Chapter 52 The Lord Ran Away with a Wild Man
The rising steam wafted out, revealing the handsome face of the young man. The aroma of tea wafted through the books, accompanied by birdsong, the fragrance of flowers, and the rustling of turning pages.
Cangyu had no idea that the young master's life was so boring. He did nothing but read and drink tea for hours on end, and she couldn't understand what was so enjoyable about such a dull life.
He was already feeling sleepy just looking at it, so he leaned half his body against the tree, his eyes narrowed into slits. But the young man suddenly put down the book in his hand and looked at the tree where he was hiding.
I was mostly awake from my drowsiness, but I was also holding my breath.
"If you're sleepy, why keep staring at it?"
Zang Yu was deflated, wondering how he had discovered her. She jumped down from the tree and walked over, saying, "You found me a long time ago?"
The young man retorted, "I'd like to ask you why you've been staring at me?"
Cangyu took out a red peach from her bosom and smiled frankly, "I picked this peach for you, try it, it's very sweet."
His tone was sincere, and his smile was as deceptive as a hook, as if he had offered up his true feelings. However, the young man looked up at the tall, lush tree he had jumped from and said expressionlessly, "This is a camphor tree."
"..."
Zang Yu's smile froze as she shoved the item into his arms. "Alright, I bought it especially for you."
Her acting was so poor, and her attempts to please were so perfunctory, that no one could fail to see through her tricks.
Are you doubting me? Or are you wary of me?
Zang Yu sat opposite him, one hand supporting her chin, her fingers tapping the table, half her body leaning closer to him. "I do have doubts about you."
As a subtle ripple appeared in those eyes, a hand stroked them, following the handsome eyebrows to the corner of the eye, the slight tickle causing the eyelashes to tremble involuntarily.
"I suspect you might be an imposter, that one day you might suddenly run back into the painting."
The hand didn't stop; it suddenly slipped under the shirt and into the chest. The burning heartbeat was in his palm. Zang Yu squeezed it hard, and the young man groaned. He tried to get up but was pressed down again.
"call--"
A tree branch, seemingly blown off from nowhere, came crashing down on Cang Yu's head. However, he had anticipated this, and he rolled on the ground with Cang Yu in his arms. The broken branch was stuck right where he had just been standing.
Without any sense of relief at surviving a disaster, he looked around calmly and said, "There was no wind. How did a perfectly good tree branch break, and break so precisely?"
Young man: "There are many birds and beasts in the mountains, who knows..."
Zang Yu smiled and said, "Who knows, it might be some wild cat in heat causing trouble again."
"......"
Sure enough, someone was secretly watching him; his feeling was right.
I just don't know how long this person can endure for his master.
"I have something private I'd like to discuss with you inside."
The young man's face darkened, and he gripped the cup in his hand tightly: "It's just the two of us here, so please speak your mind."
"That won't do, who knows which stray cat might be eavesdropping again."
The cup was slammed down on the table with a crisp sound. "Then we have nothing to talk about."
"What do you mean, 'nothing to talk about'?" Cang Yu used the same trick again, reaching out towards his face. The young man slapped the restless hand away, but unexpectedly, white powder was shaken out from the fanned sleeve.
Zang Yu feigned surprise: "How did you manage to capture my anesthetic in the photo? Are you alright?"
The young man was completely immobilized, watching helplessly as he was half-lifted into the room by the man's arm. His teeth were clenched tightly, and his calm eyes were now blazing with anger. "What do you want to talk about?"
Zang Yu placed him on the bed, turned around, and closed the door.
"The love potion is burning me, and I can't control it. Why don't you help me get rid of it, young master?" He approached step by step, walking leisurely, but it made the person leaning against the bed tense up. His rosy lips parted in a smile, but it was full of wickedness.
"Oh, I forgot, you seem to be unable to refuse."
"You beast! You're asking for death!"
The tightly closed door was suddenly kicked open, a gust of wind blew in, and Cang Yu felt a pain in the back of her head and fainted to the ground.
The guards hurriedly gave him the antidote and were relieved only after he recovered completely.
Looking at the culprit on the ground, he angrily drew his sword, "Sir, I can't stand it anymore, I'll chop him up right now."
The young man reached out to stop him, and the guard exclaimed in disbelief, "Sir, you—"
"Can't you tell he's bluffing you?"
The guard paused, struggled for a moment, and then put down his knife. "I can't just stand by and watch my lord be in danger."
"No need for further words, you can't beat this kid."
The guard retorted, "If it weren't for the fact that you protected him time and time again, I would have killed this brat long ago."
The young man sighed silently, glanced at him, and the guard felt inexplicably guilty, until he heard the master say to the unconscious man on the ground:
He wasn't dizzy at all.
That kid's faking it!
He didn't even notice.
No wonder the adults looked at him like that. The guards were almost too ashamed to look up.
Seeing that he could no longer keep up the act, Cang Yu had no choice but to dust himself off and get up. He thought he had concealed himself well enough, but he didn't expect this person to be so sharp-eyed.
He smiled and looked at the guard, "So that stray cat was you, sir."
The guard knew he was being mocked, and he almost drew his knife. "My lord, can't I even beat him up instead of killing him?"
Zang Yu laughed and said, "It can't be that bad."
"No need to hit, just poison it."
That beautiful face spoke such vicious words so calmly that Cang Yu's smile faded, and the guards grabbed her chin and forced her to drink a bottle of medicine.
The bitter juice went down his throat, making him dizzy and faint. Before he collapsed, Zang Yu comforted himself that he was lucky he hadn't fallen to the ground.
Once it was confirmed that the man had indeed fainted, the guard complained, "This kid has been keeping an eye on you since early this morning, and you haven't even had a chance to investigate Black Mountain."
*
After the two left, a white flying insect quietly flew over, landed on the back of Cang Yu's hand, sucked the poisonous blood, and its white wings immediately turned black.
He suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, looked at the insect on the back of his hand, and opened his bracelet: "You've worked hard, get some rest."
Although he didn't see the two of them, he knew without guessing where they had gone.
*
The young man returned to the place where he had first met Xu Zangyu, and after searching around, he found nothing unusual.
"If the imperial tomb is here, there must be an entrance."
The young man took out his compass, made several calculations, and finally looked at the stone platform protruding from the cliff. The guard understood and led him up. After parting the vines that were covering it, there was indeed a cave.
As they walked deeper, they came to a tightly closed stone door. It looked ordinary, but the young man recognized the carvings on it that had been used by royalty.
"After the late emperor died, no one knew where he was buried. All the wealth accumulated over several dynasties was taken to his grave, but the people are still struggling with the pain of being squeezed dry. If we can bring these treasures back, it will not be a disappointment to Your Majesty's expectations. Perhaps Your Majesty's wish can truly be fulfilled."
He spoke excitedly, but then noticed the young man remained silent for a long time. "Grand Preceptor?"
"It's alright, open it."
The guard pushed open the heavy door, and as soon as it was opened a crack, something black darted out. "What is that?"
He drew his knife, alert, but suddenly a muffled groan came from beside him. The young man clutched his arm, his face deathly pale. "Quick, close the door!"
The guard peeked through the crack in the door and saw that it was filled with countless black insects, so many that it made his scalp tingle. He quickly closed the stone door and went to look at the young man's arm.
The insect was surging beneath the skin; it had actually burrowed into the adult's body.
"Use a knife to dig it out."
The guard took out his dagger, about to strike, when the thing seemed to see a ghost and burrowed into the flesh, disappearing without a trace. Unless the entire arm was cut open and searched, it was impossible to find.
The two men's expressions immediately turned serious.
The guard broke out in a cold sweat. "How could there be such a ghostly thing in the imperial tomb?"
Footsteps came from the cave entrance; it was someone who shouldn't have been there.
"Do you really think the treasures inside are so easy to take?"
The young man stared at him, seemingly unsurprised. "You were able to get the gold inside, so you know how to deal with this thing?"
The guard gritted his teeth and bowed, pleading guilty: "I have offended you greatly before. I hope that you, young master, can save my master. Whatever you need, I will give you."
Zang Yu jokingly said, "Since she is someone I care about, then of course I must save her."
He took the dagger from the guard and cut his finger, placing it on the young man's arm. Soon, something emerged from the wound, crawling onto his hand and licking the blood. But this was far from satisfying its greed. After sucking the blood, it tried to burrow into the flesh through the wound, but was burned by the tinderbox that Cangyu had prepared beforehand.
This thing burns extremely quickly when it comes into contact with fire.
He approached the young man, his smile unrestrained, "Shouldn't you repay this life-saving grace with your body?"
A knife was held to his neck. The guard's expression had changed completely. Cang Yu raised an eyebrow. "Crossing the river and then burning the bridge?"
The guard said arrogantly, "You're useless now anyway, yet you still dared to covet the master. You deserve to die."
Zang Yu sighed, "Alas, I was so focused on killing the insects that I forgot to cure your master of the insect poison. What a terrible memory I have."
The guard froze, looking at his master's grim face. He couldn't tell if his words were true or false, but he dared not let his master take any risks. His straight spine bent instantly, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, his head bowed low, filled with shame and indignation.
"It was my rudeness, please don't take offense, young master."
His face was contorted with humiliation, and his cheeks were flushed red, as if he were saying something extremely embarrassing. "Punish me if you want, but please, young master, spare my master."
Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she was being forced to cry, while Cangyu couldn't stop smiling. Were all the people from the capital fools?
I always get fooled, but every time it's a different story.
The boy before me was cunning and despicable, toying with me until I was in an embarrassing situation, yet he still pressed me relentlessly. But if I asked myself honestly, it was hard to feel any disgust towards him.
The young man was stunned for a moment before saying, "He acted rashly, and I apologize on his behalf for any offense he may have caused. If you truly wish for me to repay your kindness with my life, you will have to wait until I have completed the Emperor's entrustment."
The guards looked up as if they had seen a ghost, and Cangyu almost thought he had misheard.
Seriously? Has this guy gone crazy from reading too much? How could he agree to such a humiliating request?
"If you're worried, I can write the marriage certificate first."
Zang Yu coughed twice: "Now you can tell me your name and what you're here for."
Their tightly sealed mouths were finally pried open.
"I am Xiao Wenxin, the Imperial Preceptor of our dynasty, entrusted by His Majesty to search for the tomb of the late Emperor."
"What kind of master cook? A master who cooks food in a large pot?"
Xiao Wenxin's face stiffened, and the guards almost cursed out loud. People from small places are so ignorant. What kind of master is this? He is the Grand Preceptor whom even His Majesty respects.
“Our master is not some kind of 'big pot' cook; the Imperial Advisor can observe the stars at night and predict the fate of the world.”
Zang Yu said "Oh," and then added, "So you're a lousy fortune teller. You'd be better off cooking in a big pot."
Both of them were choked up by him.
Zang Yu laughed heartily, "You people from the capital are really interesting."
Cang Yu walked out of the cave, then looked back at the two of them, saying, "You can't take the things inside with you. Don't even think about it. Those gold pieces are worth risking your life for."
Having come this far, no one wanted to give up easily. The guard pressed on, asking, "Since this thing is afraid of fire, what if we set it on fire and burn it all?"
“It’s really useful. You don’t need to do anything. That thing is hidden inside the gold. It can’t be burned, and it can’t be burned clean.”
Xiao Wenxin: "Stop talking, let's drop the matter of the imperial mausoleum."
Guard: "Then Your Majesty..."
Those outside the cave sneered, "It seems this is fate. I never imagined that this hard-earned money would fall into the hands of your dog emperor."
The guard immediately flew into a rage, "What nonsense are you spouting? Our Emperor is not a tyrant. If it weren't for the corrupt officials in power, the world would not be like this."
Zang Yu didn't care what they said. One dog emperor after another had come and gone, and each one of them had skinned the people alive. Even when they died, they still wanted to leave behind money, something you can't take with you when you die, in their graves.
Now that there is widespread discontent, unrest in various places, and the dynasty is teetering on the brink of collapse, are they finally afraid?
As the laughter faded, Xiao Wenxin noticed the growing distance in those eyes. He took a few steps to catch up, but the distance remained.
"Go back and tell His Majesty that his expectations are likely to be dashed."
“I will inform His Majesty,” he said, moving closer, “but do you really think you won’t attract attention since you were able to take out the gold?”
A cold glint appeared in Zang Yu's eyes. "Are you threatening me?"
“I’m not interested in that gold, but there are plenty of others who are. I know you know where the imperial tombs are, so how could others not know?”
The silver headband on the boy's forehead dimmed slightly, and as he turned around, the tassels jingled crisply and melodiously. "Thank you for reminding me."
He leaped off the cliff like a fawn and disappeared into the forest. Even the wind couldn't catch up with his figure. He came in a hurry and left in a hurry, without even saying goodbye.
But there will always be people who feel a sense of loss after a brief visit.
"My lord, shall we return to the capital?"
“I will write a letter, and you shall take it back to His Majesty immediately.”
The guard was uneasy. In these chaotic times, how could he leave his lord alone here? Besides, that brat always coveted his lord's beauty; if he left, wouldn't that be exactly what the scoundrel wanted? "My lord, I..."
"No need to say more."
He watched as Xiao Wenxin finished writing the secret letter and handed it to him, knowing that the lord had made up his mind. He hesitated for a moment and said, "The lord is not leaving... could it be because of that kid?"
Xiao Wenxin didn't refute it. The guards stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had discovered. Their revered Grand Preceptor had actually been abducted by a country bumpkin.
And it was a man.
Could it be that the adult really intends to become his wife?
He had almost forgotten how he said goodbye to the adults. Holding back his tears, he took the secret letter and returned to the capital in a daze.
Xiao Wenxin returned to the thatched cottage and stayed there for a few days. The birdsong and wind were still there, but it was even quieter than before. The shadows of the trees in front of the door were fleeting, and there were no more shadows of laughter and hiding. The place was devoid of any trace of human warmth, and it was so desolate that it made one feel uneasy.
There was nothing left in the room that he wanted to stay, so he closed the door and walked out of the deep mountains.
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