CH 25

Chang Xiaoqiu was fifteen or sixteen years old, and his family was well-off. There was usually a group of servants flattering and coaxing him, and he was at the phase of viewing himself as an exceptional person. Now Liu Xian’an suddenly said that life was fine, and his death was also fine, so naturally he couldn’t bear this contempt. He said stubbornly: “Don’t try to provoke me!”

“I’m not provoking you,” Liu Xian’an told him patiently. “As the saying goes, life and death are day and night, misfortune and blessing, good luck and bad luck, they are all the same. If you can realize this, you will naturally understand what I mean.”

Chang Xiaoqiu couldn’t realize anything at all, and didn’t really want to. On the point of “not wanting to listen to people who can’t speak like a human,” he and Liang Shu were firmly in the same camp. The sages said that thunder and lightning should be dealt with in a composed manner, but Chang Xiaoqiu just wanted to be the lightning bolt, and tell the sages to shut up on the spot and stop their unintelligible speech.

Chang Xiaohan said: “Doctor Zhang said that if my young master’s leg injury is to be healed, it will take at least three months.”

“Kangtai Medical Center is the best at treating bone injuries, and their diagnosis should be correct,” Liu Xian’an said. “However, in the later stage,  you can return home to recuperate. You don’t have to live here the whole time.”

When Chang Xiaoqiu was seriously injured, Chang Xiaohan only rushed to seek medical help and had no time to interrogate the escorts, so it was still unknown who had been working behind the scenes. Right after entering the hospital, he had written a letter to Chang Wanli explaining what had happened on the way. But Liu Xian’an thought, a letter sent from Baihe City to Wanli Escort Bureau must pass through Chixia City. But at that time, Chixia City was still in chaos and the post station was closed by Du Jing, so he said: “You had best write a new one. There are nine chances out of ten that the first one was lost due to a problem with a post station.”

“Okay, I’ll write it later.” After Chang Xiaohan spoke, he probed again, “Young Master has returned to Baihe City alone? Where are the other righteous men?”

Liu Xian’an knew the unease and doubt in his heart, and since he had nothing to do anyway, he ordered a cup of tea and told the two of them a rough outline of what happened regarding the Wanli Escort Bureau after that night. Chang Xiaohan was shocked after hearing it, while Chang Xiaoqiu was furious, cursing as he said: “I knew that poisonous woman was no good!” After cursing, he became worried and anxious. “If she could pay to kill me, she can pay to kill my father. Uncle Chang, you send a quick letter home first, then pack our luggage. We will leave for the Escort Bureau tonight!”

Chang Xiaohan hesitated: “But the young master’s leg…..”

“It’s already come to this point, what about my leg!” After speaking, Chang Xiaoqiu was about to hop into the room on his crutches, but his foot accidentally slipped and he suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!”

In spite of Liu Xian’an’s habitually slow movements, he was very quick at this time. He quickly stood up and dodged to the side, and Chang Xiaoqiu fell with a thud into a pile of hay.

“Cough, cough.”

Chang Xiaohan quickly helped him up.

Chang Xiaoqiu had never seen such a wicked person before. Coughing, he pointed at the other person and scolded: “Why did you dodge?”

Liu Xian’an replied, “If I didn’t dodge, I would be hit by you.”

Chang Xiaoqiu almost vomited blood. “You doctors of Baihe Mountain Village, no, all the doctors in the world, shouldn’t you all focus on saving lives and helping the wounded? There is no reason for a doctor to slip away when a patient falls down!”

Liu Xian’an said: “If you move around again, the steel plates on your legs will have to be redone, and the bones will also grow crooked.”

Chang Xiaoqiu disregarded his persuasion, and raised one leg straight up: “Then I must to back and save my father as soon as possible!”

“Chief Escort Chang doesn’t need you to save him,” Liu Xian’an said. “His Royal Highness Xiao Wang should have arrived at Wanli Escort Bureau by now.”

“Who?” Chang Xiaohan and Chang Xiaoqiu said in unison.

The sound was so loud that Second Young Master Liu’s eardrums buzzed. Then he discovered another thing – for the vast majority of people, especially young and middle-aged men, when they heard the words “His Royal Highness Xiao Wang,” they seemed to raise their voices in shock and excitement at the same time. For example, Qiu Daxing from Chixia City, or these two in front of him.

Chang Xiaohan controlled himself for the time being, but Chang Xiaoqiu kept Liang Shu in his heart, and the man was definitely at the top of his “Most Admired Heroes In This Life” list. His level was even higher than his own father. When he was in the Wanli Escort Bureau, he would sneak to the teahouse and listen to battlefield legends when he had nothing to do. In his daydreams, he yearned to see His Royal Highness Xiao Wang with his own eyes. It was only that destiny makes fools of people. Seeing was seeing, but seeing him when he was half dead…..he might as well not have seen him at all.

Chang Xiaoqiu was very upset and ashamed. He didn’t care about causing trouble with Liu Xian’an at this moment, and asked eagerly: “Why does His Royal Highness Xiao Wang want to go to my home?”

“He Rao not only wants to kill you, but is involved in an old incident. His Royal Highness Xiao Wang is there to investigate the case.” Liu Xian’an said, “So unless you really don’t want this leg, you should stay here for an extra month.”

“Yes, Young Master,” Chang Xiaohan also advised. “Since His Royal Highness Xiao Wang has already gone to the Escort Bureau, he will definitely reveal He Rao’s true face to the Chief Escort. It doesn’t need to be exposed by you and I personally. Healing your leg injury first is more important.”

Chang Xiaoqiu was still drowning in an endless stream of regret at this time. As for the specific water source, it was almost like the water of the Yellow River flowing from the sky. If he had known this, he definitely would not have taken this escort trip. Now that he had, not only could he not stay with his father, but he also couldn’t see His Royal Highness Xiao Wang with his own eyes.

Alas.

Chang Xiaohan knew his young master very well. Seeing that he had gone silent, he assisted him by asking: “Doctor Liu seems to have a good relationship with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “It’s pretty good.”

Chang Xiaohan asked again: “Will His Royal Highness Xiao Wang come to Baihe Mountain Village after solving that old case?”

Liu Xian’an thought of the two jars of good wine he had just bought, and nodded in good spirits: “He will.”

“My family’s young master has always admired and worshiped His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. Perhaps Doctor Liu can make it convenient for us to take a look from a distance when His Royal Highness Xiao Wang is a guest in Baihe Mountain Village?” Chang Xiaohan continued to ask.

Liu Xian’an shared his travel plans: “His Royal Highness Xiao Wang is coming to Baihe City to drink with me, and we will also walk around the city. At that time, there is no need to make special arrangements. As long as we go to the streets, everyone can see him.”

Chang Xiaohan beamed with joy: “This is perfect.”

Chang Xiaoqiu was also flushed with excitement, and even found Liu Xian’an more pleasing to the eye. After the other party left, Chang Xiaohan pushed him in a wheelchair and they went shopping in the streets for a while, chatting with people everywhere. As a result, he learned a lot of Second Young Master Liu’s good deeds, such as being too lazy to copy books, too lazy to marry a princess, too lazy to talk,  and too lazy to walk. He didn’t even bother to eat, and lay in bed all day, subsisting on the northwest wind and dew.

Chang Xiaohan was dumbfounded by what he heard.

However, Chang Xiaoqiu was very certain that Liu Xian’an was a peerless master who lived in seclusion in the city. As for his reasoning, even His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was willing to pay him a special visit, just to drink and tour the city with him. Didn’t that explain the issue?

Therefore, this young master of the Wanli Escort Bureau, relying solely on his infatuation and admiration for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, successfully became the second person in Baihe City besides A-Ning to see through the truth.

This boy had a future.

The boy’s father, however, felt that his future was very bleak. No, that his whole life was very bleak.

The wife he had thought to grow old together with not only wanted to kill his own son, but also colluded with outsiders to steal his own property. He truly couldn’t bear this kind of blow, but the truth was, nobody on the scene cared about his feelings. He Rao continued to confess that when Feng Xiaojing entered the fort, he accidentally fell off the cliff there and hung on an old, crooked tree, but she managed to save him.

Cheng Suyue asked: “This is the favor he owed you?”

“Yes.” He Rao nodded. “Although he is taciturn, he keeps his word. Even though he left without saying farewell back then, he sent me a special letter later, saying that at any time I wanted to use this favor, I could go to the jade field in Cuili City in the southwest to find him.”

“Is he still in Cuili City?”

“No, I heard the meaning in his words, and it seems he is going to Baihe City.”

“Baihe City?” Cheng Suyue asked, “Is he sick?”

“It should be the case,” He Rao replied hesitantly. “I don’t know what kind of evil martial arts he practices, but his face is still the same as when he was a teenager and his voice is also like that of a young man, but he is afraid of the light and always wears a mask.”

Gao Lin found a painter from outside and asked him to draw Feng Xiaojin’s face according to He Rao’s description.

“His facial features are excellent. The tails of his eyes are raised like a fox’s, and even the most enchanting and passionate woman cannot compare,” He Rao recalled, “but his eyes were always cold.”

Cheng Suyue watched the painter make a careful outline, from the fox-like eyes to the thin red lips. He was slender and preferred to wear black robes.

In the case of the Tan family’s extermination thirteen years ago, Feng Xiaojin was already fifteen or sixteen years old at the time. Now that he was nearly thirty years old, his skills had improved greatly, but his face had not changed. He had almost stamped the word “heresy” on his forehead.

“Your Highness, what is our next plan?”

“Go to Baihe City.”

At Baiha Mountain Village in Baihe City, Liu Xian’an saw his father standing beside the bed the moment he opened his eyes. Thus, he immediately closed his eyes again, not seeing, not hearing, in tranquility and nothingness.

Liu Fushu deeply regretted that he did not bring a stick with him.

“Young Master, don’t sleep, Young Master!” A-Ning shook him with his hands vigorously. “The master of the village is looking for you for a serious matter.”

Liu Xian’an was shaken almost to the point of vomiting, so he had no choice but to sit up wrapped in the blanket. He did not get out of bed,  his eyes were bleary, and he was clearly ready to continue sleeping at any time.

Liu Fushu had become accustomed to his lazy, half-dead appearance, and tried his best to calmly instruct: “Early tomorrow morning, follow your second uncle on the official road to distribute decoctions to reduce heatstroke and prevent plague.”

This was a difficult job. He really wanted his son to suffer hardships, so that he didn’t eat and drink all day. When people lived in this world, they had to do the tiniest bit of proper business, right? But Liu Xian’an had no opinion on this. Although he also wanted to analyze it with his father, there were thousands of disciples in Baihe Mountain Village, and anyone could distribute medicine. It wasn’t that he was needed personally. But he was really too sleepy at the moment, too sleepy to move his mouth at all, so he just chose the simplest “en” as an answer and then fell straight back and continued to sleep.

Liu Fushu: Angry to death.

Early the next morning, he came to the waterside pavilion with a stick and drove the unfilial son out.

Mixed in with his family’s disciples, Liu Xian’an carried a basket on his back and sweated profusely as he walked beneath the scorching sun. He also wore a big hat on his head to cover his face, lest all the girls in the city rush out to watch the excitement and block the team’s way.

Distributing heat-reducing concoctions was as charitable as giving porridge. The female disciples in Baihe Mountain Village were dexterous, and had also made a lot of cooling candies and anti-mosquito ointments, all of which were free to use. After walking the road for more than half a month, they finally arrived at a traffic artery where the north and south met, and built a shed on the flat land beside it.

This sort of thing was often done in Baihe Mountain Village during the summer to cool off the heat. In the winter, a stove was set up to cook chili and mutton soup, which was convenient for passers-by. So everyone was familiar with it except Liu Xian’an. His second uncle was leading the team, and seeing that his precious nephew hadn’t figured out his tent after a long time, he sent him to help carry the medicine, so as not to be accidentally pierced by a nail later.

Liu Xian’an agreed and put down the tent. Turning around, he saw that there were at least ten people carrying the medicine and he was not needed at all. 

So he wandered around, found a cool, clean, quiet place, and proceeded to lie flat.

A-Ning: “Ai, I knew it.”

Liu Xian’an slept extremely peacefully at this time and woke up refreshed, looking around comfortably: “What time is it?”

A-Ning replied: “Shen shi.”[1]

Liu Xian’an was very surprised. Only a short hour had passed? Then he should be able to sleep a little longer.

“Don’t!” A-Ning pulled at him in despair. You didn’t sleep for an hour, you slept for a day and a night minus an hour.

During this time, after receiving their decoctions, many merchants would ask with curious concern, who is that person lying in the shed at the back? Why is he motionless, is he sick? 

The disciples of Baihe Mountain Village couldn’t just say that he was their family’s Second Young Master who was slacking off, and had no choice but to be vague and perfunctory – not sick, he’s just exhausted and taking a break.

“So tired, ah.” Everyone was distressed and admiring, and took the initiative to lower their voices. Next were a group of aunts who were bringing snacks to visit relatives, and hearing this, they all took food out of their bags and insisted on giving it to the young man who was too tired to get up, so that he could take good care of his body.

The disciples couldn’t refuse, so they obliged — they accepted them with thanks and put it all on a small table next to the Second Young Master, snacks and fruits and a few jugs of wine, just like tributes in a temple.

Liu Xian’an happened to grab a fruit to eat at this time. It was quite sweet, and after eating, he walked around. Good, people come and go, everything is orderly, busy but not chaotic, I’m still not needed.

He could go back and lie down.

T/N: Liu Xian’an successfully becomes the god of sleep.

[1] Shen shi (申时) is between the hours of 3-5pm. ⮐