Ze Que was still several miles away when Ye Jun already distinguished his scent. His sense of hearing was his greatest strength, making him more sensitive to such things than anyone else.
Ye Jun’s first reaction was that he had encountered a ghost. Then, he recalled the folk legends claiming that ghosts had no feet; he decided he would have to feel for them later to see if it was a man or a spirit. The next moment, Ze Que stepped directly onto his face.
It was pitch black inside, and Ze Que could never have guessed that someone was sleeping on the floor. As a former shadow guard, Ye Jun habitually suppressed his breathing and presence, leaving him devoid of any sign of life. Since he was lying right in the path of the entrance, he was stepped on squarely.
Ye Jun curled into a ball, clutching his nose. Startled, Ze Que leaped to the side and asked, "Is that Master Ye Jun?"
Ye Jun immediately sensed something was wrong; that was not the title Ze Que usually used for him.
Ze Que continued, "Your family member asked me to bring you food... Ah, I forgot to ask his name."
*Family member?* Ye Jun was dazed by the term for a moment. Ze Que pulled out a fire starter to light the room, finally seeing the state of the interior. When he saw the bandages covering the upper half of Ye Jun’s body beneath his half-open robes, he sighed softly. "You’re so badly hurt. How can you still be sleeping on the floor?"
He then remembered that Zhongli Zixi was crippled and this man was heavily injured; perhaps they simply hadn't been able to move him to the bed. Seeing the two of them living alone in this desolate wilderness with no one to rely on, a flicker of sympathy and worry rose in his heart.
Before coming here, he had assumed the so-called "family member" would be a parent or a relative. But the man before him was so young and handsome, and his features bore no resemblance to Zhongli Zixi’s, so they didn't seem like brothers. For a moment, he couldn't help but feel curious about this man’s identity and his relationship with Zhongli Zixi.
Ze Que carefully helped him onto the bed and asked, "The 'Ye Jun' he mentioned is you, right? What are you to him? You don't look like brothers."
The moment Ye Jun heard this, he knew that Ze Que no longer recognized him, nor did he recognize Zhongli Zixi. Habitually cautious, Ye Jun was unwilling to reveal any information and asked instead, "Who are you? Why have you come here?"
Ze Que, suspecting nothing, honestly recounted his story: how he was staying with relatives, how he had been ambushed and poisoned, how Zhongli Zixi had saved him, and how he had been entrusted to come and look after him.
After hearing this, Ye Jun didn't say another word. He scrambled up, intent on leaving the house.
Ze Que hurriedly stopped him. "You can't move around recklessly. Tell me what you need to do, and I'll help you."
Ye Jun replied, "Find him."
Although Ze Que caught Ye Jun by the waist, he didn't dare use force because of the injuries. He could only say, "He won't be in any danger for the time being. Don't be anxious..."
Ye Jun’s attitude was resolute. "Stop dawdling."
Ze Que had no choice but to carefully and steadily carry Ye Jun onto a horse, hoping only to minimize the jolting so the wounds wouldn't tear open.
Ye Jun, however, had no such concerns. He snapped the whip and galloped away.
***
The method for expelling the Gu was not difficult in theory, but the process was tedious and lengthy. Once Zhongli Zixi finished the day's progress and gave the necessary instructions, he prepared to take his leave. Fourth Master Fang pressed the bandage on his wrist and said to him, "Mister Yan is a man of great ability. Why not join my Fang family and forge a grand future?"
Zhongli Zixi shook his head. "I have no interest."
Fourth Master Fang narrowed his eyes. "The property in this small town is but the tip of the iceberg. Follow my Fang family, and I guarantee you glory and wealth for the rest of your days."
Zhongli Zixi sighed. "I'm only doing this to earn medicine money for someone. I don't need that much silver."
Fourth Master Fang felt a surge of secret rage, but he didn't dare show it yet. He only said coldly, "That is not for you to decide."
Zhongli Zixi truly couldn't be bothered with him and turned to leave.
His hands and feet were slow now, so the delay had been unavoidable. Outside, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse; all was silent. The moment Zhongli Zixi stepped out the door, he saw the culprit of his troubles, Ye Jun, kneeling bolt upright in the courtyard.
Ze Que was standing beside him, trying his best to persuade him to get up, but Ye Jun was completely deaf to his words.
Zhongli Zixi frowned and glanced at Ze Que, saying displeasurably, "Is this how you help me look after people? Hmm?"
Ze Que suddenly felt he had no way to defend himself. "No matter how I tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen. He insisted on coming to find you."
Zhongli Zixi waved his hand. "Forget it. It’s just as well that he’s here. Recovering and treating illnesses here is more convenient than in the mountains, anyway. Help me carry him into my room."
Since Fourth Master Fang needed something from Zhongli Zixi, he had specially cleared out a guest room for him. On the surface, it was for hospitality; in reality, it was for surveillance. But it was fine; the food here was far better than in the mountains, and there were maidservants to wait on them. He was happy to enjoy the leisure.
Ze Que carried the silent Ye Jun to the bed and tucked him in. He looked around the room and asked hesitantly, "Are you two going to sleep together tonight?"
Zhongli Zixi took it as a matter of course. "Otherwise? Should I let him sleep on the floor?"
There was indeed only this one bed. Ze Que suddenly said, "You could come sleep at my house. We have empty rooms..."
"Oh, so I go to your house and leave this injured patient here all by himself," Zhongli Zixi repeated expressionlessly.
Ze Que scratched his head. "Oh, right... that won't work. It seems there really is... no other way."
Zhongli Zixi waved him off. "Alright, you head back first. I need to rest."
Ze Que nodded, obediently said his goodbyes, and left.
As soon as he was gone, Ye Jun scrambled up, then bent his back to resume a kneeling posture of atonement, his forehead pressed tightly against the bedframe. "I beg for Young Master's punishment."
Zhongli Zixi didn't care much and patted his back, wanting him to stop making a fuss and go to sleep. But when his hand touched him, he realized Ye Jun was trembling uncontrollably. He reached for the man's wrist; it was eerily cold.
*How can he be this cold...* A thought suddenly struck Zhongli Zixi. "Ye Jun, are you afraid?"
"Yes," Ye Jun replied in a low voice, his eyes squeezed shut.
He had supervised Ze Que’s punishment; he had handled the body. He had told the Second Young Master with his own lips that Ze Que was dead. Yet now, Ze Que was here, alive and well.
Anyone else would have reached one conclusion:
He had lied.
Zhongli Zixi was incredibly sharp; he understood the implication in an instant.
If this news had reached him a month earlier, Ye Jun would have been unable to escape death, regardless of whether he had known the truth or not.
Zhongli Zixi said softly, "I know you didn't lie to me."
"...It is all the same." Ye Jun prostrated himself deeply, wishing he could sink into the floor. He spoke calmly, "Whether I intended to hide it or was deceived into letting Ze Que slip through the net, it is a failure of duty. I cannot escape the blame."
He understood in an instant what it meant for Ze Que to be alive.
In truth, whether Ze Que lived or died was irrelevant in itself. It wouldn't be hard to kill Ze Que again, and his current master had no need to eliminate him. It might even be a good thing, as it could ease the relationship between the Second Young Master and the Eldest Young Master.
But the point was that from this moment on, he was no longer the Ye Jun who never failed.
He was now subject to doubt.
He dared to joke with his master, and even dared to use small schemes to manipulate the Second Young Master. What he relied upon was nothing other than the Second Young Master’s trust. His loyalty and his ability—both were indispensable. He was the only one who possessed both, which was why he was *Ye Jun*.
He had spent so much effort to reach this point, only for it all to be lost now.
As this thought crossed Ye Jun’s mind, his brain went blank. He had no way to salvage the situation; there was only overwhelming terror.
These thoughts also turned over in Zhongli Zixi’s mind, and he hesitated for a moment. Before he could straighten out his own train of thought, he saw Ye Jun’s body tilt and tumble off the edge of the bed.
He hurriedly called the maidservants to help lift the unconscious Ye Jun back onto the bed. Zhongli Zixi thought gloomily, *I never knew you were actually this delicate.*
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