It was until he was stuffed into the carriage that Zixiu came back to his senses and remembered that he was struggling in the chilly river before he fainted!  Although he could not figure out what had turned him from a mixed-race handsome young man of the 21st century to an ancient comely boy (as an atheist, he found it hard to accept that something supernatural had happened to him), he did not forget the illusion he had seen when he was struggling in the water… No, it was not illusion! It must be the memories sleeping deep in his cerebral cortex—a reprise of the accident three years ago! Though he hated the name so much, he had to admit that he was that Mark Lira. He was probably 20… no, he was already 23 years old! He was not the 16-year-old Liu Zixiu!

Of course, he would not reveal this “new discovery” to anyone else. Whether it was illusion or reality, whether he was Liu Zixiu or Mark Lira, he was grateful to his “dad”, Liu Wuyi, who had worked hard to raise him for three years. Though he did not think himself a virtuous gentleman, he would not leave his “family” behind for his own safety. In order to get rid of those killers, he took the risk of climbing off the cliff, and now he was safe for the time being. But how was his dad doing? The ropes were so strong that there was no way that they would break at the same time. If they had been cut by someone, his dad and Liuxu might have…

He did not dare to think further. “Where’s my dad?” he stared at Nangong Du in tension, hoping that the latter had figured out a way to rescue Liu Wuyi when he was in a coma. Maybe he had made the arrangements before he went up the mountains! At least, as a prince, he must have taken some awesome bodyguards with him wherever he went, right?

However, what he did not know was that Prince Mu had come to the small town under Mount Windward from thousands of miles away secretly.

To hide the news of his trip, Nangong Du did not take any guards with him at all!  Otherwise, he would not have been lying in the snow like a corpse two days before!

Because he underestimated his enemy, his personal maidservant might have died! Nangong Du did not respond to Zixiu’s question.

Hearing no response from him, Zixiu got anxious. He crawled to the carriage door, lifted the curtain and looked around. “Where are we? I’m going back to find my…”

His anxious voice suddenly came to a halt when he saw Yu Xiaohu and his family standing in front of the gate of the house.

To keep them from seeing his big belly, Zixiu put down the curtain in a hurry. After a while, he realized that something was wrong. ‘What’s going on? Are we in front of Yu’s house? But Yu’s house doesn’t look like that!’

“To save you, the Yus almost be killed! How come you’re still thinking about going back and put your neck into the noose?” Nangong Du hit the nail on the head.

“How could this be?” Zixiu stared at him in disbelief. However, he remembered that the river was close to the Yu village. If Nangong Du was not deliberately scaremongering, what did he mean by ‘put your neck into the noose?’

“Their lives are in your hands. Will you go back or come with me? Think it twice before you make your decision!” With that, Nangong Du got out of the carriage.

“Wait!” Zixiu was much more experienced than before, and he was not that easy to be tricked. His dad had never offended anyone. Who caused him to be in danger and unaccounted for? Now the trouble-maker was threatening him! It was outrageous! “Nangong Du! It’s none of your business whether I leave or not. How dare you get the Yus involved in? Yes, Yu Xiaohu and his family saved my life, but they almost got killed because of you, the ruthless and despicable Prince Mu! Those killers were obviously here for you. Instead of staying away from the Yus, you took them out with you! What tricks are you cooking?”

Nangong Du gradually stopped and turned around. For a moment, he was in a trance. It was not because he felt guilty because of Zixiu’s accusation, but because he was stunned by the solemn look on the latter’s face. For no reason, he had a sense of familiarity with this arrogant little brat all along! And now, this feeling was especially intense. Could it be that he had been reluctant to let Liu Zixiu go because of his love and nostalgia for the one who had died?

Under Nangong Du’s “indifferent” gaze, Zixiu became even more furious. “I’ll die sooner or later. You asshole, if you dare to kill the Yus, I’ll definitely…”

“If I wanted to kill them, I wouldn’t have waited until now!” Nangong Du came back to his senses. ‘Liu Zixiu looks like a rogue. How can I compare him with my virtuous and gentle darling? My eyes must be deceiving me!’

“Humph! I knew you wouldn’t have the guts!” Though Zixiu had known that he misunderstood Nangong Du, he still felt irritated. Now he was seized with an impulse to vent all his anger on Nangong Du for the grievances he had suffered in the past six months. As a 23-year-old man, he felt so humiliated at the thought of being bullied by a dude who was even several years younger than him for so long! “Stop butting in my business! I’m not going with you!”

“No way!” Nangong Du protested almost instinctively. At the thought that Liu Zixiu might be in a bad mood for the loss of his dad, Nangong Du showed no intention to blame him for his disrespect for him, but he still reminded him, “If your dad could escape by chance, do you think he would let you fall into the river and drown?”

“One falls into the river doesn’t mean he’ll drown! I’m still safe and sound, right? At the critical moment of life and death, people have to take a risk! My dad is not that stupid!” Zixiu firmly believed that his “dad” was still alive. Otherwise, he would be restless for the rest of his life.

“Stupid?” Hearing that, Nangong Du suddenly remembered that far from stupid, Liu Wuyi was actually very smart and flexible! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have entered the Cirrus Valley! Perhaps, this time, Mr. Liu could come up with some unusual idea again, and Xingyi might have a narrow escape as well?

“Nangong Du, mind your own business!” Finding himself again in a passive position, Zixiu showed a determined look. “From now on, we’ll have nothing to do with each other. Don’t come to me anymore!”

“Humph!” Nangong Du snorted disdainfully. He did not argue with Zixiu, but only said ironically, “Then why are you still in my carriage?”

‘Damn it! This bastard is trying to make me look stupid in front of others!’ Zixiu clenched his teeth angrily. Needless to say, he would not readily admit defeat. Next, he came up with an idea. Nangong Du was so conservative that he did not even dare to hold his hand in front of others, so Zixiu decided to teach him a lesson so as he would know who would feel more embarrassed in the end!

Next, he twisted his neck, cleared his throat before he suddenly pounced forward and grabbed Nangong Du by his sleeve while the latter was still looking at him in confusion. “You’re so naughty! Don’t do this…” he said in an intimate tone, trying to sound like a woman.

“??” Nangong Du froze on the spot. Was Liu Zixiu reluctant to… get out of the carriage?

Zixiu raised his voice to attract the audience, “So many people are looking at us! How embarrassing… Umm..”

Urgh! Zixiu almost vomited on his own coquettish tone. Now Nangong Du had come back to his senses. As if he had been electrocuted, he immediately slapped off Zixiu’s hand, which was tugging at his sleeve. “Liu Zixiu! How come you’re so shameless!”

“Humph!” Zixiu snorted. He did this only because he felt embarrassed to get out of the carriage in front of other people. How could this be regarded as shameless?

Zixiu lifted the curtain and took a look outside. As he expected, the audience thought the couple were making out in the carriage, so they all shied away.  Taking this opportunity, Zixiu hopped out of the carriage in haste and was about to leave.