Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Rong Tang sat in the carriage heading out of the city, jostled to the point of dizziness, and mockingly recalled something.

The system said it was connected to the main brain consciousness, and many permissions and task rewards were issued by the main brain, which Rong Tang guessed was the very essence of the world’s natural order.

The heavens really doted on its male lead, bestowing countless favors even on someone like Rong Tang, who was merely executing tasks.

Not to mention the 'God's-eye view' superpower he was bound to upon transmigration. As long as the tasks were well-executed and he had enough system coins, he could observe the movements of all side characters at any time, even if they were hidden in secret chambers, allowing Rong Tang to hear their conspiracies.

However, this function was ineffective for the big antagonist; for two lifetimes, Rong Tang could only speculate about Su Huaijing's actions based on the original plot and character psychology.

Then there was the anchor-point transmigration. There was a time when Rong Tang argued with the system, sarcastically asking, “Did you enable this function so I could teleport and take a blade for the male lead when he’s assassinated?”

The system was speechless then and also very angry.

Teleportation had limitations, and the destination had to be closely related to the male lead. Every teleportation required prior reporting for approval by the main brain. And if the male lead was in danger, Rong Tang couldn’t abandon him and escape no matter what.

Unfortunately, in his previous two lifetimes, from birth to death, Rong Tang always saw the male lead as someone to protect, never contemplating leaving him.

The reason he thought of this now was simply because he realized that if this situation had occurred to the male lead, he wouldn’t need to endure a bumpy carriage ride in his dying state to aimlessly search for someone. He would just need to report, spend some system coins to check the Second Prince's movements, narrow the search area, and teleport directly there.

Rong Tang, tired from the jolting, didn’t even want to open his eyes. Thinking this, he somewhat jokingly suggested to the system, “Honestly, why don’t you ask the heavens if they chose the wrong male lead? With so many perks, how could he fail twice?”

In the past, Rong Tang would have doubted his own negligence and incompetence; but now, he was convinced that the male lead was just incapable.

Rong Tang had many natural advantages over Su Huaijing, yet he still couldn't surpass him.

"Isn't that frustrating?" he mused.

Rong Tang smiled wryly; the system didn't respond. After a while, Shuangfu, from outside the carriage, spoke up, "Young Master, someone is blocking our way ahead."

Rong Tang opened his eyes and after a pause, asked, "Who is it, and what do they want?"

Before Shuangfu could answer, a child's voice, laden with tears, came from ahead, "Great lord, kind sir! Please, save my brother! He’s gravely ill!"

The voice was so young and pitiful that Rong Tang didn't have time to think; he lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out.

They were near the suburbs of the capital, sparsely populated, with only a few travelers and vehicles passing on the official road. As they were on a mission to find someone, Rong Tang had instructed Shuangfu to drive towards less frequented areas with occasional houses and fields. With the Wang Mansion's guards following, they didn’t need to worry about safety.

They were now in a wild forest, and the boy blocking the carriage was about eight or nine years old, wearing small, patched clothes. His exposed wrists bore scars, possibly from stones or bamboo thorns, as he knelt on the ground, crying and begging, repeatedly pleading for someone to save his brother.

Rong Tang frowned slightly, walked over, bent down, and helped the boy up, “Slow down, don’t worry, what happened to your brother?”

He intended to use his handkerchief to wipe the boy's face but then remembered he often used it to cover his coughs. Not wanting to risk passing germs to the child, he folded his sleeve and gently wiped away the dirt from the boy’s face.

The boy was quite handsome with especially large eyes, which were swollen from crying, resembling little apricot kernels. Seeing Rong Tang’s gesture, he looked up bewilderedly at this kind-hearted stranger.

He had been out for several days, stopping many carriages, but was either ignored or driven away by the passengers. Some even had him beaten. Hiding and evading along the way, his food ran out today. He thought if he couldn’t find help, he’d have to go to the city to steal money for a doctor.

His brother had forbidden him to go to the city alone, but his brother was seriously injured and had been bedridden for days. He had drawn several marks on the road, like his brother did to communicate with others, but no one had come.

He didn't know what everyone was doing or why they hadn't returned home for so long; all he knew was that his brother was dying.

At this thought, the child’s nose turned sour, and large tears streamed down, falling onto Rong Tang's clothes and wetting a large area of his sleeve.

Rong Tang furrowed his brows, bent down to pick up the child, but realizing that even holding a teapot could cause his hands to shake, he could only comfort the child in a gentle voice, "You lead the way, take me to your brother."

The child, too choked up to speak, his face red and dirty, looked at Rong Tang with wide, stunned eyes, “Really?”

“Really,” Rong Tang smiled, his eyes forming crescent moons, “I have a lot of money, I can help you find a doctor for your brother.”

The child paused for a few seconds, then suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Rong Tang, “Thank you, kind sir!”

Startled by the child’s action, Rong Tang stepped back and coughed for a while. Shuangfu hurried over and helped them into the carriage, then followed the child’s directions.

Rong Tang coughed for a while in the carriage, gradually regaining his composure, noticing the child’s curious gaze.

“Are you… going to die too?” the little one asked timidly.

Rong Tang couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t sense any malice in the question; instead, the child’s eyes were pure, and what he saw was an unconscious concern that even the child himself had not realized.

Probably the shock of his brother's imminent death had a significant impact on him, so he seemed particularly afraid of seeing others display weakness and pity in front of him.

Rong Tang ruffled the child’s hair and turned to rummage in the carriage's secret compartment, finding a pack of candied fruits.

He regularly consumed medicine, and every room in his courtyard, as well as every carriage he rode in, was timely replenished with fresh preserved fruits by Shuangfu and Shuangshou.

Rong Tang didn’t actually have much of a sweet tooth, only occasionally resorting to a piece to soothe his throat from the bitterness. It was the perfect moment to offer some to the children.

“I am not going to die yet,” Rong Tang said with a smile, handing over the preserved fruits. “What is your name?”

“Xiaozhu…” the other replied, eyeing the sweet preserved fruits for a long while without daring to touch them, saliva almost dripping from longing. Rong Tang chuckled and nudged the fruits closer, “Go on, take them. You just startled me into a coughing fit, and I don’t have the strength to hold them.”

Xiaozhu then hurriedly clutched the preserved fruits to his chest, looking worriedly at Rong Tang.

Rong Tang didn’t speak further, leaning back in the carriage to feign sleep: “You guide the brother outside, and call me when we arrive.”

Xiaozhu agreed with a dazed “okay,” sitting quietly for a long time. Only after making sure Rong Tang had no intention of opening his eyes, did he sneak a preserved fruit into his mouth like a kitten, his sleeve sliding down in the process to reveal a fleeting glimpse of a dark dagger handle.

[Host, you've saved a little thief.]

“I know,” Rong Tang replied, his mood quite pleasant. He had noticed upon alighting from the carriage that the child not only had a knife in his sleeve but likely a blade strapped to his leg, yet he still let the boy come aboard.

The system inquired: [Why?]

Rong Tang: “How can a child be wandering alone in such a desolate place? Even if there were, it would most likely be a lost child from a nearby village. And why would such a child be so cautious as to carry two daggers?”

The system analyzed: [Taught by an adult... or perhaps, related to the adult's profession.]

Rong Tang laughed: “I guess my luck isn't too bad, is it?”

The princess was right, do good deeds without asking about the future.

Even if initially skeptical, upon hearing Xiaozhu's pitiful crying, Rong Tang decided to help him. It was only after getting off the carriage that he realized this might be the person he was looking for.

‘The former Imperial Embroidered Guards’ first envoy, his adopted orphans and children’ in the suburbs of Jingji.

These two key pieces of information almost directly pointed to the child's identity; now, he just hoped that the brother mentioned was still salvageable…

They soon reached their destination. Getting out of the carriage, Rong Tang realized why Shuangfu had wandered the forest for so long without finding anyone.

In front was a courtyard hidden within a bamboo forest, painted in shades of jade green and pale yellow, its entrance virtually invisible to strangers.

The compound had few buildings, but each room was spacious. There was a large communal bed, plum blossom posts in the yard, a few free-range chickens scattered at the door, and a burgeoning vegetable garden behind the house.

At the door, a small boy, around six or seven years old, younger than Xiao Zhu, with two little tufts of hair on his head, was feeding the chickens. Seeing his companion return, he immediately rushed over excitedly, asking, "Did you find the doctor?"

"No, but I found a kind big brother!" Xiao Zhu replied.

The boy glanced at Rong Tang, then immediately tried to kneel and kowtow. This time, Rong Tang managed to stop him, saying with a smile and a sigh, "Lead me to your brother, let me see him."

In a corner of the yard was a small crucible, boiling some dark, unidentifiable herbal medicine. Rong Tang followed the two children inside and saw a person lying on the bed.

Despite it being February and early spring, the weather wasn’t too cool. The person’s lips were pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat. The blanket wasn't thick enough, so several clothes were piled on top, trying to provide warmth.

Rong Tang estimated the young man was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, the age seemed about right.

He frowned, about to speak, but the man woke up abruptly, coughed twice, and asked in a hoarse voice, “Has Xiao Zhu… returned?”

As soon as he finished speaking, realizing something amiss, his eyes suddenly emitted a sharp, piercing light. Before Rong Tang could react, a flash of silver flew out from the bed, aiming straight at his neck.

A crisis alarm blared instantly, and Rong Tang instinctively stepped aside, the blade grazing his neck, leaving a line of blood.

He winced in pain, and before he could speak, another knife flew out.

Shocked, Rong Tang was about to defend himself when a flurry of bamboo leaves flew in from the door, striking the blade, altering its direction.

Rong Tang immediately moved away from the bed to avoid further attacks, drawing his divine sight back to see who stood at the door.

A person in green clothes, with a pale face, two butterfly knives at their waist.

[Meeting an old acquaintance, Host.] the system remarked coolly.

Rong Tang had met this person before, Liuyun, the one who poisoned him in his first life.

He was one of Su Huaijing's close confidants.