Chapter 4 A Glimpse of the Young Man: "What are you being so cutesy about?"...
Qi Baitong remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before finally raising his hand to loosen his belt, remove his clothes, and carefully drape them over his arm.
His upper body was bare, his muscles were taut and powerful, and his movements were fluid and undulating, exuding a beautiful sense of strength.
The only drawback is that the scars lying haphazardly on his skin disrupt the overall harmony, making him appear even more cold and dangerous.
There were several fresh wounds, bandaged up, with traces of blood faintly visible.
These past few days he has been following Gu Shanyue despite his injuries.
Gu Shanyue glanced at him a few times. He didn't take off his pants, and Gu Shanyue didn't force him. After seeing his upper body, he knew what was going on.
"You're quite something, not even crying out in pain."
After Gu Shanyue finished speaking, she suddenly realized that her words sounded familiar; she used to say the same thing to her senior sister.
My senior sister was the same; despite being covered in injuries, she chatted and laughed with me as if nothing had happened.
Facing Gu Shanyue's open and scrutinizing gaze, Qi Baitong slightly turned her face away: "It's my duty."
His tone was calm, but the tips of his ears were slightly red.
Gu Shanyue, oblivious, asked, "What about the medicine I gave you last time? Have you finished it?"
The atmosphere became slightly tense after the words were spoken.
They met by chance at the dilapidated temple that day, and neither of them ever imagined that they would have the chance to meet again.
He never imagined that after they met again, Gu Shanyue would become his new master.
“I’ve used it all up,” he replied.
"Where's the bottle?" Gu Shanyue pressed.
"...at my residence."
Gu Shanyue asked in surprise, "You still have a place to stay?"
He stayed by her side day and night like a dog she couldn't kick away, and she thought he didn't need a place to live.
Another silence followed.
After a while, Qi Baitong looked up and saw that Gu Shanyue was still looking at him, waiting for his answer.
He had no choice but to say, "Yes."
He wasn't used to talking to people, especially this kind of casual conversation, and even more so when the person he was talking to was Gu Shanyue.
Gu Shanyue was different from everyone else in Shengjing; he had never seen anyone like her before.
"Where?" Gu Shanyue asked.
"Northwest corner of the Crown Prince's residence."
Gu Shanyue lived in the southeast corner, which was diagonally opposite. She said, "It's too far. You can just move into my courtyard. There are empty rooms."
"Your subordinate dares not."
Gu Shanyue was displeased: "You're not listening to me?"
"Your subordinate dares not."
"Is this all you can say?"
"Your subordinate..."
Before he could finish speaking, a gleaming longsword swept across, as lightly as a falling leaf, hovering around his neck.
The sword energy severed a strand of black hair, which floated lightly to the ground.
Qi Baitong remained motionless, as if he would not resist even if Gu Shanyue severed his neck.
Gu Shanyue did not want to cut off his neck.
Her hand moved slowly, the sword light gleaming in his dark eyes, the sharp tip of the sword pressed against his chin, lifting his always slightly downcast face.
“I said, you can move in.” Gu Shanyue’s tone was displeased.
Qi Baitong remained silent.
The tip of the sword lightly grazed his face, less than an inch away from his skin. He could smell the blood that hadn't been wiped off the blade, and he could also feel its icy sharpness.
"If you don't listen, get out. Let Yu'er find someone else."
Gu Shanyue suddenly sheathed his sword, turned around, and flew away.
When Qi Baitong raised her eyes, she had already disappeared, leaving only the swaying grass before her.
She was unhappy.
Qi Baitong slowly clenched her fist at her side, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly, as if at a loss.
Actually, the day he saw her at the dilapidated temple wasn't the first time he had met her.
He had seen her twelve years ago when she infiltrated the palace.
It was the dead of winter, with heavy snow falling. She walked by, carrying a sword on her back, her whole body covered in white. Her eyelashes were frosted, and her eyes were as light as amber. As the snow was wiped away, she gazed at the world from afar.
The young man, his face flushed like fire, abruptly looked away, instinctively pulling back his injured and bleeding hand, afraid of tainting her pure eyes.
However, after only a fleeting glimpse, he thought he had long forgotten about it.
When he saw Gu Shanyue again, he suddenly realized that the scene from back then was still etched in his mind, and now he could recall it in vivid detail.
Gu Shanyue found a theater, sat on the roof, listened to the singing below, and then wiped his sword.
He finally ran into his old friend's apprentice and wanted to help him out, but was repeatedly rejected, which left him feeling quite annoyed.
After wiping the stage clean, she listened to several more performances until the theater closed and the guests left. Only then did she leisurely ride the night breeze back home.
Lights were on in the courtyard, and in more than one place.
As soon as she stepped down, the west room creaked open, and Qi Baitong came out. He didn't say anything, just silently watched her, like a dog that knew it had done something wrong and was too cautious to approach.
Gu Shanyue raised an eyebrow slightly and strolled over as if entering his own house, taking a walk around the west room.
The courtyard was exquisite and elegantly decorated. Only a small bundle sat on the table, looking pitiful.
She turned around, sniffing the air: "Injured again?"
Qi Baitong nodded: "Your subordinate..."
Gu Shanyue interrupted him: "Who are you under?
Qi Baitong was speechless for a moment: "...What?"
"Who are you under, the Emperor or Yu'er?" Gu Shanyue patiently repeated.
Qi Baitong said slowly, "At this time, it should be His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Come with me."
Gu Shanyue turned and walked away. After a few steps, Qi Baitong was still standing there, watching her back.
Gu Shanyue turned around: "Why do I always have to repeat myself when I talk to you? Are you hard of hearing?"
Qi Baitong suddenly lowered her eyes: "No more."
"What don't you know?"
"I won't make you say it a second time," he said in a low voice.
Gu Shanyue pursed his lips, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The two walked out of the courtyard, and Gu Shanyue casually grabbed someone and asked, "Where is Yu'er?"
Since she moved into the Crown Prince's residence, her fame has been known to everyone in the residence. There is only one woman outside who dares to call His Highness the Crown Prince by his childhood name.
"Replying to your question, Miss, His Highness is in the study discussing matters."
The two arrived at the study, where Gu Shanyue was stopped outside by a servant who looked troubled.
Gu Shanyue wasn't annoyed. He sat down under the eaves and waited.
After the announcement, the study door opened shortly afterward, and the ministers and their advisors left, each glancing at Gu Shanyue discreetly as they passed by.
As the crown prince, any slight movement in his residence can cause a stir in Shengjing.
Even though Gu Shanyue never used the Crown Prince's residence as a front to flaunt her status, she had long been within the sights of various forces.
"Sister?" Li Yuheng's voice rang out from behind.
Gu Shanyue stood up, dusted himself off, and asked, "Was the punishment Qi Baitong has received these past few days on your orders?"
The flickering candlelight in the study cast shifting shadows on Li Yuheng's handsome face.
He chuckled softly, "Sister, come in."
Just before Li Yuheng took Gu Shanyue's hand and stepped into the study, he glanced at the quiet Qi Baitong and said in a colder tone, "You come in too."
Qi Baitong responded and went inside, standing in the corner.
Li Yuheng led Gu Shanyue to sit down and personally poured her tea: "Sister, this is pre-Qingming tea, would you like to try it?"
He rolled up his sleeves, blew on the tea to cool it, and brought the teacup to Gu Shanyue's lips.
Gu Shanyue had lived with him for ten years, so she had no reservations. She took a sip from his hand, smacked her lips, and said, "Not bad, it's quite fragrant."
Li Yuheng laughed, revealing his sharp canine teeth, and joked, "You're good at everything you eat."
"It's really good."
Gu Shanyue took it and drank it in one gulp. If someone who is a connoisseur of tea saw this, they would surely curse him for wasting his time.
“Then I’ll have someone send a can over,” Li Yuheng said reproachfully, “just in case you drink less alcohol.”
Gu Shanyue waved his hand: "Mind your own business. Even if I drink a lot, I'm still stronger than you."
"Sigh, my sister always looks down on me like this..."
Li Yuheng sighed, feigning sorrow, his eyes occasionally glancing at Gu Shanyue's face.
Gu Shanyue: "...Alright, I have something to tell you."
"I'm listening." Li Yuheng's smile faded slightly.
"Why do you keep hitting Qi Baitong for no reason? Since you've asked him to follow me, no one on your side is allowed to punish him anymore."
Gu Shanyue was always direct in his speech, and he was just as tough even when facing the crown prince of a country.
Li Yuheng was not annoyed. Gu Shanyue spoke to him as if they were still as close as they were back in Zhuoguang Mountain.
He has changed a lot, but Gu Shanyue has never changed.
He likes it this way.
But this time it was different; Gu Shanyue's toughness was for another man.
“If people can do wrong things and not be punished, then the Crown Prince’s residence will be in chaos,” Li Yuheng said with a troubled expression, looking at Qi Baitong with a cold glint in his eyes. “Lord Qi, don’t you think so?”
Before Qi Baitong could speak, Gu Shanyue grabbed Li Yuheng's wrist, making him look at her.
"One thing at a time, others are others, and he is him."
Gu Shanyue's voice was firm, but Qi Baitong kept her face down, her expression unchanged, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.
"Is that so?" Li Yuheng suppressed a sneer and asked, "How is he different from others?"
"He followed me around every day, always being punished, and he always carried a lingering smell of blood. How could I possibly drink and practice swordsmanship?"
Gu Shanyue frowned, clearly displeased.
Li Yuheng was taken aback, then smiled: "So that's what it was about. Why didn't you say so sooner, sister?"
His attitude changed so quickly; his face, which had been clouded with worry, instantly brightened.
Gu Shanyue looked bewildered: "Why didn't you say so earlier? Isn't this all the same thing?"
“Sister,” Li Yuheng still smiled, touched Gu Shanyue’s face, and said helplessly, “You’re right. It’s not good for him to always be around you with such a foul stench. From now on, I won’t punish him. You can punish him, okay?”
Gu Shanyue nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, it's settled then."
"Lord Qi, my sister is kind-hearted, so I will be lenient and spare her the physical pain for now."
Turning his head to face the lacquered white paulownia tree, Li Yuheng revealed his arrogance without reservation, speaking as if bestowing a condescending favor.
Qi Baitong, oblivious to what was happening, bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Miss."
"Alright, go wait outside," Li Yuheng said impatiently, his gaze softening as it fell on Gu Shanyue. "It's been quite a few days since we last met, and I have something I'd like to say to you too."
Qi Baitong left silently, and Gu Shanyue hummed in response: "Is there anything you want to say?"
Li Yuheng rested his elbow on the armrest, propped his face up, and gazed at Gu Shanyue's profile in the candlelight.
Just looking at her gave him an indescribable sense of peace.
Gu Shanyue let him look at her, and casually used the edge of the teacup lid to adjust the bent wick of the lamp. The candlelight suddenly lit up, illuminating her serene and gentle face.
The corners of her mouth, naturally slightly upturned, seem to be smiling.
"elder sister."
Li Yuheng shook Gu Shanyue's arm, and Gu Shanyue glanced at him sideways: "What are you being so coquettish about?"
"Why did you get into a fight with someone at Baohua Temple today?" He tilted his head to look at the person, his posture respectful, but his words carried a hint of probing.
A note from the author:
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