Chapter 102: Sounding the Alarm

Chapter 102: Alarm Raised

"Master, please calm down, this subordinate..."

"Bang!!"

Xu Mo was cut off mid-sentence as Luo Yunchen grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into a nearby screen, which crashed to the ground.

Luo Yunchen's voice was icy cold: "How dare you, how dare you say that about him! Take that back!"

"Mas...ter..."

The few elder ministers were startled by the commotion.

The Grand Tutor stepped forward and said, "General Luo, please accept my condolences. We all find it hard to accept His Majesty's sudden passing, but the kingdom can't go a day without a ruler. His Majesty decreed the throne to you. We..."

Luo Yunchen found the voice extremely grating; the more he listened, the more his head felt like it was splitting.

Veins bulged on his forehead. Luo Yunchen suddenly looked up and snarled at the Grand Tutor, "Shut up!"

With the screen gone, Luo Yunchen's gaze swept across and landed on the person lying in bed.

Luo Yunchen froze, and his grip unconsciously loosened.

Then, with a flick of his hand, Luo Yunchen threw Xu Mo aside; Xu Mo started coughing violently. Luo Yunchen's gaze fixed on Su Zheng's face as he slowly walked forward step by step.

Midway, Luo Yunchen paused, hunched over, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"General Luo!"

"Master!"

The Grand Tutor and Xu Mo both cried out in shock, instinctively stepping forward half a step before stopping.

As if he hadn't heard, Luo Yunchen raised the back of his hand to lightly wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and continued walking forward slowly.

"Bro, I'm back. Did you not expect me to return so soon?"

"Bro, I missed you so much. I couldn't wait to return with the army—it was too slow, too slow—so I slipped away on my own. Am I amazing?"

"Bro, I ran super fast. The thought of seeing you soon and sneaking in to hide here before the army returns made me so happy. Bro, aren't I clever?"

Luo Yunchen murmured softly as he reached the bed and crouched down. His expression was both blank and smiling. He reached out to gently stroke Su Zheng's brow and whispered to himself, "Bro, why are you still sleeping? Aren't you going to praise me? Don't you miss me at all?"

"Bro, if you ignore me again, I'm going to get angry!"

"Alright, alright! Sleep, sleep, sleep! Why are you so into sleeping?"

Luo Yunchen turned to look at the ministers and demanded coldly, "Did you overwork him? Didn't let him get enough rest? Why is he sleeping so deeply?"

The ministers exchanged glances, all looking at Luo Yunchen with solemn expressions.

Xu Mo also looked at Luo Yunchen with deep concern.

Luo Yunchen didn't seem to want to press further. Seeing no one speak, he turned back to look at Su Zheng on the bed, dissatisfied but resigned: "Then just a tiny bit longer. Let Bro ignore me for a tiny bit longer. If Bro wants to sleep, then I'll sleep with you."

Luo Yunchen stood up, lifted the brocade quilt covering Su Zheng, took off his own boots, crawled in, and reached out to embrace Su Zheng.

The ministers were shocked by Luo Yunchen's actions. They opened their mouths to step forward and stop him, but Xu Mo blocked them.

Xu Mo said in a low voice, "Gentlemen, let's go out first."

The Grand Tutor and others pointed toward the bed, their voices anxious: "This, how can this be allowed..."

"Even if it's not allowed, what can we do?"

Xu Mo's rhetorical question left the ministers speechless. Xu Mo continued, "Better to give them some time. Let's go out and wait."

The Grand Tutor and the others exchanged glances, shook their heads with a sigh, and turned to leave the palace.

As if completely unaware of the commotion in the hall, Luo Yunchen held Su Zheng himself, burying his face in Su Zheng's neck and nuzzling: "Finally holding Bro! I want to hold you so, so, so much..."

Luo Yunchen's murmured words gradually faded, and his nuzzling slowed. Then, after rubbing harder, he lay still against Su Zheng's neck.

After a long while, Luo Yunchen slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on Su Zheng's face. From brow to nose, he stared carefully, little by little, finally resting on Su Zheng's pale lips.

After staring for a moment, Luo Yunchen slowly leaned down, approaching Su Zheng's thin lips. Just as their lips were about to touch, Luo Yunchen stopped.

The corner of his mouth twitched. Luo Yunchen slowly, slowly curved up, then let out two strange chuckles: "Heh heh..."

Those two chuckles weren't enough to release his emotions. Luo Yunchen's mouth stretched into a grin, then broke into a loud, low laugh: "Ha ha ha..."

Luo Yunchen couldn't stop laughing. His body trembled, his shoulders shook, and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

Luo Yunchen tilted his head back and covered his eyes. His trembling lips parted, and his laughter carried low, murmured sighs: "My good Bro... you're really so disobedient..."

*

"Host, the male lead is coughing up blood!"

"Host, the male lead says he misses you and wants you to wake up and acknowledge him!"

"Host, the male lead asked the ministers why you are sleeping so soundly!"

"Host, the male lead might have gone mad!"

"Fine, just shut up." Suppressing his full-on irritation, Su Zheng couldn't help but kick a roadside stone, gritting his teeth and muttering, "Damn, my heart actually hurts!"

He pressed two fingers to his chest. Here, it had gradually been filled because of one person, and in the end, it only rippled for that one person.

The system stopped the broadcast and asked, "Host, can you tell me now? You had the clone help you lure away the Shadow Guards and the palace guards, faked your death to leave the palace—what do you intend to do?"

Su Zheng slowly exhaled and said in a muffled voice, "Of course it's to eliminate the male lead's blackening value."

"How can you eliminate it if you're not even near the male lead?"

Su Zheng blinked, as if thinking, and said, "Think about it: the male lead killed all his enemies, the kingdom's stable, everything's on track. The only thing missing from the normal timeline is the throne. At this point, I gave him the throne and died. With nothing to worry about, he naturally has no reason to go dark, right?"

"Oh?" The system answered hesitantly. It felt reasonable, yet something seemed off, as if the host was tricking it.

Su Zheng didn't say more and changed the subject: "How long does that clone last?"

"If the male lead doesn't go crazy and sleep with your dead body every day, it can last until your body is sealed in a coffin and buried according to custom, then disappear."

Su Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly. "System, when you say 'your dead body,' it sounds like you're feeling smug."

"Host, don't talk nonsense. I'm just stating the facts. Any similarity is just a coincidence!"

Su Zheng couldn't be bothered to argue. Just as he was about to instruct the system, he heard the system's alarm blare inside his head!