wanted to know what it felt like to have the rushing wind whip past his face, and he wanted to try out that coexistence of excitement and fear on a horse’s back.
Even if it lasted only a split second, even if he had to pay a heavy price.
He wanted to try.
His body in the real world was just as frail as the original owner’s, leaving him unable to do many things and forcing him to huddle in a corner reading books or watch others receive praise for their bravery.
There were so many things he wanted to do.
His chin was suddenly jerked upward, leaving Fu Liao defenseless as he faced Xi Lingjian’s lowered, furrowed brow.
“Do you really not want your eyes anymore?” Xi Lingjian demanded sternly. “You don’t truly believe Xu Jingyi can protect you from me, do you? Do you think he will actually shield you?”
Xi Lingjian’s expression seemed to shift a few times, but because they were too close, Fu Liao couldn’t read his emotions.
Only their breaths remained between them. Compared to Fu Liao’s, Xi Lingjian’s breathing was slow and even. Because of his long-standing habit of issuing commands, the leader-like aura he carried helped gradually slow Fu Liao’s pace, guiding him back to a steady rhythm of breath.
Those slender, upturned eyes were sharp enough to pierce someone if they weren’t careful. It was as if heaven knew this, using perfectly placed long eyelashes to conceal a portion of that keen edge while making his thoughts even harder to decipher.
Realizing his thoughts had drifted far away, Fu Liao yanked them back sharply.
He moved his lips. “Have you treated Ji Liandu like this, too?”
As if caught off guard by the question, Xi Lingjian froze right as he was about to speak.
“Ji Liandu certainly wouldn’t like this,” Fu Liao continued.
Ji Liandu despised the arrogance of high positions; this kind of top-down condescension made him feel looked down upon.
The grip tightening on his jawbone intensified.
“You really have him on your mind constantly,” he heard the man grind out through clenched teeth.
Xi Lingjian’s gaze swept across his face, but Fu Liao felt as though sheets of solid ice were scraping across his skin.
Since you care so much about Ji Liandu, I suppose I really do need to find a way to stay alive and help him change his temper.
Moreover, if he went blind, Xi Lingjian’s hostility toward him would probably decrease significantly.
“Aren’t you the same?” Seeing that the person in question wasn’t present, Fu Liao dropped his concealment. “Otherwise, why care so much about what I feel for him?”
Xi Lingjian’s expression stiffened for a split second. He knitted his brows, then let go as if suddenly burned, his hand brushing past Fu Liao’s hair and collar as he pulled back.
Unsure of what was going on in the man’s mind, Fu Liao tried to sit up straight, but the carriage suddenly gave a violent jolt. Before he could steady himself, he pitched forward directly into Xi Lingjian’s arms.
Planting a hand to push himself up, his right shoulder sent out a warning spasm of pain that instantly drained all his strength, causing him to collapse back into Xi Lingjian’s embrace.
The injury on my collarbone still hasn’t healed, Fu Liao sighed inwardly. With only one usable hand, holding onto a horse’s reins was going to be even harder.
The shadow before him expanded. Pausing, before he could withdraw his hand, Fu Liao felt a grip catch the space beneath his chest and steady him upright.
Realizing that the person holding him in a near-embracing wrap around the waist was Xi Lingjian, Fu Liao’s eyelashes fluttered. He wanted to close his eyes, then opened them again, not even daring to inhale the scent drifting from Xi Lingjian.
“Thank you,” he murmured softly.
Fu Liao lowered his head, massaged the injury on his collarbone, and straightened his disheveled collar.
A deathly silence hung inside the sedan. Even Yin Ruche’s breathing, which had been quite distinct during the earlier quiet, vanished entirely.
“Your Highness, we have arrived,” Meng Zhui spoke slowly.
The carriage came to a halt. Xi Lingjian lifted the curtain, and a stream of bright sunlight seized the opportunity to pour in, dazzling Fu Liao so much that he couldn’t keep his eyes open.
As his feet touched the ground with a slight jolt, Fu Liao’s heart drifted into a state of bewilderment.
The onlookers had surrounded the area three layers deep, and seeing Fu Liao emerge from Xi Lingjian’s sedan caused an even greater uproar.
Vaguely, Fu Liao seemed to hear Fu Pengfu shouting something, but because of the distance, he couldn’t make out the words.
Yin Ruche had already led over two horses. The crisp sound of hooves striking the ground rang out, leaving Fu Liao clueless about what to do next.
He didn’t even know how to mount a horse.
Xi Lingjian walked over, naturally steadying Fu Liao with one hand while controlling the horse with the other, lifting Fu Liao up onto the horse’s back.
“Heir Apparent, up you go.”
Feeling slightly awkward, Fu Liao suddenly found himself seated at an unprecedented height. Panic seized him for a moment before an indescribable joy quietly sprouted from the depths of his heart.
He was really sitting on a horse.
This bay horse was exceptionally docile, neither trying to throw Fu Liao off nor making any sound.
Looking out, Fu Liao saw a narrow path just wide enough for two horses to walk abreast, with no barriers to prevent a fall down the cliffside. Gazing in all directions, he could no longer find anything that could offer a sense of security.
His fingertips touched leather. Following the instinct, Fu Liao looked down and tightly gripped the reins in front of him.
“I look forward to the Heir Apparent’s performance.”
Xi Lingjian suddenly caught his wrist, sliding upward to envelop Fu Liao’s entire left hand. Pressing against his knuckles, he guided Fu Liao’s hand onto the reins and a tuft of horse mane, then tightened his grip.
“Everyone here has seen it; I am not taking advantage of the Heir Apparent.”
As he spoke, he turned to face the crowd, pushed down their intertwined hands to block everyone’s view, gave Fu Liao’s hand one more tight squeeze, patted it lightly a few times, and finally let go.
“I am giving the Heir Apparent a head start. Is that fair enough?”
Staring at Xi Lingjian’s hand, Fu Liao felt a warm heat gradually circulate across his fingers, making him somewhat reluctant to see it leave.
As Xi Lingjian swung his whip through the air, Fu Liao was suddenly carried forward by the horse, his body jolting backward.
Fu Liao tried to look back, but could only catch a hazy afterimage of a person.
Xi Lingjian seemed to be watching him.
Fu Liao hoped that wasn’t just an illusion.