After finishing the chapter on “Meng Ying’s Hill,” Fu Su finally calmed down slightly, forcing himself to withdraw from the world of books. Looking around at his surroundings, he discovered the conversation from deeper in the bookshelves had ceased, returning to complete silence.
Secretly reproaching himself for such weak willpower, Fu Su hurriedly returned “Nine Hills” to its place on the shelf and strode toward the depths of the bookshelf area, only to find a single person in white robes sitting cross-legged at the end.
That person was absent-mindedly flipping through a scroll in his hands. Upon hearing Fu Su’s footsteps, without waiting for questions, he called out first: “Bianzhi went to get something. Young Master, please wait here. If you’re worried, I can have Diancang take you to find him.”
As if hearing his name called, a snow-white furry ball squeezed through a window crack. Its fur was incredibly fluffy, making it appear plump and round—it was remarkable it could squeeze through such a narrow window gap.
A Pomeranian? Fu Su looked closer and realized this furry ball wasn’t an ordinary pet dog, but a white fox. It had a tuft of blue fur on its forehead, reducing the natural allure foxes possessed while adding an amusing, adorable quality—no wonder it was called Diancang. It held something in its mouth, obediently wagging two tails as it delivered the item to the white-robed man’s hands.
Two tails? Fu Su confirmed he wasn’t seeing things. Could this be a young nine-tailed fox?
As a guest, he naturally shouldn’t ask random questions. Chasing after Bianzhi would also be beneath his dignity. Since Bianzhi had gone to such lengths to prevent him from following, he naturally had his reasons. Fu Su silently noted this matter, planning to ask slowly when he found an opportunity later.
Seeing this, Fu Su didn’t stand on ceremony. He removed his leather shoes and sat cross-legged across from the white-robed man with elegant posture. Seeing the white-robed man take a jade pendant from the little fox Diancang’s mouth, Fu Su politely averted his gaze and casually picked up a nearby scroll to pass the time.
The white-robed man glanced at his hands, and his somewhat gaunt face showed a flash of surprise as he sighed: “Actually, you’re the most suitable person to stay in Dawn Market.”
Fu Su’s page-turning motion stiffened momentarily. With Bianzhi absent, he rarely let his guard down.
Bianzhi knew his body and soul were experiencing rejection, but absolutely hadn’t anticipated this rejection would come so quickly. They had originally thought heaven had left him at least two or three more years.
Fu Su smiled bitterly as he looked at the corpse spots appearing on the back of his hands.
Initially, these spots were dark red, but now they had gradually darkened to a dark purplish-red. Fu Su had been an elite surgeon for a year after all, so he knew these corpse spots on his body had already become cloud-like in form. Next they would become striped, then finally spread into patches. His limbs would begin to feel stiff, then become rigid, and finally… slowly rot away…
Though his soul inhabited this body, it still couldn’t prevent the body’s corpse-ification. His soul’s presence only made this process extremely slow. But even slowly, this terrifying progression continued, and because of the time delay, it became exceptionally cruel.
He could clearly experience what it meant to slowly die.
Sometimes Fu Su even fantasized that when he became a pile of rotting flesh, he might still have consciousness, or even become a rather handsome skeleton.
He wasn’t without thoughts of telling the boss about the changes in his body, but anyone could guess that Bianzhi would remove the red dragon robe from his own body and put it on him. Could he bear to watch Bianzhi suffer everything he had experienced?
Better to say nothing. After all, he had already died—this time was all stolen anyway, so he should feel content.
Only… when he saw Ying today, he suddenly felt there might be another possibility for him to continue living.
Stay in Dawn Market?
Fu Su could no longer focus on the scroll in his hands.
The white-robed man across from him, seeing his reaction, weighed the jade pendant in his hand and smiled mercenarily, looking as cunning as the little fox beside him. He laughed and asked: “How about it? If you plan to stay in Dawn Market, we can also make a deal. Trade your token for the right to read five hundred books in this study—any selection! Five hundred books! Not a bad deal, right?”
“Terrible deal.” Fu Su wasn’t a man easily deceived, especially since before entering Dawn Market, Bianzhi had warned him to guard that Qin Ban Liang coin carefully and not give it to anyone.
Fu Su set down his scroll and used his slender fingers to support his elegantly lined chin, staring at the white-robed man across from him, fully releasing the noble aura he had carefully restrained. Though the corpse spots on his hands and the burn scars visible through his bangs looked somewhat frightening, they created an indescribable incomplete beauty that unexpectedly held one’s gaze.
The white-robed man smiled and shook his head. He hadn’t expected to persuade the other with one sentence, but seeing Fu Su like this, he could only marvel that this was indeed the Qin prince that Bianzhi would assist until death.
Fu Su didn’t want to continue this topic at all. His gaze shifted to the jade pendant the white-robed man was caressing, and he narrowed his eyes to ask: “That’s a zi-chen pendant? It wasn’t stolen by this fox, was it? Is it also a token for entering and leaving Dawn Market?”
Diancang seemed dissatisfied with Fu Su’s use of the word “stolen,” baring its teeth at him fiercely. However, this fierce expression on its foolish face looked more like acting cute.
“Token? Oh no, this isn’t a token, just an ordinary jade pendant.” The white-robed man smiled indifferently and casually tossed the zi-chen pendant to Diancang.
Seeing that its master didn’t value what it had retrieved, Diancang didn’t mind either. Holding the zi-chen pendant in its mouth, it turned and jumped onto the windowsill, struggling to squeeze back out through the narrow window crack.
“This is a token? How did it become like this?” Madam Shi covered her chest, her delicate brows frowning as she looked at the tangled mess of threads on the table. She could vaguely guess from the traces what it had originally been. “This is… a concentric knot?”
“Madam has keen eyes.” Guo Fengxiao hurriedly praised, pressing Tang Yuan’s head down to make him assume a penitent posture while scolding: “It’s all because children don’t understand—he accidentally untied this concentric knot. Fortunately it wasn’t broken. I asked many people, and they all praise Madam’s skill. Could you see if it can be restored?”
Tang Yuan rolled his eyes hard but couldn’t argue. After all, taking the blame for the little white snake was appropriate—otherwise he really couldn’t explain how his little ancestor had managed to untie such a complex concentric knot.
Madam Shi looked at Tang Yuan with his head bowed in contrition, her already gentle gaze becoming even more tender.
Guo Fengxiao could tell immediately that he’d made the right bet. Dawn Market lacked nothing except children. Everyone knew Madam Shi’s background—before being presented to King Fuchai of Wu as a consort, she must have drunk sterility medicine to prevent women from developing other thoughts after bearing children. So in Xi Shi’s twenty years in Wu, she had never borne King Fuchai a single child. Even after retreating with Fan Li, she couldn’t bear children for her beloved, which became Madam Shi’s heartache.
In Dawn Market, children were extremely rare. An obedient, cute, fair little shota like Tang Yuan was exceptionally uncommon, so Guo Fengxiao’s bold decision to bring Tang Yuan for an audience was based on this insight.
Madam Shi indeed fell for this approach. Meeting Tang Yuan’s admiring little gaze, she picked up the dirty colored rope and patiently untangled the messy threads bit by bit, carefully studying the bent, raised, and indented traces from one end to the other. After looking for a long while, she slowly closed her eyes, as if visualizing the knot’s construction in her mind.
Guo Fengxiao and Tang Yuan stood holding their breath, neither daring to disturb her. Fortunately, Madam Shi reopened her eyes after just the time of one cup of tea, smiling as she called for a basin of clean water to carefully wash the colored rope while also cleaning her soiled hands.
As if to ease Tang Yuan’s nervous mood, Madam Shi chatted casually while washing her hands. Tang Yuan always liked beautiful aunties, so naturally answered whatever she asked. When Madam Shi heard that Tang Yuan had no parents and had depended on a master since childhood, her beautiful face showed an expression of tender concern, her autumn-water eyes shimmering with captivating brilliance.
But the more Guo Fengxiao listened, the more wrong it seemed. With Tang Yuan’s background, if Madam Shi took a liking to him and wanted to keep him as an adopted son, this kid wouldn’t be able to leave Dawn Market even with a token!
Feeling Guo Fengxiao poking him from behind with his fan, Tang Yuan initially didn’t understand the other’s meaning, but being extremely clever, seeing Madam Shi’s loving gaze and thinking it over, he figured it out. Watching Madam Shi holding the cleaned colored rope in contemplation, he seized the opportunity to throw himself against her thigh, his internal commentary scrolling:
Holy crap! I’m hugging the thigh of one of China’s four great beauties! So soft and fragrant! This lifetime is worth it!!
Guo Fengxiao immediately opened his fan to cover his face. It was over—bringing this brat here was completely wrong! He could already foresee himself being thrown out of Dawn Market by an enraged Market Master.
Madam Shi was startled and nearly cried out, but seeing the child in her arms about to fall from unsteady footing, she quickly reached out to support his arm. The child’s soft, fragile body made her momentarily dazed. If she had children…
Just then Tang Yuan looked up with an expression about to cry, pleading timidly: “Auntie, I want to go home quickly! If Master can’t find me, he’ll definitely worry!” Lies—actually his master had already abandoned him. But Tang Yuan wasn’t too worried about his master. Throwing him out was probably because he’d be a burden. That eldest senior brother, no matter how cool and domineering, had been sealed by Master thousands of years ago, so this time he was definitely courting abuse.
Madam Shi looked into Tang Yuan’s clear black and white eyes, feeling guilty. She couldn’t help touching his hair. Though she found this child’s short hair strange, it felt unexpectedly comfortable. A gentle smile appeared at her lips as she seriously promised: “Don’t worry, I’ll work hard to send you home.”
Tang Yuan contentedly received this promise, shamelessly nestling in Madam Shi’s arms to watch her tie the knot, not forgetting to turn and wink at the dumbfounded Guo Fengxiao.
Envy, jealousy, and hate, young man!
“You’re saying that Helian didn’t confess who his accomplices were?” Lu Zigang and Yue Fu walked out of the law enforcement office’s main gate. Returning from the dark, gloomy cells to the bustling marketplace, their mood couldn’t improve much. Lu Zigang exhaled lightly, moving his stiff limbs from sitting too long, and asked: “So where do we go now? Do you have any leads? Where do we catch people?”
“Unfortunately, I have no leads. Many people in Dawn Market have no fixed residence since sleep isn’t necessary.” Yue Fu considered before saying: “But we can wait for the rabbit by the stump.”
“Wait for the rabbit?” Lu Zigang raised an eyebrow. “You mean we can wait at the exit for them to walk into our trap?”
“But it’s not that simple.” Yue Fu pointed in two directions of the marketplace. “At both ends of Dawn Market, there’s a memorial archway each. To leave Dawn Market, choose either end and throw your token into the bronze urn beneath the archway. If the token is correct, you can leave Dawn Market. If what you throw in isn’t a token, the object won’t be returned but will be permanently swallowed by that bronze urn.”
“So maybe Helian’s accomplice has already left Dawn Market? Or we need to rush to one of the archways now, choosing between left and right?” Lu Zigang turned to look at Yue Fu beside him, his gaze full of skepticism.
Meeting such a gaze, Yue Fu still stood straight, stating facts: “The moment the incident occurred, I ordered two of my men to watch the left and right archways respectively. No news yet is good news. But human hearts are unpredictable—Brother Lu should choose one archway and personally check.”
“Oh, then let’s go with the right side.” Lu Zigang chose casually and was about to step forward. Seeing Yue Fu hadn’t followed, he turned back in surprise: “Aren’t you coming with me? I don’t have much combat power on my own.”
“No, I’ll accompany you. It’s just… you chose the right side so casually?” Yue Fu was somewhat stunned. He thought Lu Zigang would at least consider it, never expecting him to decide without hesitation.
“It’s either left or right, either success or failure—both fifty percent probability. Even if I think, choose, hesitate, and deliberate, it’s still fifty percent probability. Why waste time?” Lu Zigang shrugged, not considering this a particularly difficult choice.
Yue Fu didn’t understand the probability concept but could guess Lu Zigang’s meaning. He looked at Lu Zigang with approval and accompanied him toward the right archway. In the originally crowded marketplace, seeing Yue Fu in military attire, people automatically cleared space for them, making walking convenient. They hadn’t walked long before Lu Zigang saw the massive outline of the archway at the marketplace’s end emerging from the darkness.