Chapter 102 Honesty and Integrity

The sudden turn of events startled the other prison guards, who all knelt down with their heads bowed low.

The courtyard was quiet and still.

The snow fell heavily, and soon a thin layer covered Chu Jiubian's shoulders.

He looked at Qin Xiao a few steps away, his hand gripping the hilt of the knife still trembling, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

Behind him, the young jailer lay on the ground.

A sharp, decisive knife wound at his throat was gushing blood, which soaked the snow and stained the soles of Chu Jiubian's shoes.

Li Sheng was the one in the palace who was poisoned by the curse.

Chu Jiubian recognized him as soon as he saw his portrait.

Li Sheng's subordinates discovered that he was on good terms with a palace servant in the imperial kitchen, and the two often met and talked together.

The palace maid often wandered around the palace and had connections with many people.

So, without knowing when or from whom, he became infected with that Gu worm.

While he was chatting with Li Sheng, the Gu worm crawled onto Li Sheng's body again.

The Gu worm hadn't originally intended to parasitize, but the Prince of Dingbei, wary of the possibility that Chu Jiubian might discover it, didn't linger and allowed the Gu worm to parasitize him.

Because the Gu Master said that once the Gu worm has parasitized the body, even the most powerful Gu Master would not be able to detect it.

Indeed, neither Si Tuanli nor the system detected it.

After seeing Li Sheng's face, Chu Jiubian bought many books related to Gu techniques from the system store.

However, when a Gu master reaches a certain level in refining Gu, they will all have their own unique style, and the Gu they refine will have certain characteristics.

The Gu Master of the Prince of Dingbei had only one goal: not to make the Gu worms powerful, but to make them as secretive as possible.

He did indeed get a seat.

Chu Jiubian searched through countless books and miscellaneous notes, and even considered using surgery to remove the Gu worms.

However, once the Gu worm enters a person's body, it transforms into a neurotoxin and grows firmly together with the central nervous system in the human brain.

So it can't be saved.

Neither poison nor medicine can be used.

Chu Jiubian is not a true god; he is not omnipotent.

He stopped clinging to it and calmly accepted it all.

The Prince of Dingbei kept this "hidden chess piece" for those people in the capital who had been bewitched, surely preparing for a final desperate attempt.

Even if he couldn't do anything, he still wanted to cause some trouble for Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao.

Chu Jiubian, like teasing a dog, left him with this sliver of hope.

As for Li Sheng, Chu Jiubian decided to end his life personally, and in front of Qin Xiao.

When he arrived in Daning, the first kindness he received came from this young prison guard. Chu Jiubian severed this connection with his own hands, as if he were severing his past and the remaining kindness and tenderness in his heart.

It also severed the fragile emotional bond between him and Qin Xiao, a bond built on transactions and lies.

He wanted to lay himself bare and show Qin Xiao his true self.

Let him know that he is not a "god" but more like a "demon".

He has already reached a high position and wields great power.

No one can shake his position anymore; it doesn't matter if he falls from his pedestal.

Among the bodyguards, his orders now have a higher priority than Qin Xiao's.

So he instructed them not to interfere, no matter what happened in prison.

They did it.

Chu Jiubian also succeeded.

It felt like an eternity had passed, yet also like only two breaths had elapsed. Not a single drop of blood had fallen from the tip of the knife, and the bloodstains on the ground were still steaming.

Chu Jiubian felt a warmth on his face.

His gaze refocused, and he saw the person right in front of him.

Qin Xiao looked at him intently, gently wiping the bloodstains from his face with his warm hands, so tenderly.

Chu Jiubian stared at him expressionlessly, his eyes filled with inquiry and a faint, barely suppressed light.

He couldn't discern the emotions in Qin Xiao's eyes.

Perhaps it was sadness, perhaps it was tenderness, or perhaps it was heartache, but it lacked the "disgust" and "fear" that Chu Jiubian was familiar with.

But why?

Was he not explaining it clearly?

For someone like Qin Xiao, who grew up in a happy family and surrounded by love, killing his own father is something no normal person would do.

He even killed someone right in front of the other person.

— He killed an old friend who was reminiscing with him just a second ago.

Wouldn't Qin Xiao think he was ruthless and cruel?

The man's fingertips were rough, but the pressure of his touch on the man's face was very light, as if he were afraid of hurting him.

Chu Jiubian's Adam's apple bobbed; he wanted to ask him something, but he didn't dare to speak.

"Don't be afraid." Qin Xiao finally spoke, his voice very soft, his eyes as gentle as water as he looked at the young man.

“You are very powerful now,” Chu Jiubian heard Qin Xiao say. “No one can bully you anymore.”

yes.

He has grown up.

No one can hurt him anymore.

Chu Jiubian blinked slowly.

Qin Xiao wiped his face, then wrapped him in a cloak and pulled him into his arms.

A warm sensation swept over my entire body.

Chu Jiubian's knife fell to the ground with a "clink," as if it had carried away a heavy burden.

He closed his eyes, no need to say anything more, no need to ask anything more.

Qin Xiao had already given him the answers to all his questions.

He will unconditionally tolerate him.

As expected.

Before this, Chu Jiubian had been unwilling to believe in Qin Xiao and unwilling to give himself too much hope.

The distorted personality has finally been corrected by Qin Xiao.

Chu Jiubian's tense body relaxed, and he leaned quietly against Qin Xiao's shoulder.

After a few breaths, he stood up straight again and slowly pushed Qin Xiao away.

Qin Xiao took a half step back and watched as Chu Jiubian turned and squatted down, his robes and sleeves stained with blood and dirt from the ground.

Chu Jiubian took off his cloak and covered Li Sheng with it.

Looking into his unfocused eyes, Chu Jiubian said softly, "I will continue to take care of your family."

"Go. Go and see this magnificent land, see the fairyland you've been curious about..."

His voice grew softer and softer as he reached out and gently closed the other person's eyes.

After a long while, he finally called out to someone.

The trembling jailers immediately ran out.

"Take him inside first, and a palace servant will come to take him away later," Chu Jiubian said.

The jailers readily agreed.

Chu Jiubian stood up, and a weight suddenly appeared on his body as Qin Xiao took off his cloak and draped it over his shoulders.

Qin Xiao was in good health, so Chu Jiubian didn't stand on ceremony with him.

However, he felt that he should put some clothes and blankets in the space in case of emergency.

Chu Jiubian deliberately tried to think about those messy, unimportant little things.

This wasn't his first murder, but it came too close.

He remembered the other person's wide-open eyes, the warm, sticky feeling of the other person's blood splattered on his face, and the pungent smell of blood that filled his nostrils.

The Chinese New Year is approaching.

Two more dishes should be added to the palace banquet. What should we add?

Chu Jiubian was lost in thought, as if this would allow him to forget everything that had just happened.

Qin Xiao and he stepped out of the courtyard together.

Chu Jiubian stopped and looked back one last time.

One jailer carried Li Sheng's body on his back, while another followed beside him, supporting his thick cloak.

Chu Jiubian only looked away after they were in prison and could no longer be seen.

He lifted his foot and stepped forward again.

The two walked quietly along the long palace path, neither of them mentioning what had just happened.

Qin Xiao turned his head to look at Chu Jiubian.

The young man still had the same face, and when he wasn't smiling, he still looked indifferent and aloof, but he just felt that something was different.

Chu Jiubian noticed his gaze and turned his head to look back.

Their eyes met.

Qin Xiao understood.

He knew what was different; it was the eyes.

Chu Jiubian's eyes softened with tenderness.

The invisible yet untouchable barrier that had always stood between them had also disappeared.

Qin Xiao reached out and grasped Chu Jiubian's hand, gently stroking his smooth wrist, but it seemed as if he were touching old, deep scars.

He finally met Chu Jiubian.

They encountered someone who was already covered in wounds.

Chu Jiubian looked down at his hands, somewhat lost in thought.

“I know you’ve been sending people to deliver silver to his home,” Qin Xiao suddenly said.

Chu Jiubian looked up at him.

Qin Xiao looked towards the direction outside the palace: "Ever since you entered officialdom and became the Grand Tutor, you have sent silver to Li Sheng's family every month, but you have never told them about it."

Chu Jiubian also turned to look outside the palace.

He did indeed bribe one of the sedan chair bearers who carried his sedan chair, so that he would send a few taels of silver to Li Sheng's house every month.

Not much, just enough for their family to live a better life, but not enough to make them suddenly rich.

At first, Li Sheng's family was nervous and scared, but the sedan chair carrier said that he had been kind to Li Sheng and wanted to repay him in private, but did not want Li Sheng to know.

Li Sheng's family accepted the silver, but kept it a secret and did not tell Li Sheng about the extra silver that would appear in their home every month.

Chu Jiubian only let a few loose silver coins slip through his fingers.

He didn't even know why he did it.

Perhaps it was out of gratitude for the blanket the other person had given him when he first arrived.

Or perhaps he is just a hypocrite who likes to put on a show and portray himself as a good person with a conscience.

He used to perform for his fans, now he performs for himself.

His hand suddenly tightened; Qin Xiao had grasped his hand.

"Chu Jiubian," Qin Xiao looked into the eyes of the person beside him, "Don't deny your own good intentions."

Chu Jiubian paused, withdrew his hand, and quickly walked forward.

"I don't understand," he said.

Qin Xiao caught up even faster and squeezed his hand again.

“Then I’ll explain it to you in more detail,” Qin Xiao said.

Chu Jiubian: "..."

Qin Xiao chuckled and gripped his hand even tighter.

The two figures walked along the long palace path, their shoulders brushing together. Thick white snow piled up on the vermilion walls, and a thin layer of silvery white dust settled on their hair.

On the snow, two sets of footprints stretched forward in parallel.