Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Seeing how skilled Xie Licheng was, the tall man suddenly spoke up: "Brother, you're really skilled. How about you join us from now on?"

Xie Licheng couldn't be bothered to waste words with them. He just chucked a short blade at him.

The tall man narrowly dodged it—the first person since Xie Licheng crossed over to dodge his throwing knife.

Xie Licheng arched an eyebrow and said, "Brother, you're pretty skilled yourself. How about you follow me instead?"

The tall man didn't get mad at the suggestion. Instead, he tossed his weapon aside.

He said, "Alright, let's see what you've got. If you can beat me into submission, I don't mind following you."

That piqued Xie Licheng's interest. He casually tossed his own weapon aside as well.

Gu Zhangyuan couldn't help but worry for Xie Licheng when he saw they were about to engage in close combat.

He knew Xie Licheng was best with a blade—he could do all sorts of tricks with it, and almost no one could beat him with a knife.

Seeing Xie Licheng suddenly discard his weapon and go hand-to-hand with that big man, his heart tightened with worry.

He silently prayed, "You have to win! Don't get hurt!"

While Gu Zhangyuan was praying inwardly, the fight on Xie Licheng's end was over before long.

The tall man was indeed formidable—one of those rare genuinely tough guys.

But Xie Licheng wasn't exactly a regular guy anymore. His current body was that of a game player, so he couldn't be considered an ordinary man. The other guy was nowhere near as fast as Xie Licheng, and he ended up getting knocked to the ground.

The tall man lay on the ground and said, "Alright, I'll keep my word. From now on, I'm your lackey."

Xie Licheng glanced down at him and said, "Fine then. Kill your buddy, and I'll take you with me."

Xie Licheng wasn't some naive pushover. He did want some capable helpers, but he wasn't about to trust someone just because of a few words.

The tall man got up, wiped the blood off his mouth, and looked over at his buddies in the yard.

There were four of them originally—one killed by Xie Licheng's crossbow bolts, another by his knife. Now only two remained.

Seeing that the tall man was changing sides, the remaining guy panicked, dropped his weapon, and begged Xie Licheng: "I—I can follow you too! Just don't kill me. I'll do anything you say."

Xie Licheng saved the old, the weak, women, and kids because they were weak and easy to control.

He wanted to take in this tall guy now because he didn't have enough capable people.

But he couldn't take in too many troublemakers.

Especially ones who were useless and hard to control—those types were even less worth keeping.

The tall man saw Xie Licheng stay quiet, so he got ready to go kill the other guy.

Xie Licheng spoke up, "That's enough. Let him go."

The guy quickly dropped his knife and bolted out of the yard without looking back.

The tall man was a little surprised he let him go. "I figured with how quick you were to kill earlier, you'd be a cold-hearted guy."

Xie Licheng said, "I only kill people who get in my way."

Xie Licheng had said it before—he wasn't a good guy, but he wasn't a killing machine either.

Back in the apocalypse, he only killed to protect himself.

Now in this chaotic world, everyone here was weak next to him. As an absolute powerhouse, he was always picking on the weak no matter who he ran into.

As long as they didn't get in his way and ran off when they saw him, he'd let them live.

But letting them go once didn't mean he'd always let them go. If they ran into him again and happened to get in his way, he wouldn't mind spending a little energy to take them out.

As for letting that guy go, how was he going to test the tall man?

He decided to bring him in first and see how it went. If he found out the guy was just faking his loyalty, he could kill him then.

Xie Licheng said to Gu Zhangyuan, "Come with me. Let's grab what's here first, then we'll head back with them."

Gu Zhangyuan quickly followed, and while helping Xie Licheng gather stuff, he couldn't help but quietly ask, "Are you really gonna bring him along?"

"It's fine. We'll bring him in and see how it goes."

"I just think he's too strong. If you bring him inside, no one there can beat him."

"Don't worry. I've got a way to keep him in check."

There wasn't much left in this grain shop—it had probably already been looted. Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan grabbed some grain, plus some cabinets and other stuff from the shop.

When they got back to the back courtyard, the young man's family had finished packing their stuff too.

Gu Zhangyuan looked at what they had and said, "You can bring more. We can carry it for you."

The young man asked, "For real?"

"Really."

They'd only packed some clothes and silver, not daring to take anything else.

Now that Gu Zhangyuan said they could bring more, the young man and his parents packed up some extra stuff.

Once they were finally ready, Xie Licheng first sent everyone into the portable world, then came back out to bring their stuff in.

The young man's family and the tall man were all totally confused when they entered the portable world.

When they saw Xie Licheng come back in with all their stuff, the young man's family got even more worked up.

The young man's father asked Gu Zhangyuan, "Eldest... Eldest Young Master, what... what the heck is going on here?"

The young man's mother added, "Yeah, we were... we were just in the back courtyard. What... what is this place?"

Gu Zhangyuan pointed at Xie Licheng and said, "This is called the portable world. It's his own world. There was nobody here before, but he brought us all here to save our lives."

The tall man chuckled on the side. "No wonder. The officials were saying the Gu family suddenly vanished. We thought they were lying—turns out he hid everyone here."

Xie Licheng shot him a cold look, and the tall man immediately stopped grinning.

He gave a slight bow and said to Xie Licheng, "Boss."

Xie Licheng asked, "What's your name?"

"My name's Chen Yaosan. My dad was an herbalist. I'm the third son in the family, so they named me Chen Yaosan."

Xie Licheng opened his personal profile and typed in his name.

Seeing his name was green too, Xie Licheng continued reviewing his info. His profile said he was a medicinal herb farmer, so it seemed he hadn't lied about his identity.

Xie Licheng: "Why were you so quick to follow me?"

Chen Yaosan replied, "Because I like people with real skills, and the moment I saw you, I could tell you had skills right away. Also... there are quite a few people in the rebel army who get off on abusing kids, and I couldn't stomach it."

He'd originally joined Song Qiyue and the others in the uprising because life had gotten unbearable. He wanted to resist the court and carve out a future for himself.

But later, he realized that after joining them, they were actually making life harder for even more common folks.

He started feeling lost, unsure if what he was doing was even right.

What he wanted was either a quiet life or a big, glorious fight on the battlefield—not roaming around with a few guys, robbing homes and specifically going after other people's pretty kids.

He was a man too, and he had his urges.

But he really couldn't wrap his head around why anyone would have those thoughts about little kids.

What fun could such young kids even be? Didn't they think it was disgusting to do that to kids?

Back when his family raised cattle, the grown bulls never did that to calves. And humans—smarter, more capable, and more noble than cattle—why would they do that to kids?

If they had kids of their own, would their kids have the same thoughts?

Then where was the basic human decency?

Even animals wouldn't do that, yet people treated it like a hobby, and plenty saw nothing wrong with it. To him, that was completely messed up.

That was when Xie Licheng suddenly showed up.

He'd shown up looking like a rescuer, just like the heroic knights from the storybooks Chen Yaosan used to love.

When he first joined the rebel army, he thought he'd become someone like that.

Not necessarily a great hero, but at least not what he'd turned into.

He'd just wanted an excuse to get out of the rebel army, which was why he agreed to follow Xie Licheng.

But now... Chen Yaosan looked at the quiet little village and realized... he might've found himself one hell of a boss.

Since he'd brought back several people from outside, one of whom looked pretty dangerous, Xie Licheng decided to stay put for the next few days. He planned to stay with the villagers, do some farming, and also head up the mountain to clear out the wild animals.

This time he'd brought back five people total: the young man's family of three, Qing Niang, and Chen Yaosan.

Qing Niang had come in with nothing to her name, so she had to stay with everyone in Taohua Village for now.

The young man's family had brought a lot of stuff and still had a good chunk of money on them.

The next morning, the young man's family went with Gu Zhangyuan to town.

They spent fifteen taels of silver on a small place in town, and from then on, they lived in town with the Gu family.

When Chen Yaosan came in, he'd only brought a knife and a crossbow with bolts. Now Xie Licheng had taken both the knife and the crossbow, leaving him with nothing.

He had no money, so of course he couldn't afford to live in town or buy farmland from Xie Licheng.

Luckily, he was strong and skilled, so he could support himself by hunting up in the mountains.

The big mountain next to Taohua Village wasn't just full of wild animals—it also had plenty of herbs, wild veggies, and stuff like that.

Using his skills, Chen Yaosan went up the mountain and hunted a sika deer.

He butchered the deer and traded the venison with the villagers for grain. He also traded the deerskin to the Gu family for a couple of pieces of furniture.

The houses in Taohua Village were free—as long as he didn't mind the poverty, he could live there forever.

The peace here reminded him of when he was a kid.

No suffocating taxes, no unsettling unrest, and no bandits causing chaos everywhere.

He could hunt in the mountains, pick wild veggies and fruit, or make a fishing rod and sit under a tree fishing at his own pace.

Later, when Xie Licheng went up the mountain to clear out the beasts, he just brought Chen Yaosan along.

Both of them were tough fighters, so when they went up together, they dared to go deep into the wild.

After going up the mountain together four or five times, the two gradually got familiar, and Xie Licheng got a good read on the guy's character.

Chen Yaosan wasn't a good guy.

But his wants were few and easy to satisfy.

Someone like that was actually easy to control—not nearly as complicated or dangerous as he'd thought.

Xie Licheng had originally planned to use drugs to control him, but he found that kind of hassle was totally unnecessary.

Also, as the population of the pocket world grew, he couldn't guarantee everyone who came in would be good.

Humans were complicated creatures, changing with time and circumstances.

People's hearts were the same—they could change.

Maybe someone came in as a good person, but because of certain events, they could turn bad.

Since he couldn't guarantee it, it was inevitable that bad people would eventually show up among those who came in.

Xie Licheng felt he couldn't shelter them too much, or they'd never develop any sense of danger themselves.

As he started bringing in more people on a large scale, he'd need to teach them to protect themselves and tell good people from bad.

Xie Licheng planned to talk this over with Gu Zhangyuan, who spent most of his time in the pocket world. He had more to manage day to day, so he came into contact with more people there.

He asked Gu Zhangyuan to hold meetings with everyone whenever he had free time, so they'd be mentally prepared and not trust just anyone.

So one morning, Xie Licheng teleported over to Taohua Town. When he got there, he brought some fruit for Gu Zhangyuan.

Gu Zhangyuan was busy doing his accounts in his small home when Yuan Qiao came in smiling and said, "Master Xie is here."

Since moving to town, Gu Zhangyuan had moved out to live on his own.

His small place was pretty modest—he only had Xuan Cui, Yuan Qiao, and his wet nurse living with him there.

For meals and stuff, he'd occasionally go back next door to eat.

Hearing that Xie Licheng had come to see him, Gu Zhangyuan muttered under his breath.

"It's been days... he finally remembered me?"

Yuan Qiao heard his muttering and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Master Xie is probably just busy lately, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed away from you for so long."

"Alright, you should head out now."

Yuan Qiao quickly hurried out upon hearing this, and soon Xie Licheng entered from outside.

He gave the fruit he brought to the nanny and Xuan Cui, who were now washing the fruit by the well in the courtyard.

Xie Licheng walked over to him and asked, "Do you want to go up the mountain to have some fun?"

Gu Zhangyuan wanted to go, but thinking about how much he still had to do, he countered with a question, "What's so fun up there?"

Xie Licheng: "I can take you fishing, raiding bird nests, catching rabbits, picking mushrooms, and I can also teach you archery."

Previously, Xie Licheng had wanted to teach him spear techniques, but after discovering Gu Zhangyuan's aim wasn't great, he had to start teaching him with a crossbow instead.

Gu Zhangyuan pursed his lips as he finished writing the last few characters, then casually tossed his pencil aside onto the table and said, "Fine then, I'll stay at your place tonight."

Hearing this, Xie Licheng got up to help him pack his clothes. Just then, Xuan Cui brought in a fruit platter.

Xuan Cui said, "Young master, these are all from the master. Have a little something before you go."

Gu Zhangyuan nodded, since he was feeling a bit hungry anyway.

He walked to the table, picked up a wooden skewer, and popped an apple slice into his mouth when he heard Xuan Cui ask, "Young master, will you be returning for the night? Should I come along with you?"

Gu Zhangyuan was about to nod when Xie Licheng declined, "No need, I'll look after him tonight."

Hearing this, Xuan Cui blinked, then quickly bowed and hurried out.

Watching her leave, Gu Zhangyuan turned to glare at Xie Licheng, clearly displeased.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

What does he know about taking care of anyone? He only knows how to bully people.

Xie Licheng didn't argue about the whole "taking care" thing but instead got up and headed into the inner bedroom.

Gu Zhangyuan stopped eating and followed him, saying, "What's the hurry? Let Xuan Cui and the others pack the clothes later."

Xie Licheng: "It's no different if I do it. I used to be a servant in your house too."

With that, he reached out and lifted up Gu Zhangyuan's bedding, meaning to ask if he wanted to bring it along.

Some people are picky about their beds and blankets. Seeing how fine and luxurious Gu Zhangyuan's bedding was, he figured Gu Zhangyuan would prefer his own.

The moment he saw the bedding being lifted, Gu Zhangyuan lunged toward the bed.

Seeing him get so "worked up," Xie Licheng knew there had to be something hidden in the bed.

What could make Gu Zhangyuan this flustered? Xie Licheng was quite curious.

With that thought, Xie Licheng scooped Gu Zhangyuan up into his arms.

Gu Zhangyuan struggled desperately, still huffing angrily, "Don't look! I said don't look!"

Holding him with one arm, Xie Licheng felt around under him with the other hand and soon found a book tucked in the bedding.

He pulled the book out and asked, looking curious, "What book is this?"

The second Xie Licheng opened the first page, Gu Zhangyuan knocked it out of his hands.

Gu Zhangyuan: "How dare you! I told you not to look, but you just had to!"

Seeing his face all red, whether from anger or embarrassment, Xie Licheng glanced at the book that had been knocked away—he didn't need to look to know what it was.

He sat down on the bed, still holding Gu Zhangyuan tight in his arms, and said, "Is it a pillow book? What's there to be embarrassed about?"

Even though Xie Licheng had guessed right, Gu Zhangyuan still couldn't help but punch him in anger, but it didn't hurt Xie Licheng at all—it only hurt his own hand.

Gu Zhangyuan: "You can be so annoying sometimes."

He said he was a servant, but he acted like anything but.

Xie Licheng was a bit dense when it came to romance, but seeing that Gu Zhangyuan seemed genuinely upset, he took Gu Zhangyuan's hand and patted his own cheek with it.

Xie Licheng: "That was my fault. Go ahead and hit me to let off some steam."

Gu Zhangyuan raised his hand but didn't actually slap Xie Licheng's face.

A man can be hit or scolded, but you shouldn't slap his face. When he's doting on you now, he won't mind, but if he stops caring later, he'll remember it and hold a grudge.

These were lessons his nanny had taught him, and he thought they made some sense.

So he raised his hand, thought it over carefully, and ultimately didn't slap Xie Licheng's face—instead, he gave his chest a firm pat.

The pat landed, and once again, Gu Zhangyuan's hand ended up hurting.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "Why is your body so hard? Have you lost weight again?"

Hearing this, Xie Licheng instinctively opened his status panel to check. He hadn't been out these past few days, so he felt he should have gained weight.

Since the Gu family had moved to the town, Xie Licheng was a bachelor again. Not wanting to cook at his farm, the villagers often brought him food.

There were many unmarried men and women in the village, and their cooking was better than his, so Xie Licheng had been eating quite well lately.

Checking his stats, he now weighed 76 kilograms, about 152 pounds—not thin at all.

Xie Licheng: "I haven't lost weight; I've actually gained seven or eight pounds."

"Really?"

"If you don't believe me, I'll let you check."

Gu Zhangyuan's face flushed at that, but then he thought, this man is his husband—if he doesn't look openly, is he supposed to save it for someone else?

He climbed down from Xie Licheng's arms and reached out to unbutton his clothes himself.

He wanted to inspect; if he wasn't satisfied, he wouldn't consummate their marriage!

But as he unbuttoned, he suddenly grew shy, feeling like he looked like a lecher.

And about the pillow book, he also wanted to explain to Xie Licheng.

So he paused his unbuttoning and looked up at Xie Licheng, saying, "That... the book isn't mine. The nanny found it for me before. Remember when I wanted to take you as a chamber maid? But I knew nothing about that sort of thing, and the nanny was afraid I'd be taken advantage of, so she found me a book. I never got to read it before the Gu family fell into trouble. The book came in when you helped gather our belongings. Xuan Cui found it yesterday while organizing my things."

Xie Licheng understood and didn't care about it at all.

In his view, men can be lustful, and so can women and unmarried men—it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Everyone appreciates a pleasing appearance, and he was exactly that kind of person himself, so he naturally understood Gu Changyuan's perspective perfectly.

Seeing that Gu Changyuan was too embarrassed to take off his own clothes, Xie Licheng simply took off his own top without a second thought.

Xie Licheng said, "I'm your man. If you want to look, then look—no need to be shy about it. And in the future, if there's anything you don't understand about sex, you can come straight to me and ask."

Though he'd never actually done it himself, he'd watched some adult films and read comics, so when it came to that, he still knew more than Gu Changyuan.

Hearing this, Gu Changyuan asked, sounding a bit annoyed, "Have you slept with someone else?"

"Of course not."

"Then how do you know?"

"Same as you—I've read books on it."

"You can read them, so why can't I?"

Xie Licheng blinked his eyes. "You can read them. I never said you couldn't—it was you who overreacted back there."

Hearing this, Gu Changyuan wanted to go pick up the book, since he hadn't gotten a proper chance to look through it yet.

But before he could go grab it, Xie Licheng reached out an arm and wrapped it around his waist from behind.

Xie Licheng pulled him over and sat him down on his lap.

Xie Licheng said, "Weren't you gonna check me out? Why'd you suddenly stop?"

Hearing this, Gu Changyuan reached out both hands and pressed them against his warm cheeks.

He glanced back at Xie Licheng, then turned around and gave him a feel.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng asked, "Well? Have I gained a lot of weight?"

Gu Changyuan murmured softly with flushed cheeks, "You have indeed put on some flesh."

But Xie Licheng didn't look fat at all, and there wasn't an ounce of flab on his body. Who knows what this guy does every day to keep his body so firm and solid?