Although it was Shu Qing who made the request, he didn’t expect the King of the Underworld to agree so readily.
Shu Qing blinked, momentarily stunned and speechless. It was a rare expression for him. Despite Shu Qing’s harmless appearance, which looked pure and innocent enough to deceive anyone, his sharp and decisive aura was deeply ingrained, making it hard to disguise or change. That’s why the King of the Underworld could see through him as a cunning little butterfly at a glance.
However, at this moment, all his defenses were down. Perhaps due to his injuries, Shu Qing looked pale and weak, with a hint of fatigue, making his eyes appear particularly dark. When he blinked at the King of the Underworld, there was a kind of adorable daze.
So even the most infuriating little butterfly could have such a side?
The King of the Underworld couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to tap Shu Qing’s nose. “What, now that I’m really staying, you’re not happy?”
Shu Qing snapped back to reality, his nose feeling a bit itchy. He wanted to reach up and touch it, but his arm was too heavy to lift. “No… Your Highness, why don’t you lie down with me for a while…”
Since the King of the Underworld was truly willing to stay, Shu Qing naturally wanted to push his luck a bit further.
The King of the Underworld chuckled, “You’re always pushing your luck.”
But seeing Shu Qing like this, he naturally felt a bit more at ease.
Shu Qing half-jokingly said, “I feel dizzy, like I’m floating on the sea. Leaning on Your Highness makes me feel more grounded…”
The King of the Underworld shouldn’t have agreed. He knew very well that he shouldn’t indulge this little butterfly, especially since he had already seen through Shu Qing’s attempts to push his luck. But the sickly little butterfly was too obedient. Just recalling the image of him vomiting blood in his arms, the cold touch on his skin, made it hard for the King of the Underworld to refuse.
In the end, he lay down beside Shu Qing, saying seriously, “Sleep well, and get up later to take your medicine.”
Shu Qing rested his head on the King of the Underworld’s arm. Even though he was dizzy, it didn’t stop him from continuing to plan his next move. This was a good opportunity to reconcile. After all the days of conflict with the King of the Underworld, Shu Qing couldn’t bring himself to beg for peace and favor. Last night, the King of the Underworld had given him a way out, but staying in a stalemate wasn’t an option either. The King of the Underworld would eventually go mad again. At least now, he could openly show weakness or act willful. He mustn’t anger the King of the Underworld again… Before he successfully leaves, it’s best to maintain a peaceful relationship with the King of the Underworld…
Thinking about it, Shu Qing really fell asleep, but he didn’t sleep for long because a servant brought the medicine, and the King of the Underworld called him to get up and take it.
The one who brought the medicine was Xiao Cao. This time, being new, he escaped the disaster but was still quite frightened, trembling like a leaf, causing the water in the bowl to ripple violently. It was easy to rule him out as a suspect. His timid and submissive demeanor made the King of the Underworld angry just by looking at him.
“You can’t even hold a bowl of medicine properly. Put it down and get out.”
Xiao Cao put down the medicine and surprisingly ran away quickly, disappearing in an instant. Watching his hurried departure, a bold idea suddenly popped into Shu Qing’s mind—
“Hurry up and drink the medicine.”
Shu Qing snapped back to reality, looking at the dark medicine, his brows furrowed in pain. “Can I drink it later…”
“Drink it now.”
“…”
Unless someone was out of their mind, no one liked drinking such bitter medicine, and Shu Qing was no exception. He didn’t like taking medicine before, and last time he only drank it sporadically. But this time, it was a matter of life and death, and Shu Qing cherished his life. After struggling for a while, he still picked up the bowl and drank it all in one go.
The sky had already darkened. After taking the medicine, his mouth was bitter and uncomfortable. To suppress the bitterness, Shu Qing finally agreed to eat a few bites of food. The King of the Underworld patiently accompanied him, but couldn’t help but comment, “You’ve only eaten a few bites. Eat more. This morning, you said you wanted to eat meat and roast chicken. Why aren’t you eating now?”
He did want to eat in the morning, but now the smell made him nauseous. Even though the King of the Underworld personally served him soup, the sight of the greasy broth made Shu Qing feel like vomiting. He pushed the bowl away, “I don’t want to eat. The smell makes me feel sick.”
“You’re spoiled,” the King of the Underworld said. “It seems I’ve really spoiled you.”
Shu Qing almost couldn’t hold back, wanting to retort what kind of spoiling this was. If he were truly spoiled, would anyone dare to poison him? Fortunately, the poison had weakened his reaction, and by the time he thought of these words, the King of the Underworld had already put the soup down.
“Then have something sweet.”
The King of the Underworld pushed a bowl of sweet dumplings in front of him. “Chun Li said you’ve been craving sweets lately.”
Shu Qing, unwilling to give up, thought for a moment, “Your Highness, feed me.”
The King of the Underworld squinted his eyes. He had just said Shu Qing was spoiled, and now Shu Qing was making an even more willful request. Yet, his hands seemed to have a mind of their own, picking up the bowl and feeding the little butterfly a dumpling.
“Eat well.”
Shu Qing opened his mouth, slowly chewing, rolling a dumpling around in his mouth for a long time. Seeing that he was genuinely eating, the King of the Underworld’s patience grew, and he didn’t urge him, instead carefully observing Shu Qing’s eating habits. It was a side of him he hadn’t seen before—obedient. When he was infuriating, he was truly infuriating, but when he was obedient, he was genuinely endearing.
So, the King of the Underworld patiently fed Shu Qing, one bite at a time.
When a guard came in to report, although separated by a screen, the silhouette was enough to tell what the King of the Underworld was doing. “Your Highness, the interrogation results are out. Please make a decision.”
“I know.”
The King of the Underworld didn’t mind, feeding Shu Qing another bite, replying coldly, “I’ll go over in a bit.”
“Yes.”
Shu Qing blinked, not saying a word. After the guard left, he clung to the King of the Underworld’s sleeve, “Your Highness, are you leaving? Don’t go…”
No matter what, he couldn’t let the King of the Underworld leave. Unless Chun Li was returned to him first, he couldn’t be at ease.
This time, the King of the Underworld was more firm. “Since I promised to give you an explanation, I must handle this personally. If I stay here with you, how can I deal with it?”
“But I don’t want to be alone. I’m scared…”
“Scared of what? The people who served you before are no longer around. I’m here. Who would dare touch you?”
Though he said this, the King of the Underworld was actually quite pleased to see Shu Qing being clingy and acting spoiled.
“I don’t care.”
Shu Qing decided to show a bit of spoiled arrogance. “I just don’t want to be alone…”
He wouldn’t have thought that the King of the Underworld was actually waiting for him to act like this. Feeling a bit tickled inside, the King of the Underworld had to maintain a helpless facade, sighing. “Fine, I’ll indulge you this once. But just this once.”
In the end, the King of the Underworld didn’t leave. Instead, he had his subordinates bring people in one by one to handle the matter. The original tables and chairs outside were removed, replaced with the King of the Underworld’s desk. Separated by a screen, Shu Qing lay on the bed to rest.
The doctor’s prescription included calming and sleep-inducing herbs, and after eating several solid dumplings, Shu Qing soon felt drowsy. But he forced himself to stay awake, listening as the servants were brought in for questioning one by one.
It wasn’t until Chun Li was brought in, and he personally confirmed that the King of the Underworld had spared her, that he finally relaxed and fell asleep.
…
To avoid disturbing Shu Qing’s rest, the King of the Underworld deliberately lowered his voice, but his gaze occasionally drifted to the other side of the screen, observing the movements inside. He wondered if Shu Qing was sleeping well. Earlier, he insisted on leaning on him to fall asleep. Now that he wasn’t there, and with the noise outside, it was probably hard for him to sleep.
The King of the Underworld couldn’t help but think, it was despicable for someone to poison the little butterfly, but seeing the little butterfly being clingy and obedient was truly rare. It would be great if he could always be this obedient. He would definitely spoil him more, giving him a life of luxury and envy.
But the King of the Underworld knew it was impossible. Shu Qing would never become a docile person. This time, he was caught off guard and suffered an accident, which truly scared him, hence the strong reaction. Once he recovered and the culprit was found, he would likely start flaunting his power and arrogance again.
After the questioning was over and a few suspicious individuals were detained, the King of the Underworld quickly entered the screen, wanting to see Shu Qing’s reaction. But to his surprise, Shu Qing was already asleep. The noise outside hadn’t disturbed him at all. Now, wrapped in a blanket, curled up in a corner, he was sleeping deeply, not even noticing his entrance.
The King of the Underworld frowned, suddenly feeling like he was being used. Was this the behavior of someone who was scared? Wasn’t he sleeping just fine? But in the blink of an eye, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed. No, it was probably because he was outside, so Shu Qing could sleep so peacefully.
[Author’s Note]
Little Butterfly: As long as you’re happy, you crazy person.