Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Xie Licheng slept straight through till the next morning, basically sleeping through a whole day and night.

He was still groggy from sleep, and when he got up, he had no idea what day it even was.

Xie Licheng sat on the bed, spacing out for a long time, then it hit him that he apparently had a wife now.

A married man was nothing like his old bachelor self.

He couldn't just coast through everything anymore. Remembering his promise to help Gu Zhangyuan move the treasures from the secret chamber, Xie Licheng quickly got out of bed, ready to head out again.

Since he'd been busy looking for Xuan Cui and the wet nurse, he hadn't gotten around to checking out the Gu family's secret chamber yet. Now that he'd slept through a whole day, he had no clue what was going on outside.

Yuan Qiao, who'd been keeping watch outside, heard the noise and scrambled up from the ground, grabbing the doorframe for support.

Yuan Qiao called through the door to Xie Licheng inside, "Young Master, are you awake?"

Xie Licheng grunted in response, and Yuan Qiao quickly scooped up the clothes sitting nearby.

She pushed the door open with one hand while walking in with her eyes shut.

Yuan Qiao: "I'm coming in now. The young master found you a set of clean clothes. He came by to drop them off while you were still asleep, so he left them for me to bring to you instead."

Xie Licheng: "Just set them by the door."

Yuan Qiao: "So... will you bathe here, or somewhere else?"

If Xie Licheng bathed here, she could have someone bring hot water over.

Xie Licheng just said, "Don't bother."

Once Yuan Qiao set the clothes down, he grabbed them and vanished.

Xie Licheng didn't leave the pocket world—he just teleported straight back to his farm.

In the pocket world, he could use teleportation once he hit level 100.

The teleport function here meant moving between different areas.

Like from Peach Blossom Village to the farm, from the farm to Peach Blossom Village, from the farm to Peach Blossom Town...

If Xie Licheng was already at the farm, he couldn't teleport to the farm again.

If he wanted to go to different spots within the farm, he'd have to walk there on his own two feet.

Normally, when he entered the pocket world, he'd go straight to his farm.

But now, since he needed to save people, he didn't want anyone else in his farm, so he just sent everyone to Peach Blossom Village instead.

Meanwhile, Gu Changyuan found out Xie Licheng was awake and came looking for him with red, pitiful eyes.

Last night, Xuan Cui had spiked a high fever, and they were in desperate need of a doctor.

He couldn't go out himself, so his only option was to come find Xie Licheng.

But to his surprise, just as he ran over to find him, Xie Licheng was already gone.

Gu Changyuan couldn't help asking, "Where is he? How is he gone?"

Yuan Qiao replied, "He was just here a second ago. I asked where he wanted to bathe, and he said not to worry about it."

"Did he head out again?"

"Probably not—he hasn't bathed yet."

"So where'd he go?"

He'd been reluctant to disturb Xie Licheng's rest earlier, which was why he'd kept putting off coming to find him.

But now that Xuan Cui's condition had worsened, he really didn't dare delay any longer.

Gu Changyuan came out of the room where Xie Licheng had been resting and couldn't help shouting at the top of his lungs in panic.

"Xie Licheng!!!"

At that moment, Xie Licheng was bathing at his farm. Since there wasn't a soul around, he was just washing up in the courtyard.

Then he thought he heard someone calling him. Since Gu Changyuan had called him like that before when he was in danger, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of panic.

He hadn't seen Gu Changyuan since he got back—could something have happened to him?

With that thought, Xie Licheng got out of the water and shook off the droplets like a big dog.

He didn't bother with the clothes Gu Changyuan had prepared for him. The outfit Gu Changyuan had gotten him was traditional ancient-style clothing—the kind with an elaborate design that required three layers inside and out.

Xie Licheng ran hot, and since the weather was warm, he really wasn't used to wearing stuff like that.

Plus, he was worried about Gu Changyuan, so he didn't have time to slowly get dressed.

He just grabbed a simple casual outfit—a white short-sleeved shirt and black knee-length pants—and teleported to Peach Blossom Village in his slippers.

When Xie Licheng teleported over, two of the Gu family's servants happened to spot him.

Even though they already knew he was always popping up out of nowhere, they still jumped in surprise.

The two servants steadied themselves and quickly hurried over to bow to Xie Licheng.

"We greet Master Xie."

Xie Licheng still wasn't used to people bowing to him. He raised a hand and asked, "Where's your master?"

A slightly sharper-looking maidservant said, "The Eldest Young Master was just looking for you."

"Where's he at?"

"He went to where you were resting."

Xie Licheng acknowledged this and was about to head off.

Then he spotted Gu Changyuan not far away, walking toward him with red eyes.

The moment Xie Licheng saw his red eyes, he knew he must have run into trouble again.

He walked toward him while asking, "What's wrong?"

Gu Changyuan finally noticed him and ran over with red eyes.

He'd sprained his ankle earlier, so his run looked a little off.

When he ran over, Xie Licheng raised an arm to steady him a bit, so he wouldn't trip and fall again.

Gu Zhangyuan sidled up to him, and the two servants wisely slipped away.

Once he saw no one else was around, Gu Zhangyuan hooked his index finger around Xie Licheng's thumb.

He asked, "Where did you just go?"

Xie Licheng replied, "I went back to the farm to take a bath."

"You have no idea how worried and scared I was just now."

"What's wrong?"

This place is pretty safe, you know.

"Xuan Cui's wound got worse. I want to take her out to see a doctor."

"Getting out is going to be tough."

"Why?"

"Because this place is my secret. Now that you know about it, I can't just let you walk out of here."

Gu Zhangyuan's eyes went wide, and he looked up at Xie Licheng.

"So this is your secret, and you're afraid I'll spill the beans."

"I'm not worried about you."

Gu Zhangyuan was a bit sly—every time he was in trouble or needed a favor, he'd cozy up to Xie Licheng.

Those little tears, those little tricks—he'd pull them on Xie Licheng one after another.

When there was no danger, he was still nice to Xie Licheng, but nowhere near as warm.

Xie Licheng was sharp, so he naturally saw through Gu Zhangyuan's little games.

But he didn't mind. In fact, he kind of enjoyed watching Gu Zhangyuan flirt with him.

Helping Gu Zhangyuan wasn't hard for him, so he was happy to play along.

But when it came to his own secrets and safety, he wasn't so easygoing anymore.

"I'm not worried about you, but I have to be careful about others. I'll be straight with you: leaving isn't impossible, but once you leave, you can't come back. And I'll use some method to make you completely forget about me and this place."

Gu Zhangyuan was genuinely scared and panicked to hear it was that serious—that once he left, he couldn't come back, and he'd forget Xie Licheng completely.

He didn't want to forget him, and he didn't want to leave him either.

Gu Zhangyuan quickly grabbed Xie Licheng's hand. "I won't leave, but Xuan Cui is in bad shape—she has to see a doctor."

Xie Licheng patted his hand. "Don't rush. First, take me to see how she's doing."

Xie Licheng had some medicine at the farm, so he planned to check on Xuan Cui first.

If her condition was really bad, he'd go out and grab a doctor to bring back.

Hearing this, Gu Zhangyuan immediately took Xie Licheng's hand and led him to the house the Gu family was staying in.

The Gu family's temporary place was the biggest courtyard in all of Peach Blossom Village.

The Gu family had a lot of people, and most of them were servants.

They all lived together so it was easier to take care of the masters.

When Gu Zhangyuan brought Xie Licheng over, Gu Yangxue was tending to Xuan Cui with the servants.

Gu Tinghe sat on a chair in the courtyard, looking bored while everyone bustled around.

He couldn't understand why they were going to so much trouble for Xuan Cui—wasn't she just a servant?

Xie Licheng had saved so many servants and brought them in; even if one died, there were plenty more to use, so there was no need for all this effort.

When he saw that young attendant, the one by his side, also getting ready to help boil water and stuff, he frowned and snapped, "Where are you going? It's not my people dying, so why are you butting in?"

That young attendant was Wan Liu, the one Xie Licheng had saved when the bandit was dragging him that day.

Wan Liu glanced at him and said timidly, "Young master, the Gu family has been through such a disaster, and there aren't many of us left. We should all work together."

Seeing that Wan Liu dared to talk back to him, Gu Tinghe stood up in anger, ready to hit him.

Just then, Gu Zhangyuan came back with Xie Licheng.

Seeing him about to hit someone again, Gu Zhangyuan said with annoyance, "Stop it. If you've got nothing to do, go dig up wild vegetables outside instead of getting in the way."

If Xie Licheng hadn't been there, Gu Tinghe would've definitely gotten into a big fight with Gu Zhangyuan.

He knew that no matter how much Gu Zhangyuan hated him, he wouldn't really do anything to him.

And because he knew that, he dared to act so recklessly.

They were blood brothers—as long as their father was alive, no matter how deep their grudges went, Gu Zhangyuan wouldn't kill him.

But Xie Licheng was different—he was the master of this place.

He seemed to know some weird arts, and the whole Gu family now depended on him to survive.

If he dared to challenge him now, he'd definitely get thrown out.

Gu Tinghe shot Gu Zhangyuan a glare and quickly ducked back inside the house.

Xie Licheng, focused on Xuan Cui's injury, didn't go after him right away.

He followed Gu Zhangyuan into the room where Xuan Cui was resting and took a quick look at her wound.

Gu Zhangyuan asked anxiously, "How is she? Can you save her?"

Xie Licheng nodded, then teleported back to grab some stuff.

Xuan Cui's wound wasn't as bad as Gu Zhangyuan thought.

Xie Licheng went back and grabbed fever reducers and anti-inflammatory meds, plus two cooling patches for bringing down the fever.

He had the medicine given to Xuan Cui and put a cooling patch on her.

Gu Zhangyuan looked at the patch and asked, "What's this?"

"Fever patches. They can help bring down a high fever. After eight hours, you should replace it with a new one. I'll step out later and see if I can find a doctor."

Gu Zhangyuan took the patch upon hearing this, lowered his head and quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, then walked up to Xie Licheng to thank him again.

"I've troubled you again. It feels like all I ever do is say thank you, and I've never been able to do anything for you."

Xie Licheng: "You're my husband now. It's only natural that I help you."

Gu Zhangyuan didn't agree. "But that doesn't mean you should always be the one helping me out. I... I'll work hard to help you out in the future too."

Xie Licheng found this kind of funny and asked curiously, "And how do you plan to do that?"

Gu Zhangyuan pointed outside and said, "I can help you run the village. I'm pretty good at managing a household."

"Alright then, I'll leave the villagers to you."

With that, Xie Licheng was about to leave the pocket world, but then he remembered the village didn't seem to have any food supplies.

Although the mountains around Peach Blossom Village were full of things to eat, and the river out front was full of fish and shrimp, there were quite a few people in the village, and most of them were the elderly, the weak, women, and children.

They could handle catching some fish in the river, but hunting in the mountains was a no-go.

After a moment of thought, Xie Licheng said to Gu Zhangyuan, "Bring a few people and come with me. We'll go grab some grain from my farm."

Gu Zhangyuan quickly followed, calling a few servants as he left the room. Since they were going to be hauling grain, they also found a small cart.

Xie Licheng led the way, and Gu Zhangyuan followed behind him with curiosity.

He'd noticed that farm yesterday, but weirdly enough, he couldn't get in.

There was clearly a path ahead, and he could see the farm up ahead, but when he got to a certain point, something invisible blocked his way.

It wasn't just the farm—the road leading out of the village was the same.

There was a wide road there, clearly leading out of the village. A few people had tried to leave, but no matter what, they couldn't get out.

It was exactly the same as how Gu Zhangyuan couldn't get into the farm.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't understand why, and as they neared the farm, he voiced his question.

Pointing ahead, Gu Zhangyuan said, "I came here yesterday, but it's very strange—I couldn't get in."

Xie Licheng opened the population management panel and granted Gu Zhangyuan access to the farm.

Xie Licheng then said to him, "You can go in now."

Hearing this, Gu Zhangyuan tentatively stepped forward to test it.

To his surprise, he found that he really could walk in now.

However, while he could enter, the servants who had come with them couldn't.

Xie Licheng looked at the servants and said, "You all wait here. I'll bring the grain out."

Xie Licheng had a portable backpack in his personal space, so moving things was a trivial matter for him.

With that, Xie Licheng gestured for Gu Zhangyuan to follow him, and the two entered the farmstead together.

Watching their figures gradually fade into the distance, the servants couldn't help but look curious.

They walked to that spot and tried again. One servant couldn't help but whisper, "It's truly miraculous—the young master can enter, but we can't. This Young Master Xie is indeed of mysterious origins. Could he really possess some immortal arts?"

The other servants dared not speak recklessly, as they were now both afraid of and in awe of Xie Licheng.

So regarding topics about Xie Licheng, they generally didn't dare to speak carelessly.

They were deeply worried that Xie Licheng might somehow hear what they said in this strange place.

Meanwhile, after Xie Licheng brought Gu Zhangyuan inside, he went to the storage area to fetch grain.

He had several storage spots for grain—some for perishables kept in the cold storage room.

Items that stored well, or foods he didn't like, were kept in another house.

There were also some grains he had recently seized from the mountain.

He hadn't had time to sort these grains yet, so they were all stacked under the eaves nearby.

Xie Licheng walked over and pulled out twenty bags of grain from the pile, mostly rice and sorghum and the like.

Such grains didn't taste good. Knowing how finicky Gu Zhangyuan could be, Xie Licheng packed the twenty bags and said to Gu Zhangyuan, who was not far away, "Follow me inside."

Gu Zhangyuan hurried after him, and the two pushed open the door and entered the house together.

From the outside, this house looked small, like a modest three-room dwelling.

But once he followed Xie Licheng inside, he discovered the space was vast—the entryway living room alone was as big as three rooms.

Xie Licheng pointed to the right side of the living room. "That's the bedroom, where I usually rest."

He then led Gu Zhangyuan inside for a look around before taking him into the kitchen on the left.

Xie Licheng said, "This is the kitchen. Below the kitchen is the warehouse. There's a lot of good food in the warehouse. If you ever get a craving, come here to grab something tasty."

At that, remembering he'd stored a lot of medicine in the cold storage, he was a little worried Gu Zhangyuan wouldn't recognize them and might mistake some of the medicine for candy.

Xie Licheng reached out to take Gu Zhangyuan's hand and lead him in for a look.

But Gu Zhangyuan didn't go in right away. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Xie Licheng's sleeve, staring at the live fish in the kitchen bucket.

He asked, "How do you have so many fish here?"

Since he'd gotten here, he'd only had some watery wild vegetable soup.

Suddenly seeing fish here, and live ones at that, made him crave it.

Xie Licheng said, "If you want to eat, I can carry some out for you."

Gu Zhangyuan looked at him a bit shyly, but then thought that since Xie Licheng was now his husband, it shouldn't be a problem for him to eat some of his fish.

With that thought, Gu Zhangyuan smiled and said, "Thank you, husband."

Xie Licheng was so affected by that call of "husband" that he almost couldn't resist pulling him into his arms.

But remembering he still had things to do, he settled for gently squeezing Gu Zhangyuan's fingertips.

Xie Licheng said, "Don't thank me just yet. Wait until you see the storage room below, and you'll know what goodies your husband has stashed here."

Gu Zhangyuan's curiosity was piqued by this remark. He placed his hand in Xie Licheng's large hand and let himself be led downstairs.

Below the kitchen was a large storage room.

The moment Gu Zhangyuan entered, he spotted a box by the door containing two skinned rabbits.

Catching him completely off guard, it startled him, and he instinctively flung himself into Xie Licheng's arms.

With one arm, Xie Licheng hoisted him up.

He'd wanted to hold him moments ago, and now that Gu Zhangyuan had come to him, only a fool would pass this up.

Gu Zhangyuan was lifted entirely off the ground, his rear resting on Xie Licheng's arm.

He hadn't been held like this since he was a child, and suddenly being picked up by a man like this made his handsome face burn with embarrassment.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "Put me down. I'm not scared anymore."

Xie Licheng wasn't buying it. "Two dead rabbits scared you that easily. When you see the pork, beef, mutton, and even tiger meat later, won't you be scared to tears?"

Gu Zhangyuan looked at him in astonishment. "This place... isn't this where you rest? Why would you keep so many bloody things in your resting area?"

Xie Licheng carried him further inside while frowning in explanation. "Back when I was a bachelor, I never thought about it. I assumed I'd stay single forever, and since these were my provisions, I naturally wanted to keep them close at hand."

He never expected that after transmigrating, he'd end up with a soft, spoiled little wife.