Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Banquet

*

"Oh! Brother, your hand is cut!"

"Quick, fetch the first aid kit!"

A gentle, worried voice lingered in Xia You's ears, but the tightening sensation it brought to his heart abruptly jolted him awake from his dream.

He looked down to see shards of a glass cup tightly clutched in his palm, with crimson blood seeping through his fingers.

The hand was his, yet it was slender and fair, unscarred and callus-free; a hand accustomed to playing the piano and painting, one that belonged to a pampered young master.

It stings a bit.

Xia You's groggy consciousness finally cleared.

"Brother, I heard the second son of the Senator's family will be attending today. You two have been engaged since childhood. I know you're uncomfortable, but this is the Marshal's matchmaking banquet. We have to maintain appearances."

The young man in front of him spoke softly, every word and sentence reflecting concern for his elder brother.

Engagement, Marshal, matchmaking banquet.

The more Xia You heard, the more familiar it all seemed, and a sense of unease rose within him.

"If father sees this, he'll scold you again. Perhaps you should head upstairs for some medical treatment?"

The young man held Xia You's bleeding hand, his face displaying an unmistakable, almost exaggerated, pain.

"Brother, if you ever..." Xia Qing hesitated, "You know, if you wish, Ah Qing will do everything in his power to help you."

Xia You: "..."

Xia You blinked, taking a moment, and then tightly grasped the wrist of the young man, squeezing progressively harder.

Has he... returned once again to the pivotal moment of his first life?

Indeed, Xia You lived more than just one lifetime.

In his first life, he was the eldest son of Duke Xia, one of the rare individuals in the empire with healing abilities. However, he was raised naïve and foolishly in love by his stepmother, who replaced his mother in the Duke's affections. He was deceived by a younger brother born of the stepmother and eventually met a tragic end, tarnished in reputation and dismembered in death.

In his second life, he was reborn a millennium prior with his healing abilities, during the Great Catastrophe on the Blue Star. After years of hardship in the apocalypse, he evolved from a simple, love-struck boy into a decisive survivor with an angelic face.

The young man standing before him now is his half-brother, whom he had grown up with and deeply respected.

It was this very brother who had plotted against him in his first life, leading to his downfall and gruesome end.

Xia You's eyes were downcast; his usually brash face was now subdued, appearing more compliant – and even more beautiful.

Xia Qing paused in surprise.

Xia You's behavior was unusually odd, leading Xia Qing to wonder if Xia You had foreknowledge of something.

"What happened, brother? Why did you suddenly..." Xia Qing glanced at the blood-stained shards of the wine goblet on the floor, hesitated, then ventured, "Why did you crush the goblet?"

The goblet was what Xia You instinctively crushed upon his recent rebirth, feeling disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings.

Xia You's mind raced. He snorted, putting on the haughty demeanor of his former life as a noble heir: "I overheard some passing servants gossiping. They said the Marshal's matchmaking banquet is focusing on mental strength compatibility, not status. You know I am a healer. If I get chosen... it would be troublesome."

"I see." Xia Qing lowered his head, hiding a flash of jealousy in his eyes. Internally cursing Xia You for his naivety, he comforted softly, "The Marshal possesses a double S-grade mental strength. Many high-ranking healers from the Healing Center are attending this time. Brother, being a C-grade healer, won't be selected."

Every citizen of the Empire possesses mental strength from birth, with varying grades. Grade A is a significant threshold.

Above Grade A are those with high mental strength, excelling either in combat or intellect, and typically the ones to join the military or enter politics.

However, as much as these high mental strength individuals possess extraordinary abilities, they also suffer from its downsides, often plagued by headaches and reduced lifespans.

Fortunately, aside from mental strength, there exists a unique and rare gift among the citizens of the Empire, the origins of which remain uncertain – the healing abilities.

Healers can alleviate the pain experienced by those with high mental strength. This makes them treasured assets within the Empire.

Both Xia You and Xia Qing were sons of Duke Xia, but Xia You, being the elder son and a healer, was betrothed to the second son of the Chancellor shortly after his birth.

While everyone can visit the Healing Center for mental relief, the scarcity and value of healers make the nobility yearn to possess such a prized and status-enhancing individual exclusively.

Even though Xiayou was already betrothed, Duke Xia still harbored hopes of leveraging him for greater status upon learning of the Marshal's matchmaking banquet.

"Indeed, I'm merely a Class C," Xiayou replied with a slight smirk, emphasizing 'Class C.'

Xiaqing chuckled, his gaze shadowed as he lowered his head.

However, because Xiayou was a healer—even a mere Class C one—despite the mutual affection between Fan, Qiao, and Xiaqing, and despite Xiaqing being superior in every aspect, the Fan family remained committed to the engagement with Xiayou.

Just then, Xiayou suddenly felt dizzy and staggered forward.

This sensation...

"Big brother! How much did you drink...? Let me help you upstairs to rest," said a voice.

As his consciousness faded, Xiayou heard the gentle, yet elated and eager tone of Xiaqing.

That's right...

In his previous life, he had been drugged during the matchmaking banquet. Although nothing transpired due to his protests, his reputation suffered. Eventually, under Xiaqing's pretense of goodwill, he was persuaded to secretly flee from the Duke's residence, solidifying the rumors of their "elopement," leading to a tragic end.

Damn it.

Of all the moments to reincarnate, why—just why—after he had consumed that drugged drink?!

An unfamiliar heat surged throughout his body. Xiayou's chest heaved as his steps became unsteady.

Struggling to breathe evenly, he tried to activate his healing abilities, trying to counteract the drug as best he could.

Clearly accounting for a healer's self-recovery, Xiaqing had administered a heavy dose. After recovering from this intoxication in his previous life, Xiayou had almost lost half of his healing power.

Xiayou took a deep breath, attempting to steady his heart rate and slow the circulation of the drug in his bloodstream.

As his breathing steadied and his body relaxed, he felt himself being laid on a soft bed by Xiaqing. Just as Xiaqing was about to withdraw, Xiayou, feigning weakness, suddenly reached up and grabbed his neck, giving it a sharp twist.

Xiaqing's body collapsed heavily onto Xiayou.

Struggling to sit up, Xiayou pushed Xiaqing off and retrieved the glass shard he had concealed earlier, his eyes flashing menacingly.

The shard's pointed end was cold. With determination, Xiayou drew it across his leg, causing a deep, jagged wound. Thick blood immediately poured out.

The intense pain momentarily cleared his mind. Pressing hard on the bleeding wound, he suppressed the shivers brought about by the pain, his complexion ghostly white.

Lacking the strength to move the unconscious Xiaqing, Xiayou reached for the blanket, draping it over him, leaving only a few strands of hair visible.

Both he and Xiaqing had the signature golden hair of the Xia lineage. This way, any person Xiaqing had arranged to enter would naturally assume the unconscious figure on the bed was Xiayou.

Having done this, darkness began to cloud Xiayou's vision as he staggered toward the window.

While Xiaqing colluded with Fan and Qiao, their reach could not extend into the Marshal's mansion.

If he could just escape this room... he'd emerge untainted from this ordeal.

Standing by the window, Xiayou's fingers clung desperately to the sill.

The height from the fifth floor wasn't extraordinarily daunting. If it were the apocalyptic Xiayou, he would've jumped without hesitation.

But the present Xiayou, not only had the physique of a pampered young master, but had also been dosed with a potent aphrodisiac.

His vision was now a blur, with colors merging into a chaotic swirl. Yet, sheer will kept him from fainting.

Blood dripped from his knuckles.

A soft droplet sound echoed as the blood splattered like a rose on a pitch-black leather glove, then trickled down to the armrest of a wheelchair.

"Who's there?!"

"Up there!"

Dozens of angry shouts and oppressive waves of psychic energy surged toward Xiayou.

Dense, high-grade psychic force, loaded with stern warning, pressed down, becoming the last straw that broke Xiayou's resolve.

Experiencing vertigo, Xiayou felt like he was floating out the window. His vision went completely white, and all sound vanished.

In his fleeting consciousness during the fall, Xiayou hazily turned his head, catching a glimpse of a deep, rich shade of ink reflecting a metallic gleam.

Then, he was gently lifted by a psychic force, gradually and softly, coming to rest in a firm yet cold embrace.

Xiayou's hand gripped the wound on his thigh tightly, using the sharp pain to cling to the last fragments of his consciousness.

He looked up, finding himself lost in a pair of deep purple eyes.

Hair as dark as ink, eyes a deep shade of purple; the man's features were handsomely chiseled and flawless, yet carried the keen, profound danger akin to the edge of a blade, revealing an inherent authority belonging to someone of a longstanding high position.

His austere, cold military attire and the officers trailing behind him spoke volumes about his identity.

Xia You raised his hand, gripping the man's fingers tightly, gasping, yet only managing to utter a frail sound—

"Save me…"

The last of his strength depleted, a suffocating sensation washed over him like a tidal wave, eventually dragging Xia You into an abyss of darkness.

……

"Your Excellency?" His adjutant stepped forward, seeking guidance.

The man cast his gaze downwards, observing the youth in his arms, whose attire clearly indicated attendance at a banquet. He keenly detected the unique spiritual energy fluctuations associated with healing powers on the youth.

With a subtle gesture from the man, several individuals approached swiftly, gently lifting the youth. Yet the youth's bloodied hand firmly held onto the man's fingers, leaving moist traces on the dark leather gloves.

He stared intently at the youth in his embrace, a hint of surprise fleeting across his usually indifferent eyes.

Ever since his psychic power reached the SS tier, the agonizing pain that tormented his mind and limbs felt momentarily soothed, akin to being immersed in warm water, the moment the youth touched him.

A transient but distinct tranquility.

Was it an illusion?

Or perhaps...

"Your Excellency, about this..." The officer behind the man appeared slightly conflicted.

The man was silent for a moment, then removed his glove, allowing the youth's grip to remain on his bare hand.

The officer hesitated no longer, immediately carrying the youth, swiftly heading to the Marshal's mansion medical room.

The man's fingers delicately caressed the residual warmth of the blood. However, the red energy stone embedded in a suppressor around his neck began to emit a sharp, frantic red glow.

"Your Excellency!" Seeing this, the adjutant remembered that his superior was in the peak phase of psychic disruption and immediately became alert, as if facing an imminent threat.

"It's of no concern," the man said, taking a handkerchief from an attendant, wiping the blood from his fingers and calmly commanded, "Investigate."

Even the lowest-ranked healer is considered a precious gem within the empire, yet here in the Marshal's mansion, one had fallen from great heights, battered and bloodied.

The adjutant replied solemnly, "Yes, sir!"