Chapter 63

Ji Weiqiu gasped for breath, staring at the fallen masked man, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of his throat. He felt a little nauseous but knew this was no time to panic. He pinched his thigh hard, and the sharp pain suppressed his wildly beating heart. He slowly got up; he had to think of a way.

The dart was coated with an anesthetic. He had originally wanted to use a potent poison, but Mian Li said this mechanism was easy to trigger by mistake, and it would be a great injustice if he ended up hurting himself. Ji Weiqiu, thinking he was no professional either, had agreed.

Suddenly, a dull thud sounded, stopping Ji Weiqiu's move to finish him off. Hearing the sound, Ji Weiqiu looked down and saw that a pitch-black dart had appeared before him at some point, embedding itself in the dirt right by the tip of his foot.

Ji Weiqiu panicked in that instant. His first reaction was to turn and run. His martial arts were truly terrible, and after just two steps, he realized he shouldn't be running—it was pointless. What was the point of a good-for-nothing like him trying to outrun a martial arts master? He had been able to hide here only thanks to the little time Zhou Qing had bought him. Since the other party had found him, why run? It would be better not to, to conserve some energy for what might come next.

But that was easier said than done. Who could resist running in such a situation?! Who wants to be kidnapped?! Even if it was futile, he had to run. Not running meant giving up the current chance to save himself. If he was caught, escaping would only be harder!

All fear stems from a lack of firepower. If he had an AK in his left hand and a Barrett in his right today, he would definitely stand still, free up a middle finger to display a universally friendly gesture, and shout: Come and get me!

Faintly, the sound of clashing weapons seemed to come from the forest. Ji Weiqiu's spirits lifted, and he immediately changed direction and headed that way—it was most likely the Qingxuan Guard, or possibly the Shadow Guards. For some reason, he had a strange feeling that Ji Su must have been aware of this matter. This whole thing with Zhou Qing was too absurd...

Suddenly, a chill swept past the side of his neck. A pitch-black dart once again landed in front of him, grazing his neck. It was a foot away from him. If he had taken one more step, he would have been hit by this dart!

Ji Weiqiu wasn't arrogant enough to think he had dodged the dart himself, or that the opponent had bad aim and missed. At this moment, he understood one thing clearly—the other person was toying with him, like a hunter herding its prey, keeping it within its territory, not allowing him to escape in that direction.

A cold chill shot up from the soles of his feet to his brain. Ji Weiqiu had never faced the fear of death so directly.

He had no time to think. He turned and ran again. All he could see was the dark, cold mountain forest, without a single spark of light. Did he still have time to run? The sounds of fighting he had just heard—which side did they belong to? Suddenly, he stepped on something, and his entire body slid uncontrollably to the side!

Ji Weiqiu didn't know what was below. It could be a cliff, a steep slope, or more likely, a slope covered with trees. He had many opportunities to save himself.

A man in black with a masked face appeared before him, posturing as if he wanted to save him. Without thinking, Ji Weiqiu threw the dagger in his hand. His aim was excellent, and the man in black dodged the dagger almost clumsily. Ji Weiqiu only saw this scene before his entire body rolled uncontrollably downwards!

Ji Weiqiu reached out a hand. In just a few breaths, his arm suffered a heavy blow. As if he didn't feel it, he hooked his hand around that tree, using the momentum to change his angle in an instant. He pressed the soles of his feet against the ground, stopping his fall—the gamble paid off!

It was indeed a steep slope covered with trees.

My hand hurts!

Ji Weiqiu cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to get up, someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder. His body trembled, and he whipped his head around to look. It was a man in black!

Damn it! That fall was for nothing!

But in the next moment, the man in black made a shushing gesture. He slightly pulled down his mask, revealing a half-familiar face to Ji Weiqiu—Zhou Ruhui!

It was actually Second Brother Zhou!

Ji Weiqiu's eyes widened. Zhou Ruhui pulled his mask back up and hoisted him onto his shoulder with one hand. At that moment, the man in black from the cliff top had also pursued them down. Seeing Zhou Ruhui carrying Ji Weiqiu, he sneered, "Truly a Prince, so full of pride."

Ji Weiqiu had a dagger in his hand and would rather use it as a projectile to stab him than use it to steady himself and stop his fall. It was clear he would rather die than submit and wanted to take one down with him. How could that not be considered prideful?

Zhou Ruhui's voice was unlike his usual one, sounding like a completely different person: "He's passed out."

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." After saying that, the man patted Ji Weiqiu's leg. "He's not seriously injured, is he? If he dies on the way, it'll be hard for us to report back."

"I don't know," Zhou Ruhui said flatly. "If we don't leave now, we'll become the mantis."

"With just those few good-for-nothings, are you looking down on me?" The man's voice was clearly much more relaxed, but his feet didn't stop. He and Zhou Ruhui quickly retreated. "Double-crossing us like that, those treacherous bastards, I'll kill them sooner or later!"

Zhou Ruhui said, "They kill to save their own lives, but we're involved in a business that could get our nine generations exterminated. Of course they'd double-cross us."

The man sneered, "True. But it's not bad to use their hands to snatch him."

Ji Weiqiu's mind was in a mess, but he roughly understood what had happened—the ones who wanted to kill Cao Zhiyu and the ones who wanted to kidnap him had indeed tacitly joined forces, but a conflict arose afterward. The sounds of clashing blades he had heard were the commotion created by these two factions.

After all, that group killed Cao Zhiyu to put a stop to the matter with him, preventing the imperial court from investigating further. But the False King's side wanted to take him away. Once he, the Prince of Rui, disappeared, what would it matter about Cao Zhiyu? No one involved in this matter could hope to escape. Naturally, they couldn't just let others kidnap him.

The moment Zhou Ruhui appeared, Ji Weiqiu understood many things. Ji Su must have known about this. Otherwise, Zhou Ruhui should have been on his way to the border. How could he possibly appear in the enemy's camp? Lying on Zhou Ruhui's back, he wondered what on earth Ji Su was thinking about this matter.

...If Ji Su knew, then what did he want him to do?

Send him to the False King as a mole...?

'My subordinate's dagger is at my waist. Your Highness can draw it with a reach of your hand. My internal organs are different from an ordinary person's. Your Highness, stab me in the center. Break my spine, and even if I don't die, I'll be crippled.' Zhou Qing's words suddenly surfaced in his mind, and Ji Weiqiu abruptly understood the hidden meaning.

—That dagger Zhou Qing used to kill himself was stabbed into the center of his chest. He himself said his internal organs were different from an ordinary person's. That stab was not fatal at all, at most a serious injury!

He should have realized it. Zhou Qing's behavior was too bizarre; it wasn't something a rational adult would do. Torn between loyalty and righteousness, so he chose to commit suicide, making things worse for both sides, and then killed himself?

Isn't that insane?!

He had just thought it was a case of an old house catching fire, but now that he thought about it, it was utterly ridiculous. His beloved was trapped in the hands of the False King? It was more likely he was using this story to win the False King's trust, right?

It seemed Ji Su was planning to make a move against the False King ahead of schedule.

As Ji Weiqiu thought this, he was so angry he wanted to spit blood. Why didn't he just tell him about something like this?! Ji Su will never change this bad habit of his, will he?!

He increasingly felt that his fall just now was a waste. If he had known Second Brother Zhou was here, what was the point of struggling so hard? He would have just run for show, then put on an 'I know what's good for me' act and let them take him. Second Brother Zhou would naturally have saved him!

His arm probably wasn't broken, but it was likely fractured, or in a less likely scenario, just a simple internal injury.

His body had just recovered, and now he was fucking injured again! If he weren't still pretending to be unconscious, Ji Weiqiu would have wanted to sigh.

Zhou Ruhui and the man in black entered the forest. Suddenly, he said, "Look, I think he's spitting up blood."

The man in black did indeed stop to check. The moment he turned around, a pitch-black dagger plunged into his chest. Zhou Ruhui covered his mouth and nose with one hand, while the hand holding the dagger twisted it clockwise half a turn. The man in black's eyes widened, and he breathed his last just like that.

The last thing he saw was the supposedly unconscious Prince of Rui hopping down from Zhou Ruhui's back perfectly fine.

Zhou Ruhui pulled out the dagger, then stripped the man of his clothes and gestured for Ji Weiqiu to change. He himself started applying a disguise to the man. Ji Weiqiu was wearing black today, so putting on another black coat wouldn't reveal any flaws. Just as he was about to take the mask for himself, he saw Zhou Ruhui pull a new one from his sleeve and give it to him.

He said, "It's unclean."

A brand new mask! Ji Weiqiu looked at Zhou Ruhui with teary eyes. What Second Brother Zhou, this is his real brother! His real brother!!!

What Zhou Ruhui took out was a mask that resembled human skin, made of some unknown material. The most impressive thing was that this mask wasn't like those seen in TV dramas that only stick to the face; it was a full hood. When worn, it made the man look eighty percent similar to Ji Weiqiu.

Zhou Ruhui dressed the man in black in Ji Weiqiu's clothes and gestured for Ji Weiqiu to follow him. Ji Weiqiu had been exhausted, but now he was on high alert, and he surprisingly managed to keep up with Zhou Ruhui's pace.

Before long, they arrived at the small path Ji Weiqiu had taken earlier. Two men in black were waiting there, holding horses. Seeing them, one of them came forward, lifted the masked man's face to look, and then nodded, "It is indeed the Prince of Rui... Dead? Who killed him?"

Ji Weiqiu felt that the half of the man's face that was exposed looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall who it was.

Zhou Ruhui said calmly, "He was dead when I found him."

The man frowned deeply, then reached out and felt around the man's cheeks before saying, "Let's retreat first!"

Even if he was dead, it was still better than catching nothing at all.

A whistle like a bird's call came from the other man's mouth. After three consecutive calls, Zhou Ruhui and Ji Weiqiu mounted their horses. The other two men stayed behind to wait for the others to return. Zhou Ruhui and Ji Weiqiu exchanged a look. "Go!"

Ji Weiqiu followed Zhou Ruhui, spurring his horse towards the side of the small path. When he saw that they had gone far enough, he whispered, "Brother, where are we..."

Zhou Ruhui shook his head at him, signaling him not to speak. The two rode their horses to the vicinity of the mountaintop, where they saw two masked men in black appear in the distance. Ji Weiqiu's heart leaped into his throat. He saw Zhou Ruhui go forward and hand over the 'body' of the Prince of Rui to them without a word. The two men asked nothing and took the body away.

Zhou Ruhui then led Ji Weiqiu into the forest. After a short while, they reached the edge of a cliff. He signaled for Ji Weiqiu to dismount. Ji Weiqiu obediently got down. The next moment, he saw Zhou Ruhui stab each of the two horses in the hindquarters. The two horses were instantly startled and charged towards the cliff. Because their mouths had already been gagged, they couldn't make any sound and fell off the cliff in the blink of an eye.

After doing all this, Zhou Ruhui led Ji Weiqiu back into the forest. After walking for an unknown distance, Zhou Ruhui suddenly reached out and covered Ji Weiqiu's mouth and nose. Ji Weiqiu's mind was filled with question marks. The memory of Zhou Ruhui covering a man's mouth and nose and twisting a dagger in him a second later was still fresh in his mind. Then he heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from afar, then getting closer, then receding into the distance and disappearing.

Only then did Zhou Ruhui lead him on. Ji Weiqiu asked in a low voice, "Aren't we going back to the camp?"

Zhou Ruhui shook his head. "Tomorrow."

Ji Weiqiu nodded and obediently followed Zhou Ruhui to a cave. Ji Weiqiu was taken aback. After entering the stone cave and navigating two bends that were clearly man-made, he saw the faint flickering of firelight inside... A somewhat unrealistic idea bloomed in his heart.

Could it be... that Ji Su is here?

No, no, no, how could that be possible? A person like Ji Su, as the Son of Heaven, could not possibly venture into danger so lightly. This place was still a two or three-day journey from Yanjing. Was Ji Su not going to hold court? With Zhou Qing and Zhou Ruhui here today, and someone to meet them halfway, he would have been perfectly fine if he had just waited obediently to be captured. He would have escaped safely. How could Ji Su possibly come!

What was he thinking!

Ji Weiqiu entered the cave. The moment he stepped inside, he froze. Standing by the campfire was none other than Ji Su!

Ji Su's eyes and brows were as usual, as clear as water, without a trace of any superfluous emotion. Seeing Ji Weiqiu's dumbstruck appearance, a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.

Ji Weiqiu snapped back to his senses in that instant. His body uncontrollably rushed towards him, and he threw his arms around Ji Su. "Brother!"

Ji Su was somewhat taken aback, seemingly surprised that Ji Weiqiu had actually rushed over and hugged him. He placed a hand on Ji Weiqiu's waist, patting it gently, and turned his head to the side. "How did it go?"

Zhou Ruhui had also followed him in. He cupped his hands in a salute. "Everything went smoothly."

Ji Su nodded. "I'll leave the follow-up to you."

Zhou Ruhui responded with a "yes" and turned to leave with crisp efficiency.

Only then did Ji Su look at Ji Weiqiu. He noticed the smell of blood on him. Rarely, he didn't order Ji Weiqiu to let go, nor did he scold him for his impertinence. He said, "Are you injured?"

Ji Weiqiu nodded forcefully, his eyes stinging. "My arm hit a tree trunk."

Ji Su patted his back again, signaling him to let go. Ji Weiqiu blinked hard and released his hold. Only then did he feel a little embarrassed. He awkwardly sat down as Ji Su guided him, consciously taking off the black coarse cloth coat and rolling up his sleeve for Ji Su to see.

He hadn't looked at it himself before and had only assumed it was fractured. Now, upon inspection, his arm didn't have any strange angles, nor was it red and swollen; there was just a patch of purplish-blue bruising. Ji Su looked at it, then reached out a hand and took hold of Ji Weiqiu's arm, pinching it inch by inch.

When he pinched the bruised area, Ji Su used particular force. Ji Weiqiu sucked in a sharp breath. "Hiss..."

"Does it hurt badly?" Ji Su pressed hard on the spot where he had cried out in pain, seemingly to check if the bone was all right. Ji Su's expression was exceptionally calm, and Ji Weiqiu couldn't help but fall silent as well.

His heart was filled with complicated feelings.

On one hand, he loathed that Ji Su had thrown him into such a dangerous situation. He could have clearly told him beforehand so that he could cooperate. On the other hand, he couldn't help but think that Ji Su, in his supreme position as emperor, had personally come here to wait for him. He couldn't think of any other reason for Ji Su to be here except for him, his younger brother.

"The arm bone is fine." Ji Su didn't lift his head, seemingly knowing what he was thinking, and said calmly, "An opportunity cannot be missed; it won't come again."

Ji Weiqiu understood this principle. He heard himself ask, "This opportunity was so fleeting that there was no time to inform me?"

Ji Su replied, "I thought you would understand."

Zhou Qing's image on the False King's side certainly wasn't built up in a day. He must have laid a lot of groundwork beforehand. Otherwise, how could the image of a man madly in love and torn between loyalty and righteousness be so deeply ingrained? How could he gain the False King's trust?

Ji Weiqiu gave a slight sneer. "It's my fault for not understanding."

He really could have figured it out. It was his fault for being so focused on how to escape with his life that he had no time to think. It was his fault for not being calm enough.

Ji Su said with considerable patience, "Don't be difficult with me."

Ji Weiqiu knew this wasn't the place to argue and said calmly, "Mm."

It was the same when they were children. Ji Su would never tell him anything, only letting him believe that the imperial family was a harmonious and happy group. The Emperor Father was wise and divine, and he, as the eldest brother and Crown Prince, though cold in personality, loved his brothers. The second brother, third brother... all the imperial princes supported the Crown Prince, determined to be virtuous princes. The various mother consorts only had occasional petty squabbles out of jealousy. Then, on some inadvertent day, the beautiful illusion would be shattered, revealing the bloody truth.

Ji Su's gaze was like a sword, inexplicably stabbing at Ji Weiqiu's heart until it ached. He felt very conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want to get involved in any struggle for imperial power. Ji Su not telling him and letting him take a small risk was a reasonable price to pay. Moreover, everything was arranged properly, so nothing would happen to him. On the other hand, he felt that Ji Su had excluded him from everything. Although he was favored, he was not trusted.

Or perhaps it should be said that in Ji Su's heart, he was someone who shouldn't know too much. Before, perhaps it was because he was still young, and what could a child understand, so naturally he couldn't be told. Now, perhaps it was because he was incompetent, so Ji Su had arranged everything, and he just needed to go with the flow.

Ji Weiqiu should have been satisfied with such a result, because what he had always pursued was to be a peaceful prince, eating, drinking, and playing until he died. He considered himself an ordinary person and didn't want to get involved in this... but for some reason, he was clearly aware of his dissatisfaction, even anger—anger at not being trusted by Ji Su.

He shouldn't be angry.

With a person like Ji Su, to get something from him, you must give something in return. Like Zhou Ruhui, he gave his loyalty, he gave his life's learning, and he gambled the lives of his entire household to follow Ji Su in seizing power. So now, he was in the emperor's favor, held military power in one region, and was granted the title of Duke, making him what could be called overwhelmingly powerful.

And he, Ji Weiqiu, he didn't want power or position, had no ulterior motives for the throne, and wholeheartedly supported Ji Su. He was a good younger brother, and Ji Su also doted on him, tolerating him as much as possible in some small personal matters and giving him face. But this was far from enough to gain Ji Su's trust.

Yes, far from enough.

Because Ji Su was his elder brother, the emperor. He, as the younger brother, was naturally supposed to submit to him, obey him, and support him. He did everything a younger brother should do, so Ji Su was willing to give him the honor and preferential treatment of an imperial blood relative. But trust was not included in that, because that was for capable ministers and loyal generals, not for him, a prince who had accomplished nothing.

So Ji Weiqiu didn't know what he wanted to say.

Ji Su had done nothing wrong. He had protected him as best he could. He had only used him for a moment, and had even come personally to this barren mountain, disregarding the affairs of the court. What right did he have to complain?

Ji Weiqiu bit the tip of his tongue, trying to use the pain to clear his head. He didn't want to bear any responsibility, so he shouldn't ask for more, nor was he worthy of asking for more.

Suddenly, Ji Su pinched his chin and frowned. "Let go."

Ji Weiqiu subconsciously released his jaw. Ji Su reprimanded, "Your body, hair, and skin are received from your parents; you must not injure them lightly."

Only then did Ji Weiqiu realize his mouth was full of blood. The strong metallic taste almost made him want to vomit. Ji Su released his chin and said with a frown, "Spit it out."

Ji Weiqiu turned his head and spat out the blood, but saw that Ji Su was still looking at him coldly. He paused, then stuck out his tongue and said indistinctly, "Like this?"

Ji Su paused for a moment, then used a handkerchief to pinch his tongue and examine it. Seeing that it was only a small cut, he let it go. "Don't do this again."

Ji Weiqiu felt a little strange; the feeling of his tongue being held by Ji Su was too strange. Seeing Ji Su let go, he quickly retracted his tongue, nodded vaguely, and gave a soft sound of assent.

A person like Ji Su was of noble birth and was treated as such wherever he went. There were no attendants or followers in the cave, but daily necessities such as a teapot and a water basin had already been prepared. Ji Su went to the side to wash his hands, then brought over some medicine. He dipped a jade stick into a bit of ointment and brought it to Ji Weiqiu's mouth. "Open your mouth."

Ji Weiqiu could only open his mouth and let the ointment be smeared all over his tongue. Ji Su said, "Hold it in your mouth."

Ji Weiqiu obediently closed his mouth. A Shadow Guard appeared at some point, holding two wooden boards, bandages, and other items. Ji Weiqiu knew at a glance what they were for and extended his arm.

He tried to find some humor in his misery: 'At least it's the forearm that's hit, my fingers are still flexible. I won't have to be wrapped up like a rice dumpling.'

Ji Su took a clean handkerchief from the Shadow Guard, wiped Ji Weiqiu's arm, and then applied an ointment for reducing bruises and swelling. Ji Weiqiu looked down and, for some reason, suddenly blurted out, "Actually, wouldn't a dog-skin plaster be better?"

Ji Su looked up at him, his gaze seemingly conveying his speechlessness.

Ji Weiqiu also knew he had said something silly and smiled without explaining further. He suddenly asked, "Imperial Elder Brother, are you not going to wait anymore?"

The firelight danced, illuminating the cave in flickering light and shadow. Ji Weiqiu's question was out of the blue, but Ji Su knew what he wanted to ask. Ji Su said calmly, "There is no need to wait any longer."

Ji Su gazed at him, his look surprisingly gentle.

He only said those five words, but Ji Weiqiu understood his unspoken meaning.

Now that the False King was watching, disturbing his peace, Ji Su was concerned for him, so he was unwilling to wait any longer.

The author has something to say:

Little Theater:

Ji Weiqiu: Huh? There's a pit my brother dug up ahead!

Ji Weiqiu: I'm gonna jump in