Qin Yuanxi slept deeply, and when he woke up, the bright morning sun was already streaming through. He turned contentedly, only to sense that something was off. Squinting, he fumbled around the bed and finally realized what was wrong – Zhao Tuo was nowhere to be found.
Normally, even if Zhao Tuo woke up, he wouldn’t leave the bed first. He would definitely wait for Qin Yuanxi to wake up. But today was different. Qin Yuanxi rubbed his eyes, confirming that Zhao Tuo was indeed absent.
Frowning immediately, Qin Yuanxi didn’t have time to think much. He quickly grabbed some clothes and rushed out to find him. As soon as he opened the door, Meng Yu, sitting on the steps, looked up and smiled at him, “Good morning, finally awake! I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
“Why were you waiting for me?” Qin Yuanxi’s expression was unfriendly. He tried to walk past her, his face showing urgency.
“Are you looking for the Ice Block?” Meng Yu asked casually. “No need to search; he’s in my sister’s room. She asked me to stay here and tell you, so you wouldn’t be worried when you woke up.”
Qin Yuanxi’s steps came to a halt. He questioned Meng Yu, “By himself?”
“Yeah, didn’t my sister suggest earlier that you let him attend the hypnosis session by himself before? When she came over early in the morning, he agreed to do it alone to avoid disturbing your sleep. He should be finishing up soon,” Meng Yu explained.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yuanxi immediately headed towards Meng Xuan’s bamboo house, his steps becoming faster and almost turning into a run.
Arriving at the bamboo house, he hesitated at the entrance, slowing down his pace. Step by step, he inched closer until he finally reached the door. Meng Yu followed him, sighing leisurely, sitting on the steps and playing with her bamboo leaves. After all, her task was temporarily ensuring Qin Yuanxi’s safety.
Qin Yuanxi followed her and sat down together. Meng Yu casually handed him a bamboo leaf.
He took it, holding the thin bamboo leaf in his hand. After a moment of thought, he used the leaf to play a tune. It was a melody he had heard from his grandmother in the countryside during his childhood. Qin Yuanxi, being intelligent, had learned some back then and played along. Despite many years passing, even with the changed surroundings, holding the slender bamboo leaf, he quickly found the rhythm.
The tune was melodious, sweeping through the hearts like a gentle breeze.
Inside the bamboo house, Zhao Tuo had sweat all over, his eyes tightly shut.
Before him, scenes of blood unfolded, sometimes a desolate battlefield with him clad in armor, hands stained with blood. Then, the scenery shifted abruptly to scenes of homes being plundered and destroyed – young and old, all driven mad, hurling insults: “Lu Bohuan, you are heartless, cruel, and ruthless. You won’t have a good ending. You will suffer a hundred times worse than me, hahaha.”
Who was Lu Bohuan? Why did they call him that?
“You killed your own deputy, you spared not even your own teacher, hahaha, Lu Bohuan, you are abandoned by all, for power, for climbing higher, you are left with no one by your side, no one. Sooner or later, you will face the consequences, hahaha, power will eventually devour you, righteousness, nation, everything is nonsense!”
Another round of curses echoed. In an execution ground, Zhao Tuo, clad in a purple python robe, showed no emotion on his face. He threw away the token, signaling the executioner to proceed. Blood flowed from the guillotine, and Zhao Tuo noticed a pause as he passed by. He knew he was thinking of the man’s words – that he would meet the same fate, that he would eventually face the guillotine, or worse, that he would die without a burial ground, without even a soul to collect his remains.
Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest, waves of discomfort. The nauseating smell of blood made him want to vomit, but he forced himself to endure it.
Zhao Tuo understood why that person had spoken those words.
This wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, nor was it the first person he had killed.
Zhao Tuo knew that the first person he killed was his deputy, the one who seemed loyal on the surface but secretly leaked their secrets to the enemy for money. When Zhao Tuo confronted him, what did the deputy say?
“My Prince, employing the enemy’s talent is a common practice. The barbarian lands have lost their ability to resist. If my Prince annihilates them in one fell swoop, what then? Where should my Prince go afterward? Return to the capital or retire? What will the young emperor in the capital do with my Prince? Remember, crafty rabbits die, running dogs are cooked, and good bows hide when all the birds are shot!”
“My Prince has illustrious military achievements. How can they accommodate the Prince?”
“I do all this for my Prince! As long as the war continues, as long as the barbarians win this battle, it will buy more time for the Prince. My Prince will have a chance—”
“Shut up!”
Zhao Tuo heard himself reprimand and then drew the long sword in his hand. “For the crime of treason, you shall be executed!”
Blood dripped down the blade, and Zhao Tuo frowned. He didn’t quite understand why that person called him ‘Prince.’ Who was he?
“Lu Bohuan, won’t you even spare your teacher? If you stop investigating, this matter can be overlooked.”
Oh, ‘Prince’ was Lu Bohuan.
Lu Bohuan was going to kill his teacher.
“When the teacher did what he did, he should have known that such a day would come.” Lu Bohuan’s expression was stern, without a hint of compromise. “Take him away, lock him in the dungeon!”
“Lu Bohuan! Don’t be too arrogant. You will also have such a day. What do you think you’re doing? Suppressing me, once you eliminate me, you’ll have no rivals in the court. Haha, do you think you’re clean? Hahaha, you can deceive yourself, but you can’t fool me, Lu Bohuan. Don’t use your rhetoric of serving the country and the people to deceive yourself. You’re just for power. Sooner or later, I’ll be waiting for you, haha, I’ll be waiting for you!”
For power?
Zhao Tuo didn’t quite understand. Wasn’t it all for power? If not for power, then what was the purpose behind all these actions?
Climbing step by step, reaching the highest position—oh, but it wasn’t the highest position yet. There were still people at that highest position. Would he rebel? Zhao Tuo remembered; he seemed to have rebelled before. He imprisoned the young emperor, confined him in the palace, gathered troops, prepared for a rebellion. What happened later?
What happened afterward? Zhao Tuo couldn’t quite recall. Later, he seemed to have failed.
Why did he fail? How could he fail? Clearly, he had prepared so thoroughly. He had military power, everyone in the court was under his influence. With minimal effort, he could have had the entire realm under his control. Why did he fail?
Where did things go wrong?
Before he could figure it out, the scene changed again.
This time it was during the morning court, and Regent Lu Bohuan seemed to bring up something. No one in the court dared to oppose; they all followed his orders. However, Lu Bohuan was not pleased; instead, he erupted in anger. He pointed out various flaws and impracticalities while standing at a high position, able to see the faces of the officials and generals.
At that moment, Zhao Tuo seemed to see the faces of those people. His gaze swept across them, and those individuals, with fearful eyes, dared not meet his gaze, hurriedly bowing their heads.
He looked at the young emperor on the dragon throne, who also lowered his head.
In that moment, he seemed invincible. Even if he was wrong, no one dared to voice dissent.
The scene shifted again, turning into a study.
Lu Bohuan held a jug of wine, sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the moonlight outside the window, not uttering a word.
That night, he drank a lot of wine, a significant amount. After dawn, Zhao Tuo discovered that there was someone else beside him, someone exactly like him. The person wore armor, and Zhao Tuo recognized him – it was Lu Bohuan. He wore the armor he used when he personally killed his deputy with his own hands. The sword in his hand was also the blood-stained sword from that day.
In a daze, he seemed to hear what his deputy had said before his death, “My Prince, the capital is not suitable for you, the court is not suitable for you. You should have listened to me. Lose this battle so you can continue to serve the country.”
The deputy’s face held no resentment, and there was even a hint of pity towards him.
The pace of the changing scenes quickened, very fast, faster and faster. Zhao Tuo began to feel dizzy, and all he could clearly see was that, after that day, Regent Lu Bohuan had an additional shadow by his side – that shadow was called Zhao Tuo, a general.
“Huh!”
Gasping for breath, Zhao Tuo woke up, lowering his head and staring at his hands. For a long time, he couldn’t recover from that sensation.
Meng Xuan, dressed in white, extinguished the calming incense and handed him a handkerchief, saying, “Wipe away the sweat. This hypnosis should have worked, right?”
Zhao Tuo still looked somewhat bewildered.
Seeing he didn’t respond, Meng Xuan handed him a cup of tea, saying, “Do you know who you are now? Zhao Tuo or Lu Bohuan? Regent or Grand General?”
Zhao Tuo remained silent, still bowing his head without much reaction.
Observing his state, Meng Xuan continued in a low voice, “What you’ve seen is what lies deep within your heart. You should already have your own answer. Regardless of your identity, remember, you are you, your true and flesh existence.”
“Take it slow, and we’ll continue in three days.”
When Meng Xuan opened the door, Qin Yuanxi immediately followed. He wanted to enter but was stopped by Meng Xuan, who whispered, “Let him take his time. This time, the hypnosis worked.”
“Really?” Qin Yuanxi wanted to go in but was hesitant, afraid of disturbing Zhao Tuo. His expression clearly showed indecision, then he suddenly thought of a serious question, “So, who does he think he is now?”
“Does it matter who he is? As long as he is himself, that’s enough. The name is just a code,” Meng Xuan smiled faintly, her voice still hoarse. “As long as you know the person you like is him. What to call him is not important.”
“I have to go out of the valley for a while. I’ll be back in three days. During these days, stay with him and let him recover. See what he wants to tell you or chat with him. When I come back, we’ll continue the next session. If, if the results are good, it’ll take at most another half a month. I’m confident he can recover to normal.”
“Really?”
Qin Yuanxi’s eyes sparkled as if he saw a glimmer of hope. He couldn’t help but grab Meng Xuan’s sleeve.
He was genuinely happy, not thinking much about it. He truly regarded Meng Xuan as a physician and didn’t realize anything inappropriate about his actions. Just as he was happy for two seconds, a gust of wind swept by, pulling Qin Yuanxi into an embrace, tightly guarding him, even giving Meng Xuan a warning look.
Meng Xuan chuckled, “This is jealousy. Alright, go do whatever you need to do. Just don’t let the war flames burn me.”
With a glare on his face, Zhao Tuo, along with Qin Yuanxi, left.
Meng Xuan watched their receding figures, and the smile on her lips gradually faded. She sighed.
“Sister, why do you have to leave the valley?” Meng Yu, standing nearby, looked worried. “Let me accompany you, sister? Sister, are you going to see him again? You go see him every year. Why? What’s so good about him?”
“He’s not good at all. Ah Yu, remember what your sister says. Don’t easily fall for someone, especially a prodigal.1‘Prodigal’ is a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way.“
After saying this, Meng Xuan laughed and then went back to her room to freshen up and change clothes. Meng Yu stood at the door, watching her sister change into the most beautiful clothes and put on the most delicate makeup, like a celestial being descending to earth. Tears welled up in Meng Yu’s eyes.
“Sister, don’t like him anymore. He will harm you. Can’t we just stay in the valley?”
“This is the last time.” Meng Xuan smiled at her sister, “This is the last time. From now on, we won’t meet again.”
“I’ll visit him one more time. If I don’t visit now, I won’t have a chance later.” Meng Xuan smiled and said, “I’m going to say goodbye to him.”
Before leaving the valley, Meng Xuan visited Qin Yuanxi one more time. She dressed beautifully, and Zhao Tuo’s gaze was very unfriendly, staring at her as if ready to drive her away at any moment. Meng Xuan didn’t say much; she just gave Qin Yuanxi a name and an address, “You agreed to my condition, three days later at this location, I want you to send this person into the palace for castration.”
Meng Xuan’s expression was cold, and her tone, when she spoke, carried a hint of frost, “From now on, don’t let me see him in the martial world again!”
And then she left. Meng Xuan’s expression was icy, her tone biting, but Qin Yuanxi saw affection in it—a deep love combined with intense hatred. He couldn’t understand what kind of person would make Meng Xuan act this way.
With Meng Xuan gone, the valley became much quieter. Meng Yu, the young girl, waited at the valley’s entrance every day, hoping her sister would return soon. Qin Yuanxi didn’t want to meddle in other people’s affairs. He arranged for someone to stand guard at the address Meng Xuan had given him, waiting for three days to fulfill the task Meng Xuan had entrusted him with and to keep his promise to her.
The remaining time was spent with Zhao Tuo.
It was evident that Zhao Tuo had something on his mind, something he wanted to tell Qin Yuanxi, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Several times the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t utter them.
Qin Yuanxi knew that Meng Xuan’s hypnosis had taken effect. Zhao Tuo’s heart was gradually opening up. He deliberately prepared a pot of wine, thinking that sharing a drink under the moonlight would encourage Zhao Tuo to open up.
“I’m not good at drinking, so I won’t have much.” Qin Yuanxi poured himself a small cup and handed a large one to Zhao Tuo, even playfully clinking their cups. “Just a few sips to accompany you. You can’t force me to drink.”
A little wine for a pleasant mood—Qin Yuanxi intended to use the slight intoxication to coax Zhao Tuo into expressing his thoughts. The result he envisioned was beautiful, but reality was harsh. Qin Yuanxi really couldn’t hold his liquor. After just two drinks, before the atmosphere could even lighten up, he passed out.
Zhao Tuo held the unconscious Qin Yuanxi in his arms and gently kissed him on the forehead.
“I’m not a good person. Will you still like me?”
His voice was so soft, almost a whisper, easily scattered by the wind. Qin Yuanxi didn’t hear anything, already lost in a drunken haze, holding onto Zhao Tuo even tighter.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
