Page 64

"What's the matter?" Fu Yicen approached, taking a seat at the edge of the bed, teasingly asked, "Didn't Dong'er enjoy it?"

"Don't bring it up!" Zhou Rendong's muffled voice came through his fingers, sounding all the softer from having just woken up, and entirely unthreatening.

Fu Yicen suppressed his laughter, lifting the young man and prying his hands away, "Time to get up and start the day."

"Alright." Zhou Rendong mumbled, then impulsively planted a kiss on Fu Yicen's lips. After doing so, his face instantly flushed.

Satisfied, Fu Yicen pampered Zhou through washing up, having breakfast, getting dressed, and even took him up the mountain. Only reluctantly did he leave him there, joining Liu Siyi by the river to oversee some work.

Seeing Zhou Rendong gazing and grinning in the direction Fu Yicen left, Chu Yu felt goosebumps from the mushiness.

He tapped Zhou Rendong's forehead, rolling his eyes, "Snap out of it."

Zhou Rendong sheepishly scratched his face and grabbed his medical kit, following behind Chu Yu.

Having heard about the previous night from Liu Siyi, Chu Yu lectured Zhou Rendong, "You better be careful. If anything happens to you, I doubt Fu Yicen would be able to handle it."

Flushing, Zhou Rendong nodded in agreement.

After a long, busy day filled with medical check-ups and concocting remedies, they realized night had already fallen.

"Shall we head back together?" Chu Yu, while packing his medical kit, asked Zhou Rendong.

These days, Fu Yicen and Liu Siyi seemed to have a lot on their plate, often only returning in the wee hours.

Zhou Rendong blushed momentarily, murmuring, "I'll go find the general."

Recently, noticing the dark circles under Fu Yicen's eyes, Zhou Rendong felt deeply concerned. In his spare moments, he had crafted a sachet, planning to fill it with rejuvenating herbs when he found the right ones.

This morning's new batch of herbs had just the ingredients he needed, so he filled the sachet.

Now that he had finished attending to patients, Zhou Rendong was eager to deliver it.

Hearing the story, Chu Yu gave him a teasing glance, then snorted.

After a few moments, as if recalling something, he awkwardly inquired, "Do you have any extra sachets?"

Zhou Rendong shook his head, "I'm not very skilled, so I only made one."

"Oh." A flash of disappointment crossed Chu Yu's eyes.

"If you want, I could help you make one..."

"No need."

Chu Yu turned to grab his medicine box and patted Zhou Rendong's shoulder, "Consider the matter dropped."

With that, he left in haste.

Hmph! As if his own stitching wasn't good enough!

He could certainly sew one himself... right?

As long as that bookworm doesn't find out, the better. It'd spare Zhou the trouble of dealing with Chu Yu's gloating.

Zhou Rendong shuddered, rubbing his back as if recalling an all-too-familiar ache from overexertion.

Scratching his head in confusion, Zhou wondered if he'd imagined the blush on Doctor Chu's face. Had he been mistaken?

Unable to figure it out, Zhou Rendong shrugged, shouldered his medicine box, and went to find Fu Yicen.

Before reaching the riverside, he spotted Fu Yicen speaking with a shadow guard not far away.

Not wanting to interrupt, Zhou hid behind a nearby rock to wait.

Snippets of their conversation reached his ears, and his heart gave a sudden jolt.

"General, we've found clues regarding the treasure."

"The key to accessing the treasure is with the young master."

"We must ensure the young master doesn't fall into Gu Huo's hands, or else..."

Zhou Rendong's fingers curled tightly, his body feeling chilled to the bone as Gu Huo's words replayed in his mind.

——Only you can unlock the treasure!

——His kindness towards you is only because he covets Fei Kingdom's treasure and mines.

Chapter 48: Don't Deceive Me; I Can't Bear It.

After hearing the shadow guard's report, Fu Yicen's brow furrowed deeply, his face grave.

He sighed, rubbing his temples and ordered coldly, "The young master mustn't be informed about this yet."

"Understood, sir."

The shadow guard discreetly retreated, leaving Fu Yicen in deep thought.

Setting aside the longstanding feud between the Fu family and the Fei Kingdom, just the allure of that much-coveted treasure alone was enough to put Zhou Rendong in countless dangerous situations.

In his past life, Xia Zhijin had deceived Zhou Rendong into handing over the treasure using his own life as bait, ultimately leaving Zhou with nothing.

Recalling the frail, foolish figure at death's door, Fu Yicen's heart clenched, and he tightened his fists, firmly resolving to take action.

This time around, he must devise a foolproof plan to distance Zhou Rendong from that treasure.

Keeping him in the dark and letting him focus on being a simple doctor seemed like a good idea.

As long as his men kept a close watch and prevented Gu Huo from getting near, there should be no mistakes.

With these thoughts, he quickened his pace, eager to return to his beloved doctor.

Unexpectedly, the room that usually had a candle lit for him was now pitch dark. Were it not for Zhou Rendong's labored breathing, Fu Yicen would have thought it was empty.

"Dong'er?"

He called out tentatively. The figure on the bed stirred, sniffled, and looked towards the door, eyes brimming with tears.

The candlelight flared up, casting a warm glow on Zhou's fair cheeks tinged with red, making his gentle features all the more pitiable.

"What's wrong?" Fu Yicen approached, noticing the tear tracks. "Who upset you?"

Zhou Rendong blinked away tears, wiped his face, and said with a reddened nose, "No one did. I... I just miss my mother."

Hearing this, Fu Yicen frowned and moved to embrace him. "My dear..."

Zhou Rendong didn't resist, nestling into his arms, clutching at his clothes. He looked up, his voice soft yet anxious, "General, have you found out about my mother's identity?"

Don't lie to me!

I... can't handle it.

Zhou Rendong's eyelashes, delicate as butterfly wings, fluttered, his bright eyes fixed intently on Fu Yicen, awaiting the answer.