As Yu Ce leapt from the second floor, Shen Tanqi struggled briefly, then remembered Yu Ce’s cultivation was higher than his—falling from the second floor wouldn’t kill him. Instead of worrying about Yu Ce, Shen Tanqi focused on freeing himself from the ropes binding him.
Shen Tanqi strained, dragging the chair towards the table, searching for something sharp to cut the ropes. He scanned around but couldn’t find even a small knife for slicing fruit.
Was he really supposed to just sit here and wait for Yu Ce to return??
Would Yu Ce even come back? He paid for the room, so he should return to stay. But he didn’t seem short on money either.
Where did this kid get the money to stay in such a high-class room? Could it be he’s actually wealthy in Hidden Dragon Valley?
Lost in his thoughts, Shen Tanqi was startled by a servant knocking on the door, offering hot water at the appointed time.
He quickly shouted, “Yes, yes, bring it in!”
The door opened, and the servant holding the hot water stared blankly at Shen Tanqi tied to the chair.
“Hurry and help me untie…”
As the servant untied him, he couldn’t help but ask cautiously, “Do you need me to inform the authorities?”
“This tying up… seems a bit too serious.”
Without lifting his head, Shen Tanqi casually replied, “No need, just kids fooling around.”
The servant glanced at the blindfolding cloth on the floor and the rope in his hand, exhaling softly.
Was this really just a prank…?
After dismissing the servant, Shen Tanqi rubbed his wrists, which were red from being bound, and walked to the window. The inn’s second floor wasn’t particularly high, overlooking a narrow street leading to the city gate market. Rain continued to drizzle lightly, obscuring any trace of Yu Ce on the street below, where pedestrians strolled with paper umbrellas.
Leaning against the windowsill, chin resting on his hand, Shen Tanqi watched calmly, not in a rush to search for Yu Ce. He had a feeling that once Yu Ce regained composure, he would surely return—perhaps he had other matters to attend to right now.
Sure enough, as dusk approached, after Shen Tanqi had eaten and returned to the room to prepare the bedding for Yu Ce, he turned around and met Yu Ce’s deep gaze.
He’s back.
Yu Ce’s shoulders and hair were damp, clearly from walking in the rain.
Shen Tanqi smiled at him, sitting on the bed and saying, “You’re back. Let’s eat first.”
Upon hearing his words, Yu Ce continued to stare at him with calm eyes.
There were several dishes on the table, two pairs of chopsticks—one of which had already been used by Shen Tanqi.
It was as if nothing had happened before. He smiled as he tidied up the bed for him, prepared the food, and patiently waited for his return.
Suddenly, Yu Ce wondered if this person who claimed to be his husband would always take care of him like this in the future.
So considerate, so caring, so… virtuous.
Seeing Yu Ce standing still, Shen Tanqi stood up and tossed a towel to him from the washstand: “Dry your head off, be careful not to catch a cold.”
Goldfish had caught a cold before, and although the symptoms were different from humans, it at least proved that dragons could indeed get sick.
Yu Ce watched Shen Tanqi’s every move attentively, catching the towel calmly as it flew towards him. In the quiet room, only the sound of Shen Tanqi slowly pulling out the chair and wiping the dishes could be heard.
“Aren’t you coming over? Even if you’re fasting, you should eat something, or else the servant who comes to collect the dishes will definitely suspect you’re not an ordinary human,” Shen Tanqi said naturally, casually chatting with him. “This stir-fried spinach is good, but skip the lotus root slices—they’re too salty.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce finally moved, but only to step closer to the table, not sitting down.
Shen Tanqi looked up at him, and couldn’t help but chuckle. “What, afraid I’ll poison you?”
Yu Ce didn’t speak, seeming to tacitly agree.
“Who has the time to poison you,” Shen Tanqi snorted lightly, picking up his own chopsticks and sampling each dish on the table before eating them. “How about now, willing to eat?”
Yu Ce narrowed his eyes slightly and replied softly, “If you’ve eaten, I won’t.”
Shen Tanqi: …
This little rascal, who’s he being picky with?
Grinding his teeth, Shen Tanqi looked at the stubborn Yu Ce and said, “Don’t push it too far.”
His patience for coaxing people was at its limit, and if it ran out, he’d start swearing.
Sensing the change in Shen Tanqi’s tone, Yu Ce’s expression shifted slightly, carefully studying his face.
Not quite.
Yu Ce quickly overturned his previous impression of Shen Tanqi being caring and virtuous. He could now be certain that everything at the moment was just an act put on by the other person.
To deceive him.
But what’s the point of deceiving him? To get his dragon blood and dragon ball?
That’s probably the only possibility. Shen Tanqi eating the dishes himself was probably just to lower his guard. Who knows, the food might already contain a special drug to knock out daemons.
“What are you thinking?” Shen Tanqi knocked on the table twice, lowering his voice. “Sit down, eat, or I’ll shout your identity to everyone outside right now.”
His threat was weak, and Yu Ce paid no attention to it. Instead, he rolled up his sleeves and picked up the dishes, ready to throw them into the slop bucket in the corner.
Shen Tanqi immediately understood what he was planning and instinctively grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back. “What are you doing?”
Yu Ce didn’t like Shen Tanqi being so close, furrowing his brows and trying to step back, but Shen Tanqi had already grabbed his ear firmly.
Yu Ce’s ears were very sensitive, and the pain made him wince. He reached out to push Shen Tanqi away.
“Put the food back. I’ll eat it,” Shen Tanqi said in a stern tone, his expression unfriendly.
Yu Ce hesitated for a moment, and Shen Tanqi quickly took the two dishes from him and placed them back on the table.
“Such a waste,” Shen Tanqi muttered under his breath as he picked up his chopsticks and began eating slowly. “Do you know how many people outside can’t even have a meal?”
Growing up, he hadn’t had much to eat at home. His family didn’t make much money and had three children to feed. They had to carefully divide even a fried egg into three portions.
If it weren’t for the fact that Yu Ce was still young, Shen Tanqi would have given him a beating. As he ate, he didn’t forget to scold, “Just because you’re not hungry doesn’t mean you can waste food. There are people in this world who can’t afford to cultivate and end up starving to death. This food is clean and edible. If I catch you trying to throw it away again, I’ll throw you off the second floor myself…”
Yu Ce was taken aback, watching Shen Tanqi finish every bit of food, not leaving a single scrap. The image he had of Shen Tanqi began to waver.
Would a young master from a wealthy family cherish a few plates of food like this?
However, one thing became clear to Yu Ce.
The food wasn’t drugged or poisoned. It must have tasted good, judging by how Shen Tanqi savored every bite.
When Shen Tanqi was finally full, he leaned lazily against the armrest of the mahogany chair and looked at Yu Ce. “Why are you still staring at me? Go and cultivate.”
Yu Ce continued to watch him intensely before suddenly asking, “What’s your name?”
Seeing that Yu Ce finally cared to ask, Shen Tanqi smiled and beckoned him closer. “Come here, I’ll tell you.”
Yu Ce wasn’t the type to vie for dominance. He preferred to conserve his strength and hide his abilities, but he didn’t like feeling like he was being easily manipulated by Shen Tanqi, who seemed to have the upper hand.
He wondered if he could really like someone like this.
If he did like him, what exactly did he like about him?
After a long pause, Yu Ce hesitated, his eyes showing uncertainty. Shen Tanqi chuckled softly, “Come on, don’t worry. Even if I am your husband, I wouldn’t have any thoughts about someone as young as you.”
At ten years old, Yu Ce was still just a child in Shen Tanqi’s eyes. He was no different from Goldfish and Taro Ball.
Finding it amusing, Shen Tanqi enjoyed teasing him.
Cautiously, Yu Ce moved closer. The faint red mark from having his ear twisted was still visible, reminding him of a long time ago when his wet nurse used to discipline him in the same way.
Every time he made a mistake, the wet nurse would twist his ear just like this.
However, no one had ever pinched his ear as hard as this guy did, like he was deliberately trying to teach him a lesson.
As Yu Ce moved closer, Shen Tanqi’s expression softened, and he laughed quietly, “Every time I discipline you, you become more obedient.”
Yu Ce’s mouth twitched. “I didn’t…”
Shen Tanqi reached out and gently ruffled his soft hair. “Remember well, the name of your future husband—I’m Shen Tanqi. ‘Tan’ as in sandalwood, ‘Qi’ as in pitch black. When you turn eighteen, I will come from another world to find you.”
Hearing the clear ‘Shen,’ Yu Ce’s expression changed slightly. He grabbed Shen Tanqi’s wrist sharply. “What’s your surname?”
Shen Tanqi pointed out the window to the towering Shen family mansion, repeating each word deliberately, “Shen, as in the Shen family. But remember, the me you meet before you turn eighteen is not the real me.”
Don’t mistake the original for him, or Yu Ce would suffer countless hardships.
Yu Ce listened silently, unconsciously repeating, “Shen family’s Shen. So you’re also a Shen.”
He suddenly lifted his head, looking at Shen Tanqi. “The Shen family is currently expelling daemons from Shuoxia City. Do you know about this?”
Shen Tanqi was momentarily stunned before nodding. “I know.”
The innkeeper had mentioned it—because the original Shen Tanqi’s mother was killed by daemons, the Shen family’s matriarch was dead, and naturally, the head of the family would harbor hatred against all daemons.
This was likely one of the reasons the Shen family opposed daemons, not just because of the simple belief that ‘those who are not of our kind must be of a different heart.’ Other cities also had xenophobic tendencies, but none were as severe as Shuoxia.
Yu Ce glanced at him coldly. “Do you also believe the Shen family’s matriarch was killed by daemons?”
How could Shen Tanqi know the answer to this question?
Shen Tanqi rarely spent time at the Shen family mansion. He only stayed there briefly during the events of the ‘Chen Gui Night.’ Additionally, no one in the Shen family dared to mention the name of the matriarch in front of him, so he only vaguely knew that she had passed away early, and that her health had been frail ever since giving birth to him.
After a moment, Shen Tanqi lowered his gaze and asked softly, “What do you want me to know?”
Yu Ce wouldn’t say such things without reason; there had to be something suspicious about it.
Hearing this, Yu Ce placed his sword on the table, his gaze shifting to the Shen family’s mansion outside the window. “The matriarch of the Shen family was killed by demons. I’m currently investigating this.”
Shen Tanqi was stunned. “You left Hidden Dragon Valley, not to seek a master or pursue immortality, but specifically to investigate this in Shuoxia City?”
Yu Ce glanced at him with a profound expression. “Of course not. I’m on my way to Rongyun. I just happened to pass through here to fulfill an old promise.”
Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but laugh. “An old promise from when you were five or seven?”
Irritated by his mockery, Yu Ce pursed his lips. “It has nothing to do with you.”
“How can it have nothing to do with me?” Shen Tanqi said, smiling as he ruffled Yu Ce’s hair into a mess. “I’m your husband, so naturally, I have to help you.”
“Let go! Let go!” Yu Ce grabbed Shen Tanqi’s wrist, pulling his hand away from his head and freeing his poor hair. He was even more annoyed now.
This Shen Tanqi only knew how to irritate him.
Even if they met again in the future, he would definitely not like him.
Absolutely not!
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)
