Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Xie Licheng found Gu Zhangyuan in the small side courtyard of Gu Zhangyuan's residence. Gu Zhangyuan's courtyard was quite large, with a small side courtyard adjacent to it.

The side courtyard was a garden, featuring a small pond.

Gu Zhangyuan had built a pavilion by the pond, where he was currently leaning against the railing, leisurely feeding the fish.

When he suddenly saw Yuan Qiao bringing Xie Licheng to see him, he paused his movements and smiled softly.

Soon, Xie Licheng arrived outside the pavilion. He was well aware that he didn't look his best at the moment, and his scent probably wasn't too pleasant, either.

Looking at the ethereal young master seated in the pavilion, he worried that his appearance might startle the young master.

Standing outside, Xie Licheng addressed Gu Zhangyuan, "Young Master, your servant has been out in the mountains these past few days and managed to hunt some good stuff. I wanted to bring some to you."

Gu Zhangyuan said softly, "What good stuff? Bring it over for me to see."

Hearing this, Xie Licheng glanced at Yuan Qiao, hoping he would help carry the items inside.

Yuan Qiao, however, made no move. He thought to himself that since Xie Licheng had come all this way, he should deliver the things himself.

Yuan Qiao, like Xuan Cui, had been by the Eldest Young Master's side since childhood and understood their master's thoughts better than most.

Their young master was always busy, bearing the responsibility of caring for the entire Gu family, leaving little that could bring him joy.

Now that the young master had finally taken a liking to someone—whether for their appearance or out of curiosity—the servants should be more perceptive.

Sometimes, they needed to create opportunities for the young master and Xie Licheng. As long as he could amuse and delight the young master, that was enough.

Yuan Qiao gave a slight bow to Gu Zhangyuan. "Master, this servant still has matters to attend to, so I'll leave you to enjoy the fish."

As he turned to leave, he shot Xie Licheng a smile.

Seeing him standing there, dirty and looking rather foolish, Yuan Qiao inwardly cursed him as a big oaf before hurrying out of the side courtyard.

Since Yuan Qiao had left and Xuan Cui hadn't followed, the small side courtyard now contained only Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan.

Xie Licheng looked at Gu Zhangyuan, who seemed disinclined to rise from the pavilion, and had no choice but to carry his things inside on his own.

He smelled of blood, so he didn't dare get too close.

He stopped about two meters away from Gu Zhangyuan and set down the basket from his back.

Xie Licheng: "Young Master, these things may not look appealing, but they're all great for building up your health. Please don't turn your nose up at them—make sure to have them cooked and eaten."

The deer he had hunted wasn't a wild deer from the wilds, so it wouldn't carry germs or viruses, and its meat would be more delicious than that of ordinary prey.

Deer was also a highly nourishing tonic. Its meat, blood, and other parts could all be used medicinally.

Because Gu Zhangyuan had been kind to him, saving and helping him on multiple occasions, and knowing Gu Zhangyuan's health wasn't the best, Xie Licheng wanted to help him build up his strength.

Xie Licheng simply set down the basket without showing what was inside.

Seeing this, Gu Zhangyuan asked him, "What is it?"

Xie Licheng replied, "Deer meat, deer blood, antlers, deer bones, and a live rabbit."

Remembering the time Xie Licheng had given him a dead rabbit, Gu Zhangyuan had only asked about it casually at the time. He hadn't expected Xie Licheng to bring a live one this time.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "A rabbit, huh? Bring it over so I can see it."

Xie Licheng hesitated for a moment, but still pulled the rabbit out of the basket.

The rabbit's fur was stained with blood, making its snowy white coat look pretty rough.

Thinking that Gu Zhangyuan wanted to see it, Xie Licheng wiped the blood off the rabbit's fur with his clothes before bringing it over to him.

Gu Zhangyuan was indeed somewhat disgusted—both by the bloodstains on the rabbit and by Xie Licheng's scruffy appearance.

Instead of reaching out to take the rabbit, Gu Zhangyuan raised his hand and lightly tapped the back of Xie Licheng's hand with the tip of his finger.

Xie Licheng's hands were rough, but that didn't mean they were actually ugly.

He had a big build, and his fingers were long.

As he gripped the rabbit firmly, the veins on the back of his hand stood out, giving off an indescribable sense of strength.

Gu Zhangyuan lightly tapped the back of his hand, his fair, delicate fingertip standing out against Xie Licheng's darker skin.

At that touch, Xie Licheng felt like an electric current shot through his entire arm.

It felt like a hand was gently scratching at his heart.

Fortunately, Gu Zhangyuan only tapped him once; otherwise, given how hot-headed Xie Licheng was, he might have been unable to resist grabbing that hand.

That slender, fair, and soft hand—he would have wanted to squeeze it tightly in his own hand...

Gu Zhangyuan said, "How come you've gotten thinner again? You seem darker too. Did you get hurt again on this trip to the mountains?"

His voice was gentle, and he spoke slowly and deliberately.

Combined with the feel of his touch on Xie Licheng's hand, Xie Licheng felt that Gu Zhangyuan at this moment was like a beautiful serpent eyeing its prey.

A snow-white, beautiful serpent with a tempting scent.

Xie Licheng took a deep breath. "Your servant hasn't gotten thinner."

As he said this, he glanced at his status panel.

He currently weighed 61 kilograms, having gained two pounds over the past few days—which was a pretty fast rate of weight gain.

Xie Licheng explained, "It's probably because I've gotten tanned, and since I've been exercising, my muscles are firmer, so I look thinner."

Gu Zhangyuan, however, seemed skeptical. "Really? You're not just saying that because you're afraid I won't let you go to the mountains anymore, or because you got hurt and don't want to tell me, right?"

Xie Licheng truly hadn't been injured; he took pretty good care of himself.

If he had accidentally gotten hurt, he would definitely have played up his misery in front of Gu Zhangyuan to get some favors out of him.

Xie Licheng: "I really wasn't injured this time. If Young Master doesn't believe your servant's words, you can have a male slave check me over."

Xie Licheng had only said it casually, thinking that Gu Zhangyuan was a young master, while he was just a lowly male servant. Even if Gu Zhangyuan cared about him, he wouldn't actually go so far as to have someone check his body.

But to Xie Licheng's surprise, Gu Zhangyuan actually wanted to have someone check him over.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "Very well then, I'll have my wet nurse examine you. Though she's a woman, she's older, so you shouldn't mind, right?"

Xie Licheng wanted to say he did mind, but as a criminal slave who had grown up in the slave camps, he supposed he wasn't so high and mighty as to be picky about something like that.

Xie Licheng said with a show of generosity, "Your servant's life ain't worth much, so of course I wouldn't mind."

Afterwards, Xie Licheng went to the main courtyard and was led by Gu Zhangyuan's wet nurse into a room.

Inside the room stood a screen painted with peonies. He instinctively glanced at it, a weird feeling creeping up on him—was somebody hiding back there?

But then he reconsidered. There was nothing worth looking at on him anyway.

He wasn't some blushing virgin. He was thin and covered in scars—who'd wanna sneak a peek at a guy like him?

With that thought, Xie Licheng pulled off his shirt and turned to look at the wet nurse behind him.

He was facing away from the screen, so naturally he didn't notice that someone had quietly snuck in behind it.

That someone was none other than Gu Zhangyuan, holding a handkerchief over his mouth.

He hadn't meant to snoop, but his wet nurse had said that if he was gonna take on a groom, he needed to be cautious.

A groom wasn't like a regular free man—if he had some nasty disease or physical problems, it could put him in a lot of danger.

Moreover, Gu Zhangyuan was a gē'er, and taking a man in wasn't the same as a man taking a concubine. He needed to be extra careful, or he could end up screwed with no one to complain to.

Gu Zhangyuan had been raised by his wet nurse, as his mother was often away with his younger brother.

When it came to stuff like this, he trusted his wet nurse more than anyone.

...

Gu Zhangyuan's wet nurse was up there in years—she already had two kids of her own.

Her youngest kid was way older than Gu Zhangyuan himself.

Standing in front of a woman that old, Xie Licheng didn't feel embarrassed at all.

Besides, he'd only taken off his shirt—he wasn't completely stripped.

In his previous life, when he went swimming at the beach, he'd been in nothing but swim trunks, which was way more exposed than this.

The old lady—er, the wet nurse—walked around him with a serious look on her face.

Then she made him roll up his pant legs so she could take a look.

As she looked, she commented, "A body full of scars—no matter how good the medicine, they ain't ever gonna fade. And way too skinny. For someone so tall, there's hardly any meat on you—just skin and bones. Still, you got a good frame: broad shoulders, narrow waist, long arms and legs. Feed him up proper, and this body'll do you fine."

Xie Licheng wanted to retort, "Auntie, you buying veggies or meat? Why you gotta be so picky?"

But since she was an elder, he held back the urge to talk back.

The wet nurse said, "Alright, don't bother putting your clothes back on. Take a bath here in a bit, change into something new, and then you can head out."

Thanks to the whole body-check distraction, Xie Licheng totally forgot why he'd even come.

It wasn't until Xuan Cui walked him out of the inner quarters that he remembered he still had stuff he needed to tell Gu Zhangyuan.

By then, it was already late, and he couldn't exactly turn around and go back without looking like a total ass.

So he turned to Xuan Cui and said, "Miss Xuancui, a few days ago, a few low-ranked male slaves moved into the courtyard I'm staying in. They seem to have gotten the wrong idea about me and the Eldest Young Master. They were going on about wanting me to teach 'em how to make the young master happy. I'm worried they might cross the line and offend him down the road. I hope you can remind the Eldest Young Master to be careful when you return."

Xuan Cui laughed at his words. She tilted her head slightly to look up at him and said, "So this is what you came to the young master's courtyard for today?"

"Not entirely—my main purpose was still to deliver something to the Eldest Young Master."

Xuan Cui said, "Alright, I understand. You don't need to worry about such matters. The young master isn't someone they can just see whenever they please. Just focus on putting some meat on those bones."

As she spoke, she chuckled and gave him a once-over from head to toe.

When Xie Licheng returned to his own courtyard, the little wolf cub was so hungry it was tugging at his pant leg.

As he prepared food for the cub, he couldn't help feeling that something about today was a bit strange.

Could it be... that the rumors about the Gu family were true, and the Eldest Young Master really had taken a liking to him?

But then several days passed in a row, and Xie Licheng never saw Gu Zhangyuan again.

He began to wonder if he'd failed the physical examination and Gu Zhangyuan had cast him into the cold palace.

Xie Licheng was amused by his own thought and didn't dwell on it too much.

Nothing mattered more than leveling up—once the chaos came, looks would be secondary. What truly counted for a man was his combat prowess.

After that, Xie Licheng left the city once more, this time for nearly half a month.

When he finally returned, Gu Zhangyuan seemed to have remembered him at last, suddenly announcing that he wanted to take Xie Licheng on a long journey together.