Chapter 72 Sharing a Bed

Chapter 72 Sharing a Bed

The room fell into an awkward silence.

After a long pause, Qin Xiao spoke again, "Come over here."

Chu Jiubian: "...Are you ordering me?"

Qin Xiao chuckled softly, seemingly jolting the wound on his chest. He raised a hand to press it gently before continuing, "Like I'd dare?" His tone was laced with sarcasm.

Chu Jiubian ignored him and remained lying still.

But soon, he suddenly heard rustling sounds from the bed. Turning his head, he saw Qin Xiao slowly trying to sit up.

Chu Jiubian abruptly sat up, putting on his shoes as he said, "What are you doing? Don't move around."

Qin Xiao stopped and lay back down.

"I’ll sleep on the daybed," he said.

Chu Jiubian paused. Though he couldn’t see Qin Xiao’s face in the dark, he could still feel the other’s gaze fixed on him.

He felt uneasy as he got off the daybed and said, "I’ll return to Yaotai Residence and have Qin Zhaoyang bring in a longer daybed to keep you company."

He had momentarily forgotten earlier—since Qin Xiao was already past the critical stage, it wouldn’t be a problem to have someone else accompany and care for him.

Qin Xiao remained silent.

Chu Jiubian picked up his cloak and headed for the door. But before he had taken two steps, the man’s deep voice sounded from behind, "My wound hurts a little."

Chu Jiubian halted and turned to look.

Qin Xiao continued, "I might have strained it earlier when washing up."

At that moment, the system pinged with a notification: "Host, the patient’s chest wound is indeed oozing a small amount of blood."

Chu Jiubian immediately frowned. As he walked over, he tossed his cloak onto the daybed and retrieved a flashlight from his system storage to illuminate the room.

The bright beam of the flashlight instantly lit up the entire bedroom. The man on the bed, caught off guard by the sudden light, instinctively closed his eyes.

Chu Jiubian noticed that the stubble on the man’s face was gone, and his face looked clean and refreshed.

As for the bloodstains or medicinal smell on his body, they had been cleaned earlier while in the Divine Realm.

His breathing, which had been uneven before, had now steadied. Apart from his still somewhat pale complexion, Qin Xiao appeared no different from a healthy person.

Chu Jiubian’s gaze shifted to his chest and noticed that Qin Xiao had changed into clean inner garments—black brocade with a slightly disheveled collar.

Beneath the smooth fabric, the contours of the man’s well-defined muscles rose and fell gracefully, hinting at a latent, powerful strength.

Qin Xiao adjusted to the light and opened his eyes. Following Chu Jiubian’s gaze, he glanced at his own chest before looking up at him.

Chu Jiubian only took a couple more glances. Before he could ask Qin Xiao to undo his clothes, the other had already slowly untied the strings, fully exposing his upper body.

Well-developed pectoral muscles and a symmetrically defined six-pack came into view, causing Chu Jiubian’s eyelashes to tremble slightly.

A bandage was wrapped around his chest, stained with a small amount of blood, though not much.

"System, has the wound reopened?" Chu Jiubian asked in his mind.

"No, minor oozing is normal."

Reassured, Chu Jiubian looked up into Qin Xiao’s deep, penetrating eyes.

"The wound hasn’t fully healed yet. Don’t make any sudden movements these next few days," he said.

Qin Xiao acknowledged with a sound.

Chu Jiubian glanced at his casually open robe and said, "Put your clothes on."

"Am I allowed to move?" Qin Xiao asked.

Chu Jiubian: "...Yes."

Qin Xiao slowly retied his clothes, though loosely, making it look even stranger than if he had left them completely open.

Chu Jiubian averted his gaze and went to fetch the quilt from the daybed to cover Qin Xiao.

"As long as you don’t move around, you’ll be fine. I’ll come check on you again tomorrow," Chu Jiubian said, preparing to leave once more.

"What if I need to get up during the night? Can I move then? What about drinking water? Can I do that myself?" Qin Xiao fired off four questions in a lazy, amused tone. "If you’re not here to supervise me, I won’t know when I’m allowed to move and when I’m not."

Chu Jiubian stared at him intently before suddenly letting out a light laugh. "You don’t want me to leave, do you?"

"Yes," Qin Xiao replied. "I’ll only feel at ease if you’re here."

Chu Jiubian didn’t respond, instead studying his expression as if trying to discern something.

But before long, he was the first to look away, almost as if afraid of what he might find.

He turned off the flashlight and stored it away.

The room returned to darkness. Both men took a moment to adjust before they could vaguely make out each other’s faint outlines again.

Qin Xiao’s gaze followed the young man’s figure as he took a few steps toward the door before stopping.

Then, he turned back and returned to the bedside.

Chu Jiubian sat down on the edge of the bed, removed his boots, and got into the bed.

The bed was about one and a half meters wide, spacious enough for two people. Although there was only one pillow, it was long enough to accommodate both.

Since Qin Xiao was lying on the outer side and couldn’t move easily, Chu Jiubian half-knelt and stepped over the man’s body. To be safe, he placed his hands on either side of Qin Xiao. His long hair slipped over his shoulders, brushing against Qin Xiao’s throat and lips, sending a tingling, ticklish sensation.

In an instant, Chu Jiubian had settled into the inner side of the bed.

He kept his outer robe on, lying straight on his back as he stared at the bed frame above.

At this moment, they were truly "sharing a bed."

Chu Jiubian had never been this close to anyone before. His entire body tensed unconsciously, his mind blank.

Qin Xiao lay quietly for a while before turning his head to look at the person beside him.

Seeming to sense Chu Jiubian’s stiffness, he reached out to share the quilt with him.

Chu Jiubian finally reacted and said, "Just don't move."

"Pull up the covers," Qin Xiao said.

Chu Jiubian paused, then reached for the quilt. As luck would have it, his hand brushed against Qin Xiao's.

The man's hand had regained its warmth, a stark contrast to Chu Jiubian's cold hands.

He curled his fingers slightly, quickly moving his hand away to grab a corner of the quilt and pull it over himself.

Qin Xiao looked away and, like Chu Jiubian, stared at the ceiling.

The room wasn't that cold to begin with, and now, under the covers, it felt even warmer.

Before long, Chu Jiubian felt his legs and feet warming up, though his hands remained cold no matter what he did.

The room was quiet, with only the howling wind outside rustling the tree branches in the courtyard.

The two lay side by side in silence, separated by just a few inches. Neither felt sleepy, yet neither spoke.

The room belonged to Qin Xiao, as did the bed, quilt, and pillow. Qin Xiao himself lay right beside him. Chu Jiubian felt enveloped by Qin Xiao's subtle, clean scent, as if he too had been carrying his scent.

Breathing quietly, Chu Jiubian listened to Qin Xiao's even breaths, though he knew the other wasn't asleep either.

"Aren't you sleepy?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Not sleepy. And you?"

"Not sleepy either," Chu Jiubian replied. "Did you eat earlier?"

"No," Qin Xiao said. "I wasn't sure if I could."

Chu Jiubian turned his head to look at him. Even in the darkness, he could make out the man's sharp nose bridge and brow bone. "When you got up earlier, did it occur to you that you shouldn’t be moving around recklessly either?"

A smile touched Qin Xiao's lips as he also turned to face Chu Jiubian. "I was very careful."

Chu Jiubian: "......"

They gazed at each other, once again spaced out in silence.

Because they were so close, Chu Jiubian could almost feel Qin Xiao's breath brushing against his lips.

Suddenly, he noticed Qin Xiao leaning slightly closer toward him.

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned his face away, looking back up at the bed canopy.

"If you're not going to sleep, let's talk about Cheng Shuo," Chu Jiubian said stiffly, changing topics.

Qin Xiao also looked away, focusing on the bed canopy. "We interrogated him for a long time but got nothing out of him."

"Did you use torture?"

"Severe torture."

"Do you have a grudge against him?" Chu Jiubian asked, then immediately dismissed the idea. "No, his background is clean. You and the Qin family have even done him favors. He shouldn’t have any reason to harm you."

Earlier, when Qin Xiao had decided to bring Cheng Shuo on the campaign, Chu Jiubian had asked Qin Zhaoyang to reinvestigate Cheng Shuo's background and recent activities.

People change, and there was always the fear that Cheng Shuo might have made contact with someone without Qin Xiao's knowledge.

However, after Qin Zhaoyang's investigation, nothing seemed off about Cheng Shuo.

"It also can’t be that his family was threatened or controlled," Qin Xiao said. "I’ve had people looking after his family affairs. There couldn’t have been any accidents."

"So, he just betrayed you for no reason?" Chu Jiubian frowned.

Qin Xiao said "mm-hmm."

After a few moments of silence, he suddenly asked, "What’s your relationship with the Nanjiang King like?"

The drought in Nanjiang wasn’t widely known, but Qin Xiao knew that the food relief was Chu Jiubian's work.

So, Chu Jiubian had some connection with the Nanjiang King.

Hearing him suddenly bring up Nanjiang, a thought flashed in Chu Jiubian's mind. He turned to look at Qin Xiao. "Did Cheng Shuo get poisoned by a Gu worm?"

Great Ning was a dynasty that blended with a wuxia world—it had internal energy, martial arts, and many peculiar families and traditions from the jianghu.

The Gu worms of Nanjiang were world-famous. There were indeed Gu Masters who could use Gu worms to kill or control people.

The most powerful Gu Master in Nanjiang was actually the Saintess of each generation.

The current Saintess, Sutu Anli, was the Nanjiang Consort and the mother of the Situ siblings.

To control someone as strong as Cheng Shuo, forcing him to betray his principles and attempt to assassinate Qin Xiao—this was no ordinary Gu Master's work. It had to be the doing of someone exceptional.

Thus, the Nanjiang Saintess Sutu Anli was also a strong suspect.

Qin Xiao said, "Hu Fang has seen people controlled by Gu poison before. Their thoughts can be altered, making them act against their will under the Gu Master's influence."

Cheng Shuo now was completely changed from the man he had been before the assassination attempt.

Qin Xiao recalled carefully—before the assassination, Cheng Shuo had been normal, as outgoing and cheerful as always, with no signs of anything amiss.

But after the assassination attempt, Cheng Shuo changed.

He became withdrawn, his eyes empty of emotion.

Under severe torture, even the toughest guy would show some sign of pain, but Cheng Shuo, covered in wounds, didn't even blink, as if he felt nothing.

Listening to this, Chu Jiubian thought it sounded like hypnosis.

Were Gu worms really that powerful?

"I can’t be sure whether this has anything to do with the Nanjiang Consort," Chu Jiubian said.

He had confidence in the character and abilities of the Situ siblings, but he wasn’t as certain about their parents' temperaments.

However, judging from the handling of the drought, the couple didn’t seem like bad people. And having raised such fine children, they were probably decent people.

But what if?

What if they were the exception?

Chu Jiubian didn’t want to speak too definitively.

Qin Xiao said, "It could also be someone deliberately setting them up. Once the Nanjiang King arrives in the capital tomorrow, we’ll find an opportunity to try to feel them out."

"Is the Nanjiang King arriving in the capital tomorrow?" Chu Jiubian had been in the Divine Realm for the past couple of days and hadn’t met with Qin Zhaoyang or the others after coming out today, so he didn't know about this.

But Qin Xiao had already spoken with Qin Zhaoyang earlier and even met with the young emperor to put his mind at ease.

Now that Chu Jiubian asked, Qin Xiao replied, "Prince Huguang and Prince Dongjiang will arrive outside the city tonight. The other four vassal princes are staying at the official post stations outside the capital tonight and should enter the capital by tomorrow evening."

Chu Jiubian laughed upon hearing this. "Are Prince Huguang and Prince Dongjiang trying to throw their weight around?"

"Perhaps." Qin Xiao also smiled.

They didn't say much more, but it was an unspoken understanding.

In the current situation, it's unclear who’s intimidating whom.

Just as they were discussing this, outside the closed city gates, two groups of people had already arrived at the entrance.

The leader of Prince Huguang's escort, riding a tall horse, shouted to the City Defense Force stationed on the city wall, "His Highness Prince Huguang and His Highness Prince Dongjiang have arrived! Open the gates quickly and welcome the princes into the city!"

A clear voice came from the city wall, saying, "The time for opening the gates has passed. We hope the two princes will understand!"

With that, a handsome man appeared on the city tower, wearing soft armor and a sword at his waist, looking down at the crowd outside the city.

His Highness Prince Huguang Baili Yue alighted from the carriage, dressed in luxurious robes, his expression cold and stern, radiating authority. Just standing there, he radiated immense pressure.

Many soldiers on the city tower lowered their eyes, not daring to look at him.

This was the aura of the strongest vassal prince.

His Highness Prince Huguang looked up at the young general on the city tower and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

His voice wasn't loud, but the people on the city tower clearly had excellent hearing. Upon hearing this, the young general smiled, bowed, and said, "This humble official is An Wuji, Commander of the Imperial Guards, greeting the two princes."

Most of the City Defense Force and Imperial Guards in the capital were former subordinates from the Qin family. Although An Wuji was nominally the Commander of the Imperial Guards, the City Defense Force also fell under his jurisdiction.

Thus, his presence on the city wall was perfectly normal.

"So it's Commander An. I’ve long heard of you." A voice filled with laughter spoke up, and a man in emerald green brocade robes stepped out of another carriage.

An Wuji looked over.

The man stood beside Baili Yue, a bit shorter and leaner, but his presence was just as imposing as that of Baili Yue, the leader of the vassal princes.

Moreover, though he wore a smiling expression, there was no warmth in his eyes—only coldness and gloom, making people’s spines chill.

This was His Highness Prince Dongjiang Baili He, whose mother’s family was one of the richest in Jiangnan. He was also the second prince most favored during Emperor Cheng's reign.

Once the top contender for the throne, he had unfortunately lost to Emperor Yingzong. However, thanks to his powerful maternal family, he was spared and sent to his fiefdom to rebuild his power.

Among the seven vassal princes, these two were undoubtedly the most prominent.

"This humble official is merely a lowly commander. How dare I accept such praise from Your Highness?" An Wuji said.

In Great Ning, there were only two "lords": the emperor and the crown prince. Thus, even when facing powerful vassal princes, officials did not need to refer to themselves as "subjects" but could use "this humble official."

"Commander An, you are too modest. You are trusted by His Majesty and Prince Ning," Baili He said. "Today, my brother and I arrived late. We hope Commander An will accommodate us and let us into the city so we don't have to camp outside."

"Rules are rules. Please understand, Your Highnesses," An Wuji stood firm.

Baili Yue smiled faintly. "Well, well. Rules are rules. Why don't you inform His Majesty? If His Majesty also thinks we should camp outside the city, we will have no complaints."

"It's late, and His Majesty has already gone to bed," An Wuji said. "This matter is handled according to the rules and does not require further reporting to His Majesty."

"Commander An, aren't we pushing them too far?" a soldier beside him asked nervously in a low voice.

"It's fine," An Wuji replied softly. "I’ll answer for it if anything happens."

Baili Yue and Baili He wanted to shift the blame for not being able to enter the city onto the emperor, but An Wuji wouldn't give them the chance.

He would take full responsibility himself.

This way, later, the young emperor could lightly punish him as a gesture to the two vassal princes.

These two had deliberately arrived after the city gates were closed, but their plan had failed.

Not only were they unable to enter the city through privilege, but they also couldn't blame the emperor for their having to camp outside, since the emperor didn't even know they had arrived. All of this was simply the result of An Wuji's doing his job by the book.

They had wanted to intimidate the emperor, but now they were the ones stuck in a bind.

Baili Yue narrowed his eyes.

Weren't Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian supposed to be lying low? How could a little brat like Baili Hong have thought of this?

So, was this strategy devised by An Wuji himself or by that Hong Fu, Eunuch Hong?

Thinking about it, Baili Hong has no shortage of capable people.

Baili Yue couldn’t help feeling it was a waste.

With so many talented individuals, why were they all serving the emperor?

But since he was entering the capital this time, if possible, he could try to reach out to these people.

It would be wonderful if so many talents could be put to use for him.

Baili He stared fixedly at the young general on the city wall for a long time, his smile unchanged, but the cold gloom in his eyes deepened, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, observing its surroundings.

In the bedroom of the western courtyard of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Chu Jiubian listened with great interest as Qin Xiao talked about the several vassal princes.

Perhaps to help him understand better, Qin Xiao directly assigned these people animal personas—a very quirky approach.

Baili Yue was a black bear who thought he was clever but was actually more brawn than brains. Baili He was a shadowy snake who wanted to scheme against everyone. Baili Yan was a smiling tiger who kept to himself from matters that didn't concern him.

Baili Zheng was stubborn as an ox, who only tends his own field. Baili Hao was somewhat free-spirited, a steed yearning for vast horizons. Baili Yu, short on strength but long on cunning, was a highly aggressive eagle.

"As for Baili Ming......"

Chu Jiubian said, "I think he resembles a rabbit."

Soft and harmless, often seeming easily startled.

Qin Xiao said, "I'm not familiar with him."

In truth, he wasn't very familiar with the other vassal princes either, only catching glimpses of their characters from their actions.

"Then what about me?" Chu Jiubian asked him. "What animal do you think I am?"

Qin Xiao glanced at him sideways and chuckled softly.

"What are you laughing at?"

Qin Xiao countered without answering, "What does the young master think I am?"

"I asked you first," Chu Jiubian said.

Qin Xiao: "You speak first, then I'll tell you."

Chu Jiubian: "...Never mind then."

The room fell into silence again.

Chu Jiubian, still wide awake, spoke up once more: "Actually, your injury this time is also related to the Lu family."

The ancestral lands of the Lu family are in Wuwei, Gansu, which naturally connects them to Prince Dingbei Baili Yu, who holds fiefdoms in Shaanxi and Gansu.

This time, it was Pang Ruizhi, the brother-in-law of the Minister of War Lu Youwei and the commander of the Northwestern Army, who collaborated with Prince Dingbei to yield Gansu to the Sai kingdom's forces, forcing Qin Xiao to lead the expedition.

"Mm," Qin Xiao replied, "I've gathered some evidence, but now is not the time to use it."

Chu Jiubian rolled over to face him.

Qin Xiao jumped slightly but, for some reason, did not turn to look at the person beside him.

"The Lu family also has connections with the Tatars," Chu Jiubian said.

In the darkness, Qin Xiao's jaw tightened instantly.

Chu Jiubian noticed and unconsciously lowered his voice: "We will find evidence."

Qin Jingzhao and his wife died at the hands of the Tatars, but everyone knew there was more to the story—there must have been a traitor who leaked or falsified military intelligence, leading them into an ambush and their deaths in a foreign land.

Now, both Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian knew this matter was definitely connected to the Lu family.

But they had no evidence.

Moreover, for such a significant event, they believed it wasn’t just the Lu family involved; other players were likely involved as well. Was it the other three major families, or one or more of the seven vassal princes?

Any of them were possible.

"If we can’t find clues externally, perhaps we can attack from within," Chu Jiubian suggested.

Qin Xiao remained silent.

Chu Jiubian continued: "Previously, in the Datura incident, we executed Wang Wenyao, the son of the Wang family head, and that young man from the Lu family named Lu Xingwen."

"Lu Xingwen’s parents are not from the main family branch but a collateral line, and he was their only son."

Qin Xiao finally turned to look at him.

The young man lay facing him, curled up, and even in the night, a faint gleam in his pupils was vaguely visible.

"I heard that Lu Xingwen’s parents once said they traded their son’s life for two shops from the Lu family, and their tone was strange—they seemed to hold a grudge against the Lu family." Chu Jiubian had overheard this gossip while working in the Ministry of Works, from lower-ranking officials chatting.

"This might be a breakthrough," he said.

Lu Xingwen was killed by Qin Xiao, but it was also true that the Lu family did nothing to save him. The couple, having lost their only son, could not possibly understand the so-called "bigger picture."

Thus, the couple now despised both Qin Xiao and the Lu family most.

If there was a chance to make these two sides "fight like dogs," why wouldn’t they take it?

Chu Jiubian’s idea was to use their resentment and guide them to expose the Lu family’s collusion with foreign enemies to harm the Qin family loyalists.

The charges of harming the loyal and colluding with foreign enemies to plot rebellion would together ensure the Lu family, if not utterly destroyed, would at least be severely crippled.

Qin Xiao was silent for a long time before softly asking, "Did you investigate all this to deal with the Lu family, or for......"

He trailed off mid-sentence.

Chu Jiubian didn’t respond but instead murmured, even softer, "I’m tired, let’s sleep."

For the next two days, they would continue staying in the Hall of Mental Cultivation to avoid having to go out and handle those vassal princes.

After all, by the 27th, there would only be three days left until the New Year.

According to custom, the vassal princes should go to the temple for fasting and rituals, and then return to the imperial city on the 30th to attend the palace banquet.

But tomorrow, these vassal princes would certainly come to see Baili Hong to pay their respects.

This was also the rule for vassal princes entering the capital.

Baili Hong had seen Qin Xiao today and cried for a while before finally being comforted.

Qin Xiao told him to feign illness so that when the vassal princes came to pay their respects, they wouldn’t stay long and wouldn’t have a chance to set traps for Baili Hong.

So tonight, in the main hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Vice Director Zhang was already posted there, and he would likely remain until the 27th.

Since receiving Chu Jiubian’s medical texts, Vice Director Zhang had already leaned toward their side.

Now that the Director of the Imperial Academy of Medicine was bedridden at home and had submitted his resignation, Vice Director Zhang was the most likely to succeed him. He naturally knew who his true master was, so Baili Hong’s feigned illness was not hidden from him at all.

And since he was a shrewd operator, he was even more tactful—after merely taking Baili Hong’s pulse, everything was silently understood.

Anyway, for the next two days, Chu Jiubian and the others actually had nothing much to do.

He lay facing Qin Xiao, hands folded over his chest, curled up.

He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep again.

If he didn’t sleep at night, he would be tired during the day.

In the dark, he could share a bed with Qin Xiao, but not during the day.

Chu Jiubian lay for a long while.

Though his eyes were closed, he could feel Qin Xiao’s gaze on him.

For some reason, he felt his body grow tenser, and sleep remained elusive.

It wasn’t until Qin Xiao moved, presumably averting his gaze, that Chu Jiubian felt his body relax slightly.

After who knows how long, sleepiness gradually washed over him.

Qin Xiao waited until the breathing of the person beside him became steady and long before turning to look again.

He still couldn’t make out the person’s features, but he wanted to look anyway.

A long time passed, until his neck grew stiff, before he turned his head back and closed his eyes.

But before he could drift into sleep, he felt a weight settle on his shoulder.

He froze, not daring to move.

But the young man's breathing drew closer to his ear, clearly indicating that he had leaned his head against Qin Xiao's shoulder.

Qin Xiao hadn't slept all night.

Meanwhile, Chu Jiubian was awake for a bit during the night—not physically, but with his soul awakening and entering the Divine Realm.

Turns out it was his devoted follower, who, in the middle of the night, was calling out to him instead of sleeping.

Chu Jiubian was initially annoyed, but when he realized it was Qin Chuan summoning him, he no longer minded.

He figured the other had likely received news of Qin Xiao’s severe injury and was seeking his help.

Sure enough, as soon as they met, Qin Chuan gave a deep bow and said in a low voice, "High Priest, can I cash in that reward you promised me earlier now?"

"You want me to save someone?" Chu Jiubian asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Qin Chuan replied. "I'm asking you to save Prince Ning, Qin Xiao, in the imperial palace."

Chu Jiubian was about to agree right away, but he changed his mind.

It was "Senior Tutor Chu" who had saved Qin Xiao—he couldn't claim credit for it. Moreover, this incident might deepen Qin Chuan’s gratitude and respect for "Senior Tutor Chu," which would be a good thing.

So he said, "He is already out of danger."

Qin Chuan was stunned, then uncontainable joy spread across his face. "Really? Was it Lord... was it the Holy Star Lord who saved him?"

In the High Priest’s presence, there was only the Holy Star Lord, not Senior Tutor Chu.

Hearing the High Priest’s confirmation, Qin Chuan’s heart, which had been racing since receiving the news, finally relaxed.

Since taking on the task of protecting Lu Yao and helping him learn how to interact with others, he had paid less attention to intel from various sources, leaving it to his subordinates.

Because his subordinates were unaware of his relationship with Qin Xiao, even after learning of Qin Xiao’s potential critical injury—though knowing it was important—they did not report it immediately.

Instead, they continued investigating, ensuring the information was accurate before reporting it, fearing that a false alarm might upset their boss.

That was why it took until now for Qin Chuan to seek out the High Priest.

Although Qin Xiao was already healed, Qin Chuan was still worried. He requested a leave of absence from the High Priest, asking to take a break from protecting Lu Yao so he could personally travel to the capital.

Besides, with the New Year approaching, he might even get to celebrate it with his brother.

Since the results of the third exam had not yet been published, Lu Yao’s fame hadn’t blown up yet, and not many people had taken notice of him.

With the covert guards Qin Xiao had dispatched, along with Qin Chuan planning to assign two additional men, Lu Yao would be perfectly safe.

Thus, Chu Jiubian okayed Qin Chuan’s request, allowing him to go to the capital to see Qin Xiao.

Afterward, Chu Jiubian exited the Divine Realm and, inevitably, woke up.

He opened his eyes. It was still dark outside, as if it had snowed; the cold wind howled, making the air feel even frostier. Yet Chu Jiubian felt his cheeks burning, his entire body flushed.

It wasn’t because the room was warm—but because he realized that, at some point, he had nearly pressed himself entirely against Qin Xiao!

One of his arms was wrapped around the man’s, while his other hand rested on Qin Xiao’s pectoral muscle.

His hand had considerately avoided the injured side, staying only on the half closer to himself.

The man’s warm body heat had warmed his hands, but it startled him so much that all sleepiness vanished instantly.

He closed his eyes and lay still for a long moment.

Then, slowly, he withdrew his hand, turned over gradually, curling up facing away from Qin Xiao, and buried his face in the quilt.

Behind him, in the darkness, the man's lips curved into a smile.