Xie Licheng was awakened by the pain from his injuries. Before he could even figure out how he’d gotten hurt, the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a whip lashing toward him.
Instinctively, Xie Licheng reached out and grabbed the whip, intending to teach the person who dared strike him a lesson.
Ever since the apocalypse began, thanks to a super cheat he’d stumbled upon, no one had dared show him such disrespect.
He wanted to see just who was bold enough to lay hands on him while he was “asleep.”
Then Xie Licheng looked up and met a pair of eyes blazing with fury.
They were exquisite, beautiful eyes—but unfortunately, what lay within them was far from pure, marring the natural beauty of those eyes.
The owner of those eyes was a youth of about seventeen or eighteen, slender and lean of frame.
He wore a set of bright red ancient-style robes, and his face was fair with rosy lips and white teeth.
Seeming not to have expected Xie Licheng to fight back, the youth yanked hard at the whip in his hand and shrieked at him in a shrill voice: “How dare you! Laying a hand on me—do you have a death wish?!”
Xie Licheng frowned at the words, immediately sensing something was off.
The youth’s speech was utterly foreign—not any language he was familiar with—yet surprisingly, he could understand it.
And this body he was in was wrong too. He felt terribly weak, as if he hadn’t eaten properly in a long time, and as if he’d suffered inhuman abuse.
This wasn’t his body. Even when his real body was injured, it would never be in this state.
With that thought, Xie Licheng didn’t immediately get up to beat the youth.
Not that he didn’t want to—it was that his current body couldn’t manage it.
Given the state he was in, if his willpower weren’t strong enough, he’d probably have already sunk into a deep coma.
Besides, he still didn’t understand the situation, and being in such a weakened condition, it was better not to act rashly.
With that in mind, Xie Licheng released the whip and concealed the faint murderous intent in his eyes.
Seeing this, a flicker of smugness crossed the youth’s face, and after that smugness, his pretty features twisted in anger.
He barked at the two people behind him: “Hold him down for me! This stupid thing dares to resist—I’m going to break one of his legs today, or people will think I’m afraid of him.”
The two behind him exchanged a glance, and one of them carefully ventured a word of advice.
“Master, you’ve nearly beaten him to death already. If the old master finds out…”
Before he could finish, the youth, like some kind of raging maniac, suddenly spun around and lashed him with the whip.
The youth’s whip was lined with barbs—a single casual strike could tear flesh open.
The man took the hit, his face paling from the pain, yet he didn’t dare let out a single cry.
Enduring the agony on his face, he knelt carefully before the youth, no longer daring to urge him to stop.
The youth watched his submissive demeanor and let out a light sneer.
“What? You think he’s handsome, so you’re secretly feeling sorry for him?”
At those words, the man’s face went deathly pale. He pressed his forehead to the ground and stammered out a defense.
“Master, this servant wouldn’t dare. This servant hasn’t. This servant belongs to you—I would never… never set my sights on a worthless horse slave.”
The youth snorted with a laugh. “Honestly, even if you did fall for him, it wouldn’t matter. You two are a pretty good match anyway—one’s a horse slave from the slave camp, the other’s a lowly little attendant. If you’ve taken a liking to him, I could grant it and let you two consummate the marriage tonight.”
When the youth finished speaking and saw the man had already burst into tears from fear, he couldn’t help but giggle.
The youth was pretty, and his voice wasn’t unpleasant.
But because he spoke with such sharp-tongued venom, his tone like some great villain, he came across as both malicious and sinister.
Xie Licheng found him truly insufferable. While enduring his grating laughter, he surveyed his surroundings.
He was thinking: if he killed this person, what were his chances of escaping?
Xie Licheng had already confirmed that this body wasn’t his.
Not just the body—possibly even the environment and the era had changed.
This was clearly an ancient world, and Xie Licheng was a modern man—a modern man from the apocalypse, no less.
Because he felt his body had been swapped, he subconsciously assumed his golden finger was gone too, so he hadn’t considered killing the man and hiding in his space.
His gaze was a bit icy as it swept over the youth’s slender, fair neck, then slowly drifted elsewhere.
The place they were in was a small courtyard.
The courtyard held two rooms, a stable, and a well.
Whether it was the rooms, the stable, or the well, everything looked old and rustic—very much like scenes from ancient costume dramas before the apocalypse.
Combined with the young man and the attire of the other two people, there was no doubt that this was ancient times.
Before Xie Licheng could observe further, the young man suddenly turned around to face him, raising the whip in his hand to strike him again.
But just at that moment, a hurried voice rang out from outside the courtyard, interrupting the young man’s intention to continue his violence.
“Master, master, something terrible has happened—the eldest young master has returned!”
Upon hearing this, the young man withdrew his whip while muttering resentfully, “That bastard again. Why did he come back so quickly?”
The one delivering the news was a girl—more precisely, a maidservant.
Hearing his words, she pushed open the courtyard gate from outside and urged him, “I’m not sure, but he’s already reached the side courtyard’s moon gate. It looks like he’s coming to find you.”
The young man said, “Understood. Clean this place up and lock him in the woodshed. Don’t let that bastard see him.”
With these words, he tossed his whip to another servant and quickly followed the maidservant away.
Once the young man’s figure had disappeared into the distance, only two people remained in the courtyard besides Xie Licheng.
One was the person who had pleaded for Xie Licheng earlier; the other was the tall man who had been ordered to take Xie Licheng to the woodshed.
The tall man was very large in stature. He didn’t immediately take Xie Licheng to the woodshed, but instead lowered his eyes and said to the one still kneeling, “Tell me, aren’t you foolish? You can’t even protect yourself, yet you try to plead for someone else? If the eldest young master hadn’t returned in time this time, never mind him—even you… wouldn’t have gotten out of this alive.”
The person kneeling in place barely stirred after a long moment.
The tall man paid him no further attention. He reached out, dragged Xie Licheng up, and headed outside.
But what the tall man hadn’t expected was that the moment they stepped out of the small courtyard’s gate, they came face to face with the eldest young master walking toward them.
The man was startled and tried to turn back, dragging Xie Licheng with him.
Seeing how frightened he was, Xie Licheng deliberately refused to let him have his way. He struggled intentionally and fell to the ground.
The man cursed under his breath, then dropped to his knees with a thud beside Xie Licheng.
Not long after the man knelt down, the eldest young master, accompanied by several servants, strolled over to stand before them.
Looking at the horse groom who had fallen to the ground, covered in blood, a maidservant beside the eldest young master spoke up: “Master, it must have been the young master who beat him again. The young master has been getting more and more excessive lately. This horse groom must have done something to offend the young master—this servant has already witnessed the young master beating him several times.”
Upon hearing this, the eldest young master walked toward the horse groom on the ground. The maidservant was startled and quickly followed.
Maidservant: “Master, that horse groom is far too dirty and covered in blood. You… shouldn’t get too close.”
The eldest young master, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
His voice was cool and clear, betraying little emotion.
“It’s fine. He’s only a servant. Neither the filth on his body nor the smell of blood is something he chose for himself.”
As he spoke, he bent down slightly to examine the horse groom’s injuries more carefully.
He saw wounds on the horse groom’s head, neck, and back—all bleeding profusely, looking utterly horrifying.
He let out a soft sigh. Just as he was about to order a servant to fetch a physician—
The horse groom, who had kept his head lowered, suddenly looked up at him. Their gazes met unexpectedly.
What surprised the eldest young master was that this servant, covered in filth and wounds, possessed an exceptionally handsome face.
Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a high straight nose, slightly deep-set sockets… His brows and lashes were thick and dark, so dense they looked as if they’d been painted on.
What a pity—no matter how handsome the face, once scarred, it was like jade that had been cracked, no longer appearing perfect.
While the eldest young master lamented Xie Licheng’s face, Xie Licheng was equally astonished by the eldest young master’s appearance.
Both of them were extraordinarily good-looking, yet clearly in completely different ways.
After all, one was a man, and the other was a young master—even if both possessed top-tier looks, there was still a vast difference.
Xie Licheng had bold, striking features—the tall, cool, handsome type.
The eldest young master’s appearance was far more delicate and refined.
He was a young master, his build not as broad and sturdy as a man’s, carrying instead a unique softness belonging to young masters.
His figure appeared slender and tall, yet bore a supple resilience unique to his kind.
Both were undeniably handsome, yet side by side they presented two entirely different aesthetics.
One was like a carnivorous wolf; the other, a gentle grass-eating lamb.
Xie Licheng had lived in an apocalyptic world. The apocalypse was cruel, yet also highly tolerant.
Many people who couldn’t survive on their own would band together with others to strive for life.
Some men paired with women, some men with men, and some women with women.
When everyone struggled just to stay alive, gender ceased to matter much.
Xie Licheng had seen many handsome men—men who became wives to other men just to survive.
Xie Licheng was a strong man, and strong men always attracted handsome men and beautiful women alike.
However, because Xie Licheng was used to being a lone wolf, in the end he never chose one of them to be his wife.
That said, he had seen all kinds of beauties and was a man of wide experience.
But even with all his experience, the first time he laid eyes on this young master, he could not help but be startled by his appearance.
This person… was truly beautiful. It would not be an exaggeration to call him a painting come to life, a celestial being.
Xie Licheng did not dare to keep staring at him, feeling that doing so would make him seem ill-mannered.
So he glanced once, then lowered his eyes and looked elsewhere.
It was precisely because of this tactfulness that the young master did not feel offended.
The young master straightened himself with the help of a maidservant’s support, then spoke to the person behind him: “Go, find a physician to take a look at him.”
Author’s note:
I won’t say anything. I’m staying aloof!
Chapter 1: Xie Licheng was jolted awake by the pain of his injuries…
Xie Licheng was jolted awake by the pain racking his body. Before he could even figure out how he had been injured, he opened his eyes to see a whip lashing down toward him.
Reacting on instinct, Xie Licheng reached out and caught the whip, intending to teach a lesson to whoever dared to strike him.
Ever since the apocalypse began, Xie Licheng had gained a super Golden Finger by chance. Since then, no one had dared to treat him with such disrespect.
He wanted to see who was bold enough to lay a hand on him while he was “asleep.”
Then, Xie Licheng looked up and locked eyes with a pair of eyes filled with fury.
They were exquisite and beautiful eyes, but unfortunately, the intent within them was impure, instantly ruining their natural aesthetic.
The owner of those eyes was a youth who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, with a rather slender build.
The youth wore vibrant red ancient clothing, and his face was the picture of “lips red and teeth white.”
Seemingly not expecting Xie Licheng to dare fight back, the youth yanked hard on the whip in his hand and shrieked at him, “Presumptuous! You dare lay a hand on me? Do you have a death wish?!”
Hearing this, Xie Licheng frowned, immediately sensing that something was wrong.
The language the youth spoke was completely foreign, nothing like any language he knew, yet he was surprised to find that he could understand it.
Furthermore, there was something wrong with his current body. He felt incredibly weak, as if he hadn’t eaten for a long time and had suffered inhumane abuse.
This was not his body at all. Even if his own body were injured, it would never be in this state.
With these thoughts, Xie Licheng did not immediately get up to beat the youth.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but rather that his current body simply wasn’t capable of it.
Given his current physical condition, had his willpower not been exceptionally formidable, he likely would have fallen into a deep coma long ago.
Moreover, he still wasn’t clear on the situation. Being in such a weakened state, it was better not to act rashly.
Thinking this, Xie Licheng let go of the whip and simultaneously suppressed the faint killing intent in his eyes.
Seeing this, a flash of smugness crossed the youth’s face, which quickly contorted into a twisted expression.
He turned to the two people behind him and said angrily, “Hold him down for me! This stupid thing actually dared to resist. I must break one of his legs today, or else others will think I’m afraid of him.”
The two people behind the youth exchanged glances. One of them cautiously tried to persuade him.
“Master, you’ve almost beaten him to death. If the Old Master finds out…”
Before the man could finish, the youth, as if possessed by a violent rage, suddenly turned and lashed his whip at him.
The youth’s whip had barbs; a casual strike was enough to tear flesh apart.
The man was struck, and though his face paled from the intense pain, he didn’t dare utter a cry.
Enduring the pain on his face, he carefully knelt before the youth, no longer daring to urge him to stop.
Looking at the man’s respectful posture, the youth couldn’t help but let out a soft sneer.
“What? You saw how handsome he is and started feeling sorry for him in secret?”
The man’s face turned deathly pale upon hearing this. He pressed his forehead to the ground and stammered in his own defense.
“Master, this servant wouldn’t dare, this servant does not. I am your person, I would never… never take an interest in a useless horse slave.”
The youth hummed a laugh. “Actually, it wouldn’t matter even if you did fall for him. The two of you are quite well-matched in status, after all. One is a horse slave from a slave camp, and the other is a low-status attendant. If you’ve taken a fancy to him, I can fulfill your wish and let you enter the bridal chamber today.”
Seeing that the man was already crying from fear, the youth couldn’t help but giggle.
The youth was beautiful, and his voice wasn’t unpleasant.
However, because his speech was biting and sarcastic, sounding like some sort of arch-villain, he appeared both vicious and sinister.
Xie Licheng found him truly noisy. While enduring the youth’s grating laughter, he scanned his surroundings.
He was wondering: if he killed this person, what were the chances he could escape?
Xie Licheng was certain now—this body was not his.
Not just the body; it was possible that even the environment and time-space had changed.
This was clearly an ancient world, and Xie Licheng was a modern man—specifically, a modern man from the apocalypse.
Because he felt his body had changed, he subconsciously assumed his Golden Finger was gone, so he didn’t consider killing the person and then hiding in his space.
His gaze was somewhat cold as it brushed over the youth’s slender, fair neck, before slowly shifting elsewhere.
They were currently in a very small courtyard.
The courtyard contained two rooms, a stable, and a water well.
Whether it was the rooms, the stable, or the well, everything looked very old and rustic, much like scenes from ancient period dramas before the apocalypse.
Combined with the attire of the youth and the other two, it was no surprise that this was likely ancient times.
Before Xie Licheng could look further, the youth suddenly turned back toward him, raising his whip to strike again.
At that moment, a hurried voice suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard, interrupting the youth’s attempt to continue the violence.
“Master, Master, this is bad! The Eldest Young Master is back!”
Upon hearing this, the youth retracted his whip and said reluctantly, “That wretch again. How did he come back so quickly?”
The one delivering the news was a girl—more accurately, a maid.
Hearing his words, the maid pushed open the courtyard gate and urged him, “I’m not sure. He’s already at the moon gate of the side courtyard. It looks like he’s coming to find you.”
Youth: “Understood. You all clean up here. Lock him in the woodshed for me; don’t let that wretch see him.”
Saying this, the youth threw the whip to another servant and quickly followed the maid away from the area.
After the youth’s figure had disappeared, two people remained in the courtyard besides Xie Licheng.
One was the person who had pleaded for Xie Licheng earlier, and the other was a tall man who had been ordered to take Xie Licheng to the woodshed.
The tall man was very sturdily built. He didn’t take Xie Licheng to the woodshed immediately; instead, he looked down at the person still kneeling and said, “Aren’t you a fool? You can’t even protect yourself, yet you tried to plead for someone else? If the Eldest Young Master hadn’t returned in time, let alone him… even you wouldn’t have survived this.”
The person kneeling on the spot didn’t move for a long time, only shifting slightly after a while.
The tall man didn’t bother with him further. He reached out, dragged Xie Licheng up, and headed toward the exit.
However, to the tall man’s surprise, just as they stepped out of the small courtyard’s gate, they saw the Eldest Young Master walking toward them.
The man was startled and tried to drag Xie Licheng back inside.
Seeing his fear, Xie Licheng refused to go along with it. He deliberately struggled and fell toward the ground.
Seeing this, the man cursed under his breath and immediately dropped to his knees with a thud beside Xie Licheng.
Shortly after the man knelt, the Eldest Young Master arrived before them, followed by several servants.
Looking at the horse slave lying on the ground covered in blood, a maid beside the Eldest Young Master said, “Master, it must be the work of the Younger Young Master again. He has been getting more and more excessive lately. I don’t know how this horse slave offended him, but I’ve caught the Younger Young Master beating him several times now.”
Hearing this, the Eldest Young Master walked toward the horse slave. The maid was startled and hurried to follow.
Maid: “Master, that horse slave is too filthy and covered in blood. You… you shouldn’t get too close.”
The Eldest Young Master, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
His voice was very cold and clear, devoid of much emotion.
“It is fine. He is but a servant. Neither the filth nor the scent of blood on him was of his own choosing.”
As he spoke, he leaned down slightly to examine the horse slave’s injuries.
He saw wounds on the horse slave’s head, neck, and back—bloody and gruesome, looking quite horrific.
He let out a soft sigh. Just as he was about to tell a servant to fetch a doctor…
The horse slave, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly looked up at him. Their eyes met unexpectedly.
To the Eldest Young Master’s surprise, this servant, despite being covered in filth and wounds, possessed a truly exceptional face.
Sword-like brows and starry eyes, a high bridge of the nose, and somewhat deep eye sockets… his eyebrows and lashes were very thick, so much so that they looked as if they had been painted on.
It was just a pity. No matter how good the face was, once scarred, it was like jade that had been cracked—it no longer seemed perfect.
While the Eldest Young Master was lamenting the state of Xie Licheng’s face, Xie Licheng was also surprised by the Eldest Young Master’s appearance.
Both were exceptionally good-looking, but they were clearly different types of beauty.
After all, one was a man and the other was a young master; even if both were of the highest quality, there was a vast difference between them.
Xie Licheng was the rugged, handsome type—tall and cool.
The Eldest Young Master’s appearance was much more delicate and exquisite.
He was a young master; his frame was not as broad or sturdy as a man’s, possessing a gentleness unique to young masters.
His build looked slender and tall, yet it also carried a resilience specific to young masters.
Although both were very good-looking, they presented completely different styles when brought together.
One was like a carnivorous wolf, the other like a herbivorous white sheep.
Xie Licheng had lived in an apocalyptic world. The apocalypse was cruel, but also very inclusive.
Many people who couldn’t survive on their own would partner up with others to try and live.
There were men who sought women, men who sought men, and women who sought women.
Everyone struggled just to survive, so no one cared much about gender.
Xie Licheng had seen many beautiful men become wives to other men just to survive.
Xie Licheng was a powerhouse, and powerhouses always attracted beautiful men and women.
However, because Xie Licheng was used to being a lone wolf, he never chose anyone to be his wife in the end.
In a sense, he had seen all kinds of beauties and was quite worldly.
But even with all his experience, he couldn’t help but be stunned by the Eldest Young Master’s appearance at first sight.
This person… was truly beautiful. To say he looked like an immortal from a painting would not be an exaggeration.
Xie Licheng felt it was inappropriate to keep staring, sensing it would make him look uncultured.
So, after a glance, he lowered his eyes and looked elsewhere.
Because of his tactfulness, the Eldest Young Master did not feel offended.
With the maid’s support, the Eldest Young Master stood up straight and spoke to those behind him.
“Go, find a doctor to come and check on him.”