CH 26

Chapter 26: Are These Two Flirting?!

“Bian Zhonghua!” Qi Ci held Bian Zhonghua’s arm and knelt down after him.

“Don’t worry.” Bian Zhonghua endured the momentary pain and smiled again. Then he raised his head to appease Qi Ci as he said: “It’s not the first time, I’m already used to it.”

“Will you get heavily punished?” Qi Ci asked softly.

Bian Zhonghua didn’t reply directly, instead, he said: “Just stay far away and don’t get involved in someone else’s matters. Wait for me, I’ll come see you to have a drink in seven days.”

Qi Ci swallowed the questions he wanted to ask and said instead: “Alright.”

Bian Zhonghua looked at him and smiled: “Don’t make such a bitter expression. My hands are bound now, so could you put your face in my hands?”

Qi Ci: “……? Put what? On what hands?”

Bian Zhonghua turned sideways and tried to stretch out his hands, but his hands were firmly tied by the red glowing rope. Because of this, he had to give up. With a smile on his face, he said: “Let me pinch your face to lighten the mood.”

Qi Ci: “……”

Qi Ci gritted his teeth for a while, until he thought of something all of a sudden. As he raised the corners of his lips, smiling, he pinched Bian Zhonghua’s face: “Bian Zhonghua, you’re an easy target. If I want to pinch your cheeks, then I’ll do it!”

Qi Ci didn’t want to stop yet, when suddenly, Bian Zhonghua inclined his head, biting Qi Ci’s mischievous right hand.

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“Bian Zhonghua! You’re a Demon Slayer! Can’t you behave?! Yo-you let me go!” Qi Ci screamed flustered.

Bian Zhonghua couldn’t contain himself as he bursted in laughter.

Qi Ci rubbed the tooth marks left behind on his hand. It seemed like he got infected by Bian Zhonghua’s laughter and laughed along with him.

The Secret Servants on the side were so shocked that their mouths opened wide in unison: “….”

‘Ah?! Are these two flirting?!’

‘Indeed, they are flirting!’

‘Could you two pay attention to the current situation?! Lord Bian, don’t just laugh! Do you understand that you’ll get heavily punished soon?!’

‘Most Importantly!’

‘Please, don’t ignore us!!’

…

After laughing enough, Bian Zhonghua said: “State Master Li will arrive soon, but it’ll be more suspicious if you leave so you should retreat to the crowd first.”

As soon as he said this, bright lights appeared all of a sudden, followed by a line of people coming this way.

Qi Ci and Bian Zhonghua exchanged a look, and Qi Ci retreated to the side in silence.

Over there, State Master Li, surrounded by guards, came to the Western Courtyard together with Qin Yicang.

The Secret Servants clasped their fists and saluted: “State Master Li! Lord Qin!”

State Master Li looked around, until his eyes fell on the dead Secret Servant. Then he slowly turned to face Bian Zhonghua, who had restrained his smile. The scarlet light on his left shoulder was pressed down on his knees and bounding his wrists, so that he wouldn’t be able to move.

State Master Li walked towards Bian Zhonghua and let out a long sigh: “I know you don’t kill innocent people, but Bian Zhonghua, a single moment can turn you evil. Do you know that?”

Bian Zhonghua replied: “I know.”

State Master Li sighed again and waved his sleeve, indicating that he wouldn’t talk to him anymore. Then he turned his head to Qin Yicang and said: “Let’s go. Take him back to the Secret Servant residence first, and then….”

“It’s the middle of the night! Why is there so much noise?!” A slightly angry question interrupted State Master Li’s words.

Qi Ci’s head buzzed.

This voice was too familiar to him. So familiar that he didn’t know which feeling overflowed from his chest first. Hatred, or sentimentality.

“Greetings to Prince Chongfeng.” State Master Li shouted and knelt down, with his sleeves folded. At the same time, everyone present followed and knelt down as well.

Although Qi Ci was disturbed, he reacted extremely fast. As he knelt down too, he lowered his head, trying to hide in the crowd.

Xu Run’s face looked extremely bad. Xu Li had been suffering from illness these past days, and he had been unable to rest well. Tonight, he managed to fall asleep quite easily, but who would’ve known that there would be such loud noises in the middle of the night!

“Answering to His Majesty.” State Master Li replied calmly, “Just now there were evil spirits in the residence. In order to protect the Prince-…”

Xu Run ungratefully interrupted State Master Li and said coldly: “State Master, who are you making excuses for? Come on, who’s the one that made all the noise? Cut off his tongue!”

The stern questioning was met with silence, so devoid of sound that even a needle falling could be heard.

Xu Run looked around, setting his gaze on each maid and servant, who were kneeling on the ground with trembling bodies. A timid servant was looking at Bian Zhonghua, as if questioning him why he didn’t dare to admit his guilt.

Bian Zhonghua had already prepared himself for the worst case scenario. When he raised his head to speak, he suddenly found that he couldn’t utter a single sound. As he frowned, he looked at Qin Yicang.

Qin Yicang shook his head gently, as if he was telling him not to act recklessly at this time. After all, this was the Prince, even State Master Li wouldn’t be able to protect him.

After seeing that no one dared to speak, Xu Run snorted and said: “Since no one wants to admit it, I’ll choose a scapegoat and cut out his tongue to relieve my anger.”

Right after saying that, Xu Run pointed to a very young-looking servant. The servant let out a cry and immediately pointed to Bian Zhonghua. With a trembling voice, he shouted: “Your Majesty! It’s him! It was him who made all the noise!!”

Xu Run’s face darkened as he kicked the servant hard in the face: “Quiet!”

State Master Li and Qin Yicang couldn’t stop themselves from looking at each other. When he saw State Master Li shaking his head, Qin Yicang’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Suddenly, a man stood up.

Everyone was still kneeling and bowing, while Xu Run was the only one standing, making that man stand out among the crowd. At that moment, everyone’s eyes fell on him.

So did Xu Run.

Bian Zhonghua started struggling, but because he was firmly suppressed by the red light dragon pattern on his left shoulder, he couldn’t move at all.

Qi Ci looked at Xu Run quietly, seeing how his eyes slowly widened, gradually overflowing with disbelief.

At that moment, Qi Ci suddenly remembered the day he first met Xu Run. The young teenager was kneeling in front of the medicine hall with his sister in his arms, crying so heartbreakingly that one could hear him at the end of the street.

He also remembered a bitter cold day in the Northern Border, where the three of them sat around a fire pit, drinking hot porridge. Qi Ci and Xu Run would make funny faces to make Xu Li laugh.

Xu Run once asked Qi Ci why he accepted him and Xu Li without suspecting them.

The answer Qi Ci gave that time…

‘There’s no reason, maybe we were fated to meet. I have no father nor mother, and you also have no father or mother, so it must have been fate bringing us together.’

At that moment, Xu Run remained silent for a long time before he could reply: “Except for my mother, no one has ever been so kind to me and Xu Li.”

At that time, Qi Ci also teased Xu Run without scruples: “I won’t mind if you call me mother.”

Now, when he thought of those warm moments of the past, Qi Ci’s heart would inexplicably get filled with bitterness.

Things were different. The two of them were different. But there was still a lingering thought crossing over his mind.

The person who once ate a single steamed bun, and would use the money he saved to buy sugar cakes for Qi Ci and Xu Li, would always be Xu Run.

But now, the man, who was known for killing his father with his own hands, screaming about wanting to cut off a person’s tongue with a cruel temper, was also Xu Run.

It didn’t feel right.

As the two of them looked at each other for a long time, no one dared to make a sound. It was so quiet that Qi Ci could hear the night wind sobbing in his ears. Finally, Xu Run opened his mouth: “Why did you…. you… you… fo-follow me?”

As he spoke, Xu Run unexpectedly looked away, as if he was afraid of being burned by Qi Ci’s scorching gaze. His angry appearance changed all of a sudden. As he walked back to the wing room, his footsteps staggered.

Qi Ci wasn’t afraid, after all, there should be an end between him and Xu Run. When Qi Ci turned to look at Bian Zhonghua, he saw that Bian Zhonghua was also looking at him.

When their eyes collided in the air, Qi Ci nodded gently. Then he turned to follow behind Xu Run, leaving behind the group of people who were still kneeling on the ground, who were looking at each other, not knowing what to do.