So many days have passed, and Shu Qing has, of course, deeply reflected on his actions. Although the King of the Underworld hasn’t taken his life yet, judging by how the King could easily kill the Mountain God, it’s only a matter of time before Shu Qing faces the same fate. It might not even be because of something he did; it could be a wrong word, a misstep, or simply because he’s still breathing. Shu Qing has seen it before—whether the matter is big or small doesn’t matter. As long as the King’s emotions are triggered in that instant, nothing else matters to him.
The fact that the King hasn’t killed him yet and still has the patience to coax him probably means the King still has some interest in him. Shu Qing never thought the King truly liked him. Even if it could be called “liking,” there was no sincerity in it. At most, it was just a form of amusement. Maybe it was his personality or something else that made the King find him still fresh and interesting. But Shu Qing had no confidence that he could maintain this freshness forever. When the novelty wears off and the interest fades… what should he do? Just wait to die?
These days, Shu Qing has been racking his brain for a way to escape, but to no avail. Not to mention the heavily guarded Underworld, where escaping without a pass is like trying to fly without wings. He’s trapped in the King’s palace and can’t even leave the palace, let alone escape the Underworld. Even if he could leave, where would he go? His punishment period isn’t over; can he return to the Immortal Mountain? Would the Immortal Lord approve of his actions? Would he save him?
Shu Qing’s mind was troubled and his head ached. He was genuinely frightened by the King’s crazy actions, so his recent lack of energy wasn’t entirely an act; he really needed rest. But today, feeling a bit better, he couldn’t help but retort whenever he heard the King speak. Shu Qing didn’t like the King, but it had never been to this extent. It was strange. It seemed like there was a force within him that didn’t belong to him, controlling his “impulses,” and it only reacted to the King’s voice, making him want to attack whenever he heard it.
Sure enough, after this brief conversation ended, the atmosphere fell into silence. The King didn’t say anything more, nor did he leave, but the sinister aura spread, and Shu Qing could feel that the King was unhappy. He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up abruptly. It wasn’t to say anything to the King, but because his nose felt itchy, as if something was flowing out. As soon as he sat up straight, nosebleed dripped onto his white clothes.
In just a few days, Shu Qing had lost a lot of weight. The nosebleed spread a large, bright red stain on the white fabric, glaringly vivid. The King looked at his pale and thin appearance and suppressed his urge to lose his temper. “Why are you having a nosebleed? When did it start?” Shu Qing wiped it with his hand, puzzled as to why he would have a nosebleed out of nowhere. “…This is the first time.” Fortunately, it didn’t bleed much and stopped after a while.
A maid brought in food, set the table in the outer room, and came over to relay a message: “Little Immortal, please eat first… Little Immortal?!” She glanced up and saw Shu Qing’s clothes covered in blood, instinctively thinking the King had harmed him. Without a word, she knelt down: “…Your Highness, please forgive me.” Shu Qing was taken aback. The King, realizing what had happened, looked even more displeased. “Forgive you for what?” “…” “For not serving well?” “…”
The King sighed, “Get up and change his clothes first.” “…Yes.” The maid carefully stood up, lowered her head, and walked to Shu Qing’s side. As she got closer, she finally saw that it was Shu Qing’s nosebleed, and because the clothes were white, it looked particularly exaggerated. The maid quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The King pursed his thin lips, “Change clothes first, then eat something. After you finish eating, I’ll take you out for a walk.” Shu Qing didn’t want the King to accompany him out. Although this could be considered a gesture from the King, taking him out for a walk would let everyone know he hadn’t fallen out of favor. But Shu Qing hadn’t figured out what to do next; he needed to find his own direction, not be led by the nose while still unclear.
However, Shu Qing didn’t immediately refuse. He first changed into clean clothes, then slowly ate some food, and only after finishing did he say, “I feel a bit dizzy, I want to rest a bit more.” The King could tell Shu Qing was doing it on purpose, amused to the point of laughter, so he deliberately said, “Alright, then rest first. I have plenty of time today, I’ll stay here with you.” Let’s see how long this little butterfly wants to fuss and what tricks he’ll use later.
In the end, Shu Qing lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep. The room was silent, with only Shu Qing’s even breathing. At first, the King didn’t believe it, reaching out to lightly touch Shu Qing’s cheek. Seeing Shu Qing not avoiding or resisting, his expression relaxed, and his eyelids didn’t move, the King finally believed it was real. He actually fell asleep? After sitting by the bed for a while, the King went to the outer room to find the maid for questioning, “Has he been like this recently?”
The maid was still nervous. She had misunderstood earlier, thinking the King had beaten Shu Qing, and was afraid the King would hold her accountable, so she answered very carefully and in detail. “…Yes, Your Highness, the Little Immortal hasn’t been in good spirits lately, with a poor appetite, spending most of the time resting.” Recalling Shu Qing’s thin and frail figure, the King pondered deeply. He thought it was another act of the little butterfly pretending to be pitiful and innocent—but it seemed to be real.
“Did you call a doctor?” “Once, the doctor said, the doctor said…” “Speak directly.” The maid then dared to continue, “The doctor said the Little Immortal was overly frightened… coupled with heavy thoughts and excessive worries, leading to a somewhat chaotic and abnormal pulse. The diagnosis wasn’t very clear… but later, when the doctor came again, the Little Immortal refused to let the doctor examine him, so the doctor could only prescribe some mild and nourishing medicine for him to take.”
Overly frightened. Heavy thoughts, excessive worries. But even so, he still fusses with him every day, trying to avoid him in every way possible. How could he not be excessively worried? “Did he take it?” “…No.” “…” An unsurprising answer. The maid said, “The Little Immortal hasn’t had much of an appetite these past two days, eating little, so taking medicine is even harder.” “But I’ve noticed that the Little Immortal’s taste has changed recently. If it’s sweet puff pastry, he’s willing to eat more.”
“Then make more of those for him.” The maid paused, trying to say, “…Your Highness, most of these pastries are brought from the Human World. I’ve asked the kitchen to make them, but the taste is different, and the Little Immortal can always tell.” “Ha, quite a picky mouth.” The King looked inside. “Fine, whatever he wants to eat, you go buy it for him. Later, go to the steward to get a pass. I temporarily allow you to come and go freely in the Underworld during this time.”
The maid was shocked and quickly said, “…Thank you, Your Highness. I will take good care of the Little Immortal.” “If there’s anything else, report it to me.” Although the King came every day, he didn’t stay long or overnight. On one hand, he always felt Shu Qing was fussing, and on the other, Shu Qing indeed was fussing. It wasn’t until today, after careful questioning, that he realized Shu Qing was genuinely unwell. But this didn’t stir any guilt in the King’s heart. On the contrary, the King enjoyed this feeling. Being able to subdue this little butterfly, control him, make him fear, and have absolute dominance over everything as he wished.
He could certainly indulge Shu Qing’s antics. But the premise was that the antics couldn’t escape his grasp, and Shu Qing wouldn’t dare to show his claws at him. …
That night, the King stayed. But Shu Qing didn’t know. He slept until midnight, suddenly hearing movement beside him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the King’s arms. It was warm. The spiritual power was inexplicably abundant, circulating through his entire body. So Shu Qing slept well. To the point that when he felt the King was about to get up, his brain hadn’t reacted yet, but his body acted first—instinctively hugging the King tighter and even rubbing his face against him.
The King immediately stopped moving and softly asked, “Did I wake you?” This voice made Shu Qing wake up, realizing it was the King he was holding. He immediately tried to pull away. But trapped by the King’s strong arms, unable to struggle, Shu Qing could only continue to shrink back. Outside, a guard’s voice came, “Your Highness, the Heavenly Emperor summons you.” The King replied, “I know.”
Being summoned at this time could only be about him killing the Mountain God. The King was prepared for this and didn’t care much. Looking down at the little butterfly in his arms, the small actions of hugging and rubbing just now were very satisfying, making him reluctant to leave. After so many days of fussing, tonight he finally got to hold him quietly for a while. It was only tonight that the King discovered the little butterfly had a new, strange fragrance that wasn’t there before. He hadn’t smelled it during the day, only at night when sleeping. It was faint, seemingly with a calming effect, making one feel peaceful.
Now that Shu Qing was awake and moving, the fragrance became stronger. Besides making one feel peaceful, the King also felt a strange protective urge. He wanted to stay by the little butterfly’s side. He didn’t want to leave, maybe even take him along. But this thought didn’t last long. Just the thought of it made the King find himself ridiculous. “The Heavenly Emperor summons me, I have to go. You continue to sleep.” Shu Qing didn’t ask what it was about, but he could guess. Fratricide was no small matter; the Heavenly Emperor couldn’t ignore it. He hoped the Heavenly Emperor’s punishment would be severe. As severe as possible. Hopefully, break the King’s hands and imprison him for thousands of years.
Feeling the arm around his waist loosen, Shu Qing immediately rolled out of the King’s embrace, lying on his side with his back to him, silent. The outside urged several times, clearly in a hurry. The King didn’t bother with Shu Qing, changed his clothes, and left surrounded by a group of people. Having slept for a long time, waking up like this made Shu Qing a bit sleepless. After confirming the King had truly left, he sat up in bed, lifted the bed curtain, and called, “…Chun Li.”
The maid quickly came in, “Little Immortal, do you have any orders?” “I’m hungry, I want to eat something.” Having slept from day to night without a drop of water, even with a poor appetite, he should be hungry. The maid quickly said, “I happen to have prepared the Little Immortal’s favorite pastries, I’ll go get them.” “Hmm.” Although very hungry, his body seemed weak, but the abundant spiritual power circulated throughout, making his palms slightly warm. Shu Qing was puzzled, had he really absorbed the King’s energy? Hmm? And the King let him absorb it?
[Author’s Note] Little Butterfly: Very low-key, the stinky dad doesn’t know yet, so I don’t dare to show my head, afraid that as soon as I show up, I’ll be taken down by mom [crying]. So I’m trying to mess up mom’s pulse to get by [crying]. By the way, I’ll absorb some of the stinky dad’s spiritual power, otherwise, if mom doesn’t die, I’ll die first [crying]. Stinky dad, quickly discover my fragrant signal [crying][crying].